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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Hi
- Thread starter Marjie43
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Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello@Marjie43
I hope that you enjoy the forum and find some things of interest.
A good place to look for recipes and food ideas is:
forum.diabetes.org.uk
There is a recipe section at the top and many other topics, and the string 'What did you eat yesterday' may be of interest.
I hope that you enjoy the forum and find some things of interest.
A good place to look for recipes and food ideas is:
Food/carb queries + recipes
Coming to terms with diabetes and food can be very difficult - this forum is for all your food and carbohydrate queries and a place to post your favourite recipes!
forum.diabetes.org.uk
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello again @Marjie43
It sounds as if your doing well, overall but sweet cravings can be a problem, it is something I have an issue with as well.
As with most things different solutions fit different people.
For some, if overall on track, then don't be too hard on yourself and have an occasional sweet treat, and over time slowly swap sweet things for lower sugar/carb options.
For me this doesn't work. Once I've eaten something sweet then I will often get onto the slippery slope and anything sweet within range is in danger! So in the early stages I had to go totally 'cold turkey' which was tough to start with, but eventually I won through.
There are a few strategies that can help. e.g.:
Try not to have any sweet things around or if there have to be some for others, keep them out of sight and out of reach.
Use distraction - Cravings sometimes go away after 20 minutes or so - so start a task, go for a walk, phone a friend
Drink plenty of water, I find carbonated water especially helps.
Ensure that main meals are filling and satisfying and don't stint on proteins, healthy fats and vegetables.
It's hard to do, but eventually well worth it. - and I find that I can now occasionally have a sweet carb and not go into sabotage mode - but is is still a red alert and I have to work at it.
Sorry to have gone on a bit!
On the wider recipe front, I have just got a new book with some great low-carb recipes in it.
'The Diabetes Weight Loss Cookbook' by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi.
It sounds as if your doing well, overall but sweet cravings can be a problem, it is something I have an issue with as well.
As with most things different solutions fit different people.
For some, if overall on track, then don't be too hard on yourself and have an occasional sweet treat, and over time slowly swap sweet things for lower sugar/carb options.
For me this doesn't work. Once I've eaten something sweet then I will often get onto the slippery slope and anything sweet within range is in danger! So in the early stages I had to go totally 'cold turkey' which was tough to start with, but eventually I won through.
There are a few strategies that can help. e.g.:
Try not to have any sweet things around or if there have to be some for others, keep them out of sight and out of reach.
Use distraction - Cravings sometimes go away after 20 minutes or so - so start a task, go for a walk, phone a friend
Drink plenty of water, I find carbonated water especially helps.
Ensure that main meals are filling and satisfying and don't stint on proteins, healthy fats and vegetables.
It's hard to do, but eventually well worth it. - and I find that I can now occasionally have a sweet carb and not go into sabotage mode - but is is still a red alert and I have to work at it.
Sorry to have gone on a bit!
On the wider recipe front, I have just got a new book with some great low-carb recipes in it.
'The Diabetes Weight Loss Cookbook' by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi.
MrDaibetes
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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Welcome to the forum, if you have any questions feel free to ask away.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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- She/Her
I am like @Toucan. Once I start with a sweet treat, or even carbs in general, I want more. I was a real sugar addict pre diagnosis and going cold turkey was the only way to get a grip of it. As a Type 1 diabetic using insulin, there are times when I have to have a sweet treat to bring my levels up from going too low and I have to carry them with me all the time so I now think of them as medicine. I even resent having to eat 2 or 3 jelly babies to bring me out of a hypo, whereas before I would have eaten a whole packet without blinking and then looked for a chocolate bar or two for afters. I don't believe I could have been so disciplined about it if I hadn't had that initial "cold turkey" period to break the cycle.
I now taste sweetness in things that I previously would have said were sour and I enjoy the odd square of dark 70%+ chocolate with a spoon of peanut butter as a sweet treat without feeling like I want to demolish the whole bar. It is a fine line though and unlike other people who say they couldn't go back to having sugar in their coffee/tea etc I know that I could very easily slip back into my old ways if I am not focussed.
I now taste sweetness in things that I previously would have said were sour and I enjoy the odd square of dark 70%+ chocolate with a spoon of peanut butter as a sweet treat without feeling like I want to demolish the whole bar. It is a fine line though and unlike other people who say they couldn't go back to having sugar in their coffee/tea etc I know that I could very easily slip back into my old ways if I am not focussed.
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