The beginning of a mammoth task

[munchykins78]

After being in "Diabetic Denial" since my last HbA1c I have now decided to give a LCHF diet some commitment. I have been suffering from anxiety and depression for the last 3 months (probably longer, but that is when my husband dragged me to the doctor) and have been comfort eating like a monster. I ashamedly weighed 120kg when i last went for my diabetic check, and despite seeing a dietician (who said i should have carbs at every meal!) i have gained another five and a half kilos. I think the anti-depressants might have slightly contributed to the gain but mainly it's because i have been in my own little dream world and comforting eating for the whole country. I have another HbA1c tomorrow and i am dreading getting the results as i am pretty certain that it will be higher than the last one.

I already have been diagnosed with arthritis in my spine and have a compressed disc. My weight is not helping with that and i am in almost constant pain (the pain varies but it is always there). I not only need to do this for myself but also for my son (he will be 2 in March) and my disabled husband who has Becker Muscular Dystrophy, a condition which has recently started to really be getting a grip on him to the extent that i am now classed as his carer. I am so frightened that if i don't lose the weight i need to then they will both end up struggling because i will no longer be here for them.

I have 55.6 kg (122lbs) to lose. I have set myself target percentages of my starting weight, so hopefully the task will not seem so daunting. I am not my heaviest weight, but i am at my fattest (i know that doesn't sound right but it is). I have previously lost weight doing Slimming World, however later attempts have not proved to be successful.

I know i cannot carry on the way i have been. I need to start this new way of eating TODAY. If i put it off again then i will just get even fatter, and fatter, and fatter until i burst!

 

[LaserMum]

Hi Munchikins, Well done for facing up to this. It's not an easy task, as I'm sure you know. I'm nearly the same weight as you and have decided to start the Newcastle Diet tomorrow.
I can understand your comfort eating - that's my problem too. I have a teenage daughter with High Functioning Autism and every time the school call me I cringe picking up the phone and afterwards I reach for the nearest carbs I can get my hands on! Sometimes it just all seems too much and, it's not that I don't care (because I do) but I just don't have the energy to cope 24/7.
We're all behind you here so keep coming back and posting, whether it's to celebrate progress or to commiserate when things have gone badly. We're here to support each other.
When I was giving up smoking I used to say "Never give up giving up!". It worked. I was always "giving up". Sometimes it lasted for a day, sometimes a week, once even 2 months. This time it's lasted for 6 years! So no matter how many times you fall off the carb bandwagon, keep going at it.
Good Luck. I'll be thinking of you. Hope it goes well.

 

[Finzi]

Hi munchykins!

Congratulations on embarking on getting this problem under control! You are definitely not the only overweight T2 here - there's lots of others in the same boat weight-wise (in fact I am heavier than you - 125kg is my next goal - nearly there whoop whoop!). I started LCHF about 2.5 weeks ago, so still very early days, but I have lost nearly 10kg and a couple of dress sizes.

I definitely recommend that you get a carb counter book if you don't already have one: I have Collins gem carb counter which I think a lot of us here use. One way in which its very useful is that some things you think of as healthy are actually really high carb, eg I had no idea how high in carbs fruit juice was. I try not to take the high fat thing too far, as I am trying to lose weight, but don't fret about having things like butter on my vegetables, or avocados, or nuts and pumpkin seeds.

Exercise is really good for lowering your sugars, but I know that might be hard if you're in pain. Even if you can do a little, though, it's better than nothing. Must go now, because I am going to take the dog for a little walk before I have to leave for work xxxxx


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[WhitbyJet]

Good luck munchykins, you had some lovely responses already, only wanted to add that you shouldnt look upon it as a mammoth task, its easier to take it one day at a time, there will be days when you will fall off the wagon so to speak, when this happens dont beat yourself up over it, just get back on track straight away.
Allow yourself treats here and there (non-food), always be prepared in case munchies strike, have things in the freezer, eg ice cream, low carb chocolate truffles/cake in slices, comforting soup - loads of recipes in the low carb recipes section and Chocolate Paradise.

I am a member of a Swedish diabetes forum, one member lost an amazing 72kg doing lchf.

Let us know how you are getting on, all the best x

 

[munchykins78]

I also feel i should mention that nobody will ever be able convince me that my diabetes is just because of my weight. I believe i would have got it at some point any way....all of my mum's brothers and sisters have it (some are overweight, whilst some are not) and my grandmother also had it, so i believe there is a gene thing going on there. Along with this, after having my son i developed gallstone issues which eventually led to me being hospitalized by a rather nasty bout of pancreatitis in november 2011. It is my firm belief that all these things have contributed to the diabetes

 

[Yorksman]

despite seeing a dietician (who said i should have carbs at every meal!)

Well that should have been explained better to you. It's good to have some carbs but stick to wholegrains, brown rice, rye bread and so on. Refined white flours in bread is to be avoided.

I have 55.6 kg (122lbs) to lose.

I started dieting a week or so before christmas and have lost nearly 15Kg now by the end of Jan. My target is 55Kg as well. I started by cutting out all sweets, biscuits, chocolate bars etc. I notice, with the aid of my meter just how things like white bread spiked by blood glucose and so cut that out. Next came mashed potatoes. Basically I moved on to smaller portions of whole grain starches. I like dark rye ryvita for a bit of crunch 'cos I miss toast. I have several different types of meaty of fishy spreads with it so it doubles as a savoury snack. I cook all my own meals because I can control what is in them. I avoid as much fat as I can, using a spray and cutting the excess of bacon etc. I also started exercising, gentle, stretching and movement, not heavy duty stuff, but do it several times a day, just a few minutes each time. It's movement which I didn't do before.

Weight loss is not uniform, it comes in fits and starts. At the moment I lose 1 - 1.5 Kg in a week. Nothing like as good as the start. But, I am not in a race to look good on the beach in the summer. I don't care how long it takes. I already feel better and am more active and, when I think of food, I have changed my thinking to think of what food I can cook, rather than eat. There are many fantastic low carb healthy meal recipes around.

 

[Signs]

I also feel i should mention that nobody will ever be able convince me that my diabetes is just because of my weight. I believe i would have got it at some point any way....

Been lean and fit all my life (Apart from last year!!) and I was shocked to be diagnosed, such is life.

I also put on weight since diagnosis coinciding with job change from running around like a headless chicken to flying a desk.
Have a bout 2st I'd like to see the back off. Started low carb again on 3rd Jan and now 9lbs lighter. Just confirmation that it does help although takes a fair bit of planning, commitment and for me, loads of willpower!

Good luck with it. Loads of great info on here. Also read the diet doctors site http://www.dietdoctor.com/

John

 

[munchykins78]

Thanks for your kind replies...

I have tried changing from white bread to wholegrain etc but i found that made me feel extremely bloated and uncomfortable. I can tolerate them now and again but not on a regular basis. This is why i have decided to cut out bread products completely except for maybe a treat if i go out for a birthday or something. I know that bread is my downfall as i love toast so i have decided it would be better not to have it.


Thanks for the link Signs, this is the exact website i have already been reading and this is the information that i am using to follow my LCHF diet.

I have stuck all the information to my fridge door and about to do an online shop so that i am not tempted by all the bogofs and half price bargains.

With regards to doing exercise....i was recommended swimming but cannot due to anxiety attacks in the pool. I was also recommended using a exercise bike. I have one and fully intend to use it but need to lose 13kg first because i am over the weight limit. I do, however, have a Rosemary Conley dvd which i enjoy doing when i can find the time, which is not easy in my particular circumstances.

 

[viviennem]

Have a look at Viv's Modifed Atkins Diet, which is a Sticky Thread in the Low-carb Diet section of the forum. It will lower your weight, your blood glucose, your blood pressure and your cholesterol - it does all that for me, and others. It's easy to follow if you just stick to the foods listed, and if you're cooking for others just cook some carbs for them.

You may get what is called "Atkins Flu" in the first week or so (maybe headachey etc), but it soon passes, and then you start to feel very positive, in control and well. I never had the bad patch, I think because I made sure I drank plenty of water. It's worth a try.

If you think that it's too low in carbs for you, get a carb counter book (eg from Amazon) and add in a few more from lower-carb, low Glycaemic Index (GI) foods. I put weight on at anything over about 70g of carb a day, but I lose weight on less - the lower, the quicker.

There are other ways of doing it, of course, and different ways suit different people, but I like Atkins.

Viv 8)

 

[mbudzi]

Well done on getting going. I'm on here looking for inspiration to get the Carbs back under control!!!

I also like the "never give up giving up" approach. Some days it all goes wrong and I feel like I have failed - so my new philosophy is to accept today was pants and try put one thing right that helped to make the day go wrong. IE, stack of chopped carrots in the fridge to stop me reaching for the toast, planning the meals for the week so there are good options in the fridge when I'm too knackered to think it through.

If anyone has a nice hot option for redirecting a snacking urge that would be great. I miss hot toast!!!!

 

[munchykins78]

I have had to put my HbA1c off until next friday because son is poorly and clinging to me like a barnacle.

Yesterday i had yummy pork chops and spinach for my dinner. This morning i had bacon and egg. Delicious!

 

[viviennem]

I have had to put my HbA1c off until next friday because son is poorly and clinging to me like a barnacle.

Yesterday i had yummy pork chops and spinach for my dinner. This morning i had bacon and egg. Delicious!

Quite right! Who needs carbs anyway?

Before that starts another row, about 20% of the protein we eat is eventually metabolized into glucose, which is quite sufficient to keep our brains etc working. Even among diabetics, some people can handle carbs better than others. We are all different.

Viv 8)

 

[munchykins78]

At the end of my first week i have managed to lose 1.6kg (3.5lbs) not a bad result. I have not been very well over the last week, the whole house seems to have had some dreadful lurgy and i still feel pretty rank. I havent felt very hungry at times and have skipped a couple of meals because i just haven't fancied eating. Am not looking forward to tomorrow's HbA1c, and being ill seems to have sent my sugar levels all over the place

 

[viviennem]

Try not to worry too much about your HbA1c - and don't let the nurse or doctor bully you about it either!

The highest one I've had since diagnosis was before Christmas 2011, when I'd had a chest infection and then a tooth abscess one after another - I was on antibiotics for about 4 weeks :shock: . My blood glucose was all over the place, as both infection and antibiotics raise it.

Even though the HbA1c is the average over 3 months, it is weighted towards the last month, so being unwell could make it higher. On the other hand, your low-carbing could make it lower. The next one will be a fair test.

I have an HbA1c every 3 months. If you don't, ask for one in April/May. Say you are on a controlled-carbohydrate diet (don't say low - some of them will panic!) and that you've been ill, and you think this might not be a fair representation of your true levels.

Let us know how you get on.

Viv 8)