One of the things I remember when I was young, like 4 or 5, was going to McDonalds. (Yea, I remember that far back and farther) The biggest treat was to go get a hamburger or cheeseburger at McDonalds.  It was way before they had the play lands and the toys in the happy meal, it was the taste of the food and the cool guys in the paper hats behind the counter in a uniform. (Ah youth, the uniform failed my glorious visions when reality strikes it.)  I had just loved the taste of the sandwich, french fries and milk. (They did not serve sugarless diet drinks in fast food places until Diet Coke came along in the 80's)

I remember watching people eat The Big Mac, and I wanted one.  My mom would tell me that I could not have one because that was a big person food and I would have to wait till I got older.  So for years I would sit there and look at The Big Mac and dream of what it tasted like.  I was 12 before I ate my first Big Mac.  I did not truly understand why I waited so long till about 10 years ago when I tuned 30 believe it or not.  Hey, why tarnish youth with reality huh? LOL (Actually I just never thought about it differently, I had more things on my mind.)

Mom was taught by the early dietitians when I was an infant that I would eat 3 protein, 1 starch, 1 fat and 2 vegetable. (Fruit was considered starches back then) The numbers changed as I grew and went back to the doctor to give me new counts when things went wrong, meaning I was growing and needed a diet change, mom figured out the diet change after a few years, but when you have a baby with diabetes you pretty much count on all the help you can get, and to be honest there was only a few sources back then.  She counted and measured everything for me plus measured how much it took to get me full and calculated activities in it, she was doing this automatically but not easily till I turned about 7 and started doing everything myself because she needed to be sure I knew, it was rough on her.  To me, it was as normal as life was.

To be sure I ate the exact number of proteins, vegetables, fats, and starches, Mom would cook extra stuff as I was a child, in case I did not eat the exact number of protein, say 1 hot dog, she would have other meats and proteins on hand and she made sure I ate them until I reached my count.  Meaning she might have to give me corn AND broccoli if I did not eat all my corn.  And that happened till I was about 5 and she said, "Eat it or you will get a spanking."  I already got enough spankings for doing other things, I was not going to get spanked for dinner or lunch and to be honest it really did not happen a lot, I was a good eater. (Mom never had any problem about showing emotion when she punished us, she did it crazy so we learned and did not want it again. Plus if I did not learn, it was my life, she had to go all out to show me it was my life we were talking about.) About two years later she taught me the counts, how to draw my own insulin and I was already giving my own shots at 5 years old, I was on my own and mom was there when I fell, but it was my deal to figure it out.  That was one thing mom did not worry about, she knew I would figure it out quickly.  I got a natural gift of figuring things out, may take me some time, but I do it very well.  

Going to McDonalds as a kid was the same way, only there was no barter system with other food to make.  I needed to eat every bit of the hamburger and fries and drink all of my milk, she had given me insulin and planned activity, usually a run and play in the park or going someplace where we would play hard because of all the starches.  McDonalds was a real treat because of that.  McDonalds was way more than I realized when I was younger, she had to plan everything around me and what I had to do to survive. 

At McDonalds, if I did not finish all my counts she would say "Rob, you NEED to eat this." With a very serious look in her eye so I knew she meant it and the look was never fake, it was desperation filled.  Mom never went right to the spankings, she would bargain for as much as she could until I pushed it past bargaining point and as a young redheaded diabetic boy, I pushed a lot of things and got to know all of my limits real well.  

No matter what you try, with the exception of not eating some things, there is no "balance" in a McDonald's meal.  The balance we all live by but sometimes don't realize it or understand it.  That balance between drugs, activity and how the body digests proteins and carbs(starches) and fats. My Mom was protecting me and knew I would listen to a reason like, The Big Mac is a adult food, because it was not a lie. Nothing to lie about in her answer for even one second.  I wanted that thing though, and I waited and when I got one when I was 12, I even wondered if I was grown up enough to eat it. (I laugh about it now) You need an awful lot of insulin, and activity to balance that meal out so it does not hurt you, even as an adult. By the time I got to be a teenager, I was running at full speed everywhere, but still needed that extra insulin because of how off balance that meal is.

Back then and to understand it. the meal was something like 3 protein, 10 starch, and 25 to 45 fat(They used to fry the fries in beef tallow and it really made them taste so awesomely sinful, a lot better than they are now believe it or not but it is way too many fats to have and eat their sandwiches too and that is why they changed it.)  By the numbers, it is a growing teen/adult meal and then even it may be too much, being able to eat it, as much I as I really wished and asked for it as a kid due to advertising and it being cool, would have hurt me pretty good.  Thank you mom.  (The numbers may be a bit off because I have not really counted for years because I just know what I need now and it is hard to put into measurements of way back or even the system I use now.)  The point is she did not lie and it took me 12 years to do it and thirty years to understand why it was like that.  It became nature to me before I truly understood it and thought about it. I owe my Mothers determination and love for me to install that in me and knowing me so well that she knew that I would figure it out.

The way we eat, as diabetics with this disease, is the way everyone should really eat In this day and age the world does not, and at first it makes it another hard part on us when we are diagnosed. (Unless you're a baby or young like some of us were) As babies, we all used to be fed exact and now they feed the child till he or she is full and does not want any more.  I've never thought about it before because of how my sister and I were raised and fed.  It's a real eye opener.

I owe my Mom everything for doing all she did and knowing me so well to know how to get it to me.  Love you Mom.

  I wish you well

Robert