[silvertiger]

Welcome!

So you don't want to cut out carbs and you don't want to use fast acting insulin.

Imagine you called the fire department to your home for the third time in a week. Your child had been playing with matches and started a fire.

The fire brigade asks you "Why don't you stop the child playing with matches?" You respond "Well I only left him with ONE match this time."

The fire brigade asks you "Why didn't you put some water on the fire when it was small and just started?" You respond "I wanted to see if just sitting and watching it would put it out."

I'm not comparing your husband to a child here. The adult is your husband. The "child" in this situation is your husband's diabetes.

Some food doesn't raise BG much, if at all. Fats and moderate amounts of protein. Carbs are not required to live, and in fact, eating even a moderate amount of carbs will drive a cycle of craving more carbs.

I really hope you can find help in these forums. In my personal opinion, cutting carbs to under 100g per day is a good starting point, with a goal of under 50g per day. Good luck!

 

[VeeJay]

Is your husband aware of how dangerously high his BG level is??? Gosh, I can't imagine refusing fast-acting insulin and being content with those levels.

 

[cyclinglady]

I just spoke with him. He says that his doctor did offer a fast-acting medicine. He declined, saying that he wants to raise his slow-release dose and work on his diet and habits some more.

He definitely has a long way to go, but I have seen some improvements in his behavior during the past two weeks. Baby steps. I hope he's able to stick with it, and to improve over time. I'd like to do all I can to improve his diet by preparing better meals for him to come home to. Maybe I should also start getting up early with him and prepare an egg-based breakfast before he heads off to work, so he doesn't resort to cereal.

I make that egg breakfast every morning for my family. My daughter tells me that she is not hungry at recess and she tests better. She was never a big egg eater. Before tests, I would insist. Now, she asks for eggs and cheese every day! She sees the value in it. Cereal will leave you famished by mid morning and then you tend to hit the vending machine or a drive-thru. It is a pain getting up to cook, but it is worth it. Hubby leaves with a coffee to go with heavy whipping cream and some coconut oil. That too, helps keep him full (me included!)

 

[jademuffin]

CyclingLady and Starchips... you can do a baked egg dish version in larger quantity, portion it out in tupperware, and kids/husbands/you can have an easily re-heatable FAST breakfast. I admit, most of the time I'll eat it cold in the car or at my desk, because I'm extraordinarily lazy.

But you can jazz it up with spinach/basil/herbs and different cheeses in order to keep the variety.

Or I can visit the cafe downstairs at my job and get 2 scrambled, 4 bacon, and cheddar....

 

[Starchips]

Yes, my husband is stubborn, and having high numbers only makes it worse.

I need some ideas for beneficial, transportable, handy snacks that he can keep at work or have in the evening. The evening is the worst for him. I watch him snack hours after dinner, always ending with something sweet before bed. It's a habit I want to help break without constant nagging (nagging makes his stubborn defiance worse).

Jade, that egg idea sounds delicious (to me). I don't know that he'd go for it, as he doesn't generally like baked egg dishes, but I'll try it.

 

[jademuffin]

Sweet cravings: find a fake sweetener that works, and start using it and spices to flavor nuts (assuming he's not allergic to any). Almonds are particularily good for me. Also use 85% dark chocolate a chop it up with nuts, I add it to my own "frappaccino" combos with HWC.

And adding the fat stops the snacking. Carbs crave more carbs. Fat just satisfies. See if you can get him to drink something when he reaches for snackies. Frequently I'm just thirsty, and don't know it.

Baked egg dishes with BACON are always better....

 

[cyclinglady]

CyclingLady and Starchips... you can do a baked egg dish version in larger quantity, portion it out in tupperware, and kids/husbands/you can have an easily re-heatable FAST breakfast. I admit, most of the time I'll eat it cold in the car or at my desk, because I'm extraordinarily lazy.

But you can jazz it up with spinach/basil/herbs and different cheeses in order to keep the variety.

Or I can visit the cafe downstairs at my job and get 2 scrambled, 4 bacon, and cheddar....

I make those egg casseroles in cupcake tins. Thanks for posting, as I forgot about them. Usually, I make them when I am going out of town to leave for my husband. We have celiac disease, so that means no eating out (rarely). It is nice to have something on-hand at all times.

 

[Starchips]

His efforts seem to be paying off! One week ago, his fasting sugar level was 230. This morning, it is 137! Yay progress!