Expect the Unexpected

Last night I attended a formal dinner hosted by the Knights of Columbus. It was a big occasion attended by more than four hundred guests. At first I was hesitant of going because I didn’t know what to expect at the party, and what food I could eat during dinner. If invited like this, I think it has already become second nature to me to think right away and ask about the kind of food I could eat. Of course, if I attend a party like this, I don’t want to make a big fuzz of anything , that I need some kind of special food because of my illness. Nor do I want to just sit on the corner and eat whatever is served. And much worse, where I simply fast and deprive myself of everything. Sometimes, in situation like this, is where the dilemma enters in especially for those like us who are trying to control our blood glucose.

My rule of thumb is: “always expect the unexpected.” In the first place, I knew that I was going to attend a party. And like every party, you expect that various dishes of food will be served. Therefore, you just have to determine for yourself what food you are going eat, and what food you are going to avoid. This, of course, presupposes some discipline on our part. We always have to remember why we have to avoid certain kinds of food. We don’t just avoid certain kinds of food for the sake of avoiding them. As we know, there are certain foods which are very high in carbohydrates, sugar, sodium, etc. which we must try to avoid at all cost, if possible, if we are serious in trying to regulate our blood glucose.

My experience at the dinner last night has taught me certain things. First, it taught me about discipline and how to be firmed in my convictions. Although I had an array of good food served before me, I knew that I could not just grab everything and eat anything I wanted. Second, it taught me to be prudent. I knew that all the dishes being served were very good, delicious and inviting. But I knew too that I could eat only certain kinds of food. Last night I ate pasta for the first time since I was diagnosed with my sickness. Well, in the first place, I love pasta a lot. But I know that pasta is very rich in starch and carbohydrates. So what I did was to cut down my intake. Instead of eating the whole plate of pasta, I just ate half of it. In this way, I didn’t want to deprive myself of it completely, and at the same time I had to be very careful that I would not eat so much of it. For the entrée, we were given three options: chicken, beef and salmon. Of course, I ordered for salmon immediately. It was very good, by the way. It was served with three small potatoes and a couple of string beans. After dinner, I also had a little ice cream, which I haven’t had in a long time.

I was curious to see what my blood glucose was this morning. After checking my blood sugar, I was happy to note that it was still in the normal range. I think the good result was due to my prudence and determination to watch my diet and eating habits.