what to feed a starving T2 husband late nite

[janice21475]

My husband can go all day with hardly any carbs but come 10 PM and he turns into a bottomless pit. It used to be the lony thing that filled him and stopped the hunger was cereal & milk w/ splenda.

Now that he has begun treatment for his long standing T2 I have been learning all I can about care and feeding (he is learning along with me, too) but I somehow overlooked how tricky the packagers of commercial cereals can be.

WheatChex:
serving size 3/4 cup (47g)
Carb 38g
Fiber 5g
Sugars 5g
Protein 5g
-----------------------------------------------
So, thinking I might be choosing the lesser of two evils, I bought All-Bran Original
serving size 1/2 (31g)
Carb 23g
fiber 10g
sugars 6
Protein 4g
-----------------------------------------------

Looking closer and taking some time to digest things, they would probably come out the same if I used the same serving size for comparison - EXCEPT for that 10g fiber.

Would that make it safer to eat?

What can he eat to stop the hungries?

Dinner BG 132
2hr later 161

Dinner was Great Northern beans and spinach, diet soda and 5 ritz crackers (10g carb).

He took 32 units Lantus this morning.
Waking BG 129
2 hrs later 150 after 2 scrambled eggs with ham, green onion and a feather of cheese - o carbs

We have been at this since Nov 20th. Started at 10 units Lantus. His BG does best when we eat beans, can't we just go with that? But not for late nite snack. Help, please.

Kind regards,
Janice

[mzteacher]

you might want to check out hood milk products found in the milk cold section...2% non fat and a wonderful chocolate milk that i really like heated....sadly my local store stopped getting the chocolate....i think 3 carbs for the 2% and 5 for the chocolate....
maybe a snack of cheese, salami, things like that only no crackers....
good luck!
susan

[Bountyman]

I've found that late-night eating isn't about hunger, it's about habit. I developed a late-night eating habit years ago due to TV and commercial breaks. What to do during the commercials? Go raid the refrigerator, of course. Times when I was out in the garage, busy, never gave it a thought. Out and about at night, never gave it a thought then, either, unless I'd skipped dinner.

It's my opinion that late-night eating is as much an addiction as anything else can get as long as it feeds your comfort. I finally broke that addiction by buying food at the supermarket I hated. I'd cruise the refrigerator and cabinets and all there was was food that would either take too long to prepare...or wouldn't be worth the trouble. If I were REALLY hungry I would have either gotten dressed and gone out to eat...or ate the cr@p I bought to break myself.

FWIW

[Reba55]

Hi Janice!
Cereal is so high in carbs, that I can't eat it, unless it's going to be my meal, and even then I spike pretty high. Of course everyone is different, but you may want to check his BS before eating the cereal, then 2 hours after the first bite and see what the results are.
I agree with bountyman, that eatingh at night is probably a habit. I'm bad about getting on the computer and wanting to snack. It's a hard habit to break, so instead of eating high carb snacks, I eat a hard boiled egg, some cheese, or a handful of nuts. (I like pecans). I think this is really something he will have to work on.

[ramon]

Hey Janice, feed the man a steak, fish, chicken or give him a ambien at 9.30pm. Any thing to break the carb habit. I found out if you stay away from all carbs for a few days you can break that addiction. He will fall but encourage him back up. Salads with tuna or shrimp, crumbled bacon or feta cheese can be very satisfying. His lucky to have such a fine wife at his side.

[Chef Barrae]

If your husband does well eating beans how about a white bean dip with low carb chips?

The dip is very easy to make and you can keep it in the refrigerator for four days.
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Place the olive oil in a small sauce pan and add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese. Cook for about 5 or 10 minutes. Mash with a potato masher and stir in the cheese. The cheese will melt right in.

For the chips, take any low carb tortillas or flatbreads and lightly brush with beaten egg white. Sprinkle with any herbs, spices, grated cheese, etc. he likes and cut into wedges. Place in a preheated 400' oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, There are lots of varieties of low carb flatbreads and tortillas out in the market to choose from. Store in a plastic bag for several days.

Makes a great, filling and healthy snack.

[Bountyman]

As Reba mentions, if he's hard to break, as we all are with things we enjoy, you might start adjusting his nightime feedings slowly with small substitutes that satisfy his urge to eat with more BG friendly food. Start with a slightly smaller bowl of cereal with added fruit, or a drink. It's a weaning process that has an end result. We abore sudden changes as secure adults. We'd like the world to remain just as it is, unless WE want to change it.

It's like the old story about boiling a frog. You throw a frog in boiling water and he'll jump out. You put him in cold water and then turn on the heat and he'll just sit there and boil to death.

Once you have him eating a healthy late-night snack you can start sizing it down and replacing it with something else he might enjoy, like a 10 o'clock booty call? Or maybe not, that might start him smoking.

[Dis-N-Dat]

How about a tart apple (like a Granny Smith) sliced with some sharp cheddar. The protein from the cheese works wonders for me in hunger relief and it offsets any spikes from the sweetness in the apple.

My husband is trying to loose weight as well and he loves this.

Good for you for your help and support.

[jer.lawrence]

I've been keeping cold fried chicken around for the last few days (which actually sucks for me, because I don't usually snack at night), but a piece of cold fried chicken seems to have minimal effect on my BG. It's also quite tasty, if you like that sort of thing.

Also, I'm a HUGE fan of the Breyers Carb Smart Ice Cream (vanilla, with a scoop of peanutbutter for me). That also has very little effect on my sugar. And it's good and sweet, satiates cravings.

[sridder]

One thing I've discovered as a great snack is cucumber slices dipped in salsa...has the same crunch as chips but none of the carbs. Great appetizer or late night snack for me. Maybe your husband would like it as well.

Another go to for me is peanut butter on celery. Gives a little protein with the crunch.

[TommyC1]

My husband can go all day with hardly any carbs but come 10 PM and he turns into a bottomless pit. -----
Kind regards,
Janice

Bottomless pit at night sounds like me...sigh

So far the best snack I've found is a few slices of salami rolled up in either Provalone or Swiss cheese. Sometimes I'll dip that in a little horseradish mustard.
Two or three of those seems to quiet the hungry monster without affecting my sugars.

[janice21475]

Thank you all for your tips and support.

Today had gone well. The only carbs so far are 18 from 2 slices of some whole wheat bread that is very low in carbs.

We will have beans, again, for dinner and then try to get by with rolled ham & cheese or beanut butter and 2 ritz crackers (they are 2 carbs each). I have been giving him pep talks all day, telling him we need to see what the Fasting BG will be in the AM with no big carb meals today/tonight. Tomorrow will be a telling day. Lord willing, the numbers will be LOW. I want to be able to cut down on the insulin he is taking.

Yesterday he took 32 units and felt very weak. We cut back to 30 today and none of that awful weak feeling.

Although, he says he is weak from hunger, as long as his BG is above 70, I know he isn't starving - no matter how it may feel. I am on the same diet and eat less then he does (portion wise).

Overall he is feeling much better. I am wondering if the Lyrica he is taking may not be causing some of the weakness, but that would require another thread. Maybe later.

Regards,
Janice & Husband

[Delphinus]

My husband can go all day with hardly any carbs but come 10 PM and he turns into a bottomless pit. It used to be the lony thing that filled him and stopped the hunger was cereal & milk w/ splenda.

Now that he has begun treatment for his long standing T2 I have been learning all I can about care and feeding (he is learning along with me, too) but I somehow overlooked how tricky the packagers of commercial cereals can be.

WheatChex:
serving size 3/4 cup (47g)
Carb 38g
Fiber 5g
Sugars 5g
Protein 5g
-----------------------------------------------
So, thinking I might be choosing the lesser of two evils, I bought All-Bran Original
serving size 1/2 (31g)
Carb 23g
fiber 10g
sugars 6
Protein 4g
-----------------------------------------------

Looking closer and taking some time to digest things, they would probably come out the same if I used the same serving size for comparison - EXCEPT for that 10g fiber.

Would that make it safer to eat?

What can he eat to stop the hungries?

Dinner BG 132
2hr later 161

Dinner was Great Northern beans and spinach, diet soda and 5 ritz crackers (10g carb).

He took 32 units Lantus this morning.
Waking BG 129
2 hrs later 150 after 2 scrambled eggs with ham, green onion and a feather of cheese - o carbs

We have been at this since Nov 20th. Started at 10 units Lantus. His BG does best when we eat beans, can't we just go with that? But not for late nite snack. Help, please.

Kind regards,
Janice

Would he be against nibbling on raw veggies thru the day?

I know the feeling, only diff is, I eat ALL day long, and have a great metabolism. My job can be physical as well too.

If you have me over, and you get me in front of your fridge, look out, and I'll need a hand tipping it up so I can dump the contents into my bottomless pit.

[janice21475]

Thanks for the tip, Jason, but he doesn't have any teeth. This makes eating nuts and celery out. I have learned how to finly cut lettuce but that really doesn't fill.

Tonight I gave him a cup of cooked Great Northern Beans and a cup of spinach. An hour later he had to have some more beans, as he was starved.

I am worried I am not feeding him enough. We go back to the Dr. tomorrow. I will ask him, but he is only a physicians assistant and I think it upsets him when I ask questions. Perhaps I came on too strong the last time we visited. I wanted answers about why and what to eat and they give me mumbo jumbo.

They recommended the NationalDiabetic.org/ Those people suggest 45 grams per meal. If he eats that many his BG shoots to the moon. Just took the 2 hour reading from the 1 cup beans = 119. Later I will give him some natural peanut butter and a slice of 9 carb bread.

Did I mention that since Nov. 30th we have both lost lots of weight.

Cheers,
Janice & Husband

[genie86333]

An hour later he had to have some more beans, as he was starved.

I am worried I am not feeding him enough.

Hi, Janice! There's no need for him to go hungry. There are plenty of low carb foods out there for him to eat & the nice thing about them is that it's hard to over-eat them. It's fairly easy to eat a stack of pancakes (and maybe even go back for seconds, right? But try eating a similar sized stack of pork chops or steaks...almost everyone would get full from that. It tends to fill you up quicker & (at least for me) satisfy me longer.