Do you still enjoy food

[Brunneria]

for those of us who had food restrictions like, in my case, red meat is not good for me, no nuts, no seeds, no spices, then it is boring and repetitive.

add mental health issues into the mix, economic restrictions and CFS/ME and its hard. Very hard. I am surprised you think its the persons fault for not trying hard enough.

Most of us are just doing the best we can.

I think we often build walls in our own minds, and that if we built them, we also have the option to tear them down.
Assigning blame and trying to imply guilt is wholly inappropriate here. And I don’t believe in the victim mindset.

As mentioned above, I am currently eating carnivore. I am not doing it for fun. I can’t eat fibre in the form of veg, because my guts don’t like it. I cankt eat carbs because I control my blood glucose and do better keto. I have multiple food intolerances and reactions. My food choices are terribly restricted, and have been getting progessively more so for years. The last 11 months are something I have never expected, and would never have chosen.

Boredom on top of that? Nope. Not a choice I am going to make.
But, obviously, we all get to make our own choices, don’t we?

 

[lucylocket61]

And I don’t believe in the victim mindset.

thanks. I expected better from you. You list, in this post, why you cant eat certain foods, then say I am in the victim mindset for listing my food issues and why they make low carbing difficult. That is not reasonable or fair. Its not a choice if people cant eat something for good reasons.

 

[DCUKMod]

I do still enjoy my food. OK, like anyone, there's the odd time when I might just fancy x, y or z. I feel more limited by the GF aspect of my personal circumstances, rather than the LC part.

I've just spent the past 3 days at a Conference and the colleague I went with was very kind, in terms of acknowledging my diet is a "bit different", but she wanted me to make all the decisions about where we would eat, and kept reminding me our subsistence allowances allowed me to go out for breakfast or lunch if the hotel or venue didn't offer up anything I could eat. I knew that, but I have always found in an eatery there's something I can have.

When we were parting company yesterday evening, she commented on how well I'd "managed" over the last couple of days. Managed? I hadn't given it a thought.

In reality the venue was excellent and lunches were tapas style small plates, so I just concentrated on what was there that I could eat (beautifully poached salmon, chicken, cheese, salads etc.). I had a bit more fruit than I usually would, but the portions weree morsels, rather than slabs of melon, or pineapple, and it'd have been criminal not to have had raspberries in the land where they are most delicious. That most of the others were tucking into cookies the size of manhole covers suited me just fine!

To be fair, I didn't bother mentioning I'd dropped a brick yesterday lunchtime, having some mozzarella pearls, which were presenting in a risotto rice, so the few grains that stuck weren't an issue,............... until I later noticed the risotto was actually orzo, so I'm in tummy ache, headache and fatigue mode for some days. Oh well. Mea Culpa.

I feel for those who don't enjoy their food, but like the rest of us, if you don't want to continue with a way of eating that allows you to be in a great place, diabetes-wise, then you could seriously consider taking meds for a while, until you feel able to give it another go.

 

[bulkbiker]

that list, in order to have enough quantity to satisfy without any veg etc is expensive. So is heating an oven for 6-36 hours, as mentioned on your list.

Low carb is fine if you like the foods on it. Its fine if you can digest the foods on it. Its fine if you can afford the foods on it. If you cant do one or all of those points, its miserable and boring.

I have yet to see a low carb diet which is affordable for those on benefits or a very limited income.

Oven is only used for shorter roasts 10 hours max and at 120 degrees otherwise I use a sous vide stick that keeps water to a set temperature.. cost me £75 I think... uses almost no electricity. Duck legs are £3.45 a kilo from butcher.. the 20% fat mince I buy for burgers is £3 a kilo from M&S of all places.. pork belly £4 a kilo from the butcher.. I can rarely eat more than 400g of anything these days because fat is so much more satiating.. We always have leftovers in the fridge for lunches and eggs are 85p for 6 also in M&S. Shopping bills are reducing all the time and we have zero food waste. It's certainly cheaper than what I used to eat. Sorry but that is the truth.

 

[Pinkorchid]

I get bored with monotonous food choices.
That means I would get just as bored with jacket potatoes 5x a week as I would with steak 5x a week. Carb intake has nothing to do with it, and it is all about falling into a rut and not bothering to make an effort.

Am currently eating carnivore, which means that the last 11 months have been the most restrictive eating I’ve ever tried.
Boredom is ALWAYS my creation. It is optional not obligatory or inevitable.

Bored with red meat? Then eat white, or fish, or cheese. Or tofu or seitan, or quorn, or... whatever floats your boat.
Bored with plain flavours? That is what herbs, spices and seasonings are for.
Experiment.
Play.
Get creative.
There are thousands of different cuisines out there.
Make a bit more of an effort for a change.

It is just as easy to fall into a baked potato rut as to fall into a chicken salad rut.

If I can maintain interest when just eating carni, then the rest of you can maintain interest with the vast range of low carb fruit, veg, protein, fibre and fat choices available.

If you want to.

I do use herbs and spices and I eat fish ,Quorn and tofu cheese is almost my addiction but it is still not the same because it is what we can't eat that takes the pleasure out of eating now. I said to my doctor once.. not about diabetes.. that everything we really enjoy eating is bad for us and she agreed with me

 

[Brunneria]

thanks. I expected better from you. You list, in this post, why you cant eat certain foods, then say I am in the victim mindset for listing my food issues and why they make low carbing difficult. That is not reasonable or fair. Its not a choice if people cant eat something for good reasons.

O Lucy.
Please stop reacting as if I am making a personal attack on you.
I am not.
I am talking about myself, my food, my reactions. My choices.

I do, 100% believe that there are aspects of our lives that we can, and cannot control.
And one of those is boredom, and whether we take it on board or not.

If you choose to take offence then so be it. That is a choice you get to make.
I do not see anyone anywhere as a ‘victim’. Not you. Not anyone. That is why I reject the victim mindset.
It would never cross my mind to call anyone a victim - because I don’t see them that way.

**** happens.
It means some of us get health conditions that others do not.
Life is unfair. But that doesn’t make ANY of us ‘victims’. It is a word I abhor, and I resist any attempt to label me or anyone else a ‘victim’.

 

[lucylocket61]

O Lucy.
Please stop reacting as if I am making a personal attack on you.
I am not.
I am talking about myself, my food, my reactions. My choices.

I do, 100% believe that there are aspects of our lives that we can, and cannot control.
And one of those is boredom, and whether we take it on board or not.

If you choose to take offence then so be it. That is a choice you get to make.
I do not see anyone anywhere as a ‘victim’. Not you. Not anyone. That is why I reject the victim mindset.
It would never cross my mind to call anyone a victim - because I don’t see them that way.

**** happens.
It means some of us get health conditions that others do not.
Life is unfair. But that doesn’t make ANY of us ‘victims’. It is a word I abhor, and I resist any attempt to label me or anyone else a ‘victim’.

You were replying to me. You should have been clearer in your wording about the victim mindset.

 

[Brunneria]

You were replying to me. You should have been clearer in your wording about the victim mindset.

Well, I will say it again:
I do not believe in the victim mindset.

Rather hard to accuse someone of a mindset that one doesn’t believe in.

 

[Rachox]

I do still enjoy my food! I retired a little before I was diagnosed with type 2 so I have the luxury of time to search for low carb recipes and experiment in the kitchen. I am cooking from scratch now rather than relying on beige convenience food. I adjust the recipes to my taste and yes I look forward to my 3 meals/day, like @Mr_Pot . I wake up looking forward to my low carb ‘porridge’ with strawberries and cream breakfast, I have a light lunch and then a cooked dinner and I appreciate every mouthful, I don’t rush my meals these days, they are part of my medicine yes but they can also be enjoyable.

 

[Pinkorchid]

I feel for those who don't enjoy their food, but like the rest of us, if you don't want to continue with a way of eating that allows you to be in a great place, diabetes-wise, then you could seriously consider taking meds for a while, until you feel able to give it another g

But most of us do continue to do it even if we don't enjoy it if we want to keep our BG levels under control. That is the price we pay for that but that does not stop us wishing we could go back to eating whatever we liked...and we didn't all have a bad diet.
Can many people say they really would not like to eat a proper pizza, a pasta dish or real rice with their curry instead of cauliflower rice substitute or even a really yummy dessert instead of plain greek yogurt and a few berries

 

[bulkbiker]

Can many people say they really would not like to eat a proper pizza, a pasta dish or real rice with their curry instead of cauliflower rice substitute or even a really yummy dessert instead of plain greek yogurt and a few berries

Yep.. because as I now know those are not "proper" foods for the most part. For me they are "poison" and will try to kill me/make me lose a toe/ go blind so I find them quite easy to avoid with that mindset...

 

[Robbity]

I actually enjoy eating low carb more than I did for a number of years of eating higher carbs, because my husband was cooking for us for that period and he had a somewhat limited repertoire. I've been eating pretty low carb now for 5 years (diagnosed end of November 2013), and since I took back responsibility for my own shopping and cooking I'm still finding new recipes/combinations, so though possibly my basic food list more or less remains the same all those different combinations continue to make my low carb diet both varied and interesting. But I'm also in the situation where I need only please myself...

There were some foods I really resented not being able to eat any longer, but I can't actually claim that I've truly missed them, I've just chosen to concentrate on what I can eat rather than what I can't (or shouldn't), but much of what I eat now has always been a large part of my long term diet anyway. Maybe partly because a lot of foods that people seem to take for granted now weren't available as part of our diets when I was growing up?

Robbity

And PS LIke @Mr_Pot, for me it's about sustainability rather than aiming for super low glucose levels.

 

[CoastGirl]

I really don't get bored with low carb eating but what I do find a bit of a bore, especially when I'm pressed for time, is making everything from scratch. Occasionally I would like to be able to just pop something in the oven! I think having a full time job and kids that need running here, there and everywhere makes the prep and cooking of low carb eating a little tricky at times

 

[DCUKMod]

But most of us do continue to do it even if we don't enjoy it if we want to keep our BG levels under control. That is the price we pay for that but that does not stop us wishing we could go back to eating whatever we liked...and we didn't all have a bad diet.
Can many people say they really would not like to eat a proper pizza, a pasta dish or real rice with their curry instead of cauliflower rice substitute or even a really yummy dessert instead of plain greek yogurt and a few berries

I would never, ever have thanked you for pizza and my attempts at fathead or meetza amount to zero attempts.

I can tolerate a bit of rice, but to be honest, no rice just equals more tasty curry.

Yesterday at this here conference, the afternoon tea time snacks were half scones with whipped cream and raspberries. I couldn't do the scones because of the gluten, but theoretically I could have scraped off the cream and fruit.

I don't regret or mourn not being able to have that stuff. That's just my chosen world now.

I say again, if being LC is bothersome, the you could try some mess if your numbers went up.

I'm not saying that to be provocative, but from a practical, quality of life perspective. Each one of us decides how radical we'll go in all regards.

 

[Pinkorchid]

I would never, ever have thanked you for pizza and my attempts at fathead or meets a amount to zero attempts.

I can tolerate a bit of rice, but to be honest, no rice just equals more tasty curry.

Yesterday at this here conference, the afternoon tea time snacks were half scones with whipped cream and raspberries. I couldn't do the scones because of the gluten, but theoretically I could have scraped off the cream and fruit.

I don't regret or mourn not being able to have that stuff. That's just my chosen world now.

I say again, if being LC is bothersome, the you could try some mess if your numbers went up.

I'm not saying that to be provocative, but from a practical, quality of life perspective. Each one of us decides how radical we'll go in all regards.

I am not intending to give it up I am just saying I would love to be able to still eat the things I enjoyed before diabetes

 

[bulkbiker]

I am not intending to give it up I am just saying I would love to be able to still eat the things I enjoyed before diabetes

Then why not try them...?
You may find out they aren't as you remember and upset your tum so you won't want them ever again?
You may find you can have them once in a blue moon and not upset your blood sugars too much..
Or you may still love them in which case you will need to decide health or bad food.
We can't make that decision for you.. for once step off the fence and try something?

 

[sally and james]

I've been low carb for five and a half years now. A couple of years ago we were having lunch at a well regarded sea-side restaurant, overlooking the beach, what place could be better to eat beer battered cod, hand cut chips and mushy peas? It was horrible, nothing actually wrong with it, perfect crispy batter etc, but mouthfulls of starch just weren't a pleasure any more, felt like I was eating wall paper paste. How I longed for James' salad.
My point, things aren't always as good as you remember them.
Sally

 

[Pinkorchid]

Then why not try them...?
You may find out they aren't as you remember and upset your tum so you won't want them ever again?
You may find you can have them once in a blue moon and not upset your blood sugars too much..
Or you may still love them in which case you will need to decide health or bad food.
We can't make that decision for you.. for once step off the fence and try something?

Because I have tried some things and know what I could eat occasionally. What I miss is not bad food it is normal food that most non diabetic people eat daily just not good for me any more

 

[SueJB]

Bored with food no way.. a changed relationship with it however yes certainly.
Food is no longer a "treat" or a "reward" it is fuel plain and simple.
Now some of you will say "oh that means you can't enjoy it" but by heavens you'd be wrong.
We eat things like slow roast duck legs crisped up for the yummy fatty skin after 6 hours in the oven...
Sausage stuffed boned turkey legs cooked sous vide then roasted for 20 minutes.
Pork belly cooked for 36 hours then pan fried.. boring? yeah right..
And like @Brunneria I eat 95% carnivore so not a veg in sight with that lot.. but who needs veg with 12 hour slow roast lamb shoulder eh?

Oh!! I need to be invited to your food heaven!

 

[bulkbiker]

Because I have tried some things and know what I could eat occasionally. What I miss is not bad food it is normal food that most non diabetic people eat daily just not good for me any more

Few of things you have mentioned are what I would now consider as food...pizza, pasta, rice are just stodge that accompanies something nice.. I just had cheese and pepperoni melts straight from the oven.. did they need a pizza base - no.. were they tasty yes..very.