Thanks girls! The stretching helps in the morning but doesn't seem to make much difference in the big picture. I have had a lot of physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, shots, contraptions to wear, etc. Nothing has reversed it. That is why my dr has decided the only treatment that will correct it is surgery....but again I'd like to get to my goal before then in hopes that it might correct. Part of why I went with eliminating wheat/sugar, aside from prediabetes, was to try to reduce inflammation in my body in hopes I might see a change. I was able to walk for 30 min twice this week at the Y, that is actually improvement for me so I'm very cautiously hopeful. Usually I only do water based exercise or bicycle based bc of my feet but I've needed some extra prayer time lately and walking is more conducive to that.

BS was 105 last night and FBS 104. If my meter really does run high like I think, I have actually been having alot of "normal" readings lately....even when I've eaten off plan....that is super good news! Yesterday I stayed on plan but my weight was about the same. Curious to see what it is on Monday.

I have so much I need to do this weekend. I have no idea how I will get it all done. I must attempt to find a new bathing suit locally. If I don't find something I feel comfortable with I will order online but bathing suits are one of those things I'd rather try on if I can. I guess I need to hit up some plus sized stores today.

Speaking of clothes, my sweet BFF has occasionally bought me a tshirt when she has gone fun places. I have two that have never been worn. I didn't have the heart to tell her there was no way I could fit my head in a Large. I thought it was super sweet that she thought a Large would fit, lol. I have been in a 2X for years. Anyway, yesterday I was cleaning out a drawer and found the two never worn. I can get them on my body now! They are too fitted for me to actually want to wear them but wow, I can get them on!

Trish congrats on the improved numbers!! So glad for you!

Bonnie congrats on the weight loss, that is so awesome! I haven't gotten to 'meet' you, hope you'll be back soon!

Carol Sue it took me a while to find a coffee combination I like bc I never drank it until the last year or so. I use Dunkin Donut coffee and add 2 splenda and several tbsp half and half. I actually enjoy it like that. The flavored creamers were good but I could never get it to the exact sweetness (this was when I used regular sugar and regular creamers). Alot of folks in my low carb group like the sugar free Torani syrups (at Walmart). I haven't tried those.

Rennie

Been experimenting with CO and fasting.

CO so far just 2 tsp a day and still have my olive oil in my salad. Things are moving along (if you know what I mean) much better.

The idea of having fewer meals for which insulin needs to be produced intrigues me. I read several places about the idea that an 17-18 hour fast everyday was good for diabetes, helping immune system, etc. Also, I have noticed on Saturdays and Sundays I normally eat this way and feel energetic and even tempered. So eat at 6pm and then eat again at 11am - twice a day. I modified to have a hard boiled egg and CO only at 7-8am and light exercise in the morning and it doesn't raise my bs much at all. Big jump in weight loss this week (for me). Been exercising for 20 minutes before dinner also.

FBS steady around 115 all week. Ok but not great since I really eat very few carbs except for vegs, beans, some fruit and 1 rice cake each day. I do find that my FBS is a little higher when I woosh some pounds on the scale. Anyone else notice this?

Carol Sue, even with the flavored sugar free creamer I can still only drink one travel cup (16-20ozs) otherwise coffee gives me a stomach ache It amazes me how quickly men drop weight. Carol Sue maybe by the time winter comes you'll be use to drinking only two cups so that will be a new good habit set in place

Trish glad to hear yours and your husbands appts went well Trish I tried that for portion control and still used too many

Shannon, that recipe looks really good. Of course my son and I are gonna try it

Donna sorry for all of the questions, when you say an acquired taste is it like eating dark chocolate or a little sweeter. I hate dark chocolate. It's not sweet at all IMO and I would rather eat nothing than to eat it.

Bonnie good to see you and on 66lbs GONE nice work

ok be back to catch on this page the boys want to go to the gym

Thanks Carol Sue My family is doing ok . Had to go to New Jersey to pick up my daughter . We found her and her hubby a place to live so they are good. My son is also looking for a place for him and his girl friend. Yeah I only will have the baby home but she not too much of a baby she is 16 and is going into the 11 grade this year. As for my aunt it is what is it is.

Shannon , Thanks I will hopefully be around more. Hope to hear more from you.

Rennie , Thanks Its been hard but I have come along way since January.

Ob christmas my hubby bought me the fit bit and I love it. I went in the bathroom weighed myself and I weighed in at 307 I new I had to do some thing . I started cutting back on my food and I had to go to my Dr for my knees they have been so bad all they would do is pop and hurt so we talked and he told me I needed to loose weight and If I was to have knee surgery that it wouldnt help cause of my weight. He told me he could help .

He put me on phentermine. I see him every two weeks and he has helped me threw all of this . My knees has quit hurting and I am no longer having problems with them except my arthritis . I can say now I am down to 241 pounds and going I have been walking every night I try for 3 miles every night last night I did 4 miles and the heat index is up here so I am drenched when I get home but I feel so good when I get home. My Dr told me I can drop my glimpzide now and see how it does. So I am gonna try and see how it goes.

Well I guess I better be going I have so much I need to get done before every one comes home.

love2B150 - it all depends on how much sweetener you use. I use Truvia which is a nice blend of erythriol and stevia- I think it tastes like sugar and I don't get any aftertaste. Good chocolate make a difference, I know people that only use ghiardelli cocoa and they swear by it. I buy my cocoa from the amish store and like it fine. There are a lot of add in that you can use to make it more special, I sometimes put a few frozen berries in an ice cube tray and pour the skinny chocolate over it, then freeze again. I usually leave out the strawberries because they are huge and you really can't bite into a frozen strawberry (though I have dipped fresh strawberries in my skinny chocolate and popped them in the freezer for a few minutes) or pop a couple of almonds in the ice cube tray before pouring in the chocolate.

I've made a version where I ran 1/2 cup of cottage cheese in the blender until smooth and then added that to my skinny chocolate - it comes out with a creamy fudge consistancy - you can chill it in the fridge instead of the freezer.

Bonnie, I remember about your knee problems and I'm glad they are feeling better. Do you have any side effects from the phentermine? All that walking has to be helping with your blood sugar.

I like your new picture, by the way.

Rennie, I like dark chocolate but my favorite it Hersheys Kisses. I can't buy them because I would eat the whole bag in one day. I always think "I need to get rid of these and get back on my diet tomorrow." One time I bought them for my grandson and told DH to hide them from me. Well, DGS came and brought out the whole bag, so it was all over.

But my husband has cookies and pies around here all the time and they never interest me. Good thing!

Bonnie What a really nice surprise to see you here again and you are really looking good girl. CONGRATULATIONS on the 66 lb loss. I am so very happy for you and especially for the improved knees. I know how you struggled for so long. So glad things have improved for you and your family. Please keep coming back.

Carol Sue My experience with the plantar fasciitis has been very mild too. I notice it more when it is time for me to get new shoes. I hope when I lose more weight that it will go away completely.

Shannon So sorry your case is so severe. I also hope yours will go away with the weight loss. We will pray it will happen for you.

Rennie and Donna I am like Carol Sue. I too like dark chocolate like Hersheys, but I don't like the Cacao type. Just too bitter for me. I had a couple of large ones for a while because I never could learn to like them. Ended up giving them to DH DDIL when they visited and she said that she loved them. My favorite is really Dove bite size, but haven't bought them in a long time because I started out eating 2 a day and then I would have 3 and when I ended up eating a whole portion (according to Weight Watcher's), I knew I was getting hooked and I quit buying them.

Kris I used to do the 19 hour fast and 5 hr eating window and I really enjoyed doing it, but my doctor didn't like me going so long without food. So I would have a protein shake with fruit around 11 an or noon and then eat around 2 and then close my window around 7 pm or 8 pm doing an 8 hr window 16 hr fast. My fbs was pretty good when eating that way. I just might try that again. I also used to do a tsp of CO in the morning in my coffee rather than the Tbls and then use a tsp in a veggie later and have a salad with EVOO and ACV. That really made my fbs good. I just might have to re-think some of that.

Hope I didn't miss anyone.

Fatmad and Ruthie Thinking of y'all and miss you.

Catch y'all tomorrow. Have a nice evening and Sunday.

Shannon yay on being able to put the shirts on. I have shirts that I couldn't wear that I can not get on now also feels good. In talking about feet I don't have any problems other than every now and then my toe next to my big toe hurting but I was told by someone on another thread that it may be my running shoes. I have broken both of my feet so maybe having them set in a cast has alleviated any issues that I could have had. I hope you don't have to have surgery and weight loss helps work it out. I like the Torani caramel. pretty good

kris that happens to me, if the scale is down fbs goes up. Not sure why. I like your eating plan twice a day, sounds easy enough for me to try and not fall off the wagon

Bonnie look at you, YOU LOOK GREAT and I can hear the happiness in your post I am so happy for you I soooo want a fitbit, one of these days

Wow Donna a lot of variations, thanks, that's good to know I bought the ghiradelli chocolate and some dark chocolate chips a while ago so they will definitely come in handy for your chocolate recipe because they are too bitter for me plain, yuck

Carol Sue, I so envy the fact that you don't like junk food. I so wish that was me, that is my main issue for sure well that and chips I love milk chocolate kisses and the ones with caramel, so good. I can eat 1-3 and be done. My husband keeps them around but they don't temp me, not sure why, but that's a good thing right

Trish I have the Cacao brand also. I bought different kinds to try. My SIL can eat it just plan, he likes it. I think I just don't like dark chocolate probably I'm really liking the idea of you and Kris' fasting. I am gonna give it a shot.

Well I made it to the gym my husband said I am going too fast I need to slow down. I don't know if he was joking or serious but I will keep doing what is helping me. My fbs is back in the 130's but my eating hasn't been on point either. Once I get my head totally back in the game I should be fine.

Bonnie - Nice to meet you and very happy to hear about your successes!

Trish - You are way ahead of me in all your knowledge and experience! I always know when I've read about some diabetic theory that you have probably already researched/tried/still do/maybe discarded the idea. You have been a great source of information for me.

Shannon - your BS is so good lately! Good for you. I went shopping today and was happy to fit in smaller sizes too. Really is an incentive to continue!

Kris I think that is because I'm with this like I was with diets. If I haven't tried it, I can guarantee it is because I haven't heard of it yet. LOL Some times that is NOT a blessing. However, I am glad you mentioned the fasting (sorry can't remember the name right now). I actually did very well on that but stopped it because my doctor didn't like me fasting on it. I heard a man on youtube talk about how his wife ate this way 5 hour eating window and reversed diabetes and was healthier than when she was younger. I've decided after reading your message that I am going to use this way of eating on my trip. I appreciate you sharing about it.

Kris and Trish, I prefer a long fast too, but maybe not as long as you are talking. I usually have breakfast by 10 AM. We usually eat supper around 4, and sometimes earlier because DH doesn't eat much during the day. If I make sure I eat enough of foods that I like at supper I don't eat during the evening. So my fast is from about 6 PM until 9 or 10 AM. Not bad.

For much of my life I was not a supper eater. When I was a kid I didn't like a lot of things my mother prepared. I didn't know at the time that I just didn't like supper food. If you didn't eat dinner, you didn't get to have something else, and food was so short that it was a good thing for everyone else if you didn't want to eat. My mother never MADE us eat. As an adult, I controlled my weight that way because my thinking was that I was more active during the day and needed the calories, but rather sedentary during the evening and didn't need calories. After my step-children got married DH didn't want to eat alone so I started eating supper with him, but didn't eliminate breakfast or lunch. I gained 60 lbs in a few months! Now that I'm not working, I'm trying to eat breakfast late enough that I don't need lunch, since we eat supper so early. The only problem is, lunch is when I usually eat my kale, but that is really low calorie and so nutrition dense that it's almost more of a snack than a meal. I am considering working the kale in at supper instead of having it for lunch. DH won't eat it, but I could make a different veggie for him. I have to get my volume of eating under control.

I think I heard somewhere that it's bad for diabetics to go too long without a meal because the body thinks your starving and releases glucose, actually more than you need, and it raises your blood sugar. I have never tested that theory. Sounds like something I could try and see if it's true. Did you ever notice that sometimes you'll get up and have fairly decent BS but if you don't eat and test again later, it's higher? That has happened to me sometimes. On another really strict diabetes forum they say to eat as soon as you get up to stop the dawn phenomenon. But if I don't eat anything after supper, I don't get the dawn phenomenon. Everyone is different. Isn't that what we always say?

Trish, most doctors frown on doing anything that is outside the box, even if it works. I'm not telling you not to listen to the doctor, but I think it would be OK for you to test the theory and see how it works FOR YOU. He doesn't have to know.

I also have 2 links I want to share. This first one is about sandwich choices when eating at fast food joints.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slidesh...0yNm4PCC9sE%3d

This second one is about how exercising longer and maybe even slower can help raise HDL, which is usually very hard to do.

http://heartdisease.about.com/od/cho...L_exercise.htm

I had forgotten about this article, and now that I found it in my bookmarks, I think I will get back to my 60-90 min exercise at a little slower pace.

Carol Sue I actually read that women can actually do as much as a 9 hr easting window and fast only 15 hrs and still lose weight nicely. Also there are some who drink juices/liquids during their fasts. That is when I learned that I could use Stevia and h & h in my coffee and it didn't raise my bs. So I would drink my coffee during the morning to hold me over until about 11 or 12 and of then eat an 8 hr window from either 11 to 7 or noon to 8 pm. Since I've gotten out of the habit of nighttime eating, I think I could switch and make my eating window more of a 10 to 6 instead. When traveling on the road, we usually eat around 10ish and then again around 3 or 4. It would be easy to start practicing this on the trip and then just stick with it when I get home.

I actually found when I did this before that the longer I went before my first meal, the better fbs reading I had even after drinking the coffee using the h & h and Stevia.

Carol Sue I don't do vigorous exercise any more. I had read before that doing the exercise more constant and relaxed was better. Also, Dr. Agistatn, in his last SBD book said that alternatingly walking briskly a few minutes and then slower so on was better than walking fast. So when I remember, I try to do that on my bike. I don't know if it helps or not.

I haven't exercised much the past week. My back has hurt so badly. I will try doing some exercises today hoping that it will begin to go away. My doctor seem to think it was either muscle or bones, but I didn't say much since I'm going on this trip. I really hate having 2 weeks with no exercise. We will do lots of walking in museums in 2 places we are going. Other than that I'm not sure there will be much walking. Will have to really make an effort to get some walking done. We plan to hit some grocery stores to keep healthy fruits and veggies on hand, so maybe we can turn it into some sort of exercise.

I plan to do as my doc said and just enjoy my trip and try to keep a focus on my goal as I go.

Thanks for the link you shared on eating fast foods, maybe it will be helpful as well.

BTW I forgot to tell you girls that I was telling my doctor about all of you and how we are about the same place on our plans and share what we are experiencing and learn from each other. He was SOOO thrilled that I had y'all and really was pleased that I have such a great support group. He said it was great when a group comes together and learns from each other and supports each other like we do. He said we have a better chance of success. I was thrilled to share with him about our little support group. Y'all are so good for me. Thanks for being here.

Trish I have found that if I have longer between dinner and fbs my reading is better also. Trish hope your back gets better soon I love this group also. You ALL are quite informative