• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Help me keep going!!

C

cat_progressive

Member
Messages
5
Hi there, need some help to get through a stall in my lchf journey.
I found this forum at the end of august last year and it has saved me.
I had gestational diabetes 3 years ago but I managed it well whilst pregnant, then I had my child and went back to a bad way of eating, basically sugar from the first to the last thing I ate everyday.
End of august last year I was morbidly obese and suffering with extreme dizziness and was worried about my eyes, I suspected diabetes and tested my BG, the readings said diabetes but I was so ashamed I didn't tell anyone.
I looked around and found this forum and decided to try lchf.
It took a while to adjust and figure out how it worked, then I found it to be easy. I've always struggled with my food, I have binge eating issues, so not getting that gnawing hunger has been so freeing for me. I have felt so different and started to make other changes in my life, I have never felt so positive.
I have lost 4 stone since beginning of September, which is amazing.
But now I feel like I'm slipping back into old habits, relying on food when I feel stressed or down. I've been eating a lot of chocolate recently and I feel out of control and I don't like it!!
Funny enough I've managed to stay away from all other carbs, I used to eat a lot of cakes and biscuits but I'm still not eating those.
I've done so well, even if I say so myself but I need some like minded encouragement to get back on the horse and get where I want to go.
Even though I haven't posted here before, I've taken inspiration from all of you on here and I thank you for already changing my life.
 
Hello @cat_progressive Welcome (back) to the forum. You're in the right place. I'm sure there a lots of people who will empathise with your situation, I know I do. We have some similarities, I'm obese and I'm T2, I was diagnosed at the end of November. I'm now trying to implement a lot of changes. But I have discovered that I have a serious problem with emotional eating. And to be honest I'm going to have to do something about it.

I recently went nuts on a BIG Toberlerone, chocolate is my nemesis, in fact giving up cigarettes has been easier than giving up food. I also went to town on a bag of jellies. And even though I can admit it and I know I should do it, I don't stop myself.

So all I can say is that you are not alone, I'm not sure what the answer is, but we will find strength here in the forum and hopefully figure out why we do this.

Wishing you all the very best on your journey.

Paula
 
  • You sound as though you are struggling on without professional help 'I suspected diabetes and tested my BG, the readings said diabetes but I was so ashamed I didn't tell anyone.' - why didn't you tell anyone and ask for support? 4 stone lost and since last September is an amazing achievement and you should be congratulated, but do please get some help - some eye examinations and footcare for example.
  • You also sound depressed - could this me the case? Anyway, good luck.
 
Hello and welcome @cat_progressive . @daisy1 will post information to help you. Have you tried substituting a low carb chocolate minute mug cake for chocolate? There are various recipes you could try that only take 1.30 mins in microwave.
 
@cat_progressive

Hello and welcome back to the forum :) Here, in case you did not see this before, is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It will give you a lot of info about carbs and low carb dieting. I hope this will enable you to get back on track as you have been so successful so far. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Writing on here has helped in that I've admitted the situation I was in and have more accepted that this probably won't be going away. I've managed to kick my cravings by eating more regularly. I make my own low carb dessert with extra thick double cream, no sugar cocoa, sweetener, coconut and cinnamon so I had some of that.
I was feeling a bit down but not depressed; I am susceptible to that but this wasn't.
 
Back
Top