Food. I’ve said it before: you have to eat. Even if sometimes I view food as the enemy, it’s something I’m going to need no matter what. So, both as someone who’s diabetic and someone who’s trying to be athletic, I need to consider what I’m eating.

There’s three different things to consider in terms of food (in general), which really isn’t all that much–but I’d bet lots of folks don’t even consider them. What are they?

What to eat;

and when to eat.

That’s about it.

These are also related issues. Let’s look at them individually, but later we’ll look at them together. For the rest of this post it’ll be about what to eat.

What to eat: this is probably what people think about most when they consider their diet. Interestingly, what many folks consider “healthy” isn’t and what many consider “unhealthy” also isn’t–when looking particularly at diabetes.

For instance, fruit, which most consider to be very healthy, isn’t always the best choice–many types of fruit will raise your blood sugar. On the other hand, I had a colleague who had best results with dealing with her early morning blood sugars sticking to a diet of beef jerky and string cheese. Similarly, while in general vegetables are great food, starchy vegetables (think carrots, potatoes, rice–particularly white rice–and corn) may really boost your sugars.

I tend to side more with my friend with the jerky and cheese. While many will disagree, I’ve found that a low carbohydrate diet–think something like Atkins–can really help me keep my sugars down. One of the saddest parts of the decline in popularity of Atkins is the reduction in availability of low carbohydrate foods. I used to be able to find several types of low carbohydrate yogurt, now I can’t find any. Similarly, I don’t really mind dietary fat and protein. For me, it’s all about the carbohydrates–the non-fiber carbohydrates, anyway.

Probably the best diet I’ve found for myself is, while looking carefully at the carbohydrates, the Abs Diet. I’ve modified parts of this diet to make it better for me. For instance, I substitute low carbohydrate soy milk for regular milk, and other times I just eliminate some items altogether.

Two other things I like about the Abs Diet–first, they don’t forbid any foods, they just suggest emphasizing some and minimizing others, and in particular the two things they suggest minimizing are high fructose corn syrup (HFCS–the sweetener in many non-diet soft drinks) and transfat (a kind of man made fat). Second, they give a “cheat meal” once a week. I think that’s more reasonable than other diet plans.

The one other thing I would like to say in this post: drink lots of water. Particularly ice cold water if you’re interested in losing weight. If there’s anything that approaches a magic potion you can drink to lose weight, it’s ice cold water. I try to make sure I drink at least one glass of water before a meal, partly to try to keep my hunger out of control.

We’ll continue with diet next time, this time looking at when to eat.