Struggling with food

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Natmckib

Natmckib

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi, I've just joined as I feel very alone with my diabetes. I've had type 1 for about 15years.
2 years ago I stopped eating sugar and carbs (I eat complex carbs only).
I have lost a lot of weight.
My family are struggling with what I eat. They think I should treat myself every now and again. They tell me I do like potatoes, pasta and pizza. I genuinely have gone off them now.
When I eat something it takes my body and sugars about 4-6 hours to really process what I've ate.
does this make sense to anyone else? I'm rubbish and trying to explain myself.
Thanks.
 
@Natmckib Pasta can be a complex carb. What do you mean by complex carbs? If you just mean veg, then that will make it harder to control your blood sugar. It’s the carbs like bread, potatoes, rice, etc that make control easier.

I speak as someone who’s suffered with an eating disorder myself so please don’t take this the wrong way. I say it in empathy and kindness not as a criticism, but it sounds like you’re close to developing disordered eating. Pull back - it’s a horrible path to go down and once you get to a certain point it’s very hard to stop.

Type 1s can eat a normal diet. That includes carbs. There’s nothing wrong with an occasional treat. I eat everything basically. I just watch my portion size and think ahead for the insulin dose.

If your family are struggling with what you eat, perhaps that’s out of concern for you rather than the fact you don’t eat exactly the same as them? Sometimes people outside see things more clearly than the person themselves. What ‘feels right’ for you can actually be wrong for your health.

You’re not alone. You’ll find support here. This forum has helped me a lot x
 
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HI @Natmckib I understand most of what you say and, as @indio02 suggests the diet that is right for you is the diet you feel right with.
If you are happy with what you eat, then why change. If you would like the occasional "treat" (although I hate referring to food as good or bad as it leads to guilt and mental health issues) and happy to have a bit of trial and learning (I don't think of it as errors if I learn a lesson from it), cakes and pizza should be possible.
Plus a rise in blood sugars isn't terrible if your levels are not always high.
 
Welcome to the forum @Natmckib

Sorry to hear you are struggling with food :(

Are you enjoying your current menu? And is it giving you the results you are looking for? Do you find it limiting or stressful to eat this way? Or is it only the comments from your family and friends that are stressing you out about your menu?

We have a few members with T1 who choose a low or moderate carb approach.

I have ended up with moderate-low carbs, mostly approx 130-180 a day (though sometimes 100g in a single meal!). I don’t intentionally limit for BG management purposes, but it’s just where I”ve ended up.

@Pattidevans ate low carb for many years. @Tdm started low carb, but has relaxed since I think.

@rebrascora is one of our more intentionally low carb T1s I think.
 
Natmckib said:
Hi, I've just joined as I feel very alone with my diabetes. I've had type 1 for about 15years.
2 years ago I stopped eating sugar and carbs (I eat complex carbs only).
I have lost a lot of weight.
My family are struggling with what I eat. They think I should treat myself every now and again. They tell me I do like potatoes, pasta and pizza. I genuinely have gone off them now.
When I eat something it takes my body and sugars about 4-6 hours to really process what I've ate.
does this make sense to anyone else? I'm rubbish and trying to explain myself.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm not T1, but have been living a low carb lifestyle since the end of 2013. Trust me; in time folks just give up on the persuasion to eat pizza, cakes or whatever.

My OH is the main cook in our hose, so he really has had some changes "enforced" upon him. To be fair, that's faily so that we continue to eat together and have largely the same meals. He can have more carbs. It doesn't bother me, but he feels really guilty if he is "caught" eating a chocolate biscuit, so maybe there are elements of that striving for solidarity that impact on your family?

Just on the fact that if you have a heavier carb meal, it can take a while to pcocess (I assume digest?) it?

Our bodies like to work to routines, and that includes digestive juices, enzymes etc., so if we suddenly pack a few carbs our low carb bodies aren't quite ready for it in terms of digestive juices. If you repeated the meal a couple of times you might get on a bit better.

I'm not suggesting you do anything you don't want to. I'm just trying to explain, simplistically, why a heavier carb hit can be bothersome.
 
Natmckib said:
Hi, I've just joined as I feel very alone with my diabetes. I've had type 1 for about 15years.
2 years ago I stopped eating sugar and carbs (I eat complex carbs only).
I have lost a lot of weight.
My family are struggling with what I eat. They think I should treat myself every now and again. They tell me I do like potatoes, pasta and pizza. I genuinely have gone off them now.
When I eat something it takes my body and sugars about 4-6 hours to really process what I've ate.
does this make sense to anyone else? I'm rubbish and trying to explain myself.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Hello, yes you make sense. (To me.) Pasta potato pizza is still an enigma on MDI. (I don’t have the privilege, of using a pump.) these food stuff you mention still eludes my regime.

Novorapid is what I inject for a bolus. No issues with it regarding the right sort of carbs or protein. As a T1.
In my experience it just I’d how the working profile (regardless of “timing” responds to certain carbs.)

Never got on with potato when I was on porcine insulin.. (and that was an archaic regime just it keep me alive?)
 
Your not missing out on much if you eat complex carbs as in fruit wholegrains pulses so if that suits you best so be it.

But your thread title suggests your not happy with your current regime, simple way to avoid spikes is to prebolus, this can drastically reduce spikes allowing us to eat foods same as anyone else, maybe your family are seeing changes in you that you don't see yourself so be k8nd with them, excluding foods & being obsessed about doing so can lead to eating disorders & its more common than most think in conditions like diabetes.
 
Yes, was low carb but found i became insulin resistant, then it was kind of i couldn't eat more carbs as thatxwould need lots insulin, plus i was afraid my bs control would suffer.
Then got kidney stones and didn't want to eat so in desperation to get some food in me i left off the low carb. My insulin rstios seemed to reset themselves and now i manage to control my bs just as well whilst eating bread, choccys etc...i probably do 100 - 200 carbs a day, so still not very high
 
Welcome to the forum @Natmckib

What you have said makes a lot of sense. You have found what works for you.
As a T1 it is possible to eat whatever you want so long as you know the carbs in order to match your insulin to that. we each find what works for us to enable us to be content with our levels and time in range (most of the time- it will never be perfect) . I have found that for me about 30g carbs at a meal works well, but that is only a target, and includes chocplates, biscuits, cake, … when I choose to.

You mention others finding your diet difficult, and it can be hard for others to understand the choices that we make, which adds pressure on us. Keep conversations going with them to explain your choices.

If you are happy to do so, let us know which insulins you are using. There are lots of options and they behave in different ways.

I look forward to hearing more from you.
 
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