Snacking

[ArnoldH]

I am struggling- bar emptying all cupboards and fride etc I don't know what to do.

Husband diagonsed before Xmas - Sugars in the mid to high 20's. Overweight and had only just given up the dreaded cancer sticks - life was not being good to him.

I am the evil Wife who sent him to the doctors when I say him guzzle 5 cans of coke and then followed it by a carton of fruit juice . After the diagosies I thensent him for teh flu jab - he is paranoide by needles.

Currently not been told to test his sugars. Have had a session with the diatecian and I am cooking by the rules - loads of veg etc. I have removed all the biscuits, cakes and chocolate etc.

My trouble is he is a BIG eater and says he is hungry ALL the time. He is now snacking nearly continualy between meals (I have not cut his portion sizes just given him more veg and reduced meat and potatoes). But his snacking is worring me as I can't see what he can eat volumes of that will not increase the sugar levels - ie He started eating a lot of fruit, but after talking to the diatecian he knows this is not too good so has moved onto toast - but this is carbs which slowly release sugar

What can I suggest he eats - Raw veg is OK but he will get fed up of that after a few days.

Think of a cow grazing and you will be on the right tracks re his current eating habit :shock:

 

[cugila]

If HE wants to control HIS Diabetes then get HIM to read the information I gave you in your introductory post. By using those principles he should be able to reduce the cravings for 'junk' and start to eat more healthy food. Don't buy the junk food and drink so if it isn't there neither is the temptation.

Something has to change.......HIM. He cannot just do as he pleases if he wants to gain control. It will need willpower and motivation on HIS part with support from you.

Snacking all the time is something HE has to stop doing. Eat properly at main meals and the urge to 'snack' should go as well. If he feeds the addiction it will get worse. He will end up a poorly controlled Diabetic with possibly complications as well.

As they say "You can lead a horse to water......." If you know what I mean. :|

I am not going to suggest any snacks as he doesn't really need them. I am a well controlled Diabetic who rarely eats between meals and that is what HE should aim for. Eat the right things at meal times and the rest follows on.

 

[Hobs]

I do feel for the poor chap .. giving up smoking and in great need to control severe snacking.
I see that he also enjoys fizzy drinks, so how about substituting fizzy water and if he must have flavouring go for a hint of some low sugar squash or something like that. When I gave up the fags many years ago, it was soda water that got me through the initial weeks and I still rely on the supermarket's basic lower cost fizzy water for drinks between meals.

He really does need motivating and maybe home testing will show him how all his snacking is keeping in the high figures, and if the Dr wont prescribe them then all the money saved from all those cans of Coke daily will more than cover the cost of the test strips and lancets.

 

[anniep]

I do know how he feels, beofre I started reducing my carbs (I eat very little of the starchy carbs) I was hungry ALL the time, within a short time of a meal ending I would be looking for more. I would have toast for breakfast but by 11.00am I would be 'I have to eat NOW'.

Since having a cooked breakfast I now can last until lunchtime, ok I could eat at 11.00 but it is only a 'could' not a 'feed me NOW' moment.

It does get easier the longer the I stay off the bread, pasta, pototoes and rice. What I do is eat more of the main meal ie more veg more of the protein. I am vegetarian so it is not meat for me, why not give him no spuds but more meat to fill him up?

When I had the munchies I ate a peice of cheese or some almonds, others here who are carnivores, ate some cooked meat to tide them over.

But for me the more I snacked on things like toast the hungrier I got and then the more I ate.

What sort of bread do you use? - lots of peole find the soya and linseed loaf from burgen is better for the BG - but only in moderation.

But if he has just given up the cigarettes then he may be hungrier as they do have an appetite suppressign effect, so he is suffering double.

Just keep cooking him his meals with few carbs and not having the 'baddies' in the house - will he come on here and listen to peoples experiences?

 

[ArnoldH]

Hi all
Thanks for your posts

The info that was kindly provided when I posted my newbie email was viewed by Paul and he said that he understtod and that it matched the information the dietacian had handed to him.

He is really trying hard - (and I am really proud)
since before Xmas he has not eaten a whole family bar of Choc (his norm on a Sunday eve after his roast).
Not a mince pie, Quality street, Xmas cake or any other festive junk food item crossed his lips.
he has also stopped eating the packets of biscuits (yes a packet in one sitting) that use to be his mid week snacks
The fizzy drinks have bee reduced drastically but if he does have one he has swapped to Coke Zero. He mainly goes for a glass of no sugar added squash now.
He has worked his way through the sweetners and finaly found one that he likes and has substituted this for sugar in his cuppas

AnnieP- what you describe seems to match what he is discribing. He insists that he is starving.

As you say could be a knock on from the giving up of the cigs - but I will also take o board what you say re the carbs.

He knows he has to take control and is even digging the bike out of the shed.
Last night he ate fish (ad not cod from the chippy). In 15 years this is a first and he has said that he wants to try other varieties.

The difficulty is his feeling of being starving - I am sure we will overcome

 

[jaykay]

Some of his eating will be habit, some will be boredom, some will be hunger, so it might be an idea to tackle all 3. The hunger can be addressed by making sure he stays away from the carbs ( it does work honest ). I also find since eating less carbs that it takes longer for me to feel full, so about an hour after eating a big salad, I feel uncomfortable and I have to remind myself that this is going to happen! The habit can be broken by making sure there isn't the food there for him to binge on ( well done you! ) and also to make sure he's doing something that takes his mind off food. The boredom can also be tackled that way. So, is there a hobby he can try, perhaps something that he's always wanted to have a go at? This could help with the smoking habit as well, to keep his hands and mind busy. Painting, maybe, knitting, sewing ( yes, I know men that do it :lol: ) and they are easy to just pick up. Something physical to help with the weight loss maybe, dog training, cycling? The list is endless but the trick is to find something that suits your lifestyle and that he will be interested in. Good luck! You are being a sterling comfort and support!

 

[Patch]

It's hunger. Plain and simple. And it's BECAUSE he's still eating hi-carb foods.

The 2 biggest culprits for me (where I felt I HAD to eat something sweet after eating), were:

1) Fried Breakfasts (incl. fried bread, beans, fried potatoes)
2) sundat Roasts (incl. Roast Potatoes, yourkshire puddings, stuffig, etc..)

Sounds like your husband is in the same boat (at least on the Snday Roast side!).

I know the feeling well. It's a ravenous hunger, that you feel in your mouth more than anywhere, and no matter how mch you eat, you cannot get the hunger to stop.

Cut out the carbs at meal times, tell him to snack on meat, cheese and nuts, and I promise, you and he will be absolutely amazed at how the hunger disappears.

If you want to do a bit of reading, try reading up on Atkins Induction Phase. I had been ravenously hungry all my life until I started in induction all those years ago. Food was no longer such an issue in my life, and for the first time EVER, I was actually FORGETTING to eat meals, becasue I wasn't hungry! (I also got a new lease of life/energy, and found that sometimes, I was too busy to eat!)

Get your husband on this site, and get him to ask LOTS of questions. I'm always happy to answer PM's (so is almost everybody else!) I know exactly how he feels - it is not impossible to re-gain control.

Give him my best.