Feeling full as a diabetic

@dorisena too. When diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, I was told to hold to 30 carbs per meal and 15 carbs for a snack twice a day. When I returned home the first thing I did was Google carbohydrates to find out what they were. My appointment with the dietician isn't until the end of May, more than two months after my diagnosis. I feel like a fish flopping around on the beach! The divided dish idea is good - I've never been an exact-measurement cook! Sooo, in the meantime for breakfast I have two tbsp cottage cheese, some green pepper, one-half can tuna, small slice of Italian bread wtith applesauce or cheese (brie or Swiss) Lunch is two more slices of bread, one egg, some snap peas, nuts or fruit. Dinner is whatever ending with romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a tbsp of blue cheese crumbles, which seems to help my IBS. Who knew. I also have chronic kidney disease (one kidney). An understatement would be to say I don't know what I'm doing. Husband has gotten strange about food, which I attribute to his dementia. My sympathy to all, especially dorisena. I may give up in a while and go to assisted living place. Tonight I will try again to figure out how to use my blood glucose tester. One question I do have is does everyone have to diet with diabetes? My weight has been the same for many years, but because I've lost two inches in height I've now got a BMI just over 25, a first for me at 80! Seems like every thing a diabetes diet talks about is losing weight, so I don't know if the item in question is bad for my glucose or bad for my weight! Your comments have really helped me. I wish you well.

I hope you are reading about carbs which are actually partly a sugar in the diet and some have a higher sugar value than others. So read about glycemic values of carbs and choose the ones with the lowest glycemic value. Since the insulin in the body is not doing its job well, the sugar produced from high carb foods and sweets collects in the blood stream and you go to the bathroom trying to get rid of the excess sugar. It is not so much about dieting to lose weight but changing your food intake to eat less sugar producing nutrients. Most people lose weight on a low carb diet and in most cases this is beneficial. I must correct my typo in my last message. 10 to 12 servings of carbs and sugars each day is plenty and now nutritionists are recommending less than that which brings up the keto diet. It is really very low in carbs and works for some people. I don't intend to starve myself so I can live a year longer with stomach pain, I'll admit because I don't plan to see how long I can stay alive and be miserable. I have managed to give up most snacks but I eat meat, mostly fish, and it lasts longer between meals. Once you get advice for your diabetes situation from the nutritionist, you will not have a difficult time, I hope. Dorisena

My experience with diabetic meals at three different nursing homes while recovering from surgery has not been good. The third time I wrote down what I needed for my diabetes and couldn't make it happen because even though the chef said she understood, a young aide made up the trays according to her instructions and it was a constant battle, even to get a cup of hot tea. Every meal they brought me lemonaid and I wouldn't drink it. I had too many carbs and not enough vegetables, mostly green beans. I managed to get my granddaughter and son to bring me food, including fresh romaine from my garden which I ate plain, just to get the food I needed. I did get a glass of milk at bedtime and that helped me get to sleep. But it was an eating nightmare. Dorisena

@dorisena Thanks for your help - I appreciate it
What is it with nursing homes and green beans, a most useless vegetable. Had to finally buy my mother a multi-vitaminmulti-mineral because she was so undernourished. If ever I have to go to a nursing home, I want a small cooler in which to keep my fresh vegetables! While not good with diets, I have a system I use for exercising, in that I can't go outside in the winter. I walk in my house - at the very minimum, I do five minutes of brisk walking six times a day. Now, it's better to walk steadily for longer periods of time, but five minutes works! What does your doctor say the pain is from? Oh, and surprise - none of my problems was causing me to be tired and "foggy" all the time - turned out I was low on Vitamin B-12, a vitamin available over-the-counter. Seems as we get older, our bodies don't retain it well! Who knew!

@bulgebattler Not sure if you are much of an information seeker, but if you are, research Leptin. It is our satiety hormone, telling our brain that we have enough fuel in our body. Most people equate being hungry to our stomach telling us it's time to eat. From what I can tell, that's not true. The issue that many people have is that they lose their leptin sensitivity. Just like insulin, there are ways to improve leptin sensitivity. If you have time and interest, there are a number of great YouTube videos on the subject.

Over the past year or so, I have completely changed what I eat and how I eat. I don't eat any added sugars or refined grains, essentially no processed food. I eat 2-3 meals/day and don't snack. The result has been that I'm never hungry, never full, HbA1c at 4.6, and I have never felt better. I never new such a world could exist. What I do won't work for everyone. We're all at various stages of aging with various conditions. But I can guarantee that eliminating sugar and refined carbs won't hurt anyone and can only help.

An idea for you to give leptin a chance to get to your brain is to eat slower. I've always been a fast eater, but not any more, and it's not really due to a concerted effort. Instead, the food I eat simply takes a long time to eat. Maybe sprinkle in 3-4 sticks of celrery or some fresh carrots with a meal. Or an apple. Things like that are both healthy and will slow you down, as they take a while to chew. Just a thought.

Yes, I have read about leptin but not what to do to improve the situation. It has taken me years to get to three meals a day with no snacks, so I tend to eat dinner early which makes me nauseous by morning sometimes. I have worked hard to slow down and get rid of years of stressful eating, stressful workload, stressful life in general, with little pleasure involved. Life is good now but I am alone until the grandchildren call or stop by. That is my pleasure and inspiration in life now, to see them learn, grow, and succeed as young adults.
I exercise in my huge house by walking fast down two long halls, exercising in the shower, and trying to remember to not sit for more than half an hour. No doctor has ever said anything about my pain with an empty stomach, so I just live with it. They don't really know and they must be careful about the testing because insurance may not pay. I agree, processed food is not on my diet, mostly because I have always eaten from my garden, and did not shop often, to save time and money. Now I can afford any food, but I prefer fresh, unprocessed food and avoid sugar like the plague. It really aggravates my family and friends but I care about my health and do better than most my age. I also think better than my friends most of the time and am grateful to maintain my mentality. I just don't like declining as the years go by, and know that keeping independent and active is the most important part of these years of my life. I never wanted to be just like everyone else, and know that I can be exceptional in a few things if I study and work at it. It is o.k. with me to be different in my choices and my efforts. These days I am watching the robin outside my window sitting on four blue eggs. Very refreshing! Dorisena

Just read your post and will be following up on leptin. Your post caused me to rejoice about this Mayo Clinc resource along with the many others I can access on the internet. Sure it can be confusing and overwhelming at times but oh so useful compared to other options. Thank you and encouraging that you are having such success
Bulgebattler

Intriguing idea. I will watch for that occurring. Do you have references for this idea?

I like your philosophy of life very much! I live by myself as well so need to work at keeping involved with others. I meet for coffee every Thursday morning with other guys my age in a seniors residence (not my home) where they supply the coffee and some baking free of charge. I have learned that seniors residences with personal services are a much better option than I thought and that is constantly changing for the better. I have a idea floating around in head about working with other seniors to promote enjoyment of life including being an active part of a community which seniors residences lend themselves to very well

I like this idea. Now to see if I can do it. The posting on leptin in this thread seems gives me an excellent jumping off point. Also Nick and Dan Buettner have some interesting videos on "Blue Zones" which are providing me with an overarching framework for my healthy lifestyle aspirations