Is anyone else like me?

[sparrow1]

Hello, I a carboholic and I have been clean for 3 months, but yesterday I fell off the wagon and went on a bender. Ever since I can remember I have gone on these uncontrolled binges after several months of staying on track. It's like I am tired of counting, weighing, measuring, testing, shooting, exercising, etc and just need time out. Except that I go so completely hog wild, as if to say "So strike me with lightning, see if I care". I seem to need to do this in order to get back on the straight and narrow. I notice that I do it right after my A1C so that I have 3 months to get it right again.

I don't know why I do this as I feel so crappy afterwards.

But it's great to have this confessional to go to when I have been so bad!

[princesslinda]

I feel your pain. It's really hard to feel like you can't have something....makes you want it even more. I love, love, love, love my carbs. Pasta was one of my favorites...with garlic bread, even better. I do agree that it's tiring, always having to test, think about what you eat...it gets old fast.

I have to say i've never really totally let it all go, eating all of what I want, i'm too chained to my monitor for that I guess. Right after A1C, i'll have a couple slices of pizza or maybe a happy meal at McD's. Instead of just having a "free for all," on occasion, hubby and I will split a dessert with dinner, or i'll have 3-4 of his fries or a bite of his sandwich or whatever he's having that I may want. If I reach over 150 blood sugar, I feel bad physically (tired/lethargic) but moreso I feel bad because i've screwed up my monitor average (yes, I know that's anal).

Also, I guess I have the accountability factor in that my co-workers watch what I eat and will at times ask "can you have that," and I know my husband would comment if I went way off my diet very often. If we go to my in-laws or family, they always have diabetic friendly foods...so its easy for me to stay in line. Of course, i've only been diagnosed a year and still have the fear factor as well.

[ladytaz]

Hello, I a carboholic and I have been clean for 3 months, but yesterday I fell off the wagon and went on a bender. Ever since I can remember I have gone on these uncontrolled binges after several months of staying on track. It's like I am tired of counting, weighing, measuring, testing, shooting, exercising, etc and just need time out. Except that I go so completely hog wild, as if to say "So strike me with lightning, see if I care". I seem to need to do this in order to get back on the straight and narrow. I notice that I do it right after my A1C so that I have 3 months to get it right again.

I don't know why I do this as I feel so crappy afterwards.

But it's great to have this confessional to go to when I have been so bad!

This is why I say "treat" yourself about once a month. Now I don't mean eat an ENTIRE cake at one sitting or a whole 1/2 gallon of ice cream, but have a "normal" peice of cake, or a "normal" bowl of ice cream. Which most likely isn't what YOUR "normal" is (I know it ain't mine! LOL), but much smaller, a regular serving! Have a candy bar, have some pasta, or mashed taters, peice of pie, a brownie .... whatever your fancy! But again, with in REASONABLE amounts!

For me, it keeps that craving at bay, so to speak. I only have these "treats" about once a month or so. MAYBE twice a month. I do NOT keep these things in my home at all times tho, because they do not just call my name they HOLLER it, and I have NO self control! LOL Though I never had that problem before I was dx'd! Weird, I think! That whole "forbidden fruit" thing I guess? LOL

Try not to feel bad though, most of us do it once in a while! Just get right back up, dust yourself off, and start over again! Tomorrow is a NEW day! :D

[notme]

I think you are definitely not alone. As time goes on we are all becoming "carboholics". With more and more processed foods on the shelf like crackers, cereal and bread, it is hard NOT to eat too many carbs in a day. Eating foods with only ONE ingredient is tough when you are on the road or working. I am home now and find that I make better choices.

Everyone will make mistakes. Try to keep those mistakes to a minimum and definitely make deals with yourself. If you are good all day, decide on what you want to eat to treat yourself. You will find you do it less and less.

[xMenace]

Oh yea. Chinese today for lunch. Still paying for it at 4:30pm. Recently my son and I made a big batch of waffles. Two full-sized ones with real butter and maple syrup! I stayed in range with those!

Gonna work on two loads of topsoil tonight to work off that chinese effect.

[sparrow1]

.."treat" yourself about once a month. Now I don't mean eat an ENTIRE cake at one sitting or a whole 1/2 gallon of ice cream, but have a "normal" peice of cake, or a "normal" bowl of ice cream. Which most likely isn't what YOUR "normal" is (I know it ain't mine! LOL), but much smaller, a regular serving! Have a candy bar, have some pasta, or mashed taters, peice of pie, a brownie .... whatever your fancy!

Thanks - good suggestion - but for me that's like telling an alcoholic to just have one wee drink :). Once I start I can't stop. The only thing that stops me is to hit rock bottom :(.

Today, my head is back in the right place, and with the help of all you fantastic people on DF I've turned over the page on my blotted journal and started afresh.

[andypoo]

Hey,GO FOR IT! Pasta YAY!!! I do it,too!

[pdxdennisj]

Well, me too - absolutely. Give me a loaf of good bread, a tub of butter and I'm in hog heaven! Don't know if you cook at home but I've found some things that work most of the time. Dreamfields Pastas process their wheat so that only about 4 carbs per 1/4 up are available for immediate conversion. Example: I had 4 oz of spagetti with sauce last night nd my BG was 72 at bedtime. This morning it was 135 (usually around 100-110). The same goes for making baked breads, pancakes, etc. with Carbquik or Carbalose. I still crave "good" bread once in a while and indulge myself. My Byetta helps cover a multitude of sins:D .

[moorejames]

... Right after A1C, i'll have a couple slices of pizza or maybe a happy meal at McD's.

And here I thought I was the only one who broke their "post A1c blood draw" fast with a nice big breakfast at Micky D's. :D

Get up, go to lab, get blood drawn for A1c, head over to McD's for a deluxe big breakfast with extra hash browns... forget it ever happened...

[GhostRydr]

I loved carbs, grew up on a dairy farm and it was potatoes and breads with every meal. I've started to get myself over that.

It's still a struggle at work to not jump head first into the donuts at times... and I do treat myself, I try to have it so i'm not near an over abundance of anything when I do.

Good luck,

[kgm0612]

I've been there & done that on many occasions.......... and then I feel guilty as ****! At least you go 3 months in between! LOL

Karen

[volleyball]

Kinda funny how you think it will not show up on an A1C test since that averages you over time. That said, I see how you would need a release. Body builders do the exact same thing. It is a compulsive thing. Some people can have little treats now and again while others are very good or very bad. This is just the type we are so I doubt advice from any of us moderate people will be useful. that said and being a moderate person, here's my 2 cents.
How about spending days before planning your indulgence. That way you get to extend the pleasure. Also be very diligent just before the binge and right afterwards. If you can plan your smorgasboard for a day of heavy activity, you body will use those carbs better. Having a meal at Mickey D's doesn not constitute going hog wild unless you are doing a supersize meal with regular soda and another scary meal

[gettingby]

It's still a struggle at work to not jump head first into the donuts at times... and I do treat myself, I try to have it so i'm not near an over abundance of anything when I do.

I agree with you Kurt. Even though I'm type 1 and can cover anything with insulin, I still have only a small bit at a time.

[bryan42]

I cheat EVERY friday night for dinner, no holds barred,Eat ANYTHING I want. It really helps keep me in line, the rest of the week

[ladytaz]

Thanks - good suggestion - but for me that's like telling an alcoholic to just have one wee drink :). Once I start I can't stop. The only thing that stops me is to hit rock bottom :(.

Today, my head is back in the right place, and with the help of all you fantastic people on DF I've turned over the page on my blotted journal and started afresh.

That's why I said not to keep the "stuff" around the house!! LOL I'm exactly the same way! Especially with brownies and Snicker Bars! O.M.G. I CANNOT have just ONE peice if a plateful of brownies is sitting around, and I can't just have ONE Snicker's Bar if there is a bunch of them laying around!! LOL :wink:

Glad to hear you've got youre head back in the right place and have turned the page over and started anew :)

[mortis505]

I personally dont see a problem with having a bit of a treat once in a while.

[shockme]

i'm also a serious carb addict!i get cravings!serious cravings!a few wekks ago,i was craving brownies.so i made a box.put 'em in an 8x8 pan and cut the brownies into 4 SLABS!after my slab of delicious chewy brownie,my bg was-amazingly under 200!i'm only on lantus-nothing to bolus my sins away...i don't do this all the time,but when a craving hits-that's it!trish

[noreend]

I AM SO GLAD THAT THIS THREAD WAS HERE TODAY! I have been doing really good for the last 3 months- lost 25 lbs, exercising, and eating low carb. Then I lost it on Sunday and again today. But a little "retail therepy" tonight with smaller clothes has me motiviated again. Anyway, I was thinking that most of the regular's here ALWAYS stay on track. It is so good to hear that I am not alone- and many falter into the world of carbs occasionally. :o

[sparrow1]

I too am glad to find that I am not alone. There is a definite pattern to my behaviour. Also, when I do go bananas, I am not just giving myself a treat. It tends to be closet behavior, like sneaking several chocolate bars in the car, or getting up quietly in the middle of the night to make banana sandwiches. I just stuff and stuff myself until I can't eat any more. In this heat, the chocolate usually melts all over me and makes a mess of my car seats, and my clothes. I'm convinced that I will die while crashing my car from choking on forbidden foods. So in a roundabout way D will kill me!

The silver lining is that once I allow myself all this madness, then I go back to being Little Miss Perfect for a while. The next time this happens - and it will - I'll think of all of you and won't feel so alone!

[Tucker]

This thread makes me smile! It's almost pornographic! ;)

[sydneya]

And here I thought I was the unusual. I'm just like everyone else and I didn't even like sweet things until the word "diabetic" came into my life. Treating yourself once in awhile is okay. Just know yourself so you know how to control it. What sets me off more than anything is having a husband or father-in-law who says, "You shouldn't eat that. It just isn't good for you." As if it is good for them!! I usually can't help but say, "Give me the biggest piece."
I am working on that personality trait. It just needs more work. :D

[bryan42]

:eek: When the cravings hit,its like we become a bunch of drug addicts..Im sure I aint the only one to buy twinkies or donuts out of the back of a car or alley from some shady looking character...oh..maybe I am!! :D :D :D

[amyjo29]

Don't worry about it! If your overall A1C is good then you are doing fine. WE ALL HAVE THESES DAYS/MOMENTS. You really shouldn't beat yourself up about it. I give myself 2 free meals a month where I don't test and eat what I crave. Yes, we are diabetic and HAVE to take care of ourselves but we are also HUMAN. Would it help to see someone professionally to help you deal with the cravings and give suggestions as to what you can do when you feel this way? I may be going way overboard by saying that but it might help. Again, you are human and should treat yourself once in awhile. Good Luck and keep your chin up...you did nothing wrong. Just get back on track after you've had your "moment".

[lewsterr]

I am so happy to see that someone else other than me wrote this thread. I see many of my own behaviors here....eating way too many carbs, snacking too often, sneaking treats....and then feeling guilty afterwards. The only reason why I didn't write it was because I thought I was the only one that didn't have control.

Believe me...you are not alone!

[jlnesvold]

Also a carb fan here. Pasta was my biggest weakness. Until about three months ago. he other half said she wanted to lose weight and felt that I needed to lose some, too, being just 5'8" and weighing, then, about 193. I went cold turkey and gave up pretty much all carbs for a month and a half, with no cheating. I lost 17 pounds. Now I eat a limited number of carbs, and have still managed to lose an additional 5. If I can lose two more before she does, I win $50.

When I get tempted by those pastas, I just think to myself, "Do I want to hit 200 pounds? No. Do I want to win $50? Yes."