Can't seem to stop eating

[helga_t75]

Here's a quick suggestion. When battling cravings, eat something with a lot of fat: two tablespoons peanut butter, half an avocado, three to six green olives, a couple of high fiber crackers topped with a butter pat or slice of cheese. I like Mary's Gone Crackers Original here in the US. We've all been there.

Totally agree with this. I've you're craving something sweet or carby have something low carb but fatty. The 'naughtier' feeling the better. No carbs or sugar but peanut butter or a piece of cheese is my go to. Blue cheese if I want something extra tasty. I stay away from nuts as I sometimes I can't stop eating those and their carbs add up.

I also agree we've all been there. More than a few times xx

For me it's about just stopping the carbs and then in a few days/a week your blood sugars will stop yo-yoing and you will suddenly find it all gets a lot easier to control. It's not your will power that is the problem, it is you've probably got high insulin levels making you hungry and your bloods are all over the place.

It's not your fault, and you do have the power to change this.

I find going on a really regular testing regime (first thing in the morning, 2 hours after breakfast, before lunch, 2 hours after lunch, before dinner, before bed) for a period of time helps me stay on the straight and narrow for the initial start as you can see the impact you're having (level and hopefully decreasing bloods).

Good luck! xx

 

[Serena51]

You could also try chewing your food 20 times to each mouthful. I find this helps as does keeping hydrated through the day.

While in a crisis - go back to testing before meals and two hours after. Tight control can help .

And of course, if you don't have it in the house you can't eat it! Avoid the aisles of bad food .... now all I need to do is follow my own advice!!!

 

[bootyful0]

It's better not to have the carbs at all. I know how you feel. You can make if you try, it is not an easy road, but you are not alone. Walking will only do so much. Walking with high BGL's may be taking a toll on your feet.

Hi Leslie10152, thanks for your post. I would just love to go carb free if only for a few days of the week and low carb the rest but Im not sure i can do it. I am also frightened that it might send me off the rails and into carb overload (like I am at the moment) . I,m definitely taking on board what you said about high bsl taking its toll on my feet. There was a man sitting next to me whilst waiting for my blood test and he had lost a toe to diabetes. It really scared me. Thanks again for your help. xx

 

[leslie10152]

Hi Leslie10152, thanks for your post. I would just love to go carb free if only for a few days of the week and low carb the rest but Im not sure i can do it. I am also frightened that it might send me off the rails and into carb overload (like I am at the moment) . I,m definitely taking on board what you said about high bsl taking its toll on my feet. There was a man sitting next to me whilst waiting for my blood test and he had lost a toe to diabetes. It really scared me. Thanks again for your help. xx

Never forget, we are here to help. I say 'we' because I am not the only person in your corner. Mind you, my feet give me problems.

 

[bootyful0]

Totally agree with this. I've you're craving something sweet or carby have something low carb but fatty. The 'naughtier' feeling the better. No carbs or sugar but peanut butter or a piece of cheese is my go to. Blue cheese if I want something extra tasty. I stay away from nuts as I sometimes I can't stop eating those and their carbs add up.

I also agree we've all been there. More than a few times xx

For me it's about just stopping the carbs and then in a few days/a week your blood sugars will stop yo-yoing and you will suddenly find it all gets a lot easier to control. It's not your will power that is the problem, it is you've probably got high insulin levels making you hungry and your bloods are all over the place.

It's not your fault, and you do have the power to change this.

I find going on a really regular testing regime (first thing in the morning, 2 hours after breakfast, before lunch, 2 hours after lunch, before dinner, before bed) for a period of time helps me stay on the straight and narrow for the initial start as you can see the impact you're having (level and hopefully decreasing bloods).

Good luck! xx

Thank you Helga especially for saying its not my fault. I appreciate that xx

 

[bootyful0]

You could also try chewing your food 20 times to each mouthful. I find this helps as does keeping hydrated through the day.

While in a crisis - go back to testing before meals and two hours after. Tight control can help .

And of course, if you don't have it in the house you can't eat it! Avoid the aisles of bad food .... now all I need to do is follow my own advice!!!

Ha Ha Now Im smiling, I must be feeling better. Thank you. PS I found a good snack . its called Urban Fruit straight up coconut chips. Its sweet and crispy and the 25g pack has 118 calories and 3.7 carbs so much better than my snickers bar that has 34. Thanks again
x

 

[Winnie53]

It's better not to have the carbs at all. I know how you feel. You can make if you try, it is not an easy road, but you are not alone. Walking will only do so much. Walking with high BGL's may be taking a toll on your feet.

@leslie10152 please keep in mind that non-starchy vegetables, which are carbs too, provide fiber that binds with toxins and removes them from the body. In addition, they also provide nutrients and antioxidants that our body needs. While I'm no fan of Michael Gregor, M.D., mostly because he cherry picks the data to support his view that we all should be eating a vegan diet - (I don't agree) - he presents some interesting information in this 5 minute video...

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/ef...-24043929&mc_cid=9b39c81c59&mc_eid=ce9d63ec29

When my glucose levels were high, daily walks were very helpful for me, also for a member of our diabetes group recently. Can you tell me more about why you think "walking with high BGL's may be taking a toll" on the feet? I haven't heard that before and would like to learn more.

 

[bootyful0]

@leslie10152 please keep in mind that non-starchy vegetables, which are carbs too, provide fiber that binds with toxins and removes them from the body. In addition, they also provide nutrients and antioxidants that our body needs. While I'm no fan of Michael Gregor, M.D., mostly because he cherry picks the data to support his view that we all should be eating a vegan diet - (I don't agree) - he presents some interesting information in this 5 minute video...

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/ef...-24043929&mc_cid=9b39c81c59&mc_eid=ce9d63ec29

When my glucose levels were high, daily walks were very helpful for me, also for a member of our diabetes group recently. Can you tell me more about why you think "walking with high BGL's may be taking a toll" on the feet? I haven't heard that before and would like to learn more.

Winnie, of course leslie will be able to tell you more , but I was looking stuff up and the way I understand it is , if your bgl is constantly high you can damage your blood vessels /nerves etc and your feet are usually the first to be damaged. If you loose feeling in your feet without realising it and you are a fan of walking it could cause further damage. I haven't explained it very eloquently but something like that. Hopefully Leslie will explain a lot better than i have

 

[bootyful0]

@leslie10152 please keep in mind that non-starchy vegetables, which are carbs too, provide fiber that binds with toxins and removes them from the body. In addition, they also provide nutrients and antioxidants that our body needs. While I'm no fan of Michael Gregor, M.D., mostly because he cherry picks the data to support his view that we all should be eating a vegan diet - (I don't agree) - he presents some interesting information in this 5 minute video...

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/ef...-24043929&mc_cid=9b39c81c59&mc_eid=ce9d63ec29

When my glucose levels were high, daily walks were very helpful for me, also for a member of our diabetes group recently. Can you tell me more about why you think "walking with high BGL's may be taking a toll" on the feet? I haven't heard that before and would like to learn more.

Ps the Video was good but need to watch it a few times to take it all in. Thank you

 

[Winnie53]

@bootyful0 Yes! The video covers a lot of ground at a rapid pace. Too much to absorb with one viewing. I too plan to rewatch it a few times.

@bootyful0 and @leslie10152 I want to thank you both for bringing up the conflicting advice surrounding walking.

Did a quick search and found this excellent article. After reading it, I feel it's more important than ever to walk and continue walking. Hope you do too... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/milt-bedingfield/post_9394_b_7188266.html

As for walking with high blood glucose levels, I began the low carb diet and began walking daily within days of my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with an A1c of 9.9% and never stopped. It wasn't easy at first. I weighed 180 pounds, 80 pounds more than my lean body mass weight, so I walked short distances at first and built up from there.

Interestingly, I did develop neuropathy type pain in the top of my right foot briefly but I stuck with the diet and walking and it faded away over a period of weeks, never to return. I learned here from others that the nerves become more painful when they're healing.

I had no history of peripheral neuropathy up until that point, but I did have foot and ankle swelling during the warmer months for 10 years prior to that. I read in a book written by a seasoned functional medicine practicioner, Jeffry Bland, Ph.D., that one of the B vitamins, 500 mg of pantothenic acid, helps with this problem and added it to the B-complex I'd been taking. To my delight the swelling began improving. Today, I rarely experience swelling.

This was a huge win for me because my endocrinologist's nurse told me it was unrelated to diabetes and to see my doctor. I did. They did an ultrasound to insure there wasn't a circulation problem. There wasn't. They shrugged and sent me home with no answers though to the doctor's credit, he held my feet and appeared to silently pray for me, which I found very touching. Years later I learned the above treatment strategy. So grateful it worked.

As for not walking with high glucose levels, I can't find any information supporting that, but would like to know if it exists.

My experience differs. Walking helped me get my glucose levels down and stable within 4 weeks following my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with the help of the low carb diet. An hour and a half after dinner, I'd walk. Still do by the way. As I walked more, beginning with a mile, I eventually built up to 3 miles. I wore socks and good quality shoes designed specifically for walking and don't recall developing blisters. Midway through my first year of walking, I could knock a higher glucose level down by 80 mg/dl! I'm now beginning my third year of walking and recently knocked a high glucose level down by 120 mg/dl! But again, that didn't happen in the beginning. It took a long time to build up to that benefit. My thinking is that walking improves circulation and blood glucose levels.

 

[bootyful0]

Winnie53 I love walking. I did read somewhere about the benefits of exercise for diabetics and carbs but like you say the important thing is to just do it.
re what you said about "As for not walking with high glucose levels, I read that you musts not do strenuous exercise if your BGL go above a certain amount because you might release more carbs into your blood. I'm not very good at remembering where I find these bits of info but I have heard people on this website say the same. I'm sure you will find something about it, you seem so well informed. I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and arm myself with knowledge. (starting with the huffingtonpost. x

@bootyful0 Yes! The video covers a lot of ground at a rapid pace. Too much to absorb with one viewing. I too plan to rewatch it a few times.

@bootyful0 and @leslie10152 I want to thank you both for bringing up the conflicting advice surrounding walking.

Did a quick search and found this excellent article. After reading it, I feel it's more important than ever to walk and continue walking. Hope you do too... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/milt-bedingfield/post_9394_b_7188266.html

As for walking with high blood glucose levels, I began the low carb diet and began walking daily within days of my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with an A1c of 9.9% and never stopped. It wasn't easy at first. I weighed 180 pounds, 80 pounds more than my lean body mass weight, so I walked short distances at first and built up from there.

Interestingly, I did develop neuropathy type pain in the top of my right foot briefly but I stuck with the diet and walking and it faded away over a period of weeks, never to return. I learned here from others that the nerves become more painful when they're healing.

I had no history of peripheral neuropathy up until that point, but I did have foot and ankle swelling during the warmer months for 10 years prior to that. I read in a book written by a seasoned functional medicine practicioner, Jeffry Bland, Ph.D., that one of the B vitamins, 500 mg of pantothenic acid, helps with this problem and added it to the B-complex I'd been taking. To my delight the swelling began improving. Today, I rarely experience swelling.

This was a huge win for me because my endocrinologist's nurse told me it was unrelated to diabetes and to see my doctor. I did. They did an ultrasound to insure there wasn't a circulation problem. There wasn't. They shrugged and sent me home with no answers though to the doctor's credit, he held my feet and appeared to silently pray for me, which I found very touching. Years later I learned the above treatment strategy. So grateful it worked.

As for not walking with high glucose levels, I can't find any information supporting that, but would like to know if it exists.

My experience differs. Walking helped me get my glucose levels down and stable within 4 weeks following my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with the help of the low carb diet. An hour and a half after dinner, I'd walk. Still do by the way. As I walked more, beginning with a mile, I eventually built up to 3 miles. I wore socks and good quality shoes designed specifically for walking and don't recall developing blisters. Midway through my first year of walking, I could knock a higher glucose level down by 80 mg/dl! I'm now beginning my third year of walking and recently knocked a high glucose level down by 120 mg/dl! But again, that didn't happen in the beginning. It took a long time to build up to that benefit. My thinking is that walking improves circulation and blood glucose levels.

 

[Winnie53]

Yes, it's so individual. My attitude is...if you're already running high glucose levels, you've been running high for a long time, and a small bump up or down isn't going to be that different from what you've already been experiencing.

I'd check my glucose level before and after each walk then see what happens over a period of a couple of weeks. You don't have to walk fast, nor do you have to walk long distances. Just start and get into the habit. For me, if I over did it, I'd skip walking the next day to give my body time to recover.

I recently had a conversation with a woman who had glucose levels in the 400 to 600 mg/dl range. She hadn't been testing for quite a while. It was a bit of a shock but she decided on her own to start walking, later adding in the low carb diet, and within six weeks, I think, not sure, began seeing fasting glucose levels in the mid-100 range.

I don't know if that was a good idea or not. But it worked for me, and it worked for her too. Remember to hydrate well. And again, if I didn't feel well, I didn't walk that day, or I walked a shorter distance. I've always been more of a turtle than a rabbit.

 

[leslie10152]

@bootyful0 Yes! The video covers a lot of ground at a rapid pace. Too much to absorb with one viewing. I too plan to rewatch it a few times.

@bootyful0 and @leslie10152 I want to thank you both for bringing up the conflicting advice surrounding walking.

Did a quick search and found this excellent article. After reading it, I feel it's more important than ever to walk and continue walking. Hope you do too... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/milt-bedingfield/post_9394_b_7188266.html

As for walking with high blood glucose levels, I began the low carb diet and began walking daily within days of my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with an A1c of 9.9% and never stopped. It wasn't easy at first. I weighed 180 pounds, 80 pounds more than my lean body mass weight, so I walked short distances at first and built up from there.

Interestingly, I did develop neuropathy type pain in the top of my right foot briefly but I stuck with the diet and walking and it faded away over a period of weeks, never to return. I learned here from others that the nerves become more painful when they're healing.

I had no history of peripheral neuropathy up until that point, but I did have foot and ankle swelling during the warmer months for 10 years prior to that. I read in a book written by a seasoned functional medicine practicioner, Jeffry Bland, Ph.D., that one of the B vitamins, 500 mg of pantothenic acid, helps with this problem and added it to the B-complex I'd been taking. To my delight the swelling began improving. Today, I rarely experience swelling.

This was a huge win for me because my endocrinologist's nurse told me it was unrelated to diabetes and to see my doctor. I did. They did an ultrasound to insure there wasn't a circulation problem. There wasn't. They shrugged and sent me home with no answers though to the doctor's credit, he held my feet and appeared to silently pray for me, which I found very touching. Years later I learned the above treatment strategy. So grateful it worked.

As for not walking with high glucose levels, I can't find any information supporting that, but would like to know if it exists.

My experience differs. Walking helped me get my glucose levels down and stable within 4 weeks following my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with the help of the low carb diet. An hour and a half after dinner, I'd walk. Still do by the way. As I walked more, beginning with a mile, I eventually built up to 3 miles. I wore socks and good quality shoes designed specifically for walking and don't recall developing blisters. Midway through my first year of walking, I could knock a higher glucose level down by 80 mg/dl! I'm now beginning my third year of walking and recently knocked a high glucose level down by 120 mg/dl! But again, that didn't happen in the beginning. It took a long time to build up to that benefit. My thinking is that walking improves circulation and blood glucose levels.

Take care of your feet. Very important.

 

[Winnie53]

I agree @leslie10152. When I first was re-diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I joined a diabetes group that had a few members who were living with peripheral neuropathy. It's horrible. That's why I founded a group that focuses primarily on finding the diet that works best for you and walking. We meet weekly: first week for support, third week for education, second, fourth, (and fifth week) for a walk. It works well for us.

 

[kokhongw]

After I ate all the choclate and crisp, which was at lunch time I walked for 1 hour and 25 mins. I wonder if the walking helps? Does anyone know if the walking would have burnt the carbs away. If so , although I will keep trying to get back on track, in the meanwhile if I do binge. at least I can try to walk some of the damage off.

There's is probably 2 type of glucose damages. How high the glucose shoot up, and how long it remains. And they probably affects different organs, eg mircovascular and macrovascular damages.

I imagine it to be like airframe stress fractures. We don't know how many spikes it would take cause measurable irreparable damages. But we know the damages will come over time and by the time those damages sets in, it may be too late.

It often seems easier fpr me to manage the feeding frenzy by eating my favorite Crispy Roast pork belly on its own. A 200g portion can last me thru the day. If I have the same 200g with a portion of rice...I am intensely hungry again within 3-4 hours.

Also helpful would be to eat nuts or drink some coconut oil instead of chocolates/sweets when feeling intensely hungry. These helps to stop the hunger signals in a glucose impaired brain.

 

[AdrianMc]

@bootyful0 Yes! The video covers a lot of ground at a rapid pace. Too much to absorb with one viewing. I too plan to rewatch it a few times.

@bootyful0 and @leslie10152 I want to thank you both for bringing up the conflicting advice surrounding walking.

Did a quick search and found this excellent article. After reading it, I feel it's more important than ever to walk and continue walking. Hope you do too... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/milt-bedingfield/post_9394_b_7188266.html

As for walking with high blood glucose levels, I began the low carb diet and began walking daily within days of my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with an A1c of 9.9% and never stopped. It wasn't easy at first. I weighed 180 pounds, 80 pounds more than my lean body mass weight, so I walked short distances at first and built up from there.

Interestingly, I did develop neuropathy type pain in the top of my right foot briefly but I stuck with the diet and walking and it faded away over a period of weeks, never to return. I learned here from others that the nerves become more painful when they're healing.

I had no history of peripheral neuropathy up until that point, but I did have foot and ankle swelling during the warmer months for 10 years prior to that. I read in a book written by a seasoned functional medicine practicioner, Jeffry Bland, Ph.D., that one of the B vitamins, 500 mg of pantothenic acid, helps with this problem and added it to the B-complex I'd been taking. To my delight the swelling began improving. Today, I rarely experience swelling.

This was a huge win for me because my endocrinologist's nurse told me it was unrelated to diabetes and to see my doctor. I did. They did an ultrasound to insure there wasn't a circulation problem. There wasn't. They shrugged and sent me home with no answers though to the doctor's credit, he held my feet and appeared to silently pray for me, which I found very touching. Years later I learned the above treatment strategy. So grateful it worked.

As for not walking with high glucose levels, I can't find any information supporting that, but would like to know if it exists.

My experience differs. Walking helped me get my glucose levels down and stable within 4 weeks following my rediagnosis of type 2 diabetes with the help of the low carb diet. An hour and a half after dinner, I'd walk. Still do by the way. As I walked more, beginning with a mile, I eventually built up to 3 miles. I wore socks and good quality shoes designed specifically for walking and don't recall developing blisters. Midway through my first year of walking, I could knock a higher glucose level down by 80 mg/dl! I'm now beginning my third year of walking and recently knocked a high glucose level down by 120 mg/dl! But again, that didn't happen in the beginning. It took a long time to build up to that benefit. My thinking is that walking improves circulation and blood glucose levels.

Hello, I'm new here. Thank you for your experiences. That makes courage!

 

[seadragon]

I find a brisk walk can really help to reduce BG levels If I have deliberately or accidentally, overindulged in carbs. The only way to know if it works for you is by testing before your meal, after your meal (at one hour) and then after say a 20 minute brisk walk. I found 20 minutes is all it takes for me to bring high levels down to acceptable levels. If it's gone really high then acceptable is below 7.8 as this seems to be a level at which damage can set in but I prefer to get back to the 6's if possible. A brisk walk shouldn't raise BG as it's not terribly strenuous. More strenuous exercise tends to raise BG due to cortisol release I think.
Exercise with out eating can raise BG levels on it's own as some days I can go to bed with BG of around 4.8 - 5.5 - find it's about 6.5 by the time I get up and if I then exercise without having breakfast, running, skating etc it will go up further.

When I started LCHF and was craving sweet things I found eating a spoonful of double cream made the carb craving go away without resorting to carbs. If it was really bad a second spoonful did the trick as after that I didn't feel like eating anything at all.
The other thing to do if you feel that craving is to take your self out of the house and go for a walk instead. Double benefit of not having food in reach to eat and the walking is good for you, as well as helping with blood sugar levels. I have several neighbourhood walks of around 20, 40 and 60 minutes. 20 minutes was usually enough to reduce BS levels but I do the longer walks if I have time. If weather is bad I walk around house and up and down the stairs to reduce BS if needed. Testing is the only way to know if it works for you. The non -strenuous exercise should help encourage the muscles to take up the blood sugar thus removing it from circulation. Too strenuous and the liver may start producing extra glucose from protein via gluconeogenesis.

 

[Winnie53]

I find a brisk walk can really help to reduce BG levels If I have deliberately or accidentally, overindulged in carbs. The only way to know if it works for you is by testing before your meal, after your meal (at one hour) and then after say a 20 minute brisk walk. I found 20 minutes is all it takes for me to bring high levels down to acceptable levels. If it's gone really high then acceptable is below 7.8 as this seems to be a level at which damage can set in but I prefer to get back to the 6's if possible. A brisk walk shouldn't raise BG as it's not terribly strenuous. More strenuous exercise tends to raise BG due to cortisol release I think.
Exercise with out eating can raise BG levels on it's own as some days I can go to bed with BG of around 4.8 - 5.5 - find it's about 6.5 by the time I get up and if I then exercise without having breakfast, running, skating etc it will go up further.

When I started LCHF and was craving sweet things I found eating a spoonful of double cream made the carb craving go away without resorting to carbs. If it was really bad a second spoonful did the trick as after that I didn't feel like eating anything at all.
The other thing to do if you feel that craving is to take your self out of the house and go for a walk instead. Double benefit of not having food in reach to eat and the walking is good for you, as well as helping with blood sugar levels. I have several neighbourhood walks of around 20, 40 and 60 minutes. 20 minutes was usually enough to reduce BS levels but I do the longer walks if I have time. If weather is bad I walk around house and up and down the stairs to reduce BS if needed. Testing is the only way to know if it works for you. The non -strenuous exercise should help encourage the muscles to take up the blood sugar thus removing it from circulation. Too strenuous and the liver may start producing extra glucose from protein via gluconeogenesis.

I share many of your experiences, and also vary how long and far I walk.

A woman with type 1 diabetes commented that she felt bad for type 2 diabetics. If she had a high glucose level, she could at least bring it back down with insulin. Happily, over time I discovered that I had an equally effective option: walking.

Type 1's have insulin, type 2's have walking. Not as convenient, particularly when it's dark or rainy, but I enjoy it most of the time.

 

[bootyful0]

Hello, I'm new here. Thank you for your experiences. That makes courage!

Hi there and welcome. Hope all is going ok for you and you are coping.

 

[Kazz94]

Hi all, I'm just having a rant really. Have been T2 for about 20 months, It was going ok until about Jan this year where I seem to go off the rails. I was low carbing but fell off the wagon around Christmas and never got back on. My blood sugar went up and now i'm on another tablet. Every evening I beat myself up because I have OD 'ed on carbs (choclates crisp etc) and every day I say start tomorrow, but it never comes. For the last 3-4 weeks I have been binging in the evening eating any and everything insight. I can't seem to stop myself. I have about 10 pounds to loose. I walk alot. I know what I need to do to control my high sugars, I just don't seem to be able to do it. Today I binged on 3 x chocolate bars , 5 x pack of crisp , 1 x cup cake 1 x white bread sandwhich ,1 x glass red wine in addition to my breakfast and dinner which were sensible low carb meals. However iI didnt feel full I just wanted to eat immediately after. After I ate all the choclate and crisp, which was at lunch time I walked for 1 hour and 25 mins. I wonder if the walking helps? Does anyone know if the walking would have burnt the carbs away. If so , although I will keep trying to get back on track, in the meanwhile if I do binge. at least I can try to walk some of the damage off.
Thanks for listening

I know exactly how you feel. My story is very similar however I have a lot of weight to lose and it's just going up at the moment. I dint seem to have control of my eating at all. I feel like a drug addict and it's really making me feel ill and depressed. I've even started secret eating as I'm so embarrassed about the amount I eat.