"Just another thing on the List"

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#1

Well here I go again!,,I hate this never ending cycle of things! Just when I accomplish one thing,still with no good results,the docs throw another thing in my other wise chaotic life! I am about ready to throw the towel in! Now the docs have decided that my metabolism is on the blink!,,Largely due to my own fault!,,Go figure,,everything is at my own fault!..Seems I can't get anything under control because I have just been eating one meal a day. Despite my morning swims and evening walks,, they think I need to jump start my metabolism back by eating 5-6 sm. meals aday...essentially grazing!. My thoughts were,,,I live in Texas where cows graze all day,,,I dont see many skinny cows!,,,The answer,,thats not the way it works,,,well duh!,,what does?,,so far nothing!

I have been on pancreatic enzymes since last Sept-or Oct. (can't remember cause everything runs together & I'm old,,lol) after blood work,and scopes on both ends for a dx of Autoimmune(or Autonomic?) Diabetic Neuropathy of the Gastrointestional Tract,,

after 5 months of the most horrible & embarrasing gastro problems( bloating & diahrreah). I take 2 with each meal and one with snacks. Praise the Lord,,they work! through all of this I have conditioned myself down to eating just one meal a day..(conditioned as in to avoid embarrasing moments) Ok maybe not the smartest thing to do,,but i'm vain.

To make a long story short,,,over the last 3 -31/2 years,,with all the problems I have had,,and increase in Insulin,,things have packed on a good 80 pounds. Despite being carb concious( thanks Gerri!), and swimming & walking & one meal a day! When I was dx'd 6-7 yrs ago,,was less than 20 pounds over weight and very active. I can't seem to get the BS down! It makes no difference wether I eat or dont eat,,they are always high! Well I have made a small accomplishment in the last 3 months,,,15 1/2 pounds gone! but still high BS..oh yeah,, they have gone < 300 now at least 5 of the 8 testings a day but are greater than 250 despite the Levemir twice a day and R 3 times a day!

I have just had new dx's of RA & Fibro after high results on blood work,,,was wondering ,,can one have it all?,,i think i'm working on it! I am tired,,fed up,,and sick of this! but I try to trudge on! I hate the 7 shots aday!,the 8 testings!,,I hate eating!,,now 5-6 times a day and I hate swallowing pills!,,,less meals= less enzymes to add to the multitude of all the rest of the pills I take!,,

Thanks for letting me ramble,,have never been good at explaing things,,So what I need to know is,,,,anyone have a good meal plan for 5-6 sm. meals a day so I can at least try this out! I need so much help,,since I can;t seem to do the right thing!,,thanks everyone!

#2

One meal a day really messes with your metabolism… it slows it down and forces it into “fat storage” mode because it assumes you are starving for the 23 hours of the day when you haven’t eaten - it does NOT work to help you lose weight at all. Frequent, but SMALL meals will really do a lot to get it back on track, and eating smaller meals more often may help with your gastric problems as well.

Cows aren’t “fat”… so I’m not even sure why you say you’ve never seen a skinny cow - have you ever seen an OBESE one either? I sure haven’t, and I livei n TX too. Yes, they have large bellies, but their anatomy is also entirely different than ours… it’s like comparing apples with onions… they’re not even remotely similar.

#3

i just added a blog that may help you for sure called "Meals and planning them"
I hate to say this but now i do not feel so alone after reading this blog.

#4

I suspect that Sarah is right that your body is storing this one meal b/c it thinks you are starving.

#5

The small meal approach is pretty good if you spread your nutritional needs. It’s a good way to get a serving of fruit in every day. Also had some protein and you need to ingest a little fat. Sarah’s right. It’s not letting go until the drought is over. I find I have better control when I follow something close to that regimen. I keep a couple of apples on my desk, string cheese, a packet of almonds (the whole thing is 7g and it’s plenty) for when I see I’m starting to head down. We were originally hunter/gatherers so we pretty much did graze after a fashion. We kept on the move and we lived off the land. Portion control and exercise is an all consuming occupation. Doesn’t that sound familiar? :slight_smile:

#6

Having been on healthy diets most of my life, I’ve learned that if you eat 6 small meals or snacks a day, your body works much better at that rate. You simply are starving your body of the nutrients that it needs to maintain and do things right. Try small meals ( under 45 carb grams) and three small snacks ( under 15 grams of carbs) a day, with at least 3 hours between each of them. Have you had the chance to visit with a diabetic nutritionist at all?
I know they cost $$ but if you get a docs referral, you can have your insurance or whomever pay part of the charges, they will give you a sample menu for the week that fits your needs, IF you are proactive and tell them that is what you need. Then you are in control. If you are swimming, you need something in the protein family, and a carb before you swim. I use a protein drink, and a piece of string cheese to move me into the day. After that, I have a breakfast of cereal, or a hard boiled egg and a slice of toast with peanut butter. I get what I need in me to get to lunch…and then keep going. Of all the tests and information I have gleened from professionals seeing the nutritionist was the best move I made in conjuntion with my diabetes.

#7

Whats more important being skinny or being healthy (or alive)? One meal a day is close to anoxeria. Eating small meals 6 times a day will not make you fat if you eat the right stuff. Actually if you are trying to lose weight, eating one meal a day won’t help, it wil make it worse. You really need to see a nutritionist (and sounds like you might have an eating disorder which you are not aware of - so a counselor too)

#8

Good Morning Everyone!,Thank you for all the comments they are greatly appreciated. Like I said I am not very good at explaining things. The weight is not the issue here and I’m sorry if I implied that. I’m not happy about it,but do understand why it happened. The insulin resistence and then a non working pancreas and the fact that I take a lg. amount of insulin aday…110 u of Levemir am & pm and 30 u of R three times a day. .I have come along way in the last 6- 7 yrs despite the last bad 3 yrs of new dx’s that I didnt bargain for when I was signed up for this.The one meal a day, which was my fault ,came from my neuropathy of the gastro track and wanting some kind of normal life to be able to leave my house. I wanted to avoid any embarrasing accidents I may have if I was out. Not eating seemed to be the answer for that and it just stuck. wrong I know.The pancreatic enzymes were a God send and they help so much. But then again ,I have to take so many of them and I already had a cup full of pills to take so in my feeble way of thinking less eating = less enzymes. wrong I know.so my conditioning continued. In case I didnt mention it . I also have OCD so some habits are hard to break. We are trying to get me on the pump to try and lessen the amt. of Insulin I take and to get better control of my BGL’s. So I have to get my metabolism back in order. What I was asking for was some help in what I should eat 5-6 times a day. the carb values because I think the docs set that a lot way to high and just how to go about this. I need encourgament and reinforcement. I do have a meeting with a diabetic nutritionist this week,but then again the last one I saw,I wasnt real impressed. I have gotton better advice from you guys here then I have anywhere else. The 15 1/2 pounds I have shed… I cant tell ya how that happened it just did.Like I said the weight is not an issue right now, I know that when things get straightened out that will too hopefully. The issues right now is getting me back on tract and getting my metobalism back!. So,Help…I hope this makes things a little clearer. And thanks again to all!

#9

Well I’m glad your ok with your weight and what keeps that going in the right direction is how your metobalism is acting. So with these smaller meals more often, your body isn’t hit with one big one. The little ones keep it going and working through out the day instead of just working on that one big meal. I wonder if there is something that is sort of triggering the neauropathy of the gastro track, other than just food in general? But if you eat, be sure to be near a bathroom within 20-30 mins after you eat might work? A nutritionist should be able to help you sort some of this out, that is what they train for right? As for a pump, it made a huge difference for me and yes I am on less insulin. This is just going to take some time to get all under control and I’m sure that eventually you’ll be completely on track again.