Type 2 but love eating loads of chocolate

Prem51 · Nov 4, 2015

Supermarkets often do the 2 for £3 Lindt offer. Sainsburys and Waitrose were doing it recently.

Cathn61may · Nov 4, 2015

You need to stop eating 300g chocolate. With Type 2 you have to be stringent with your carb intake. No wonder you have eye problems and neuropathy. You need to see your Diabetic Nurse so she can help you before it is to late. You are not having enough insulin to combat the high sugar in your diet.

Fifilabonbon! · Nov 4, 2015

I would like to say man up and get a grip for heavens sake, but have a sneaking sympathy with you! First of all GET RID of your chocolate stash and don't buy more. You've heard of a cake called Death By Chocolate? In your case, it could well be true. Have you considered hypnotherapy for your addiction? Might be worth the investment.

Sean01 · Nov 5, 2015

I'm recently diagnosed (6th Oct) Type 2, only on metformin at the moment. I'm seeing my Diabetes nurse for the first time next week. In the first 4 weeks I have lost 20lbs (from 23 stone) simply through cutting out chocolate, potatoes, pasta, rice etc. I collect rare malt whisky, and normally I only drink in October, but I had to cut that out. I'm 50. I want to kick diabetes into touch. I don't want to live with it. I was a chocaholic. Typical day: 2 king size mars, a bar or two of chocolate, hot chocolate drinks etc etc and always on hand to share a box of chocolates. I went cold turkey - instantly stopped.I don't even want to eat the 90% stuff that's out there. All I'm saying is that it can be done. Don't mix with chocolate eaters, walk out of the room, tell people you can no longer eat chocolate. if they are real friends, they will stop offering it. Read up on fighting addictions, read up on how smokers quit. It's not easy. (I needed help from my wife with the supermarket shopping because I got too upset going to Morrisons ( I'm a big chap. Nothing made me cry other than the closing scenes of films like Gladiator, but seeing shelves of chocolate upset me, but a couple of weeks later and I think I'm over it. Try, but you must want to try - That is the first step. (and personally, I would say go cold turkey, don't cut down, just cut it out - less painful that way.

DeejayR · Nov 5, 2015

Agreed, you need a strong response to your addiction and it doesn't sound as if you can ease out gently. I cut out absolutely everything I perceived to be bad for me until I got it all out of my system. Now small bits of good chocolate are back on my snacking list along with nuts, cheese & peanut butter. No big deal.

kazlincs · Nov 11, 2015

cold turkey is the thing here.. but maybe you should try and do it by not eating food at all..! I.e the newcastle diet.. no food. just shakes! it cuts out food completely.. which makes it easier for you to get over the addiction..
you wouldnt tell an alcoholic to have just a half lager a day would you? it needs to be stopped completely.. this is the same concept!
once you have gone 3 or 4 weeks without it.. you could go back on food again.. LCHF diet... and by that point the addiction side of chocolate will be gone.. from that point onwards.. chocolate must never never be eaten again! same as an alcoholic never drinking again..

ickihun · Nov 11, 2015

I've been there too. The trick is to cut out sweet things especially chocolate. I found the more I ate something sweet the more I craved sugar or overate.
Do you enjoy lemon and bitter tasting food? Try and oveeear on them. They counter-act the sugar and stop the cravings. Give it a go and godluck! I wish you well.

superwoman1964 · Nov 11, 2015

People who crave sugar and chocolate are often deficient in Chromium and Magnesium. It might be worth trying some supplements to help.

4ratbags · Nov 12, 2015

@superwoman1964 I think thats the best advice yet. I already have Magnesium but I will get some Chromium as well as I dont crave chocolate very often but when I do I really go overboard.

SusanMaries · Nov 14, 2015

Hi, I'm new here and I would say that I am a chocoholic but you have just scared me. I will be restricting and hopefully giving up chocolate now.

Paulblatch · Nov 28, 2015

20 carbs a day!?....that can't be easy.

drakman · Nov 28, 2015

You MUST get off chocolate, it is killing you, I found eating a lot of fruit helps and I found a shop that now keeps sugar free acid drops, they are really strong like they used to be and make a change from mints. I used to eat chocolate but only have the odd HOT CHOCOLATE (Options) now. I am on insulin now and have been since July and found I do not like most chocolate now, I have the odd peice of Lindt 70% or higher chocolate it is quite bitter but satifies the craving.
I also joined slimming world as a way of relearning what is good and bad and how to control it, I found fruit is really good both for diabetes and to lose weight, it has changed how I view food

steve_sandy · Nov 28, 2015

Congratulations ! You are well on your way to get your feet chopped off and to go blind, it will be well worth it ?

What you need to do is to get some flat pieces of wood and tie them to your feet so that you will be like it is when your feet are amputated, ie no real control and to wear a blindfold, take a friend with you and walk to the shops to get your sugar rush as you will probably fall over a lot or miss things like crossings...

Or you could cut out the high sugar, low cocoa **** that is so loved by the masses. The stuff I eat is 85-90% with the odd 75% if feeling indulgent and most of it seems to end up in cooking in any case

Get the book diabetes for dummies, you might need to skip some chapters or not

Tend to eat higher protein than I used to and this is a mix of good meat from the farm butcher, eggs and vegetables. No margarine in the house, so choice of butter, coconut oil and hemp oil, got a few other oils for cooking different stuff.

Used to have a hole in the retina, but the yearly back of the eye check confirmed that it had healed over and was no longer an issue, but had to get the magnification of the reading glasses reduced

Lowest BS of 14.1, fck me ! whilst I have the odd occasion when it is higher, that is rare, what is a high for you ? 35 ?? please do tell, as not sure how high the meters go

You could check out raw cacao nibs, these are essentially the stuff that makes chocolate, so about 52% fat, carbs 29% with sugars only 1.5% and about 12% protein

Renfield · Nov 28, 2015

I was diagnosed as type 2 on 15th May 2015, with a BG level of 22.7 and an Hba1c of 105.

I was 21 1/2 stone and feeling terrible.

3 months later, my BG averages out at 6 and my Hb1c was 41. I had lost 30lbs, and was feeling so much better

The difference? No chocolate, sugar, coca-cola and caffeine. Also reduced my carb level to around 100g a day. Thats all I did. Nothing else.

I never exercise, work from home, so rarely walk anywhere (That is still to come to get more weight off)

I am now at a stage that when I walk around a supermarket, instead of salivating in the sweet aisle, I am amazed at how much there is, and that all the offers are on the bad things.

I still treat myself every so often. Nothing is banned, so if I want chocolate, I have it, but not a 300g bar. I buy a Freddo, or a small bar of chocolate. Or a bag of cookies, so everyone in the house gets 1.

I did make the mistake once of buying a big bar, and thinking I would have a little, and then put it away. I had wolfed half of it before I realised it. Don;t make that mistake again.

I don't have any advice, except if it is important enough for you, then you will do it.

4ratbags · Nov 28, 2015

I actually went cold turkey with chocolate after reading some of the replies on this thread and I find Im mot missing it at all. I think a lot of it is simply habit most of the time.

Oldman1952 · Nov 28, 2015

Hi Neil, what ever is said about your chocolate consumption is very relevant to your holistic way of life.
There are 3 things you can do: 1. You can stop eating chocolate all together. 2. You can eat chocolate sensibly, when you feel the need and that way you can start to control your (addiction) and 3. You can eat your way into an early grave by continuing to consume 300gms or more if you were truthful about your consumption.
I have been a counsellor for many years now mainly dealing with drug and alcohol but have dealt with other addictions too. I prefer not to call it an Addiction because sometimes it allows the person to do something because they refer to their problem as "I did it because I am addicted to SOMETHING. If you get my drift.
Neil, it is your choice and yours only whether you do any of the 3 things I have mentioned. I would talk to your Doctor regarding getting a counsellor involved with your problem. There is a medication that stops you from having the destructive feelings you have when you have a problem with eating, drinking or other thing that changes your life for the worst. Its called Naltrexone. It stops the impulsive behaviour that you have. You have to accept that you do have a life threatening problem. You have spoken about what you do in this Forum so you have already started the process of CHANGE. Make that appointment with your GP, because they will not think that you as wasting their time, they will see it as a cry for help. Keep us all informed as to your progress, as we can still give you the support from a slightly different angle. Take care and best regards Peter Oldman1952.

ladybird64 · Nov 28, 2015

Naltrexone??

Sorry Peter, but you have got to be kidding!

Edit - The rest of your post I would tend to agree with but using Naltrexone for this purpose? I could be wrong but I don't believe it is licensed for this use, maybe for eating disorders but even that would be very unusual. Personally I think it would be totally inappropriate.
I notice Neil hasn't posted since the beginning of the month, he has had some understanding posts, others more forthright but I think he has probably got the message that something will need to give.

Hopefully he will come back and let us support him to make the changes he needs quickly and without judgement.

Brightside · Nov 28, 2015

Hey Neil...you can carry on eating the chocolate. ...you just have to get your sugar under control. So either increase your medication.....or reduce your carb intake. The chocolate won't kill you....the high blood sugar will.
I personally prefer not to take pills so monitor my carbs and bs all the time, and burn a lot of carbs by cycling and spinning. Also lose weight....at 110kg my fasting bs is upper 6's....at 105kg it's higher 5''s. ... at the end of the day it's your health your call.....can u reduce the chocolate? Also stay away from the cheap stuff which often is laced with high fructose corn syrup....a known cause of t2

macdoug · Nov 29, 2015

The first thing I did when I got diabetes was learned to make my own chocolate. Raw organic cacao powder and cacao butter sweetened with liquid stevia. You can add nuts or desiccated coconut. It takes about a 2 minutes to make a batch and 20 mins in the freezer to firm it up. I would make some every night and eat as much as I liked. I would make a hot chocolate with the remnants of the mix and drink that while I was waiting for the chocolate to firm up. I was using coconut oil at first but cacao butter completes the deal cause of the smell. I normalised my blood sugar from 7.8 to 5,8 in six months eating my own chocolate everyday. It doesn't taste like cadbury but it satisfies the addiction while your withdrawing from sugar

Susikav · Nov 29, 2015

Hi Sean, well done! That's brilliant... But why don't you allow yourself a scotch now and then? It shouldn't hurt you... maybe you could have a small one after a meal, test before and 1, 2 and 3 hours after it... I find that alcohol reduced my numbers, red wine usually, but I do drink scotch... It wouldn't hurt you, just the once to see what effect it has on you... such a shame to go without..

Type 2 but love eating loads of chocolate

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