Hey all, going through a difficult time

azure

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That's what the dietician wants me to do but I find it so difficult to bring myself to do it and I dont have a variety of things I eat so that's a barrier too :( for breakfast I will have 26g carbs, lunch 34g and tea 25-26g I feel so weak and unable to function at times :( x

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Are there any fatty foods you like? If you feel able to say the kind of thing you eat or like generally, perhaps people can suggest gentle ways to up the fat/protein/calories.

This might be a daft question, but can you put your finger on exactly why you're struggling to,eat? Is it just the fear of high BS or are there other things too?

I find eating well has to be a habit. If you get into good habits, it becomes easier - much easier. Think positively - the good thing is that you're eating 3 meals a day. You have a framework - now you just need to add to it.
 

kaylz91

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Are there any fatty foods you like? If you feel able to say the kind of thing you eat or like generally, perhaps people can suggest gentle ways to up the fat/protein/calories.

This might be a daft question, but can you put your finger on exactly why you're struggling to,eat? Is it just the fear of high BS or are there other things too?

I find eating well has to be a habit. If you get into good habits, it becomes easier - much easier. Think positively - the good thing is that you're eating 3 meals a day. You have a framework - now you just need to add to it.
I don't have a large menu at the moment with being scared but before diagnosis I would eat basically anything, just the fear of high bs and doing more damage to my eyes x
 

azure

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Ok, well that's good - I thought you meant that there weren't many foods you liked.

Try adding fats first - cheese is a great thing to snack or add to meals. No carbs and easily available :) Snacking on cheese between meals wont affect your BS but will add some calories.

Is that something you could do?
 

kaylz91

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Ok, well that's good - I thought you meant that there weren't many foods you liked.

Try adding fats first - cheese is a great thing to snack or add to meals. No carbs and easily available :) Snacking on cheese between meals wont affect your BS but will add some calories.

Is that something you could do?
That's the thing. no matter who tells me that it wont affect my bs I'm still too scared to it :( I have 2 slices eda,m or maasdam it was today in my toast for breakfast, I'm too scared any fat will slow the carbs too much and I spike late :( x
 

azure

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That's the thing. no matter who tells me that it wont affect my bs I'm still too scared to it :( I have 2 slices eda,m or maasdam it was today in my toast for breakfast, I'm too scared any fat will slow the carbs too much and I spike late :( x

Which is why I suggested having the cheese as a snack between meals.

I understand your fears about your eyes - totally and utterly {{hug}} But not eating properly can damage your health too.

Why not try a small chunk of normal Cheddar cheese between meals and see how you go. Upping your fat intake over the whole day slightly will add some useful calories.
 

DCUKMod

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That's the thing. no matter who tells me that it wont affect my bs I'm still too scared to it :( I have 2 slices eda,m or maasdam it was today in my toast for breakfast, I'm too scared any fat will slow the carbs too much and I spike late :( x

Kaylz - Bottom line is you're in a place you are not enjoying and is proving to be unhelpful to your health and well-being. If you do nothing that pattern is only likely to continue, with the result being to deepen your unhappiness .

Do you eat casseroles or soups, or anything like that? If you do, you could add a a dollop of double or sour cream just before you eat it. I'm not suggesting adding a carton of cream or mainlining on the stuff, just using it to add some calories, regularly.

Do you drink tea,coffee or hot chocolate? If so, again, you could use double cream. Some people even use double cream as almost all the liquid in their hot chocolate.

Going back to my earlier suggestion of trying for a trial of the Libre. If you were utilising the Libre, then you would know whether any changes you made were adversely impacting your control. Thern if they did, you would have the option to try something else, or alternatively it might help you to understand if you need to inject more insulin, or to adjust the timing of any insulin you routely use.

It's difficult for your Kaylz, but whatever approach you take, only you can make the changes required.

I really hope you can find a way to divert the strength you are using now, to control everything seemingly too strictly to making the changes you need to stop with downward drift.
 

azure

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I didn't think I was allowed hot chocolate? I do drink coffee, 3 cups a day at the moment but will be more as it gets colder! Lol x

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You can make your own with sweetener if you find the shop ones too sweet. Cocoa, sweetener, whole milk and some of the cream @DCUKMod mentioned. Count the carbs (the milk) and enjoy :)
 

DCUKMod

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Ah I dont like sweetener :( I also don't use full fat milk either x

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Could you give us an example of what you might eat during the day, then we might be able to see if we could bump up the calories, without making it taste too differently, and hopefully with little impact on your bloods?
 

donnellysdogs

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Ok.... I too have limited eating due to stomach / colon disorder but although you should be guided by your levels and carbs this isnt the be all and end all.

You need to be able to see the larger picture of the whole nutritional needs more.

You are obviously very iintelligent as you were only diagnosed very recently and you have a great, good grasp and understanding ref carbs and protein and fats affecting you. However, You are also recognising that you are a walking, tired skeleton. Good on you for recognising that.

I, like you want good levels and on my diagnosis of cancer was thin almost skeletal. I have since put back on two stone and now a size 10.

I can only eat limited soft things and the thing is to realise that you can eat more. Its giving yourself the courage to try.

I look nutritionally at everything, so although its got some carbs in, my food is small portion. Just gone from a tea plate to a small inner circle of a dinner plate. I have courgette (fried in butter with full fat yogurt abd pesto), butternut squash roasted in oven with olive oil, mashed swede with butter and broccoli (eveeryday for iron) and cauliflower cheese (full fat milk and cheese, little flour and mustard). I have a littke salmon or make it all mashed up in to a hash with either samon or corned beef.

I cant eat meat, bread, pasta, leafy veg or tomato and onions. I can eat a specific cream eclair from Tesco with a 37g carb count supposedly but even a bolys for 28g will send me low....but I can eat it and really, really enjoy it.


It would be worthwhile asking your dsn for a trial libre for two weeks to help you and to really get the courage to try more.

To gain more weight you can learn to look more at your nutrition as a whole. Its important you get iron and vitamins to help the tiredness as well.

You are looking after your diabetes fantastically but you now need to expand this to look at your whole nutrition.

My friend was admitted to a eating disorder unit in Kent with a bmi of xx. It took her 6 months in there but s now out and doing fantastic helping others visiting schools etc. Also another very intelligent young lady.

You can do it.
 
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jackors

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Thank you for replying :) I just don't know what to do :( people just keep getting frustrated at me and shouting at me to just eat more but they don't get that its not as easy as that for me, and the permanent feeling of being alone and having no one to talk to too x

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Your not alone you have us on the forum behind you try increasing carbs slowly and see how you do best of luck

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kaylz91

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Could you give us an example of what you might eat during the day, then we might be able to see if we could bump up the calories, without making it taste too differently, and hopefully with little impact on your bloods?
Typically it's a couple of slices of cheese on toast for breakfast, a wholemeal roll with some sort of meat and mayonnaise or mustard, when I have mustard or no condiment I will have a measly 100g of greek style yoghurt for lunch and dinner is a bit of meat/fish/sausages/mince with either 2 small yorkies or 100g boiled potatoes, a serving of veg usually asparagus or tender stem broccoli, with either 2 lotus biscuits or 1 biscuit and a square 90% x
 

DCUKMod

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Typically it's a couple of slices of cheese on toast for breakfast, a wholemeal roll with some sort of meat and mayonnaise or mustard, when I have mustard or no condiment I will have a measly 100g of greek style yoghurt for lunch and dinner is a bit of meat/fish/sausages/mince with either 2 small yorkies or 100g boiled potatoes, a serving of veg usually asparagus or tender stem broccoli, with either 2 lotus biscuits or 1 biscuit and a square 90% x

You could do something simple like add a knob of butter to your vegetables. You could add sour cream to your mince, or other casseroles (it just makes things a bit richer), ensure the Greek yoghurt is full fat.

What would make you comfortable to make changes?
 
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kaylz91

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You could do something simple like add a knob of butter to your vegetables. You could add sour cream to your mince, or other casseroles (it just makes things a bit richer), ensure the Greek yoghurt is full fat.

What would make you comfortable to make changes?
Oh of course it's full fat yoghurt! Lol, made the mistake of having a low fat one with no other fat in the meal about a month ago and that was a good spiker for me! Haha, low fat anything tastes disgusting anyway :) to be honest the help of the professional's (Dietician, Psychologist etc) but the dietician cant see me until October :(, I just feel like I don't know what to do x
 

donnellysdogs

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You can also add a teaspoon of dried milk to each of your 3 coffees...
I was told to do this.. Sorry, I forgot!!

You cant taste it and it does help....
 

kaylz91

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Full fat milk is good for getting the calories up. You can't really taste it in hot chocolate. Or do you have another medical problem with it?

What about cheese? Peanut butter? Olive oil? Butter?
I just don't like that I can see a kind of greasy skin on my coffee lol, I used to love adding a teaspoon or 2 of double cream to my coffee though :( I eat cheese every breakfast, peanut butter I didn't have a great time with, I use butter x
 

azure

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I just don't like that I can see a kind of greasy skin on my coffee lol, I used to love adding a teaspoon or 2 of double cream to my coffee though :( I eat cheese every breakfast, peanut butter I didn't have a great time with, I use butter x

Well, you shouldn't see that in hot chocolate :) I use whole milk in coffee and find stirring as I add the milk means I don't get a film.

There's no reason why you can't add double cream to your coffee now :) Double cream won't put your BS up.

As well as at breakfast, you could have extra cheese as a snack. There are some yummy flavoured cheeses like Cheddar with chillis that will add variety.

Although you're only eating a low amount of carbs, I think you must also not be eating enough calories. Food isn't your enemy. It's your friend. A proper diet will nourish you and help keep you well.

That holds true for people with diabetes too :)