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"cheating" and "getting away with it"

C

chocoholicnomore

Well-Known Member
Messages
639
Location
Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all

I was very strict from diagnosis in September until Christmas, as I was terrified to eat the things that I knew were wrong or bad for BG levels.

However, at Christmas I dipped my toe in the water so to speak and ate a little of the wrong things but my BG levels didn't rise as expected-I think 9.something was the highest it went and that was only once. Then the "I got away with it" mentality kicked in and I began to eat more and more (sweets, chocolate, biscuits, cakes etc) but, I hasten to add, not as much as before db. My BG levels still aren't rising too much (7.3 tonight 2hrs after dinner) but I know if I keep going this way I will end up back at square one. I also know that I am only cheating myself.I really do want to get back on the wagon and still need to lose alot of weight.

I know I need to get the fear factor back again as now I think "one won't do any harm".

I read a post the other night from someone who said they had once thought they could get away with cheating but have learned the hard way that they can't (don't remember which thread it was on)

I just wondered if anyone would like to share their experiences of whether or not they "got away with cheating".

Thanks for any help and advice

Marina
 
Choco, I started to feel that way once, then I saw on the Internet photos of a foot with holes right through it where ulcers hadn't healed. It re-motivated me. Fear can be good
 
Like you I relaxed a bit over xmas but I have my check up soon so I just imagined how I'd feel if the nurse thought I was failing in my control. As for getting on track with weight loss valentines day was a"natural day" for me to want to short a short term goal for (that fell through, but I keep the target so she sees what she's missing out on!)
 
When I'm tempted, I think of the look on my daughter's face when she was scared I might die and that does it for me.

Diabetes is such a tricky condition. It is invisible and reminds me a bit of carbon monoxide - invisible, but ultimately deadly.
 
Hi,
When we cheat we don't get away with it. Any form of advertising of foods makes us aware of temptations that can be hard to resist,, including your avatar. :lol: That is what advertising is all about, getting us to buy the junk. We have to weigh up cheating with the possibility of what can happen if we keep on doing it. Think of diabetes as a beast that needs taming or it will attack you and have a weekly treat as something to look forward to. Didi makes a very good comparison when she compares it to carbon monoxide. :clap:

If you read through this link about all the possible neuropathies. you will see that it can affect any part of your body and not just your feet.
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/neuropathies/
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/n ... es/#effect
Nobody can guarantee that they will not be affected regardless of their control but it seems the best option to try and keep it under control

It took me about a month to realise that there was no easy way to gain control and I had to be strict with myself. All went well until I developed a thyroid problem last year which saw the weight drop off me, weight I could ill afford to lose having successfully got to a sensible weight. That was as bad as being overweight and was difficult as ~I had to try and gain weight without losing my diabetes control. All is back to normal now and the urge to eat something I shouldn't will always be with me as I am sure it is with many others.

Many of us are emotional eaters and your head has to get to the right place to make you see that eating the wrong foods is going to land you in a lot of trouble. I bet you get angry and upset with yourself when you cheat which causes you to carry on eating the wrong things. It is as though you are punishing yourself. Try and break the circle by involving yourself in something else when you feel the urge to stray, something that involves your hands like writing, knitting etc....Keep a jug of water handy and drink it instead of reaching for the biscuits. Don't buy things that are tempting and every time you go to buy them, put the money in a tin for something nice that you would like. Could be a beauty treatment, new pair of shoes, handbag, CD, anything you really want/need instead of wasting it on junk that is unhealthy even if you don't have diabetes.

None of us are saints and for most of us, eating the wrong things got us here in the first place. It is a behaviour that we cannot afford to repeat if we want to stay well.
 
Try and break the circle by involving yourself in something else when you feel the urge to stray, something that involves your hands like writing, knitting etc....Keep a jug of water handy and drink it instead of reaching for the biscuits.
Click to expand...

I do patchwork and I've started knitting bags out of gorgeous really chunky wool for birthday presents. They don't take long to do, so the results are quickly seen :)
 
Catherinecherub, you talk such sense, particularly about emotional eating! It's a complete vicious circle - eating comfort food to comfort yourself for eating comfort food :( .

I find this time of year has a lot to do with it, too. Long, dull,cold, wet days - we get a bit depressed and a bit bored and can't do anything nice in our leisure time because it's not fit to go out. Hang on in there, Marina - just for now, take one day at a time. Tell yourself you can have it tomorrow - and tomorrow - and tomorrow.

Whe the weather improves you'll feel better about everything :D

And take those biscuits out of your handbag :lol: :crazy:

Viv 8)
 
Its a form of denial really. Look I can eat this and it doesn't have much effect . I think you are trying to tell yourself that the diabetes isn' so imporant that you have no need to ake it so seriously.

I went hrough something of the kind shortly after I was diagnosed. It was almost like playing a game of "chicken " wih myself.

Nowadays my problems are all with othe people upseting my rouine. if i don't keep to a strict routine
o balance food ,medication and exercise I have problems keeping my bg under control.The Christmas period was difficult for me not because of the emptation of all the "goodies" but because
of the visitors and eaing at odd times etc.

If you keep it under control now you will have far more control over your diet and your life for much longer.

Try to think of it like that. By conrolling what you eat you are controlling the diabetes- it is not comntrolling you. As you go on it will become easier and you will learn when you can reat yourself
wihou doing much harm.

After a while you lose your taste for certain things -usually the sweet things . That makes it easier.
 
Thank you all so much for your encouraging posts.

Everything you have all said is so true-the comfort eating, the denial, the control, the fear. It really does help to realise that I am not alone and all these feelings and emotions are normal. That others have experienced the same things and come through it and, hopefully, in time, I will too.

I have said it before and I will say it again-the support from all the lovely people in this forum is tremendous and such a great help.

I know I just have to get rid of this comfort eating and cheating mentality, stop denying that I have diabetes and start to control IT. Easier said than done :lol:

Thanks everybody

Marina
 
I have similar problems, and I'm struggling to keep in control.
First of all I think there's the problem when one starts a diet. IT requires a change of habits and lifestyle, and not what normally happens with weight loss diets, that aren't unsustainable on the long term because one can't lose weight forever.

The other problem is that "the just once won't hurt" could become rapidly a change back of dieting habits.
Because, on most cases just once won't hurt it's true, but hurts when in once a day.

I know I can make slip ups and so on, I try to do notdo them but if it happens I'll correct possibly without givin me an harsh sentence. I think also that the fear facor doesn't work well becaue it's a "negative renforcment thing" PSA that are trying pepole to quit smoking aren't working very much.
I quit smoking not for the scare of lung cancer but because after having trhown away the coffin nails I felt GREAT and energetic.
 
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