Advice?!

I know how you feel, trying to cut down on carbs myself at the moment as my dr says i cant take more then 10 units of novorapid with my meals but am finding it really hard. I am a vegetarian and a fussy eater so cutting out carbs just leaves me with fish, broccoli, spinach , eggs and cheese. I have been trying new foods but cant find any that i dont hate and am very jealous of the other type 1's that can eat a normal healthy diet. I waiting to get an appointment with a dietitian but it will probably be November or December before i get one.

lcarter said:

So what I'm looking for is something where I CAN eat carbs and count them for insulin.. but for example I had nuts, chicken Pitta bread, chips and a corn on the cob today and needed twenty units of fast acting. I find that depressing as I know the insulin is a fat building hormone.. I just don't know what to do.

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Did you really need to have the Pitta Bread and Chips together, if you had one or the other your bolus dose would have been much lower.

lcarter said:

Hello!

I've tried low carbing for the past six weeks and honestly I just don't think it's for me. The high fat triggers my ibs and even though the hunger subsides I miss my fruit and rice.

I lost two stone with slimming world but my bs levels were sky high still!

I've since put all of that back on. I tried calorie counting and did well in the first week after that I was again really irritable and fed up.

So what I'm looking for is something where I CAN eat carbs and count them for insulin.. but for example I had nuts, chicken Pitta bread, chips and a corn on the cob today and needed twenty units of fast acting. I find that depressing as I know the insulin is a fat building hormone.. I just don't know what to do.

If I go back to slimming world it's all low fat, unlimited carb... so I'd have to make myself not eat many carbs... kinda defeats the plan.

I don't see myself doing low carb anymore I just can't carry on with a dodgy tum and I'm really not enjoying it.

I'm fed up because I just want to focus on losing weight but it's always a case of what's my levels doing?!

Any advice welcome. X

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What kind of fats were you eating? For some of us animal fats and dairy cause tummy issues. Intend o stick withnolant fats like avocado, olive oil, some nuts and pumpkin seeds

I don't eat bacon, chicken skins, fat off beef etc. I trim all visible fats off my proteins. If I didn't I'd have issues. And most important is no cream, cheeses, or any kind of dairy. Recently I do have one ounce of cheese with wine but the type of cheese does matter. Nothing soft or aged. More s minsoft are best.

It's all about tweaking. For me it's not the insulin that causes weight gain it's the carbs. I've always gained weight with carbs well before I needed insulin. I started insulin 3 years ago at 50 years old but for 25 years before that I stayed with an Atkins induction style diet. Less than 20 c per day. Whenever I deviated and added carbs I gained. So it was carbs, not insulin for me.

lcarter said:

No I didn't, I'm just a ganet.

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If you have favourite items and feel deprived not having them, you could save them for another meal, maybe?

I find that works well if I have a very carby meal and don't want to miss out.

lcarter said:

I have dairy- creams and cheese etc. I'm going to need to really rethink this.

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It's certainly worth a try before you abandon the whole thing. I can't even sip milk or cream or cottage cheese without issues. Cream cheese is bad and so are aged cheeses like Parmesan, Romano etc. I tend to have a slice of Colby jack without issue but for awhile I always had issues with all dairy. Weight as well as stomach equally.

Grains and starches are slapped right in my behind. No need to chew haha. Not to mention the spikes.

I find, as many do a grain and dairy free diet to be very helpful to the tummy and weight.

Sorry about trying to dissect my last post. Something with auto correct in cyber space. I read my posts, post, and they're all wrong!!

I meant to say I do better with PLANT fats over animal fats.

lcarter said:

Hello!

I've tried low carbing for the past six weeks and honestly I just don't think it's for me. The high fat triggers my ibs and even though the hunger subsides I miss my fruit and rice.

I lost two stone with slimming world but my bs levels were sky high still!

I've since put all of that back on. I tried calorie counting and did well in the first week after that I was again really irritable and fed up.

So what I'm looking for is something where I CAN eat carbs and count them for insulin.. but for example I had nuts, chicken Pitta bread, chips and a corn on the cob today and needed twenty units of fast acting. I find that depressing as I know the insulin is a fat building hormone.. I just don't know what to do.

If I go back to slimming world it's all low fat, unlimited carb... so I'd have to make myself not eat many carbs... kinda defeats the plan.

I don't see myself doing low carb anymore I just can't carry on with a dodgy tum and I'm really not enjoying it.

I'm fed up because I just want to focus on losing weight but it's always a case of what's my levels doing?!

Any advice welcome. X

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Hi lcarter,

I was diagnosed with type 1 in April this year and since then I have put on 1 stone but I haven't changed a thing with my diet, the only difference is insulin! I eat a "healthy" diet 90% of the time - lots of veggies, fruit, lean meat and I avoid refined carbs, but I am human and I like a piece of cake or some wine at the weekends too!

I am trying to lose this extra weight but I'm confused about how to do it too. I am getting married in April next year and the dress is bought in February now won't fit me! I am still learning how to manage my T1D at the moment too.
I realise that I am not helping you with a reply or advice but you post made me feel like I'm not the only one struggling with my bg levels and try to lose weight so I thought I'd say hello and thank you for sharing!

How about moderate carbs? So just the pitta or chips or corn? Fill up on non-starchy veg instead maybe.

@EmMoose Your avatar says you're Type 2. Can you amend that so as not to cause confusion?

Remember it's normal to lose weight prior to a Type 1 diagnosis. So some of the weight you put on after you start insulin is simply normal weight as your body 'rebuilds' itself. I found I put on slightly more weight than I lost, but it then stabilised itself within a few months

Your body will have thought it was starving because it couldn't use the food you ate when you had diabetes but didn't realise it. Then when you were started on insulin, your body would probably add a little,extra weight in case the dreadful 'starvation' happened again. Once your body settles and re-adjusts, your weight should settle too

lcarter said:

No I didn't, I'm just a ganet.

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You were worried about the 20u that you'd taken for the meal, what I'm saying is you don't have to exclude carbs just eat them in moderation @lcarter and that will reduce your insulin usage.

@lcarter Have you tried soya and quorn? I love TVP, texturized soya protein. I rehydrate it with a tin of tomatoes, cook onion peppers, and make a base sauce which you can then flavour with what ever spice you want. The secret to make it really tasty is to simmer it for a least 30 mins. Bung in extras you like. I used to sell veggi food at festivals and some people could not believe it was veggi food.
Sainsburys, Tesco or Linda McCartney burgers are all low carb/cal, quick lunch that's not tuna and salad, two Tesco burgers, egg and mushrooms.
I like the Lidl low carb rolls but reserve them for work, as they are 300cals.

I love food, but I have found cutting down carbs and defiantly diet foods with artificial sweeteners has reduced my cravings. My luxury food is Aldi Moser 85%dark chocolate, they are individually wrapped portions so it feels like a real treat, with a good cup of coffee.
I have a carb/calorie counting app on my phone so that helps but if I have treat once a week I do not get too upset.
I think if you are an emotional eater, you have to make a 'safe' box with foods that you know the carb value of and like, like I have the chocolate, and inside of eating a plate chips, eat some of that. I like cheeses so I by the sliced packets so I know how much I have had.
I do not like slimming clubs, they make money by making you dependant, buying their branded foods, but really they almost have to programme you to fail so you come back, feeling a failure. I find the apps better because there is no judgement.
You are not a bad diabetic, you just haven't found a system what is right for you, that you can live with long term.

lcarter said:

Ah bless you. I'm quite an emotional eater and my life genuinely does revolve around enjoyable food. But I'm a danger to myself! It has to stop. There are so many people on here who have excellent control and ways of loving- I'm just not a very good diabetic!

Good luck to you

️

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I'm an emotional eater too.
I re-awared that this morning and I re-awared that the only things that consistently fix me are
yoga,
subsequent meditation,
lean feeding and I.F.
10 pm sleep,
those 3 things that fix most people's cravings like social attention, sex, and spending money, and all those other things that are illegal for married men and
feeling accomplished from fixing anything like cars, home, appliance malfunction, plumbing, peoples' tax matters.
The only problem, like you said is that "I'm a danger to myself! and I eat to reward myself after any of those successes and feeling accomplished, plus that on my birthday i give myself a lot of exemptions. Had my birthday 3 days ago and i'm still splurging coz it's birthday time traditionally all week long, or at least 7 days

koukSundo1188 said:

I'm an emotional eater too.
I re-awared** that this morning and I re-awared that the only things that consistently fix me are
yoga,
subsequent meditation,
lean feeding and I.F.
10 pm sleep,
those 3 things that fix most people's cravings like social attention, sex, and spending money, and all those other things that are illegal for married men and
feeling accomplished from fixing anything like cars, home, appliance malfunction, plumbing, peoples' tax matters.
The only problem, like you said is that "I'm a danger to myself! and I eat to reward myself after any of those successes and feeling accomplished, plus that on my birthday i give myself a lot of exemptions. Had my birthday 3 days ago and i'm still splurging coz it's birthday time traditionally all week long, or at least 7 days

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IMO with our type, we need to remain alert to our TRIGGERS. Like right now I'm consumed with all the cravings you can imagine but luckily I've just now awared that I've become tired after spending some time with some buddies washing our cars and from contemplating what else I could have gotten done if I had not spent so much time chatting with the guys. I'm a bit of an impatient socializer.

** This word "awared" better become officially accepted into the English language coz I need it often. It should be a derivative of TO AWARE.., bummer that I'm constantly grammatically wrong on that spelling

Many people with type 1 have recommended reading this book to help with controlling blood glucose levels, it would be worth buying it if you don't own it already:- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13473.Think_Like_a_Pancreas

Insulin can't make you gain weight unless you eat more calories than you need to maintain your weight. As you have IBS, it might be better to follow a diet that doesn't exacerbate your IBS and choose your insulin dosage accordingly. Once you have good glucose control, you can try gradually reducing your portion size and insulin dose.

Have you been on a DAFNE (dose adjustment for normal eating) course organised by your GP? http://www.dafne.uk.com/

Honeyend said:

I do not like slimming clubs, they make money by making you dependant, buying their branded foods

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My daughter ..not diabetic.. went to Slimming World for just over a year until she had lost the 11/2 stone she wanted to and she never once bought SW foods she just cooked her own food often using the SW recipes She said in her group they were more encouraged to cook meals from fresh. She doesn't go now and has not put the weight back on and she still eats the same way as she did on SW

Pinkorchid said:

My daughter ..not diabetic.. went to Slimming World for just over a year until she had lost the 11/2 stone she wanted to and she never once bought SW foods she just cooked her own food often using the SW recipes She said in her group they were more encouraged to cook meals from fresh. She doesn't go now and has not put the weight back on and she still eats the same way as she did on SW

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Quite agree @Pinkorchid ,my wife did the SW diet and didn't buy any of their products.

Sorry, it escaped my attention that you are Type 1. My last comment, of course, was not applicable to your situation.