Samantha Walsh
Samantha Walsh has lived with type 1 diabetes for over five years since 2017. After her T1D diagnosis, she was eager to give back to the diabetes community. She is the Community and Partner Manager for T1D Exchange and helps to manage the Online Community and recruit for the T1D Exchange Registry. Prior to T1D Exchange, Samantha fundraised at Joslin Diabetes Center. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelors degree in sociology and early childhood education.
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Do you ever feel pressure or anxiety to eat “low carb” in public around people who know you have diabetes? (Share in the comments experiences that you’ve had.) Cancel reply
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Sometimes I feel pressure to eat low-carb. I also try to do it.
It’s a double-edged sword. Simultaneously, people will be uncomfortable with my not eating as many carbohydrates as they are eating and judgemental about the number of carbohydrates I am eating.
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That’s true—it can feel impossible to satisfy everyone when it comes to personal food choices. People often judge both eating “too much” and “too little,” even when you’re simply doing what works best for you.
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After 23 years people that know me generally comment on the “healthy eating” I do (a lot of vegetables). I don’t struggle wasting what I want, fortunately I enjoy that stuff. When I used a pen just before eating I’d ask if anyone would gag.
It’s part of me, I’m not embarrassed, stressed, of worried.
That’s great—enjoying healthy foods naturally makes it so much easier to stick with good habits long-term. And yeah, reactions can be funny when people see something unfamiliar before a meal! It sounds like you’ve found what works for you, which is what really matters. When you feel like mixing things up, you can also visit website to explore some different food options.
Never. If anything I have felt pressure to eat higher carbs, even from my endocrinologist 🙁
I use an insulin pump so I eat what I want every day of the year and I only care about my health and I have zero concern for what other people think about the disease I manage extremely well. Anymore so many of these questions are “Facebook” questions. They are deliberately posed to cause a ruckus. So this will be the last question I will answer. You have turned what I thought was an informative site into a sideshow.
Initially when I read this I thought it was silly as well, however, I believe they are looking in to the mental health aspect and how the feelings of being T1 relate to emotional health and choices in group settings. I am sure the organization values your input and would hate to lose your participation.
Larry, totally agree with the 1st half of your comment, but I agree with Lyndsey on the 2nd half. I haven’t seen “arguments” break out in the comments section, like you might see on Facebook. I don’t know exactly how the responses to these surveys are used (given that they’re not truly representative of the T1D population), but I find the insights into how my responses compare to others kind of interesting, and not having yours would be a loss!
Always eat what I want which is mostly fresh produce, whole grains a bite here and there of other stuff. Sometimes people ask what I’m supposed to eat I just say the same thing everyone else is supposed to eat, just if I don’t the consequences are sooner and more severe. Familly and friends eat better because of me.
I choose to eat a lower carb diet because I have found it gives me better control, but I will eat higher carb foods on occasion. Other people’s opinions do not factor into my choices at all.
First, I don’t let other people pressure me into doing anything. Second, except for my family and close friends, I have found that most people have no idea how diabetes works. So most people wouldn’t h
No I eat low carb because it improves my quality of life and will prevent vascular complications in the long run.
Messed up and hit send comment. Most people don’t have the knowledge necessary to judge. I had a guy ask me what my tattoo meant a few days ago. It says T1 Diabetic.
I hope one day you can add the phrase before T1 Diabetic “Used to be” (meaning a cure has been found. 🙂
It depends on the person. I have definitely felt that way with certain people when they first find out I have diabetes. I’ve had a few people make (well meaning but misguided) comments or questions about what I’m eating. But for the most part I don’t worry about it and generally people don’t say anything.
This happened to me just this month, but I just figure the diabetic police don’t know as much about the disease as a person with T1D does. I don’t eat out much at all because of the unknown ingredients and the junk fast foods. So I mostly eat at home watching both carbs and fats. I feel better doing so, and when eating out still try to watch carbs and fats too. I don’t pay attention to the diabetic police.
I am not really sure if I feel pressure or not. I tend to eat what I want but also do my best to order meals that aren’t outrageously loaded with carbs. Even if I eat high carb, because face it, restaurant food tends to jack up my sugar levels, I just do my best to counteract the sugar level with an appropriate amount of insulin.
I am the captain of my ship. I am willing to take advice from experts but not feeling any pressure from others around me. It is true that I sometimes make errors in my lifestyle decisions but overall I do a good job. I know a lot more about healthy living than most people I encounter.
No, I don’t feel any pressure. The “diabetes police” stopped interrogating me a long time ago.
I have been eating low-carb for the last 20 of my 45 years as a Type 1. I’ve received very few comments about what I eat when dining out with friends or family and use any such comments, if/when they occur, as an opportunity to explain diabetes and my approach to it.
Feel no pressure, after all Ive made my own choices for 50 years and Im in better health than many people without diabetes.
Pressure and anxiety I am much more inclined to induce than to be the recipient of. Having said that, I see a few overly kind and overly cautious comments about the “diabetic police.”
There are people who know it all and are more accurately described as the “diabetic gestapo.” Subtleties, ambiguities, conditional statements, and difference among human beings is lost among this group. ლ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)ლ ლ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)ლ
Nope. I don’t feel pressure to eat to please or pacify other people’s judgements and anxiety about what a PWD should or shouldn’t eat. I eat what I want when I am hungry and I enjoy eating a sensible variety of healthy fresh delicious foods – carbs & fats included.
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I consider it an educational opportunity.
I feel no external pressure to eat low carb. It’s my decision that I’ve reached freely and happily. As a T1D for 20 years, I switched to eating low carb about 6 years ago. My quality of life is much better as a result, and is night and day difference when compared to my 13-some years of T1D before low carb.
No pressure. I eat a high carb diet anyway. I have no idea what a low carb diet is.
I eat low carb meals anyway. The opposite is usually true, especially in finding low carb options when in public, especially at certain restaurants or catered events.
I find it annoying how uneducated people are about carbs. They see me eat fruit and bread and say nothing, but the second it falls in the “dessert” category they’ll comment. It really grinds my gears. I worry more about those that DON’T make comments, because I worry they’re passing judgement and I don’t have the opportunity to educate them.
I don’t change the way I eat for these people, but I absolutely second-guess my food choices when in public and in the presence of those I know aren’t aware that T1D’s can eat whatever they want as long as they dose appropriately.
I do not feel pressure to eat specific “low carb” foods around people who are informed of my diabetes as they still seem uninformed of my dietary concerns. I still have to ask friends and family for ingredients of foods they bring over after twenty years and explain that I won’t be eating that because I have no way to judge the carbs, but it looks mighty tasty.
I’ve been T1D since age 6, so I’ve ALWAYS been judged on what goes in my mouth! 🙁 I grew up in the mid-60s with all my relatives, school personnel, even restaurant staff, etc. saying “Are you supposed to eat that?”. After lengthy and frustrating justifying my decision to them, I go ahead and eat what I want (most of which is ‘allowed’).
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