Hi

[Inka]

Thanks for the suggestions @CurlyWurly but I think I'd be bankrupt if I started eating those , absolutely ridiculously priced.

Seriously, what do people who previously ate lots of potatoes, bread and rice and who don't like veggies or salad do to bulk out their meals? I can't be the only person with T2 that doesn't eat "rabbit food", yet all the recipes I see are made up almost entirely of food items I don't like. I'm used to eating large meals, there's only so much padding out I can do with carrots and broccoli before I'll be sick of those too. I feel like I've been almost constantly hungry for days, but I struggle to get close to 130g of carbs, and feel like this is just not going to be remotely viable long term. And that's without any treats, or, heaven forbid, a beer or two.

Ah, well, you’re speaking to a big vegetable fan here, so I totally don’t recognise your “rabbit food” comment! Think about it: vegetables are your best friends! They bulk meals out without adding loads of carbs; they help your bowels and build a healthy microbiome (many people who are overweight have too many ‘bad’ bacteria in their gut); they contain phytonutrients for good health - and, prepared and cooked properly, they taste delicious!

So, my advice to you would be to gradually increase the amount of vegetables and salads you eat, and also increase the variety of veg you eat. You’ll reap dividends if you do this.

There are so many delicious recipes out there. I could fill a whole section of the forum with them if I had the time! Top tip though is to branch out. Eat different veg and prepare it in different ways.

Here’s a salads thread for some salad ideas, but remember that things like adding a side salad to your meal or having a salad starter can also help:

Thread 'Salad Recipes'

May 7, 2021

Starting this salad recipe thread thanks to @Toffee1 and our chat about more interesting salad recipes to jazz up veg. All this salads can be amended with your choice of protein or carbs, and any ingredients not to your taste can be omitted or substituted. I’ll add a few recipes as and when I have time, but do feel free to add your favourite salad recipes too. It would be nice to have a resource to look at for inspiration and variety.

This is a simple light salad I like for lunch. I have it with sourdough bread and hummus, but you can have what suits you. Having berries in a salad...

• Inka
• Replies: 22
• Forum: Food/carb queries + recipes

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[helli]

Like @Inka I enjoy veg and do not consider it as rabbit food.
There are some that I dislike like celery and swede.
I know that I dislike these because I try them every few years. I do this because, there are something (like leeks) which I thought tasted yucky and then rediscovered them. I think our tastes change over the years so it is useful for me to retry food from my "nasty list" to replace things I am bored with.

What I am trying to write is don't write off food because you didn't like it in the past. Give it a go again. You may still dislike it (like celery for me) or your may find it is nicer than you remembered. Maybe set yourself a target for one new food each week: it is often said that managing diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[saffron15]

For pasta which I've stopped i use Holland and Barrett edamame noodles and red lentil fusilli. Do you have more adventurous friends or family who would cook a meal using it and let you have rest of the packet if you liked / tolerated it?

I haven't had mash since I was diagnosed apart from twice buying a homemade cottage pie at a market and having it two days running with extra veg. I have had chips a couple of times. You can still eat carbs but a smaller quantity. Many people if making mash add celeriac, carrot or swede so it is half potatoes. I like celeriac but buy small ones as it is the devil to peel. It tastes vaguely of celery but if you are putting a meaty sauce I don't think you'd notice. Talking of meaty sauce if you pureed some veg perhaps courgettes or beans ( broccoli and carrot would be fine too) and added to the meat mixture it would be more filling, disguise the taste and texture. I bought a pack of cauliflower and broccoli rice which I haven't tried yet. I just use a soft veg as a base eg cook beans, broccoli or cauli and add the meat mixture on top.

Could you gradually add new veg eg leeks chopped very small like onions but milder. Fennel, aubergine, peppers. I like Brussel sprouts and cabbage but they may be acquired taste.

Good fats and protein fill you up. Perhaps try 10% fat Greek style yoghurt plus berries and a few nuts or seeds for breakfast. You wouldn't want bread with it and if you had it 3 x a week that's one relatively carb free meal. Some people add a large spoonful of granola on it. M and S does a sugar and grain free one.

 

[Buffybegood]

Perhaps try 10% fat Greek style yoghurt plus berries and a few nuts or seeds for breakfast. You wouldn't want bread with it and if you had it 3 x a week that's one relatively carb free meal. Some people add a large spoonful of granola on it. M and S does a sugar and grain free one.

I do like Greek yoghurt and have been eating it with blueberries of an evening when I get hungry; I tend to have scrambled eggs for breakfast/brunch.

Wrt the rest of it, @saffron15 , @helli , @Inka , I appreciate your thoughts, but it's basically all about having to eat things I don't like let alone enjoy, hence why it's so depressing. I find salad as a meal completely unappertising (and faintly ridiculous if I'm being honest, it's grass); it's great that some of you enjoy it, but it doesn't remotely constitute a meal to me.

 

[helli]

Wrt the rest of it, @saffron15 , @helli , @Inka , I appreciate your thoughts, but it's basically all about having to eat things I don't like let alone enjoy, hence why it's so depressing. I find salad as a meal completely unappertising (and faintly ridiculous if I'm being honest, it's grass); it's great that some of you enjoy it, but it doesn't remotely constitute a meal to me.

Sorry you feel this way.
The point I was trying to make was how do you know whether you like something if you have not eaten it for years or just consider the thought of it ridiculous?
I agree that the salad of my mother's generation was little more than grass but the salads I eat are no longer just lettuce, tomato and cucumber. I had a wonderful salmon caesar salad recently and really enjoy a Salad Nicoise (I am not a fan of tuna so use salmon but you could easily do something similar with chicken, for example). Reading through the link @Inka included, reminded me of the watermelon, mint, red onion and feta salad I make.
I do not consider these to be rabbit food, grass, boring or depressing and they can constitute a meal (or be the sides to a protein such as chicken). But they do require me to think about the food I am eating and do a little preparation.

 

[Inka]

That depends what you consider salad @Buffybegood 🙂 I started the thread I linked to because I’d come across a big range of salads on an app and they used veg that most people wouldn’t consider salad veg - that is, not just your run of the mill lettuce/tomato/cucumber. So, the term “salad” can be very broad.

Just as an example of more common non-lettuce salads, people eat rice salads (no ‘grass’ in that), bean salad, potato salad, etc etc. Some of those won’t be ideal for you because of the carbs, but the point I’m making is not to rule out all salads. If you like, think of salads simply as a cold meal. Salads don’t have to include veg you actively dislike. There’s a broad range. Salad doesn’t just mean lettuce! It sounds like you’ve had some rather unfortunate salads because many are extremely tasty. A proper salad and accompaniments is definitely filling 🙂

Your ‘bread’, like most modern bread, is pappy as it’s made by the Chorleywood method I think that encourages people to over-eat it because it’s not substantial. I remember eating almost a whole loaf of a similar pappy white bread at uni and it was weirdly unsatisfying. It just sat in my stomach like a lump. Why not try proper bread - something like sour dough maybe? You should find it much more satisfying, which would mean it’s easier for you to eat less.

What veg do you like? What kind of flavours/cuisines do you like? I’m sure you’ll find something that works for you.

 

[Buffybegood]

What veg do you like? What kind of flavours/cuisines do you like? I’m sure you’ll find something that works for you.

I wouldn't say I like them, but I'll eat carrots and broccoli, and have been doing daily more or less since diagnosis. I like some Chinese, although would usually eat lots of special fried rice, and the pancakes to go with the crispy duck, both of which I'm sure are also out now. I eat some Indian, but again with rice and naan bread as part and parcel of it.

Thanks for taking the time to try and help, it is appreciated even if I'm coming across as ungrateful; the thought of having to eat like this for the rest of my life is just getting me down so much.

 

[CurlyWurly]

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a try when I've next been shopping .

I realise I won't be able to eat those quantities of bread going forward, it's just that losing so much of the bulk of my meals with no/little bread or potatoes leaves a huge hole in the quantity of food that I eat, with basically just food I don't like as the only alternative to fill it.

Who said I eat pasta ? Can't stand the stuff, at least I don't mind not eating that.


Thanks for that link .


I guess it's all just a bit overwhelming atm, nearly all the links or suggestions are for stuff I just don't like. I get that I need to cut down hugely on the bread and potatoes, but if you take those out of my diet there's not a lot left to bulk out meals around the meat. It doesn't help that it doesn't feel as though my BS is falling as fast as it should given the changes I've already made (back up to 13.4 at 7.45 this morning, and having not eaten yet, it's still 12.9 now, just about to have brunch), and it's really depressing to think that this is my life going forward.

Won't lie it's not ideal but over time things do get easier. Don't be disheartened by your readings either, last week you were often getting 17/18 and some in the 20's after food. It's worth getting an app or logging your results in excel so you can see your fasting level each morning over a week then over a month. Looking day to day isn't always the best measure as it fluctuates but over time if you stick to things you'll see a gradual downwards trend.

I think it can take 2-3 weeks for all the sugar and other c**p to leave your system, I'm pretty confident that by the end of the month your fasting levels will be looking a lot better, you'll probably lose some weight too.

Trust me I love nice fresh bread, giant baguettes with a side of crisps is one of my all time favs but the replacements aren't too bad. I think once you get your levels down a bit and things become a bit more stable then you can start testing what works for you and what doesn't - you'll still be able to have some bread just less of it unless you buy/make low carb bread.

One of my fav dishes is mince meat with some red kidney beans or chickpeas, bit of tomato sauce and the edamame noodles from H&B.

Once you start researching you'll find there's a fair few options though they do tend to cost more. For example pick some of these up, they're not ultra low carb but much lower than bread. A couple of bits of bacon with some cheese or egg in them makes a nice breakfast or use them as naan bread with a curry. https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/mission-carb-balance-original-wraps-x4-200g

 

[Inka]

Broccoli is great 😎 That’s a really healthy and versatile vegetable. Carrots are very versatile too. For example, you can ‘thin out’ grated cheese with some grated carrot. Have you tried stir frying carrot and broccoli? You can even use some of the broccoli stalk by cutting it into batons lengthwise. Stir fried broccoli tastes very different from boiled broccoli. Perhaps you already do this, but you could make your own stir fry with broccoli and carrots (and any other veg you can manage, even in tiny quantities) and a meat of your choice, along with spices and sauce (watch the packet ones as they can be high in carbs). You could then have a smaller quantity of rice with it.

I can’t remember the carbs in the crispy duck pancakes, but if you’ve got a Chinese grocer near you, some of those pancake and wrap things aren’t too high in carbs. If having a small amount of those helps you enjoy your meal and eat the veg, then that’s certainly a possibility. Chinese grocers also have an excellent selection of sauces and things like dried black beans which you can make an easy black bean sauce with that contains far less carbs than the shop-bought ones.

A change in diet is a big change to your life, so it’s understandable you’re feeling a bit down. Don’t try to change too much at once. Make some small changes and keep them up. Also, when you try a new food, eat a tiny amount of it and make sure the rest of your meal contains things you like that fit with your diet. They say it can take up to 30 tries to like a new food. It’s ok to not like certain foods, but if you can broaden your diet a little bit, that would be good - and hopefully enjoyable for you.

Try to turn everything into a positive as much as possible. Diet can have a massive effect on your Type 2 diabetes. So think of it as a powerful tool you’ve been given to help you 🙂 Think of your daily broccoli as a top up for your future health credit. Be proud that you’re eating those vegetables even though they’re not your favourite foods. Be proud too of all these changes you’re in the process of making. You’re doing great 🙂

 

[Buffybegood]

So I've been on gliclazide for 2 weeks now (1 x 80mg for a couple of days, then 2 x 80mg), and, although, as you might have guessed, I'm really struggling to meet the 130g carb target, I have massively reduced my carb intake since diagnosis, yet my BS is still far too high at all times. The 7 day average of my morning/fasting level is 13.7 (my BS was 13.6 this morning, I've only had one reading below 12.9); does this strike people as this being really slow progress, or am I being unrealistically impatient to see more of an improvement?

Unfortunately the nurse who prescribed the meds is on holiday and I haven't got a scheduled phone call for another 2 weeks, or I'd be asking her. On my last phone call last week, she was concerned that I might go below 6 while she was away, yet that doesn't seem like even a remote possibility, and makes me feel as though she was expecting it to fall faster.

 

[CurlyWurly]

So I've been on gliclazide for 2 weeks now (1 x 80mg for a couple of days, then 2 x 80mg), and, although, as you might have guessed, I'm really struggling to meet the 130g carb target, I have massively reduced my carb intake since diagnosis, yet my BS is still far too high at all times. The 7 day average of my morning/fasting level is 13.7 (my BS was 13.6 this morning, I've only had one reading below 12.9); does this strike people as this being really slow progress, or am I being unrealistically impatient to see more of an improvement?

Unfortunately the nurse who prescribed the meds is on holiday and I haven't got a scheduled phone call for another 2 weeks, or I'd be asking her. On my last phone call last week, she was concerned that I might go below 6 while she was away, yet that doesn't seem like even a remote possibility, and makes me feel as though she was expecting it to fall faster.

I think you need to give it some time, after all it took you years to get to your current levels so you can't expect them to come back down within a couple of weeks.

It's 2-3 weeks for sugar and carbs to exit your system, I'd keep it at and view your results over a weekly average (which you're doing) and I'd be staggered if they don't start to drop a bit over the next month.

Also try doing a little bit of exercise if you can, even a couple of walks a day for 15-20 minutes will help.

 

[Buffybegood]

Also try doing a little bit of exercise if you can, even a couple of walks a day for 15-20 minutes will help.

This is an issue for me, I really don't like leaving the house unless I really have to. My confidence has been completely shot by an urgency to pee issue; I go from OK to absolutely desperate for the loo in no time at all. It's possibly related to my diabetes, it has got a little better since diagnosis, but that may just be down to not drinking 6-7 litres a day. I find it's difficult to go out even for appointments. GP was a bit dismissive about it tbh, just said that the glucose in my pee may be irritating my bladder.

 

[Inka]

Could it be a UTI @Buffybegood ? They can be more likely with (previously) uncontrolled diabetes. But yes, high blood sugar can cause an uncomfortable bladder and an urge to pee.

 

[Buffybegood]

Could it be a UTI @Buffybegood ? They can be more likely with (previously) uncontrolled diabetes.

I really wouldn't know tbh, but I doubt it as the issue has been going on for a good while, but getting worse in the last few months especially when my fluid intake really ramped up. I've given 2 pee samples and 2 blood samples in the last couple of weeks, and, although I told my GP about this issue, I don't know if he specifically asked for a UTI test from the samples I gave.

 

[Buffybegood]

On a side note, is the fact that my BS is still consistently high a possible contributing factor in constantly feeling hungry? ie because my body isn't managing to use the glucose in my blood, it's telling me I'm hungry?

 

[rebrascora]

4 thoughts from me taking into account that others here have tried to persuade you that vegetables can be enjoyable but noting that your mind is very much set against this...

Fibre.... It sounds like your diet is quite low in fibre and particularly different types of fibre because of your dislike of vegetables. Fibre does actually fill you up and also improves gut health and at the moment you are probably hungry and have been eating far more than you actually need because of a lack of fibre and poor gut health.... poor balance of gut bacteria.
You can buy supplements which are high in fibre. I use chia seeds and psyllium husk. Neither of them taste of anything much. You can mix them into a drink or into your yoghurt or add them to soups and stews to thicken them. They do change the texture slightly but not generally the flavour. You can also get konjac noodles and rice which is extremely low carb (lower carb than the pasta substitutes already mentioned although I note that you do not like pasta) These products are also high in fibre so should bulk out your meals without adding carbs. So you can have curry or chilli with konjac rice and konjac noodles with bolognaise sauce etc. You do have to rinse them thoroughly before heating and eating because the preservative they come in needs to be completely removed before you eat them.

The Newcastle/Fast 800 or the NHS/Oviva Path to Remission Program.... which involves a very low calorie "soups and shakes" based diet for 12 weeks followed by the steady reintroduction of food and support over a 12 month period. Perhaps this would help you to reset your relationship with food and shrink your stomach as well as help to burn off the visceral fat around the liver and pancreas which is one of the main causes of Type 2 diabetes. It might be something to discuss with your nurse if you are prepared to give it a go, since you are relatively newly diagnosed. We have several regular members who have gone that route either officially by being referred onto the program or off their own bat. People who have followed this approach sometimes find it such a relief to eat real food again that a salad becomes a real treat. I am not saying that will happen with you but you may find that you suddenly enjoy your carrots and broccoli a lot more when you haven't had any real food for 12 weeks.

Keto or Carnivore diet.... basing your meals on meat, eggs and fish and eating until you are sated, but avoiding all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, pastry, breakfast cereals etc and only having very small amounts of carbs from other low carb sources like onions and tomatoes and other veg. It is extreme and I haven't done it myself but what I have found with going low carb is that once you cut the main ones right out of your diet, you need less food and you don't crave them nearly so much if at all. And once your body and stomach get used to smaller meals which have to be digested more slowly.... it takes the body 2-10 hours to digest protein and fat as oppose to just 1-2 hours to fully digest carbs, so sometimes just one meal a day can be enough to sustain you and a much smaller meal than piling your plate with carbs.

Insulin.... If you really cannot find a healthier diet which you will find sustainable long term and your levels remain high, then this might be an option but if you continue to eat as many carbs as you have been used to, then you will put on weight unless you start running marathons on a regular basis to burn them off. The insulin will enable your body to access the glucose from those excess carbs that you are eating and store it as fat and the more weight you put on the more resistant to the insulin you may become and the more you may then need to inject, so you really do need to find some way to make reducing your carb intake sustainable.

If it helps at all, I was a "sugar addict" and bread and potato "fiend" pre diagnosis and a healthy lunch for me was 4 slices of wholemeal toast with a whole tin of baked beans on them and I would be hungry again in a couple of hours time and easily eat more in the evening. Since going low carb my body has got used to a lot less and some days half an apple and a chunk of nice cheese is enough for me. I am 6 years down the line but it took about 3-4 months to start to see things getting easier and after that it has just become my new way of life. Granted I am fortunate to like vegetables and can eat most things and indeed to can mentally condition yourself to like things. I know this because I used to hate olives and now I absolutely love them. I do focus very much on what I can eat that I enjoy rather than focus on the foods that I have had to give up. I make sure I have low carb treats in the house. Having real double cream in my coffee every morning is one of my little luxuries which prevent me from feeling like I am badly done to. Cream is lower cabr than milk and the extra fat makes it much more satisfying both taste wise but also for preventing hunger.
It took time and research to find food and meals that worked for me. Sometimes I cook a whole duck or chicken or a joint of pork or a beef brisket and just pick at it if I am hungry as well as obviously making meals from it with veggies. Knowing I have something low carb in the house to eat when I am hungry is really important though, so meat and cheese and eggs and tins of tuna/salmon even if I just open a tin of tuna and have it with a dollop of mayonnaise if there is nothing else available..... again I believe you don't like mayo but maybe mixed into tuna it would be OK for you or maybe you need to find other things that work for you. I have occasionally had sour cream and chive dip that I have mixed into it as I find tuna dry on it's own, although I mostly buy the sour cream and chive dip to have on my cooked broccoli.

Many of us have been on this journey of changing our diet so we do understand and sympathise with how difficult it is but it makes it a lot easier if you start looking for an approach which may work best for you and ways to adapt that approach to fit in with your lifestyle, rather than focusing on how impossible and awful it is.

 

[CliffH]

I wouldn't say I like them, but I'll eat carrots and broccoli, and have been doing daily more or less since diagnosis. I like some Chinese, although would usually eat lots of special fried rice, and the pancakes to go with the crispy duck, both of which I'm sure are also out now. I eat some Indian, but again with rice and naan bread as part and parcel of it.

Thanks for taking the time to try and help, it is appreciated even if I'm coming across as ungrateful; the thought of having to eat like this for the rest of my life is just getting me down so much.

As you described it in your first post, you're in "a whirlwind" - and very new to Diabetes. Reading through your posts, you don't come across to me as ungrateful. Rather, when someone reacts to various suggestions with, "Yes but ...", it indicates to me that the person feels too overwhelmed currently to be able to think of making changes.

A great step though is that you've joined this Forum! You can let off steam as much as you want: we've all been there to greater or lesser extents. Also, can your Diabetes team get you access to a Psychologist or Counsellor, to help you process your thoughts and feelings in a more structured way?

Then, when you're ready (and only when you're ready), you can re-look at the excellent suggestions in this thread and decide which ones you're going to start to follow. You need to make any changes gradually, given that you're looking at a permanent, sustainable lifestyle change.

 

[Buffybegood]

Firstly, many, many thanks @rebrascora for such a detailed reply, it is genuinely appreciated.

4 thoughts from me taking into account that others here have tried to persuade you that vegetables can be enjoyable but noting that your mind is very much set against this...

I'd love it if I enjoyed vegetables and/or salad, but I just don't; it's hardly a conscious decision.

You can also get konjac noodles and rice which is extremely low carb

The Konjac rice is certainly something I'll try, I'll get some next time I have to go shopping.

The Newcastle/Fast 800 or the NHS/Oviva Path to Remission Program.... which involves a very low calorie "soups and shakes" based diet for 12 weeks followed by the steady reintroduction of food and support over a 12 month period. Perhaps this would help you to reset your relationship with food and shrink your stomach as well as help to burn off the visceral fat around the liver and pancreas which is one of the main causes of Type 2 diabetes. It might be something to discuss with your nurse if you are prepared to give it a go, since you are relatively newly diagnosed. We have several regular members who have gone that route either officially by being referred onto the program or off their own bat. People who have followed this approach sometimes find it such a relief to eat real food again that a salad becomes a real treat. I am not saying that will happen with you but you may find that you suddenly enjoy your carrots and broccoli a lot more when you haven't had any real food for 12 weeks.

I don't think I'll qualify for the NHS one as my BMI falls (just) in the healthy range, and it does seem an extreme path to go down. Can't see a salad ever being anything other than a form of torture though .

Keto or Carnivore diet.... basing your meals on meat, eggs and fish and eating until you are sated, but avoiding all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, pastry, breakfast cereals etc and only having very small amounts of carbs from other low carb sources like onions and tomatoes and other veg. It is extreme and I haven't done it myself but what I have found with going low carb is that once you cut the main ones right out of your diet, you need less food and you don't crave them nearly so much if at all. And once your body and stomach get used to smaller meals which have to be digested more slowly.... it takes the body 2-10 hours to digest protein and fat as oppose to just 1-2 hours to fully digest carbs, so sometimes just one meal a day can be enough to sustain you and a much smaller meal than piling your plate with carbs.

Keto is definitely something that I've been looking at, but I don't know how healthy it actually is long term. I'll continue to look into it and will discuss it with my diabetes nurse when she's back off holiday. For the few "bad carbs" I'm currently eating (2 slices of bread, 30g, and about 200-240g of potatoes, about 40g), then cutting them out completely, if there are associated benefits of not feeling hungry, seems to be worthy exploring. But what about the carbs in other stuff; even carrots and broccoli have carbs, as does things like gravy, or fruit like an apple? Have just checked, and even carrots are a no go on keto, as are apples.

Insulin.... If you really cannot find a healthier diet which you will find sustainable long term and your levels remain high, then this might be an option but if you continue to eat as many carbs as you have been used to....

I do realise that I can't continue to eat carbs in the way I used to, but I'm not sure I'll ever find a normal diet that only has 130g of carbs a day, it just doesn't seem realistic for me at all. A typical day for me atm has just under 200g and I'm constantly hungry.

Granted I am fortunate to like vegetables and can eat most things and indeed to can mentally condition yourself to like things.

I know it's going back a long time, and, believe it or not, I eat more than I used to, but I was basically force-fed stuff by dinner ladies at primary school to the extent that I would vomit, and a lot of my aversion to vegetables stems from that; my mum always said I would eat anything before I started school. Certain foods still make me heave.

Many of us have been on this journey of changing our diet so we do understand and sympathise with how difficult it is but it makes it a lot easier if you start looking for an approach which may work best for you and ways to adapt that approach to fit in with your lifestyle, rather than focusing on how impossible and awful it is.

I am sorry I'm being so negative here, but I just need to sound off. I've isolated myself from all contact with friends and family over the past couple of years due to my issues with the urgent need to pee; it was easier to just ignore people than have to explain why I wasn't comfortable socialising any more, so I'm not really starting from a great position mental health wise.

 

[rebrascora]

I think many of us can relate to being force fed decidedly unpleasant veg by school dinner ladies but if you have been able to make progress with broccoli and carrots then you should also be able to make progress with other veg.
I can totally relate to mental health issues and avoiding social situations because of it as I have struggled with my mental health for several decades and done my utmost to avoid social gatherings whenever possible because of it. Your high BG levels will obviously be contributing to your needing to wee often but they will also me contributing to your mental health problems along with your poor diet. The gut and the brain are directly linked via the vagus nerve, so developing a healthy gut biome can improve many health issues including improving mental health.

I am not recommending a keto/carnivore diet lightly and I am not convinced that it is a long term solution for most people but it may help you to shrink your appetite and lower your BG levels short term which could enable you to feel less hungry and also improve your mental health. AllI know is that if I eat bread or potatoes (and as a Type 1 I can do that) I crave them for several days afterwards, whereas if I avoid them it is relatively easy to potter along on my 70ish g carbs a day. It depends who you ask as to whether keto/carnivore diet is healthy or not and what else you can stick to. Clearly lots of carbs is proving to be a significant health risk for you and since you dislike most vegetables, a lower carb diet is probably going to be very difficult and potentially unsustainable too. I know people who have found huge health benefits in going keto, so whilst the NHS reaction will almost certainly be negative towards it, I think it maybe worth trying to see if it benefits you individually. My nurses strongly advised against low carb but there have been so many health benefits for me including a slight reduction in Cholesterol despite eating a lot of saturated fats now which I didn't before and many of the health benefits deteriorate again if I stray back to old ways, even for a relatively short period, that I am very sure low carb is the right diet for me.

As regards konjac rice, the most widely available brand in the UK is "Bare Naked" and they do it in the form of noodles and rice and are available in most large supermarkets so you don't need to go to specialist health food shops. Most important to follow the instructions and rinse well, but they usually only take 2 mins in the microwave to heat/cook, so a reasonably quick and easy option. They come in a plastic pouch.

 

[Inka]

On a side note, is the fact that my BS is still consistently high a possible contributing factor in constantly feeling hungry? ie because my body isn't managing to use the glucose in my blood, it's telling me I'm hungry?

Yes, high blood sugar can make you feel hungry. I remember eating loads before I was diagnosed with Type 1. I also felt weak - which, again, made me feel food would help.

Type 2 is associated with insulin resistance. Too much insulin (made by the body because it can’t use the insulin it makes properly due to insulin resistance) can also contribute to hunger. It becomes a bit of a vicious circle. Reducing your carbs can help break this circle.