Eating Out Normally Again Is Something I Dream Of

Why do you think you have to have bland food? Or deny yourself tasty meals? I don't understand.

In my experience, acceptance and working WITH my carb impairment is key to successful management.

Have a good look at all the wonderful tasty interesting meal ideas in the low carb section of the forum.

You can't, in my opinion, bargain with blood sugar levels, or 'bank' carbs. But you can eat good tasty food while paying attention to your type 2 diabetic needs

I think everyone’s experience on low carb is different, for me, I will be honest, I hate it but I accept it. I’ve tried loads of different meals, online, in books and nothing satisfies me.Even the look of the food on the plate looks boring no matter how colourful. alternatives only last so long, I can’t stand cauliflower rice anymore, just thinking about it makes me feel sick.no matter how nice a meal taste I know I won’t make it again because then it’s repetitive and easy to get bored. prepping and or cooking for morning dinner and tea and thinking what you can have is not an enjoyable experience. Putting something in slow cooker like a shepherds pie and leaving it all day till u put spuds on for tea time is something worth waiting for.I read somewhere low carb isn’t accepted by professionals because most people can’t maintain it for the rest of their life.silly really for the people who have done it.Got to say, yes my blood sugars are great, yes I’ve lost 7 stone and I’m not as hungry, but I’m not happy and I should be. The fear of problems later on in life is what stops me eating normal. Do I have potatoes once a week, yes I do, and after that meal, I walk 10 miles and I’m happy on that day because it’s felt like a normal day. I walk 10 miles regardless of if I eat potatoes or low carb anyway. Does feeling sluggish the day after make it feel worth it, yeah but it’s not nice.When out for a meal it’s a struggle, anyone want dessert, yeah 10 blueberries with 2 squares of 90% dark chocolate melted down as anymore and my bloods will be up. While everyone else is enjoying an ice cream with sprinkles and drizzle of sauce.So yes it’s frustrating and I might sound a misery but that’s how I feel about low carb. Any low carb plate I’ve ever seen I will pick apart with what’s wrong with it. Spuds go with that, spaghetti goes with that, stuffing goes with chicken, rice goes with that, buns go with a burger, chips go with steak, a pie isn’t a pie without a crust.you can add all the herbs spices and low carb sauce in the world, it might taste nice but it’s boring.The alternative is never going to make me happy no matter what is in front of me. Do I think low carb is the way, definitely, will I carry on doing it, yes I will but it costs me my happiness but gives me my health so it’s a no brainer. Fear of problems is what stops me eating what I want that day. I know some people will be happy on low carb and I wish I could be one of those people. My post is just an expression of how I feel on it. It would be boring if we was all the same. I will be honest,When I first started low carb it was great, weight loss, good blood sugars, but after a while,it just didn’t give me any happiness. My moms celiac and she said I’m in same boat, no you have an alternative to just about most things and going to a restaurant,most places have a gluten free menu and I think that’s amazing. A mushroom as a burger bun is the most disgusting thing I could think of as an alternative for me. I’d rather have a vodka and get drunk so I’m not hungry. There, that’s my experience and my thoughts even if I do sound depressing. I’m in no way telling anyone not to go low carb because I will always be on it and what makes one person unhappy will make another person happy,I’m on it because I have too, not because I want too. Our choice has been taken away because of this disease. You haven’t got diabetes because you are fat, or because your lazy or all the other things doctors used to say it was from. I count my blessings I’m here and there are people a lot worse off than myself. However it still doesn’t stop how I feel. Sorry it’s a bit depressing and long winded. You will find your happy medium but you can’t get rid of this disease, remission yes, but eat as you wish and it will come back. Could have wrote a little novel there ha!

I did LCHF when first diagnosed and with the help of the good folks on this forum i lost 5 stone and got my bloods back in the normal range which was brilliant, then i went on a family holiday and thought sod it i'll eat what everyone else is having just for the week.
Surprise surprise 6 months later i'd put 3 stone back on and the meter was off the scale again, it was a **** sight harder to get back on the wagon and a lot worse than when i first started out, with the help of a loving wife i'm now on one meal a day and actually enjoying the varied diet i now have and really enjoy what i eat and i think the key is being inventive with your meal plans.

I often have shepherds pie but change the potato topping for swede and celeriac mash (yes potatoes taste better) but the alternative tastes great too (i also drown it in mint sauce which helps)

My biggest gripe is that supermarkets and restaurants just don't cater for diabetic needs, which is why i prefer to prepare my own meals.

My Dads old mantra of 'eat to live not live to eat' still holds true.

edit: i don't know why the forum struck out a word that wasn't a swear word and was quite innocent, oh well!

The thing I find is misbehaving (!!) will not kill you and if it is once in a very blue moon it allows for some occasional "normality".

BUT once in a very blue moon becomes once in a blue moon becomes once a week becomes even more frequent (even if only tiny misbehaviours...) far too easily especially once you have been diabetic for a long time. And the guilt - every time - means I don't even get to enjoy it properly.
I kept my numbers good for such a long time and I didn't really feel like I had fallen off the wagon as I low carbed the majority of the time, until my HBa1c before Christmas alerted me - there is just no room for error with this condition and that is what I struggle with. DN put me on a med I wasn't happy to be on so that provided the motivation I was lacking. But no, not fun, especially when out and about. That is the worst.

If_only said:

So, I am still going through some dips at the thought of a life of bland food but strangely the last couple of days I just haven't felt hungry and haven't eaten much. I used to feel ravenous but not any more. Still its good for me to shed some pounds. Since being diagnosed I have been strict in what I eat but he other night I ordered a couple of so called friendly take out dishes, but when it turned up, I couldn't enjoy them. I was more worried about undoing the work I have done and what if suddenly I would suffer from severe after effects? Never mind the fact that I have been eating all sorts of stuff for years with a BG count of over 15, without experiencing issues, and besides that the dishes were also boring, I'd rather go without next time. In my head, I wonder, can I find a way to manage this that nobody else has? Can I "bank" carbs over several weeks? Let me explain, diabetes doesn't work to a day or a week, its there, all the time for ever. So who came up with the plan to fit management of it in to 24 hours and why? Why not manage it over a week or a month? I get that its to do with spikes in BG but if its there in the background its there all the time. Kind of like you get daily, weekly and monthly views of the stock market. Why not come up with another way of monitoring that gives a wider view? Surely if we fall in to a routine, its continuous anyway. Have I stumbled on to a new approach ? Has medical science got it wrong and are too tick box focused? Or am I completely barking mad ? I don't wat to be held ransom to this disease but I don't want to lose any more to it, now or in the future either. I am going to make it my mission ... time permitting... to discover a new way to deal with this where people us can have our cake and eat it. If by some miracle I can come up with another way that is equally or better at managing this, having an appreciation as to what everyone goes through, Id give it away for free.

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Who's fitting management of it in 24 hours? T2 is a lifetime thing, and one of the moment. When someone falls off the wagon, it's easier to say tomorrow's a new day to try, as some arbitrary line in the sand, because that's just how our minds work. But diabetes, well... If you're over 8,5 mmol/l, it does damage to your body. Everything suffers, your eyes, kidneys, nerve endings, heart, veins, liver... Stay up there for a long period of time, and you get more damage. If you decide to monitor over a month because you feel a day is nonsense, and you're up high for two weeks and have excellent blood sugars for the other two, the good weeks aren't going to cancel out the damage done in the high weeks. You can't bargain with diabetes. It just hurts you when it can. So don't let it. That's your choice of course, but...

...Today I found out that some issues I've been having, have been partially caused by the years I spent as an undiagnosed diabetic. Five years of excellent control haven't changed a thing about the early years, when I was in the double digits and just didn't know. Here I was, thinking I'd headed the bad stuff off. Still have nerve damage though. It doesn't bargain. You can't bank anything. You just deal best as you know how, and combat it as much as you can or want.

I'm so sorry, because wholeheartedly, I wish you were right. It just doesn't work that way.

As someone who’s always been a fussy eater, asking for alternatives to what is on the standard menu is something that has long been part of my life!

Going keto just meant that the requested needed to change somewhat and had more of an urgency (needing to maintain decent blood glucose numbers) than simple preferences for taste. With that did come an initial ‘grieving’ period, but it is genuinely true that my tastes have changed and I no longer crave some (most) of the things that I now avoid.

With sauces (I never did like them much - too many ingredients), asking for them on the side really helps. A little taste quickly identifies any lurking ‘nasties’ and a decision can be made as to whether to eat any of it and if so, how much.

@Canicant with my ‘mod’ hat on, don’t worry about the ‘asterisking’ out of that word. The forum has a very high bar when it comes to language on account that it is open to people of all ages and cultures. For the most part words that fall foul of the policy will automatically be censored. Just leave the asterisks and all will be well!

I don’t understand when people say low carb or keto is bland and boring.
A world of cheese, all and any cuts of meat, Eggs any way you want.
Any spices from around the world, any above ground vegetable and berries.
Not boring in my opinion.

JoKalsbeek said:

But diabetes, well... If you're over 8,5 mmol/l, it does damage to your body. Everything suffers, your eyes, kidneys, nerve endings, heart, veins, liver...

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For the benefit of the newly diagnosed, I think you need to be careful with this statement. You make it sound as if damage will occur irrespective of how long BG is above 8.5, or at what time the reading is taken. Many non-diabetics will exceed 8.5 for a short period after eating.

No need for food to be bland.
There's plenty of good ideas and recipes here, all in UK measurements
https://www.ketofitnessclub.com/pages/free-recipe-library
Plus I was pleased my appetite has declined. I don't ever want to be the size I was any more and having the cravings for food rule my life. I love now knowing I don't need to eat all the time and can enjoy life more instead. Good food is still a part of my life, as is eating out, but I don't let it rule me

Thinking more about this - now that I no longer have the tasteless beige carbs such as potatoes, rice, pasta, my food is even less bland. I have courgette slices instead of pasta, cauliflower rice, broccoli instead of rice or potatoes etc etc and still have the Bolognese sauces, cheese sauces, curries , stir fries that I used to make anyway. If anything my variety of veg has increased, as have my ways of preparing them. I have so many different cheeses now too.

Serious question: what do you mean by bland @If_only? What are you eating?

I see the change in diet as no more challenging or different than if I moved to a foreign county, with a cuisine I havent had before, and I get used to unfamiliar tastes and ingredients.

Edited to change 'not' into 'now' in my first line.

Mr_Pot said:

For the benefit of the newly diagnosed, I think you need to be careful with this statement. You make it sound as if damage will occur irrespective of how long BG is above 8.5, or at what time the reading is taken. Many non-diabetics will exceed 8.5 for a short period after eating.

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@JoKalsbeek
@Mr_Pot is correct.
It's now known that non-diabetics with 5.1% A1cs spend 30 mins (2%) of the day on average with BG over 7.8.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7296129/



That old 7.8 cutoff is outdated in the era of CGMs.
It was probably based on 75g OGTT data that checked at 1hr & 2hr but missed the spike at 45 mins.

Struggling with this at the moment.... Its not being in a different food environment; its other people choosing the wrong place to eat that doesn't offer me options. Its going to happen again this week. Absolutely nothing on the menu I would choose - everything full of carby bits. What amazes me is that Pan Bagnat was on the menu and I asked via the friend who has chosen this place, could I have a salad nicoise - or tuna, hard-boiled egg and salad. No, it seems. I will be having a plate of charcuterie - and salad! What could be straightforward - choose somewhere else is a lot of fuss going on and me having to eat something I wouldn't normally select. Now that is causing me emotional distress. But not as bad as having to pick tinned sweetcorn out of a tuna salad two weeks ago. Probably bought in tuna mixture for sandwiches. I ought to find this funny but I don't somehow. Everyone is well meaning but the caterers are too inflexible for them to get my freely chosen custom.

Mr_Pot said:

For the benefit of the newly diagnosed, I think you need to be careful with this statement. You make it sound as if damage will occur irrespective of how long BG is above 8.5, or at what time the reading is taken. Many non-diabetics will exceed 8.5 for a short period after eating.

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Duly noted, with apologies to the OP. (Y)

Ceppo said:

Struggling with this at the moment.... Its not being in a different food environment; its other people choosing the wrong place to eat that doesn't offer me options. Its going to happen again this week. Absolutely nothing on the menu I would choose - everything full of carby bits. What amazes me is that Pan Bagnat was on the menu and I asked via the friend who has chosen this place, could I have a salad nicoise - or tuna, hard-boiled egg and salad. No, it seems. I will be having a plate of charcuterie - and salad! What could be straightforward - choose somewhere else is a lot of fuss going on and me having to eat something I wouldn't normally select. Now that is causing me emotional distress. But not as bad as having to pick tinned sweetcorn out of a tuna salad two weeks ago. Probably bought in tuna mixture for sandwiches. I ought to find this funny but I don't somehow. Everyone is well meaning but the caterers are too inflexible for them to get my freely chosen custom.

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I agree with a lot of what you say. The pub my boys like can only offer me a steak and salad which is not what I want on every visit. I have only just started to eat out again and had a lovely lunch at Cotes outside in the garden. I was able to choose between two fish dishes, mussels and two main course salads. I have taken a firm line with friends now who so often choose where they like to go and they can eat anything on the menu. I agree its different with family and pub menus are the worst. A lot of places dont offer veg sides, too lazy IMO and offer different types of chips or salad. I am going to be a lot more firm with where I spend my money on food from now on because sadly its necessary. As I say there are places out there.

The time it takes for you to get your blood sugar under control through a proper diet you get used to the diet. After you have your sugar under control it can be like a reward/ cheat day to go out once in a while. You need to find restaurants to serve the diet you choose find things you like. I complained a couple of times her that i wasn't a "kitchen guy" but the diet i am eating doesn't even need that much work

I am just like you i mostly ate out and i loved it but after 6 months of being on a low car/ keto diet i have lost interest in eating out. And would rather go home make a steak(which takes a short time) with my brocolli and cauliflower and chill.
May be the same will happen to you

Mr_Pot said:

For the benefit of the newly diagnosed, I think you need to be careful with this statement. You make it sound as if damage will occur irrespective of how long BG is above 8.5, or at what time the reading is taken. Many non-diabetics will exceed 8.5 for a short period after eating.

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Absolutely. As a type 1 this is something we regularly have no control over. If I worried every day that going over this number was detrimental to my health I would just give up now.

Mr_Pot said:

as if damage will occur irrespective of how long BG is above 8.5

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It probably still will be causing damage, just less if it isn't there for longer.

It can hardly be described as beneficial...

If_only said:

Can I "bank" carbs over several weeks? Let me explain, diabetes doesn't work to a day or a week, its there, all the time for ever. So who came up with the plan to fit management of it in to 24 hours and why? Why not manage it over a week or a month?

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Do you mean having high BG's for a couple of weeks and then compensate by having low BG's for a while to reach an acceptable hba1c?
I'm afraid it doesn't work like this. Like @JoKalsbeek said, those high BG's would still do the damage even if the hba1c is ok-ish. Taking this approach would mean prolonged high BG's, not the occasional (or regular) short spike.

If_only said:

Can I "bank" carbs over several weeks? Let me explain, diabetes doesn't work to a day or a week, its there, all the time for ever. So who came up with the plan to fit management of it in to 24 hours and why? Why not manage it over a week or a month?

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If you drive at 10mph some of the time it doesn't make driving at 90mph the rest of the time less dangerous.
I think most people have daily targets for the amount of carbs they eat because eating is based on a 24hour repeat.