I'm HUNGRY!!!

[Lulika]

I have been trying really hard to count my carbs since I started my new life as a diabetic last week. So far, I have dropped 6lbs and feel the benefits already, even though I know that a large weight loss at the beginning of any diet eventuallly settles down into a more modest loss each week.
The thing is...I am so hungry! I am realising that I was a carbaholic in my pre diabetes days. Now I am allowing myself roughly 70 carbs a day, but I find I crave more.
I am eating lots of vegetables (I am a vegetarian) and some cheese, nuts etc...but I dont feel full for very long?
Any ideas? Please help!!
:)

[princesslinda]

Drink lots of water! I always found meats to be filling....if you don't eat meat, it may be more difficult for you. Guess you could keep some sliced veggies and ranch dressing in the fridge for when the munchies hit. I eat eggs for b/fast and find they keep me full for quite awhile. May you could boil a few and keep ready in the fridge...this would probably keep the hunger pangs away.

Hang in there! Sounds like you're doing a good job so far.

[Lulika]

I will try that...I have tried the pieces of cut up veggies in the fridge and they do help, but when I open the fridge, all the other "bad" stuff is sitting in there too, shouting, "here I am! Have some of me!" I swear that I am going to get my family to go to the fridge for me! Last night I had a real munchies attack and I saw that my husband had brough Hagen Das ice cream...I was SO tempted, but didn't have any :(

[princesslinda]

I know how it is when the ice cream calls. Do they have low-carb ice cream there like we do in the states? I know here there's a Breyer's Carb Smart that is great and very blood sugar friendly (at least in my case).

If they have s/f Cool whip there (whipped cream), make up some s/f pudding, add some Cool-whip to it and freeze...you'll have your own "almost" ice cream when he has his. You could even try freezing some of the pudding in little freezer safe cups and adding a plastic spoon.....freeze, warm with hands and removed...instant fudgesicle!

[Lulika]

Ooh now I like the sound of fudgesicles!!! :)
I hadn't thought of that!! I am going to make some right NOW!
Thanks for that Princess Linda, you may very well have saved my life!! :)

[morrisma]

The conventional wisdom on diets is that 2-3 weeks of really tough days are followed by a gradual acceptance by the bod. Hang in there!
Mike

[kgm0612]

Sugar free jello or pudding cups are good in between meal snacks. Very little to no calories and low carb. Add a little whip cream and you feel like you're eating something you shouldn't be! LOL

Karen

[Jan B]

Make some of Val's Apple Flax muffins -- I did yesterday -- they are delicious and don't even mess with my blood sugar. I suspected they weren't as good for the bg as advertised, but they truly are! (only 3 carbs each w/lots of fiber). Flax meal has 4 grams of carbs per serving, but also 4 grams of fiber per serving!

And of course drink water and keep up the good work!

[fgummett]

Hang in there!

Sounds like you could maybe do with a little more support from your family... I remember as child, if my Mum ever went on a diet we all did! Now I'm really not suggesting anything that extreme but a healthy diet is a healthy diet for everybody... not just those of us blessed with diabetes :D

For myself I find that protein helps me with hunger pangs so +1 for the eggs and also nuts

[davef]

Lulika,

You are doing really well, 6lbs off already! Hang in there, the first few weeks will be the hardest, aside from your body getting used to fewer carbs and less sweet things, your mind needs to get used to your new habits.

Linda is right about the water, drinks lots, it fills you up (and keeps things moving). Have you checked what fruit works for you?

One suggestion in relation to your fridge, could you get the rest of the family to keep their sweet things either in a particular drawer in the fridge or a tupperware box in the fridge, that way you might know the stuff is there but at least you don't have to look at it.

You, like me (and a lot of us) are trying to balance low carb and low fat. Things like cheese and nuts are great from the carb and BG side of things but not so great for weight loss. That said, anytime I tried losing weight before (and there have been many times) I always swore off cheese, now with Diabetes I have not taken the oath, I allow myself to have some now and then because it's nice and tasty without carb issues.

As you hail from the UK you are probably familiar with "Rich Tea" biscuits (I hope), can you get something similar in China (just check the carbs) because I have found that they can be a great treat every so often and helps you stay on track for losing weight if you get a weekly treat, this is my own approach. It is also to try and teach myself that moderation is important so that when I get my weight down that I'll be able eat some higher fat food in moderation. I struggled last week but with the help of the people on DF I'm back on track.

The suggestion of eggs is a great idea, having eggs for breakfast would really set you up for the day. I think you just need to watch consumption if your cholestrol is a problem. I know there are some people here who can eat as many as they want without cholestrol issues (I'm probably one of them).


I feel for you as you are a vegetarian, because being a carnivore has certainly helped me as a meat can be so filling with impacting on BG and is fairly good for weight loss.

One thing in relation to the carbs, which I didn't know initially until someone here told me, if you are looking at a pack which shows say 10g Carbs and 2g Fibre, you actually count that as 8g carbs (subtract the fibre from the carbs).

You can do it, the Metformin and lowering your BG may also help you, it did for me after being on it for a while my appetite was drastically reduced.

Things will get better and you can do it,

[Handybear]

When I first started restricting my carbs (I follow the Bernstein plan) I started to feel hungry and I found out that I was not eating enough FAT! Since you body is turning from a sugar burning machine into a fat burning machine consuming a little more fat in you diet with help with the hunger pangs. If you like coconut, a spoon full of coconut oil is helpful. Also peanut butter is good for taking the edge off.

Good Luck.

[slipperyelm]

Lulika, the fact is Type 2 diabetics sometimes have hunger pangs that make no sense at all in terms of signaling a true need for further nutrition. There can be more hormones than just insulin out of whack in T-2 diabetes. More popular weight loss diet books are beginning to address that issue, so there is some info out there on the hormones leptin and ghrellin (unsure of spelling). You can look those up if you want a glimmer of insight, though the entire story on why type 2s can get so hungry is not understood yet.

Hunger at times when I should not need to eat has been one of my greatest challenges with diabetes. Before I was diagnosed and again later when I lost control for a few months, I could feel excruciating hunger at any time of day, but particularly right after eating! I could have eaten a very large meal that was still in my my stomach, yet I would get pangs of hunger that drove me to go eat more! :( I noticed that it was about twenty minutes after a meal that I got those pangs. Also bedtime was very hard. I would have intense hunger while trying to get to sleep.

However, the good news is that, if it works for you as it did for me, you will get past it. It will subside. Again, it is one of those things that works itself out as you get your blood sugars down and your whole system recalibrates itself.

Now admittedly, I sometimes still will have weird hunger pangs 20 minutes after eating. But not nearly as strong, and they do go away. This is something that eating very low carb has helped, too. When I eat a more carby meal, I will frequently get those hunger pangs/pains again, though, as I said, not nearly as bad as they once were.

I do sometimes wonder if that drive to eat is a significant part of why so many type twos are overweight. In my case, I don't think I can attribute my excess weight entirely to it, but in the year before I was diagnosed: definitely.

[matingara]

I feel for you as you are a vegetarian, because being a carnivore has certainly helped me as a meat can be so filling with impacting on BG and is fairly good for weight loss.

my opinion is that you should add meat back into your diet to get rid of hunger pangs.

There is a very wise, old, Chinese saying. It goes (something) like this:

"When the map and the terrain no longer match, it is time to throw away the map and follow the terrain".

You have had a massive "terrain" change being diagnosed with diabetes. I am not sure why you decided to leave meat out of your diet.

Now, for the sake of your health and well being, meat may be one of your best allies. it could be time to re-assess why you followed the "vegetarian map" - when your body is indicating that this does not match your terrain.

Does that make sense?

:)

-- Joel.

[Evermont]

I find no difficulty being a vegetarian type 2 and maintaining good control even with no meds.

[Lulika]

Hello everyone..thank you so much for your great ideas and most of all your support and understanding.
It was Princess Linda who first told me about subtracting fibre from carbs...good to know!
Karen- I dont think I could live without that jello or the puddings! I am using them when I really want something sweet, knowing they are not to wicked!
Jan- I would love to try those Apple muffins, they sound yummy! Where can I find the recipe?

My family are supportive, if a little ignorant to just how much my life has had to change, and so suddenly. My hubby has offered to go on a diet too (even though he isnt overweight at all!) and I do try to prepare healthy food for us all. But I can't expect the kids (2 teenage boys) not to want to eat some junk, so they have said they will keep their stash of snacks in their rooms!

Dave...drinking water is a great idea and I do drink lots of it..its just not as satifying as ice cream :)
But it does fill you up I agree. I do eat cheese as being a veggie its a staple for me but I do watch the calories with it. I will try eggs at breakfast too. I do know "Rich Tea" biscuits and will see if I can get them here. I think having some little treat to look forward to is great...
Handybear...thats a good comment about fat.I try to steer clear of it too but perhaps I am not eating enough.
Slipperyelm- I totally agree with you about being hungry all the time, before diagnosis I was constantly hungry. So the hunger isnt new, its just harder to beat knowing now that I am diabetic! There is a huge link between type 2's and hunger.
Joel- your comments about not being a vegetarian were valid and made alot of sense, except that I simply can not bear to eat meat. Its an emotional humane thing with me, I just could not eat an animal.I feel ill at the thought of eating meat. So I guess I will have to stick with the map! But I appreciate your thinking!

In short, you are one amazing group of people..I feel so supported and encouraged...THANK YOU!!! :)

[Ed T]

You may not ned to limit the carbs to 70/ day.
I have had good success with 75 at breakfast, 75 at lunch, 60 at dinner, and an evening snack of 30.

This was the regimine recommended by the nutritionist that provided my education class when first diagnosed. I know everyone is different, but under 70 daily seems a big cut.
Ed

[Jan B]

http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/recipes/26585-apple-flax-muffins.html

Click on the link above! Yummy yummy! So good, I'm making more . . . this time w/almond oil. The first time I used extra virgin olive oil (great that way). I used water instead of syrup and I used 12 splenda packets since that's the only kind of splenda I had.

Val's recipe

[Lulika]

Thanks Jan, I will definately try this recipe this weekend! :)