Lately, I crave nothing but carbs. The thought of eating meat is not appealing and I just feel stuck and overwhelmed by food. I’ve had diabetes for 13+ years and this is the first time I’ve felt like food overwhelmes my life. Does anyone else ever feel this way?
Do you know what you miss specifically? Is it the carbs themselves, or is it what they represent: socializing, eating out, not worrying about what you eat?
I struggle with food quite a bit in my life, but it’s not really food that I’m struggling with, it’s interacting with a society that is obsessed with food when I can’t think about food the way everyone else does. Everywhere you look there is food, on TV, in movies, plastered all over social media, even sites like Pinterest are practically dedicated to pictures of food. Every social event imaginable, from dates to parties to one-on-one talks with friends centres around food. It’s even impossible to escape at work, with food often present at staff meetings, workshops, and conferences.
I have both diabetes and severe food allergies, and really I didn’t care about food at all growing up. It was just not an issue. I could eat some things and not others, and no one ever questioned that. But as an adult, I struggle to communicate my food needs to others and, most importantly, to have them accepted and embraced by others. In my case, my food needs are that I don’t eat anything I don’t make myself, except in rare occasions when I’ll eat out at a restaurant. I’m totally okay with this and never feel like I’m missing out, but it seems to really, really bother people when I can’t eat the cake or the pizza or all the things people have made at potlucks. It is difficult to see these as others’ problems and just ignore them, because I want everyone to be comfortable. But there is nothing I can do about the fact that others feel bad; I have to do what is best for my own health.
If you are missing specific things, I have found it helpful to make versions of things that I can eat with whatever restrictions I’m dealing with. If I miss pizza or cookies or chips, I make a version I can eat. But in my case this only goes so far…I was eating a low-carb diet up until about six months ago, but had to drop it because it was too intense on top of seven other major food restrictions. However, I think about it a lot and might return to it in the future.
Hopefully my post has been helpful and not just rambling nonsense that is irrelevant to you. I’m sure there will be lots of others who will pipe up with helpful suggestions.
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T2 here 10 years, fortunately for me my food limitations don’t bother me.
If I go to a pot luck I just bring my own food. I sort of make into a mild statement.
Once I make a point of showing how someone survives T2 on diet and exercise only it seems to open up the conversations and people share their stories,. Although I refuse their request to talk with a friend that does not manage well. I don’t tell others what to do.
The bottom line is that I don’t really care what others think, I just want to enjoy a healthy and happy life.
I fully understand what you are saying. I have just had a few weeks of struggle. I just heard this “concentrate on what you can eat,not what you can’t.” Have you ever read about mindful eating? Do some research,might be helpful. Nancy50
I’ve only been diagnosed with Type II for a few months so I’m no expert. But I’ve been amazed by how easy it is to bake low carb baked goods. I love to bake and was worried diabetes would mean I had to stop baking, but I’m actually baking much more than I used to! I just made some blueberry scones and chocolate chip cookies today (using almond flour and lakanto sweetener). Only a couple grams of net carbs each. This is my favorite recipe site for low-carb baking: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/
I find it is SO much easier to eat healthfully in general when I know I can satisfy my sweet tooth and cravings without eating actual sugar and high-carb foods. If you want recommendations for any recipes I can post some of my favorites.
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That is a wonderful site!
I used to like the saying there were two types of eaters. One group were those that lived to eat, and the other group were those that ate to live.
I used to really enjoy the taste of food. Since diabetes, food has lost a lot of its appeal, and I moved more into the group that eats to live.
I don’t miss most of the foods that I now avoid most of the time, but, every now and then, I will see food on TV, and it will hit me that I haven’t had that in 10 years or more and I am suddenly interested in having that taste in my mouth once again. Wow, that was a run-on sentence for sure. Sorry.
The desire for the food item usually passes quickly but about once a year, some food will pop in mind and I will think about it much too long. I used to love beef stew but my meter tells me to avoid it. I now have beef stew about once every 5 years without the rice. The carrots and potatoes are enough to contend with for that one occasion so I never dare to add rice to the situation.
Even modified, it is not an item I will indulge in except once over a period of years. I just use some beef tips, a little water, limited carrots, limited green peas, and substitute turnips for the potatoes. It works to satisfy that craving without causing my meter to reach terrible heights.
I do the same thing with homemade vegetable soup. Biggest difference between my stew and my soup is the addition of cabbage to the soup and the absence of green peas from the soup.
I make the soup about once a year, the stew, . . about every 5 years.
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Thank you all for the feedback.