Portion Control.

I would weigh the cornflakes so you can be sure you get the same amount each time. However, little point in reducing portion size if it makes you snack more ? I think a lot of eating we do is out of boredom rather than real hunger. Try it for a while and you'll get used to the smaller portions. Maybe reduce it slowly.

I just ate less.
I targeted 800 to 1200 calories a day, and prepared meals accordingly.
I spread it out over the day, had a lot of salad, and just got used to it.
You soon adjust.

Sarah69 said:

Hi, how do you control portion sizes. I would like to cut down but I would be sooo hungry! I have a large bowl of cornflakes but if I ate less I'd have to get sum thing else to eat a bit later!

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If you can manage breakfast cereal bg wise then you better going for porridge, to make it more filling and nutritious add some seeds in such as linseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds together with a spoonful of natural yoghurt, lastly throw in some berries and you'll be full till lunch.

I do think that portion control is a good way to go alongside controlling the amount of carbs that you eat. I couldnt eat cornflakes as my bg's would rocket so tend to stick mainly to egg and bacon in the morning as I find this suits me and my bgs. We are all different and some of us can eat more carbs than others and while one type of carb is good for one person, its not necessarily good for everyone else. Diabetes is personal to you and the only way to find what suits you best is to test.

Try the old dieters trick of increasing you fluid intake. Sometimes your body is actually thirsty, but your brain confuses the hunger/thirst reaction I try and have between 2-3 litres daily

I agree with mo on the boredom eating. We've all been there!

The above post about thirst is also useful. Keeping hydrated will reduce feelings of hunger.

Look for food items that will sustain you for longer, such as porridge. But also include plenty protein which is useful for making you feel more "full"

Good luck!


Blogging at drivendiabetic.wordpress.com

I also follow a calorie/portion controlled diet at the moment. I also have cornflakes for breakfast because I hate porridge and other cereals, and need to save my slice of granary bread for lunch time. I just have one handful, about 15g, so I don't think this is doing much harm. I compensate by adding more milk than I used to have. 150ml semi skimmed is about 69 cals. I got used to it very quickly and drink much more water between meals. I am very rarely hungry, so I agree extra fluid is the answer.

Gradually reduce your portion sizes. Loads of people make the mistake of going from eating lots to eating very little and wonder why they're then starving and just give up. If you can reduce gradually to eat 500 calories less each day you should lose around 2lbs a week in weight.

You need to add some protein to your breakfast to make you feel fuller for longer.
Have a small portion of cornflakes if you consider them healthy and then eat some cheese fish or eggs.

Sarah69 said:

Hi, how do you control portion sizes. I would like to cut down but I would be sooo hungry! I have a large bowl of cornflakes but if I ate less I'd have to get sum thing else to eat a bit later!

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Don't know if it's right for you but have you considered a LCHF diet? I have lost 12lb since the 28th of Jan. if this interests you, then diet doctor has lots of advice. This diet doesn't suit all. I like it because I don't feel hungry.

At the end of the day you have to want to loose weight to loose it, I know that sounds stupid but unless you have the motivation then no diet is going to work for you.

I had been overweight for most of my life and tried a couple of times to diet but it never worked and TBH I wasnt that bothered but when I was told that I had developed diabetes that gave me the motivation to loose weight.

You have to be strict with yourself and not give in to the temptation to snack, I used to look at the time if I wanted a snack and I would think to myself, no, its only "x" hours till lunch/diner, I dont really want to spoil my next meal and I would talk myself out of having the snack, it wasnt easy but thats what worked for me.

I also savoured each and every mouthful of food I ate at mealtimes, eating slowly and putting my knife and fork down between mouthfuls, chewing every mouthful and telling myself how good it was not to have snacked before I ate.

I always set aside time for my meals when I wasnt being distracted by anything else so I could just concentrate on enjoying every mouthful, I never eat "on the go" as I used to, I didnt read, watch TV or even listen to music, my meals were a time of self imposed relaxation.

There are other things I did but as I said at the start of this post I was highly motivated and I really wanted to loose weight, I didnt snack at all between meals for almost a year and I drank no alcohol for about 3 or 4 months it was hard but it worked and I have kept the weight off now for over 4 years, I now eat much smaller meals than I used to and dont miss the over eating I used to indulge in at all.

douglas99 said:

I just ate less.
I targeted 800 to 1200 calories a day, and prepared meals accordingly.
I spread it out over the day, had a lot of salad, and just got used to it.
You soon adjust.

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I eat of a child's size plate it looks much more. It really works. It's hard to get the size I eat off. It's just a bit bigger than a tea plate.

I used to eat huge plates of food, hence my weight went up to 14st !! At just 5ft that was way overweight. I stared taking Metformin and the disastrous side effects stopped me overeating as I was scared that I would need the loo when I was out. I also have a problems with acid reflux, I soon learnt that if I ate less I could continue a fairly normal life. I now have good control over my Blood sugar and can eat snacks, I only have small meals, and avoid fatty foods. A snack is two squares of chocolate instead of a bar and just one biscuit instead of a packet . For me portion control has worked well. Good luck

I agree with Sid; you have to want to diet and summon the discipline to do it. You can get used to eating less but it takes time. Proteins and fat will help make you feel more full for longer than carbs. Set your self a target for your carbs e.g. less than 200gm/day and possibly 150gm and stick to it. This will help you reduce portion sizes. If you snack have nuts, cheese, dark chocolate etc. Read packet labels e.g. do your corn flakes have added sugar? If so don't have them but have a cereal that has no added sugar such as muesli and cold milk or perhaps egg and bacon?

Sarah69 said:

Hi, how do you control portion sizes. I would like to cut down but I would be sooo hungry! I have a large bowl of cornflakes but if I ate less I'd have to get sum thing else to eat a bit later!

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Forget the cornflakes, nothing much in them but sugar. Wouldn't eat porridge either. I eat two eggs, bacon, sausage and mushrooms, I don't get hungry on that.

Hi,

Why are you eating biscuits and cereal? They are so bad for you as they are full of sugar. Could you try a plain full fat yogurt with a few fresh or defrosted berries and/or nuts for breakfast? Just as quick as Cornflakes and very low carb.

Sarah69 said:

I wouldn't be able to eat that kind of thing in the morning, I like bacon but can't stand the smell after its been cooked. I am seeing a dietician next week so I'm hoping she will be able to help me. I'm finding the hours I work difficult regarding food. I eat breakfast abt 8.30/9 am, lunch if I'm working at 2pm or 1pm if I'm not working, tea will be about 5.30/6 when I'm not working when I do work I don't have any tea and just eat a few biscuits maybe more cereal. I finish work at about 7.30pm and could not eat a meal that time of night.

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Sorry to be blunt but it's meant with the best of intentions but cereals and biscuits day in-day out are a no-no for the average type 2 diabetic and diabetic complications are potentially on the cards-I believe you stated in the past that you were on insulin yet had high BG readings and weight gain problems so my advice would be to get real and accept that the carbs have to be reduced heavily in your diet as eating what you did before diagnosis and expecting a magic pill or injectable med to cover it ain't gonna happen-insulin resistance cannot be helped with a high carb-high med regime no matter what an NHS dietitian may suggest.