Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

To be fed up of dh moaning that he’s hungry?

183 replies

Breadfoam · 12/11/2018 18:00

Dh is on a diet. He’s reduced his (massive) consumption down to 2000 calories a day. He spends a lot of time moaning that he is hungry and when we go places talking about how upsetting it is that he can’t eat what he wants. For example if we go out for a meal or something - previously he’d have had the biggest thing on the menu and some drinks but he has cut back.
Fair enough he’s doing well and he’s lost weight.

However because I’m a t1 diabetic and my sugars are brittle since having my daughter I can barely eat at all. It’s been 18 months since I ate a meal of any description and when we go out I actually have nothing to eat at all. I can either be hungry or feel ill so most of the time I am hungry. Occasionally I’m so hungry that I could cry. It pains me when he goes on about how hungry he is and how unfair it is when all I’ve eaten that day is half a piece of toast and some strawberries!

Aibu to find it insensitive? He’s actually bloody lucky that he can as he does and his pancreas works!

OP posts:
Fairylea · 13/11/2018 08:21

Op I actually think you have severe health anxiety related to your diabetes. It scares you as you feel like you can’t control it so the food - you feel- gives you that element of control. Health anxiety is actually a form of OCD - you focus obsessively on something you think can control it - for some people it’s pulse checking, or exercise, for you it’s severely limiting your food intake when actually long term this will kill you faster than the diabetes will.

I would contact your gp and make an appointment to tell them everything you have said here and ask to be referred to a different diabetes clinic as the one you have been to isn’t helpful.

I have a lot of chronic autoimmune conditions and it does scare the hell out of you. It’s easy to end up in a horrible cycle of trying to control your whole life with various things because your health is so out of control.

Graphista · 13/11/2018 08:21

Wow! You're both going about your eating habits completely the wrong way.

He's cutting out what he was eating but by the sounds of it not replacing it with low cal alternatives and planning to go back to "eating normally" ie the way he was eating that piled on the weight and by the sounds of things very unhealthy food in other ways too.

You need to see a diabetes specialist dietitian. There are plenty of very low or no carb foods you could be having in addition to the small amount of carbs your body can handle. You're also having the worst kind of carbs to be honest - sugars which are known to spike the bg. As pps said what you're currently eating is not enough nutrition or calories and isn't a sustainable way of living.

You need to be eating low fat proteins, low carb veg, and complex carbs at regular intervals to manage your bg.

You don't have to do ketogenic but if you want to it seems you can do it as a veggie:

www.ruled.me/comprehensive-guide-vegetarian-ketogenic-diet/

perfectketo.com/ketogenic-diet-for-vegetarians/

You also need to consider fluid intake which is often forgotten with diabetes. What do you drink and how much? I've come across diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugars and its turned out to be due to what and how much they drink - which they weren't keeping track of.

Now in one case admittedly it was they thought lucozade was "healthy" and were glugging 2 large bottles a day! Then wondering why their blood sugars were screwed! That it took the patient being admitted to hospital before anyone thought to ask her what she drank as well as what she ate was ridiculous!

Have also had a few thinking oj was ok as its "healthy" and "freshly squeezed" that's as maybe but it's bloody full of fructose too!

BUT I've also dealt with diabetics who's bloods were frequently going too low as they were drinking lots of water and they weren't eating enough. But then when we tried to get them eating more it was hard to control initially as their bodies were used to the low bg, and took time to adjust.

I know it can be more nuanced but that's the basics.

Your dh also needs to educate himself. Personally I'd highly recommend the various well known slimming clubs or one run by your local nhs services, who are very knowledgable in alternatives and recipes and understand the frustrations of losing weight - and will also disabuse him of the ridiculous idea of just losing the weight then going back to "eating normally" that's just yo-yo dieting and very unhealthy. Even just get him reading a few of the magazines. There's usually a "7 day starter plan" and a featured "star dieter" and in that feature their diet before and after and they discuss what alternatives to their old favourites they found.

He's hungry because he's not filling his stomach! He doesn't need to fill it with high cal foods but he needs to fill it with something. Having more liquid to fill the stomach also helps (not sugary/high cal drinks obviously - water, low fat milk, tea & coffee with low fat milk if he takes it, weak squash. But also soups which can be very low cal and still very filling and a good idea to have as a starter before a main meal. Partly as it goes toward filling you up but also as it sort of starts the clock early on your bodies "I'm full" response kicking in). He also needs to adjust his meals so they are filling but low cal not just only having half what he used to! More veg, more low cal protein is filling too.

You say he's tall and on a very low cal scheme. That's not advisable. How many cals he needs for his body type/size is probably more than he's consuming. Men also need more cals than women for baseline functioning. So he's also essentially crash dieting - which is unhealthy, potentially dangerous even. The calorie levels advised by someone more knowledgeable and who can do so in a personalised way. The nhs and other general advice of 2500 cals for a man and 2000 for a woman are averages.

I went to my slimming club with my much taller friend. I'm 5'2" and fairly sedentary so I clearly need far less calories than my 6'3" very active friend! Even if we are both women. As a result she was allocated more "points" to eat per day than I was - and still lost weight at around the same rate (2-3lbs a week as an average which is the recommended rate in order to be successful long term and maintain the weight loss).

Do you have DC? Because if so neither of your habits are good examples to them either.

"This reduces my options quite a lot." There's still a lot more options than strawberries and toast! Green veg, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onion, aubergine, cauliflower, radish, beansprouts, celeriac, nuts and seeds, eggs, dairy, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots...

If you're still going off 25 year old info you're likely misinformed about a lot.

NEITHER Of you needs to be starving.

Honestly from your posts it sounds like you're not listening properly to the hcps trying to help (not my usual stance at all!) starving yourself in order to avoid taking insulin is not the right way to manage diabetes at all! Though it sounds like you could do with someone going over insulin use more thoroughly with you too.

With you saying having your dd has made it harder to control I'd strongly suggest you try and find out if you have thyroid disease.

I agree this has probably developed into a mh issue, but I'm not sure if an ED. Could be phobia/OCD type stuff going on as control seems to be the driving factor.

I strongly advise you make a double appointment with GP. Tell them you think you may have a thyroid issue (go look up the symptoms see if they make sense - heightened anxiety can also be a symptom) hopefully if you have a good GP, they'll investigate this. Or even discuss with dsn?

You can't continue like this.

Slimtimeagain · 13/11/2018 09:25

I'm really worried for you op. Can you answer truthfully, be honest with yourself. Do you think you could be anorexic ? There's no logical explanation as to why you would choose to eat half a piece of toast and some berries instead of proper low carb meals. There just isn't. I'd go back to your doctor and seek support for your eating disorder. I'm not too familiar with T1 But I do know a few people with it and they eat proper meals.
You're going to kill yourself off by not eating properly, do you want that for your children? I'm sorry if it sounds harsh but I feel like if we aren't brutally honest then the worst could happen!

DeloresJaneUmbridge · 13/11/2018 09:31

OP, if you continue along this path ignoring your health care team you will die.

A shame as it would be so easily preventable.

You have an eating disorder and coupled with your diabetes which you are refusing to manage it’s going to be fatal. You need to urgently addrsss this in therapy. The issues with your DH and his eating are nothing compared with the issues you are facing yourself.

Please please get therapy.

elfies · 13/11/2018 09:52

Please ,go to a health professional WHO LISTENS , and beg for help with your eating disorder . Your Libre will back up your results . Your blood test HBA1C gives an overall figure ,and might be pleasing, but unlike the Libre doesn't show how many lows you are having to give you that lovely HBA1C . Then ask to see a nutritionist and tell them honestly what you eat .
Please, I don't want to read an update saying you're in hospital

GinandGingerBeer · 13/11/2018 09:58

You need help and you're in denial. I don't actually believe that a dsn would send you on your merry way after telling them you live off one slice of toast and 70g of strawberries a day. You need to be honest.
Fluctuations are all part of being T1, you have the ultimate tool in a pump.
Hormones, stress, exercise, sleep, even the bloody weather can have an impact on T1, so can starving yourself which may explain why your body reacts the way it does.
Do the DAFNE course, honestly it about a lot more than carb counting, it's invaluable.
Cmon, head out of the bucket time, from a fellow T1. Smile

LagunaBubbles · 13/11/2018 10:00

Sounds like you have an eating disorder to me.

GinandGingerBeer · 13/11/2018 10:03

Please read;
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/diabulimia-5

The long term consequences are not worth it Thanks

notapizzaeater · 13/11/2018 10:11

My DH was a prisoner on the DAFNE course, he'd been T1 for 40 years when he did it - in actual fact he learnt loads and it made a huge difference to him.

Rixera · 13/11/2018 10:11

Even if you feel as though you don't have an eating disorder, if you leave it long enough you'll be treated as one anyway.
My primary diagnosis was not anorexia but it was one of a couple and due to low BMI, the only place I could be treated was on the EDU.
There were several inpatients whose primary issues were OCD including health related anxieties that 'prevented' them from eating but due to the effects on BMI and the fact that at a low body weight people develop the same cognitions they were treated on the EDU. I'm not sure where you live as to how effective your team are, but if you go a while with this, it's likely you'll end up there if not dead. And then you will have no control over nutrition or insulin responses.

Eliza9917 · 13/11/2018 10:16

Breadfoam Mon 12-Nov-18 20:10:49
Toast is high carb but at a slice a day it isn’t particularly. I’m not eating an entire loaf.

You could be eating a lot more food for those carbs though if you ate something else other than bread.

Anyway, I digress. I suppose I’ve given up really. I’ve asked for help a number of times and no one seems to want to know. The clinic or the dsn. I’ve told them the unpredictability scares me and so I don’t like taking the insulin so I’d rather not eat.

You know its not just food that causes spikes, you'll get liver dumps in the early hours either way, and even just heat can affect your BG.

storm11111 · 13/11/2018 12:57

Your husband is losing weight and that is incredibly difficult for a lot of people. When he say's hes hungry hes looking for a bit of moral support, aka yes but you're doing so great and a bit of empathy.

Unfortunately this conflicts with your particular food issues and winds you up. You want empathy because your struggling to eat food and keep your medical stuff in check.

The way he sees it is 'she has a tiny appetite and it doesn't bother her' thats no fair when i'm suffering here! Obviously this is not true and winds you up.

You need to communicate and have a honest conversation about how you can support each other. Talk about your food struggles and take the time to understand his. You will feel much better for it and better able to navigate the sensitivities of your particular issues.

(also agree with other posters about seeking medical help to explore ways to improve blood sugar issues)

Quartz2208 · 13/11/2018 13:01

Anyway, I digress. I suppose I’ve given up really. I’ve asked for help a number of times and no one seems to want to know. The clinic or the dsn. I’ve told them the unpredictability scares me and so I don’t like taking the insulin so I’d rather not eat.

The problem is the unpredictability that scares you is a psychological issue not a physical one and thereofre needs different treatment

Bluntness100 · 13/11/2018 13:06

I also think you've developed an eating disorder op, possibly due to thr diabetes, or maybe you had it before and this now supports it.

I woild urge you to go back and explain what you're eating. Logically you must know you're posting like an anorexic. No one can survive for long on a couple of hundred calories a day and at some point there will be a price to pay. 💐

Toddlerteaplease · 13/11/2018 13:12

I think you really need to get your diabetes properly looked at. Not eating isn't going to help your sugars. Maybe consider an insulin pump?

Toddlerteaplease · 13/11/2018 13:20

Cross posted. I agree that you sound like you have an eating disorder.

user1473878824 · 13/11/2018 19:58

OP I am worried about you and to be honest I don’t believe you. No medical professional just smiles and nods at someone who eats nothing but a slice of toast and some strawberries and tells them everything is fine. You will die if you keep eating like this. Please listen to everyone else who has experience of eating disorders and diabetes.

DontCallMeCharlotte · 13/11/2018 20:40

I’ve told them the unpredictability scares me and so I don’t like taking the insulin so I’d rather not eat.

Well that's just bloody ridiculous. Insulin is by far the lesser of the two "evils".

Believe in the pump. It really is a lifesaver. Stop trying to second guess it.

(Type 2 daughter of a Type 1 mother)

GinandGingerBeer · 14/11/2018 09:11

@Toddlerteaplease come back. Cmon it's world diabetes day today. Make today the day you turn it round. Lots of help and support on this thread Thanks

Fairylea · 14/11/2018 09:35

Op have you seen this in the news today?

Diabetes glucose monitors 'available to thousands more' www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46198366

New things are happening in diabetes all the time. Please don’t give up hope.

Caroian · 14/11/2018 11:54

I want to look at this from a slightly different angle. I think you may be suffering from a specific type of diabetes burnout caused by data overload. How long have you been using the Libre? And how often did you test your blood sugar before starting to use it?

When you switch from fingersticks to either continuous or flash monitoring, you suddenly see a much bigger picture that simply wasn't so obvious before. The different reactions to different to food and the spikes you see were quite likely all still there before, you just didn't know it. And this is coupled with the fact that you have had a pregnancy, which forces obsessive micromanagement and commonly leads to burn out in the post partum months and years.

It is entirely normal for blood glucose levels to vary. It is not - no matter what social media may suggest - either "normal", "common" or "easy" to maintain nice steady lines on Flash or CGM monitors. That's the fault of diabetes - not you! And although glucose variability is still a factor in complication risk, there is still a wide amount of variability that can occur. You do need some perspective on this.

The next bit may be harder to hear: you are currently at an increased risk of dying of hypoglycamia - which seems to be what you fear - precisely because you do not eat properly. (And I agree with all the statements here that you have an eating disorder, whether you can see or accept it or not yet). A well-fed and nourished body carries good stores of glucose which help to rescue the body from hypoglycaemia. It s true that the body's ability to respond to serious hypoglycaemia is dulled the longer you have had it, but ultimately it is still a form of protection. When you don't eat, your body has nothing left to give you.

I think you need to go back to your diabetes team and ask the very specific question of whether they have a liaison psychiatrist you can be referred to. You need help to accept the unpredictability of diabetes, the limitations fo what even the best tools can do. You also need help to address your disordered eating.

I really hope you get that help OP, because your current way of dealing with things is very much more likely to kill you before your child grows up than diabetes itself is.

GinandGingerBeer · 14/11/2018 12:00

That's a great post @Caroian It's so true how seeing the bigger picture via flash/CGM can be alarming and disconcerting.

3luckystars · 14/11/2018 12:14

I don't think what you are doing is going to work long term.

I don't blame you for being afraid and anxious, but you can't control this and its not your fault.

You need help, and support. Don't expect your husband to understand, he thinks you are under someone else's care and he thinks you are being looked after. You are not. Please ask for help and keep asking for it. I just wanted to wish you well.

SuchAToDo · 14/11/2018 12:34

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/snoutgrub.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/liz-hurleys-low-calorie-watercress-soup/amp/

Op why don't you and your husband make a pan of this, I remember reading years ago about Liz Hurley making a pan of this when she wants to lose weight, and she drinks cups of it when she's hungry (because it contains few calories but holds off the hunger)...maybe make him a pan of it (or put some in a thermos) and when he is hungry let him have a cup of it, he will feel like he's having something to eat but won't be ruining his diet

SuchAToDo · 14/11/2018 12:36

nypost.com/2017/01/11/20-zero-calorie-foods-to-snack-on-guilt-free/

Op here are 20 zero calorie foods your husband can snack on when hes hungry without it ruining his diet