Am I hungry or just bored?

[the-mental-one]

My name is Melanie, I've been lurking in the forum for a while, I was diagnosed 8 or 9 years ago when I was 31 but I'd been having symptoms for maybe 3 years before that. I pretty much diagnosed myself and then took a year convincing the doctor to test me as I was "too young for type 2 diabetes" Anyway after they diagnosed the diabetes they also diagnosed my PCOS which is also treated with metformin so yay for that medication.

I had a blip for a few years since my mum died as grief and depression made me not so great at the self care things you really need to cope with this disease so I decided to join the conversation here. I hope that some of you can be my support group as I go back to being careful and trying to do the right thing.

Right now I'm finding it hard to stick with my low carb, low cholesterol/saturated fat diet that I've recently gone back on, I'm feeling hungry all the time since I went back on it too, did anyone else have the same problem when cutting back on carbs?

I can't eat a lot of things due to allergies and the list has grown over the years from fish, most nuts, and peanuts as a child I'm now unable to eat a lot of fruits (pineapple, melon of any kind, peaches, plums, cherries, etc) and whilst the fruit thing isn't so bad because you have to be careful of a lot of them due to carbs but the nut and fish thing makes life more difficult. Then, end of 2019, I became aware I could no longer eat onions.

Onions were a staple in almost every meal and are not something you can just replace with anything else. As I'm jumping back on the wagon and also trying to make sure I cook for my dad, who has had heart attacks so need low cholesterol, at the same time, I'm finding the increasingly limited food options are making it harder to eat well.

Anyway I guess this is mostly a rant rather than an introduction, if you want to know more ask questions...but be warned I tend to answer without worrying about the social niceties that most people understand inherently because my autism.makes me less likely to know what they are

Also, if people have any ideas on how to sneak lower carbs in to a prediabetic who doesn't want to admit they have a problem I'm happy to hear them.

 

[DarrenW29]

I disagree on low carb diets and they don’t provide health benefits we can eat carbs I won’t give up eating 800-1000 carbs a day why should you

the right treatment allows us to live.

 

[the-mental-one]

I disagree on low carb diets and they don’t provide health benefits we can eat carbs I won’t give up eating 800-1000 carbs a day why should you

the right treatment allows us to live.

I'm adjusting to better my blood glucose levels after I went off the rails a bit and had some issues with either circulation or nerves in / to my hands.

Everyone has their own way to deal with the problems diabetes can throw at them. For me metformin and lower carbs will hopefully bring me down to almost normal range soon as I'm already at around the 5mmol/L mark before meals and around 7mmol/L 2 hours after I've eaten a decent meal with some carbs, just not as many as I would have had before.

For my next trick, figuring out how to avoid the dawn phenomenon I seem to have in the mornings

 

[Hayley78]

My name is Melanie, I've been lurking in the forum for a while, I was diagnosed 8 or 9 years ago when I was 31 but I'd been having symptoms for maybe 3 years before that. I pretty much diagnosed myself and then took a year convincing the doctor to test me as I was "too young for type 2 diabetes" Anyway after they diagnosed the diabetes they also diagnosed my PCOS which is also treated with metformin so yay for that medication.

I had a blip for a few years since my mum died as grief and depression made me not so great at the self care things you really need to cope with this disease so I decided to join the conversation here. I hope that some of you can be my support group as I go back to being careful and trying to do the right thing.

Right now I'm finding it hard to stick with my low carb, low cholesterol/saturated fat diet that I've recently gone back on, I'm feeling hungry all the time since I went back on it too, did anyone else have the same problem when cutting back on carbs?

I can't eat a lot of things due to allergies and the list has grown over the years from fish, most nuts, and peanuts as a child I'm now unable to eat a lot of fruits (pineapple, melon of any kind, peaches, plums, cherries, etc) and whilst the fruit thing isn't so bad because you have to be careful of a lot of them due to carbs but the nut and fish thing makes life more difficult. Then, end of 2019, I became aware I could no longer eat onions.

Onions were a staple in almost every meal and are not something you can just replace with anything else. As I'm jumping back on the wagon and also trying to make sure I cook for my dad, who has had heart attacks so need low cholesterol, at the same time, I'm finding the increasingly limited food options are making it harder to eat well.

Anyway I guess this is mostly a rant rather than an introduction, if you want to know more ask questions...but be warned I tend to answer without worrying about the social niceties that most people understand inherently because my autism.makes me less likely to know what they are

Also, if people have any ideas on how to sneak lower carbs in to a prediabetic who doesn't want to admit they have a problem I'm happy to hear them.

Hi Melanie.

Its a difficult one. I'm not good with diet, or others' diets lol, but I'll have a go. and I don't mind if you skip the social niceties lol.

I want to mention some foods you may not have thought of, or you may have but no good for you. but could give you an idea. So, here are a few......

vegetables,
eggs,
tofu
olives,
avocados (these provide good fats which can help lower cholesterol levels)
sirloin
chicken breast
pork
apples, strawberries, blueberries, bananas
Greek yogurt, plain

just a few suggestions. have you looked at any vegetarian foods? x

 

[Geordie_P]

I disagree on low carb diets and they don’t provide health benefits we can eat carbs I won’t give up eating 800-1000 carbs a day why should you

the right treatment allows us to live.

I'm sorry, you're a good guy, but this doesn't look quite right- carbs are best avoided for T2, and while you can take insulin, and many T1's do great with carbs and the right insulin corrections, I don't think it's a wise choice for T2's to jump straight to insulin injections rather than diet and oral medications.

 

[Resurgam]

I suspect your not eating saturated fats is the problem.
Cholesterol is made in the liver and it is an essential component of our bodies. I have yet to find any information about low fat eating being beneficial. Low fat makes Humans less healthy, from what I can discover.
People believe that by eating less fat their cholesterol reduces and that is a good thing - but having found one or two articles which seem to show that older people have higher cholesterol I find myself unable to work actively towards reducing my cholesterol as that might very well reduce my lifespan.
I just eat the usual low carb diet and I never get hungry and my cholesterol is in the normal range - but as I am labelled diabetic the GP wants it reduced. But of course, I do not have any symptoms of diabetes eating as I do.
The carbs I do eat come from vegetables usually - I think you would be able to eat the stir fries and salads I usually eat.
My limit of 40 gm a day might seem meagre, but when I decide to make a salad to have for dinner I usually have to eat what I can and then go back to it later, as it is too much in one go.

 

[VashtiB]

I disagree on low carb diets and they don’t provide health benefits we can eat carbs I won’t give up eating 800-1000 carbs a day why should you

the right treatment allows us to live.

I'm sorry that I also do not agree. For most type 2s carbs are a problem. We are already insulin resistant and unless we reduce our carb intake we will become more insulin resistant. You seem very young to be a type 2 and @Geordie_P comments seem to suggest that you already take insulin. If this is the case this is something that should be disclosed when giving advice to new people. I am very motivated to do what is necessary to reduce my insulin resistance and to avoid taking insulin.

If I am mistaken I am sorry. I still think that my reducing carbs has been what I needed to do to keep my blood sugar levels down (and lose more than 30 kgs without counting calories). However, if you are not on medication (other than metformin) and your diet keeps your blood sugar levels in the normal range and it is sustainable for the rest of your life then that is great! I tried for many years eating very low calorie- I can calorie count with the best of them- that lead me to diabetes and I felt more deprived then I do with very low carb.

Whatever works is my view- your meter is the ultimate judge and mine tells me that low carb is working for me.

 

[VashtiB]

hi @the-mental-one

That sounds really tough. I am sorry that your diet has become so restrictive.

Read around on the low carb part of the forum- they have a lot of ideas for low arb food.

Good luck.

 

[DarrenW29]

I'm sorry, you're a good guy, but this doesn't look quite right- carbs are best avoided for T2, and while you can take insulin, and many T1's do great with carbs and the right insulin corrections, I don't think it's a wise choice for T2's to jump straight to insulin injections rather than diet and oral medications.

why do you prefer the oral medication route won’t they eventually kill of are pancreas beta cells and they can worsen health by increasing heart attack stroke without treating blood sugars most need the highest dosage of medication and still run high blood sugars

being type 2 we aren’t going to fix are insulin resistance diet won’t solve it if that was the case we’d all be cured living normal

Insulin gives us a way to control the issue by preventing high blood sugars and allowing the food carbohydrates to be used effectively by taken how many iu to match the ratios we just consumed which will allow for blood sugars to be stable

insulin doesn’t effect heart or cause strokes it’s safer treatment and it works

 

[DarrenW29]

This is coming from someone who dieted to extreme low bodyfat levels that was extremely fat on a low carbohydrate diet in theory that should have cured me and I should now be very insulin sensitive since my bodyfat is low and my muscle tissue is higher

but that’s not the case this is why diet isn’t the cure sure it will keep numbers lower eating less carbs but for a lifestyle choice of living just not ideal

we need the right treatment and insulin which is still not great who wants to inject morning and each meal nobody but if that means I can enjoy pasta or potatoes I’m sure going to inject 6units and enjoy it without any blood sugar issues

you can try for insulin sensitivity
Metformin
Ala
Apple cider v
Chromium
Mt2

^
Using the above and still without effect which means we can’t cure resistance

 

[bulkbiker]

being type 2 we aren’t going to fix are insulin resistance diet won’t solve it if that was the case we’d all be cured living normal

Some of us are my friend.. maybe temper some of your comments until you have discovered a bit more about what people here have achieved?

 

[DarrenW29]

A low carb is for people overweight it’s not for people fit at a good weight and don’t need to loose weight it’s just so miss leading they used to prescribe low carb starvation diets to try control diabetes that didn’t turn o

Some of us are my friend.. maybe temper some of your comments until you have discovered a bit more about what people here have achieved?

ok but if they’ve solved it does that mean they can eat pizza and cake like someone normal ?

 

[bulkbiker]

Right now I'm finding it hard to stick with my low carb, low cholesterol/saturated fat diet that I've recently gone back on, I'm feeling hungry all the time since I went back on it too, did anyone else have the same problem when cutting back on carbs?

Carbs have to be replaced with something and for most of us that's fat and in some cases extra protein too.
I'm not surprised you are hungry all the time.

Up the fats.. dietary cholesterol has little effect on blood cholesterol its all regulated by the liver anyway so what you don't eat your body makes. Saturated fat is not "bad" as it has been painted so your dad could likely up the fats too (from the right sources) like animal based foods.

 

[bulkbiker]

A low carb is for people overweight it’s not for people fit at a good weight and don’t need to loose weight it’s just so miss leading they used to prescribe low carb starvation diets to try control diabetes that didn’t turn o

ok but if they’ve solved it does that mean they can eat pizza and cake like someone normal ?

You are assuming that pizza and cake are "normal foods" which is a rather large assumption to be making don't you think?

 

[bulkbiker]

used to prescribe low carb starvation diets

A decently formulated ketogenic diet can in no way be described as starvation.
It's simply eating single ingredient freshly prepared foods. Meat, Fish, green veg, dairy, eggs.
What mankind has eaten for millennia.

 

[DarrenW29]

You are assuming that pizza and cake are "normal foods" which is a rather large assumption to be making don't you think?

I’m just making the example of someone normal who eat what they want and have no effects pizza cake seemed the perfect example for this

 

[DarrenW29]

A decently formulated ketogenic diet can in no way be described as starvation.
It's simply eating single ingredient freshly prepared foods. Meat, Fish, green veg, dairy, eggs.
What mankind has eaten for millennia.

Absolutely I consume both I can make food taste outstanding

ofcourse carbs aren’t essential protein pufa omega 3-6 fats are

but for long term I just wouldn’t do that style of diet

mod protein
Low fat
High carb

 

[DarrenW29]

And saturate fats are stored as bodyfat omega 3-6 aren’t favoured towards muscle tissue insulin sensitivity

 

[bulkbiker]

I’m just making the example of someone normal who eat what they want and have no effects pizza cake seemed the perfect example for this

Again you are making the rather huge assumption that cake and pizza are in any way "normal" foods.
And that anyone can eat them without harm to some degree, which personally I'd doubt.

 

[bulkbiker]

And saturate fats are stored as bodyfat omega 3-6 aren’t favoured towards muscle tissue insulin sensitivity

No they aren't.. read some Bikman.