Divabetic Pink Champagne Holiday Gift Guide 2021, #6

Whether you’re focused on losing weight or want to add a little extra sparkle into your daily diabetes self-care, we’ve got you covered with this year’s  Divabetic Holiday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life.

Our friend, Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’ was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes while training to become a pastry chef. She thought her career–not to mention her lifetime love affair with desserts–was over. Her devastation gave way to innovation, resulting in the inventive and simple substitution system presented here. Now Stacey Harris can enjoy desserts specifically designed to satisfy the sweet tooth without sacrificing flavor.

Stacey’s gift suggestion is one of her favorite kitchen tools, the Danish Dough Whisk. Stacey loves that this quintessential hand mixer makes the arduous task of kneading dough for fresh-baked pizza, sweet pie crust, mouthwatering pasta, delicate pastries, or artisan sourdough loaves and biscuits so much easier. our hands won’t get tired from kneading, and your dough won’t get stuck or trapped in the whisk leaving you with large icky clumps. Your hands won’t get dirty either!

This Dutch dough whisk has professional-grade stainless steel and a secure and sturdy wooden handle. $12.99 on Amazon.

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?

Back by popular demand! The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic hosts this free, fun Virtual Valentines-themed Baking Party with our special guest, Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Wednesday, February 9, 7 – 8:30 PM, EST on Zoom.

During this virtual Baking Party on Zoom, The Diabetic Pastry Chef will prepare a Valentine’s Day Sugar-Free Dessert recipe and share expert baking tip.

Register now to get the Zoom link for the program.

REGISTER NOW – FREE REGISTRATION 

Divabetic Pink Champagne Holiday Gift Guide 2021, #4

Whether you’re focused on losing weight, improving your A1c, or want to add a little extra sparkle into your daily diabetes self-care, we’ve got you covered with this year’s Divabetic Holiday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life.

When it comes to diabetes, the more you know, the better. You’re probably aware that monitoring your blood sugar levels and A1c levels is important. But keeping track of your heart rate can help you lower your risk of diabetes complications like heart disease. The Apple Watch makes it easy!

Using the Apple Watch, you can check your heart rate at any time. You can view your resting, walking, workout, and recovery rates throughout the day. You can also see if your heart rate remains above or below a chosen heartbeats per minute (BPM), or occasionally check for an irregular heart rhythm. This information, as well as other data it collects, helps Apple Watch estimate how many calories you’ve burned.

“I personally love my Apple Watch SE because it reminds me to move more than I might without it. It measures my steps, other activities (like yoga or a session on my spin bike), and how many hours I’ve stood for at least a minute. If I’m lagging behind in any area, I can add more movement to my day.” customer testimonial 
Retail $399

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Did you know that your loved ones can get a sense of their diabetes risk by counting heartbeats? 

Healio reports that larger increases in resting heart rate can lead to greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes, whereas reductions can have the opposite effect, according to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Divabetic Holiday Playlist: John Legend’s rendition of Marvin Gaye’s psychedelic holiday song,  Purple Snowflakes. Co-written with Clarence Paul and David Hamilton, Marvin Gaye originally recorded the song in 1964 and released it as Pretty Little Baby.

It took three decades for the song for the holiday version Purple Snowflakes to be released in 1992. It appears the John Legend included it on his sixth studio album, Legendary Christmas.

Divabetic Pink Champagne Holiday Gift Guide 2021, #3

Whether you’re focused on losing weight or want to add a little extra sparkle into your daily diabetes self-care, we’ve got you covered with this year’s Divabetic Holiday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life.

No one’s disputing the benefits of regular aerobic exercise for diabetes management. Jogging, walking, dancing, swimming, and biking can all help you keep your blood sugar level on target. Even a regular weekend game of tennis or pickleball can help improve your overall health.

But now scientists are finding that people with diabetes can benefit from regular weight lifting, or strength training, as well. according to Everyday Health. Research in the Internal Journal of Cardiology shows that in people with type 2 diabetes, strength training can be more beneficial to blood sugar regulation than cardio,” says Audra Wilson, RD, CSCS, a bariatric dietitian and strength and conditioning specialist at the Northwestern Medicine Metabolic Health and Surgical Weight Loss Center at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Illinois.

Since many of us who are working out at home these days don’t have room to store exercise equipment, we recommend these lightweight, easy-to-store Gaiam Resistance Bands. Once your workout is over, you can just tuck them in a drawer! How great is that?!!!

These colorful, affordable resistance bands from Gaiam are a nice gift option for anyone living with, at-risk, and affected by diabetes working on building their strength. Resistance bands can help them make a more intentional mind-body connection during workouts, as they encourage slower movements.

Increase shoulder flexibility and range of motion, strengthen upper back muscles, improve posture, and condition core muscles with our all-in-one resistance band kit. The Strength & Flexibility Kit will add variety and challenge to your workout with three different resistance levels and our detailed exercise guide. $14.99

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Divabetic Holiday Playlist: Olivia Dean’s rendition of The Christmas Song. The London-born vocalist, who captured our hearts and ears this fall, has spent the formative years of her career breaking down barriers for female and non-binary artists through her music.

“I feel like my music is for everyone to enjoy and I want everyone to feel they can relate to it,” the 21-year-old says. “But I’m a woman, so it definitely all comes from a female perspective.”

Inspired heavily by her mother – who is part of the Women’s Equality Party – Olivia Dean’s commitment to change is threaded through her soulful pop songs, which explore independence, self-empowerment, and tackling misogyny in the music industry.

 

Divabetic Pink Champagne Holiday Gift Guide 2021, #2

Whether you’re focused on losing weight or want to add a little extra sparkle into your daily diabetes self-care, we’ve got you covered with this year’s Divabetic  Holiday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life.

Holiday Mindful Eating Tip of the day from Lisa Young: Ask yourself, am I hungry?, eat slowly, and enjoy your company along with your food!

Herb Scissors Retail: $10.67

Fresh herbs enhance the flavors of all foods, especially vegetables, which will help you to reduce using salt to perk up your meals. These scissors are perfect for basil, thyme, dill, parsley, chives, mint, fennel. You can use directly over a pan or plate to make perfectly sized, restaurant-quality quick, and impressive garnishes for soups, salads, pizza, and side dishes.

Our friend, Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDCES, CHWC, FAND, a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of Prediabetes: A Complete Guide, demonstrated how to use herb scissors in a recent Divabetic Zoom program.

With a motto like,”  I make nutrition science understandable, realistic & delicious,” Jill specializes in customizing plans to help people living with, affected by, and at risk of diabetes to maximize their health.

Jill quickly snipped a bunch of fresh herbs to season her soup. She showed us that this kitchen tool is a big help in curbing the need to grab the salt-shaker for your recipes. Available on Amazon. 

BUY NOW 

In this video, Jill Weisenberger shares her favorite healthy salad and salad dressing recipes, suggested new flavor combinations to perk up meals, and answered questions on nutrition. Enjoy this sneak peek of what you missed on a recent Divabetic Zoom program! Join us for Divabetic’s free Holiday-themed Sugar-Free Baking Party with the Diabetic Pastry Chef, Stacey Harris on Thursday, December 9, 2021, 7-8 PM, EST. Register Now 

 

 

Prediabetes: A Complete Guide by Jill Weisenberger

The latest numbers from the CDC suggest that nearly 1 in 3 adults have either prediabetes or diabetes. These are alarming numbers, and finding out that you are the one out of three can be even more alarming.  Shock, denial, and confusion are not uncommon reactions. But there is a flip side to learning you have prediabetes. It can be scary, but it’s also an opportunity—an opportunity to “reset,” to improve your health and to get yourself in better shape than ever. Let Prediabetes: A Complete Guidshow you how!ho

Divabetic Holiday Playlist: Kelly Clarkson never fails to bring us joy! Her new Christmas album is a total delight. This duet “Under the Mistletoe” with Brett Eldredge gets us up and dancing every time we play it!

https://youtu.be/y9jTpv1r_KI

Divabetic ‘Wrapped In Red’ Gift Guide with Christel Oerum

Kelly Clarkson‘s fabulous holiday album, Wrapped In Red, is the inspiration behind this year’s annual Divabetic Gift Guide. We asked our contributors to share their favorite ‘red’ gift suggestions for people living with diabetes on the Divabetic blog and Diabetes Late Nite podcast.

Our friend, Christel Oerum, is a certified personal trainer, diabetes advocate, and fitness personality and the co-founder of Diabetes Strong. She has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1997, and lives by the motto “there’s nothing you can’t do with diabetes.” 

With a wonderful life motto like that, we had to ask Chirstel to share her favortie ‘red’ activewear pieces and some advice and guidance on staying ‘diabetes strong’ during the holidays

“I’m obsessed with workout tights, capris to be specific,” says Christel. “Not sure you can ever have too many.  My favorite brands are Athleta and Senita.” 

Athleta Insulated Flurry PrimaLoft® Jacket is a great base layer for medium and high impact workouts in cold weather. It’s chafe-free seamless fabric and woven piecing with lightweight insulation provides additional coziness. 

“I have these Senita capris and I absolutely love them because the fit is great and they have pockets large enough to hold a cell phone, CGM receiver or insulin pump. Brilliant!”

“I wrote the Fit With Diabetes eBook to share my knowledge of how to exercise and eat healthily with insulin-dependent diabetes,” says Christel. “This is knowledge that I think is essential if you manage your diabetes with insulin – no matter if you use a pump, pen, needle or inhalable insulin.”

The Fit With Diabetes eBook is your chance to get your hands on over 80 pages of knowledge, techniques, and tools to set yourself up for success living with diabetes. After reading this book you’ll have the knowledge to: Set realistic diabetes, health, and fitness goals, Manage your food and insulin around workouts to limit high and low blood sugar, Successfully manage your weight with diabetes, Create healthy meal plans that won’t cause havoc on your blood sugar (or use the meal plan in the book), Create an exercise plan that is right for you (examples of beginner and advanced plans in the book) and More! 

Walking In A Winter Wonderland Advice from Christel Oerum

“ Remember everything counts when it comes to being active and walking is one of the most effective ways to reduce blood sugars,” add Christel Oerum. “Here are some tips to stay active over the holidays!”

Take the family for a stroll before and/or after dinner

Explore a museum (great way to get plenty of steps in without being in the cold)

Have a snowball fight or build a snowman

Diabetes Strong Co-Founder and Head Coach, Christel Oerum holds an MBA in Finance & Strategy and an ISSA Personal Trainer certification with specialization in Fitness and Diabetes (Level 3 certified from the Diabetes Motion Academy)

Diabetes Strong (originally TheFitBlog) was established in 2015 as a personal blog about Christel’s experiences as a fitness enthusiast living with type one diabetes.

Christel struggled to find easily accessible information about exercise and healthy nutrition with diabetes online, so she decided to create a website where she could share her own advice and invite experts from the diabetes community to contribute.

TheFitBlog quickly grew into one of the largest websites about health and diabetes and was re-launched in 2017 as Diabetes Strong, a diabetes portal with expert contributors from all over the world.

The goal of Diabetes Strong is to provide a platform where people living with (any type) of diabetes can find all the information they need to live healthy and active lives.

The information on Diabetes Strong always takes a positive approach to diabetes and follows Christel’s motto that “There is nothing you can’t do with diabetes.”

December’s Diabetes Late Nite Available on Demand for Free

Enjoy December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast featuring holiday music from Kelly Clarkson’s iconic Wrapped In Red album courtesy of SONY Music. Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Kathy Gold  RN, MSN, CDE, FAADE, Glucose Delivery Necklace Co-Creator Kris Maynard, Dr. Sara (Mandy) Reece, PharmD, CDE, BC=ADM, BCACP, FAADE, Maria Sakowitz, MS, RDN, LDN, CLT, and the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach. LISTEN NOW

Divabetic’s ‘Wrapped In Red’ Holiday Gift Guide with Sue Perez

Kelly Clarkson‘s fabulous holiday album, Wrapped In Red, is the inspiration behind this year’s annual Divabetic Gift Guide. We asked our contributors to share their favorite ‘red’ gift suggestions for people living with diabetes on the Divabetic blog and Diabetes Late Nite podcast.

What do you feel when you see the color red? For us, we feel excited because it means the holidays are coming! Red is the color of the biggest, most romantic holidays of the season; Christmas and Valentine’s Day. And no one wears red as splendidly as Grace Kelly does in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 American crime mystery film, Dial M for Murder.

Grace Kelly was an icon in American culture. Her timeless essence as an actress, her youthful beauty as a mother and wife and her elegant style as a princess continue to captivate us today.

Our friend, Sue Perez, CEO –Beautyphonics Inc. shares  her favorite red lipsticks and makeup looks inspired by Grace Kelly to help you ‘GLAM MORE, FEAR LESS’ this holiday season!

E.l.f. Cosmetics makes great makeup at affordable prices. When I want to achieve a long lasting, gorgeous matte finish I reach for their Liquid Matte Lipstick ($5.00- Walmart). Red Vixen is my go to shade when I want that perfect sexy pout. Coordinate with a full coverage foundation, a pair of natural looking strip eyelashes with a hint of black gel liner turned up in the outer corners for a cat eye effect. Strong and classic. 

Mac Cosmetics has always been known for having a diverse color range and their lip formulas of color plus texture always stands out on the runway. A favorite of mine is Ruby Woo it’s a retro Matte formula and looks impeccable with a full coverage finish. Wear this opaque matte lip with bronze sun-kissed tinted moisturizer, shimmery eyelids and extra mascara for an evening look. Stunning and unforgettable.

Chanel makeup is more expensive but worth considering for a splurge if you adore that gorgeous black and gold Chanel package as much as I do. And a translucent powder compact for touch ups is a wonderful treat for your makeup bag. Rouge Coco Glossimer in chili ($30.00- Bloomingdales) provides a flattering and very glossy sheer red when I prefer a lighter lip with a bold dramatic eye makeup look. Keep the rest of your skin matte with only a hint of blush. Captivating and hypnotic.

“These red lipstick suggestions look great on all skin tones!,” says Emmy Award nominated makeup artist and skincare expert,  Sue Perez. “Just experiment and complete the look with foundation, lashes and well-groomed eyebrows. It’s all about balance when I apply makeup, so make sure your look is clean, well-blended and of course, pretty.”

In Sue Perez’s book “Underneath the Makeup” she has makeup applications anyone can do using just a few products and makeup brushes in 15 minutes! Her fabulous book is for ALL women that truly want to understand and define their own unique beauty. You will learn the secrets that are easy and fun to understand so you can do your own makeup effortlessly.

‘DIVA’ FUN FACTS  Dial M for Murder (1954) was Grace Kelly’s first Hitchcock film. ‘She lights up the screen in every scene she’s in, in head-to-toe red, from lipstick to the lace dress (in the most pure ’50s style) and the satin pumps,” says ‘Style on Film’ classiq.me .

Grace Kelly’s costumes were designed by Moss Mabry. Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock made two more films, Rear Window (1954) and To Catch a Thief (1955) before Miss Kelly became Princess Grace of Monaco and retired from the screen in 1956.

Enjoy December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast featuring holiday music from Kelly Clarkson. Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Kathy Gold  RN, MSN, CDE, FAADE, Glucose Delivery Necklace Co-Creator Kris Maynard, Dr. Sara (Mandy) Reece, PharmD, CDE, BC=ADM, BCACP, FAADE, Maria Sakowitz, MS, RDN, LDN, CLT, and the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach. LISTEN NOW