Hi guys,

Feeling ok today. My body still feels tired, don't know what's up. I don't hurt or anything...no coughing or anything just feel run down. I've been in bed for most of the day since I didn't have to work today. I want to work out but I don't know if I have the energy to. Maybe give it one more day? I just feel bad that I'm not exercising but I know I need to listen to my body. Tomorrow I plan to get back at it. Going to try and do hiit all week so I won't be going to the gym. Maybe that will help me get everything back in gear.

DH made me a reslly nice cobb salad for lunch today with a homemade french dressing. It was really good and made me miss eating salads daily. Maybe I'll get back to having salads for lunch for a little while.

Having leftovers tonight...zucchini noodles with turkey meat sauce.

Still looking at this LCHF diet...has anyone done it before and had successes? I really just need to analyze what I can or should do to change up everything to get losing again. I'm so close to my goal I hate that I'm stalling...

Take care everyone

Hey Sam,

Im doing LCHF keto diet. Its working great. Took 4 weeks before the improvement in energy and took some time to stop craving carbs but overall i feel great now. In fact i feel like i have too much energy now. I wake up at 630 am now and dont go to sleep till close to 11 at night. I used to need 10.5 hours to function. Its worth a shot.

[B]Betsy[B] Come to my house and help me clean and organize! My idea of cleaning these days is hiding things in drawers lol

Hi everyone.
Just wanted to let you all know I am OK.
Going to take a break from 3FC while I work some things out in my brain. I have to step back in my personal life as well and hope they will be as understanding as all of you.
Stay strong. We will do this.

Went to buy the cholesterol medication for the first time today. I ended up crying in front of him, so embarrassing. I am so scared about this, I don't feel like I have enough information about the condition or the medication, and I am beyond terrified of having the side effects.

Hi everyone.

Porthardygurl, your DH sounds like a keeper. Those thoughtful, handmade gifts really are the best.

Donna, falling off the wagon is a common occurrence with me. We just need to keep plugging along. I hope the new medication will help with the chest infections.

Betsy, congratulations on losing half a pound. Any weight loss thrills me. Good job getting all those minor chores accomplished. It's nice when we can cross some things off the long "To Do" lists we all have.

Sam, I hope your energy returns soon. I hate that tired, run-down feeling. Maybe you're lacking in some vital nutrients. Do you take a multi-vitamin? I notice a difference when I stop taking mine.

Ubee, I miss you already, but I totally understand. Take care of yourself. You know where to find us when you're ready to return.

Caldawg, if I were you and still had questions I would call the doctor back. I also would do as much online research about the medication, its effectiveness and success rate as I could, and also try to find some more natural ways to lower cholesterol. Does he have plans to test your cholesterol again after you've been on the medication for awhile to determine if it's working?

That wagon that everyone has been falling off of trampled me yesterday. The day started out fine. It really was only one meal but it was quite a meal. There is something in my brain that thinks going out to eat is a license to eat whatever I want and a lot of it. I stuffed myself last night, knowing I shouldn't, knowing what I should eat, and what I shouldn't, deciding in advance what to have, and somehow that all fell apart. I don't know why going out should be any different than cooking at home. It's just a meal, not a reason to celebrate. Maybe because I don't eat out often? I don't know, but I do know this is something I need to learn how to do. I'm not beating myself up about it, (also not weighing myself today lol) but I know it's an issue for me and one I need to work on. Does anyone have this under control?

Not much else going on here. Cutting out carbs for a few days to try to do some damage control.

I hope you all have a great day.

Ubee Hugs. Sorry your not going to be around on here. Your presence will be missed.

Cald Can your local pharmacist give you more information? I dont personally believe Drs have every answer in the world but i do know they have wisdom and yes wisdom right now is perscribing medication for your cholesterol. As a Paramedic, i have seen the short term and long term effects of mismanaged, under-treated and totally ignored medical conditions, most of them being cardiovascular in older people and an ounce of prevention could have made a HUGE difference wen they had that option. Now most of my heart patients are looking at surgery cause they did not treat it when it could have improved. Yes..side effects do happen. I was on a BP med once that made me very ill but my BP was dangerously high and i was pregnent and had no choice. But in a lot of cases..benefits outweigh the side effects. Please please please give your meds a good try before deciding anything and like i said..gather more info on other possible treatments, alternative diets and natural supplements.

*FYI I am not a Dr and I do not give out advice intended to treat any medical condiion. Please see a DR if you have concerns or questions. Please do not discontinue taking any medication inless okay'd by your family Dr. ((DISCLAIMER))

Cind Sorry to her you are sruggling with your diet. Holidays definitly make it harder and yes so does eating out. Good idea to stay off the scale! Just keep going!

Goood early morning again..

I lasted till 645 this morning before horrible AF cramps woke me up. If its not the dog then its somthing else. lol At least it showed up. Hopefully it will leave soon. Since AF showed up i have been so bloated, i have barely been eating. Its harder to eat when you feel bloated.

I tried a couple new recipes... I made somthing called "Soul Bread". Its a gluten free ultra low carb bread recipe. It was interesting. I am a little disgusted that the majority of ingridents are butter, oil, hevy whipping cream and cream cheese. Loaded with calories at 200 per slice but interesting that Whey Protein powder is used to replace the flour. I ended up getting a decent size loaf and sliced it stil warm and toasted it. It toasted like bread. Seems a little dry and crumbly in your mouth. Not sure that i like that. Still trying to decide if i do or not. At 1 net carb its hard to say notoa slice of bread type thing.Does make you full though. I also made some homemade low carb gluten free cocoa pebbles. Its another recipe that uses whey protein powder and almond flour. Was quite easy to make. I like the chocolatey taste..the only downside though is that the recipe called for both swerve and stevia liquid and i have an extremely distinguishing pallete or supertaster. I can pick up on the most suttle flavours and in this case..i can pick up the stevia taste even though there is not much. Im hoping that a little cream mixed with water and poured over will help mellow it out flavour wis but who knows.. It will just he nice to have some homemade low carb cereal..I have missed cereal.

Anywho..take care all

Good morning all. It's not only raining here today but so foggy that it looks like a movie set for a mystery movie!

Sam -- Hope your energy returns. Is it possible that you have the late winter blahs (how's that for a highly technical term)? Not into full blown depression, but not perking along on all the cyclinders either. You asked about LCHF. I tried it, but my cholesterol went up 50 points in under 6 weeks. But I also read that about 3% of the population reacts that way, so might just be my weird body type. Just more of an awareness factor. The other problem I have is that when I go off it even if going to a different diet, I immediately gain at least half of the lost weight back. Again, this just could be me. Lots of people have been very successful on this. Larry, before he stopped posting, was doing really great on it. Porthardygurl is doing well, too. So if you can get into the routine of so few carbs, it will definitely kick start the weight loss again.

Porthardygurl -- I'm not that far away. I'm sure we could get in at least 10 minutes of organizing (notice I skipped the cleaning!) before we retreated to a comfortable sitting place to talk! I love how you're trying new recipes and trying to find things that fit in with your LCHF approach. Even though I'm in that 3% that don't do well on LCHF, I did find that some of the recipes were both creative and very tasty.

Ubee -- I will miss you, but since I took a hiatus last year I totally understand the need. Hope you're back with us soon.

Calda -- I'm so sorry that taking the cholesterol medicine has you so distressed. The lady who owns the gym here in town has naturally occurring high cholesterol, but has absolutely refused to take the statins for it. Her doctor okayed it after doing some more extensive cholesterol testing. Evidently, there's different types of cholesterol cells that can show up, and while a standard test would continue to show high cholesterol, if you have this type of cell, it's not dangerous. Way too general in my info there, but if you'd like, I'll ask her what the test is called. Might not be relevant, but thought I'd mention it. Did you doctor ask you to keep a food diary to see if dietary changes would help? Hope that you can get some answers to begin to feel better about this soon.

Cindy -- I totally understand what you mean about restaurant dining. I do the same thing. Part of it is, like you, I eat out so infrequently that I think of it almost as a celebration even if it's just a diner type meal. Then I've noticed that restaurant meal costs have gone up a LOT in the last few years, and I swear I eat everything on my plate just to "get my money's worth." Of course, eating half at the restaurant and taking the rest home would result in the same value, but somehow that never happens. In the back of my mind, I also think that one meal off plan isn't going to hurt anything. After a lifetime of "one meal off plan" days, I've gotten myself into this pickle. Anyway, you have a compatriot here who totally understands the nemesis that restaurant eating can be.

Today I need to call the town to get the electrical inspector scheduled to come out and inspect the work done on the air conditioning installation. More work on the photo albums. I've finished up one of them and hopefully can get the 2nd one done a little faster.

Still trying to find something to satisfy my sweet and salty addictions. I'm leaning towards sugar free pudding right now mixed in with some lite cool whip to make a mousse. Or I could just learn to control myself! What a concept.

Have a great day.

Still depressed, but today anger and chest pain levels are very low. Mostly just utterly devoid of energy, hope, will, pleasure, self-esteem.... I suppose I will have enough oomph to go see Mike today, but I haven't been doing Qi Gong exercises for a few days now, so I feel guilty.

Sam— Does LCHF stand for low carb, high fat? That's what I've been doing since February 2012. I haven't lost weight all that fast, but take a look at my ticker. I discovered that being very strict about the low-carb part caused me to become depressed—seriously depressed—so I had to add back in 20 grams of carbs in the form of sugar-free muesli. I love it that I get to put real cream in my coffee: frequently, that's all I have for breakfast. I used to cheat quite a bit, before I tried complete abstinence from cookies, candy, and donuts. That experiment was so successful, I just kept it up, only cheating occasionally with extra muesli or one big cookie, and having one bar of dark chocolate on Halloween, Yule, and my birhday. But the main reason I haven't lost weight very fast is that I don't exercise enough, especially since the end of 2014 when the serotonin toxicity began. I started falling down a whole lot, and eventually went into whole-body spasms for two months, followed by four months of complete inactivity due to the worst depression I've ever had. My muscles wasted a lot during that period of time. And now, as you know, I'm disabled—in a wheelchair, just now venturing into standing up often, walking a few steps, climbing the stairs. But thanks to low carb, high fat, I didn't gain a single pound during the horrible, horrible year of 2015, and in fact lost six pounds. I swear by it! I highly recommend The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, by Volek and Phinney.

Hi everybody,
There seems to be quite a theme of " Is it Spring yet" itis.
Fi....I hope your Qi Gong session with Mike went well and you are feeling more perky.
Sam..your hubby does sound lovely. Be nice to yourself and nurture if you feel under the weather.......wish I could take my own advice sometimes!
Ubee....will post about lambs in case you are lurking....take care my lovely.
Caldawg....what a terrible worry for you. I have no smart answers except to say that I understand your fear of side effects...I take quite alot of medication.....I hope your medication helps.
Port...How I would start my day without porridge??? Yet one more reason why low carb would be tricky for me
Cindy....Oh I am totally with you when it comes to eating out. I rarely go out for food so it is a real treat when I do.I resent paying the same for a fruit salad that someone else has paid for apple tart and custard! I also don't drink so have to pay the same for sparkling mineral water as some people do for a beer!
Betsy....fancy living somewhere where you need air conditioning......I would melt! You are quite a busy bee lately!
I did something quite indulgent today......
Do you have Marks and Spencers in the US? Well, they are pretty much the only shop where I can get reasonably priced undergarments....especially bras! So I bought a "wear every day" white bra and some knickers as all mine have holes in them.....buuuuuttttttt....I also bought a sexy bra and some matching knickers (remembering that I am determinedly single so ain't nobody gonna see them but me!). I am starting a dance based class on Thursday so I bought myself a new sports bra so me boobies don't get out of control and knock someone else out! It was expensive but I had a voucher and it will keep me in underwear for a while! Oh it felt good to finally spend some money on myself....a very rare thing!
Went to see my Psychiatrist today. My mental health has been really good for the last year....just wobbles when my physical health is really rubbish. They had taken some blood tests to check if there were any problems with my medication. Well( I am sorry about this Calda) they were all really good. My good/bad cholesterol was "excellent"....it is all the fish I eat I think.....my blood sugar was also good which pleased me as it was raised at Christmas when I was ill.
So all I need now is for my chest to stay healthy and I will be on a roll!
Take care everybody,
Donna

Just a quick update for Calda.

I checked with the gym owner, and the name of the test is the Verical Auto Profile or VAP for short. I googled VAP test, and got a lot of hits. Basically, in addition to measuring the normal 4 measurements in a lipid panel, it does much more in depth measurements, more acurately reflects the risk of going into heart disease, and provides a measurement of the particle size. Evidently, if you have large particles there is much less risk. Small particles significantly increase the risk. So even though the gym owner has high cholesterol (runs in her family -- she eats very healthy and exercises 2-3 hours a day), she isn't on medication for it as a result of the findings from this test.

She also said that some doctors don't or won't perform it -- especially if they're big believers in there's a pill for everything.

Don't know if this would help you at all or if it's even something that you're interested in, but thought I'd send along. Hope sharing it with everyone is ok with you -- thought others might have some cholesterol issues as well and would be interested.

MountainThere are several recipes for instant "no-oatmeal" or instant "cream of nowheat" using coconut flour and ground flaxseed and almond flour. I hear its delicious but i havent tried it yet.

Well..im going to be trying out another recipe today.. Going to make protein powder based graham crackers..but going to make them more like cereal. Im on this cereal kick. Its oneof the things ive missed lots lately. Although...i was sad to discover that my cake that i normally make and have in the fridge for wuen cravings hit...did not cook right last night. It must have been because i left it sitting too kong on tue counter instead of putting it straight in the oven( i couldnt cause i had my cereal baking in the oven". So..it sat and during the sitting time it must have seperated..cause when i went to slice it today i noticed it was wet and mushy on the bottom and cooked on the top.. What a waste of ingredients! Hopefully it doesnt happen again today.

Port Hey hun thanks for the advice. I don't usually eat many carbs as far as breads and things go but I do eat some carbs found in veggies and limit my starchy carbs to a minimum. I'll need to read up more about LCHF to see what everything entails but I appreciate your wisdom as well Have you ever tried the Cloud Bread recipe? I've been seeing it all over pinterest and am intrigued

Ubee Will miss you...please don't be gone forever

Cal Cindy is right if you still have a lot of questions ask the doctor. That's their job is to give you what you need to be better and feel better but also give you peace of mind.

Cindy You aren't the only one with issues eating right at restaurants. I limit myself to 2 or 3 restaurants that I feel comfortable getting a meal that is ok to eat and I won't beat myself up about it. It sucks but hey we gotta do what we have to right? I'm having some hard realizations about how I've been feeling over the past few days but I'm here to change it. I am feeling better today.

Betsy I think the winter blues is definitely part of it. DH told me I need to start taking vitamin D again and my multivitamin. I know that will help a lot and my B12. I'm lazy when it comes to doing that...I just have a hard time swallowing big bills and breaking them in half is a nightmare. I have a very small throat? lol...Idk it's always been an issue. I think that along with how I've been treating my body lately has been the culprit. I'm here for the long haul like I've always said but I need to stop giving myself excuses for things that I know I shouldn't be doing. I've been hesitant about the LCHF diet for the same reasons you had with your experience. It's just so hard finding the right balance. I really don't want to make any drastic change like that before talking with my doctor.

Fi Thank you so much for your insight and taking the time to post to me despite your issues you're having right now. That means a lot. I've definitely been wanting to find a book about it so I will definitely check it out!

Donna Thank you for the love as always ...We do have Marks & Spencer's here but where I am I don't think there's even one in the state I live in. But they have amazing things!!!! Glad you were able to treat yourself...You deserve it! Hope you enjoy your class on Thursday!

Ok so today I drank a tall glass of get your $h*t together when I woke up. I haven't been eating off plan up until the last week and a half. I had mentioned wanting candy and stuff and I did ok with that although there were a couple of times I drank chocolate syrup that was in the fridge at work ...It's hard for me to admit but you know what, this is the only place I can be up front and tell people what I'm going through without judgement so I shouldn't hold back. Besides that DH and I have been eating english muffins with apple butter here in the last week. I ate 2 in one day when I wasn't feeling right thinking it was my stomach being upset and some sort of bread would make it feel all better...Why did I not think for a second that maybe my stomach was feeling bad BECAUSE OF THE DARN ENGLISH MUFFIN!?!?!?!?!?! I continued to eat one with my breakfast the rest of the week until this morning when I woke up. I was feeling ok and said you know what? I can't keep doing this. I don't know for sure if eating the bread was making my tummy upset but I have a feeling that it did. I know in the past if I eat some sort of bread type food as a treat with something every once in a while I don't have any issues, but maybe the bread each day was unsettling or what but I noticed today that my "muffin top" is spilling over even more and where I have spots that cut in on either side of my mid-section is puffed out and it never is anymore. I guess that's what you call wheat belly? I feel gross....I can't stand to look at myself but you know what? Today is a new day! I didn't eat anything that I shouldn't and I stayed relatively satisfied with the food I ate. I didn't feel like an empty barrel that couldn't get enough to eat. I'm deciding to get back to basics for the next month and am going to try to get back into eating more salads like I did in the beginning. I love salad when I have different things to put in there. DH made us a cobb salad yesterday with homemade dressing and it was so good! I had it for lunch today and plan to eat it again tomorrow. I just want to get the rest of this weight off me!!! Why am I sabotaging myself when I'm so close!?!?! Why do we do this to ourselves? I wish I had an answer but it stops now!!! I get paid tomorrow and I'm done with the soda...I'll be drinking only water and those deer park sparkling waters and have nothing in them like I did before...I'm going to focus more on doing my Chalene Johnson videos and not lifting quite as heavy when I go to the gym. I'm getting this weight off first and then will focus on gaining more muscle mass...I'm getting my act together and this is going to the be the year I make my goal! TRUST THAT!!!

*mic drop*