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Do you believe in taking days 'off' ( kinda) from diabetes now and again

bellabella

Well-Known Member
Messages
135
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm type one for 7 months, currently doing great on lchf ( hba1c 52) I'm currently, as well as doing low carb trying to workout a lot to lose some weight and tone up etc. sugar cravings have been fairly easy to control. But I was wondering if Any one here gives themselves a cheat day as it were to just ditch the diet, ditch the low carb mantra and have whatever treats you may find yourself craving... Obviously while not ditching the insulin at the same time of course.
 
No I don't and I'm a T2. To undo the hard work to get where I am would simply betray what I know I must do and to start back up after a deliberate break is (to me anyway) pointless. I know others do (heck, even my dietician suggested I "break free" when I wished) but I simply can't.

I'd still kill for a good lasagne, a 6 pack of Guinness and some sourdough. It'll take years before I can let that go ..... but better those years ahead with some "withdrawal" pains than reduced time on this planet because I didn't follow the routine.

Many will disagree with me and say it's OK from time to time .... and I have no argument with that at all. It's just my willpower and my mind telling me "NO".
 
No - I'm another t2 and am definitely with @Mike D on this. People using insulin are probably going to have some leeway, so may well have a different take on things.

For me low carb is a permanent way of eating - not some temporary dietary fix - so I don't see any reason to have a day or two off. I prefer the food I eat now and no way would go back to my old diet, though there are some things I occasionally miss, And that's not to say that I don't occasionally eat something that is really not an ideal or sensible choice for me. However I value my eyesight and use of my hands much more than such temptations, so it's usually no contest!


Robbity
 
Dont believe in "days off" . I want the best possible results that I can manage at all times. My affair with carbohydrates is over forever.
 
Hi Bella, there are many T1s who don't follow a low carb diet and maintain excellent glucose control. There is nothing stopping you from eating what you like and making sure that you have the right level of insulin to avoid glucose level spikes.

When I am bulking during training, I eat carbs as it is hard to bulk without them, and I simply insulate accordingly. As long as you are measuring your insulin and glucose control there is nothing wrong with it.

Unlike a T2, your glucose levels are dependent on what insulin you put in, so as long as you offset what you what with what you inject, it should have limited impact.
 
I personally would prefer the word 'treat' but tbh I am pretty good. I had a couple of drinks over the Christmas period, with Insulin Bs went balistic also a couple of chocolates with my meal ( I never eat in between meals) same again BS goes bonkers. So even with Insulin, my body can't cope with 'spiky foods' that I rarely eat. So pretty boring and predictable even with Insulin
( type 1). I know some members may think,' well you didn't take enough Insulin', but I did work it out and my mind says, oh yes please just as a tiny treat, but my body says NO !! ps my body is always attacking some part of me
I know some type 2's had a few treats over the Christmas period as they posted the odd roast potato,yorkshire pudding, mince pie or Christmas pudding, chocolate etc. Hopefully they may want to post too

Best wishes RRB
 
As a T2 I don't have "days off" as I don't want to get back into bad habits and undo all the good work I've done. I may have the occasional very small jacket potato but that's not very often. However, my mother, also T2, is a different story. She has a day off once a week, she eats what she wants and doesn't take any of her daily medications for the day. I've told her many times how silly and dangerous it is but it falls on deaf ears. She doesn't low carb or even cut down on them and she thinks I'm the silly one for not eating them! The most ludicrous thing is that every Thursday she goes to bingo with a friend and they have a fish and chip supper followed by a jam donut and then moans when she feels ill, I wonder why.
 
No, I don't . Not because I'm any kind of Saint, ( as if! LOL ) but because anything on my personal list of forbidden foods makes me feel like **** as well as messing with my ratios

One personal truth I have found out the hard way is that a carb is not a carb is not a carb. They all react differently as far as insulin is concerned, and I'm just too **** lazy to want to recalculate for something that won't make me feel too good anyway .

If I want something that sounds sinful, but isn't, I look for a low carb version . I'm currently working my way through the Wheat Belly cookbooks, and have really enjoyed some of the recipes in there. I'm afraid I've been on a pancake binge recently, purely for research purposes


Signy
 
I had a ferero rocher on christmas, thats it, since my diagnosis in August.
But I do have an odd treat i would say but not a day off, dont think I can afford that to be honest.
 
As a T2 I don't have days off but I do have planned treats, I find that if I include my treats into my food plan I very rarely if ever fall off the wagon and don't get cravings, I'm not against people having a day off now and again, a planned day off once in a while is better than an impulsive day off which can make it so much harder to get back on track
 
Agree with RRB, I'd rather refer to it as a treat as opposed to taking a day off as taking insulin and testing bg levels is non-negotiable, however I do enjoy an occasional treat and don't see my diabetes as an obstacle in doing so.
 
Pretty much with @Mike D on this one (from a T2 point of view). Why would you want to apart from an occasional scientific test?*. And even if you did you would have to be pretty **** sure that you have the willpower to stop it happening more and more.

* about once every six weeks I meet up with friends in a pub and I will then have a pint of real ale. But that's it.

And at the risk of treading on the toes of T1s, sure you can inject to compensate, but don't you want to reduce/minimise your insulin - in accordance with your team's guidance of course?
 
sanguine said:
And at the risk of treading on the toes of T1s, sure you can inject to compensate, but don't you want to reduce/minimise your insulin - in accordance with your team's guidance of course?
Click to expand...
Given that your team's guidance is to eat what you want and follow DAFNE, then Low Carb is often a bit of a "really, how odd" reaction.

Having said that, as @noblehead has said, there is nothing wrong with giving yourself a treat as long as it doesn't affect you in a way you don't want/can't handle. Just because, as a T2, if you take a treat day, it throws your glucose levels totally out of kilter, doesn't necessarily mean that this is the same for a T1.

If on one day per month, you use twice as much insulin as you normally would, I would not consider this to be, in the grand scheme of things, an issue. On the other hand, it's worth bearing in mind that one day on the carbs is likely to lead to carb craving and it's very easy for one to become two to become three....
 
Hi. I agree with the others that you should think of particular meals every so often as treat and not a'day off'. As an insulin user you can obviously increase the Bolus but be aware of weight gain. Occasionally I will have a Hot-cross bun but take some NovoRapid to cover it. Before insulin I had to be very careful as the tablets didn't give good control so T2s can have a difficult time and sadly discipline is needed.
 
Heathenlass said:
No, I don't .....

I'm afraid I've been on a pancake binge recently, purely for research purposes
Signy
Click to expand...

Thank goodness for enquiring minds! It's amazing what we can justify in the name of research isn't it?

Robbity
 
I like to think, it's the only perk of being type 1 rather than type 2, we're already on the insulin so we can manage a treat meal with insulin without hopefully having to worry (no offence my type 2 friends, just my way of making myself feel better about Being t1- I know it's not logical)

I'm LCHF too, but you need to live a little. I love my food and the thought of treats or a day off so to speak keeps me on track the rest of the time.

There's no reason you HAVE to low carb, as log as you can manage the carbs with ur insulin
 
Nope - neither can we have a break nor holiday from it all
It is with us 24/7 - does its own thing ,especially when I am ill or
on antibiotics .
Need and want my insulin too much
 
My appetite is so wonky, I can't do it without risking a slow freefall which can take weeks to end. Anyone with an addictive relationship to sweet food or bread, for example, is well advised to think twice.
If you are a ketogenic fat burner (less than 50g/day), just 1 day off could mean a couple of weeks to get back into ketosis.
 
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