Fell off the wagon...

[Janet E T]

Greetings all,
I’ve been diabetic for around 15 years. Never really paid much attention to it til about 3 years ago, after an Hba1c of 96, where my diabetic nurse told me I’d either have a heart attack or stroke imminently if I didn’t get a grip! Scared the hell out of me, so I went the low carb route, started walking and dropped 3 stone, felt great, got the Hba1c down to 64 or so, slept and felt better than I had in years! Then Covid hit. Two years on and a lot of intermittent binging later, I’m still nearly 3 stone lighter but I don’t feel so good. Sleep is awful, daren’t test my bloods, lots of aches and pains and itches. Please can someone help me get back on the wagon? Love you all xx

 

[Janet E T]

I should add that I’m 62 and around 12 stone, down from 14 stone 7. I do 5000 to 11000 steps a day, walking around the large high school I work in.

 

[andyp64]

sounds a little like you know what needs doing .....
Cut down on those carbs, watch out for any added sugar items (especially snacks) and "climb back on the wagon again!.
Good Luck!

 

[Essex]

Getting back on the wagon is always easier than you think

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Janet E T, welcome to the forum.

So glad you've joined us as it's much better to have some support when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Congratulations on the progress you've made so far. It sounds as though you had a game plan that worked, could you revisit and tweak that?

I'd start by making adjustments to your existing diet and testing regularly so you can see the impact your plan is having on your numbers.

You've been successful before so no doubt can get back on the wagon, let us know if there's anything specific we can help with.

 

[Janet E T]

Hi Janet E T, welcome to the forum.

So glad you've joined us as it's much better to have some support when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Congratulations on the progress you've made so far. It sounds as though you had a game plan that worked, could you revisit and tweak that?

I'd start by making adjustments to your existing diet and testing regularly so you can see the impact your plan is having on your numbers.

You've been successful before so no doubt can get back on the wagon, let us know if there's anything specific we can help with.

I’ll test before bed tonight, which should be around 2 hrs after my evening meal. Fingers crossed!

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Janet, I wonder if you would find staying healthy easier if you actually enjoyed the food you could eat safely and enjoyed it more than the food you find causes you health problems?

I know for me that has been the case. You've tackled your diabetes from the opposite end from the way I tackled mine and you've lost the weight and kept it off but you are not feeling great and you've been eating food that made you feel unwell and isn't helping with your blood sugars.

I've sorted the food issue and generally feel very healthy and have good numbers and do it all without meds but I haven't lost much weight and that for me is the next stage because I would feel more comfortable if I could slim down more.

I am 60 so we are similar ages.

Maybe we could pair up and I could help you with your food so you could enjoy eating and be healthy and maybe you could help encourage me so I could get back to exercising and maybe cutting my calories down a bit and slim down a bit? I had started exercising regularly and was starting to see results but then life happened and I've backslid a bit.

What d'you think? I enjoy transforming recipes for people so they can eat the things they enjoy without them being problematic for their diabetes. I have been fairly focussed over the last couple of years finding alternative ingredients and cooking techniques to achieve this and I like to think I am pretty good at it now. I love a challenge too. So if there is one treat you enjoy that you could maybe have without needing to worry and by having that it would help you stay on track with your eating by stopping you from feeling hard done by with your food - what would it be? I may already have a recipe for it - you never know.

But you have made your decision and you are already planning to tackle this and I am sure you will do so.

 

[rebrascora]

Janet don't be frightened of the testing and the numbers it gives you. The important thing is to use the knowledge those numbers give you to get back on track and motivate you. In some respects, the worse they are now, the easier it will be to see progress, so don't worry about whatever reading you get tonight, just work on reducing it and feeling good about the success of that achievement when it happens and do be aware that tomorrow morning's reading may be higher than tonight's but it should reduce during the day. Tomorrow or the next day or the day after that, those numbers will start to come down as you make better choices.
The numbers are just numbers, so don't be frightened of them. Just use them to help you get your diet back on track and start to feel better again. We all know you can do it because you did it before.

I have had a few wobbles recently and went off piste with my diet over the festive season a bit and the cravings it triggered were horrible. It is actually such a relief to be back on the straight and narrow again and my BG levels stable after battling the rollercoaster of ups and downs. So good to have the cupboards and fridge full of the low carb food and treats that I enjoy. Do make sure to include treats in your meal plan. For me it is olives and grilled artichokes and peppadew cream cheese stuffed peppers and cream in my morning coffee and the odd packet of pork scratching 🙄 None of that may appeal to you but find low carb treats that you enjoy and indulge yourself when you feel like you are wobbling.... particularly higher fat foods (cheese, peanut butter, a coffee with cream) as these are satisfying and comforting and should help to settle any cravings.

 

[rebrascora]

I would just like to confess that I ate a whole tub of Mascapone cheese the day after Boxing Day along with a sugar free raspberry jelly because I was on the point of gnawing my fingers down to the knuckles with cravings. Mascapone cheese is very rich and filling and put me in a situation where I didn't want to eat anymore at all, so it stopped the cravings and made me feel VERY full. The next day I had a salad for lunch and it was so refreshing and light after all that fat the previous day, I enjoyed it 10x more than I ordinarily would. Not saying that it would be healthy to do that every day but for me it really broke the cycle of BG turbulence and craving and got me back on on the wagon with my low carb diet but most importantly, I was really happy and relieved to be there.
I now keep a tub of Mascapone in the back of the fridge as my safety net. A jar of peanut butter can sometimes do the same job although slightly more carbs than the Mascapone. For me fat is my saviour when I am struggling.

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Janet E T I concur that it's important to find some low carb food that you really like.
I'm in remission and will still (and always have) occasionally overeaten , except now its on low to zero carb food like olives, vintage cheddar, nuts even some cold meat. I also still eat chocolate, but now it's the dark 90% cocoa type which is admittedly an acquired taste.

 

[trophywench]

Whatever your BG is, it is - avoiding knowing that, won't change the numbers! You're not stupid by the sounds of you, how can not knowing what your BG is, possibly change any damage to your body it may have already done? And you never know - perhaps it won't actually be THAT bad? - in which case why cause yourself unnecessary stress worrying about it, when excess stress is also damaging to the health.

Not logical, Captain! said Mrs Spock.