trigger warning for food guilt
I confirmed that I was insulin resistant a few months ago, started metformin, and changed my diet. I already ate in a way that was pretty “healthy,” but I have had to start paying way more attention to things like glycemic index than I used to. For example— oatmeal with peanut butter and honey for breakfast and roasted sweet potato with tahini for lunch/snack — generally seen as healthy, but they’re high GI foods.
I had already found that I tolerated sweeteners like stevia a lot better than sugars, and I have since added coconut nectar into the mix as well. The only thing is, I’m a big tea drinker. I drink a lot of high quality tea I’d never put sugar in, but I also love a cup of Twinings with a little white sugar. It‘s specifically the flavor of white sugar that I enjoy, and stevia doesn’t hit the same.
I’m usually a big believer in not cutting out things we enjoy and instead indulging in moderation, but there are a lot of other sources of sugar that are much harder for me to avoid and I’m really nervous about where my insulin resistance is. I’m also not in the healthiest place with my relationship with food right now — I went from being able to eat intuitively to needing to be conscious of my diet for metabolic reasons. There’s a lot of societal shame around this. I feel an immense amount of pressure to control this condition with my lifestyle. I don’t think I could enjoy a cup of tea with white sugar even if I tried.
I don’t know if this is temporary and I could get my PCOS and IR to a place where I could loosen the reins, or if I will always need to worry about if I’m pairing enough protein and fiber with my quinoa to be able to tolerate it.