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I'm sorry but i need to RANT !!!!

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
larkie

larkie

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Having had a particularly bad day fighting with my food demons i now feel the need to vent my frustrations...please don't anyone take this personally.I have been over weight All my life from childhood right through to adulthood..i have NEVER been slim so have no concept of what it must be like...and if i have to be honest..i'm very comfortable in my skin.Being diagnosed with type 2 5 years ago now did throw a new light on the need to become more healthy and i have tried and been moderately successful but in between having 2 children in the last 4 years things have (shall we say) slacked a little.. the last 2 months have seen me make (what is for me) a sterling effort to gain back some control ..especaily of my blood sugars..my BEEF is with society AND the medical profession..WHERE IS MY HELP!!!!!..should i have chosen to become addicted to drugs,cigarettes or alcohol they would be falling over themselevs to help with Rehab or patches or some other program of help....GOD FOR BID..your drug of choice might be FOOD..in the eyes of the world ''i'm fat cause im lazy''.. which i assure you I AM NOT!! or its '' Here have this booklet with food you should eat in it and go away and try to do it on your own'' no suggestion of lets look into your issues surrounding food..just bugger off and stop being lazy and greedy and you wont be fat anymore..well i am niether of these things and i TRUELY struggle EVERY single day of my life to live with an addiction ... i cant just avoid food..god knows i've tried that..but am sitting here head in hands wondering if there will ever be a day i can look at the foods i love without out having to send myself to bed to stop myself from eating them......SO...here endeth the rant...thank you for listening....will have to go to bed before i eat something out of sheer defiance now....!!!
 
You are in good company with your thoughts larkie - I feel much the same. I was in denial when first diagnosed and just had periodic Doctors appointments when he expressed his disapointment that I hadn't lost weight therfore was not helping myself. Even now, I'd love a spell in food rehab, something like these fat camps on the telly, to set me on the right path. Maybe it is time to turn to fags, booz and drugs!
 
Can I ask a question of either/both of you?

Have either of you actually said to your GP 'Hello, I think I might need some psychological help please cos I am really really struggling' ?

They are a bit thick some of these ere GPs you know. They have to know so much about so many things they see 'Diabetic' or 'COPD' or 'Fat person' or 'Boozer', or 'Cigarette smoker, yeeukkk' or 'Thin person' - and often completely miss seeing YOU.
 
I always found that the best way for me not to eat the things I 'like' (such as biscuits, cakes, crisps etc) is not to have them in the house in the first place.

As for other foods, my problem was always missing meals and when I did eat, I had huge portions.

My coping mechanism is now that I ensure that I have breakfast, dinner and tea and I prepare my meals to particular reasonable portion sizes. I've cut out a lot of the saturated fat in my meals and tend to bulk up the meals with vegetables.

What I also did for a time was to plan my meals for the week and made sure that the ingredients were freely available in the house (nothing worse than wanting to eat and not finding anything to cook!). That way I was less likely to forget about cooking and go out to the local take-away.

Also, throw every fast-food flyer away as soon as it comes through the letterbox!!

But, weight loss isn't just about food. Do you manage to do any regular exercise? It doesn't have to be much initially (I mainly concentrated on walking but slowly built up the time and the speed as I began to feel better).

Unfortunately with this condition it is mostly about building up your own motivation to get things moving. Even if motivated initially, it is extremely difficult keeping it going because there are many times when progress isn't made or it actually reverses. That's where our little Weight Loss Group is really useful. There are people there all in the same boat who know what you are going through.

Good luck with everything,

Andy 🙂
 
Andy HB said:
I always found that the best way for me not to eat the things I 'like' (such as biscuits, cakes, crisps etc) is not to have them in the house in the first place.

As for other foods, my problem was always missing meals and when I did eat, I had huge portions.

My coping mechanism is now that I ensure that I have breakfast, dinner and tea and I prepare my meals to particular reasonable portion sizes. I've cut out a lot of the saturated fat in my meals and tend to bulk up the meals with vegetables.

What I also did for a time was to plan my meals for the week and made sure that the ingredients were freely available in the house (nothing worse than wanting to eat and not finding anything to cook!). That way I was less likely to forget about cooking and go out to the local take-away.

Also, throw every fast-food flyer away as soon as it comes through the letterbox!!

But, weight loss isn't just about food. Do you manage to do any regular exercise? It doesn't have to be much initially (I mainly concentrated on walking but slowly built up the time and the speed as I began to feel better).

Unfortunately with this condition it is mostly about building up your own motivation to get things moving. Even if motivated initially, it is extremely difficult keeping it going because there are many times when progress isn't made or it actually reverses. That's where our little Weight Loss Group is really useful. There are people there all in the same boat who know what you are going through.

Good luck with everything,

Andy 🙂
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Couldn't have put it better Andy - you took the words out of my mouth. I think we have all been where you two are. I think you can see all the dieticians, psychologist etc but at the end of the day it is down to you. You have to have that 'enough is enough feeling and want to start the healthy route. Then there are the stages of giving up to follow when you go at it too drastically, cut out everything and start craving all sorts and in the end the cravings beat you.

So why not today make a very small change - one less sugar in the tea? One less potato? One small 5 minute walk? I am not sure what changes you can make but my advice is make them small each day so you gradually get used to them as a way of life rather than another diet doomed to fail.

Andy is right also. If its support you are looking for have a read of the WLG thread and come and join us - we would love to have you!🙂
 
Hi Larkie

This can be such a pain; when you know you shouldn't but just can't help dipping in.

I still have food cravings fortunately not overweight but as soon as I eat something I know is bad for me I feel so guilty.

In January I went on a local workshop run by the DSN's in this area. Being type 2 I'm looked after like you by GP & his team. This workshop covered how to balance your diet so you are getting what you need and not feel hungry. My food cravings have improved since I went on it.

There were a number of people who were seriously overweight & they were encouraged to sign up for more help with this specialist team who run specific workshops & help support them to lose some weight. Could you ask at your GP to be referred to a diabetes specialist dietician who should be able to give you some support. It may be as well to discuss with GP any help in you having support to help you think of food differently.

I now have a list of food we want when I go shopping (or hubby does it; as he is less likely to be tempted than me). We stick to this list & just do not buy the food we know we shouldn't. We do treat ourselves every now & then; but this is normally as a meal out rather than at home.

I found keeping a food diary helpful & when I knew I had been fine without giving in to any craving I gave myself a treat. For me I went for a manicure or the cinema etc.

Be kind to yourself; and rant away if you need to.
Lynne:D
 
Thanks for the comments chaps 🙂 in answer to your question Trophy..HELL YES i have asked...pleaded ..complained..begged.. and many other ways trying to get some sort of psychological help but according to my GP there is none...certainly no kind of professional i can talk to..i have asked for acupuncture and hypnothearapy ..NO cant have them either.... In response to your comments ANDY..i do understand your theory about not having the foods around but unfortunatly i am not the only one who lives in this house and i have a two children one 4 year old and a 2 year old they eat a very healthy diet cos of my paranoid feelings but there still has to be treats for them and my hubby..its not fair to inflict my sentence on them..and as for activity allow me to refer you to my previous statement '' a 2 year old and a 4 year old'' AND i have a job AND a house to run..i get plenty of activity..infact.. on paper i should be wafer thin..hehe..i love your weight loss group and think its wonderful but that was exactly my point..as over weight people we are exspected to tread water on our own..life presevers are thrown to others with addiction problems but no one REALLY believes it is possible to addicted to food and we are left feeling like it all our fault cos we cant seem to get a grip...i am an intelligent individual and i do what i should and shouldn't be eating...what i struggle with is the ability to put that knowledge into practice...x
 
I like Lucy's idea of small changes each day. It does work. 🙂

I used to have sugar in tea and coffee but after slowly reducing the amount I can now drink tea with no sugar and instant coffee with just a dash (strangely, I can drink proper coffee without sugar but not instant!).

The other thing is not to cut out the treats entirely. Try and be strict with yourself for most of the week and then have something you really want every now and then.

..... So easy to say! So difficult to do, I know!!

By the way, can't you ask your family to help you? Why not ask them to give up some goodies in support? Maybe you'll find that they are willing?

Andy 🙂
 
the hardest thing about food addiction which sets it aside from most other addictions is that you can't just give it up....like with an alcoholic, they give up alcohol completely...they don't have to have 3 drinks during the day and be expected to not end up constantly drunk all the time. In most other cases, the vices are stopped completely...with food, you still have to have it to survive. I believe that is the biggest factor that is never addressed.

Good luck with your fight. I completely understand where you are.
 
imtrying said:
omg....this is so true. I took the test and scored 9 out of 10 :S

not sure what the implications/next steps of this are though.

thanks for sharing.
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How did you get to thae test - I can't finnd the actual test!
 
i took the test and got 10/10...went to amazon to look at buying the book..read the reviews to find out its a load of clap trap...just another fad diet... disappointing was hoping there might be some answers...the search continues!!!
 
I used to eat the most ridiculous diet... Lots of fast food, I drank booze like it was going out of fashion and would eat the worst foods possible... with zero regard for my wellbeing.

Well everything as changed for me now, I have lost alot of weight. And feel in control, much more so than ever before.

Unfortunately the help that I received along the way has been pretty poor. I haven't seen a diabetic specialist doctor for many many years, despite asking on numerous occasions. And the DSN's in my area must be severely over stretched because I haven't seen one of those for getting on for a year.

The only shining light is my nurse at my GP. She isn't the most knowledgeable about diabetes specifically but she regularly weighs me and even rings me if she hasn't heard from me in a while. A truly lovely woman.

I think that what you said initially is correct that if you have an addiction to drugs/booze/cigs that there is so so much help out there. But for diabetics not so much...
 
larkie said:
i took the test and got 10/10...went to amazon to look at buying the book..read the reviews to find out its a load of clap trap...just another fad diet... disappointing was hoping there might be some answers...the search continues!!!
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Hi larkie,

Where were you looking for the reviews? I went here on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-rev..._next_2?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&pageNumber=2
and the reviews all looked pretty good to me.

If you scored 10/10 is it not worth giving it a try for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference?
I hope you do find a way forward - I know exactly how frustrating it can be.🙂
 
The problem with food addiction, amongst other things, is that you have to eat to stay alive. Alcohol, drugs, fags etc. are not essential for sustaining life.
An alcoholic daren't drink at all, a junkie daren't have even a single fix, and a smoker daren't have a fag if they are to kick the habit.
Try being hungry and not eating. Food addiction needs a completely different approach.
Kelly.
 
J.Y.Kelly said:
The problem with food addiction, amongst other things, is that you have to eat to stay alive. Alcohol, drugs, fags etc. are not essential for sustaining life.
An alcoholic daren't drink at all, a junkie daren't have even a single fix, and a smoker daren't have a fag if they are to kick the habit.
Try being hungry and not eating. Food addiction needs a completely different approach.
Kelly.
Click to expand...

I think that an associated problem is that, unlike drugs, cigarettes and alcohol (OK, they are ALL drugs!) where the root cause of the addiction is obvious (although there may be complex psychological reasons underlying the addictions), the causes of an eating disorder are harder to define and treat.
 
Northerner said:
I think that an associated problem is that, unlike drugs, cigarettes and alcohol (OK, they are ALL drugs!) where the root cause of the addiction is obvious (although there may be complex psychological reasons underlying the addictions), the causes of an eating disorder are harder to define and treat.
Click to expand...

The root cause of Carbohydrate Addiction is to do with the release of Dopamine in the brain ( allegedly). Can't remember the exact research papers though.
 
What JYKelly said is spot on.

For some, it can be beneficial to find a 'fix' from some other source that isn't essential and then it leaves you free to concentrate on weaning yourself off the food fixation.

The problem comes if the alternative is more harmful or more addictive than the food addiction. All of this with specialist help to look into the root causes. But this is sadly lacking on the NHS and needs a huge amount of investment to get more specially trained counsellors.

Rob
 
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