starving yourself is like hating yourself

I don't follow any regime, i simply eat when i'm hungry. My body dictates the length of fast. Some days i eat twice, some only once. And on one particular occasion, in hospital with nothing low carb available, i only ate twice in 4 days, never felt hungry, and every glucose test was 5.1 - 5.3.

Hi @ajbod. It says you are on tablets - could they be aiding your easy fasting by acting as an appetite suppressant?

I do like to say, we would be a very odd mammal indeed if we did not experience hunger, and even -keenly! A species wondering around experiencing sometimes accidental unnoticed fasting, and therefore - easy malnutrition - would not last long on this planet. Just saying!

We people with diabetes though, do have in the form of meds - a way to soften the edges of hunger. Ask the non-diabetic folks putting ozempic in the hard to get category!

And of course - managed fasting via discipline, self-control etc etc. The carrot of improved blood glucose regulation if not health.

I only take metformin, the doctor felt it was worth staying on a low dose purely to aid circulation. I only suffer regular hunger when things slip and i eat more carbs than normal. Even then it's more craving than hunger pangs.

Hi @ajbod. As well as for your circulation, your medical professionals may have kept you on metformin for its appetite suppessing action? (I see from earlier postings that you first came into the Forum when you were dieting for weight loss for better health and a just in the diabetes range HBA1c in your neck of the woods - it would be prediabetes in mine.) Would be interesting if you go off the met, because then you would be officially in remission, which is a wonderful type of diabetes to be! And you are now out of the prediabetes range too, I see. And had significant weight loss?

I understand the cravings - who doesn't have those other than very rare bods? There is so much seriously attactive high carb/fattening food out there, and some of us are probably sugar addicts (which is how i see myself). I know I deliberately avoid the lolly ailse in supermarkets - much easier not to see it! And get any sweetness-joy from the health food ailses where my stevia sweetened or dried berry products lie... (the best no sugar sweetness being from my own kitchen).

Anyway. Will be interesting to follow your meds/no meds path, if you go off metformin one day. To be healthy hormone regulated I would say hunger is natural and desired! But easier to eat less or in an eating window, than you might otherwise with a wee appetite suppressant? I find this myself, and will be interested when I next experiment with just how much metformin has been helping me not eat after nightfall.... (I'm going to wait till summer to find out!)

I dieted for weight loss before i was diagnosed prediabetic, shortly after increasing carbs, to stabilise my weight. This is why i'm sure i was diabetic long before my diagnosis, as the prediabetic Hba1c contained at least 2 months of strict Keto, and the rest about 50 - 60 grams a day. And i'd been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy in my legs 4 years previous. And suffered carb comas, and funny turns, what i now recognise to be hyper glucose levels, the dotors never even tested. Subsequently i'm convinced my 2 strokes, were caused by diabetes, as they couldn't find any reason for them, The first when i was supposedly prediabetic, the second on the day of my first DN appointment, which they didn't seem to think was a good enough excuse for missing it. I have also had a femoral artery bypass done, and that was the reason the doctor said i might as well continue with the minimal dose of metformin. Being officially in remission is of no concern to me, all that matters is as good control of my blood sugar levels as i can manage for as long as possible.
as for the cravings it's my wifes fault, she keeps bringing all sorts home from work, she's a coffee shop manager for Marks and Spencer. I swear she's trying to do me in. It took her 2 years to actually believe that i had diabetes.

LouisLane said:

starving yourself is like hating yourself

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I don't know about this. Let me explain:

I was "eating myself" into diabetes and heart problems, because theres history of both in each side of my family.
Boredom, depression or menses.. after a while, it was unusual to not be eating something.

Fasting isnt hating myself. Eating myself into an early grave is.
Since starting fasting i can now:
Sleep better
Stop taking antiacids every night before bec
Confidently say i have no pain on my lower back when i walk
I can now actually walk and talk
I dont have to stop every 5mins during a walk.
Im not out of breath after walking up the stairs.
My resting heart rate has slowed down
I have dropped a dress size
I have lost 18kgs (have more to go, vanity.).
I can say i now see a future without diabetes, not the case for my extended family.

There have been a couple of complications but i dare say of my own making.

For me, IF feels as if i like myself again.
Dont get me wrong, you have to have self-discipline and draw on a bit of strenth when you first start.
But for me, the huge list of benefits far outweigh the negatives.

Find what works for you and DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR DOCTOR.

Deleted member 384103 said:

I don't know about this. Let me explain:

I was "eating myself" into diabetes and heart problems, because theres history of both in each side of my family.
Boredom, depression or menses.. after a while, it was unusual to not be eating something.

Fasting isnt hating myself. Eating myself into an early grave is.
Since starting fasting i can now:
Sleep better
Stop taking antiacids every night before bec
Confidently say i have no pain on my lower back when i walk
I can now actually walk and talk
I dont have to stop every 5mins during a walk.
Im not out of breath after walking up the stairs.
My resting heart rate has slowed down
I have dropped a dress size
I have lost 18kgs (have more to go, vanity.).
I can say i now see a future without diabetes, not the case for my extended family.

There have been a couple of complications but i dare say of my own making.

For me, IF feels as if i like myself again.
Dont get me wrong, you have to have self-discipline and draw on a bit of strenth when you first start.
But for me, the huge list of benefits far outweigh the negatives.

Find what works for you and DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR DOCTOR.

Click to expand...

I liked the above piece, as was interesting and brought weighted diabetic issues up, sorry to see guest-member go. But yeah - the idea of eating oneself into one's grave is a pretty intense attitude! And self-hating? Yeah, seems so. Pleased the guest-member started to like themselves again.

I felt inspired to reply because of the idea of discussing IF and diet and even exercising with one's doctor... is so alien, in my experience. Now that appointments are only 15 mins in particular. And I am back in the care of a terrific longterm GP and have a very good patient-doc relationship with her. She is normal weighted herself, so she has gotten on the good side of modern food environment, but I sure don't know how. And she and I do not discuss it, and I have been seeing her off and on for three decades plus now.

I have recently had an appointment with a diabetes specialist doctor who I had quite a good rapport with, and a longish appointment - one hour? And there was no time in that appointment, which was absolutely meds-oriented (which has always been my experience of any kind of doctor appointment), to discuss diet and exercise, apart from a fleeting acknowledgement of my LCHF WOE (low carb healthy fat way of eating). So it was in my records. Oh! I am mistaken. I do remember telling him what my opinion is on the many many many posters in the diabetes clinic waiting room telling type two diabetics to eat a quarter plate of carbs at every meal, three meals a day. That - gee -when will official diabetes care medical professionals stop doing that dreadful thing. He accepted my opinion, even nodded his head, and said something courteous but non-commital. End of that discussion.

In my experience doctors are not a natural medical professional to discuss diet, fasting regimes and even exercise with. They mostly know as much as any person does, as in the knowledge-base is very variable and individual. But I guess you could mean to be referred to professional nutritionist? I remember being at a nutriton workshop with fellow type twos, and the very slender non-diabetic nutritonist spent at least half the time discussing the kinds of not-low-carb bread on the market was best for us. Hmmm.

So, when it comes to discussing diet, exercise and fasting regimes with type two - this Forum is probably the best place to do so! IMHO at least.