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how to keep my head in a good place

Jill the tt

Jill the tt

Well-Known Member
Messages
224
Location
Bridgend
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
unkindness
Hi,
I have introduced myself, although i don't see the point, i'm new to being diabetic and forums, please let me explain i nearly dropped out of this all together as i feel invisible (don't know what i expected).
You are all great people out there, i've read some great advice but some times i feel lacking in comparison. I read what sugarless sue wrote about advice to new diabetics this gave me hope. Also i visited 2 websites that bluetit gave to help some one with helping her husband, my head is driving me crazy at times been doing lchf, lost one and a half stone, but hardly any thing for a few weeks, so quite worried. I couldn't check my bloods a first i was afraid if they didn't go down i would be afraid to eat, i'm just getting over this and checking more, mostly i read and try to keep up with things, but some times i think this is forever and feel overwhelmed, i'm really hard on myself but seen stuck.
Thank you all for sharing like you do, i find it a hard thing to do, i don't really know how to be part of this, the time i can spend here is limited maybe this does't help.
I will keep being inspired by you all out there so thanks and keep it up
jill
 
Hi Jill, I'm a type 1 rather than type 2, so I apologise if my comments aren't as useful as you want.

First off, this is a marathon rather than a sprint, and by taking control you are doing great. Weight loss is not a straight line either. It may be that you are gaining muscle if you are exercising, which is heavier than fat. Thankfully it's also a lot healthier too. You will probably have slow and fast weeks of weight loss, and 1.5 stone lost already is a massive achievement. That's about 9.5kg. To put that in perspective, you have lost the equivalent of 49 of these: http://www.laughing-lion-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/philadelphia2.jpg.

Do you have a target weight that you are trying to achieve? Getting there gradually is probably going to do you a lot more good in the long run, than trying to shed everything immediately. Lchf is a great way of eating, but adjusting to it can take a while. I found I had massive carb cravings when I began following this way of eating in January, but after a couple of months I was not even tempted.

For many of us, food has become a pastime, something to actively pursue as an activity. Just yesterday one of my friends posted on Facebook 'so hungry (or bored!) must. not. snack!' I find I feel like eating if I'm ever sitting around with nothing to do. So perhaps it's time to take up some form of activity, or do something you have always wanted to do. This could be anything really, music, art, read the entire works of Charles Dickens, take up chess, whatever suits your tastes!

Also, because you are making such an impressive effort, you should remember to take time for yourself sometimes. Diabetes does take a lot of work to manage, but you should reward yourself for your achievements. For me, this is cycling out to a nearby park, and just having a peaceful sit down. There's no way for me to do any work while I'm out there, and I can just switch off and enjoy the quiet and serenity. Your enjoyable activity will probably be different from mine, but make sure you make time for it. You are making this effort to manage your diabetes so that you can stay healthy, and remain on this planet for longer. Sometimes we can lose sight of the fact that we should also enjoy our time here.

Best of luck on this journey, and from what you have said so far, it honestly sounds like you are doing all the right things.
 
Charles Robin said:
Hi Jill, I'm a type 1 rather than type 2, so I apologise if my comments aren't as useful as you want.

First off, this is a marathon rather than a sprint, and by taking control you are doing great. Weight loss is not a straight line either. It may be that you are gaining muscle if you are exercising, which is heavier than fat. Thankfully it's also a lot healthier too. You will probably have slow and fast weeks of weight loss, and 1.5 stone lost already is a massive achievement. That's about 9.5kg. To put that in perspective, you have lost the equivalent of 49 of these: http://www.laughing-lion-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/philadelphia2.jpg.

Do you have a target weight that you are trying to achieve? Getting there gradually is probably going to do you a lot more good in the long run, than trying to shed everything immediately. Lchf is a great way of eating, but adjusting to it can take a while. I found I had massive carb cravings when I began following this way of eating in January, but after a couple of months I was not even tempted.

For many of us, food has become a pastime, something to actively pursue as an activity. Just yesterday one of my friends posted on Facebook 'so hungry (or bored!) must. not. snack!' I find I feel like eating if I'm ever sitting around with nothing to do. So perhaps it's time to take up some form of activity, or do something you have always wanted to do. This could be anything really, music, art, read the entire works of Charles Dickens, take up chess, whatever suits your tastes!

Also, because you are making such an impressive effort, you should remember to take time for yourself sometimes. Diabetes does take a lot of work to manage, but you should reward yourself for your achievements. For me, this is cycling out to a nearby park, and just having a peaceful sit down. There's no way for me to do any work while I'm out there, and I can just switch off and enjoy the quiet and serenity. Your enjoyable activity will probably be different from mine, but make sure you make time for it. You are making this effort to manage your diabetes so that you can stay healthy, and remain on this planet for longer. Sometimes we can lose sight of the fact that we should also enjoy our time here.

Best of luck on this journey, and from what you have said so far, it honestly sounds like you are doing all the right things.
Click to expand...
thanks for that, you made me feel a lot better, i want to get another 4 stone off so it's a long haul. i was so down the first few weeks i didn't want to go out or even swim which i love , it feels like it has taken over my life and every thing else has gone to pot, i love photography but haven't touched my camera, always reading about diabetes, i'm so obsesed about understanding it, i have to say the diabetic nurse has been great pointing me towards lchf so thats been one good thing. I had lost sight about being here to enjoy life, i'm so grateful you said that i will get my head in a better place, my husband is very supportive and eats the same as me so i'm lucky really, thanks again i wish you well
Jill
 
Hi Jill

Please don't beat yourself up, you've lost a stone and a half, that's great, and you're getting support from your husband which is great and you have a supportive DN which is fantastic! It is frustrating at times when progress seems to stall, and it does take over your life a bit in the early stages (not sure when that bit ends!) but it's all for the long term good. My spouse is also doing LCHF with me, just for weight loss and general health, and my hobby has gone out the window since March, at least in a practical sense, I'm sure most newly diagnosed are the same in many ways.

But one day this will just be a part of my life - albeit a very important one - rather than my life!

Keep going, you're doing fine.
 
OK, you're not invisible anymore, so don't drop out, you've made an important step by posting today. I have over 6 stones left to lose, so I know how daunting the long haul looks believe me. Sounds like your diabetic nurse is great, she pointed you towards lchf? - wow! My advice is to stick with us, post whenever you can, because then folk can give you answers which are specifically for you and you will feel more like you belong. They really are a clever bunch and they have helped me loads over the last 10 weeks since I introduced myself to them, like you I read lots of threads first and learnt lots of info first before starting my own thread. Ask questions and keep posting, it really will help.
 
Hi, although I've been diagnosed for a long time I have only recently decided to try and take some control of my T2. This site has been a great help. You already are further along the long road than me because you've lost an impressive amount of weight. Well done. It's good to know there are people here who know a lot more than I do, but also that are in the same boat. I'll be happy to lose a stone, and that will be just a small drop in what I need to lose. I'm definitely here for the long haul and I know I'm keeping good company.
 
Well done on just posting all that. I think how you feel must be how most of us feel at diagnosis. I know 6 weeks on, I still feel sort of numb a lot of the time. I have panic disorder and health anxiety so not a great thing to learn that I have an illness that impacts on some of my deep rooted fears. But this place has been great and some days I can see light at the end of a very long tunnel. Like Zand I've a substantial amount of weight t shift but I've introduced some exercise and embarked on a LC moderate fat diet as that suits me best. I 'd say pick up your camera as soon as possible ( note to self to do same with writing!!) as diabetes isn't all of you or your life, even if sometimes it feels like it is. At the risk of being morbid, you could live in fear of it and narrow your life down and die tomorrow by being hit by a bus. My gran found out she had high blood pressure in her fifties and basically took to her chair - she died at 88 of something totally unrelated. Was that because of sitting or what was going to happen anyway? I just know she was very bitter, bored and boring by the end as her life was so narrow. Keep posting when you can and don't forget that someone , somewhere on here has probably been there and got an answer.
 
thanks all, my Dad was diabetic for years, it shocked me how i felt when i was told i never expected the impact it had on me, we travel a lot and now i feel nervous i've had a go at all kinds of things with out a second thought, now i worry about keeping myself safe. don't think i'm not happy with the weight lose, just panicky about the stall. i'm lucky with my dn she has tried eating low carb just so she'd know how we will feel on it, she keeps very unto date on things, loaned me a book and called me at home when i left some quetions for her.
i will get on with life i just badly need to feel like i have some kind of handle on things.
i'm very glad i posted i was feeling low, so i'm going for a swim, you all take care
Jill
 
One thing that I find helps is gaining understanding of what is actually happening to my body - no doubt it is very complex, yet at heart also kinda straightforward.

For instance weight loss on a low carb diet can be very rapid at first then slow right down. The reason apparently that it is rapid at first is that when you body thinks it is in a certain low carb mode, the liver converts glycogen it has stored in the liver to glucose - edit: glycogenolysis (this next bit was wrong - gluco neo genesis (the make new glucose creator) this refers to the creation of glucose from fats and proteins). glycogen releases loads of water to make glucose, you pee more. A litre of water weighs a kilogram. That's some weight loss.

If your carb level goes up then the liver will convert unused glucose back to glycogen, a process that takes up "water" absorbed from the body - you probably drink more - so you put the weight back. The thing is that the body thinking it has been in danger stores even more glycogen than before so you absorb more water than before hence more weight.

The key to losing the weight on a low carb diet, is the same as any diet - eat less than you burn. Then the body has no choice but to use up its fat reserves and muscle. If we aren't losing weight we may be eating more protein than we need to.

At least that's how I understand it - Jenny Ruhl's diet 101 is the book that explains it all - http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/sp3index.php

Does any of this help?

Edit: sorry I mixed up gluconeogenesis - it should have said glycogenolysis. Corrected in above.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
gfmoore said:
One thing that I find helps is gaining understanding of what is actually happening to my body - no doubt it is very complex, yet at heart also kinda straightforward.

For instance weight loss on a low carb diet can be very rapid at first then slow right down. The reason apparently that it is rapid at first is that when you body thinks it is in a certain low carb mode, the liver converts glycogen it has stored in the liver to glucose - gluco neo genesis (the make new glucose creator). glycogen releases loads of water to make glucose, you pee more. A litre of water weighs a kilogram. That's some weight loss.

If your carb level goes up then the liver will convert unused glucose back to glycogen, a process that takes up "water" absorbed from the body - you probably drink more - so you put the weight back. The thing is that the body thinking it has been in danger stores even more glycogen than before so you absorb more water than before hence more weight.

The key to losing the weight on a low carb diet, is the same as any diet - eat less than you burn. Then the body has no choice but to use up its fat reserves and muscle. If we aren't losing weight we may be eating more protein than we need to.

At least that's how I understand it - Jenny Ruhl's diet 101 is the book that explains it all - http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/sp3index.php

Does any of this help?
Click to expand...

hi, thanks i knew a bit but that made it clear, i've read some conflicting things, i bought the book 'Diabetes no thanks' the scandinavian diet, he just says keep carbs to minimum eat fat and eat till you're satisfied, i can't get my head around that i feel if you eat to much it has to be imposible to get the weight off, i'm going to send for the diet 101, i need to have a better understanding of how it all comes together. you've helped a lot.
Jill
 
Hi Jill. Sorry I missed you. It just depends when you post and who is around. Welcome to the forum. We never ignore anyone. Well almost;)
 
this is too difficult said:
Hi Jill. Sorry I missed you. It just depends when you post and who is around. Welcome to the forum. We never ignore anyone. Well almost;)
Click to expand...

sorry i was down, didn't think that really you all seem so nice so helpful, i just didn't know what i was doing wrong, my head was screaming help and i just couldn't get there in words, hope this makes sense, i'm feeling much better tonight, thanks for the welcome
Jill
 
If you don't get an answer wait a bit and ask again.
I had a similar thing a while back when my wife had a high BG after eating a pizza.
Is tt bike related?
 
this is too difficult said:
If you don't get an answer wait a bit and ask again.
I had a similar thing a while back when my wife had a high BG after eating a pizza.
Is tt bike related?
Click to expand...

i wont give up, i want to be part of this and share in all our ups and downs. tt is audi tt, just got one very excited love driving it, my husband hardly gets a go, he's waiting patiently for me to get over it, he may have a wait
 
Jill the tt said:
i wont give up, i want to be part of this and share in all our ups and downs. tt is audi tt, just got one very excited love driving it, my husband hardly gets a go, he's waiting patiently for me to get over it, he may have a wait
Click to expand...
When you say he doesn't get a go do you mean the car?
 
this is too difficult said:
When you say he doesn't get a go do you mean the car?
Click to expand...

yes i've been selfish he's only driven it 4 times in a month, i'm not normally like that, i cant stay out of it, i look at it, i'd sleep in it (joking??) i do love it , always had a thing for cars
 
Jill the tt said:
yes i've been selfish he's only driven it 4 times in a month, i'm not normally like that, i cant stay out of it, i look at it, i'd sleep in it (joking??) i do love it , always had a thing for cars
Click to expand...
He may not mind. The tt is a very nice and feminine car.
 
this is too difficult said:
He may not mind. The tt is a very nice and feminine car.
Click to expand...

i said it was girly, he didn't get it said how could 211bhp 169mph car be girly, i can tell him i'm not alone with that now, i love that the fin comes out at 70+, i can make it be out with a button, but love it doing it without my help, only my foot down
 
Hi, and welcome!

The diagnosis comes as a shock, doesn't it? It floored me when I found out the blood glucose readings, even though the doctor believes I am still 'borderline'. In my case I was expecting it - but still went into a weird headspace.

Eating the good/bad foods had always been a choice, before.
Suddenly the good foods are a necessity, and the bad ones are a clear act of self destruction.

Took some serious adjustment!

And we all handle it differently. We got a dog. You got a car. Both good choices! :happy:
 
Jill the tt said:
hi, thanks i knew a bit but that made it clear, i've read some conflicting things, i bought the book 'Diabetes no thanks' the scandinavian diet, he just says keep carbs to minimum eat fat and eat till you're satisfied, i can't get my head around that i feel if you eat to much it has to be imposible to get the weight off, i'm going to send for the diet 101, i need to have a better understanding of how it all comes together. you've helped a lot.
Jill
Click to expand...
I can't do the eat until you're satisfied bit. I don't think my brain has a switch that tells me that. I can easily just keep going, even though I'm not hungry (I'm hardly ever hungry!). I have to calorie count alongside low carb. The low carbing is definitely changing my BS levels, but I still have to keep the cals under 1200 to lose weight, and even then it seems to be less than 1 lb a week. If I take the cals to 1100 it makes much more of an impact, but that proved difficult to keep my BS from going too low on my current meds.

It seems to me that our bodies, while being similar machines, are fine tuned in slightly different ways and we have to learn what works for us. Shame it's taken me 52 years and a hell of a lot of mistakes!

Stick with it Jill and join in other people's posts. Even when we newbies can't add much in the way of sensible advice, we can always give virtual pats on the back and who doesn't love those!
 
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