When others comment on what you eat

Many with diabetes experience that relatives and people you know express their opinion about how you should live with and handle your diabetes.
You may also have experienced comments like:
‘You probably need to lose weight’, ‘Can you eat sugar?’ or ‘I guess you can have a piece of cake.’

Comments that are meant to be good advice that you just didn't ask for.
Questions, comments and advice are often an expression of caring, but they can actually feel like the opposite.

Diabetes is invisible to the people around you, and therefore others have difficulty understanding what your needs are.
They can't see whether you've cut down a bit on the main course so you could have the dessert,
or that you have planned from home that you would like to say no to sweets today.

It is often in situations where we gather around food that many people with diabetes feel challenged.
It can be at dinner at home, lunch in the canteen, or when you've been invited out.

It may therefore be a good idea to have different strategies planned ahead.
Then you're prepared for food situations.
Tell your surroundings what's helpful to you.

If you have made a deal with yourself and maybe in collaboration with your caregiver,
that for a period of time you will cut back on cake,
it can make things difficult if your wife or husband continues to bring cake home.

Although the cake is an offer backed by good intentions, and ‘this is what we usually do’,
it is important that you tell your relatives that you are currently trying to cut down a bit.

Maybe you also think that you are talking too much about diabetes and food at home.
It may be helpful to you if you say:
‘It's sweet of you that you are thinking about me, but it would be helpful to me if we didn’t talk about food and diabetes all the time.’
‘I am already getting good help and guidance from my caretaker.’

Perhaps it is with more the distant relationships like colleagues at work, a training partner, or an acquaintance where you find it difficult?
Here it may be a good idea to have a sentence ready when well-meaning advice is served up.

For example, you can say:
‘I have put a plan in place with my caregiver, and I follow that.
There's plenty of room for a piece of cake every now and then, but thank you for caring.’

You can also be invited out as a guest, where the host has made an effort to prepare diabetes-friendly food without you having asked for it.
It can also be the other way around, where you really want people to be considerate, but it doesn't happen.

You can help yourself and the people around you if you work together to reconcile your expectations.