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I need to get back on track but seriously struggling....HELP!

Nanny_B

Well-Known Member
Messages
56
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I was diagnosed in Feb 17 and got straight into a new diet, cut out carbs, took my medication and tested regularly. After about 6 months I fell off the wagon for about a month but got back on. I’ve now fallen off again and for the last two months I’ve just been in denial of it all. I’m not testing, I’m eating all the wrong things but I can’t seem to get back on it! I know it’s wrong and all I’m doing is hurting myself but because it’s not making me feel ill I’m just not stopping!
Please can someone give me the kick up the butt I need? Be as harsh as you like I need help!
Thank you xx
 
It''s easy when you are first diagnosed to be shocked into changing your diet and doing all the necessary things to look after your health. After a while it can also be easy to slip into the bad old ways - but you are much more knowledgeable now and have the information you need to get back on track. Don't give up, most of us have been where you are now - you can and will get back on track, just think how much better you will feel when you start to regain control.
 
Make a shopping list - or maybe two, one for this week one for next.
Have whatever meat or fish you fancy, maybe shellfish or other seafood.
If you have a list of low carb veges select some for this week, some for next - add cream and frozen berries if you fancy them.
Plan your meals for the next two weeks from the foods you have put on the list.
Check your BG level and go shopping.
Use your shopping list don't put anything not on your list into the trolley - or if you do, take it out again.
make your meals and test - no excuses, and then in two weeks time do it again, making adjustments as necessary.
Simples.
 
I could be blunt, but I don't think this is the time.
Do you record your BG's? To be able to see what effect diet has on your BG's is, I think, a powerful reminder of where I am and what the condition I have is. There are days when they are not good.... I went through the summer months this year with levels, which for me were much higher than I would hope for / expect... I've since put them down to stress related to news I was going to made redundant in the New Year.
It's really down to you, for you and the people that depend on you to watch what you eat.
Best wishes.
 
Why did you fall off and why can't you get back on?
I think these would be a very important bits of info for us to have.
 
Agree with @bulkbiker and would like to add a question. What are the foods you struggle with to leave alone? Maybe we could help you find some diabetes-friendlier but equally appealing foods
 
The thing i focus on is what my mum went through. She lost her eyesight. She had a stroke. She had leg sores that wouldn't heal. Kept having to have more and more insulin. I know how she felt. A burdon. Dependent. Unhappy. I don't want that. Or possibly worse. Give diabetes an inch and it takes a foot. Hope this helps. X
 
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I was diagnosed in May’17 and have planned my meals every week since then and shopped accordingly, to the point where I actually feel a bit panicky if I’m away on holiday or going to eat out, don’t get me wrong it’s a good sort of mild panic that helps me make sensible choices. As @Resurgam says if you don’t have the naughty stuff in the house you’ll stick to the good foods more easily. I also have the added incentive that during my nursing career I saw the effects of uncontrolled diabetes first hand and I don’t want to go down that route.
You’ve made an enormous step by ‘confessing’ to us here, make a pledge with yourself to report back here to us each week to let us know how you’re doing.
 
@Nanny_B I sympathise with you. I have been struggling with higher than usual bgs over the summer and have at times thought ‘s.d it why am I bothering?’ But we all know why we’re bothering - the consequences of not bothering are grave.

I’ve decided to ‘outsource’ the decision making for my meals and have started following the Diet Doctor website 14 day meal plans - it’s free, you don’t have to sign up or pay for anything and I feel I can stop worrying about whether I’m eating the right sort or quantities of food for a while.
I don’t know how long I’ll carry on following their menus completely but I’ve told myself I will give it a go for 2 weeks - I’ve only been following it a couple of days but have already seen an improvement in my blood glucose readings and feel a bit more in control having devested myself of the stress about what I’m eating.
Good luck to you, I think you’ll be fine. You’ve taken the important first step. Keep posting.
 
Thank you all so much. The shopping list is a great idea so I will do that. I’m so weak when it comes to chocolate, sweets etc, all the stuff that got me here in the first place. I need to lose about 3 stone too so I have a hill to climb. I have a wonderful family with a new grandchild so I HAVE to radically change my ways for her and my other grandchildren. I honestly don’t know why I fell off. Im an emotional eater so eat badly when I’m happy and I eat when I’m not. It’s a vicious circle.
Ok so I’m going to start recording my bgs again every day, take my metformin and do my best to eat the right things. I’ll report back next week. Wish me luck!
 
Thank you so much. I’d forgotten about Diet Dr so will re visit now!
 
Falling off the wagon seems to be par for the course. We've all been there and done it (and the ones that haven't, will still fall off). I find that I fall off when it all becomes too difficult and when managing diabetes becomes a chore. I've realised that the only way that it is easy is for me to stick to the routines of planning my meals, planning my shopping, writing everything down in a food diary, and always remaining one step ahead of my blood sugar! Know that you can have that treat, but have something in place to deal with the repercussions of it - some exercise, or make your next meal extra low carb to compensate.
 
We've always planned a week of menus in advance - since forever, so when my eating regime modified, it was just teh content that changed a bit.

We don't slavishly follow a "Monday = X" or "Thursday must by Y", but more that we have 7 dinners planned, and by the end of 7 days, they'll be eaten. The choices just reduce a bit as the week goes on.

Of course, there can be deviations from time to time, when events intervene, but generally it takes away a lot of the thinking each and every day. All that decision making can be waring!
 
The other important thing you can get from BG testing is an idea of how well / badly your body can handle foods at different times of day. Im currently on holiday in Crete and have found via several tests that whilst my favourite holiday breakfast of Greek yogurt, almonds and kiwi fruit spikes my sugars by over 4 points, the same meal for dinner only produces a 1-1.5 mmol raise
 
All I can say (and I apologise for this) is look online at the results of badly managed diabetes. You do not want to get to the stage where it is too late to prevent a leg sore turning into gangrene (like my Mum). At the end of her life, we watched her foot rotting. Sorry, it's an image I will never forget, please get back on track. x
 
I haven't mentioned my recent Italian trip for five minutes so... with the encouragement of my DN and a few members here I enjoyed my food for two weeks and didn't worry unduly. I had pasta in Rome and tested later at 8.6, and in Naples I had to have a pizza which gave 7.6. So not so much falling off the wagon as indulging myself a bit. If you can give yourself the occasional treat you will find it easier to stick to what is best for you. Good luck!
 
Thank you all so much for taking the time to help me. I’ve had two good days and have renewed mindset to stay on track now. I’ve been doing my bloods regularly and have been between 5.8 and 7.6 and have kept to low carbs. Feeling very full too! Im going to come on here daily as I find it helps me to stay on track. It’s so difficult sometimes. I wish I could break out in a faceful of spots or something each time I go off track to jolt me back on. but that’s the problem, nothing on the outside happens in the short term! I know the damage I’m doing inside though.... thanks again all, I honestly do appreciate all your help xx
 
I was in Italy last week and was spoiled with amazing food!
 

Well done. It doesn’t sound as if you went wildly out of control. I too find that checking in here daily, even if only for a few minutes, helps keep me focussed.
 
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