Hello everyone right a bit about me I’m a veteran served in Northern Ireland an Bosnia I had a real bad accident which severed all the tendons in my Right arm which led to me being medically discharged in 2000 and this is where my problems began I got a job as a security guard working In a local supermarket now working in a supermarket is were my problems began as I worked nights as a guard I’d be working Monday -Friday 20.00-06.00 I’d only eat one meal a day which would be around midnight and the rest I’d eat **** n drink 2 litres of Diet Coke and at weekends I’d drink about 15-20 pints and as the years went on I went from 12 stone to 24 stone in 2007 my girlfriend at the time took me on Jeremy Kyle lose weight or lose me after the show I dumped her then I was lost going home from work sleeping from 06.30-19.00 then going to work and eating rubbish I believe this is when the depression started in 2008 i was falling asleep at work I went to the doctors had they diagnosed me type 2 but put me on insulin and tablet my cholesterol was poor and was put on statins and also I had a under active thyroid so was on 250 ml of levothyroxine then as the years went on I was then diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my shoulders and spine and awaiting operation on my spine I also have been diagnosed with ptsd and mental health issues which I’ve seeked help with as I was self Arming I’ve had a lot of things happen in my life which as taken it’s toll on me my saviour came along In 2011 I met my wife we got married in 2014 she tries her best to keep me on the right path I don’t like much veg and that’s my downfall really she’s got me eating cabbage n leek on my Sunday dinner but bread n biscuits are my problem which I do admit his my problem but I always feel hungered after a meal I was tried on victoza now it did work but I could only be on it for 12 months I went from 24 stone down too 19 stone but I still struggle with food I’m 6ft 2 and 19 stone as for exercise I do walk a bit but I can’t Go n do a gym session and I know I need to help myself
Oh honey, you should've led with all this!
You've been through hell and back, and you know what? It can only get better. Believe it or not. I have depression, PTSD and a bunch of other mental things, so yeah.... While I'll never be labeled an actually "well" person, my panic attacks have gotten a whole lot more manageable and much, much less frequent. The depression isn't this gaping painful hole in my chest anymore, and I haven't tried to off myself in quite a while.
High blood sugars feed into depression and anxiety, and as you get control of your blood sugars, you'll find, gradually, you'll start feeling better. It'll never be perfect or happy-go-lucky, but it doesn't have to be the way it was, okay?
Life doesn't have to be a waking nightmare. Secondly, your thyroid. I have Hashimoto's myself, and it is very important your hormone supplement is spot-on, because it can influence your blood sugars too. Mind you, as I lost weight on the low carb diet, I could reduce my hormones from 175 micrograms to 125 per morning, so if you start losing weight, keep getting your horomone levels checked, as your needs are likely to change. The working shifts and eating and drinking a lot of carbs will have contributed to you becoming a T2 when you did, but honestly? It was coming already. It's a genetic disposition, and with the carb-heavy diet we're eating in the west, it would've come sooner or later. Between shift work, coke and what have you, it just caught up with you a bit sooner. Might've been 10 years off otherwise, or 20... But it was coming.
Now, as for not liking veg.... I gave you the link to the Nutritional Thingy, right? There's some veg in there (above ground, mainly), but there's others here who go further, and have a practically zero carb diet, like
@bulkbiker and
@Jim Lahey , to name just two. It's called Carnivore. Meat, poultry, fish, butter/ghee/duckfat, cheese, eggs... It's all animal-based, all the time, and it's a sure-fire way to get your levels down quick. It'll also, in all likelyhood, make you quite ill for a week or two with something called either carb flu or keto flu, but then, any low carb diet will, considering your starting point. (If you do feel flu-ish, with everything hurting and your head aching, fatigue and whatnot, get yourself some bone broth and get your electrolytes back up!). And, not to forget, you're on one heck of a lot of blood glucose lowering medication, so.... If you want to change your diet, keep in mind
you'll hypo on the drugs you're on now. So test your heart out and discuss any changes you're making with your diabetic team. Share The Nutritional Thingy with your spouse, see what works for you both and what doesn't, and maybe consider going mainly Carnivore rather than Low Carb/High Fat or Keto. You have options and they don't all include cabbage. Also... You're feeling hungry after a meal because from the sound of it, you're not having a whole lot of fats. Cut the carbs, up the fats, keep protein moderate, and eat your fill... Thing is, with carbs, they can make you feel hungry while you aren't. They're severely addictive (actually light up the same areas in the brain as hard drugs do!), so your body'll always demand more. If you feel hungry and want to snack, go for some cheese, pork scratchings, olives, extra dark chocolate (Lindt's 85% is nice), and fill up on tea, coffee and water. It'll keep the hunger pangs at bay and (unless you go nuts on the chocolate) shouldn't spike your bloodsugars.
There's solutions out there that can and will fit your situation. Also, carbs are inflammatory by nature, so cutting them out might also alleiate the osteoarthritis some. Helped my rheumatism a whole lot, anyway. The IBS too.
Throw questions out there if you have them, that's what we're here for!
Jo
PS: Unless you have insane cholesterol and a heart condition, you might want to discuss ditching the statins. They up blood sugars too. Not to mention... One of the side effects is joint pain. My simvastatine set my joints aflame.