Eating spiralling out of control

[toodles60]

Hi,

I'm getting desperate and getting no help from my diabetes nurse or gp. I'm, type 2 and smoked 20 cigs a day for 40 years up until 4 months ago. I was taken off metformin because of the side effects it gave me and have been on the Trulicity (dulaglutide) injections 1.5mg and jardiance (empagliflozen) I started losing weight with the injections and went from 13st down to 11st. My sugars were getting better as well. I decided after beginning to feel a bit breathless to give up my crutch in life which was the smoking. I stopped 4 months ago and now vape instead. However, my eating is now out of control. Not just normal food but multiple chocolate bars, cakes etc a day. I eat more sweet stuff than a non diabetic. Even with normal food i never feel full. I've told my GP this many times. That it doesn't matter how often i eat or how much i still never feel full and will be hungry again shortly afterwards. Can that be normal? I just always get the disapproving glances and told to eat better but have never been given the help i obviously need to control my eating habits.

At the moment it is all i think about. When am i next going to eat. Just nipped downstairs and had a terry's chocolate orange. Had a toffee crisp earlier. Some days can have two large bags of sweets like jelly tots which are covered in sugar and cream cakes etc. I'm determined to be as honest as i can here no matter how embarrassing. Because in between the constant eating i will cry and be really upset because i know i'm probably killing myself. I don't know what to do. I crave sweet things all the time. It was hard when i was smoking but i manged to slowly lose weight. Now they are constantly threatening to take away the injections which to be honest are probably the only thing stopping my sugars spiralling out of control. They even told me a few months ago to stop taking my own blood sugars because it is not how they keep track. That only the blood tests matter so to stop. I did that and feel even that control was taken from me. I have taken them in the last couple of days on waking up and they can be around 10-12 in the morning before eating.

Does anyone have any experience of this and any advice at all. I have a very low income. I can't afford a lot of 'healthy' foods and much of what i can i dislike the taste of. I'm very very close to smoking again because at least it helped control my eating. I feel i've swapped one deadly habit for another. Does anyone know why i never feel full? Even when i smoked i never felt full but the cigs stopped me eating. I'm hungry again within 20 mins of eating. I east so many sweet things. I'm so tired all the time. My legs ache at night in bed. I've just had my gall bladder out 3 weeks ago which didn't help with my low state of mind.

Sorry for the ramble but i'm desperate for advice. How do i stop the spiral of eating. How do i get away from sugary foods. Can i reverse the damage I am doing or is it too late? Since i stopped smoking in March i have put on 1st 5 pounds. I'm devastated because i was doing so well. I have no idea where to turn. What to do to stop this cycle. It's easy for those around me to say 'just stop eating'. Just don't buy sweet things. Just eat once a day. I don't know why i can't do it. Has anyone been through this and found a way out?

Many thanks for any help

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. You are in a Carb spiral. Carbs are addictive and not filling hence the cycle. To keep yourself feeling full you need to keep the fats and proteins up and the carbs down. Fats and Proteins help you stay full for longer. The important thing is not to buy carby foods such as cakes biscuits then the temptation isn't there. Use cheese, nuts and berries to snack on. Have things like eggs and bacon for breakfast - no cereals, toast, porridge etc. Only have non-tropical fruit and plenty of veg (preferably not root veg). Don't have low-fat food such as low-fat yogurt. Always read the ingredients on the back of the pack. Ignore Traffic Light labelling and Calories. I don't agree with eating once a day - that's asking for trouble. Have the usual 3 meals per day. Set yourself a daily carb total - perhaps 150gm max even lower if you can. Once you can get the weight and BS down you may be able to stop the Glutide injections. Ask for Metformin SR (Slow Release) which is much kinder than the plain version. Good luck!

 

[MrsA2]

May I also suggest you do start doing your own blood sugar tests again? Testing immediately before each meal and 2 hours after will give instant feedback on the harm certain foods are doing to you and it is much easier to avoid them when you see the numbers. (Lots of people on here learn to ignore diabetes nurses)

When I started low carbs few months ago I didn't believe it would be as easy as it has been. Stick to it and weight will fall off. You may feel very grotty the first few days, but you will soon be through that stage.
You kicked smoking, you can kick this too

 

[toodles60]

Thank you for the replies. I will look at low carb because the carb cycle continually making me hungry makes sense and isn't something i've thought about before. I can't have metformin because it gives me horrible side effects which is why it was stopped. Thank you for all the advice and I'm determined to put some of it into practise.

 

[Resurgam]

When you say that you can't afford healthy food - but you are eating bars of chocolate and bags of sweets - that doesn't quite add up. If you buy a load of meat, frozen fish is cheap, eggs, cheese, low carb nuts too, large bags of salad, and add in other low carb foods both fresh and frozen, that is a good start. I have found low carb frozen stir fry variations recently in my local Lidl. When you start to eat really nourishing meals you will hopefully find that your need to eat drops dramatically - watch out that the effect is not too dramatic. When returning to eating low carb after yet another high carb low calorie diet I could drop half a stone in three days.
I had really awful consequences when taking Metformin and Atorvastatin. It was only for a few weeks but I thought I'd have to go into a care home it was that bad, so I threw them away. It was a long way back but at least I do not have to run the washing machine twice a day and sleep wrapped in a couple of towels.

 

[Goonergal]

@toodles60 the carb cycle - and any addiction cycle is very difficult to break, especially if like me you find it hard to do things in moderation. For me the only way to be sure of not eating something is not to buy it.

Low carb eating is very helpful as the foods make you feel full for longer and reduce the cravings. If you stick to real foods ir can be a very economical way to eat - the cheaper cuts of meat, for example, are the most satiating and can be very versatile and easy to cook with. If you have a freezer, buy larger quantities when things are on offer or cook batches of things so you can freeze meals to reheat quickly another time.

 

[JenniferM55]

Been where you are Toodles60, except I never started the curse of smoking addiction (thank goodness). Well done you for getting that under control.

Think you need to understand what carb addition is, you already know what it's doing to you. Carb addiction is powerful, but it can be easily controlled after a few days, but you'll still need to be vigilant.

Take a look at some of the Carb Addiction Doctor's podcasts. (I usually listen to him at 1.25 speed - change the speed in the video settings)

Understanding Carb Addiction Part 1 -

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi @toodles60 - Have a watch of this video. It'll make you chuckle, but it might leak your eyes leak a little too. It sums up a lot of people.

Food addictions and such like are very, very common, amongst a really wide band of the population, and whilst it's not a great place to be, it can be helpful to know it's not "just you", and that there are ways to work on breaking the cycles.

 

[liza_h]

Hi,

I'm getting desperate and getting no help from my diabetes nurse or gp. I'm, type 2 and smoked 20 cigs a day for 40 years up until 4 months ago. I was taken off metformin because of the side effects it gave me and have been on the Trulicity (dulaglutide) injections 1.5mg and jardiance (empagliflozen) I started losing weight with the injections and went from 13st down to 11st. My sugars were getting better as well. I decided after beginning to feel a bit breathless to give up my crutch in life which was the smoking. I stopped 4 months ago and now vape instead. However, my eating is now out of control. Not just normal food but multiple chocolate bars, cakes etc a day. I eat more sweet stuff than a non diabetic. Even with normal food i never feel full. I've told my GP this many times. That it doesn't matter how often i eat or how much i still never feel full and will be hungry again shortly afterwards. Can that be normal? I just always get the disapproving glances and told to eat better but have never been given the help i obviously need to control my eating habits.

At the moment it is all i think about. When am i next going to eat. Just nipped downstairs and had a terry's chocolate orange. Had a toffee crisp earlier. Some days can have two large bags of sweets like jelly tots which are covered in sugar and cream cakes etc. I'm determined to be as honest as i can here no matter how embarrassing. Because in between the constant eating i will cry and be really upset because i know i'm probably killing myself. I don't know what to do. I crave sweet things all the time. It was hard when i was smoking but i manged to slowly lose weight. Now they are constantly threatening to take away the injections which to be honest are probably the only thing stopping my sugars spiralling out of control. They even told me a few months ago to stop taking my own blood sugars because it is not how they keep track. That only the blood tests matter so to stop. I did that and feel even that control was taken from me. I have taken them in the last couple of days on waking up and they can be around 10-12 in the morning before eating.

Does anyone have any experience of this and any advice at all. I have a very low income. I can't afford a lot of 'healthy' foods and much of what i can i dislike the taste of. I'm very very close to smoking again because at least it helped control my eating. I feel i've swapped one deadly habit for another. Does anyone know why i never feel full? Even when i smoked i never felt full but the cigs stopped me eating. I'm hungry again within 20 mins of eating. I east so many sweet things. I'm so tired all the time. My legs ache at night in bed. I've just had my gall bladder out 3 weeks ago which didn't help with my low state of mind.

Sorry for the ramble but i'm desperate for advice. How do i stop the spiral of eating. How do i get away from sugary foods. Can i reverse the damage I am doing or is it too late? Since i stopped smoking in March i have put on 1st 5 pounds. I'm devastated because i was doing so well. I have no idea where to turn. What to do to stop this cycle. It's easy for those around me to say 'just stop eating'. Just don't buy sweet things. Just eat once a day. I don't know why i can't do it. Has anyone been through this and found a way out?

Many thanks for any help

Hi Toodles,
Just a thought (and a concern of my own health and well-being)...

If no-one else has suggested this already please ask your GP for a blood test to check your thyroid activity and health. Very often thyroid probs go along with diabetes T2. When my thyroid is underactive I gain weight (even in calorie deficit), blood glucose levels rise, I crave carbs and am always hungry... the body is desperate for energy yet has reduced ability to process energy from food or fat stores

If you have a thyroid blood test, never accept "normal" from the GP as a result - get the full figures. "Normal" to a GP means "the level where current guidelines do not require any further action". This may mean you may still have a thyroid problem but the health service is not going to offer treatment unless you provide a case and really push and ask for this.

I find a tiny rise in my dose of thyroid medication (half a 25mcg tablet of Levothyroxine) can make a huge difference in my well-being, my carb cravings disappear (along with a range of other symptoms) and I can be active and even lose weight with calorie deficit.

 

[lessci]

I feel your pain. When I gave up smoking 10+ years ago and pre type 2 diabetes I put on 3 stone in 3 months (5 in total) and I wasn't slender to start with. I replaced my cigarette hand to mouth with food hand to mouth, and whatever went in wasn't enough. I still get days like that, even now, but I try (not always successfully) to only put low carb stuff in. I've lost between 4 and 5 stone since I was diagnosed, but could really do with shifting another 4-5 stone from around my middle to put my T2 into remission. Consider joining the low carb program, not only does it have recipes but there's also mentoring and mental heath support as self sabotage is a thing. Remember it's a marathon not a sprint, we ALL have bad days, but the trick is not to let a bad day become a bad week, month,year.

 

[Nicole T]

Nicotine is well known as an appetite suppressor. Most of my properly thin friends still smoke. But there's also that habit thing, and as someone who had got into the habit of getting through a 2.4Kg box of Celebrations in a few days during lockdown, or eating a whole chocolate orange while watching a movie, I can relate to the binge eating. I fell into a trap where just about every emotion (boredom, stress, anger, excitement, loneliness) led to me reaching for a chocolate bar. I could easily go through a whole packet of Kit-Kats or Aldi imitation Mars/Snickers in one day. This was pre-diagnosis for type 2 and they didn't seem to be affecting my weight, so I really didn't think it was doing me any significant damage.

I reckon the trick here is to recognise the habit aspect of this and find a less harmful behaviour that you can use as a reaction to situations that would normally make you smoke or eat between meals. I'm finding celery works very well for me when I just need to munch something for the sake of it. If you must indulge your sweet tooth, then maybe have one small chocolate rather than grabbing a handful, or one Jaffa Cake rather than the whole packet. Suck on it for a while to savour the flavour, rather than just chewing a couple of times and swallowing. Also keep these things as far away from you as possible, or even outside, so it's a hassle to go and get some. Certainly don't keep them next to the sofa so that you can keep picking.

I know the best thing is to cut it out completely, but even cutting back significantly will help.