Just diagnosed with Diabetes and can't stop eating junk food at night...

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Tonilynn70
Tonilynn70 Posts: 59 Member
in Motivation and Support
Two weeks ago, the doctor told me I was in the beginning stages of diabetes. My numbers are high, but don't warrant meds just yet. She said she would give me three months to get it under control. I did great the first week. Then my niece was diagnosed with Leukemia. A lot of hour long drives to the hospital with a 6 year old and I was drinking soda and eating reeses pieces. But I felt the effects of the bad eating. I start the day off wonderful, an apple, an egg.. get to work and eat pretty good, usually whatever we get I will not eat the carbs and get a salad. Then I get home, and I fly off the handle. Cookies, pop tarts (which i don't even like) and Doritos were my binge last night. And I can't drink water at home. At work, I will drink somewhere like 96 oz of water.. but I get home and the only thing I want is soda.

I know it's not good for me, because just now I had a hotdog with chili and cheese and like 7 french fries and I can feel it... I don't like it.. I hate it.. but I don't know how NOT to eat that stuff. I know.. don't have it in the house.. but I live with a 6 year old and a 14 year old.. I also know.. make sure you have veggies on hand... and there are .. but I don't want to prepare veggies and snack..

Anyway.. anyone have any suggestions... a success story... maybe someone is a hypnotist? LOL

Thanks!!!
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Replies

  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
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    I could be way off base here, but I read fear in your post. Come to grips with your diagnosis, and with your niece's diagnosis. Grieve it. I know it's hard because I have several health issues myself. It is a process. My guess is you haven't really processed your own because of her's. If you need to, seek out a professional that is experienced with the mental aspects of health issues, and talk it out.

    Here's the thing. You can control how you treat your body. You can control what you eat, how much of it you eat, how much you exercise, etc., and you can learn all you can about doing what is right for a pre-diabetic body.

    Your niece has no such luxury as far as anyone can tell with leukemia.

    It's perspective you need. How is your niece coping? I wish her all the success for a complete recovery.

    And you, I wish for you peace of mind that YOU CAN DO THIS!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I was a diabetic type 2 for years, now in remission. I will eat like a diabetic the rest of my life. I think there are a few things going on. I am going to throw out some ideas and I suggest you take the ones that stick. This is going to be a long road with many choices along the way so start treating it like a marathon instead of a sprint.
    1. Kill the sugar sodas now. Switch to diet soda. Liquid sugar is your killer now.
    2. Eat a bigger breakfast, all the food groups. This will sustain you for the rest of your day.
    3. Stress reduces your resistance. You are wasting your energy denying yourself so with the added stresses of your day all self-control goes out the window. Don't deny yourself so much during the day, reduce stressors, find non-food ways to reduce stress, and on a particularly horrible day, forgive yourself.
    4. Carry healthier options with you wherever you go, and always include a little protein in your snack. Protein bars are good (I only need half so I pre-cut in half). Have these stashed in your purse, in your glove box, and in your desk drawer. Never let yourself get too hungry with a sugar low.
    5. My dangerous time is right after work, too. I eat a late afternoon snack before I leave the office to prevent this.
    6. Eat on a schedule. Breakfast at the same time every day. Snack two hours afterwards. Never, never skip a meal.

    Diarizing your eating patterns and also logging your sugar highs and lows will be a huge eye-opener for you in the coming months. When I first did this, I cast a jaded eye on dangerous foods like cake or fries. It's not so appealing if I know it will make me feel like crap in an hour.

    A book recommendation:
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/081298160X

    A course recommendation:
    http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/programs/cdsmp.html
    I understand this course is licensed around the country. See if you can be referred.

    Also, could you get referred to the services of a dietitian?
  • gamesandgains
    gamesandgains Posts: 640 Member
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    Well since you're asking for advice, I'll offer a few words.

    Diabetes runs in my family. My grandmother died from it. My sister was diagnosed with diabetes 3 years ago from poor eating and being overweight. At 24 years old and 320 lbs myself, this scared me. I knew I had to change or I would be next. So I changed. Did I want to change my eating habits? HELL NO. Was it easy? God no. But I did it. I fought through it because it was either I corrected my way of eating or I was going to lead a path of serious health problems.

    "I DON'T want to prepare veggies"
    "I live with a 6 year old and a 14 year old.. "..

    Sorry but no. Excuses, plain and simple. Children depend on us to educate and help them develop healthy eating habits as they grow up anyway, so I cannot accept this as a reason for eating junk uncontrollably.

    Your doctor is giving you 3 months to change your ways. This is serious. I know you know that but it feels like you're not giving 100% towards changing.

    Lets switch it up a bit. I may go waaay of base here but bare with me as I'm only trying to make a point.

    Instead of being at the early stages of diabetes, let's say you're going blind... and it's been determined that there's nothing any medical doctor can do to stop it.

    Wouldn't you go through leaps and bounds to find ANY type of treat to prevent it from getting worse? I mean it's your eye sight, right?

    Wouldn't you do ANYTHING.. right NOW to prevent yourself from going completely blind?

    Yes? Then why would something as serious as diabetes not be treated with the same prevention effort? We have a solution. We have a way of prevention.

    You know and understand that there's a problem. Get professional help if you need to. You don't have to do this alone, but get help if you know you cannot do this alone.
  • GlucernaBrand
    GlucernaBrand Posts: 486
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    Lots of excellent suggestions here. Sometimes people think that a diagnosis of pre-diabetes, or diabetes but not needing medication, means that it really isn't very serious. Yet there is more and more emphasis being put on diagnosing pre-diabetes early so that people can make changes to improve their health. You're starting to make changes, and can build on what you've started. ~Lynn /Glucerna
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    I would definitely remove those things from the house. No one "needs" those things, especially accessible at all times. (Maybe one of those things at a time.) you can use your new healthier ways to teach the you get ones how to eat and treat their bodies. They need veggies and they need to learn healthy habits towards food.

    Why can't you drink water at home...? You need to. Sodas should be a once in a while thing for most and probably very rarely for diabetics? I'm hoping you can stay off the meds- it's not a fun thing!
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
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    lots of good advice here. I was in your shoes and began MFP. Losing weight is vitally important. You do not want a diagnosis of diabetes. It just wreaks havoc on your body. Turn it around now.The one thing that struck me and others have said it, is that you have to eat more food (lean protein) so you do not binge on the bad stuff.
    I was not considered diabetic yet but my sugars were high enough to put me on Victoza. It worked because it majorly decreased my appetite and I learned how to eat properly and with portion control. I have been off of it now for a long time and maintaining.
  • jennk5309
    jennk5309 Posts: 206 Member
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    My suggestion is to look at pictures of people who have diabetic ulcers, lost limbs, etc. Read their stories, watch videos and documentaries about them, etc. I have seen diabetics with no legs, on dialysis, etc. I even knew a man who got gangrene in his penis and had to have it removed. I'm not making that up.....Diabetes is not JUST a killer, it can make you have no life at all while you're still breathing.

    In other words- gain some negative motivation.
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
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    jennk5309 wrote: »
    My suggestion is to look at pictures of people who have diabetic ulcers, lost limbs, etc. Read their stories, watch videos and documentaries about them, etc. I have seen diabetics with no legs, on dialysis, etc. I even knew a man who got gangrene in his penis and had to have it removed. I'm not making that up.....Diabetes is not JUST a killer, it can make you have no life at all while you're still breathing.

    In other words- gain some negative motivation.

    Yes..I work in a hospital. I see a ton of negative motivation. It works

  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    jennk5309 wrote: »
    My suggestion is to look at pictures of people who have diabetic ulcers, lost limbs, etc. Read their stories, watch videos and documentaries about them, etc. I have seen diabetics with no legs, on dialysis, etc. I even knew a man who got gangrene in his penis and had to have it removed. I'm not making that up.....Diabetes is not JUST a killer, it can make you have no life at all while you're still breathing.

    In other words- gain some negative motivation.

    WOW! Sounds strong but that is what I did to get off sugar. It worked for me. In the Navy they did a lot of this negative motivation stuff with health issues.

  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
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    It is much easier to control your environment than your urges. You can resist temptation all day and then ruin it with a binge in one weak moment. I have learned the hard way that willpower does not work for me 100% of the time. The only way I KNOW I can stick with healthy eating is to not have the bad stuff in the house. On rare occasions, I treat myself when I am out, but if I have the urge to snack at home there is only healthy stuff here for me to eat. The benefit has been that over time my tastes have changed a bit and I now rarely get cravings for the bad stuff. The first few weeks are hard and then it gets much easier to maintain the new style of eating.

    Your kids shouldn't be eating too much of that stuff either. It won't hurt them if you stop buying soda, cookies, Doritos, etc. They may complain...but you pay the food bill, not them, and it is healthier for them as well. Let them eat what they want when you go out or they are with their friends, and eat healthy at home. Developing good eating habits now will help them avoid health problems later in life.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    An acquaintance called diabetics their own life coaches, because to manage this disease takes constant vigilance. The payoffs are huge in health, in energy. I remained in pre-diabetes for over five years by managing my diet.

    I regularly get tested for glaucoma and my optometrist also checks the back of the eye for blood vessel damage (another side effect of poor sugar control). She showed me; my eyes show no damage at all! Yay! She told a story of another patient whom she told he had diabetes and he denied it, "No way! My doctor keeps saying I have it but he doesn't know what he's talking about". She saw this man three months later and he had lost a toe to...guess what? Unnoticed infection, didn't heal, complications from uncontrolled diabetes.

    I DON'T want to scare you straight. I'm trying to give some simple pointers that will help you a lot with minimal effort. The complications of diabetes are completely preventable, if you get on top of it now.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    Don't buy the junk you binge on.

    Eat a big breakfast. No wonder you binge when you get home from work… Most people would binge as a result of only eating an egg and an apple and a salad for lunch.

    You could most certainly begin diabetes medication now (typically Metformin). If your blood glucose levels are high, there's never a time that's "too soon" to start.

    Diabetes is not something to take lightly. It kills. It can permanently disable you. Do you want to lose a foot or leg? Lose your vision? Assuming the answer is no, you need to change your diet NOW. There's not time to spare.

    I also suggest meeting with a registered dietician who specializes in diabetes management.
  • janicept77
    janicept77 Posts: 9
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    I don't have kids but I've heard of families that grow up without junk food in the house. If they don't like it, oh well - don't have it in the house. Your health is more important and you could be passing your bad habits onto them.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    My adult children, more than anything, want me to have a long and healthy life. Nothing freaks them out more than the idea I won't be around much longer.

    Granted, six year olds and fourteen year olds are notoriously self-centered and they really only care about what is going to happen next week. So I might not cold-turkey the old snacks. Gradually replace them. And put them in the top cupboard at the back. Your healthy snacks in plain sight. Cut-up veggies ready to go in the fridge.

    Popcorn is good. Air-popped even better.
  • astrose00
    astrose00 Posts: 754 Member
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    My mother's boyfriend died from diabetes complications a few weeks ago. He had started to become a recluse. When she last saw him in the hospital he had lost his sight, had white ulcers/lesions all over his tongue and throat, couldn't talk and had gangreen on both legs. He died two days later. Change your habits or the same can happen to you.

    I didn't read all the posts but I suspect people are saying similar things to you.

    The worst thing in life is "regret"... It usually means you can't undo or fix the problem and you are just SOL.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    Sounds like you're rebelling against the thought of having to give up certain foods, so you're eating them out of defiance whether you enjoy them or not. The thing you need to realize is that if you get it under control, you can have those foods. Stop treating your health as optional or debatable. You don't treat brushing your teeth or showering that way, do you? There's a very broad range of very delicious and healthy foods that you can eat on the reg in order to be able to safely enjoy the other things in moderation without sacrificing your health.
  • goldfinger88
    goldfinger88 Posts: 686 Member
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    Diabetes is a horrible disease and not to be played with. One out of three people get pre-diabetes and 70% get diabetes. It can kill you and it can give you horrible health problems as you age. You have to own your own health now. You can't use everything that happens as an excuse to feed yourself poison. It's very hard to manage pre-diabetes or diabetes by diet alone. It takes a lot of exercise and good eating and good supplements. I suggest you decide if you want to end out on drugs and full blown diabetes or if you want to put a stop to this thing. It's really up to you. No one can do it for you. Get all junk out of your house and car. Don't buy it. That's how you got where you are now. Good luck to you.
  • pplastics
    pplastics Posts: 135 Member
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    You have to do what I did....finally grow up and realize that you cannot shove anything and everything you want into your mouth. You are just starting to face the consequences of years of doing just that.

    I too had the almost there diabetes numbers a couple years ago. Took me a while to finally get it together and stop the constant sugar fixes. Had blood work done just last week and everything was perfect.

    My doctor had me do this for 7 days. He said it would help me break my sugar cravings, and it did.

    Eat as much lean protein (egg, chicken, turkey, lean beef/pork) and veggies as you want. Have one serving of fruit (berries or grapes preferred) and 1 cup of yogurt w/o added sugar per day. Drink lots of water. Really fill up on the lean proteins and veggies to keep from getting hungry.

    The first three days were hard, but after that, I felt so good that it became easier. After the week is over, do not use it as an excuse to go crazy and eat anything you want. Pay attention to how good your body feels and remember that when you add back the other foods to your diet. From this point forward, eat within your calorie targets, get some exercise, and learn how to moderate your sugar intake.

    It is what finally worked for me. I now eat a healthy diet within my calorie goals, with the occasional treat (also within my goals). I have lost about 43 pounds this way. You can do it....just stop the excuses!
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    I know you have had a tough week, so sorry. Diabetes is a horrific disease and can impact your overall health. I am a nurse and deal with non-compliant diabetics every day. My advice is to see an endocrinologist and dietician ASAP. Stop making excuses of why you CAN'T do what you are supposed to for your health. Remember if you don't take care of yourself you won't be around to care for your 6 and 14 yo. So get a grip and educate yourself on Diabetes. The last thing you want to do is have to start taking oral hypoglycemics or insulin. The next thing you know you will have gangrene of one of your limbs and require an amputation. Just some things to ponder. It's your choice take care of it now or let the disease take your life away.

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