ENJOY HOLIDAY DINNER WITHOUT GUILT

Being diabetic doesn't mean that holiday feasts are over for you. The only thing that should be over is eating portions that are too large. If you could break the big feast into smaller and more frequent meals that would be the best, but a holiday feast usually means the fat-est, sweetest, foods all at once and in abundance. It's very hard to resist. Here are a couple diabetic tips.

• If you are a guest at someones house, let them know before time you are diabetic and you don't need special foods, but that you will not be stuffing yourself like you used to.

• to thirty minutes before you eat, drink a full glass of water. It takes about twenty minutes from the time you eat to the time your brain registers fullness. Sometimes there is a vegetable tray with dip put out as an appetizer prior to the meal. Munching on raw veggies would take the edge off the hunger.
  

• Eat slow, the holiday meal is also about the company and conversation. Indulge in that!
  
• If you are preparing the meal, there are many lo-fat substitutions you can use in recipes.
  

• Remember, If you eat like it's your last meal, it just might be!

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