The Diabetic and the Dilly Bar

Recently a coworker announced that she had purchased a few boxes of DQ Dilly Bars and placed them in the cafeteria freezer for anyone to partake. Just like I did when a DQ opened in my neighborhood when I was 12, I ran for the Dilly Bar.

I took it back to my cubicle, unwrapped the treat, and was just starting to nom nom nom when a different coworker shrieked.

“Hey! Aren’t you diabetic?”

I chuckled. “Yeah,” I told her, “eating this thing is liable to send me straight into a coma.”

But she was just expressing concern for my health. So I assured her that I have pretty tight control over my blood sugar, and the occasional treat was not going to bump up my blood glucose.

Because she works the next cubicle over, she can see the lunches I eat--lots of fresh spinach, lean meats, a banana every day. She can also see me head for the company health club about the same time each day.

This has been my life since May 2001, when my doctor diagnosed me with diabetes. At the time he told me I was diabetic, he started me on Amaryl, an oral blood glucose control drug. He also referred me to a nutritionist whose goal from the beginning was to get me off that drug.

She succeeded. By September 2001 I was controlling my diabetes with diet and exercise.

That simple phrase, “diet and exercise,” means walking, running, lifting weights, swimming or using an elliptical machine four to six times a week while watching my food intake very closely. I keep an eye on my calories and especially my carbohydrates, often by scrutinizing the nutrition labels on food.

Did you know a Dilly Bar has 220 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrate? I do. That’s why I wasn’t worried about slipping into a coma. I can handle 25 grams of carbs about any time.