I really need some serious help with my diet, I am at my wits end with this diabetes crap. My problem is I have only $200 a month for food and it is nearly impossible for a diabetic to eat healthy with my budget. I scrimp and save for this food money and I always end up going hungry. Right now all I have in the fridge is whipped topping so that's my lunch. I can't take this disease anymore, it makes me want to end it all myself before the complications do. I am down to only two meals a day but I am hungry constantly. Every month I buy the wrong food. NOTHING fills me up. Three eggs in the morning, starving an hour later. Chicken at night, starving an hour later. I don't understand this - what kind of food is going to keep me satiated? Veg and fruit is all water and sugar and don't keep me full so I don't want to waste money on them anymore. I really need suggestions for high protein high fat items to buy. Please help!
- Many people who eat a lot of carbs get a feeling of hunger when high blood sugar goes low. Not hypoglycemic low, just lower than it was. You're not really hungry, but you feel you are. Whatever keeps your blood glucose at a steadier level will help. So I would suggest that you shouldn't be eating fruit, whipped topping, etc. -- and that, if no one else is living with you, those foods shouldn't even be in the house.
You don't state many restrictions so some of my suggestions may turn out to be impractical for you. I apologize for that but I have to make some assumptions or we get to play 20 Questions.
- Can you cook? Cooking meals yourself typically is less expensive than buying the ingredients as "kits" or add-on packets (soup starters, etc.) and more healthful. Soups and stews can be quite filling and they can use cheaper cuts of meat, older vegetables, etc.
- Do you have access to different grocery stores? My experience is that ethnic grocery stores typically are less expensive than most "American" grocery stores. They stock less-popular (therefore less expensive) cuts of meat and poultry and vegetables. More dollar stores are getting into groceries, though many are still low on produce and fresh meat and sometimes what they offer isn't much of a deal. ALDI, a grocery chain with stores near you, has rock-bottom prices on the most popular food items.
- If you have a freezer, you can stock up on foods at a good price and have them for later. If you can get a slow cooker tougher cuts of meat can cook until they're tender while you're doing other things. Canned vegetables cost less than frozen vegetables which cost less than fresh vegetables. Some grocery stores sell meat at its sell-by date at a discount; use it that day or the next or freeze it and you've saved considerable money.
- Consider the role of fats in your diet. Three eggs in the morning should carry you a while; three eggs cooked in a good-sized pat of butter (not margarine) should carry you longer. If you reduce your carb intake (which you should) something has to take the place of those calories or you will feel hungry all the time. Protein is expensive and the body will turn it into glucose after a while anyway; fats will not affect your blood sugar but will make you feel fuller for longer. Eat more fat -- marbled pork steaks, chicken skin, butter, olive oil, whatever.
So can any of these work for you?
...what kind of food is going to keep me satiated?
A high density food that fills you up and keeps you going and has no impact on your blood sugar. While protein will fill you up, eating more than your body needs is counter-productive because excess protein is stored by the liver as glycogen, to be put into the bloodstream later on as glucose.
I try to find the most fatty meats available within my budget. Hamburger that is 75% lean (25% fat) not only gives me some meat, but much fat is rendered from it which I strain and save so I can add to other dishes to up the fat content. Forget chicken breasts which are very lean - they're more expensive anyway - and buy legs and thighs - with the skin.
I also add olive oil to many dishes and vegetables. And mayonnaise (the real, full-fat version) also adds flavor and fat to vegetables and meats (yes, it's really good on chicken - like a Hollandaise sauce).
Peanutbutter is good, as long as one doesn't overindulge in it (check carb count on label) - good on celery. I'll make it stretch (carb wise) by mixing it half and half with cream cheese.
If you can find cream cheese on sale, it is a good fat source.
It doesn't take a lot of fat to satisfy and keep one from being hungry. However, if you're also having carby foods that spike your BG at the time, then, as Steve mentioned, this may be the source of your hunger.
You might find it helpful to visit our Diet forum https://www.diabetesforum.com/diabetes-diet-nutrition/ and read through the meal and snack (sticky) threads for some ideas to get you started on more fatty, lower carb meals.
Last edited by VeeJay; 01-01-2019 at 16:05.
One more suggestion. Pork rinds. They are quite cheap and mostly fat and some protein. Satisfies the need for crunch. I use them for all kinds of things like "croûtons" in soups, in place of corn chips for dipping in salsa, as a crunchy base for taco meat, or a crunchy topping for a casserole.
Thank you Steve and VeeJay for your suggestions. Fat - or lack of it - seems to be my problem. I use a butter spray instead of actual butter and buy skinless Perdue Portions chicken breasts for dinner. That's where I'm going wrong. I will take your advice and make stews and use butter in my cooking as well as buying more chicken with skin on it. Thank you again!
VeeJay, itissteve and CMartin like this.
moosha…..sorry for what you are going through, eating more fat will do amazing things for you as long as you stay low carb too! I used to work with United Way, they should be able to help you obtain a better choice of food at lower cost or even no cost. Also, the local food banks carry lots of good food options if you know how to shop. Call them and see what options they can help you with.
I often purchase canned soups both chicken based and beef based. They usually have either pasta or potatoes mixed into the soups. Those additions make them high carb. So I eat them for lunch anyway, I just don't eat the potatoes or pasta, yet the soups are great for lunch or a snack! Check it out, you can find these canned soups on sale at most food stores and the food bank!
I'm with you. I'm constantly hungry. It doesn't matter what I eat, I snack constantly. No weight gain, either. If I go to bed hungry, I can't sleep. And whether I go to bed starving or not, I always wake up at 200-250, with insulin before bed.
Dr. says thyroid is normal. Yeah...whatever.
Itissteve made mention of Aldi's grocery store. My daily breakfast is their (14 carb) meat lovers breakfast bowl ($1.79). Eggs, bacon, sausage, & potatoes (I add extra cheddar cheese) it easily fills me up until 11:00 am snack time. Just a suggestion.
Analysis of the USDA Cost of Food at Home database shows that fat is the cheapest macronutrient.
Protein is the most expensive macronutrient, however a reduced carbohydrate diet does not necessarily require an increase in protein.
Reducing the amount of carbohydrate and increasing the amount of fat in your diet is the most effective way to reduce your grocery bill.
A diabetic-friendly LC/HF diet means a LOT less carbs, a LOT more fat and the same or slightly less protein. Thus, per the above, it has the full potential of being CHEAPER than our terrible "standard" diet, not more expensive.
So if increasing the proportion of protein and carbohydrate both increase the cost of our food bill then what makes it cheaper? Yes it's the other macronutrient, fat.
Increasing the proportion of fat in your diet while decreasing the carbohydrates will make your meals tastier, gentler on your blood glucose and cheaper. Not to mention the fact that people typically spontaneously consume less calories when they consume less carbohydrates.