Originally Posted by
SteveinMN
I could have written this. When I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last year, I decided to address it with diet and exercise (not medication). Going low-carbohydrate/high-fat has helped me lose more than 50 pounds and has kept my blood glucose ultra-stable at non-diabetic levels without a drop of injected insulin or any of the drugs (and side effects) millions of others manage to combat high blood sugar.
But having to essentially eliminate grains, starchy vegetables, fruit, and sugar in foods did a number on me emotionally. For years, like you, I was the restaurant go-to guy. Friends knew that I'd already been to that new place before the reviews started hitting the local news and foodie Web sites. I'd cut back on that some when I left My Day Job (financial reasons, plus I was home to cook more) but I still went and people still asked.
For a few months after my diagnosis, I did almost no cooking because I wasn't interested in spending any time making food I could not eat. Just put in front of me what I could eat and I was good; I didn't want to think about that much. The kitchen full of pans and nice knives and appliances -- acquired over decades -- and the stocked pantry just sat while I fried eggs and bacon every morning and popped open bags of salad mix for lunch. I did feel a little guilty about that since I'm not the only person in this house, but DW is nowhere near as food-driven as I was/am so she minded far less.
Like you, some condition I had forced a change in my perspective on food. It was a big loss -- I love food (still do) and I love to cook (more than you do, I think). But I also love my wife and my grandkids and retirement and doing this gives me more of all of those. We all have things or people we want to have more of in our lives, so if racheting back on being a foodie is the price, well, it will take time to adjust, but it's worth the time.
I still like to go to restaurants, though I scout the menus ahead of time to see if there's even a choice of foods on my eating plan. If there isn't, there are plenty of other restaurants around to try. I still read up on them and talk with people about them, so even if I'm not a candidate for eating there, I still know the consensus on who makes the best doro wat in town. I am cooking again. Breakfast and lunch are almost always the same thing (that was an adjustment!) because it's easy and it doesn't take much energy to put them together. But I'm back to collecting recipes for and preparing dinners I can eat. I'm back to experimenting (can I make cauliflower rice suitable for sushi?). DW has been pretty game about eating what I'm eating and supplementing her carbs her way, and I'm fine with that. It does not bother me to see people eating foods I can't. And I always can take a taste if I'm really interested. (Coffee-flavored cotton candy? I'll try it. The ordinary-looking hash browns at that new breakfast place? No, thanks.)
I still look longingly at some menus and some recipes. There still are times I wish I could address food, unencumbered. But I can say without doubt that I'm healthier for stepping back. I can still use the good knives but now they're portioning nicer cuts of meat. The blender makes a great keto salad dressing. The pizza stone doesn't work quite as well for cauliflower-crust pizza, but it does work. I still got to stroll the new food hall before most people I know got to go. If you can find the reasons you want to address your food addiction, it will take time to reset, but it can be done and you'll be better for it, too.
