I need help

[Fifi240]

I need your help just been diagnosed T2 and I’m struggling to change my diet which consists of one meal a day and that is takeaway McDonald’s or Indian if I don’t have that I have 2 sandwiches on white bread how can I change this habit

 

[MrDaibetes]

Well changing a habit is never easy, have you cooked from home, if so why not continue to cook meals at home instead of having fast food.

 

[Kaylz]

I'd look at the benefits of changing your diet, less chance of developing complications for instance

I cant say I've experienced what your going through as I found it extremely easy to change to a healthier diet when I was given my diagnosis as I wanted to have good control of my condition, just think of the positives when you do manage to change as what your eating now wouldn't even be classed as healthy for a non d
xx

 

[Docb]

Hi Fifi. Are you sure that is all you are eating/drinking? No snacks drinks or anything like that? The reason I ask is that it all counts when it comes to getting your diabetes under control. Maybe you should start a food diary in which you record everything you take in. That's often a good place to start.

A couple of other questions which will help people to think about your problem. How did you come to be diagnosed and do you have any other problems you are happy to share?

Lots of questions I know, but there is an answer for you somewhere and there are lots of good people on here who will help you to find it.

 

[Ditto]

I don't know! I luvs MaccyDs and Indians and butties! My fave foods. They do say that a habit can be broken in 21 days. Then you can develop a new, healthier habit. 🙂

 

[Ralph-YK]

Hi
Are you able to keep food at home? How about prearation?
I think think of any helpful advice on how to actually go about changing your diet.

 

[rebrascora]

Are you able to cook at all? Do you have the facilities for cooking? Do you know how to cook? Is it lack of time to cook?

Why do you like these foods that you eat?
Are you able to choose a more diabetic friendly (low carb) option from the menus at these places or replace your sandwich with a salad with a good dollop of creamy coleslaw or mayonnaise. What type of filling do you like in your sandwich?

Start off just making one small change and stick at it for a week or so and then work on making another small change.

Maybe start by keeping a very honest food diary about everything you eat and drink and then work out which carbohydrates would be easiest to reduce..... so that might be replacing full sugar coke with diet coke. Or it might be having a salad with your burger instead of fries, or having a vegetable side dish instead of rice or a naan with your curry. Or if you have both a naan and rice, just order one, not both.

Is there a particular reason why you have just one meal a day? Do you snack at other times and if so, what do you snack on? Perhaps changing the snacks to something low carb might work out as a good starting point... like nuts instead of crisps or a chunk of cheese instead of chocolate or dark chocolate instead of milk... just make one small change at a time.

 

[Lizzzie]

How do you change? One habit at a time. eg 1) Have breakfast. Look up all the low GI / carb breakfasts, pick one and start to make a ritual out of eating it. You might have to get up earlier for this. You have to choose something, have the stuff in, eat the stuff EVERY morning. It will be a novelty at first, then it'll feel boring but KEEP AT IT and if you do it every morning for three weeks, you have already started to establish a habit. Put it in your diary / on wall-chart; tick it off every day when you've done it. Tell people about it (maybe us!), so they ask you about it and say 'well done.' Maybe at the same time, or starting a fortnight later, you can cut carbs out of your take-out, or get something else. One new habit every month; celebrate successes; keep a record. You can do this. (And if you fall off the wagon, get back on again. I'm trying to eat better at the moment - it's tough).

 

[ColinUK]

@Fifi240 Any thoughts on any of the responses here?

I used to basically live on bread and ready meals. I used to eat a bag of crisps whilst cooking my main meal and I’d probably have snacked on a pita or two with a pot of hummus later on the evening. Also my portion control was utterly broken - if it came in one packet then I would see that as a portion for one.
There was also a sense of shame about how I was eating. I knew I was eating far too much and didn’t want to get caught with the wrong things in the fridge so when I did but a four pack of individual desserts or a two pack of Gü ones I’d eat them all over the course of an evening and throw away the packaging. Stupid I know as the only person I was kidding was myself.

Reading Alan Carr’s Easy Way to ditch sugar helped but not as much as reading Tom Watson’s Downsizing. He was painting a picture of what my future would look like if I didn’t take control. And that future looked bleak.
I also have a distant cousin who has had both feet amputated and is now going blind because of his diabetes I assume. He’s always been hugely overweight and we kind of look alike so when I look at him I see me. That’s a really powerful motivating force.

If you don’t take control now then the future for you is not a rosy one, but you know this already. The real question is what’s holding you back, what are you scared of?
Maybe make a pros and cons list. Do one for “If I do nothing” and another for “If I make the changes” and see what comes up.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

How have you got on over the last week @Fifi240

Any small victories you have managed? This is a marathon, not a sprint. You don't have to do everything at once, but every small thing you do will add up to a big change over time.