Going Insane Sometimes

The Doctor says he can’t do it for me but what do you do when you have done right for so long and you are tired of not eating what you want how do you keep from going crazy!!! How do you stay on the right road of eating right? What do you do to stop and say “Hey you have been doing good don’t ruin all that you have done”

Going crazy!!
Daniel

Ok let me go ahead and tell you…I’m a straight shooter and I pull no punches. I’m a comedian but I also tend to tell it like it is. So here goes. What it took for me to stay straight and try hard to get on track was having eye surgery in both eyes. The right eye is not 100% and fortunately the left is 20/20. I’m not trying to bum you out but for me it took the consequences. Now the rest is up to you. You need to find a reason to not “go crazy”. This is the thing about this disease that separates it from many other diseases that get more attention. Much of the success comes from OUR decisions. I made bad decisions and I paid the price. You make a decision about what is really important to you while you have this disease. Is it your family, your career, whatever. Find a reason to fight. This disease is your body losing control and you have to make yourself take control. You won’t get it right every time and most of the time you may get it wrong. Just take the small steps and make them bigger. Soon you’ll see the results. I’m not there yet but nobody can tell me I’m not trying. If it’s peer pressure then talk to your friends (your real friends) and help them understand that you cant eat like you used to. The ones that care will respect that and the ones that don’t will back away on their own. Real friends get it. Hang around positive people whether they are diabetic or not. They are quick to get it. Like I said I don’t pull punches and I don’t sugar coat my words. This is life and we got beaned by a curve ball. So what now? Do we sit and moan about about it or take the base and try to steal second? ( I don’t even like baseball)

Chelcie Rice

I may cheat but try very very hard to not ‘go crazy’ when I cheat I still pay for it later -either by taking more meds and testing OR by working out to bring down my sugars.

I want to take as little insulin as possible and I like to eat. I think I’m addicted, Eating to be eating is killing me.

I am with the others - I eat what I want to within reason, and cover for the carbs.

Ya just eat what you want and take insulin for it. I mean this doesn’t mean you should go to mcdonalds everyday or whatever but if you didn’t have diabetes would you be cutting carbs? all you’re doing with type one is basically being your own pancreas.

First off, you have to realize, you are just human. You have diabetes, but that does not mean that you have to give up all of life’s pleasures and become a monk. What you have to do is control your life but keep things in balance. I personally don’t believe that anyone can just eat whatever they want, type 1, type 2 or whatever. That being said, there is no reason you can’t make some arrangements to enjoy the things in life.

Here is my suggestion. I learned it from a book called Diabetes Burnout. It is called “structured cheating.” You want that twinkie (example, not a suggested treat) real bad. Then allow yourself that treat, but do so on your own terms, at the time of your choosing and in a controlled quantity and in a situation that you control.

You also need to get clear that the road to taking care of yourself is driven by looking ahead. Don’t look back at the mistakes that you made and think you can steer ahead. Eating a whole pizza and then deciding that you messed everything up so you will just have some ice cream is just bad driving. Don’t do it. Whatever went before is water under the bridge, look ahead to make good decisions.

Chelcie gives you good advice. There are certainly huge implications to not taking care of business. It is very easy to get burned out by all the crap. But remember, you don’t win any medals for self sacrifice. You win by keeping healthy, and you can do that while still finding pleasure and happiness in life, you just need to approach things with moderation and control.

That’s my problem within reason.

My question to you is: why is it not possible to eat what you want (I will get stoned for that I know)? Is it that you dislike to stick to the rules of D? Or is it that you can not catch the carbs right and get disappointed by that? Do you think that Insulin is bad for your health or that you might get low?

If I like to eat a chocolate I will eat it. Of course at times that help me to catch the slow carbs later. Of course it helps that I dislike sweets in general - so no Mars or Milky Way for me. If it comes to potato chips I am more prone to getting weak. It is all about moderation and having the right tools and knowledge at hand.

Please do not feel offended by these questions. Most people that I know with problems like these are in denial of D. So the problem is not related to eating but to be overwhelmed with the 24/7 management of D. This is nothing unusual and happens to most type 1 diabetics. I had a crisis in my student years but I did not focus on eating because this is not my personal indicator for my quality of life. Still I focused on other levels of personal freedom that I felt to be unreachable for me. It took a great deal of self reflection to find the root of the problem for me.

ahahahaha! I have a friend who is about 140 lbs, 5’7" and will eat a whole SUV tire pizza with everything on it by himself. And still be hungry. haha.

Sorry- completely unrelated to the discussion, but you just made me burst out laughing.

Cheers.

In my opinion, there are two things. Eating higher amounts of carbs leads to greater blood sugar variance, I don’t know any diabetics that “perfectly” count and cover their meals. Ignoring issues related to diabetes, why in the world would anyone suggest that a normal person can eat whatever they want and still be healthy. If you overeat and gain weight, don’t come whining to me.

For you, you have just defined “whatever you want” as a “structured” but generally flexible approach. That is not “whatever you want.” You are still carefully counting and controlling what you eat. Your bag of potato chips is not a giant bag of ruffles and your cookie is not a whole pack of oreos. Make no mistake, you can use “whatever you want” to justify eating a whole pack of oreos cause you can just cover it. I think we would all generally agree that is unwise. Unfortunately, there are some who take “whatever you want” to heart and leave empty oreo packs around.

One of the keys to staying sane is to allow for occasional treats. Whether that is a snack here and there, or eating out for Mexican or Chinese on occasion… The key is to not do it all the time. (Which can be hard - I don’t cook much, so it is tough sticking to “reasonable/healthy” amounts sometimes.)

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to eat properly when feeling deprived. The longing & resentment soon get the better of us.

Food should be pleasurable & fun, but the few seconds of pleasure isn’t worth the consequences of over doing it to me. Carb counting is far from an exact science, as is the action of insulin. If I want something, I’m content to have a small portion & move on. From some, it’s better to have none than to have just a little. I’ve also found lower carb substitutes for many of the foods I like. I try not to get stuck in the boring rut of eating the same things all the time to lessen the temptation to eat the things I shouldn’t.

Marps I think we might have the same friend! Lmao! He will even order dessert and then mention on the way home that hey, there’s a starbucks… let’s stop! Meanwhile, I’ve drained my pump reservoir and am using that back up pen that I carry! hahaha

I eat whatever I want, but always in moderation. I found denying myself a specific food only makes me want to eat it more, than I end up eating way too much and regretting it. Life is too short to deny yourself something you want. One piece of chocolate will not kill me, but eating the entire bar could send my blood sugar sky high. So I savor the one piece and know I can have more tomorrow if I want. Sometimes its the only way I can get through the day.

Chocolate is one of the essential food groups!

I’m confused. I essentially eat what I want. However, I stay away from simple sugars. However, I just had a snack of humus and a few Trader Joe’s multigrain chips (just throwing it out as an example as that’s a carb-intense snack.)

Type 1 is already stressful enough without going on some Spartan diet.

I think most folks have made great comments. You don’t need some insanely restricted diet. I do think as little insulin as possible is good, but if you want a slice of pizza, have it.

My niece has Type 1 and we fit the treats into her diet. There are certain things that do not spike her, chocolate, potato chips, ice cream. Have found granola bars that do not effect her BS (Kellogs Fiber Plus Choc. Chip bar), pasta that does not spike her (this was a biggie, Quinoa pasta in the turquoise box). We try to give problem foods (Pizza, Chinese) early enough in the afternoon /evening so we can correct and use temp plus basal to bring BS down before bedtime. We overbolus dinner so she can have another snack in one and a half hours when the insulin is peaking so no spike. She is not deprived, but no she still can’t eat anything she wants all the time, will never be able to do that. Certain foods that are yummy do not effect BS, such as lasagna. The above-mentioned foods, she does not eat them all the time, but usually one will be thrown in every day as a treat. We keep her fat intake low on a daily basis, but there are usually one or two high fat items thrown in there. If you must cheat, I would make it an evening during the weekend, would try to stick to a healthy diet the rest of the week.