Here goes nothing - calorie control starts tomorrow (Wed 3 May) - T2

[West Leeds Rick]

I've been using Nutracheck to track calories for ten days now.

I feel that tomorrow is the day to start attempting to get under the suggest calorie limit to start losing weight.

I'm excited and a little bit nervous.

My biggest problem has been bingey visits to buy rubbish from Heron Foods and Farmfoods.

But Nutracheck has helped me to see that these unhealthy shopping trips have catastrophic consequences on my sugar and calorie totals each day.

The only function they serve is to deaden my emotions and I feel that I have personal resources to weather any emotional storms that may result.

I'm type 2 diabetic. I'd love to be in remission by the time I hit the age of 50 in 9 months.

Regards
Rick

 

[Leadinglights]

Sounds like you have a plan, what did Nutracheck reveal about your carbohydrate intake as it is carbohydrates which are also important in managing to get your blood glucose down.
This link may be useful in giving you some ideas for more suitable meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I've been using Nutracheck to track calories for ten days now.

I feel that tomorrow is the day to start attempting to get under the suggest calorie limit to start losing weight.

I'm excited and a little bit nervous.

My biggest problem has been bingey visits to buy rubbish from Heron Foods and Farmfoods.

But Nutracheck has helped me to see that these unhealthy shopping trips have catastrophic consequences on my sugar and calorie totals each day.

The only function they serve is to deaden my emotions and I feel that I have personal resources to weather any emotional storms that may result.

I'm type 2 diabetic. I'd love to be in remission by the time I hit the age of 50 in 9 months.

Regards
Rick

I went low calorie.
I didn't fancy diet control, like you I wanted to lose weight and reverse my diabetes, which I did, and then I moved back onto a normal Mediterranean style diet.

It sounds like you have a good plan there, hope it works for you as well as it has for me.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Good luck. I zapped my T2D via calorie control and weight loss.

I also limited carbs to start with while I was getting a handle on things, then increased them again (fruit, grains etc) when I worked out that a lot of the low carb messaging is over-done. As I increased carbs, my HbA1c & fasting BG continued falling, because of the weight loss.

 

[Drummer]

If you find that you can't stick to the low calorie diet @West Leeds Rick, and are tempted to eat more, do go for protein and fat - scrambled eggs with cheese or a chop or steak with mushrooms and stirfry if you can resist until it is cooked. At least then you will not be ramping up the blood glucose levels.
Personally, my metabolism reacts to simple low carb. I think I have been pushed to eat low calorie so often that I just can't cope. My reaction is to turn grey and faint away, my blood pressure drops and my body temperature, they are measurably altered, and as the GP surgery was just across the road from where I worked they would get called in so the effects were measured as part of the first aid for my collapse.
Despite eating more calories my weight reduces far more easily on low carb, so there are alternatives if your low calorie strategy proves problematic.

 

[scotcheggs]

I've been using Nutracheck to track calories for ten days now.

I feel that tomorrow is the day to start attempting to get under the suggest calorie limit to start losing weight.

I'm excited and a little bit nervous.

My biggest problem has been bingey visits to buy rubbish from Heron Foods and Farmfoods.

But Nutracheck has helped me to see that these unhealthy shopping trips have catastrophic consequences on my sugar and calorie totals each day.

The only function they serve is to deaden my emotions and I feel that I have personal resources to weather any emotional storms that may result.

I'm type 2 diabetic. I'd love to be in remission by the time I hit the age of 50 in 9 months.

Regards
Rick

Wondered how you are getting on Rick. I'm same boat as you... and same age. As of tomorrow morning, I'm going to try my best to stick to about 1200 calories a day!

 

[Maria DUK]

Best of luck @West Leeds Rick

How are you getting on ?

 

[Maria DUK]

Wondered how you are getting on Rick. I'm same boat as you... and same age. As of tomorrow morning, I'm going to try my best to stick to about 1200 calories a day!

Good luck! How are you finding it?

 

[childofthesea43]

Good luck. I zapped my T2D via calorie control and weight loss.

I also limited carbs to start with while I was getting a handle on things, then increased them again (fruit, grains etc) when I worked out that a lot of the low carb messaging is over-done. As I increased carbs, my HbA1c & fasting BG continued falling, because of the weight loss.

Which exactly mirrors my own experience and viewpoint.

 

[scotcheggs]

Good luck! How are you finding it?

hi. its been ok actually. lots of veg, some fruit, salads, fish etc. So far so good. lost a few kilos 🙂

 

[West Leeds Rick]

Hi folks

It's not being going well. I'm afraid that I can't seem to take my type 2 diabetes seriously. My father has never done anything to stop the symptoms and recently a close family member has confided in me that they too have type 2 and I haven't heard any success stories from them.

I eat reasonably well some of the time but the real problem is the visits to cheap, high carbohydrate food stores such as Heron Foods and Farm Foods, where, as soon as I get through the door, I pretend to myself that nothing is serious about my diabetes and that all that matters is that I buy convenience foods as cheaply as possible.

I sometimes go to these types of shops 2 or 3 times a day, attempting to juggle microwavable pizzas, £1 bottles of smoothie, a tub of ice cream and packs of crisps and sweets on my way back to the car. I should clarify that I'm not actually juggling them, but I often forget to take a plastic bag with me. 🙂

I am quite happy to self-diagnose as having Binge Eating Disorder but it doesn't change anything if deep down in my heart I consider type 2 diabetes to be a bit of a joke.

I think that deep down I'm stuck on the idea that I can only ever be the "jolly fat man" that I have seen in my father, a public perception which hides the fact that he is a bully to the family.

I'm not sure I trust myself to be a healthy, lean adult which is largely based on my father's bad example but also based on a couple of regrettable relationship breakdowns which were my fault a few years ago.

I have one friend who takes my type 2 diabetes seriously, a very nice man called Peter, who I must remember to keep as a closer friend than I have done recently. Hearing his comments about my health at a coffee shop today was like drinking a double espresso, which was ironic, as I was drinking peppermint tea.

I need to change.

Regards
Rick

 

[childofthesea43]

Hi folks

It's not being going well. I'm afraid that I can't seem to take my type 2 diabetes seriously. My father has never done anything to stop the symptoms and recently a close family member has confided in me that they too have type 2 and I haven't heard any success stories from them.

I eat reasonably well some of the time but the real problem is the visits to cheap, high carbohydrate food stores such as Heron Foods and Farm Foods, where, as soon as I get through the door, I pretend to myself that nothing is serious about my diabetes and that all that matters is that I buy convenience foods as cheaply as possible.

I sometimes go to these types of shops 2 or 3 times a day, attempting to juggle microwavable pizzas, £1 bottles of smoothie, a tub of ice cream and packs of crisps and sweets on my way back to the car.

I am quite happy to self-diagnose as having Binge Eating Disorder but it doesn't change anything if deep down in my heart I consider type 2 diabetes to be a bit of a joke.

I think that deep down I'm stuck on the idea that I can only ever be the "jolly fat man" that I have seen in my father, a public perception which hides the fact that he is a bully to the family.

I'm not sure I trust myself to be a healthy, lean adult which is largely based on my father's bad example but also based on a couple of regrettable relationship breakdowns which were my fault a few years ago.

I have one friend who takes my type 2 diabetes seriously, a very nice man called Peter, who I must remember to keep as a closer friend than I have done recently. Hearing his comments about my health at a coffee shop today was like drinking a double espresso, which was ironic, as I was drinking peppermint tea.

I need to change.

Regards
Rick

There is always the option of forgetting the diabetes altogether and just enjoying eating whatever you fancy and in any quantities you like. That could give you a decent few years of not feeling despondent about your eating patterns. After that period you, and perhaps others connected with you, may then have a price to pay - or, you may die well from some other cause before that price arises. It’s a quality of life judgment. My GP took the same view when I asked him if it were worth striving really hard at my age to force my HbA1c into the mid-thirties and he wondered whether the challenges that would entail would be compensated by perhaps only a small extension of lifespan. So I would say, either get a grip on the eating once and for all or else abandon that and be content. But don’t flounder around in between these options having no satisfaction at all.

 

[rebrascora]

Sorry to hear you are struggling.
Many people find the Newcastle 800calorie meal replacement shakes diet helps them to break the habit of a bad relationship with food, lose weight with the goal of pushing their diabetes into remission and then reintroducing real food once they have lost the weight, got their BG levels stable and broken old eating habits.

Another option might be to test your levels so that you can "see" your diabetes in numbers and see what those cheap carbs are doing to your BG levels. I once ate a whole bag of Jacobs salt and balsamic vinegar mini crackers and my levels hit 27.6. I was panic stricken that I was going to have to take myself to A&E to get help when it was because I had been a greedy pig and eaten something I shouldn't. I spent all night drinking pint after pint of water (and weeing for England) and managed to bring it down to 22 by the morning, but I have never wanted to eat them since. It has also been helpful to see which foods I can get away with and in what portion size. Being able to see which are the problem foods and adjust your diet to minimize them and then see better results from the dietary changes you have made can be very motivating as well as the readings from poor food choices acting as a deterrent.
Many people here on the forum find self testing is an invaluable tool in helping them manage their diabetes. You can also apply for a free 14 day trial of the Freestyle Libre sensor system which will give you a real insight into what your levels are doing day and night. If you like tech, this could incentivize you to take control of your diabetes.

It is all too easy to ignore diabetes when you have no or very minor symptoms and sadly it is often too late once you get the serious complications which come with long term high BG levels, so you really need to find some way to pull your head out of the sand and tackle the problem. I am fiercely independent so for me I need to keep myself as healthy as possible because I would hate it if I needed people to look after me because I lost a foot or my sight. Just the thought of losing my driving licence is enough to turn me away from a piece of cake and who needs cake or chocolate anyway, when you can have a nice chunk of cheese and a cup of coffee with cream. 😉 Cheese is my new chocolate. I should also say that I was a sugar addict pre-diagnosis and habitual comfort eater. The sugar stopped the day after I developed symptoms and realized what it was. I then whittled my carb intake down to the bare minimum in the following weeks .... no bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cakes, biscuits, scones, pastry, or breakfast cereal, almost no fruit and of course no sweets sugar or chocolate, in the following weeks to try to reverse it but it wasn't to be for me and I now inject insulin multiple times a day. You still have a chance to reverse it so don't waste it. You can do better than your Dad in facing this and sorting it out.

Even though I now inject insulin, I still follow a low carb way of eating because I have lost those cravings, I have control over my eating and I am fitter and healthier than I have been most of my life and some long term health conditions like regular acute migraines have miraculously vanished as a result of my dietary changes. I now feel that I will live longer and be healthier than I would have if I hadn't developed diabetes because it was the kick up the backside I needed to sort myself out. I hope you can find similar resolve to put your diabetes in it's place and keep it there.

 

[bulkbiker]

It's not being going well. I'm afraid that I can't seem to take my type 2 diabetes seriously.

Maybe save some pictures of diabetic feet pre amputation on your phone to give you something to think about before stocking up on cheap rubbish food?

Do you fear going blind? That was one of my main motivators for grabbing the bull by the horns and doing something about T2 when I was diagnosed.

Sounds like you need to find a reason why you want to make yourself healthier.

If you have kids maybe it would be nice to live long enough to see their children... ?

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi folks

It's not being going well. I'm afraid that I can't seem to take my type 2 diabetes seriously. My father has never done anything to stop the symptoms and recently a close family member has confided in me that they too have type 2 and I haven't heard any success stories from them.

I eat reasonably well some of the time but the real problem is the visits to cheap, high carbohydrate food stores such as Heron Foods and Farm Foods, where, as soon as I get through the door, I pretend to myself that nothing is serious about my diabetes and that all that matters is that I buy convenience foods as cheaply as possible.

I sometimes go to these types of shops 2 or 3 times a day, attempting to juggle microwavable pizzas, £1 bottles of smoothie, a tub of ice cream and packs of crisps and sweets on my way back to the car. I should clarify that I'm not actually juggling them, but I often forget to take a plastic bag with me. 🙂

I am quite happy to self-diagnose as having Binge Eating Disorder but it doesn't change anything if deep down in my heart I consider type 2 diabetes to be a bit of a joke.

I think that deep down I'm stuck on the idea that I can only ever be the "jolly fat man" that I have seen in my father, a public perception which hides the fact that he is a bully to the family.

I'm not sure I trust myself to be a healthy, lean adult which is largely based on my father's bad example but also based on a couple of regrettable relationship breakdowns which were my fault a few years ago.

I have one friend who takes my type 2 diabetes seriously, a very nice man called Peter, who I must remember to keep as a closer friend than I have done recently. Hearing his comments about my health at a coffee shop today was like drinking a double espresso, which was ironic, as I was drinking peppermint tea.

I need to change.

Regards
Rick

I assume you don't have a partner or children who will have to suffer the consequences of you not taking this seriously, that is what frightened the life out of me when diagnosed even though I was only just in the diabetic zone, I would not wish the responsibility on them of becoming my carer. I also lost both my parents when I was a teenager, my father who had Type 2 from a heart attack and my mother had a stroke both in their 50ies.
Think of that and cut the high carb junk.
There is help out there but you need to want it to seek it.

 

[West Leeds Rick]

"I assume you don't have a partner or children who will have to suffer the consequences of you not taking this seriously, that is what frightened the life out of me"

You assume correctly

 

[Kreator]

"I assume you don't have a partner or children who will have to suffer the consequences of you not taking this seriously, that is what frightened the life out of me"

You assume correctly

Hi @West Leeds Rick, seems to me you are looking at taking the right steps to change...

From

I'm type 2 diabetic. I'd love to be in remission by the time I hit the age of 50 in 9 months.

Keep this in your head, and aim for that goal - there'll be times when you have that 'ah F it moment' - it doesn't matter so long as it's not every day...

In terms of 'Calorie deficit' this will over time help you lose weight and regain control - ...little steps...and one mis-hap won't put you back where you started - just go back a step and remember why you're doing this...

Take time out to really 'Learn' about what each food group is and the effects that has on your body (good, bad, indifferent)...Drink plenty of water to keep you from feeling hungry...

Instead of going to the fridge, go out for a walk etc. - take each day as it comes, think of doing things differently to fit your new lifestyle...

I did HNS VLCD, which reset my entire thinking around food, 2 years on I'm still in Remission and eating whatever I choose - but what I choose to eat it totally different to what I was eating 2 years ago!

You CAN do it, just don't expect instant results...I'm still learning 2 years on, and don't think i'll ever stop learning...

Above ALL, do it for you and show your father 'there are alternatives!'

I think that deep down I'm stuck on the idea that I can only ever be the "jolly fat man" that I have seen in my father, a public perception which hides the fact that he is a bully to the family.

Find from within the why, and the how will follow😉

 

[Ditto]

Good luck. I might give the Newcastle a whirl. 🙂

 

[Maria DUK]

Hi folks

It's not being going well. I'm afraid that I can't seem to take my type 2 diabetes seriously. My father has never done anything to stop the symptoms and recently a close family member has confided in me that they too have type 2 and I haven't heard any success stories from them.

I eat reasonably well some of the time but the real problem is the visits to cheap, high carbohydrate food stores such as Heron Foods and Farm Foods, where, as soon as I get through the door, I pretend to myself that nothing is serious about my diabetes and that all that matters is that I buy convenience foods as cheaply as possible.

I sometimes go to these types of shops 2 or 3 times a day, attempting to juggle microwavable pizzas, £1 bottles of smoothie, a tub of ice cream and packs of crisps and sweets on my way back to the car. I should clarify that I'm not actually juggling them, but I often forget to take a plastic bag with me. 🙂

I am quite happy to self-diagnose as having Binge Eating Disorder but it doesn't change anything if deep down in my heart I consider type 2 diabetes to be a bit of a joke.

I think that deep down I'm stuck on the idea that I can only ever be the "jolly fat man" that I have seen in my father, a public perception which hides the fact that he is a bully to the family.

I'm not sure I trust myself to be a healthy, lean adult which is largely based on my father's bad example but also based on a couple of regrettable relationship breakdowns which were my fault a few years ago.

I have one friend who takes my type 2 diabetes seriously, a very nice man called Peter, who I must remember to keep as a closer friend than I have done recently. Hearing his comments about my health at a coffee shop today was like drinking a double espresso, which was ironic, as I was drinking peppermint tea.

I need to change.

Regards
Rick

Hey Rick,

Thank you so much for sharing and for being so honest.

It can be quite hard to change perceptions of yourself especially when they have been influenced by a family member and other life experiences.

Would you ever consider seeking some help for disordered eating? This could help with challenging your perceptions of yourself and could maybe help you to take your diabetes more seriously.

It also sounds like you've got a very good friend in Peter and perhaps some more conversations with him and being honest with him about how you feel will help.