Eating or NOT eating, that is the question!

Hello friends, is there anyone out there that has the same ideology on food despite the fact that they are a diabetic. My philosophy is pretty much this: throughout the course of the day I do not eat.I eat only one meal a day and that is all. During the day even if my sugar goes low, I do not eat. I really need help with this problem because I do know that it is not healthy!

You should always eat breakfast, what you eat depends on your philosophy on diabetic meals. I don’t think diabetics should miss out on lunch either, which can be as small as a salad or be the main meal of the day. In order to keep your blood sugars level you should also include an evening meal. Some diabetics find they need to eat 5 small meals a day to keep their blood sugars level. So IMHO you do need to eat at least three meals a day, whether you choose to eat low carb or not. There are several diabetic food groups on TuD that you can go to to see what other people eat for their meals.

I am curious to know how big the meal is that you are eating, what time it is at and how high carb it is. I may be able to give you more advice if I know. In general though, as you seem to be aware of, it is extremely dangerous to continue on with this habit, especially if you are exercising (which messes with your levels consistency).

If your sugar goes low, and you are not eating anything at all, how are you still standing?! Do you at least treat your low blood sugar with juice or glucose tabs?

Frankie

I understand the idea of eating or not eating when it comes to diabetes…but in the end we all know that eating something is always the best thing for us. You have to find some healthy low-carb things that you enjoy eating during the day. I admit that Im not a breakfast person either, but I try to eat yogart, or fruit in the morning just so I dont have any low blood sugars. But Im sure you will find foods that work for you.

Samantha

Well, not the same so much as I don’t eat just one meal…I don’t really eat meals at all. I do have issues with food, tho.
I just have a couple of protein shakes throughout the day and occasionally a handful of raw green beans or baby carrots.
I don’t eat for lows, either - I pop a few glucose tabs and go on about my business. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be much help because at this point in time, I’m ok with what I’m doing and where I’m at. I just wanted to let you know you’re not the only one who doesn’t eat all day, and who doesn’t eat for lows. Good luck, hun!

I take almost the exact opposite approach in that I eat throughout the day. Lots of small snacks between meals. I never skip meals. I burn a ton of calories so I need to be eating a lot. I find that smaller meals and snacking keeps BG more consistent.

Just questions, Jeska and Lil Jt, R U afraid to eat because it may raise you from your pre-determined basal level ? Do you just not want to be bothered with the constant vigilance? If you do not eat much or eat a very restriited diet, You do not have to do all the carb counting, insulin sensitivity , and basal/ bolus adjustments that are part of the current insulin dpendent diabetes care regimen .All those procedures go with eating a “healthy”, but Not necesarilly high. or even moderate in carb diet… You are both quite young… Could you be possibly depriving your body of required nutrients from regular food intake?.. Do you take vitamins or food supplements?.. I just could not imagine not regularly eating at l, unless food is really an emotional issue for both or either of you. Jeska, you said you had “issues with food”. Do you plan to say that way indefinitely?

Hope you do not think that I am prying…but the limitations of " not eating" seem to be very unusual and frankly , unhealthy to me.

God Bless,
Brunetta

“habit” is the perfect word. My meal consists of many carbs and it is just before I go to sleep at night. I do wear the pump but I don’t us it like I should, when my sugar gets low I do treat it but with as little food as possible. I have been “eating” this way for so long that its like thats all I know. I have been in denial of this disease for as long as I have had it. To me the everyday is like the first!

You have made my day! I’m not the only diabetic with food issues…

Hi JT and whatever your doing who cares? The question is, are you happy with your blood sugars? I have a friend who was diagnosed with a condition (I can’t remember the name of it) but the bottom line is he does not get the signal that other’s get to eat. This will of course deplete all stores of sugar until his blood sugar drops enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

Both of you seem to have is this unusual gift to not care, or get sucked into the “romance of food”. You just don’t need or care about this thing that that is a huge problem for the majority of people. It’s like the worlds addicted to crack, and you are not. If your sugars go too low, yes that’s a problem but in the mean time please do your best and check your sugars as per your activity and your insulin. I hope this helps and as always, watch your numbers!!! I know, easier said than done.

Love Always
Anonymous Diabetic.

why don’t you eat??? are you afraid of how the food reacts in your body and raises blood sugar???

if this is the case learn about food…as a society we have become so used to prepackaged prepared foods…the good thing is it gives less expiernced people an oppurtunity to halfway enjoy some type of food…the con is there are only a few ways to preserve food and or add flavor artifically…salt and sugar are preservatives guess what tastes better and manf. use more often…also manf. hfcs to sweeten a particular product which also does nasty things…

cooking is the most fundamental thing we do as living organisms probably more important than procreation… only until recently has there been this huge seperation with poeple and their food…

it really is sad…food is __________ everything

I understand having food issues, and not wanting to eat, but hunger always gets the best of me, LOL!! I’m a picky eater, so my food choices are somewhat limited. And I know from experience that you don’t need to eat a LOT, but you DO need to eat enough calories and protein to keep your body running properly and not break down muscle. Also, eating small amounts frequently does tend to keep BG levels steadier than gorging on one meal a day.

You don’t mention your BG levels, and you say you eat a lot of carbs at night – do you know what your BGs are doing during the night?

I, like Jeska, use glucose tablet for lows and often don’t eat anything else – it does the trick for me, but many people need to eat some protein after their BG goes up in order to avoid another drop. Is that what you do for lows? Because it’s really not safe to ignore them. You don’t want to “party with the paramedics!”

Maybe you can clarify exactly what you mean by “not eating” – you must be getting calories somehow, or you would be wasting away, but I don’t know if you’re getting enough nutrition.

Not “afraid”…and not so much that I don’t want to be “bothered”…but it’s really so much easier to keep my levels steady when I don’t eat. I “bothered” for 5 years with no success…I’m extremely sensitive to carbs, and extremely sensitive to insulin…very tricky to find balance. YMMV is what everyone always says, right? I get the best mileage with not eating. I take a multi vitamin each morning along with a protein shake, and occasionally have another protein shake in the afternoon if I’ve been particularly active. If I’m feeling hungry, like I need something solid, I have a few little pieces of broccoli or a couple of baby carrots or green beans…If I go low, I pop a glucose tab or two & start spiking back up.
My issues with food are that I don’t like it. My grandfather was the same way…he never ate because he enjoyed it, he ate to stay alive. Not that my grandmother was a horrible cook lol…she was amazing…I certainly enjoyed eating her food lol! This not liking food thing started only fairly recently. Not eating was the only way I could drop some of the weight I’d put on after my car accident left me unable to lift/push/pull over 5lbs or put any strain on my cervical spine, effectively taking away my ability to work out like I always had. I packed on 25lbs over 2 and a half years and did everything I could to get it off. Low carb, walking/running/bicycling, witholding insulin (diabulimia)…nothing worked except just flat out not eating. I’ve lost 15 lbs and I’m ok with not losing anymore…I just don’t want to gain any back. Plus, I’ve gotten used to it. I rarely even get hungry - but when I do, the thought of eating disgusts me. I’ve just gotten to the point where I just don’t like food. The bonus is, my basal needs have decreased and my boluses are tiny. Less insulin intake also means less fat storage. To me, it’s a win-win.

Although I do eat, I feel the same way about food. Could take it or leave it. If there was a wonder pill that would substitute for a meal and give you all the nutrients and satisfy your hunger, I would so take it. I do feel crappy if I don’t eat so I could never go through the day on what Jeska & JT eat. I don’t know how you do it. I think this is also why lows can freak me out sometimes because it is really hard to force myself to eat something if I HAVE to.

I think as a society, we put too much emphasis on food. I do have 2 concerns with what you are doing though. You said you don’t treat a low with food. Do you at least treat a low with glucose tablets like Jeska does? There is nothing wrong with that as long as you treat it somehow. In almost 28 years, I have mostly used glucose tablets to treat a low and not food. Ignoring a low and not treating it at all is totally different though.

You said you eat a lot of carbs with your one meal but didn’t say how many. You also said you eat and then go to bed. You have no idea what happens to your BS after you go to bed. Eating a lot of carbs all at once is hard on your BS – you need to take more insulin to cover the carbs and your BS is more likely to go high before it starts coming down. I think if you want to continue with the one meal a day thing, you should at least consider changing it to a different time so you can watch your BS.

Hi…what about trying power bars…Not sure if there are available where you are but I eat Slimdown bars…made by Jamieson Laboratories, www.jamiesonvitamins.com Fat 7g, Carb,15g Protein 14g. Sugars, 1g. 150 Calories per bar Usually I eat only 1/2 in the am and 1/2 at lunch with a salad/veggies. They taste good too, My fav. is almond/coconut but they have others.
Hope this helps as going low in the day and not eating is scary.

i just wanted to also add what peoples perceptions are of food and what exaxctly is food…

glucose tablets are food… they contain calories etc .etc. anything you consume through your mouth is… food.

it may not be good food but i can survive eating a catapillar just like i can eating dung beetles, or flip to sushi and kobe beef.

food is anything that we eat …

so i never really understand this arguement about food…

one can have the arguement thart the american diet is about 2-3 times what a normal serving should be but that arguement while pointing out what is considered to much or what have you still involves food… so again food isn’t the negative how much we consume is what maybe what is soo hard for people…

you may not want to eat a lot but you still eat so; is the minimum food you intake going to offset you with enough vitamins and nutrients to give me a full go of the whole day or whatever… if i am only eating to raise my blood sugar, where are the important natural supplements a healthy body needs much less someone with the drags on life that we must use…

because if you aren’t getting your correct amounts of energy cause remember insulin is the key to allow energy into our blood cells the absence of energy doesn’t have a positive influence on diabetes but the correct formulation of energy and how quickly we can manually put it in our system…then you may have issues with lathergy, depression, and a bleak out look, run your car on E for a week and see what happens…do you really expect a different result from your body???