Guilty?

[Siri]

Does anyone EVER feel guilty when you know you're eating/drinking something that you shouldn't??? This is still fairly new to me..... ( diagnosed May this yr). Most of the time I am really good which was hard in the begining....but today I think my brain fell out my head and I had 2 beers and I ate some chocolate:eek: what was I thinking.....and I knew I was being naughty but I just didn't care and now I can't stop thinking about how silly I was and I have this overwhelming feeling of guilt. AND I know I'll pay for it tonight and all day tomorrow and my mum will be cooking sunday dinner tomorrow and I know I'll want to eat EVERYthing on my plate but I'll still be feeling guilty and a bit angry with myself.:mad:

[ant hill]

I would needen't worry as I just had lunch and I had a sandwich which is quite healthy and then I had a yo yo which is two butterscotch and combined with iceingsugar and a cup of chocolate drink. :o And I am happy. :D:D

[Siri]

Yes....note to self......DON'T FEEL GUILTY ! I guess I'm only human!!!! Hey Anthill....do you think you'll still be happy in 2 hrs wen you're sugar crashes!!!!! LOL Just kidding.....we all need chocolate now and then right!
x

[jillrapp]

Siri,

It's impossible to be "perfect" all the time. You'll see after a while your body is your own barometer. Eventually I just had to say no after the 5th time of an outrageous headache after I ate french fries! :) Sometimes, it's good to be 'bad'. :)

[ant hill]

Yes....note to self......DON'T FEEL GUILTY ! I guess I'm only human!!!! Hey Anthill....do you think you'll still be happy in 2 hrs wen you're sugar crashes!!!!! LOL Just kidding.....we all need chocolate now and then right!
x

Hey Siri, That's the attitude, I can remember in the 1970's when they had a no go list and I broke every one of them!! and felt good! and sure the BG was high but then you can able to get the BG down buy walking, Riding, Hiking or anything that will get your heart rate going and back then I did Ballet and that certainly get it down. :D

Siri,

It's impossible to be "perfect" all the time. You'll see after a while your body is your own barometer. Eventually I just had to say no after the 5th time of an outrageous headache after I ate french fries! :) Sometimes, it's good to be 'bad'. :)

That's right Jill, it's simply impossible to get that perfect number. :D

[Siri]

Hi Anthill.....you're right....I am also a dancer before my first love was also ballet....I intent to dance it off as soon as I can.....but just broke my arm...so am scared I might break the other one.....so instead I'm gonna sit back and have another chocolate biscuit!!!!!! LOL
( but I do still feel a bit guilty....only a bit though now )!

[ant hill]

Hi Anthill.....you're right....I am also a dancer before my first love was also ballet....
WOW Another balletomaine. :D:biggrin::D
I intent to dance it off as soon as I can.....but just broke my arm...so am scared I might break the other one.....so instead I'm gonna sit back and have another chocolate biscuit!!!!!! LOL
Ahh!! But before you do that, Bolus properly and with the intention of dancing just back off on the insulin a little. :):o
( but I do still feel a bit guilty....only a bit though now )!
As long that you can work it off then you're OK. :thumbsup:

[Subby]

Does anyone EVER feel guilty when you know you're eating/drinking something that you shouldn't??? This is still fairly new to me..... ( diagnosed May this yr). Most of the time I am really good which was hard in the begining....but today I think my brain fell out my head and I had 2 beers and I ate some chocolate:eek: what was I thinking.....and I knew I was being naughty but I just didn't care and now I can't stop thinking about how silly I was and I have this overwhelming feeling of guilt. AND I know I'll pay for it tonight and all day tomorrow and my mum will be cooking sunday dinner tomorrow and I know I'll want to eat EVERYthing on my plate but I'll still be feeling guilty and a bit angry with myself.:mad:

In this scenario, what is the guilt actually about? Is it about being careful with your BG - or - careful with your health in general?

They are two separate things (although they can of course overlap). It's strange that you've got it so bad being newly diagnosed because I associate this kind of guilt with the "old" approaches to type 1. (Never, ever have sugar in your coffee, never ever have alcohol, etc etc - it's all bad bad bad!).

New conventional wisdom is that a typical healthy diet is good for type 1s. Variety and moderation are keywords in this kind of diet. Blood glucose considerations run concurrent with this approach. So having a bit of chocolate and/or a couple of beers now and then shouldn't be a big deal - unless - it throws your BG out and had big repercussions for your BG. Is that what you mean?

[soso]

Hi Siri (and Peter and Jill) (and subby too...)

Why feel guilty? did you bolus for what you ate and drank? Did you enjoy it?

GOOD!

This is not a punishment(though it feels like it sometimes.) it just is... and we only have to do our best, without totally knackering ourselves hopefully...

2 beers and some chocolate is nothing to feel guilty about..otherwise I have to go now, as I have some self flagellation to catch up on! lol

cheers

[GeishaGirl]

I would actually try to remove morality for food -- food itself isn't "good" or "bad" -- that's the judgement we assign to it. Food is fuel, period. Should you indulge all the time? Absolutely not. Should you live like a normal person that just has to take time out to bolus? Sure! Should you live like any other health-concious person out there? Sure!

As my poetry teacher once said: "The soul needs sweets."

Guilt, in the long-run, is NOT a profitable emotion. All it does is drain our energy and not provide solutions. Let it go.

[hodgsonsurvivor]

To answer your question...Yes. I do. But I don't wallow in it...and usually, it's not so much about what I'm eating, more so how much and whether or not I took insulin to cover it (or if I took enough). I try not to stay in that guilt zone, though, and focus on bringing my bs back into normal range. :o

[Psycho Penguin]

I only feel guilty sometimes. It's weird. If I have good blood sugar control, I feel bad that I "ruined" it, and if I have bad control, I feel bad that I'm not doing as much to help it as I should. So... yes.. guilt is always a big problem for me.

[Barberian]

I allow myself one "guilty pleasure" a day usually. That's better than where I was a month ago (I know, a cop out, but we can't all be perfect, lol). I was eating a large bag of Doritoz, and a couple 24oz Mt. Dews a day. My #'s are a lot better but not where they should be yet. Down from the mid 300's avg with spikes in low 400's, to high 100's avg. with after meal spikes to mid 200's. I will probably cut it down to every other day soon if my #'s arn't still dropping. Still going down from medication adjustment.

[lorilei]

I'd say, as a dancer...you might be more prone to guilty feelings as it directly effects your career as well as your health. and yes, absolutely i feel guilty just thinking about it!

[8kids4me]

I feel guilty. Sometimes it stops me, sometimes it doesn't. Tonight is bad, I had 2 pieces of homemade pizza(too many carbs) and I'm going to have a beer in a bit to calm my nerves(I'm studying for my statistics exam tomorrow night). I know I "shouldn't" but the stress is getting to me. And that isn't good either.

[ant hill]

I'd say, as a dancer...you might be more prone to guilty feelings as it directly effects your career as well as your health. and yes, absolutely i feel guilty just thinking about it!

That's how hard you dance Lori, As ballet literately dance all day and hop in the shower and in their tutu and second pair of shoes and have the performance that night and diet, I think not. :eek:
With all that activity no wonder that dancers are thin!!! :T :D

[Siri]

In this scenario, what is the guilt actually about? Is it about being careful with your BG - or - careful with your health in general?

They are two separate things (although they can of course overlap). It's strange that you've got it so bad being newly diagnosed because I associate this kind of guilt with the "old" approaches to type 1. (Never, ever have sugar in your coffee, never ever have alcohol, etc etc - it's all bad bad bad!).

New conventional wisdom is that a typical healthy diet is good for type 1s. Variety and moderation are keywords in this kind of diet. Blood glucose considerations run concurrent with this approach. So having a bit of chocolate and/or a couple of beers now and then shouldn't be a big deal - unless - it throws your BG out and had big repercussions for your BG. Is that what you mean?
Subby......
I think you are VERY right in what you said about the OLD mentality. My Grandfather was the Type 1 diabetic...he was also a very well respected doctor in the area and my grandmother was a nurse and my mother hence grew up in this very strict victorian household.....and grew up with a diabetic houshold....the OLD mentalitly of when he had the old animal insulin and a particular diet....so when I got diagnosed this year....everyone knew me at the hospital because of my grandfather.....they all praise him for how amazing he handled his diabbetes and got that medal for having it for 60 yrs. My mother took me food shopping my first week of diagnoses and because i was still so unwell that I let her take control....she told me what they used to eat , what to eat....what not to eat. NO SUGAR.....NO CHOCOLATE..... they still don't understand the whole carb thing, although I understand it very well...I'm educated in nutrition...I'm also a dancer....I'm also very scared and want to take really good care of myself and I know I am responisble for what will happen to my body in the future if I don't take care. I guess it's also my personality. I also find it fustrating when my bood Glucose is all over the place because it has such a huge effect on my moods and I don't like not being in control. I guess I am now in control of my pancreas and I don't like the repercussions....but I am only human and I still like to go crazy once in a while...but I feel SOOOO guilty afterwards because this disease is still not 2nd nature to me so it's always on the back of my mind ALL the time...sort of like a little black cloud that never goes away....I just don't want to be ill because of bad choices I've made.
Sorry....I'm rambling so much....it's just rolling off now!!!!!
Am I talking rubbish....I know someone understands how I feel.

[matingara]

i bought some new beer last weekend. low carb beer. "Bondi Blond".

didn't read the label.

decided to have one last night when grilling steak. read label. 6g of carb per 330ml bottle! (low carb!!!!! - no way).

"Pure Blonde" only has 3g of carbs per bottle. i should just stick with "Pure Blonde".

As for guilt, i haven't really done anything naughty since i started down this road.

BUT - nowadays i get mad and feel guilty if my post prandial "spike" is above 7.5 (135). just had salad (and some blueberries) for lunch and my 2 hour reading was 7.3 (131). not real happy with that. but i guess it isn't too bad...

:)

-- Joel.

[Subby]

Hey Siri, not rubbish at all, I understand and I bet lots of people here understand :)

Your post stands as it is, I'm not trying to fix the situation or anything, just a few more comments for your consideration (if you wish)

There's nothing wrong with reflecting on how it was done, on having a very strict diet etc. You grandfather sounded like a wonderful and disciplined man. But - his longevity was not only due to his diet and discipline but to a number of other factors too - one of which I can say is luck. Not just general luck, but luck in that the diet he was following happened to suit his body and was obviously conducive to his BG control. Many many people were not so fortunate. I am an example of one for whom the old diet would have irrevocably ruined my health, becuase of the way my body interracts with insulin and carbs. I'd be suffering extreme symptoms by now if I'd followed the old regime.

I'm not saying this to be upsetting or put down your grandfather at all. Rather that you should consider put the old rigidity aside unless you know for a fact you happen to have the best BGs and the best BG levels possible on it, just by luck. Even then it's doubtful whether all the negative connotations that come with it are healthy for your mind.

Putting your grandfather's case to one side for the moment, the sickness/death rate for type 1 has improved significantly over the years and you are probably best off fully utilising all modern knowledge about it rather than sticking to dietary guidelines that were a long time shown to be, statistically, the wrong thing.

In the end it needs to be a case by case basis for different foodtypes for you. It may well be that beer and chocolate send you sky high. It may well be you need to avoid one or the other. It may well be that you just need to bolus correctly for it. To be in THAT mode - of observation, bolusing correctly for foods, even ones we infrequently eat - is possbile a much stronger position to be in, rather than treating it like the devil and then having all these negative feelings about it (and at the same time doing a lot more damage becuase we didn't bolus correctly in the first place).

Hope all that makes sense, as I said, it's just food for thought, not trying to put you, your g'father, or anything down at all :)

[lorilei]

As for guilt, i haven't really done anything naughty since i started down this road.

BUT - nowadays i get mad and feel guilty if my post prandial "spike" is above 7.5 (135). just had salad (and some blueberries) for lunch and my 2 hour reading was 7.3 (131). not real happy with that. but i guess it isn't too bad...

:)

-- Joel.

That explains the grumpiness! LOL

[davef]

Have I eaten things that I usually avoid? yes. Do I try my best not to slip? yes. Do I sometimes slip anyhow? yes.

I'm human, I make mistakes, sometimes I "actively" make the mistake - like yesterday. I called to my parents to say goodbye because they are going to Australia to see my Sister for Christmas, my mom said somethings (half in joke whole in earnest) that annoyed me, I sucked it up while I was there as I didn't want to part on bad terms - but I felt down and mad afterwards. I went for dinner with the family and had a burger, I did strip of the bun but I still had a milkshake, I knew the milkshake was a bad choice for my BG, but I had it anyway. I didn't feel guilty, but I was mad with myself afterwards.

So I slipped, I'm back on the wagon today, I can't change the fact that I slipped. I enjoyed the milkshake. Next time I'll just try remember what I learned and do my best.

To answer your question, I don't feel guilty but I do get mad and then try learn from being mad. Don't be so hard on yourself.

[soso]

I love beer, but only have one once in a while as I have to take insulin for it.. however, a glass of dry red wine has no bad effect whatsoever on my bg ditto a rum and diet coke.. so unless I am really craving a nice cold beer, I just stick to a more D friendly tipple....

I wouldn't call what I feel (at least not recently) guilt... it is more a sort of outraged sadness..lol...

I feel I deserve some foods that make me happy, but I also deserve to live as long and as healthy a life as I can.. One strategy I use, is to have the treat foods just before I am going to do some intense exercise, this kills 2 birds with one stone... I get to eat something yummy and it encourages me to work hard as I want the treat!

[8961renee]

I've probably had 2 beers a day 5 out of every seven days for the last 25 years. How do you deal with diabetes otherwise? Have to had something to look forward to! Just account for the carbs in your insulin dosage. Same thing with the chocolate.

[ant hill]

I love beer, but only have one once in a while as I have to take insulin for it.. however, a glass of dry red wine has no bad effect whatsoever on my bg ditto a rum and diet coke.. so unless I am really craving a nice cold beer, I just stick to a more D friendly tipple....

I wouldn't call what I feel (at least not recently) guilt... it is more a sort of outraged sadness..lol...

I feel I deserve some foods that make me happy, but I also deserve to live as long and as healthy a life as I can.. One strategy I use, is to have the treat foods just before I am going to do some intense exercise, this kills 2 birds with one stone... I get to eat something yummy and it encourages me to work hard as I want the treat!
You are a tipical image of me Soso as I too like a chilled cold beer and the Bundaberg Rum will set my BG on fire!! and bolus for it but then the ratio is much lower!!
As long that I know that this will bring the BG up then I would know how to tackle the food. So I feel for the newly diagnosed as they would have to see what food do to people.

[Siri]

Awwwwww Thank you ALL of you...reading all of your replies has certainly calmed me down. I have so much to learn emotionally and technically for this and I tend to tackle one thing that bothers me at a time. Subby...you are in no way putting me OR my grandfather down....I read your comments with great interest and subsiquentley had a long disscusion with my Mum tonight about it all. She said she had realised that she was directly comparing my Gfathers T1 with mine and she admitted going into auto pilot about her OLD knowledge!!!! She said she was also sorry if she made me feel pressure about comparing Grandad with me and realised that medicene has changed dramatically since then and that she said he would be proud of me and of course amazed at how far the treatment for this disease has come....I think she will be more supportive of modern and up to date outlook on T1 !!!!! Awwww she is cute!
I also am gaining more and more confidence with this disease ( thank you Jill for your message);)
I have also realised that my life cannot be perfect and to not feel guilty and just forget about it, be sensible but not to get too worked up about it.
Thank you, Thank-you, Thank-you...
and I found another Ballet friend(Peter)!
Love
Siri x

[Alaska]

Siri,

No worries, we are ALL bad sometimes. My GF and I are BOTH type 1 diabetics and this saturday night we drank strawberry margaritas. Not a good drink AT ALL for a diabetic but we splurge every now and again. ONCE in awhile is ok as long as you bolus for it correctly.