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I hate the expression "nothing is banned completely"

Phlogiston

Well-Known Member
Messages
163
Location
Cambridgeshire
Type of diabetes
Gestational
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Diabetes, ofsted inspectors, uninvited phonecalls
It leads people to think I can eat more than I am willing to do at the moment.
On Saturday a well meaning chap tried to persuade me gluten free cake was OK and that diabetics were allowed cake.
Yesterday people trying to get me to eat sandwiches between meals.

I am trying to mentally arrange foods into "good most of the time (in moderation)", "foods where considerable care is needed" and "foods that are pretty much toxic (to me if not others)".
Unless I cease to produce insulin and start having hypos, I can see no circumstances when Mars bars, rich cakes and sugary drinks are going anything other than harmful to my long term future.
One problem is that my T2 95 year old father in law is generally good, but a little relaxed at times. My wife refers me to him when she feels I need to relax. I'm in my mid 50's and hope that I may have to manage this condition for 20 or 30 years. I suspect that he may eat the slightly dodgy stuff when we visit for social reasons.
best wishes
Adam
(needed to rant)
 
Rant away

Easily understood from this end
 
I fully understand where you're coming from, Adam - there is no way on earth I would eat a slice of cake (gluten free or not), or a sandwich as I know it would do horrible things to my BS levels.

I try and ignore people who try and give me bad advice, but if they persist, I just say to them "when you've walked a mile in my shoes, you can give me advice, but until then I think I know what's better for my body than you do"
 
I find that saying some thing like MY body reacts badly to that ! works quite well They seem to think that I will fall at their feet !
CAROL
 
How do folk feel about the phrase or expression of
Things in moderation ?

I much prefer this to the " a little of what you fancy " expression .
But this is just ME ...

As a nibble of a fancy is far more damaging - than having a little something
healthier in moderation .
 
There's a world of difference between what's ok for a diabetic at 95 and one at 50! My grandad eats a little of what he fancies- tinned soup, bananas, scone, toast, porridge - every day. His HbA1c is about 9. His nurse says that great considering what he eats. That's probably true at 95 but I'm 48 and if I ran that HbA1c for any length of time you'd not bet on me making it to 95. I do think that the occasional slip or better still planned something won't do too much harm. The danger is when they become the norm rather than a treat. So Monday night is my quiz night and we share a bowl of fat chips with our main meals- six chips puts my sugars up higher than I would normally run at but still under 7.8 at 2hrs so I have that as my weekly treat meal.
 
Sensible for each individual ....
 
I think it depends on the definition of " moderation" , how something affects you individually and personal choice . For example, as a coeliac most people's birthday cake it out, even in moderation I WILL suffer ! If it's a gluten free cake made with rice flour etc, my BG would rocket at a tiny amount, resulting in an insulin dose which is outside my comfort zone.

Fortunately for me, I don't feel attracted to most foods such as cake, bananas, and other foods that impact on me negatively. Some I could eat, with consequences, but choose not to.

Looking on the bright side, being coeliac seems to give me a reason to decline high carb foods gracefully without over much explanation

Signy
'
 
My nurse shakes her head in amazement at me. I tell her what i have forever cut from the diet and she cannot believe the self control.

It will never change despite the fact she thinks it's OK to have a treat once in a while. I just think "OK for you baby, not for me".

I'm obsessed about it. Never again.
 
Phlogiston said:
On Saturday a well meaning chap tried to persuade me gluten free cake was OK and that diabetics were allowed cake.
Click to expand...
Well the chap was quite right it just depends on the cake and carb content. Chocolate éclairs from the frozen dept of super markets are less than 5 carbs each.
Depending on how or what you use for a gluten free cake it can be less than 10 carbs for a huge slice

If you decide you don't want to eat cake then that's your choice, but you should not be telling people that diabetics can not eat cakes as this isn't true and gives people the wrong information.
 
@Phlogiston, at the end of the day you have every right to decline the food that you no longer eat, people should respect your wishes just as you would respect theirs when it comes to what food they should eat.
 
To me the word "moderation" is almost as useful as "nice" or "interesting". It's completely subjective and meaningless.

Personally, I have found my approach to diabetes has helped me out, in that I have only explained to a very, very few close family and friends I am T2. Not because of any shame, or guilt, but because I see no reason why I should have to explain my ideas on eating, medication or the like. For those curious about my altered eating regime, my response has been that some routine bloods highlighted I wasn't dealing with carbs as I should, which in turn was impacting on other elements, so the easiest solution was to give up the troublemakers.

From to to time someone will ask, "don't you once in a while?", and I usually respond with something like, "well, sometimes I do, but not today, thanks."

Those who know me, know how determined I can be and know it's best not to try to persuade me because I'll just dig in deeper.

I do think those who are medicated in certain ways may have more options, but to be honest I'd rather avoid the meds.
 
When, if you are like me, the choice is not 'in moderation'.
There is no choice, as I've said before that if you inform them that you are 'allergic' to carbs and sugars.
They tend to back off and then you don't have to go through the rigmarole of explanation.
Obviously, sometimes you get the question, 'are you diabetic?
 
You could tell people that you are carb intolerant ,all the best people are intolerant these days
CAROL
 
There are always cake and biscuits available at work but nobody puts pressure on anyone else to eat them. It is the same with my social circle and at home. I just politely say no thank you and that is it.

I wonder why some people are insistent that others join them, is it so that they feel better and can indulge?
 
Dibbles1 said:
If you think about it, he probably eats the dodgy stuff occasionally because he has reached the age of 95? He therefore, can afford to do so.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of my Dad, who is now in his late 80s. At the height of the BSE crisis, when I suppose he was 70-ish, the supermarkets couldn't even give British beef away and you could buy things like fillet steak for silly money - and he did. When I asked him if he wasn't worried about contracting BSE, his reply was along the lines of "By the time I get it - if I get it - I'll be three parts gaga anyway and I won't care"

Currently showing no sign of either affliction, I'm glad to say.
 
When I was first diagnosed I declined all cake, biscuits, alcohol and starchy carbs. Now I have half apiece of cake a couple of times a month and a couple of small gasses of wine or a G&T once a week. I don't eat sweets or starchy carbs. I have to have a different philosophy. Mine is: it is not illegal to eat these things but is it a good idea as a diabetic? This usually stops me from eating something toxic. And for me cake and starchy carbs are toxic. Strangely, half a piece of cake is not so bad but a tiny portion of rice, bread or pasta? Hello double figures! So I guess bread, rice and pasta are on my never list and cake is on my very occasionally list and then only half a piece. Sad to say, I ate to very tiny pieces this week of choccie cake but this is not my norm.
 
I had this with my well meaning sister in law at the weekend.. We had all sat down for a meal, which in fairness "unintentionally" for her was pretty low carb.
Then came desert.. Now I don't do desert.. It was cheese cake.. The non homemade variety.. That was not all. She had prepared a fruit salad too.
I passed up on the cheesecake. & uncertainty to what the fruit salad was swimming in caused me to give it a wide birth aswell regardless of etiquette.. Lol there were strawberries in this thing. But she may have well covered em with sugar..
My sister in law pointed out she'd done the fruit salad especially for me as she knows I can't have sugar.
I didn't have an ounce of guilt declining the FS as she struggled to remember if the peaches were preserved in fruit juce or syrup. If I can't or don't want to eat it? I won't.

Don't get me wrong. My in laws are great. I never expect anyone to "stand on ceremony" for my diabetes..
I see it all like the "just say no" drugs campaighn in the 80's.. It's better to play safe & not suffer "adverse effects" later.
 
I must be lucky.

I have a dinner invitation next week, and a family birthday party (adults) in a couple of weeks. Both hostesses have asked me exactly what I can/can't eat. One is preparing the meal that I suggest for everyone. The other is making me something different from the others and is insistent she wants to do this as it will be no bother to her.. Both checked with me when the invitations were made. How good is that!
 
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