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A day off being diabetic

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Catherine Lindsay said:
Is it OK to occasionally have a day where you pretend that your not diabetic? I'm really down today n so as its good Friday I'm pondering having a chippy tea....
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Catherine, as others have said, one day off whatever wagon you're riding isn't likely to do you any harm.

My only comment (and I appreciate I might be a bit late with this one) is some people find in their earlier days that if they meander off the wagon they find it harder to clamber back on. That said, others have commented that whatever they chose to eat wasn't as delicious and fulfilling as they remembered it to be, so not worth it next time.

At the end of the day, people will have views and opinions, but only you are living your life. Only you get the benefits of what you do, when it all goes right, or bear the consequences when it goes a bit pear-shaped.

My advice to you would be don't strive for perfection and be good to yourself. New habits take time to embed.
 
I'm finding that Fish & Chips or Curry just don't appeal to me anymore simply because I am eating nice food so have no need to see takeaways as a treat. I am always aware that if I did start to get takeaways I could easily side back into the foods that got me here in the first place so in my mind how can these foods be a treat if they made me so ill.

Just my thoughts we all think differently but I wouldn't go down that road because it is just not worth the risk for me. The danger for you is that you say your feeling down, as we all do from time to time, but to cheer yourself up your into old habits that are not going to help as unfortunately these foods for us make us ill, sure you felt better eating them but if you get a raised reading your be feeling down again.
 
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Diabetic Frog said:
I don't agree with you at all. If your mental health is suffering it can be dangerous for you and those around you.
Cheering yourself up by eating something you fancy won't kill you and having a raised reading won't last because you'll be back 'on the wagon' the next day.
You only get one life, you need to let your hair down once in a while!
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I agree with both sides. A treat is great if you have the will power to limit it to once in a while , some can some can’t
 
It all depends on how you use food, if you use junk food to make your mood better then some people can slip back to old food habits, it's like asking a recovering alcoholic to just have just one drink all fine if you don't have a drink problem but not good if you do.

Agree or disagree it make no odd's to me but I am just sharing my own experience and my relationships with junk food of any sort. Sure you can get back on the wagon but some might find it harder to do so and often keep falling off then wonder why things aren't going so well. There are plenty of great foods that you can eat at any time and still sit on that wagon. Many are suffering from mental health issues because food is one of the factors we use to treat it so treating it with junk is no help to anyone in that situation.

Your body and mind do what you want but just sayin it is a danger for me, just be honest with yourself.
 
I rather object to the thought that a “curry” is junk food. The word “curry” means nothing anyway. I cooked a genuine Indian meal a couple of days ago, spicy but not loaded with chilli, filling and very tasty, with a few poppadoms and injected not a jot of insulin to cover it. Took quite a few Creon, though, to cope with the fats and protein. My BG didn’t move at all - maybe an increase of 1. And it all took less time than ringing up and waiting for a takeaway order to arrive.

I’m also cooking a lot of Chinese recipes, which are easy to keep low carb, such as pork lionhead meatballs with Chinese leaves in a casserole. I substituted shredded greens for the Chinese leaves, but left all the other ingredients the same. Other than the Shaoshing Rice Wine, almost a carb free meal.

So it’s perfectly possible to assuage that colonial food itch without sending your BG stratospheric. Just don’t eat loads of fried rice or Naan breads.

And who cares about fish and chips once or twice a year? Since when has that been deadly??
 
I had that thought about what classifies something as "junk food" I am starting to experiment a little with the odd takeaway and the Chinese takeaway we go to cooks the food freshly in open view of the customers. I choose my dishes wisely to be lower carb and I share with my partner, so I can have a couple of dessert spoons of his rice and a little of his char sui with ginger and spring onions to go with my stir fried Chinese veg. I don't see this as being any different to me buying those ingredients myself and cooking them at home except that when I have finished late at the stables and don't have all the the ingredients and can't be bothered, it is a real treat to sit down to a meal someone else has freshly cooked. Same with the Indian takeaway. Make good low carb choices of freshly cooked food and enjoy.
We have recently found a good chippy where the fish is cooked to perfection. If I get dry over cooked fish it puts me off for a very long time. I share a fish and chips with my partner. My portion is about 10-12 medium sized chips with a third of the fish. I pass on the mushy peas. Next time he goes for a burger I am going to have grilled chicken breast with garlic mayonnaise and the salad but without the pitta. Almost no carbs in that and freshly cooked.
To me factory produced ready meals which have all sorts of additives are more junk food that wisely chosen takeaway.

I appreciate that I have the ability to inject insulin to cover these meals and them being an infrequent treat is important but most Type 2s have the ability to produce insulin themselves to deal with a small amount of carbs so I don't see it as any less healthy eating... as long as portion size is restricted and it is an occasional treat and that needs to be honestly assessed.... no good in kidding yourself.

I am very much an all or nothing person and I was a sugar addict and chocoholic pre-diagnosis but as an insulin dependent diabetic there are times when I need to eat sweet things to bring my levels up so I am having to learn to be more disciplined about my eating in general and having been very strict for a couple of years feel like I now have better control, because I no longer have the cravings. I also like being this new slimmer, fitter me and I don't want to jeopardize that.

I can very much see both sides of the coin as regards not deliberately jumping off the wagon just because you are having a down day or treating yourself occasionally because you need a lift. Self knowledge is important with making that decision.
 
For me "junk food" is a takeaway, something that I haven't cooked so therefore I don't know what's in it. My meal sizes have decreased a lot even before I know I was diabetic. I have had stomach problems in the past so I think both of those have contributed to my decreased intake. My stomach physically can't take a big meal anymore. My bloods were surprisingly good! 8.2 last nite and 5.3 this am.
I'm back behaving now, although I've brought myself 1 reeses peanut butter eggs. It's the size of a cream egg.
 
I’d love a day pretending I don’t have diabetes. A day when I do not have to prick my finger or scan my sensor. A day when I don’t have to count the carbs I eat. A day when I exercise without considering my blood sugars before I start. A day when I have no pump attached or no needles. A day when I don’t have a concern at the back of my mind that I may have taken too much or too little insulin or taken it too early or too late. A day when I can leave the house when I don’t have to check I have hypo treatment in my bag. A day when I can do what I want when I want without considering blood sugars, insulin on board and the effects of what I am about to do.

Unfortunately, that’s not a possibility. I would feel unwell pretty quickly if I ate without taking my insulin.
 
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helli said:
I’d love a day pretending I don’t have diabetes. A day when I do not have to prick my finger or scan my sensor. A day when I don’t have to count the carbs I eat. A day when I exercise without considering my blood sugars before I start. A day when I have no pump attached or no needles. A day when I don’t have a concern at the back of my mind that I may have taken too much or too little insulin or taken it too early or too late. A day when I can leave the house when I don’t have to check I have hypo treatment in my bag when I leave the house. A day when I can do what I want when I want without considering blood sugars, insulin on board and the effects of what I am about to do.

Unfortunately, that’s not a possibility. I would feel unwell pretty quickly if I ate without taking my insulin.
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I agree with you wouldn’t it be a real treat
 
helli said:
I’d love a day pretending I don’t have diabetes. A day when I do not have to prick my finger or scan my sensor. A day when I don’t have to count the carbs I eat. A day when I exercise without considering my blood sugars before I start. A day when I have no pump attached or no needles. A day when I don’t have a concern at the back of my mind that I may have taken too much or too little insulin or taken it too early or too late. A day when I can leave the house when I don’t have to check I have hypo treatment in my bag when I leave the house. A day when I can do what I want when I want without considering blood sugars, insulin on board and the effects of what I am about to do.

Unfortunately, that’s not a possibility. I would feel unwell pretty quickly if I ate without taking my insulin.
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This is so me! I miss being able to do things spontaneously too xx
 
Catherine Lindsay said:
I was very good I got a child's portio
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That is exactly what I do, if I feel like something that is slightly high carb, I go for the portion control method. Half a slice of cake, some dark chocolate, small choc ice etc.
 
It's fine to have a treat but if that treat takes your BG up into double figures, even for a short period, how is that a treat its just causing damage to your body. I can treat myself everyday with food but it's food that keeps me well and BG down without having to medicate at this time. I can't imagine how hard it must be for type 1's to constantly calculate what's going in then how to adjust the meds to balance things out, it sounds like a nightmare and something I might have to face in the future.

I've not had any form of takeaway since being diagnosed and don't want it simply because I am happy eating what I do I am just not prepared to pay for something that is going get my BG up but obviously other think that's fine which is ok with me but I just can't get my head around as that being a treat.
 
helli said:
I’d love a day pretending I don’t have diabetes. A day when I do not have to prick my finger or scan my sensor. A day when I don’t have to count the carbs I eat. A day when I exercise without considering my blood sugars before I start. A day when I have no pump attached or no needles. A day when I don’t have a concern at the back of my mind that I may have taken too much or too little insulin or taken it too early or too late. A day when I can leave the house when I don’t have to check I have hypo treatment in my bag. A day when I can do what I want when I want without considering blood sugars, insulin on board and the effects of what I am about to do.

Unfortunately, that’s not a possibility. I would feel unwell pretty quickly if I ate without taking my insulin.
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Oh how i miss those days :confused: . I miss the spontaneity of things. D is the first thing i think of in the morning, i think about it all through the day and its the last thing i think of until i sleep.
 
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