Type 2 Pilgrim

[Eamo18]

Hi all, signed up to be a first time pilgrim in September and am really looking forward to it. As a Type 2 Diabetic It seems many of the pilgrim menus are high Carb fare particularly in small towns, is this really the case?

 

[MinaKamina]

Hi Eamo, welcome to the forum. Since you will be walking outdoors a great part of the day, your main concerns should probably be with preventing low levels of blood sugar and dehydration.
Type 'diabetes' in the search engine of this forum and you will find lots of tips and experiences.

Buen Camino!

 

[Former member 49149]

Hi Eamo, welcome to the forum. Since you will be walking outdoors a great part of the day, your main concerns should probably be with preventing low levels of blood sugar and dehydration.
Type 'diabetes' in the search engine of this forum and you will find lots of tips and experiences.

Buen Camino!

Thanks for your reply to the question. My own tuppence worth is that with all the walking I would imagine there is a compensatory element...and not so much need to focus on a type 2 regimen.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Hi all, signed up to be a first time pilgrim in September and am really looking forward to it. As a Type 2 Diabetic It seems many of the pilgrim menus are high Carb fare particularly in small towns, is this really the case?

Welcome to the Forum, Eamo....

There have been a number of threads which deal with your concern, and with other issues surrounding Diabetes. Please use the search engine and you will be able to receive a lot of good information to assist you with your planning.

 

[Tincatinker]

Your medical practitioner is likely to be a more reliable source of advice on walking 25-30k a day and your nutritional requirements.
And yes the Menu Peregrino is likely to be high-fat, high-carb and skimpy on expensive protein. However the Menu Peregrino is not compulsory and other than in some of the very small settlements along the way alternatives will be available.

 

[poogeyejr]

I walked the Camino while on a low carb diet and found plenty of options for my meals. Both eating in the restaurants and eating grocery store picnics. Enjoy!

 

[Sharonih]

Generally there are choices in what you eat a normal Pilgrims Meal contains 3-4 choices per stage. One choice is regularly ensalde mixta - a green salad that is quite often topped with tuna often in the first stage you also have the option of having a soup. The second stage is generally 1 of 4 types of meat plus French fries. If your dietary demands do not want you to have so much meat and fries you can always request something from stage 1. Also rarely is there a day there is not either a Supermarche or some where you can buy some food to carry with you, or cook for your evening meal. I hope this helps a wee bit,

 

[Kanga]

When there is a choice I avoid the pilgrims menu in the early evening (never eaten by the locals) and instead order from the carta or the Menu del Dia at the midday meal (which means between 2pm and 4pm!) There is usually far more choice and better quality food. I enjoy the social aspects of eating with other pilgrims, but the food is usually much better elsewhere!

I agree that the first place to get advice is from your own endocrinologist - explain that you will be walking many kilometres each day. I suspect the most difficult thing is to work out how it affects your own body - and how often you need to eat.

Eggs are always available as a low carb option - tortilla Francesa is a plain omelette. Lentils and pulses are often on the menu, usually combined with chorizo. I know they are not low carb, but at least they are slow burn. Ensalada completa con atún y huevo is a large salad with tuna and hard boiled eggs. Ensalada mixta may only be lettuce and tomato - so ask if you are expecting more.

 

[Hound-of-Ulster]

Hi all, signed up to be a first time pilgrim in September and am really looking forward to it. As a Type 2 Diabetic It seems many of the pilgrim menus are high Carb fare particularly in small towns, is this really the case?

Going in July so I should be able to let you know, as a former Type 2 Diabetic, look at the 8 week blood sugar diet and the possibility of reversing your type 2...... I wasn’t on medication but good reports all round about this way of eating (WOE)

 

[Eamo18]

Thank you all for your kind assistance and good advice. It appears I will more choice than first appeared, thankfully. Look forward to hearing from you Hound of Ulster.
Buen Camino!

 

[Nate Bissonette]

I'm Type 2, controlled by pills. I also take a diuretic pill for high blood pressure. I walked from Sarria in May. Everybody is different, I'm not your doctor, ask your doctor what's right for you, blah, blah, blah, but here's what worked for me.

First thing: take along your twice-a-day finger poke machine and USE IT. At home, my readings averaged 150 but after walking 10 miles a day on the Camino, I had readings in the 90's. You know what? I can afford a bite of carbs with readings like that.

Second thing, the finger-poke machine measures sugar as a percentage of blood volume. If you allow yourself to get dehydrated, you have the same amount of sugar but less water in the blood stream so as a percentage, your reading goes through the roof. Mine scared the pants off me the second day, before I did the on-line research to realize the issue wasn't the carbs, it was the water. I stopped taking the diuretic pill and drank a lot more water after that - readings dropped back where they belong, and even below. Don't discontinue taking medicine on your own - ask your doctor - but remember the old hiker's adage: if you don't need to pee, you're not drinking enough water. Applies to diabetics, too.

Third thing, the daily menu typically started with soup or salad. I picked out the potatoes and the rest was okay for low-carb diets. Second course was generally fried food but scrape off the breading, ignore the French fries, eat the fish and you're good.

Dessert: man, they were killing me there. It all looked so good and really, it's part of the Camino experience so . . . yes, I will put my hand up to having "just a taste." One fewer beer, one more forkful, you'll figure it out.
Buen Camino!

 

[Walking Lover]

Hi all, signed up to be a first time pilgrim in September and am really looking forward to it. As a Type 2 Diabetic It seems many of the pilgrim menus are high Carb fare particularly in small towns, is this really the case?

My A1C is always lower when I have it checked in the months following a walk. You will have to be very careful of low blood sugar. Please carry orange juice and candy.

 

[Mark Barnes]

I am type 2 and walked the Frances starting in Pamplona from Sept 20 to Nov 02,2017. I found it hard to not eat a lot of carbs. To tell the truth I just caved in and ate what was the normal pilgrim menu. I ate a lot of bread, pasta, fries, beer and more bread. Back home I hardly ever get to eat bread but while on the Camino I ate so much bread I was tired of it. I walked about 15 to 20 kilometer a day, I walk slow so had to walk many more hours than most did. One week after I got home I had my normal every 4 month lab work and follow up
Visit with my Dr. I was happy, and surprised with all I ate, to see my A1c went way down. I have read that many others on this blog had the same result. I wish you the best and have a blast.

 

[Stroller]

I walked, scoffed the usual menu, drank beer and after the first week suffered hypos at night so stopped taking one of my meds. Tested regularly and had no further problems. I did carry glucose, dried fruit and muesli bars and cared for my feet very well. Understand what your meds. are and the effects of them i.e. gliclazide can produce hypos. metformin will not. You will then understand which to cut down.