Help please.

Hodge1960

Well-Known Member
Messages
59
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi, I have not been here for a while, as stupidly, I thought I could do this lchf thing on my own , well as life goes up and down, I have too, I have put weight on , had highs and lows as I have been eating like a pig, I even stopped taking my metformin, .. I am so ashamed of my self for not pinning this down , so if you will have me back on here I would like to try again, with your support! Please help.
 

Books1

Well-Known Member
Messages
153
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
You're back cos you need support like lots of us here. Please don't feel ashamed -we all have times when things don't go as we hoped/planned.
Hope we can make it easier to get back on track.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Freema

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Welcome back. :)

Perhaps a place to start would be to move high carb foods out of the house, healthy low carb foods into the house, increase water intake, resume some form of physical activity? What worked well for you previously?
 

Hodge1960

Well-Known Member
Messages
59
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Eating!,.. I just want to eat all the time, and a lot of it is rubbish, though form Monday Iain to start again!
 

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
That's usually an easy issue to address on the low carb diet. It's just a matter of backing off on the sugar and grains and eating fat whenever you're hungry: avocado, green olives, pats of butter from grass fed cows, nut butter, raw nuts... Cheese works too but it does cause a rise in glucose levels. Sometimes I'll saute vegetables in butter if I want both fat and fiber. [giggle]. Tomorrow, our diabetes group is planning to watch The Sugar Film. Have you seen it yet? I think you can pay to watch it online. Just Google "The Sugar Film". It's all about how sugar affects us. Might be enlightening.

I find that the sugar and starch cravings aren't as strong so long as I'm eating low carb and including healthy fats with all meals. Perhaps this will work for you too. The first few days off sugar and starches is the hardest, I know. Been there many times myself.
 

CherryAA

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,171
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I think its very easy to underestimate how hard it is to get rid of sugar addiction
Y
ou might find it useful to actually input your horrible diet of the last few days into a system (I use cronometer )
I did that for a friend recently. On the surface it didn't look like he was eating that much.
By the time we had finished recording all the fizzy drinks, we were getting close to 6,-7,000 calories and 800 carbs, not diabetic (... yet) but clearly an addiction. he went cold turkey and is already starting to feel much better and after a few days low carb, the sugar craving stopped and he started to taste other foods properly.Step one is to get the sugar out of your system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hodge1960

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I think its very easy to underestimate how hard it is to get rid of sugar addiction

You're right of course. The first time I did it was in 2011, the second time 2015. Coming off a high carb diet is crazy making. It's really hard, takes time and a lot of determination.

It's much easier when you're only eating 50 carbs a day.

What I didn't know then, but do know now is eating foods that contain fat really helps. And I should have added, leafy greens with raw vegetables topped with a vinagrette helps too. Fat and fiber combined help. Another trick is to eat something sour, a pickle perhaps.

In 2015, the cravings were so bad, I had to keep a box of 9 peanut butter cookies in the freezer for those moments when it got so bad, I had to have something. That's what got me through those early weeks. Months later, threw the box away. I think it still had 4 or 5 cookies in it. I think it was my second box.

I really like your strategy of first counting the carbs that you're currently eating. I can see how that would be really helpful. To got from hundreds of carbs to fifty carbs is a huge change. It's important to have that validation. It's hard.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Hodge1960

CherryAA

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,171
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I was astonished what the numbers added up to and so was he. He then watched a couple of you tubes talks on sugar - Gary Taubes, Tim Noakes . the combined effect was a proper understanding of the damage, the need for low carbs and a huge boost to wlllpower. He's 10 kilos down in 2 weeks and so far not a sign of " cheating" because he's realised at afundamental level that this is not a game - its life or death.
 

Hodge1960

Well-Known Member
Messages
59
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thank you all for your input.
Monday the start of a new week, I aim to make it a good week.6.6 FBS this morning not bad I guess.☺
 
  • Like
Reactions: spook_kate_

spook_kate_

Well-Known Member
Messages
650
Type of diabetes
Researcher
Treatment type
Other
Hello everyone, I keep coming back again and again, because this is the bestest place ever for support encouragement and great craic! ! Only 'discovered' lchf about 2 yrs ago and have fallen off the wagon countless times...every time I do, I get inspiration from this forum in so many different forms. Fairly blooming difficult when for the last 32 yrs as T1 your told/heavily advised to get the right carbs in. I've found any format of carbs bad for me- whether it's starchy carbs, fruit or glucose..all the ..ose (lactose/fructose yadda yadda) . More I consume, the more the crave monster rears it's fugly head.

I also found it challenging to stay extremely low carb with 3 kids and impossible hormones that I've adopted a more medium carb. Although it doesn't keep my HbA1c perfect I am much better overall.

Jeez didn't mean to go off on one but just that all of us combined makes living with diabetes much easier and happier
 

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Hodge1960 every hour you stay off sugar and starches is a win. Give it your best every day.

If you completely lose it - (and I did perhaps a dozen times that first month) - keep your cheat as small and as contained as possible, then recommit to your goals.

If you have any fear of eating healthy fats, come here for reassurances.

There are some videos on sugar addiction on http://www.dietdoctor.com if you're a member. Let me know if you need links that will work when you're logged in there.

@CherryAA Giving up sugars and starches wasn't as hard as giving up smoking 25 years ago, but it was a close second. So happy for your friend.

@spook_kate_ I believe that any reduction of carbs sugars and starches is helpful for type 1's. Two minerals that many diabetics are deficient in are magnesium and zinc. I take 450 mg magnesium citrate a day in divided doses, but some need to take magnesium glycinate to avoid loose stools. I take a total of 25 mg zinc citrate a day - (my multi-vitamin provides 10 of the 25 mg zinc). To learn more about how important these two minerals are for us, I encourage you to Google "diabetes magnesium" and "diabetes zinc".
 
  • Like
Reactions: spook_kate_

spook_kate_

Well-Known Member
Messages
650
Type of diabetes
Researcher
Treatment type
Other
@Hodge1960 every hour you stay off sugar and starches is a win. Give it your best every day.

If you completely lose it - (and I did perhaps a dozen times that first month) - keep your cheat as small and as contained as possible, then recommit to your goals.

If you have any fear of eating healthy fats, come here for reassurances.

There are some videos on sugar addiction on http://www.dietdoctor.com if you're a member. Let me know if you need links that will work when you're logged in there.

@CherryAA Giving up sugars and starches wasn't as hard as giving up smoking 25 years ago, but it was a close second. So happy for your friend.

@spook_kate_ I believe that any reduction of carbs sugars and starches is helpful for type 1's. Two minerals that many diabetics are deficient in are magnesium and zinc. I take 450 mg magnesium citrate a day in divided doses, but some need to take magnesium glycinate to avoid loose stools. I take a total of 25 mg zinc citrate a day - (my multi-vitamin provides 10 of the 25 mg zinc). To learn more about how important these two minerals are for us, I encourage you to Google "diabetes magnesium" and "diabetes zinc".
Thank you @Winnie53, good advice. I have read about benefits of both those minerals. I currently can only afford 2 lots every month so I swap and change every couple months. This period I'm finishing off Vit D and Vit B12, last period was Magnesium and iron. While I could do better low carb wise I'm generally happy with my levels and holding neuropathies at bay. I'm not overweight but am dealing with some unhealthy mental health and on tabs for that too.
 

AndBreathe

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
11,320
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Hodge1960 - My feeling is that the forum has a revolving door for a very good reason. People come and go, and many come back; often when things have gone very well, but also when things have gone a little adrift.

Settle back in and take what the forum has to offer you. Your honest can also give others the confidence to push the door on the in side again.

Welcome back.
 

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you @Winnie53, good advice. I have read about benefits of both those minerals. I currently can only afford 2 lots every month so I swap and change every couple months. This period I'm finishing off Vit D and Vit B12, last period was Magnesium and iron. While I could do better low carb wise I'm generally happy with my levels and holding neuropathies at bay. I'm not overweight but am dealing with some unhealthy mental health and on tabs for that too.

The cost of nutritional supplements is challenging for many. The good news is that those two minerals are low in cost compared to others and improve overall health, including brain health according to Kelly Brogan, MD, psychiatrist, functional medicine practitioner, and author of A Mind of Your Own: The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies To Reclaim Their Lives (2016). Anxiety challenges me daily, but the low carb diet, likely the magnesium too, has helped. Way to go on "holding neuropathies at bay".
 
  • Like
Reactions: spook_kate_

CherryAA

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,171
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Hodge1960 every hour you stay off sugar and starches is a win. Give it your best every day.

If you completely lose it - (and I did perhaps a dozen times that first month) - keep your cheat as small and as contained as possible, then recommit to your goals.

If you have any fear of eating healthy fats, come here for reassurances.

There are some videos on sugar addiction on http://www.dietdoctor.com if you're a member. Let me know if you need links that will work when you're logged in there.

@CherryAA Giving up sugars and starches wasn't as hard as giving up smoking 25 years ago, but it was a close second. So happy for your friend.

@spook_kate_ I believe that any reduction of carbs sugars and starches is helpful for type 1's. Two minerals that many diabetics are deficient in are magnesium and zinc. I take 450 mg magnesium citrate a day in divided doses, but some need to take magnesium glycinate to avoid loose stools. I take a total of 25 mg zinc citrate a day - (my multi-vitamin provides 10 of the 25 mg zinc). To learn more about how important these two minerals are for us, I encourage you to Google "diabetes magnesium" and "diabetes zinc".


he's trying his first fastng day today - SO proud of how far he has got. and now he ahs couple ofreal examples to follow so it all seems doable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Winnie53

Winnie53

BANNED
Messages
2,374
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Hodge1960 our diabetes group watched The Sugar Film tonight. If you can find a way to watch it online, I encourage you to do so. It really puts things in perspective. Eliminating sugars and starches from our diet is one of the hardest things we do, and it takes 2 - 4 weeks. Not sure how you all view things online in the UK, but if you Google it, hopefully you'll find a way. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hodge1960