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Does the odd treat now and then affect long term health?

M

Mollyc1995

Well-Known Member
Messages
133
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
like any other diet do any of you have that ‘cheat meal’ or some chocolate or crisps now and then?

It’s my friends birthday next week and we are going for pizza at Pizza Hut, and I know I won’t be able to just have a slice or two, I want to enjoy it at the same time and it’s not something I have often.....

I am losing weight and exercising, I follow slimming world which is working for me. I have found carbs like wholewheat pasta, whole grains cous cous, sweet potatoes do r affect by bg with huge spikes. It usually goes up by no more than 2 mmol, and I find foods like crisps, chocolate, fatty foods raise my bg more, although with slimming world I am limited to those foods as I have what’s called syns (5-15 a day) so I tend to use that for healthy fats like avocado and chia seeds and usually a few for a small chocolate bar but I’m not going crazy like my diet before.

And although with slimming world you can eat as much pasta and potatoes you want I certainly don’t, I may have potatoes twice a week and I weight my whole wheat pasta to a one person serving and have that twice a week....

Do any of you have maybe a treat once a week/ month or whatever.
 
@Mollyc1995 Usually my treats boil down to some keto fat balls or 85% or more cocoa chocolate. These days I don't touch pasta or potatoes with a barge pole. A useful piece of advice I have been given is not to really sweat the unavoidable things like that, one major spike now or then isn't going to kill but try to keep them at a minimum. What kind of fatty foods have you been eating? It's mainly carbs that make my body throw a tantrum.
 
I have some bite sized dark chocolate Toblerone. 6g carbs.

May have one of those. Or I will knock up some peanut butter cookies but they never last the day 2g each.

That is about it. What your talking about as treats I just don't bother with.

Got burned by pizza in the past so don't bother. You do eat a lot more carbs than me so you may be OK with something thin crust.
 
Some of the fatty foods I ate before dieti g was full fat mayo with meals, crisps, chocolate, cream - now I if I have any of these things I have in moderation or go for lighter options, and although I’d say I’m not low carb my glucose numbers ha e been going down for 3 weeks now and I test morning, before and after meals and usually don’t go over 2 mmol/L

I just hope with my exercise and slimming world diet I can increase my insulin sensitivity and not cause more damage....if I’m honest I love my carbs and always stick to wholewheat but I don’t over indulge on them, I also would never go back to the way I used to eat where it was convinence food, takeaways, big chocolate bars and crisps
 
Thanks for sharing, I am interested in what everyone’s diets are as I feel some are so restricted and it’s sounds like you can never have a burger, or takeaway as a treat now and then...half of my family have diabetes and are on medication and never watch what they eat, they eat chocolate and takeaway all the time which I would never do, but knowing if I once a month I can have something like a takeaway make me feel more normal if that makes sense
 
@Mollyc1995 I had pizza last Saturday night and enjoyed it. Ultimately it is up to you - if you want to go out and have some go for it!
 
Daphne917 said:
@Mollyc1995 I had pizza last Saturday night and enjoyed it. Ultimately it is up to you - if you want to go out and have some go for it!
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Thanks, I feel sometimes you need to have a fun and have something you don’t usually have, I see it’s says your type 2 in remission, do you mind sharing how you got into remission and how long you’ve been in remission for, and you day to day diet
 
I think of it a bit like cleaning my teeth.
I clean my teeth twice a day every day. It is a habit just like managing our diabetes whether through diet or drugs (or both) is a habit.

I say I clean my teeth twice a day every day but very occasionally I may be too tired when I come in from a night out with friends and just fall into bed.
My teeth do not fall out because I forget to clean my teeth occasionally but they would if I forgot often.

I see diabetes management the same - if I eat a pizza occasionally, the risk of complications from diabetes would be low. However, if I ate pizza, chips, pasta, etc every day, the chances are I would suffer.

The analogy also works if you think about that next morning "rug in mouth" feeling you have when you forget to clean your teeth. It is not pleasant but it doesn't mean your teeth will fall out.
You may find, your BG is raised the next day if you have pizza and you don't feel your best but it doesn't mean you are going to get retinopathy or neuropathy or any other "opathy".
 
Personally I wouldn’t use slimming world as it’s focus is far more low fat than low carb. And as a diabetic my issue is carbs and fats are not the demon they have been made out to be for anyone.

With regard to the pasta, sweet potatoes, cous cous etc when after meals are you testing? They are renowned for spiking after 2hrs so if that’s the only time you’ve checked it’s possible you’re missing the spike that is there for most, but not all I guess, diabetics.

You’re human. Whilst ideally no treats are the perfect answer, most of us splurge a little occasionally. How often and how much is very individual. Will it set off cravings and more bad foods? Can you restrain yourself truly and keep it to a one off? Will seeing (or ignoring) a high result stress you? Only you can answer.

For me my occasional treats also depend on my actual numbers pre treat. Sometimes a figure at my low end inspires me to continue good food and not mess it up. Other times I feel it a licence to have a treat. Higher numbers do tend to make me resist rather than cave in. What sort of figures are you at typically? If they’re high I’d try and resist in your shoes til I was out of the danger zone.
 
I think it’s fair to say it’s a decision only you can make. There are some on here who will tell you no, a cheat a month can easily creep into a cheat a fortnight and a cheat a week and before you know it control has lapsed. That eating carbs fuels carb cravings and so why bother. Others will say yes, you’ve got to live with this illness and life is a balancing act and if it makes you happy go for it as occasional treats won’t cause major damage.
For me personally, and to have no influence or judgement on others choices, I believe that as long my overall control is good - and at the moment my numbers are good, then I will on occasion allow a treat however only in moderation. I would be happy with a slice of pizza with my salad rather than caving in entirely to lots of pizza. But I also regularly go out for meals with friends or family and stick to low carb easily and am not tempted by the ‘naughty’ food. It really depends on the occasion and what options are available and what mood I’m in and where my bloods are at. Whatever you decide, enjoy your friends birthday!
 
At the end of the folk club season (it only runs through the winter) we are going to have a meal together - at a local Italian restaurant, where the menu is all pasta and pizza - and I will have a salad with tomatoes and cheese.
I just can't think of pasta or pizza as a treat - no way.
 
Personally I’m entirely happy with my food and have my treats every single day, so no need for cheats.

That’s not a very productive answer so feel free to ignore, but in the end, glucotoxicity is glucotoxicity. Only you can decide if it’s worth it. My feeling is that short term elevations probably won’t hurt you, but no one can tell you how many seconds you may or may not take off your life. If you’re happy to do it then do it with an open mind and don’t feel guilty. Personally I wouldn’t, but I’m not you
 
For the past week my fasting blood glucose was between 5.9 and 6.3, a little high still but I see it coming down gradually each week....I don’t yet have a diagnosis, I had my second blood test to ‘confirm it’ last Wednesday so my results should be in on Monday.....I believe it okay to have the occasional treat as to me it’s aboit balance...there’s so many people who aren’t even diabetic and don’t eat a balanced diet at all, I work at Asda and some of the things i see on trolleys baffles me,
 
Also
how long shouldd I wait till after my meals to check if I get spikes or not? 3 hours?
 
Mollyc1995 said:
Also

how long shouldd I wait till after my meals to check if I get spikes or not? 3 hours?
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2 hrs is the norm. Some slow acting carbs or those eaten with a lot of fats my take longer. Up to you but on at least two occasions with each food I’d do a 3 and 4 hr. but that’s just me.
 
Your fasting figures are a little better than mine. You have a valid point about life being a balance and plenty do it worse but you don’t have to live in their bodies.
 
Something else to think about is that irrespective of what does or doesn’t happen with your glucose reaction, a carb binge (my words I know) is going to contribute to increased insulin resistance, and this is the bit you can’t really measure at home. Not saying it should influence your decision, but it’s nevertheless a factor when it comes to these life choices.
 

@JoKalsbeek made an amazing blog post about the kind of stuff you can eat without being worried to much about it here: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

What I would say is not to take it all on blind faith, keep on testing which leads me on to ask if you have a meter? That’s your best friend in determining what we can and cannot eat by resting 1 and 2 hours after eating because everyone is different and Diabetes is a fickle beast.

Ask questions as much as you can, we are here for you and takeaways are not off the menu, and long as you go for something high in fat, decent in protein and low in carb like a chicken kebab with no bread, a good dose of salad and full fat mayo.

It’ll take time to adjust but you can do this and if you ever need support then reach out, alright?
 
Thanks so much, yes I do have a meter and have been checking since they said 3 weeks back that I may be diabetic......ideally when should our blood sugar levels be back down by? and should it be the same as our fasting number?
 
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