How to curb food cravings?

Jane's narshall said:

Hi I'm new to this forum but I have to admit that I'm addicted to food all sorts of food good bad and I never feel full .I don't check my blood sugars as I have a fear of needles so my question is how can I curb my food cravings
I'm 5 feet 11 and weigh 14 stone I'm on 8 tablets a day and to be honest I'm sick of feeling ugh

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Testing can be a bit daunting at first, but without it how do you know which food is good or bad. T2 sort of changes how you need to think about food.
The finger prickers are fairly easy to use, we are not talking big scary needle here, just a small pin that's so enclosed in its plastic housing that you can't even see it. You can even adjust the depth of pin prick to minimise the slight discomfort you might feel.

Jane's narshall said:

Hi I'm new to this forum but I have to admit that I'm addicted to food all sorts of food good bad and I never feel full .I don't check my blood sugars as I have a fear of needles so my question is how can I curb my food cravings
I'm 5 feet 11 and weigh 14 stone I'm on 8 tablets a day and to be honest I'm sick of feeling ugh

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I was a compulsive eater 3 months ago, and that is because carbs are addictive, once your metabolic health goes south that addiction becomes harder to control. It was a spiral for me.

I am okay now, according to blood work I am no longer diabetic, lost over 18 KG in 2 and half months... now I barely have any cravings. I think I can make some recommendations:

- Face your problem as an addiction, first you have to go through some withdrawal symptoms, but once that is done you will be fine. First 3 to 4 weeks is the worse.
- Cut on carbs completely (I ate just meat/fish/eggs with only green leafs - lettuce, cabbage, broculli, celery, etc).
- Maybe do it progressively if you find it hard to do all at once (I cut progressively myself).
- Set very strict meal times (to the minute). No in between snacks.
- Eat only a pre-determine amount. Make your dish and eat no more than the intial load.
- Start with for example 4 meals a day, then give larger spaces between meals until you progressively reduce the number of meals a day (I now have 2 meals a day, before I was snacking all the time and the main meals were heavy).

In time your stomach will adapt to smaller portions, you will get used to other flavours and the main carb addiction will vanish, leaving only the normal natural hunger...

But yes, in the beginning its overwhelming! If I read my own advice 3 months ago I would laugh at what I wrote! But it does work!

I have an addiction to chocolate and haven’t found a way to stop eating it yet. I can’t go a day without it. I hope you find something that will help you.

Jane's narshall said:

Hi I'm new to this forum but I have to admit that I'm addicted to food all sorts of food good bad and I never feel full .I don't check my blood sugars as I have a fear of needles so my question is how can I curb my food cravings
I'm 5 feet 11 and weigh 14 stone I'm on 8 tablets a day and to be honest I'm sick of feeling ugh

Click to expand...

Hi Jane re the fear of needles for finger pricking take a look at the AccuChek Fastclix which is like a pen that you insert a cartridge of 6 mini blades so you dont see them. You can reuse them several times and the real magic is you can set a comfort setting for a gentle pierce between 1 and 5. I wouldn’t be without mine!
Getting control of T2 will be really hard without testing and the good news is as you figure out “safe” things to eat/meals you probably need to test less. You must be feeling overwhelmed but take it in chunks, figure out food items that are low carb that you love. The funny thing is once you ditch the starches (bread, potatoes, rice, grains and pasta) you really can do it. Believe in yourself, you can do this.

If you don't like needles try a freestyle libre, you can get the first 2weeks free, although is £50 a fortnight after that.

I had a serious needle phobia when I was younger but had to find a way to cope as I've had more than 10 operations, and regular blood testing for years. I use a pen and I hardly feel it, not being able to see the tint lancet inside it helps.
I certainly wouldn't have got into remission so fast and so easily without testing.

As for snacks and food cravings, I found a small piece of cheese sometimes helps overcome a chocolate craving, but I also swapped to 85% dark choc and I just don't eat as much of it. Otherwise try a bit of roasted chicken, a hardboiled egg (I boil up 6 at a time as they keep in the fridge), or a few nuts?

TriciaWs said:

I had a serious needle phobia when I was younger but had to find a way to cope as I've had more than 10 operations, and regular blood testing for years. I use a pen and I hardly feel it, not being able to see the tint lancet inside it helps.
I certainly wouldn't have got into remission so fast and so easily without testing.

As for snacks and food cravings, I found a small piece of cheese sometimes helps overcome a chocolate craving, but I also swapped to 85% dark choc and I just don't eat as much of it. Otherwise try a bit of roasted chicken, a hardboiled egg (I boil up 6 at a time as they keep in the fridge), or a few nuts?

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When you put your eggs in the fridge do you leave the shells on them or not & how long do they last in the fridge?

Mrs T 123 said:

When you put your eggs in the fridge do you leave the shells on them or not & how long do they last in the fridge?

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I leave the shells on, and keep them up to 4 days - longer might be ok but I don't risk it.