Self-Control

[Daniel_0101]

Hi Everybody,

I hope you're having a good Christmas.
This Christmas has been particular tricky for me as I have given myself some breathing room in terms of being more diverse with foods. A bit of background on me, I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for 2 years. I had been on a highly restrictive diet (self-imposed) for the majority of the time for many reasons, and I have slowly started trying to give myself more room without being so strict (calorie-counting etc).
It may have been the worst time to start being less strict as being the festive time that it is, there's a lot more food such as sweets, chocolate etc which I haven't touched in the past 2 years.
To cut the long story short, my Christmas was spent stuffing my face to the point I actually threw up as I wasn't able to control myself.
I have still been eating a lot more in the days after Christmas, which when I think about is normal as it's Christmas..right? but my problem is the self-control.
The lack of self-control could be due to being so restcitive on myself, but I wondered if anybody has gone through anything similar and could give me some advice.
I am worried because my cravings for sugary foods has sky rocketed ever since I had my first chocolate on Christmas day even though I never particular liked chocolate or many sugary foods prior to being diagnosed.

I feel silly for even writing this post, but I'm a bit lost right now.

Thank you for reading this far.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

have still been eating a lot more in the days after Christmas, which when I think about is normal as it's Christmas..right? but my problem is the self-control.
The lack of self-control could be due to being so restcitive on myself, but I wondered if anybody has gone through anything similar and could give me some advice.
I am worried because my cravings for sugary foods has sky rocketed ever since I had my first chocolate on Christmas day even though I never particular liked chocolate or many sugary foods prior to being diagnosed.

I feel silly for even writing this post, but I'm a bit lost right now.

If it helps at all, a consultant told both my mother and I that it was ok to eat treats each day and in fact it was a good idea.

Why? because that way you wont crave them and gorge yourself when let loose anywhere near in your eyes) the forbidden fruits.
So give yourself a bit of slack 🙂

 

[Daniel_0101]

If it helps at all, a consultant told both my mother and I that it was ok to eat treats each day and in fact it was a good idea.

Why? because that way you wont crave them and gorge yourself when let loose anywhere near in your eyes) the forbidden fruits.
So give yourself a bit of slack 🙂

That definitely does help, I think since I have been so rigid with the idea of giving myself a treat because I felt like I didn't deserve, I guess this sort of thing happening is to be expected (probably).

Thank you!

 

[Terry O'Rourke]

Eating, especially with a metabolic disorder like diabetes, can be quite complicated as it incorporates physical, emotional, and social dynamics. This time of year when we get together with our close friends and family, there exists powerful social factors, like the permission given by almost everyone to overindulge in treats. People just want to be nice but sometimes they invite you to eat to excess or over-indulge in the wrong things.

For me, I find that eating sweet things creates an appetite that can not be satiated. I can allow myself very limited amounts but anything beyond that and it gets out of hand. Everyone's trigger threshold for sweet things is different. I can allow myself a little and stop so that I'm not having to exert willpower on an every moment basis. Some people can not allow themselves any leeway so that they can control what they eat. For people like that, it's just so much easier in the long run to say no to any sweet offer.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. Really sorry to hear you are struggling with finding a balance with this but please don't feel embarrassed about discussing it because it is a very valid topic with diabetes.
I am nearly 4 years down the line and I was a sugar addict pre-diagnosis and like any addict it is a slippery slope, but as a Type 1 using insulin, there are times when I need to eat sweet, sugary stuff to treat hypos, so I have had to find a way to manage it. For me it really helped finding other low carb treats (often savoury) that I could indulge in, enjoy and get comfort from, without hitting the really sweet stuff. After a period of cold turkey, I introduced chocolate but it is min 70% (usually 75%) cocoa solids and I have just half a square with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter to give it more substance. I will have a cup of coffee with real double cream (not Elmlea) or a chunk of really nice cheese, with a few slices of apple or some olives (depending upon the cheese) Or a packet of pork scratchings, or a few nuts. These high fat content foods help to satiate me whereas the high sugar content foods just leave me craving more, but I still feel like I am having a treat. These things might not appeal to you, but finding something that scratches the itch for you without just making it more itchy is important.
I think it is easy for Type 1 diabetics to suggest that people can/should treat themselves to something every day but we have insulin to cover it. If you are a dietary controlled Type 2 that may be a less helpful strategy, but it also comes down to personality trait. I am an all or nothing person, so I have to be very aware of the slippery slope. Other people can manage moderation. What I find amazing is that the less carbs I eat (and the more fat), the easier it is to resist temptation. Of course for me it also helps to consider that I will have to stick needles in myself and inject extra insulin every time I eat a few more carb rich stuff and that takes a bit of the shine off it too, but I will admit that very occasionally I fall off the wagon, particularly if I have run out of low carb "comfort" food/treats.

I hope you can find a way to manage your situation or perhaps you just accept that you go off the rails occasionally and then get back on the wagon again. It is about finding a strategy that works for you as an individual, but talking about it is really important because many, many people struggle with it.

 

[nonethewiser]

Inevitable when you totally deny yourself something that you crave it all the more & go OTT when opportunity arises, that is human nature when you previously enjoyed something.

Being type 1 never denied myself a sweet treat but do have self control, difficult if you don't.

 

[Daniel_0101]

Eating, especially with a metabolic disorder like diabetes, can be quite complicated as it incorporates physical, emotional, and social dynamics. This time of year when we get together with our close friends and family, there exists powerful social factors, like the permission given by almost everyone to overindulge in treats. People just want to be nice but sometimes they invite you to eat to excess or over-indulge in the wrong things.

For me, I find that eating sweet things creates an appetite that can not be satiated. I can allow myself very limited amounts but anything beyond that and it gets out of hand. Everyone's trigger threshold for sweet things is different. I can allow myself a little and stop so that I'm not having to exert willpower on an every moment basis. Some people can not allow themselves any leeway so that they can control what they eat. For people like that, it's just so much easier in the long run to say no to any sweet offer.

I guess since it's my first time actually eating sweet stuff again, I guess it makes sense that I was unable to reign it back in. I think going forward, saying no may be easier than attempting to eat 1 or 2 pieces, and going overboard. I think right now, it may be early to try and incorporate sweet stuff into my diet, as I think I may have too many underlying issues regarding my relationship with food.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Daniel_0101]

Hi. Really sorry to hear you are struggling with finding a balance with this but please don't feel embarrassed about discussing it because it is a very valid topic with diabetes.
I am nearly 4 years down the line and I was a sugar addict pre-diagnosis and like any addict it is a slippery slope, but as a Type 1 using insulin, there are times when I need to eat sweet, sugary stuff to treat hypos, so I have had to find a way to manage it. For me it really helped finding other low carb treats (often savoury) that I could indulge in, enjoy and get comfort from, without hitting the really sweet stuff. After a period of cold turkey, I introduced chocolate but it is min 70% (usually 75%) cocoa solids and I have just half a square with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter to give it more substance. I will have a cup of coffee with real double cream (not Elmlea) or a chunk of really nice cheese, with a few slices of apple or some olives (depending upon the cheese) Or a packet of pork scratchings, or a few nuts. These high fat content foods help to satiate me whereas the high sugar content foods just leave me craving more, but I still feel like I am having a treat. These things might not appeal to you, but finding something that scratches the itch for you without just making it more itchy is important.
I think it is easy for Type 1 diabetics to suggest that people can/should treat themselves to something every day but we have insulin to cover it. If you are a dietary controlled Type 2 that may be a less helpful strategy, but it also comes down to personality trait. I am an all or nothing person, so I have to be very aware of the slippery slope. Other people can manage moderation. What I find amazing is that the less carbs I eat (and the more fat), the easier it is to resist temptation. Of course for me it also helps to consider that I will have to stick needles in myself and inject extra insulin every time I eat a few more carb rich stuff and that takes a bit of the shine off it too, but I will admit that very occasionally I fall off the wagon, particularly if I have run out of low carb "comfort" food/treats.

I hope you can find a way to manage your situation or perhaps you just accept that you go off the rails occasionally and then get back on the wagon again. It is about finding a strategy that works for you as an individual, but talking about it is really important because many, many people struggle with it.

Thank you.

I think I am in the same boat where I adopt the all or nothing approach, which is why I found it easier to just completley restrict myself, rather than trying to eat in moderation, but I think I did hit a wall when trying to do that through the holidays. I will just aim to find that treat which is savoury, but low in sugar, but you are right for sure.

I am slowly trying to reign it in especially because of how far I did go, but it's a slow process, so I think right now, I'll just admit that I've fallen off the wagon, and work on getting back on it because beating myself up about it only reinforces the behaviour, at least for me anyway.

I always try to deal with these issues on my own, but I often forget how amazing this forum is. Thank you for the advice,.

 

[Daniel_0101]

Inevitable when you totally deny yourself something that you crave it all the more & go OTT when opportunity arises, that is human nature when you previously enjoyed something.

Being type 1 never denied myself a sweet treat but do have self control, difficult if you don't.

Yeah, I think it's understandble what happened, but I still beat myself up about it.
Still in the process of finding a balance.

Thanks

 

[bulkbiker]

I can't do moderation and it sounds like @Daniel_0101 has the same problem.

Cold turkey or maybe an extended fast to try to curb the monsters you have re-awakened?

 

[Daniel_0101]

That's like saying to an alcoholic that its ok to have one drink per day if the person involved has some kind of food addiction. Very poor advice.

I can't do moderation and it sounds like @Daniel_0101 has the same problem.

Cold turkey or maybe an extended fast to try to curb the monsters you have re-awakened?

I think cold turkey is the best route for me.
I think I've been in denial about the whole within moderation approach, but maybe I knew which is why i started with restricting everything remotley savoury.
I can't do it, and it's best I come to terms with it now than continue to struggle.
My current excuse is that there's still so much temptation around (leftover snacks etc from Christmas) to even begin the cold turkey phase, but I am tempted to just throw them all out because I feel like everyday so far is a constant battle.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[bulkbiker]

I can't do it, and it's best I come to terms with it now than continue to struggle.

After a couple of months I found that the urges had gone and I can happily have "bad" (for me) food in the house and not be tempted.
I used the mental trick of looking at some foods as "poison" for me which helped a lot.

What are your favourite low carbs foods?

You mention cold turkey.. there's a lot of that around at this time of year so base your meals around that!