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Anxious after remission

B

Bbbabs

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Make ages 52 - Brief history is that after being diagnosed in early 2022 with an HB1ac of 90, I lost 5 stone - BMI down to 21, HB1AC down to 37 and off Metformin for 18 months with no increase of HB1ac.

I have put on a little weight but this is muscle and not fat. My body fat percentage is around 12%.

The above was achieved by a low carb/good protein diet and an increasing exercise regime. I still rigidly stick to my diet and exercise. The diet is mainly vegetables, pulses, good fruits, white meat and fish. No processed food. I do not drink alcohol. In fact it’s mainly water with one green tea a day.

I know I am very lucky to have been able to reach this and having a home based role definitely makes it so much easier.

My issue is perhaps a psychological one and I would be interested if anyone else has faced it and how you deal with it.

On occasion I do go out for dinner either with work or friends. Whilst I try to stay as healthy as I can, you simply do not know the detail of the ingredients used and sometimes it means I can’t do my full exercise regime. This week for example, I had to do three client dinner and two lunches ( plus meetings) over three days. Not only do I start to panic this will reverse all the good things I have achieved but, especially not being able to do my full exercise regime, can influence my mood and general wellbeing.

I know this is perhaps a minor concern when compared with the issues others are facing. I just fear that I am trying to find excuses not to go out so I can stick to my diet and exercise plans.

I would be really grateful for any advice on how you can at least contain the panic and reduce the impact on your moods etc.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
I had the same anxiety about putting all the 22kg back on again as often happens. Things that have helped me are 16:8 intermittent fasting, Zoe Harcombe's explanation of weight loss and maintenance (same thing really), and occasional fasting days, an idea pinched from Michael Mosley's 5:2 diet book. All work well for me, not least the fasting days I started last month.

See: What should we eat? https://www.zoeharcombe.com/2021/08/what-should-we-eat/
 
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I understand where you're coming from pretty well, I think. I've been "normal" (via weight loss) for coming up to 6 years now, with no weight regain. You get into food, exercise, weight monitoring routines along the way, keeping everything simple and constant, and anything which disturbs (or seems like it might disturb) the routine provokes anxiety - are you going to wobble off track & how hard will it be to get back on track if you do.

Personally, I've found so far that my "remission" isn't so fragile & it's not so hard to get back to the routine if it gets disturbed by work, social requirements etc.

If I go a bit above (or below!) my target weight I know from experience that it's not a huge deal to bring it back in line. If I miss a day of walking it's not a disaster & I'm eager to get back to it, because I really enjoy it.

Ditto for eating, if due to circumstances I eat more salt or saturated fat or less fibre or whatever versus my targets. I really enjoy my CV-healthy diet and I'm eager to get back to it. I could care less about carbs - I've normalised my glucose regulation, and carbs are just fine if they are in a CV-healthy form like whole grains or fruit.

Anyway, that's just me. I guess my experience is that with time I've gotten a lot more confident about my resilience & less anxious about temporary deviations. So maybe it will work the same way for you. Good luck!
 
I view eating out, or being away on holiday, as time off from tracking every amount of this, that or the other and my BG is always back where it usually is afterwards as long as I steer clear of rice dishes, pasta dishes, pizza and most desserts.
 
I don't think it's at all unusual to get 'health anxiety', in whatever form that may take so you're definitely not on your own.

I've just had an enforced 5 week hiatus from all strenuous exercise and I'm really struggling to get back into a decent routine. My BG is all over the place (can't explain that) and I've put about 7lbs on.

There's ALWAYS someone worse off than yourself, so don't let that issue get you down. Concentrate on yourself.

I have a very real anxiety that I will let everything slide again, clap all the weight back on and be in a mess again but when I have those horrid thoughts, I just have to go back to basics and take each day at a time - a bit like stopping smoking!! If I look at the bigger picture it feels overwhelming but taking a daily approach to food and exercise puts me back in control.

Don't put off going for client lunches or dinners. Just make sensible food choices when you're there. You won't reverse all your good work if you're careful.

It's hard isn't it but you can do it. Take care xx
 
I'm coming up to 8 years from diagnosis and over 7 in normal numbers.
Having checked, I know that I can eat anything - though high carb foods have very little attraction for me - but they never did - all those things labelled 'treats' by pushers are quite nauseating.
I suspect you are doing a lot of work and worrying unnecessarily - and restricting your diet without any great benefit.
 
I've been in remission, with A1cs low/mid thirties, for over 10 years and would say it gets easier with time.

My weight is pretty stable, although I gain/lose a couple of kilos along the way, depending on what I'm up to. Eating has become simpler, in the respect that reduced carb living is my normal, and I just do it.

For me, the thing that nudges my blood sugars more than anything else is stress. Thankfully, my day-to-day life is low stress, but like everyone else, there are times.......

Good luck with it all.
 
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