Why do I crave for food?

[Jodie]

I'm on Humalog and Lantus. I seem to crave alot for food and I always want to eat all the time and I try my hardest not to but its really hard. Is this the same for anyone else and what would be causing the cravings would it be the insulin and how can I stop this from happening

[TenderVittleS]

Sometimes I wonder that myself, but I guess when you start to get older naturally you eat more also. That's my answer.

[kstreeter513]

I feel ya. I could always eat.

[Simons70]

Hi All- I may be an odd ball but like you for many years I craved certain foods but now I find that I do not crave certain foods near as much. I certainly do crave chocolate frequently but just a piece or two satisfies me.
I am in my 70's and have been insulin dependent for 64 years.
Thanksgiving I certainly did eat too much but it was a little of this and a little of that too many times that did me in.
Simons

[silverfrost]

I know how you're feeling... I eat a lot of food. It's very difficult to limit myself and refrain from eating so many snacks every day. (Snacks that will affect me a lot anyway.) I actually never realized just how much I ate until I was diagnosed with Type 1 and had to watch it, and now that I've had to for a little while, it's been tough.

I'm also on Humalog and Lantus, by the way. I've never heard about insulin making people hungry, though. It would be a good question to ask my doc too. I'm not too sure.

[shockme]

i crave food too. tho i never crave cauliflower or carrots....always "bad"stuff......dunno why-i've always had a serious sweet tooth-even b4 dx with D. trish

[NoraWI]

If you cut down on the carbohydrates, you will crave them less. Eat more fat... things like nuts, cheese, avocado. The fewer carbs you eat, the less the craving.

[gambi]

I noticed food cravings on humalog and novlog - switched to Apidra, no issues. I rarely eat between meals. I also started taking Symlin, which helps curb appetite along with lowering BG.

So you could talk to you doctor about possible switching.

Also what do you typically eat in a meal? Protein helps curb appetite and keep you fuller longer.

[Richard157]

I have had T1 for 62 years and I also have an appetite that is hard to satisfy. I was always slender though until I started taking modern day insulins. Then I gained 57 pounds. I had to start using a treadmill and limiting my carbs to lose 26 pounds. I average 150 carbs per day. I want more than I eat so I eat "free" veggies. I am lucky I love veggies so much. Many veggies do not affect ny BGL's much at all. Salads are filling and very satisfying. Changing salad dressings every week makes the salads always seem new and tasty. I like a lot of canned veggies too, like spinach or green beans. I love strawberries with diet whipped cream. Strawberries have very few carbs. I do not eat junk food in the conventional way. I chew my potato chips, fritoes, or whatever but I do not swallow. I empty my mouth into a zip lock sandwich bag and toss it in the garbage. Very little goes to my stomach. My craving for those foods is satisfied and I do not take any insulin and I do not gain weight when I eat in this way. I do that with pizza and other junk food. It works for me. I always retreat to a private room in my home to do this. My wife understands.

You can ban me from the site if you find this disgusting. LOL!

Richard

[Jan B]

I do not eat junk food in the conventional way. I chew my potato chips, fritoes, or whatever but I do not swallow. I empty my mouth into a zip lock sandwich bag and toss it in the garbage. Very little goes to my stomach. My craving for those foods is satisfied and I do not take any insulin and I do not gain weight when I eat in this way. I do that with pizza and other junk food. It works for me. I always retreat to a private room in my home to do this. My wife understands.
Richard

What you do sounds a little strange -- but it works for you, so that's great! I always play head games with myself to keep from eating the wrong things. OR, I eat some bad stuff, then take the required insulin. Most of the time I choose wisely.

[Ailsa]

Controlling what you eat all the time is not a normal state. Most regular people have trouble staying on a weight loss diet for even a few weeks, let alone counting & limiting everything like we do on a permanent basis,
I used to think when I was on the older insulins, it's a bit like having an obssessive compulsive disorder forced on you when you don't want one.
I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back & be very forgiving of occassional indulgences!

[SharpTail]

I've often wondered how much of my food cravings are psychological. Before being diagnosed over 25 years ago, I ate without thinking a lot about it. However, with the primitive insulin therapy relative to today meals and eating had to become a major part of my lifestyle. So even when I wasn't hungry food was still on my mind, just to be sure to balance insulin with carbohydrate intake. Even today with a lot more flexibility it is necessary to keep a focus on food.
Pat

[Mich]

I agree, Pat. Balancing insulin and food is like being on a see-saw. You ALWAYS pay attention to the person on the other end in case they jump off. My relationship with food was like that for most of my life--always thinking about it.

Now that I have my pump and have my basal insulin correct, I only bolus when I eat, and rarely go low. It has given me an amazing amount of freedom to NOT eat. I have whole days where I only grab a snack because of actual hunger. What a great feeling, one that I haven't had since I was a child.

Mich

[Evermont]

Wiki says: ...Ghrelin is a hormone produced by P/D1 cells lining the fundus of the human stomach that stimulate appetite.[1] Ghrelin levels increase before meals and decrease after meals. It is considered the counterpart of the hormone leptin, produced by adipose tissue, which induces satiation when present at higher levels. (read more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grehlin))

Dr. says: ...just a handful of nuts can cause ghrelin levels to take a dive (read more (http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/09/17/soothing.hunger/index.html))

[desperado]

I mentioned this to my Dr. His reply was ," well before we got to be a country of rules and regulations farmers used to feed insulin to the hogs to fatten them up because it would cause them to eat more".

I don't suppose I mentioned earlier how much respect I had for this man...:eek:

[marked]

Here,here Ailsa. I think perhaps the concern about giving oneself a break is born from the fear that once control is lost one can go off the deep end. And that fear(I believe) is born and is propogated from the medical profession. A disservice to say the least.Food and insulin will always be a give and take interaction because(as you say)it is not normal to be a pancreas.
Mark

[deansreef]

crazy stuff. we are very complex us humans.

[Stealthman80]

For some reason I am never hungry, I go for long periods without eating, after about 4 1/2 hours I will start to feel sick though. My whole body feels like **** and I have to eat even if my blood suger is fine

[Jodie]

I normaly crave most days but today I havn't really felt like eating its quite strange how one day you could eat loads and then one day you dont want to eat at all