Hate food

S

Sheepish1947

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello, since being diagnosed with Type 2 in 2018 I’ve steadily begun to hate eating more and more. I’ve always been a picky eater and all the foods I dislike seem to be the ones I should have: fish, lentils, beans, chickpeas, quinoa, plain boiled potatoes, low fat milk, spreads like Flora. I just seem to eat chicken salad all the time. Since I have to cook for my normal husband too, thinking of a menu and preparing two different meals is quite wearing. I know what I SHOULD eat but none of it appeals. Does anyone else feel like this?
 
Most people do at times, I’d think @Sheepish1947 eg wishing what counted as a healthy diet was cake and chocolate. I suggest broadening your meal repertoire (ie find different ways to cook your chicken) and also try small amounts of healthy food maybe in interesting ways, eg falafels or hummus, a few lentils on a salad, some refried beans with spicy Mexican chicken, etc.

I find some new recipe books usually inspire me. I like the Roasting Tin cookbooks - mainly because the recipes are simple and tasty with not much effort (or washing up!).
 
Thank you. I really hate hummus, lentils and beans. The diabetes nurse told me to include lentils in meat sauce but I had to throw it away as my husband didn’t like it, either. It’s not that I haven’t tried all these things, it’s just that I really don’t like them. The only good discovery I’ve made is LivLife bread which only has 3.4g of carbs per slice.
 
I found that making a few simple swaps meant that I could mostly continue to eat what the rest of the family have, so no need to cook separate meals.

Chilli Con Carne? They have rice, I have riced cauliflower. Chicken Chasseur? Same as the Chilli. Mixed Mushroom Stroganoff? Same again.

Bolognese? They have spaghetti, I have a half-portion of a non-grain pasta like red lentil.

Roast dinner (chicken, beef or lamb)? They have roast potatoes, I have mashed cauli or mashed celeriac (but no Yorkshires).

Any meal with chips, I have celeriac chips.

Tonight's tea is Chicken Parmigiana, penne for them, red lentil pasta for me.
 
Martin.A said:
I found that making a few simple swaps meant that I could mostly continue to eat what the rest of the family have, so no need to cook separate meals.

Chilli Con Carne? They have rice, I have riced cauliflower. Chicken Chasseur? Same as the Chilli. Mixed Mushroom Stroganoff? Same again.

Bolognese? They have spaghetti, I have a half-portion of a non-grain pasta like red lentil.

Roast dinner (chicken, beef or lamb)? They have roast potatoes, I have mashed cauli or mashed celeriac (but no Yorkshires).

Any meal with chips, I have celeriac chips.

Tonight's tea is Chicken Parmigiana, penne for them, red lentil pasta for me.
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Sorry but lentil pasta tastes of lentils, not pasta, mashed cauliflower doesn’t even replace mashed potatoes, you can’t get rid of the cauliflower taste and replace it with something that tastes and feels like roast potatoes, and I’m certainly not making Yorkshire puddings that I can’t eat!
I appreciate everyone’s suggestions but I’ve spent seven years doing all this and it just makes me feel different and long for ‘proper’ food.
 
I must find a decent recipe for mushroom stroganoff cos it was a regular veg offering on the 'Function' menu at a city centre hotel in Brum that loads of us from work used to get invited to - and the omnivorous options were, frankly, boring ! So we only had one or two vegetarians but when I happened to be seated next to one on one occasion I asked if she was - seriously - enjoying it which she said she was so I then asked her for a little taste pretty please which then converted me to it being a better option there 'in future'.

Not ever having made even beef strog at this juncture I don't currently have a clue (and Delia says to use fillet steak ...... bit too expensive to risk ruining for first try methinks with no pet butcher to hand!)
 
Why do you use skimmed milk instead of whole milk? Whole milk is actually very slightly lower carb than semi skimmed or skimmed, so if you prefer whole milk use that. Personally I prefer cream. There are plenty of other meats you can eat like pork/ham/gammon and lamb and beef and venison and turkey and duck, so I am not sure why you are limiting yourself to chicken? That must be pretty boring although a chicken carcass each week makes a nice soup base. I add a big dollop of cream cheese to my mashed cauliflower and that makes it taste more creamy like potato, but you do need to use fresh cauli as it does get stronger flavoured the longer it sits around, plus some cauli varieties are stronger or more bitter than others. Why have plain boiled potatoes as they are quite high carb? If anything adding a little fat in the form or roasties or chips or butter on new potatoes will slow down the release of glucose from the potato but just have a much smaller portion than you would have had pre diagnosis and not every day. Make those potatoes a special treat once a week so that you look forward to them. New potatoes are actually lower carb than older ones, so if you are going to have potatoes at all, now is the time and please don't insult them by having some low fat spread on them, use butter, just keep the portion of potatoes small and savour every little mouthful.
I think perhaps you have some outdated views on what is suitable for a Type 2 diet. Personally much as I love lentils and beans and chick peas and hummus, it raises my BG levels higher than they should but a sirloin steak or lamb chops and fried mushrooms and a salad with coleslaw causes me no problems at all and is so enjoyable that it makes me forget about the things that I can't now have. If you really wanted to have a few (maybe 5-10) chips with that steak and your levels show that you can get away with that then great but if not, it can be a tasty and enjoyable meal without them. I personally quite enjoy celeriac chips instead when I can get one and be bothered to make some, but a big plate of salad and coleslaw and meat and mushrooms and perhaps some pickled beetroot works for me.
 
rebrascora said:
Why do you use skimmed milk instead of whole milk? Whole milk is actually very slightly lower carb than semi skimmed or skimmed, so if you prefer whole milk use that. Personally I prefer cream. There are plenty of other meats you can eat like pork/ham/gammon and lamb and beef and venison and turkey and duck, so I am not sure why you are limiting yourself to chicken? That must be pretty boring although a chicken carcass each week makes a nice soup base. I add a big dollop of cream cheese to my mashed cauliflower and that makes it taste more creamy like potato, but you do need to use fresh cauli as it does get stronger flavoured the longer it sits around, plus some cauli varieties are stronger or more bitter than others. Why have plain boiled potatoes as they are quite high carb? If anything adding a little fat in the form or roasties or chips or butter on new potatoes will slow down the release of glucose from the potato but just have a much smaller portion than you would have had pre diagnosis and not every day. Make those potatoes a special treat once a week so that you look forward to them. New potatoes are actually lower carb than older ones, so if you are going to have potatoes at all, now is the time and please don't insult them by having some low fat spread on them, use butter, just keep the portion of potatoes small and savour every little mouthful.
I think perhaps you have some outdated views on what is suitable for a Type 2 diet. Personally much as I love lentils and beans and chick peas and hummus, it raises my BG levels higher than they should but a sirloin steak or lamb chops and fried mushrooms and a salad with coleslaw causes me no problems at all and is so enjoyable that it makes me forget about the things that I can't now have. If you really wanted to have a few (maybe 5-10) chips with that steak and your levels show that you can get away with that then great but if not, it can be a tasty and enjoyable meal without them. I personally quite enjoy celeriac chips instead when I can get one and be bothered to make some, but a big plate of salad and coleslaw and meat and mushrooms and perhaps some pickled beetroot works for me.
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Thank you. That’s the best advice I’ve had so far. The diabetes nurse tuts at cream and butter (high cholesterol) but they definitely don’t raise my BG levels. (Neither does red wine). Looks as though I’ve got to decide whether to prioritise the diabetes or the heart conditions. Yes, I do have other meats but it just feels like endless chicken at times.
 
How high is your cholesterol? If your cholesterol is very high, perhaps you should be offered a statin?

I found that lowering my carb intake and eating more fat has actually lowered my cholesterol slightly but mine was only 5.2 to start with and seems to be pretty stable at 4.5 the past five years. I also use a fibre supplement as fibre can also have a positive impact on lowering your cholesterol as well as healthy gut/bowel benefits. I use a mixture of psyllium husk and chia seeds in a glass of flavoured water. Whole chia seeds and psyllium husk don't taste of anything as far as I can tell but are very low carb and high in soluble fibre and the chia seeds are also high in Omega 3 fatty acids which are the good stuff in oily fish, so if you don't like fish you can get that from the chia seeds instead as well as the beneficial fibre, without the fishy taste. That said, I once bought milled chia seeds and they smelled a bit fishy after a while as the milling process breaks down the seeds and allows oxidation of the oils. If you have them whole, they really don't seem to taste or smell of anything, even when soaked in water. I still get the wobbles when I think back to having to have a spoonful of cod liver oil each morning before school, so if it was even remotely fishy I couldn't eat or drink them and this may partly be why I don't like fish, but I have my fibre drink pretty well every day and they really help to keep my bowel happy and regular and I am sure they also help with my cholesterol.

Anyway, I am pleased you found my post a little helpful and uplifting. If life is not worth living and food is not worth eating then what is the point!
When I first went low carb, I also felt compelled to follow the nurses advice of low fat and low salt and no alcohol and I felt like I was eating cardboard. Once I added natural fats back in but kept the carbs low, I was so much happier and and my diabetes is really so much easier to manage, but there have been so many other health benefits to eating this way that whilst I am tempted every once in a while to eat "normally" I usually regret it afterwards and even though I have insulin to manage whatever carbs I eat, my levels often go haywire afterwards when I splurge and it isn't worth the aggravation for several days afterwards getting back on track, so mostly I stick to low carb but I treat myself to cream in my coffee almost every morning and I always buy creamy Greek style yoghurt and whole milk and fatty meat and lots of nice cheese and I cook my cabbage and courgettes with a knob of butter and I serve my broccoli with sour cream and chive dip (from the deli not the Doritos stuff from a jar which is heavily processed) and I fry my mushrooms and omelettes in butter or left over meat fat and I toss my cabbage in the frying pan with the bacon fat after I have zapped the cabbage in the microwave for a couple of minutes first. You may not like some of these things. I had to give up on alcohol altogether as it started making me ill the next day, even just one glass, but a glass of red wine will most likely lower your BG a little rather than anything else, and can have other benefits. Obviously moderation is key, but the odd glass will not adversely impact your diabetes and may actually help a little, especially if it contributes to you being less stressed and happier.
 
Sheepish1947 said:
Hello, since being diagnosed with Type 2 in 2018 I’ve steadily begun to hate eating more and more. I’ve always been a picky eater and all the foods I dislike seem to be the ones I should have: fish, lentils, beans, chickpeas, quinoa, plain boiled potatoes, low fat milk, spreads like Flora. I just seem to eat chicken salad all the time. Since I have to cook for my normal husband too, thinking of a menu and preparing two different meals is quite wearing. I know what I SHOULD eat but none of it appeals. Does anyone else feel like this?
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Woah there - apart from the fish that list is what I avoid - good for you to have realised that those are what not to eat - cross them off the list.
I tried eating that 'healthy' diet and I ended up a very bad diabetic and vastly overweight - there is no way that can be the way a Human should eat if it doesn't work well for them.
These days I eat any meat, fish, eggs, cheese, full fat dairy, low carb veges and berries. I make the same or similar meal for my husband but add in come carbs for him as he expects them, but there are no sweets, cakes or biscuits in the house.
Tonight I will have steak and mushrooms and my husband will have steak, chips and peas.
I often have stir fry, salad, mixed veges, and I make sugar free jellies with berries - recently I found I'd no frozen berries so used cacao powder and orange jelly to make a chocolate orange tasting dessert.
 
Thank you for all the meal suggestions that I didn’t even ask for! I just wondered whether I’m the only person out there who feels this way and it appears that I am!
 
Hate is such a negative emotion it can bring you down. Some people hate their diabetes in the same way. Maybe I am fortunate but there have been significant health benefits to me from changing my diet and I would not have changed my diet if I hadn't been diagnosed with diabetes, so rather than focussing on the negative ways that diabetes affects me like having to inject myself multiple times a day and calculate each injections and how that will impact me later if I am more active and all the other decisions that I need to make day and night about anything and everything I do and how that will impact my levels and how scary hypos can be, I choose to focus on the positives.
My morning coffee with cream is one of my daily little luxuries and I try to be in the moment with it and appreciate it rather than think about how much I enjoyed it with sugar. I have had a chicken with stilton salad 2 days this week with balsamic vinegar and coleslaw and to be honest I enjoyed it so much I could have eaten it every day if I hadn't run out of salad leaves. There are a lot of other things I might have enjoyed that I no longer eat, but the fact of the matter is that I really enjoyed those salads. It has taken me time to find ways to make my meals diabetes friendly and enjoyable, but it has been worth it. Yes, it is hard sometimes when others around me are eating cake and chips and not having to think about what they put in their mouth every day, but those high carb foods were killing me and I am better off without them. That doesn't mean to say that there are not low carb foods that I can really enjoy instead. You just have to experiment and be more open minded and not let the negative emotions like hate stop the enjoyment of what you can have.
 
As Rebrascora and Drummer said I too have no problem with cream in my coffee, twice a day for me! In addition I pay no attention to the supposed cholesterol raising fats. Cheese butter etc a plenty. My levels have been tested at normal or below and while this seems curious I guess by cutting out the carbs the body is forced to use the proteins and fats for energy. Weight is also pretty stable. It seems to be working out what works for you as an individual, the NHS advice is often out of date, generalised and behind the curve so to speak. Like many things in life people experiencing a particular problem are far more informed and 'switched on' about the particular nuances of their condition as they live with it 24/7; at the coal face as you will, compared to add hoc scientific studies and trials. This is not to discount the trial advice and findings, rather to blend the two together to come up with a balance living solution!
 
Sheepish1947 said:
Looks as though I’ve got to decide whether to prioritise the diabetes or the heart conditions.
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Sometimes rather than going left or right, you can choose a middle road.
If your cholesterol has tested high at the moment, then you could focus on healthy fats for cooking. While still allowing some saturates for quality of life enjoyment.
Unsaturated fats are fine to eat, it's only the saturated that could be a problem.

While people have reported good cholesterol results with low carb and high fats, the question to consider is will your carbs be as low as in their diets.
(Has anyone quoted a carb figure for a low carb / high fat diet that controls cholesterol? I can't remember if they have)
 
Sheepish1947 said:
Thank you for all the meal suggestions that I didn’t even ask for! I just wondered whether I’m the only person out there who feels this way and it appears that I am!
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Didn't mention meal suggestions, actually said try eating foods you like then follow up with bg testing.

If you find right balance there's no need to hate food, meals should be something you look forward to.
 
Personally, I think that there is a point in life where one just gets plain fed up!!!!! Makes no difference if it's work, home, food, etc etc . That's just it and perhaps that's where you are at this point. How one lifts oneself.......not too sure, but if it's healthy then one has to try.
As has been said in the previous replies, perhaps a new approach would help, new recipes, a new cookbook, complete clear out of the cupboard ......a late Spring clean. We are between seasons now, and maybe you are ready for a change, I am a tad weary of salads but will soldier on. I do hope you get some inspiration from the forum, there is sooooooo much help here.
 
I have read these posts with great interest, and have to say I have tried all the substitutes, and hated them all. Eating is not a pleasure for me either.
 
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When I was first diagnosed in February this year, total surprise but should have recognised the symptoms, I followed Michael Mosley a huge amount. I did not eat huge carb anyway, but soon realised I was hungry........was good, cut sherry, dropped BG. Now six months on, and I am seldom hungry, eating very much as I was before, but just never hungry, open the fridge and think....nup, don't want that or that. No pleasure in eating at all so I do see where you are coming from. It's probably a case of mind over matter, or is it eat to live ot live to eat?????? Just had two big glasses of water with lemon and lime, husband is cooking his tea, best not to ask, and I have no idea what I'm having.......just dont fancy anything and I have a well stocked fridge, freezer and cupboard. Might settle for yoghurt and fruit, so I think I am in the same place as you.!!!!!!!
 
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