Bad habits

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Gillie

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Carer/Partner
Hi my husband was diagnosed T2 5 years ago. He lost a lot of weight and has been reasonably good. But i can see the weight going back on, I dont mind but he is passing more gass again and the snoring is back and hes complaining about being tired again. The butchers pies and the oh a pizza wont do any harm have all crept back plus since he retired he now has rice Krispies, much larger than the 30g serving, plus a bagel and laughing cow cheese every morning for breakfast. That must be a days worth of carbs in one go then a few hours later he's hungry again with ‘ I’m starving’ or complaining about being tired. To me he has crashed from too much carbs but he won’t listen, am I right ?
Don’t know his numbers and yes we have a test kit but he won’t use it. On slow release metaformin Oh and he keeps saying all he did was cut out sugars but keep telling him no, we cut out sugars but I also increased his protein and reduced his carbs
 
Gillie said:
Hi my husband was diagnosed T2 5 years ago. He lost a lot of weight and has been reasonably good. But i can see the weight going back on, I dont mind but he is passing more gass again and the snoring is back and hes complaining about being tired again. The butchers pies and the oh a pizza wont do any harm have all crept back plus since he retired he now has rice Krispies, much larger than the 30g serving, plus a bagel and laughing cow cheese every morning for breakfast. That must be a days worth of carbs in one go then a few hours later he's hungry again with ‘ I’m starving’ or complaining about being tired. To me he has crashed from too much carbs but he won’t listen, am I right ?
Don’t know his numbers and yes we have a test kit but he won’t use it. On slow release metaformin Oh and he keeps saying all he did was cut out sugars but keep telling him no, we cut out sugars but I also increased his protein and reduced his carbs
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It would be better for him to have a breakfast of protein like eggs in any form or full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and then a small portion of a lower carb cereal like a granola. Even a piece of toast with the eggs would be better than the bagel as they are high carb. An omelette with a filling of mushrooms and cheese would be satisfying and he would be less likely to feel hungry.
Retirement is a big change of lifestyle and more opportunity to have just that biscuit or piece of cake with a cuppa which was my downfall and led to my diagnosis.
Have a look at this link for some ideas https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
The website sugarfreelondoner has recipes for low carb cakes and biscuits so he may not feel to be missing out too much if there was some of those to have as snacks.
 
Welcome @Gillie 🙂 Try to encourage him to test, if only to ‘prove you wrong’. You could do this after his carby breakfast maybe. Also, if you’re the one in charge of shopping, don’t buy the Rice Krispies. You’ve ‘run out’ and perhaps he’d like a mushroom omelette or some of the lovely creamy Greek yoghurt you’ve got with some fresh raspberries (both low carb options).
 
Should have said, I had a fall and some fractures which I’m still recovering from so he has taken over the shopping and cooking so
Leadinglights said:
It would be better for him to have a breakfast of protein like eggs in any form or full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and then a small portion of a lower carb cereal like a granola. Even a piece of toast with the eggs would be better than the bagel as they are high carb. An omelette with a filling of mushrooms and cheese would be satisfying and he would be less likely to feel hungry.
Retirement is a big change of lifestyle and more opportunity to have just that biscuit or piece of cake with a cuppa which was my downfall and led to my diagnosis.
Have a look at this link for some ideas https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
The website sugarfreelondoner has recipes for low carb cakes and biscuits so he may not feel to be missing out too much if there was some of those to have as snacks.
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thank you for the link and ideas. He won’t do yoghurt, I’ve tried, will have another look at granola as when he first got diagnosed I was really unclear on the whole thing and went for the lowest sugar cereal that he was likely to eat. Still not clear on the balance between sugars and carbs if it’s better if ok sugars are a bit higher but the carbs are lower.
 
Gillie said:
Should have said, I had a fall and some fractures which I’m still recovering from so he has taken over the shopping and cooking so

thank you for the link and ideas. He won’t do yoghurt, I’ve tried, will have another look at granola as when he first got diagnosed I was really unclear on the whole thing and went for the lowest sugar cereal that he was likely to eat. Still not clear on the balance between sugars and carbs if it’s better if ok sugars are a bit higher but the carbs are lower.
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Don't confuse yourself by looking at the sugar as it is just a carbohydrate so look at the carbohydrate value. The only time it is worth looking at the sugar amount is if 2 products have the same carbs then the one with the lower sugar would be better.
He may have rejected yoghurt because he has had the low or zero fat which is very different to the nice creamy full fat Greek yoghurt.
M & S Grain Free Fruit and Nut Granola is only 8.2g carbs per 100g so he could have a decent size portion as opposed to rice crispies which are 90g carbs per 100g so about the highest carb cereal you can get so not a good choice. A bagel is about 45g carbs so a slice of toast would be much less and with eggs would make a better breakfast
 
Sorry to hear that @Gillie I hope you’re recovering ok. Him doing the shopping and cooking sounds like a big part of the problem then. I’d be tempted to do an online supermarket order and have it delivered.
 
Inka said:
Welcome @Gillie 🙂 Try to encourage him to test, if only to ‘prove you wrong’. You could do this after his carby breakfast maybe. Also, if you’re the one in charge of shopping, don’t buy the Rice Krispies. You’ve ‘run out’ and perhaps he’d like a mushroom omelette or some of the lovely creamy Greek yoghurt you’ve got with some fresh raspberries (both low carb options).
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Tried that even tried well if you test an hour later and it’s ok it means you can keep having it, but nope. He gets his annual review and because that’s been ok, although he did say was a bit higher, he thinks it’s fine. He just doesn’t want to listen to the fact that by spiking his sugars he’s maybe causing damage that the GP might not pick upon. Unfortunately at the moment he’s doing the shopping and most of the cooking, though I try to do a meal plan and shopping list, so the out of stock doesn’t work. I fell in March, had a few bad fractures that are still healing so hubby has had to take the kitchen.
Gillie said:
thank you for the link and ideas. He won’t do yoghurt, I’ve tried, will have another look at granola as when he first got diagnosed I was really unclear on the whole thing and went for the lowest sugar cereal that he was likely to eat. Still not clear on the balance between sugars and carbs if it’s better if ok sugars are a bit higher but the carbs are lower.
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Oh dear @Gillie - that breakfast would be several days worth of carbs for me.
I often have steak and mushrooms for breakfast, or a chop and stirfry, or chicken and salad in the hot weather.
I don't go into details, but my grandmother died from complications of diabetes all from an infected cut from clipping her toenails.
I do hope that you begin to see your own situation improving.
 
Even with metformin it needs to be in conjunction with diet which I expect you realise, the symptom of gas is often experiences as a side effect of the metformin and more likely to occur if carbs are not reduced. Tiredness is a symptom of high blood glucose as is feeling hungry after a high carb meal as the body overproduces insulin and that results in a vicious circle of eating carbs feeling hungry and eating more carbs. Eating higher fat can help prevent the hunger.
Does he drive as if his high blood glucose causes diabetic neuropathy then his ability to drive may be impaired. A friend has had to get his carb converted to hand control because he lost the feeling in his feet. He had to get rid of his caravan as his licence did not allow him to tow and his classic car could not be converted. He can no longer do the things he could do.
I hope your own injury is improving and you can get back to cooking.
 
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@Gillie

You could go through Dr David Unwin's diet sheet with your husband. It has a chart showing how some carbs relate to sugar. Over 150 of his patients have gone into remission, and are staying there, by following this diet under the watchful eye of his Norwood surgery.

To see how David Unwin approaches T2 have a look at this video of his PHC conference talk in 2023. He has one or two examples of patients who have gone off the rails and then got back on track.

Good luck.
 
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Sorry to hear about you fall @Gillie :(

How is your recovery going? Is it very uncomfortable/painful? Hopefully you will be fully back up to speed before too long, but it does take longer to bounce back from injury as we get older I find.

Hope you are able to find ways to encourage your husband to make a few tweaks to his current menu. And hopefully improved glucose levels around meals will help with feelings of satiety, and will improve his energy levels.

Good luck with everything 🙂
 
As my beloved knows only too well - old bikers just don't bounce anywhere near as well as young uns seem to!
 
Gillie said:
Hi my husband was diagnosed T2 5 years ago. He lost a lot of weight and has been reasonably good. But i can see the weight going back on, I dont mind but he is passing more gass again and the snoring is back and hes complaining about being tired again. The butchers pies and the oh a pizza wont do any harm have all crept back plus since he retired he now has rice Krispies, much larger than the 30g serving, plus a bagel and laughing cow cheese every morning for breakfast. That must be a days worth of carbs in one go then a few hours later he's hungry again with ‘ I’m starving’ or complaining about being tired. To me he has crashed from too much carbs but he won’t listen, am I right ?
Don’t know his numbers and yes we have a test kit but he won’t use it. On slow release metaformin Oh and he keeps saying all he did was cut out sugars but keep telling him no, we cut out sugars but I also increased his protein and reduced his carbs
Click to expand...
Hi everyone just an update. Tried the testing again even suggested getting one of those monitors but he’s not interested. He did though this morning have bacon eggs toast for breakfast before going golfing. He admitted he wasn’t hungry going round or have his usual dip in energy. When he came back at lunchtime he wasn’t as hungry either. So he does know, it’s keeping it going that’s going to be the issue.
Thanks everyone for the links and the information and the good wishes
 
You have my sympathy, I have a hubby who just refuses to help himself!!! He's not diabetic but has other issues
 
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