Chocolate

[Karen999]

Hello.
Ive been really working hard with my food intake since being diagnosed in November but I'm struggling to understand, if I have a piece of cake or a snicker bar and my sugar goes up won't it just come back down again in a couple of hours?
I'm scared to eat anything unhealthy,. But if I'm going to manage this for ever then I want to break out from time to time??

 

[SB2015]

Hi @Karen999 , from a chocoholic.

Whatever carbohydrates you eat they will be converted into glucose once inside you. Your pancreas will then release insulin to let your muscles use this up. With Diabetes there is not enough insulin (or no insulin for T1) to clear the glucose.

I used to eat large amounts of chocolate, but now (most of the time!!) I have very nice chocolates in a tin and have one (or two) as a treat after my evening meal. This means that the higher sugars are buried in other carbs so will not spike my glucose levels as much.

With regard to what to eat, you are absolutely right that you need to find a way of eating that you can maintain. How familiar are you with carbohydrates? Do you know how many grams of carbs you eat at each meal. If you work this out, you can then make changes to reduce this. This could be done by switching to lower carb options, and/or reducing portion sizes. For veg I like the rule of thumb I was given. If it grows

• Under the ground it is high carb
• Above the ground it is medium carb
• On the ground it is low carb.

This can help in choosing swaps.

Another tip I follow most of the time is to not sit down for 15 minutes after a meal. This can be in the house but we now try to get out for a walk. I have been amazed at the impact this has, andalso seen on my sensor the impact when I don’t do this (so tempting when it has been wet and windy)

We are all different and what works for one won’t work for another. The important thing is to find what works for you.

 

[grovesy]

It is up to you whether you are prepared to accept that if you have the 'break out' from time to time you can live with higher sugar levels,how ever temporary.
I personally can't limit myself to 1or2 chocolates, and I have never really got rid of cravings for sweet stuff. I can go for periods where I don't get them. I also have tried eating low carb stuff but for me I still end up overeating them and don't hit the spot.
I try to be what I consider more on the wagon than off.

 

[rebrascora]

For me, a Snicker bar would be the first step onto the slippery slope that I just got myself off. I have a square or 2 of dark 70%+ chocolate when I need to treat myself and I tend to break the squares in half or quarters and have them over the course of the day and a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter with them gives me the chocolate nut and crunchy texture which is so satisfying about a Snicker but without all the extra sugar. It is not just the spike in BG levels from the sugar which is the problem but the coming down from it can trigger cravings for more carbs which may need more will power to resist. Yes as a Type2, your body will eventually produce enough insulin to bring it down but how disciplined are you. I know that I struggle to resist the cravings once the carb monster in me is awakened, so I avoid temptation and try to keep him sleeping. I just treat myself with low carb foods instead.
You might find some inspiration on @NotWorriedAtAll 's facebook page as she makes wonderful low carb cakes and other treats which might satisfy that need without jeopardizing your control.

 

[Inka]

Another chocoholic here. I still eat chocolate but choose my timing wisely as @SB2015 says. So I eat it, for example, before exercise or as part of a meal. You can also choose your chocolate wisely. I find the more expensive chocolates have less effect on my blood sugar because they’re higher quality and presumably less sugar. I can often eat one or two of those with hardly any effect at all.

As for cake, again if you eat it choose wisely and have a small portion. You could also look for lower carb/sugar cake recipes.

You ask about your blood sugar coming down. Well, yes it might, but if your insulin response is messed up or inadequate, it might not come down for a while. That could cause problems if it spends too long outside the normal range.

 

[hdee]

Hi @Karen999 , from a chocoholic.

Whatever carbohydrates you eat they will be converted into glucose once inside you. Your pancreas will then release insulin to let your muscles use this up. With Diabetes there is not enough insulin (or no insulin for T1) to clear the glucose.

I used to eat large amounts of chocolate, but now (most of the time!!) I have very nice chocolates in a tin and have one (or two) as a treat after my evening meal. This means that the higher sugars are buried in other carbs so will not spike my glucose levels as much.

With regard to what to eat, you are absolutely right that you need to find a way of eating that you can maintain. How familiar are you with carbohydrates? Do you know how many grams of carbs you eat at each meal. If you work this out, you can then make changes to reduce this. This could be done by switching to lower carb options, and/or reducing portion sizes. For veg I like the rule of thumb I was given. If it grows

• Under the ground it is high carb
• Above the ground it is medium carb
• On the ground it is low carb.

This can help in choosing swaps.

Another tip I follow most of the time is to not sit down for 15 minutes after a meal. This can be in the house but we now try to get out for a walk. I have been amazed at the impact this has, andalso seen on my sensor the impact when I don’t do this (so tempting when it has been wet and windy)

We are all different and what works for one won’t work for another. The important thing is to find what works for you.

good tip about evening meal never thought but will now tinker after

 

[Karen999]

Thankyou
I think sometimes I feel like a toddler wanting to stamp my feet because I just don't want to be diabetic ☹️. And try and find cheat ways around it.
Just have to get my big girl pants on and get on with it.

 

[What the..?]

Hello Karen, like you I was diagnosed last November. I am lucky in that I have never been crazy about chocolate or sweet things, but in the last couple of months I've noticed that every now and again I do have a really strong urge for chocolate. I don't know if it is perhaps that on those occasions my body is actually needing a little sugar, or something else in chocolate. When that has happened I've had one or two small, good quality, dark chocolates left over from Christmas, and I try not to beat myself up about it. Pre-diagnosis my real downfall was always white bread, and now when I have that craving I work on the deferred gratification method - I tell myself that tomorrow, if I still really want it I can have that doorstep of toasted white bread, dripping with butter and whatever other lovely topping I choose, and instead in that moment of weakness I have something low or no carb to eat. And guess what - the craving pretty much goes, and I haven't, yet, actually had my high carb 'treat' the following day. Don't forget we haven't had long to get used to the diagnosis, it's still early days, and if we're going to stay the course we've got to negotiate our way through as best we can - so be kind to yourself, and as is often said on here, it's a marathon not a sprint.

 

[Ditto]

Hello @Karen999 🙂 I don't have a sweet tooth really but I couldn't stop at just a little bit of chocolate. If I ever start on Mum's I polish off the lot, best not go there.

@SB2015

Another tip I follow most of the time is to not sit down for 15 minutes after a meal. This can be in the house but we now try to get out for a walk. I have been amazed at the impact this has, andalso seen on my sensor the impact when I don’t do this (so tempting when it has been wet and windy)

Really? That's so interesting. I've always followed the advice of lions, they seem to lie prone for hours after eating, I thought if it's good enough for them... I stand corrected then...

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

For the last two years I have entirely relied on making my own stuff using 100% cocoa powder or chocolate except for when I bought chocologic chocolates and then just ate a couple of squares at a time and counted the carbs into my daily allowance.

Recently I have started doing a lot of exercise and don't have quite so much time for cooking and even sometimes skip a meal and want to have something in place I can eat and keep within my boundaries (I'm sticking to 20g carbs or fewer a day) and I bought a mixed pack of 16 Adonis bars from Amazon. I was a bit wary but they are imo very nice and they are chewy and nutty and have around 2.5g net carbs for a 35g bar after deducting polyols and they are high fibre and have had no effect on my blood sugars.

Usually on shopping delivery day my control goes out the window and I overeat but today I had one of my Adonis bars instead and and glass of mineral water and it seems to have kept me on an even keel.

It is much better to find alternatives to the high carb treats if you can but my philosophy is alternatives should at worst be as wonderful as the things they are replacing and at best be even yummier. That way you don't feel hard done by and you get a nice feeling of cheating the system by actually enjoying being 'good.'

 

[Drummer]

I still have chocolate, just not the stuff that is half sugar.
The high cocoa sort from Lidl and just one square is fine for me.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I completely understand what you mean @Karen999 - and I do think we need to allow ourselves a little freedom every now and then, I do think that there is a risk these can become more regular if we aren’t careful.

There will be some glucose variations that are outside of our control, so I guess we need to be a bit careful to limit the ones we voluntarily inflict on ourselves! 😛

 

[nonethewiser]

Chocolate don't go there, last week been trying not to have any, got box of lindt given week before & scoffed them all in same week.

Don't mind high coco ones but milk chocolate can't beat, galaxy specially, health wise high % coco is definitely better of two.