This is so hard ...feeling down

[floridagal]

Sorry to be a misery but I thought I was feeling ok about my type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Tonight I feel so down about it..
I have omitted the sugars and sweets in my diet and I am trying to eat reduced carbs but tonight I just feel so fed up with it all .

I dont drink or smoke..my vice was chocolate and cakes...I am craving these big style tonight and feel sure if I had some in the cupboard I would be gobbling them down.

Its my birthday tomorrow and I think I am feeling more than a bit sorry for myself ..just feel like eating for me will never be the same..will I ever feel pleasure from food again ?

I take my hat off to you all who have lived and coped with diabetes for so long..my will power is weak but I know I now have no choice but to change my eating habits for ever or face all the awful complications. Sorry to moan but I could murder a piece of cake right now :roll:

 

[tangram]

Ive had 4 years of nearly ignoring it, and have only just started cutting down on carbs and eating low GI Food...it is bad, tonight I did my first food shop and never felt so down about food, but their is plenty you can eat and the Forums here really have cheered me up with great recipe ideas...your not alone !!!

 

[daisy1]

Go ahead - have a SMALL piece of something sweet so you will feel better and then start afresh tomorrow (or rather the day after tomorrow ) We all have days like this and understand how you feel. Just remember that, as a member of this forum, you are not alone. And have a happy birthday tomorrow. Mine was on Tuesday and I let myself have one special treat which just gave me the strength to be good afterwards. You will get used to having diabetes it just takes a little time.
(((((hugs)))))

 

[angieG]

As others have quoted on this site....you do realize that birthday cake and meals don't have any carbs!!
You are allowed treats at times....just don't go overboard else you will feel rough though.

I went to see my nurse just after Christmas on an unrelated matter and she asked how my levels were doing. I said I hope you aren't going to do an Hb1 thingy test on me today as they were a bit erratic over Christmas and I sort of pigged out a bit!! She replied.....it is allowed you know!!

Why not treat yourself to some dark chocolate and maybe a few other treats for the day?

Have a lovely birthday and don't let it get you down.

Best wishes
Angie

 

[borderter]

I had long periods when I ate what I wanted but was always honest about it at the docs ,give yourself a hug its not always easy at the begining just keep on trying and you will get there,we are not all saints so chin up :thumbup:

 

[sdgray22]

Floridagal, We all react differently to foods. Who is to say that you will not be able to have a piece of cake or a chicolate once in a while. So If it is your birthday give yourself a little treat - eat salads and veg the next day to make up for it. Everybody will probably disagree with me for this but there has to be some pleasures in life. I can eat a slice of vienetta with no effects but if I eat porridge made with water my levels go sky high go figure that one out!!! I am sure you will have a list at the end of all this of foods you cant eat and foods you can and hopefully there will be some nice ones in that list, some that you can enjoy. Some say that you cannot eat just one small piece of cake or one chocolate or have one glass of wine and it is best to avoid it all because it encourages cravings, not for me I am happy with one glass of wine and even 1 slice of vienetta!!
Moderation in all, is the way to go, have a small treat tomorrow and enjoy yourself, Diabetes is not the end of your life and nor is it the end of enjoyment of your food, and have a Happy Birthday. I am not an expert and have only been going for a few weeks with this stupid disease and yes it is really difficult, but everybody here helps.
Sharon

 

[floridagal]

Thanks all your kind and supportive words are touching..I had a couple of chocolate biscuits with my cuppa...feel bit better about things.

 

[Grazer]

Hi! Whilst I sympathise with you, and understand all the posts here, I have to say it's a bit like telling a new would-be non smoker that it's ok to have the occasional ciggy. Once you've been really strict for a long time, the occasional lapse you can come back from. But as you're just diagnosed, I think personally that you need to tough out the new diagnosed blues, and the birthday bit, and start the way you NEED to carry on. Your birthday treat should be knowing you're on the way to saving your health, life even. Don't want to be nasty, my other posts I've hopefully been very supportive, but 2 choccy bics is not a good start. We all need to make a big commitment to a radical change in our life style. Ok, you've not started today, not a prob, but when you start tell yourself there WON'T be the occasional two choccy bics to fall back on. It's too easy. Maybe a long while in the future when your BGs are down to normal??...Just my view.

 

[lister]

i know what you mean i don't smoke or drink or gamble but have leatnt that occasional small treat helps me to keep it together sometimes.
just have to make sure that it's a small treat on an odd occasion and be good the rest of the time,
i feel that otherwise i would give in because i feel i'm giving everything and for not any immediatly seen gain and over time by watching carbs and mostly being good i have been losing wait and getting my sugar levels down.
i'm not in any way suggesting you do the same as we are all different and react differently but i can feel for you but please don't give in the fight.xx
Rob...

 

[xyzzy]

Tough one to reply to and I really feel for you. I've been quite hard on Type 2's in my short time on this forum who seem to be ignoring the really obvious risks and trying to just wish it all away with sometimes silly and see-through excuses but hey its your birthday tomorrow.

I really can't talk as last Saturday it was my granddaughters first birthday party and although I kept good with the food and temptations for most of the time I had a small but lovely slice of her birthday cake! I wouldn't have had it any other way as not to would have been I step to far for me.

But that was it. In 8 weeks including Christmas which was just a couple of weeks after I was diagnosed I was strong because deep down I knew I had to be, not just for me but for my wife and children and my granddaughters sake as well. It would be so selfish of me not to change and expect them to pick up the disaster that would then happen. So every time I get tempted I think "Do I want to put my wife through that kind of hell?"

So I'll do a deal with you, have a nice birthday but try to be sensible and promise us and yourself that your new life will start when you wake up on Monday morning. I am only 8 weeks into my own diagnosis but following the friendly and brilliant advice people give out on this forum my blood sugars are now nearly down to those of a non diabetics, I've lost nearly two stone in weight and somewhere between 4 and 6 inches off my waist. Best of all I feel back in control of my life and happier than I've felt for over a year. It is hard work but each day it becomes easier.

What is two months of hardship in my entire life, just a fleeting moment.

Take care and try and have a nice day tomorrow.

 

[chocoholicnomore]

What a really good post xyzzy :thumbup:

I agree with all you have said but I also really feel for you floridagal. I have very little willpower and find this so hard. I thought it was easier at the beginning as it was a challenge, like a new diet, a kind of novelty. But not now. I give in to temptation very easy but I am lucky in that my BG levels don't go a drastically high as they did in the beginning. I manage to get away with cheating which, in my case, is a bad thing as it means I am tempted even more

I agree with the other posters on here. You should be able to relax a bit on your birthday as long as you get back on track the next day. Also, I am superstitious about having a piece of birthday cake, even if it's just a little bit.

I read on here once about someone who eats as a diabetic 6 days per week and has one day off. Sounds good to me if you can handle it. I can't stop at one!

Hope you have a lovely birthday and the diabetes doesn't ruin it for you.

 

[xyzzy]

What a really good post

Thanks for the compliment chocoholicnomore I respect your honesty over being tempted, far better to recognise it than deny it imo. btw I get b****y cold feet as well

 

[didie]

That is a great post xyzzy and I think Grazer has it right as well.

My attitude to diabetes has been to look upon it as a long trek to safety. It was really tempting to maybe nibble on something, but then that takes me further from safety. It is weight that I would just put on, making yet more that I'd have to lose. I'd think is it worth eating it when it just makes my task harder and it really isn't. Something like two chocolate biscuits might seem nothing, but then it is two chocolate biscuits that you have work to get rid of, making your load and task even harder.

I know my weaknesses and they sparked my diabetes. I ate too much and didn't take any exercise. Once I start to nibble here and there, then it is the start of a wibbly wobbly slope, so I just don't have any splurges. I eat an awful of apples and clementines now instead of crisps and sweets. My doctor told me that if I dropped my weight and got below 10 stone then my sugar levels would be back in the non-diabetic range and she was absolutely right. I consider my diabetes to be in remission, but always lurking and I'd like to get my levels lower if possible for a bigger safety net, so I keep going. Four stone+ weight loss means I am down from a size 22 to a size 12 and the fittest I have been for over 25 years.

I think to myself is it worth eating this or that and I know that it isn't because the one who pays the ultimate price for not being responsible to myself is myself. I want to be around for a long time yet with no complication from diabetes and the way to do it is to take control and get myself fit.

I hope you have a great birthday and then take control of your diabetes so it doesn't control you with complications in the future.

 

[floridagal]

Dear All,
Thank you for your kind replies. I have read them all and today my birthday I have followed my diabetic diet..don`t even feel like breaking it today !
I agree that for me allowing a little treat might be a downfall for me as my will power is poor ..I suppose its like an alcoholic having just a sip of alcohol...it just wont work for me.

Last night it felt great to eat the biscuits but this morning I felt so disappointed with myself as I have been doing so well so far..

Anyway I am inspired by your weight losses but I haven`t lost one pound yet. I just don`t get it my daily diet before must have contained thousands of calories all from high fat foods and high sugar foods plus I was drinking probably at least two to three litres of non diet fizzy pop (I know how bad that sounds but before this diagnosis I thought i was actually healthy !).

Now why havent I lost any weight ? It`s like the bathroom scales are stuck ! I am taking my metformin 500mg on a morning my blood sugars have come down from around 20 to 10-12 (I know long way to go but at least going downwards). I wish some of this weight would come off even just a couple of pounds as I have a lot to lose. roblem:

 

[xyzzy]

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you....

WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!

Took me two weeks before I started to lose weight so don't worry. Remember this is for the rest of your life so you need to take things in a steady and maintainable way.

Remember its not calories it CARBS. In the first weeks I ate a steady diet of 2 rashers of bacon, 2 fried eggs and fried mushroom (very low carbs, high calories) and alternated that with 3 egg omelettes and cheese (very low carbs, very very high calories) for lunch. For main meals I ate food based around 250g of mixed veggies, added chicken or mince and spices or whatever so long as the entire meal added up to no more than 40g carbs.

In my mind I was detoxing from these poisonousness carbs that had given me this dreadful disease and didn't particularly care what I ate so long as it was low carb. I just focused on getting my sugar readings down which at that stage was far more important that worrying about fats and calories imo.

I'll admit its all a bit counter-intuitive for example you may well find that "low fat" versions of foods have more carbs (because the manufacturer has replaced the fat with carbs). Choose the low carb version every time and s*d the fat content for now at least.

Now I have them down and under control I am beginning to widen my diet to include more "healthy" things but still eat bacon and egg and mushrooms and omelettes but not quite so often. I am learning what I can eat and what I can't day by day and am doing so from a position where by BG's are normally around 5 prior to a meal so if I go horribly wrong I will do less damage. I now feel disappointed if any meal raises me above 6.5 after 2 hours.

So the Indian takeaway which I just ate was probably not a good idea BUT let me explain!

My Saturday night curry is my one foody pleasure each week AND I'm good. I order a dry curry NOT C.T Massalla which is full of sugar. It's called a Chicken Charger here. It has a thick spicy sauce. I add to that 1 tiny Onion Bhaji an extra plain Chicken Tikka starter and half a thingy of Pilau rice, must be Pilau cos its basmati and fried which is far lower carbs than normal boiled rice. I use this as my TEST meal to see week by week how much I spike. So far always over 6.5! but last time JUST kept under the 7.8 DANGER threshold at both +2 and +4 hours. Started from a 4.8 base tonight so we'll see how it goes. But the important thing is to see that really the only bad thing I'm eating is the quantity of rice and the batter that's on the v small onion Bhaji, the chicken is fine.

Have a great rest of the day

 

[floridagal]

xyzzy thanks for the birthday wishes and good advice.