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Finally reaching out...

nirouleur

Member
Messages
23
Location
Northern Ireland
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi folks,

I have been a quiet lurker on this forum for a long, long time. I think I've posted one message before tonight. But I am approaching the end of my tether with regards to making the changes that I need to make to get my T2D under control.

I was diagnosed almost exactly 2 years ago and am on a couple of different oral medications (recently starting Forxiga to see if I could get better glucose control and lose some weight with it). At my last check-up, my liver function results were a cause for slight concern and my A1C was up compared to my last couple of tests. I know why - I just haven't been managing my eating at all.

And that's the nub of it. I know there's the potential of great benefit if I can just change my diet somehow... but there are times when that just seems like an insurmountable challenge.

I'm in my late 30s and have been overweight most of my adult life. I'm reasonably active (play squash and football at least once a week and do a decent bit of cycling when the weather's accommodating). But I remain about 18 1/2 st. I have no expectations of ever being a beanpole, but I just wonder what sort of difference I could make if I could shift a couple of stone. Everything I've read in the last year or so makes it quite clear that halting and reversal are completely possible with the right amendments to what we eat.

I know that exercise is really only a small part of it - that my diet needs to be adjusted from what it has been for so long, but I just find that transition so difficult to visualise and plan for. At the minute, I know that my carb intake is very, very high - and usually of the wrong type (white, starchy stuff). I try to substitute for brown, but I still take in too much, especially late in the evenings. I'm convinced this is down to habit as much as anything - just things I have done for years and struggle to simply not do.

And I have a real aversion to most vegetables. I like to read up on these things and have seen so many alternatives diet plans and approaches e.g. LCHF, Newcastle Diet, etc. I look at many recipes and eating plans and cringe (and occasionally retch) at the thought of eating some of the concoctions. But there's a big part of my brain screaming at me that these changes can be achieved - there are so many success stories out there - and that I just need to start somewhere.

So... I'm guessing there'll be more than one or two people on here who recognise the emotions I'm describing. Where do I start? What's my first step(s)? Thanks for reading...
 
Well you've taken the first step by posting here, so welcome to the forum. If you haven't seen @daisy1 s info for newbies she'll post it here shortly so have a good read of that.
I would say it doesn't sound like the Newcastle diet is suitable for you at the moment. It does involve deprivation and feeling hungry as it severely cuts calories.
The much simpler route to better health is low carb /high fat.
A great site it dietdoctor.com and they have a two week low carb challenge which would give you a start and a goal if you think that might help.
Otherwise you can start by looking at substituting some of your carby meals and snacks for less carby ones. So can you try nuts in place of whatever you are snacking on now - or cheese maybe.
And perhaps you could start the day with a good old fashioned cooked breakfast with bacon and eggs.
By upping the good fats in the diet it fills you up more and keeps you satisfied so you don't have so many cravings or need snacks.
To really help though, people would need a clearer idea of what sort of foods you like and what you eat now and then maybe people can suggest more substitutions.
 
Hi there @nirouleur

Welcome - you are not alone. There are plenty of us who can empathise and who share a similar story.

After reading your post, which is very honest and heartfelt, I have a question for you, you say you have an aversion to 'most' veggies, are there any veggies you will eat ? and maybe start from there.

I don't know what changes you have made, so forgive me if I am telling you things you have already done, but, cut out sugar, I took sugar in my coffee, up to 10 cups a day - I stopped and that helped kick start me - stop eating bread, pasta, rice or at least reduce them to minimal level. Get a meter, test your BGs - learn what works for you - stop drinking fizzy drinks - drink water and lots of it.

I'm doing the LCHF Diet Doctor 2 Week Challenge at the moment and it has its challenges

But I think for you - you need to know what veg you will eat and what are you willing to try....

Plenty of support here - you'll be ok
 
Thanks @seadragon and @paula.nolan42. Appreciate the welcome. I have read @daisy1's intro post for us newbies - there is loads of good advice in it. I have a meter, @paula.nolan42 - kindly issued and stocked by my GP practice, although I'm not using it as regularly as I should (which is a bit ungrateful of me when so many would jump at the chance to have a meter!) I also cut out sugar in coffee, but I resort to sweet treats and baked goods far, far, far too often for someone in my position. It's not the hidden stuff that's catching me out - it's the blatant stuff that I see in front of me, clearly identify as bad and think "Sod it!" and plough on anyway.

I'll confess I hadn't heard of dietdoctor.com before, but I'm looking now and it's very, very interesting - thanks for that.

I also signed up for the low carb programme a month or two back but have not put in anywhere near the amount of time required to get the best of the knowledge contained in it. I think that might generally be my problem - I'm expecting things to suddenly take shape for me without properly investing of my own time and energies. Which is kind of why I wanted to start posting after lurking for so long - I want to see this as a time I can set aside to consider my condition and how best to deal with it, taking advantage of all your experiences and opportunities that are available to me if I'd only take long enough to process them.

To answer @seadragon's question about the foods I like, there'd be lots of meat in there, particularly poultry. I'm not great with fish, although I can take maybe a piece of salmon now and again. I could also cope with cod deep-fried in batter, but I suspect turning to that has been part of getting me to where I am! ;-)

Staples would be rice and pasta. I use brown rice and wholewheat pasta almost exclusively when we cook for ourselves at home. I'm not huge on potatoes, unless in their chipped form.

The rest of my diet seems to consist of variations of bread... generally anything based on white flour. I am completely aware of how misguided this is, but it just seems that regardless of how good my intentions are and how determined I am to make the right choices, for those few moments or minutes before eating, I am incapable of overriding the part that craves those types of foods.

Nuts and fruit I can cope with. Vegetables are just a struggle. However, I can do lettuce, carrot, raw spinach, onions (white, red, spring) and maybe mushrooms. Peppers if they're cut up fine enough. However, don't ask me to gorge on a plateful of them. I can do small-ish portions, but the very thought of sitting down to a plate of vegetables and maybe meat absolutely turns me.

Fizzy drinks are also a major weakness. I try to go for "Diet" and "Zero" variations, but I know there's enough chemical gunk in these to make them questionable as a choice. I know that water is the way to go and I should be drinking much more of it than I currently do, especially as I'm taking Forxiga.

The challenge for me is being prepared enough and planning enough. I leave home before 7am to get to work and usually resort to porridge for breakfast because it's simple and the office cooking facilities are limited to a microwave and coffee machine. There are too many shops and greasy spoon options nearby and I find myself - especially towards the end of the week as I get tired and less determined - resorting to these for breakfast and lunch. Then beating myself up about it for the rest of the day. A mid-morning trip to the coffee shop for maybe a latte and a scone becomes all too regular.

I don't want this to sound like a woe-is-me diatribe. I really appreciate the listening ears and I'm sure you have a grasp of what I'm talking about. I just feel so feeble and helpless at times. Someone of reasonable intelligence with enough understanding of food and its effects yet still incapable of making enough of a change to what I put in my own mouth to address a very serious and chronic medical condition. Which is why I think I need to lean more on the support that may be there but I've tried to ignore up to now.
 
You need to be kind to yourself and remember that for years we've all been told to eat plenty of carbs and avoid fat. trouble is carby food as you have found is highly addictive so we have to find ways to break the addiction and that's not easy.

You say you hate veggies but might that be because your experience of veggies as it is for many people, is steamed or boiled veg plonked on a plate? I thought I hated veggies too until I tried smothering them with butter - yumm suddenly delicious. Or my new favourite is to stir fry veg in butter or coconut oil - maybe some mushrooms and spiralised courgette (buy a spiraliser it's great fun and quick) and then throw in a dollop of creme fraiche, a quarter teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a sprinkle of peri-peri spice (available at Tesco!). It tastes fantastic and all that fat makes you feel really full.

Also mediteranean veggies roasted in olive or coconut oil is really tasty.

If your greasy spoon cafe does a fry up then have the bacon and eggs and sausages, Try and avoid the chips and bread.

Could you try scrambled eggs in the morning? These can even be done in a microwave so you could take a couple of eggs to work and scramble them there.

The meat and poultry is fine. You can have the fattier cuts now - streaky bacon , chicken with the skin on etc. Fish is good too especially oily fish so salmon is fine.

Unfortunately where diabetics are concerned brown rice and pasta are basically the same as the white varieties - all turn to glucose in the blood and have similar effects on blood sugar.
I used to eat a lot of pasts and rice and had days when i lived on toast. I thought I'd never be able to give them up.

But in the end I just went cold turkey on them, stopped buying them. Ate cheese and nuts and lots of salad leaves with creamy dressings (looking for lowest sugar ones) . A week on and i realised I didn't really miss them. also realised a lot of carbs are in deed eaten out of habit and because we 'd been told we should make carbs the biggest part of the meal which was wrong. So where i'd have had a slice of bread with just a smear of pate or a small piece of ham I tried a small low carb cracker or oatcake and smothered it in a load of pate or several slices of ham so that became the bigger part of the meal.

Can you try swapping the fizzy drinks for a hot drink of tea or coffee? Even if you had a spoon of sugar in these it's better than the 10 spoons of sugar in a can of drink. Swapping two drinks a day in this way would save you 18 teaspoons of sugar a day.

After a while the carb cravings do go and then you are free of the tyranny of the carbs!

There are still lovely things you can have. My go to dessert is raspberries and blueberries with double cream and i don't have to feel guilty about that delicious dessert.

Keep us posted about how you get on and keep asking questions - there is always someone who has been where you are and understands.

I spent a lot of time researching and trying to sort the good info from the bad and Dietdoctor.com and ditch the carbs.com are both very good sites with plenty of free info and links to the science to back it up if you are interested. The shopping list for the two week carb challenge gives you a good idea of the sorts of things you can eat freely even if you don't actually want to follow the meal plans and recipes.
 
Bread, cake, biscuits, bread, chips, more bread, chip on bread, cakes with biscuits.... Yep I hear ya.

Keep this in mind, there is an addictive and habitual quality to these foods. An emotional relationship also. The changes we make are hard, there is no doubt. But these are Changes we must make if we are to avoid the complications of long term T2.

Something I have to consider is some sort of counselling to wrap my head around my relationship with food.

My grandmother died as a result of these complications, I know it all too well. But that thought doesn't stop me when I simply indulge my drug of choice.
 

Well said @seadragon
 
When you do decide to take action, looking after yourself by selecting food and drink that won't damage you, you'll get the pay-off of feeling fantastic, more mobile and more energetic, pretty **** quick. LCHF tends to make a difference quite quickly, the biggest difference and surprise for me was that it stops the hunger and cravings. dietdoctor.com was the resource that I found most straightforward and helpful.
Here's to you getting started on your exciting journey!
 
@nirouleur - Hello. You really ought to use your blood glucose meter on a daily basis. Keep a food diary and record your blood sugars before meals and 2 hours after, log these results along with what foods you eat and you will see at a glance those foods that raise your sugars. Exercise helps to lower blood sugars too. And drink plenty of water and sugar free fluids. Ask as many questions as you want, there will always be someone who will provide you with an answer.
 
Hi @nirouleur,

If you have looked around the diet doctor website you might have seen something about the bacon experiment?
I presume that you like bacon?

http://ketogasm.com/the-bacon-experiment-interview/

Then a look at that.. it might help you get out of your bad carb habits and start you on the road to weight loss and control.

Just a thought and I haven't quite tried it myself although I think I might do a week just to see the effects as my weight loss has stalled a bit recently. I'll probably just eat bacon once a day as I'm trying intermittent fasting as well.

All the best and remember you are the only one who can control your condition.. its a challenge but do-able.
We're all here to help.

Regards
Mark
 
bulkbiker said:
If you have looked around the diet doctor website you might have seen something about the bacon experiment?
Click to expand...
I didn't spend too much time on it last night, but I signed up for the newsletter and will hopefully get a chance to delve into it in more detail over the next few days.

bulkbiker said:
I presume that you like bacon?
Click to expand...
Absitively posolutely.

An interesting thought. Funny how the "knowledge" we have gathered up over the years makes us utterly cringe at the idea of a fully, 100% bacon based diet being anything other than a speedy shortcut to a fatal heart attack. I think I may try to go for something less extreme initially, like maybe just cutting out (or at least down) carbs with meals and go for protein and healthy fats, as well as plenty of good, honest liquids.

Wouldn't mind seeing the reaction of some of my health professionals if I suggested this as something I was going to do! :-D

liam1955 said:
Keep a food diary and record your blood sugars before meals and 2 hours after, log these results along with what foods you eat and you will see at a glance those foods that raise your sugars.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I've known of the benefits of keeping a diary for ages, but again, it's just one of those good habits that I find difficult to get into. As a computer geek, I'm always within reach of something electronic and have, over the years, gathered all the tools and capabilities to keep a diary. Never thought of putting BG readings into it though and seeing the correlation between those and what I'm eating. Good shout. I will definitely try that.

paual.nolan42 said:
My grandmother died as a result of these complications, I know it all too well. But that thought doesn't stop me when I simply indulge my drug of choice
Click to expand...
Oh, @paula.nolan42, you have totally hit the nail on the head. I have lost count of the number of people who have said "Does the idea of dying or losing limbs not motivate you?". And whilst the question is well intentioned, it just highlights that they have no idea what an addiction is or how it works. In between episodes, yes, there are many motivations to make a change. But as I hinted before - and you seem to know all too well, too - for that split second when you decide whether or not to give in, the motivations and "considering the bigger picture" simply don't come into it.
 
Well....actually if you compare carbs vs bacon...I would take bacon anytime (although I don't eat pork)...bacon would help you to cure your diabetes and carbs to fuel it to get worst!
Looking at your eating habits...to me 'convenience' is what comes to my mind....and I can totally relate to that. It takes some planning ahead to able to manage your diet to low(er) carb, even just in your head...never mind in practice.
But as you are already posting us..I suspect you know that there needs to be some changes for your situation.

I'm being negative now....but 'BAH' for the so called 'health professionals'...many of them don't know what they are talking about or don't want to! We have here so many success stories and it is all down to individuals taking their care to their own hands..particularly when they've found right info to support it.
Getting your health, your diet and your hunger under control is totally achievable...just little determination is needed from you and we can come with plenty of info and suggestions how to do it.
My suggestion to start with is...when you are not too busy and have couple of hours spare...get large chicken...chuck it in oven on tray..after hour chuck some chopped 'what ever veg you find palatable' (carrots, onion, garlic, mushroom etc) and give another hour..and hey presto..you have diner sorted! AND you can use left over meat to make something for you next day..even to take to work with you.
You could get (low carb) protein rolls from your local Lidl..one of those is quite large one to eat and stuffed with chicken and some 'salad' green with good spread of butter and/or cheese would make really hearty lunch indeed! And there would be still chicken left for another dinner..you could chuck some of the meat on frying pan (with butter) and make yourself little stirfry..or omelette (yes with chicken meat and maybe some left over veg from roast?!)..it might not be culinary masterpiece but it would be very filling and quite healthy too! Or chicken salad, some nuts, little drizzle of oil to go with it... It takes very little time to knock up these meals once you have got basic ingredients sorted. Once you get routine with these things..you'll fine 'real food' actually is quite convenient and quick food. It will save you lots of money, better for your health, keep away you cravings etc....do I really need to list all the benefits to convince you..oh and you will loose weight too and you don't really need to do extra work out to achieve it neither..weight loss is almost like 'side effect'!
If you are kind of person who perform better with the dead lines/targets. Give yourself one...say 4 weeks..push yourself to have full hearted good trial of your potential new life style. Do some blood testing, weight yourself every/every other day..and see what happens. At end of the 4 weeks...valuate your situation and if you think it is something that you could carry on...maybe do another 4 weeks..and so on. I'll be surprised if after month or two you don't find it quite easy to carry on. Nobody is not perfect all the time(well, there might be few odd ones )..but most of us,we all have our 'blips'..the main thing is to keep them as such, know what they are and get back on 'bike' again...not a big deal when we can and do so
 
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Oh yes..I do get carried on with typing...but if you need more ideas...just shout! Although It is me who is doing proper LCHF diet in our house..it is me who has deal with food planning and cooking for all of us. What ever makes it all easiest and most palatable without huge amount extra effort, that will do me or I will fall off from my bike..convenience, quick and easy with good food is the thing..

ETA....have a look at this list...and check the 'the facts'...lots of good info that might you some ideas and encouragement.. http://realmealrevolution.com/real-food-lists but what ever you choose to eat, you blood tests will show you if you've over done with your chosen carbs..'eat to your meter' and the weight loss will follow.
Though it might take couple of weeks the changes to start show up with lower blood sugar readings!
 
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Loads of good info already given . so just gonna give a few bullet points that worked for me ....

  • As not particularly fond of veggies myself when I first started low carbing I would simply have the same meals as normal but carb free... ie sunday lunch would be a lot of meat and a few veggies, fish and chips became just fish , yep some carbs but the majority gone,...
  • Been mentioned but a fry up is your new brekky, high meat sausages are to be had at about 3g carbs so allowed and if concerned about fat (I am not) you can go gammon with the fat cat off and poached eggs etc....
  • Coffee with double cream mmmm,,, is my new treat , I now grind my own to make it a fun thing, I use Stevia which is considered a "good" sweetener...
  • Enjoy weird plates of food, I will happily sit down with just half a chicken on a plate..........
  • The hardest was work as the same as you my works only had a microwave and its very hard to buy low carb meals, in the end I just took my own stuff, home made stew in the winter type stuff and mostly cold meats , cheese etc in the summer..
  • This is the biggy.... CHUCK it out, just don't have it in the house , I still struggle now if its in the house so just have no carbs in the cupboard, difficult I know if you are not single but it might be worth doing anyway as the health benefits of ditching carbs are becoming more mainstream, so would be good for all the family...
  • You are not on a diet so just let the low carbing do its thing, have loads of snacks in the cupboards and eat when you want, peperami , salami beef jerky etc are all good stuff....
 
Lol...'weird plates of food'....that something one has learn to get used to We don't always have time, nor energy/will to start doing something, no matter how easy from scratch. I just think of those 'weird plates' as 'fuel' days...anything and everything to 'be good' but get fuelled.
It might be just boiled egg, cheese, piece of meat or tin of fish, chunk cucumber, few nuts...endless combinations. It fills, keeps hunger away...it works so it doesn't matter
And yes....coffee with cream has become one of my favourite 'meals'. My work involves lot of bending and often working with food in a tummy, even smaller amount is something I'm not comfortable with. But C & C..and it will keep me going for few hours and still keep that light feel in tummy until I can straighten up again and have something more solid.
 
Yes i thought I'd keep it quiet from the doc (or rather diabetes nurse)... But will update you on my progress..
I just thought it would be a complete break from your previous routines and that might be of some use..
Good luck with your struggle. Being an award ****** I just thought "sod this" when diagnosed "no way this is going to beat me". Since then I have gained much better control of my eating habits, I was nearly 23 stone when diagnosed, and can often do 1 or 2 day fasts without too many hunger pangs. It can be done.
 
This is something I was actively planning on starting with. It's an easy transition to make. I've just been looking at this as one big problem to be tackled with one solution rather than breaking it into manageable parts. And this is definitely a manageable first step.
 


I find small steps works for me , its very easy to fail when making big changes...........


I am not as strict as some when it comes to carbs , as long as I am under my 40g a day limit I am happy, so if I know I am going to have say a sunday lunch I will have very few carbs in the other meals that day, and as a yorkshire is about 5g of carbs and a couple of small new potatoes are about 20g you have a bit of leeway...
 
When you think what to eat....start by what you might fancy and then look for the carbs content. Can you swap your carbs for something else low/non-carb ingredients instead, but have rest of the 'stuff' same. When you get little bit of what you fancy eating..then that will help you brain to register and hold on to that satisfaction feeling longer. Lot of the success or lack of it is down to our brains..tummy is slow 'thinker' and easier partner to keep happy !
You'll do well with small changes here and there. Keep us posted how you get on!
 
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