[Wannabehealthy]

Welcome to the October Diabetes/Prediabetes Support Chat!

[Wannabehealthy]

I was up early this morning. I fell asleep around 10 PM. I woke up at 12, 2, 5 and then 7. I was able to fall back to sleep each time, but I would rather sleep through. Only at 5 did I wake because I had to go to the bathroom. I don't know how deep a sleep I'm getting. One good thing, this was without taking anything for 2 nights. There for a while I was taking Tylenol. I would have it on my bedside table and if I woke up I would take it and it would help me fall back to sleep. I didn't like taking Tylenol every day, so I switched to Benadryl. The Benadryl did double duty because it helped with my nasal allergies during the night. I want to improve my sleep without pills and that's why I've been trying to do it naturally for the past 2 nights.

Edit: I must get into a deep sleep sometimes because if I fall asleep when DH is out somewhere, he can open the automatic garage door opener, come upstairs and sometimes even get into bed without waking me. Our bedroom is right above the garage. So I must be in a really deep sleep when he does that. I feel that someone could break into the house and be in the bedroom without me hear them, but if it were a stranger, our dog would bark. He doesn't bark at DH.

Shannon, I think the reason you started having sleep troubles was because of not wanting to get into too deep a sleep with a young child in the house. I don't get into a deep sleep when my Grandson stays over. I am always listening for him. I want to still use the baby monitor so we can hear him if he gets up, but DH doesn't want to use it with John at 6 years old.

Trish, even though you ate more calories than you normally do, you are still in the ballpark and it might surprise you, especially with the exercise you're doing. I don't always track, but when I do I'm in the 1500 cal range. I think I would lose if I tried to stay around 1000-1200.

[pattygirl63]

Good Morning. Can't believe this year has flown by so quickly.

I usually sleep like a log when I've exercised, but maybe I did too much. Plus I was so tired after riding the bike that I took a short nap. I couldn't fall asleep when I went to bed. I finally got up around 2:30ish and came in and I was hungry and grabbed a bite, took a Benadryl and had a small glass of wine. Finally got sleepy a little after 3 and went back to bed and slept until almost 9. Didn't do any exercise today. I think I need the break today.

Carol Sue I don't like taking anything to sleep either, but sometime I just have to.

Shannon I never could sleep with little ones in the house either. It was one of the problems when DH grandchildren lived with us. The parents were upstairs and I just automatically went into that Mother's protection mode where I never could go into a deep sleep. The bad thing about that was that our bedroom was next to the stairs and about the time I would get to sleep someone would stomp up or down the stairs and wake me up or keep me awake. I always believed it came from not only when my children and grandchildren were little, but also because I babysat in my home. I never could take a nap when the little ones took a nap because I was afraid if I fell asleep that I might not hear them if one of them needed me. Now I'm like Carol Sue most of the time I don't even hear when DH comes to bed unless I wake up to go potty. When DH #2 was living, he was a cop and came home late at night. I used to say that anyone could come in and get and bed with me and as long as didn't say anything or purposely wake me, that I would never know they were there. LOL So I think your just in what I call Mother Protection Mode. It is part of being a good Mom. It use to bother me that DH DD didn't seem to have that. Once she went to sleep, DH or I could not wake her. One of us would have to be here to watch DGS while the other one went to get his DGD from school. I hope it was because she knew she could depend on us to do it, but never was sure. Can't say much about her though because my DD was the same way with her kids when she lived with me.

DH and I are going later to see about switching from direct tv to cable. We got direct tv back when DH daughter and family moved in. I don't think we will be saving any money even bundling, but we will get faster internet speed with it. We already have slower speed service with the local company so will be up grading and the plus will be that we won't be in the middle of a program and lose it when it rains. Or record something to find that half way through it a storm caused us not to get all the show. I know cable can still go off, but most of the time it isn't due to wind and rain.
Anyway, we will see what they can do for us.

Well, I am starting October 1 with .6 lbs less than on Sept 1. At least it is down, but I've got to get more serious about this. I think I'm going to work at being more consistent with the 8/16 to 5/19 Intermittent Fasting. I don't think I'm going to worry too much about the calorie count or the carbs. I'm going to work toward 40 min exercises at least 4 days a week and then just relax and eat when hungry and don't eat when I'm not which will be why some days the eating window may be just 5 hrs and some as much as 8 or somewhere in between. I'm not going to worry about eating low carb/Paleo because I remember reading on line one time that women don't lose as well on Paleo/IF. Since I seem to do well with the IF, I think I need to go with it.

We got a new month and another new start ladies. WE CAN AND WE WILL do this.

Have a blessed day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Yeah, Shannon, sounds like you can forget about sleep until Olivia goes off to college! LOL

I really got a surprise this morning. I got on the scale and the balance beam didn't move. That means a loss, because I leave it sitting at my current weight when I get weighed. I'm down 1 lb. Not big deal though, because I was up to 197 and now I'm down t0 196. Still not lower than my recent low of 193, but closer to it. I just haven't been eating as much.

This morning we left at 10 AM without eating breakfast. We did a lot of walking around Kohls and I am mad at myself because I forgot my fitbit. I would have logged a lot of steps. I got a good set of knives. The ones we have are a combination of what DH and first wife got when they got married in 1964 and what I bought when I got my first apartment in 1973, and I know that mine were cheapies. I spent more than I wanted to, but DH said if you're getting new ones, get a good set, so I did. Now all I have to do is make sure I don't cut myself.

We came home and ate some leftover cabbage rolls for lunch and I put a turkey breast and a couple potatoes on the grill to cook for dinner. I will check BS and if it is good I will eat some baked potato. If not, I won't. I didn't check BS this AM but I took a Metformin but not a Glimiperide. When I checked just now it was 109, so that's good for me, and the cabbage rolls won't raise it much. I'm pleased with the BS and the 1 lb loss. Big improvement after my bad mood yesterday. Maybe I'll get to have a progress picture by Christmas. My blood work is scheduled for 10/10 and my follow-up with the doctor is 10/23. The cardiologist cancelled my appointment and I was supposed to call to reschedule but I'm not going to call until after January. I feel good, and all he does is weight me, listen to my heart, and check my BP. $40 co pay. I am probably due for another echocardiogram but I will wait until January. If I don't feel good I can call him or go to the ER.

[Caramel33]

Hi ladies! I hope you all have been having a great week. I finally went in to my for my glucose test results and she said that I'm still borderline but no need for medication at this time. She did say for me to continue the weight loss and congratulated me and was very happy and proud of the 25 pounds that I have lost. My glucose will continue to be monitored.

Oan: today was weigh in day and although I didn't stick to my eating plan, I didn't gain.... my weight was exactly the same. I'm ok with that, but I have to fight the temptations harder.

[pattygirl63]

Caramel You are actually making progress or your doc would have put you on meds. She obviously feels confident that you are going do this without it. No gain is as good as a loss so congratulations on the WI day. You are doing good. Glad things went well for you.

Carol Sue Thanks for the chuckle when I wrote "Yeah Shannon, sounds like you can forget about sleep until Olivia goes off to college!" because I had a similar thought when I wrote Shannon about my experiences. LOL

I told my DS DGF (I actually already think of her as a daughter) about this thread and invited her to join us and ask anything she wanted us to answer for her. She did find out this morning that her A1c was 8.3 and her doctor wanted to put her on insulin. I hope I wasn't wrong, but I don't think she needs insulin at this point. I was 8.2 when I was diagnosed a few yrs ago. I personally think she should be allowed to take Metformin and try diet and exercise 1st. If it was a lot higher, I could understand the idea of insulin, but at 8.3. She plans to see her doctor tomorrow so I hope they will work with her with the meds before going to insulin.

We ate at KFC and I ate what I wanted today. I did eat within a 6 hr window today. Had 2 meals and a snack. I'm really thinking about cutting out more of the the starchy carbs again in a few days. We are going to Charlotte, NC to Costco tomorrow and we plan to go to Long John Silvers for lunch. Don't go there much any more, but we usually share a meal and get a drink a piece. So tomorrow will be a more carby day like today. But I'm in the mood for going low carb. We probably won't be eating out much after this week. I know we will still have some days that will include more high carb days, but I would like those to be more like only 1 or 2 days a week and do a more stricter low carb at least 5 days out of the week. From my years when I did the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet (CAD) where you eat one Reward Meal each day with a high carb food, that if I allow myself to have kind of a reward meal one or two times a week should not hurt my bs or keep me from losing weight if I made all the other meals low carb.

Well, it is getting late and I surely do hope I can sleep tonight. I feel sleepy, but I felt sleepy last night when I went to bed. I think I'll take a Benadryl now so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to take it.

I hope we can all get a good nights sleep tonight and I'll see y'all in the morning.

[Wannabehealthy]

I had my same wake up-every-couple-hours kind of sleep last night. Didn't take any meds again.

My turkey breast was so good last night. I cooked it on the grill with indirect heat. It took longer than I expected to cook and we didn't eat until 6 PM. We usually eat around 4, so we were really hungry by the time it was done. I ate so much of it, and I also ate my baked potato. My BS was up a bit this morning, but I'm ok with that as I expected it. I took half of a glimiperide and probably should have taken a whole one with the baked potato. I tried to eat only half, but the other half jumped onto my plate. LOL It happens. Next time I will make small ones.

Trish, I agree with you that your DS DGF should try just Metformin and diet and exercise changes before going on insulin. I wish I knew what my A1c was at diagnosis. Because I was in the hospital having open heart surgery at the time, they were more concerned with my heart than the diabetes. I think everyone other than my surgeon thought I had been diabetic before that. They inject insulin in the hospital rather than give pills because it's easier for the nurses, I think. By the time I went home a week later they had me on pills only. She should have the opportunity to make changes before moving on to insulin. Many doctors are of the mind that meds are the only way to go, and mine is one of them.

My higher carb days aren't usually planned in advance because we don't know what we're going to eat until the day comes, unless it's something that has to be defrosted ahead of time, like the turkey breast. But if I know we are eating something with carbs for dinner, such as lasagne, I go very light all day.

I think the directions on the Benadryl box say that Benadryl is every 4 hours. Either way, if I took it before I went to bed it would never last me throughout the night. I have to take it if I wake up in the middle of the night. I keep it by my bedside with a bottle of water so I don't have to get up to get it.

Caramel, I agree, no gain is as good as a loss. I hate when I have to lose the same lbs over and over again. You are doing great.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue Thanks. I call DS DGF is more like a daughter so I'll just refer to her as DDIL. She goes to see her doctor some time today. I sent her a lot of information such as the blog testimony of the lady that I shared with y'all and also the Swedish doctor's website. Although Zoot does have loads of info and references that I left on her testimony when I sent it. She had given me permission to use it to help anyone I felt I needed to send it to.

Well, I am going to do more of a CAD today. And tomorrow will be an Atkins type of low carb day. I'm thinking that while I do like the Atkins diet that I probably should use the South Beach way of eating because I think DH might be happier with that one. He and I are going to have to talk about this and get a plan that we both can do together. He needs to work at bringing his bs down and I definitely need to work at bringing mine back to normal. It was high for me today. It was back up to 153 this morning and it is ridiculous for me to let that happen ever again. And I really want to be a good example for DDIL.

He like meat with all the fat trimmed off of it like SBD recommends and I don't really care. We usually get the fat in the butter we use. I used to do SBD but used better fats like EVOO and butter. I never thought margarine was good for us. He doesn't like regular bacon any more which SBD doesn't really allow, but will eat the Canadian bacon on Sunday mornings and I do like it. I think it is something we could come to agree on.

Carol Sue I have never made cabbage wraps. Can you tell me how you do it? What kind of meat etc do you put in it? DH and I both like cabbage and it just might be something I could make other than just boiled cabbage.

Well we are headed to Charlotte in a little bit and I've got some things I need to do before then.

BBL

[Wannabehealthy]

We didn't eat bacon for years, but since we had so many tomatoes this year DH wanted bacon for BLT's. I don't know if he will still want it after the last of the tomatoes are gone.

Trish, I will give you a brief description of how I made cabbage rolls, but I make a ton of them in a big roaster. I think you would probably want to make enough just for your dinner, or maybe have some leftover for the next day.

I use ground beef, my SIL uses ground turkey. I add season-all, parsley flakes and cooked rice. The amount of rice is your choice. I used to use white rice, but now I use brown rice.

I cut the core out of the head of cabbage, down an inch or two. I put the head of cabbage in a big pot of boiling water. The leaves soften and you can pull them off the head with tongs. If you only want to make 10 or so, you can core the cabbage and gently pull off the number of leaves you want to use and put them in the boiling water to soften. After they are softened and cooled enough to handle, I use a paring knife to shave off the heavy vein that goes down at the bottom of the cabbage leaf. Some people don't do that, but it makes them easier to roll. When I roll them, I lay the leaf out flat. Put a portion of the meat mixture at the bottom of the leaf. Flip the right side of the leaf over the meat, then roll it up leaving the left side hang loose. After it's rolled up, take your finger and tuck the loose end down into the meat filling. This will make it stay rolled up tightly. I put some of the extra cabbage leaves in the bottom of the pan to keep them from sticking. Then put them in a roasting pan and top with canned diced tomatoes undrained, and/or tomato sauce, and I also use some drained saurkraut. Put a lid on it or cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 3 hours or more. With the large amount I make I bake them 4-5 hours. It has to be at least long enough to cook the meat. If you want to, you can roll them and then freeze them to bake on another day. Or bake half and freeze half. You can freeze them after they area baked, but I don't like them that way...they get too mushy for me.

There are other ways to make them. My MIL used to cook them on top of the stove in tomato juice. Just simmer them, but I don't know how long she simmered them. You could probably google and get different recipes. They are called a lot of different things, like, halupke, and different nationalities make them differently. You might even be able to find videos on UTube showing how to make them. I never saw anyone roll them up the way I was taught. The woman who showed us that told us that you could throw them up against the wall and they wouldn't unroll. LOL Some people even use tooth picks to hold them together.

Also, you can make Cabbage Roll Casserole. There are recipes on the internet for this. You use a casserole dish and you layer the chopped cabbage, meat, tomatoes, rice and whatever else you want to put in it and bake it. That might be better for you and Tony for a small dinner. I tried it once and DH didn't like it. He grew up with his mother and grandmother making the cabbage rolls.

[lotsakids]

cabbage rolls yummo! Can't believe we are in October already. I make cabbage roll soup (which isn't rolled just the ingredients thrown in a pot) and now I want some LOL!

things are going pretty well, I'm seeing a bump up of my fbs, not sure what is causing it but its past time to go back to the dr so we'll see (when I have a spare minute to figure out an appt)

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue Thanks for the cabbage info. I think DH would like the rolls not sure about the casserole as he doesn't like casseroles. I will try them. But a casserole would be great to take to a Wednesday night dinner. And making it into a soup like Donna eats sounds good too.

I've decided that there is something about KFC food that my system doesn't like. I had bowel problems again this morning. I think I had problems after I ate there the last time.

We ate at Long John Silvers and I ate only 1 1/3 pieces of fish, coleslaw and a few bites of the fries. I was able to have the coleslaw in place of the hush puppies without costing more. I was impressed by the fact that their food was not greasy like it has been in the past. I've heard they are trying to make it healthier/not as greasy. By the time I got to Costco, I spent most of our time there with me in the potty room. I'm thinking that since I was already having problems that I really should not have put the cabbage slaw on my tummy. One nice thing is that when I got home, I weighed one lb less than I did this morning which was nice since I had a 1 lb gain this morning.

So I had a low carb dinner of baked pork chop with a stir-fry veggies. I threw them in a foil and baked it all together. Costco had a huge bag of what they called Organic Power Greens of chard, spinach and kale. So I brought a bag home and threw them in a big pot with some salt pork and cooked them while the pork chop/stir-fry veggies were baking. They are soooo good. I am going to have to find a place locally to go buy these organic greens individually and keep them freshly cooked. I had forgotten how good good clean healthy raised greens can taste. I've got them in the fridge so I can add them to eggs or serve them as a side dish with other foods.

Oh Update on DDIL. She emailed me while she was at the doctor's office and said "This is going to be FUN, FUN, FUN. I just told the nurse that I'm not taking insulin right off the bat." She said the nurse sighed and said doctor will see you in a few minutes. DS told me tonight that the doctor told her that she didn't think Val would work with the meds. I don't know exactly what she meant by that, but she did agree to work with her and gave her a prescription for Metformin 500. I think she will do fine using the medicine and I'm glad her doctor is willing to work with her.

[Shannonsnail]

I'm still holding out for kindergarten. Alot of moms with non-sleepers like mine have said they finally started sleeping well during kindergarten. Maybe just maybe! LOL!

Well, girls, I've been eating horribly and sure enough, started feeling depressed, having headaches, bloated, cranky....the list goes on. I need to get back to no grains/no sugar. I feel much better when I eat that way but the last few days I have fallen off the wagon simply because I'm tired of being in the kitchen all the time. I feel like I never get a break. I'm just really tired. I got the new cookbooks and they helped me plan but I was still in the kitchen all the time. I'm growing tired (after 6 mths) of eggs, bacon/sausage for breakfast everyday and salad at lunch. I'm just getting weary. It's frustrating though because I feel better when I eat that way and I lose weight and my BS is better/normal. I don't know what I'm going to do.

[Wannabehealthy]

Shannon, I was inplying that it's having a small child in the house that keeps your body from falling into a deep sleep, not necessarily the child not staying asleep. But maybe if Olivia sleeps better, you will too.

I don't know what to tell you about breakfast because after 68 years, I still have never tired of eggs, but you don't really have to eat "breakfast food" at breakfast. As long as it tends to be protein. You could cook up some chicken, either grilled or roasted, and have it in the refrigerator to grab when you want it. Right now I have half of my turkey breast in the fridge. I tend to cook meals that can be put on to cook, then I can go do something else, rather than standing in the kitchen cooking. Recipes are nice but I just cook meats like chicken, beef roast, pork roast like I've always cooked, but just don't eat the carbs that I prepare for DH. Since I like eggs so much, I also like to keep HB eggs in the refrigerator, and can quickly make a deviled egg when I want something. I hate to cook things that keep you in the kitchen the whole time they're cooking!

Do you like avacados? Sometimes I will mash one or cut one up with a sprinkling of lime juice. Or I'll add a chopped tomato and some onion to make it more like quacamole. I try to buy one ever few days so I always have one ripening when I eat the first one. If I buy more than one they all get ripe at the same time.

I hope you can find your way back. It worked so well for you. It's maddening that something like a move can throw you off track. You can do this, Shannon!

Trish, now it is up to DDIL to make the changes to her diet and exercise that will drop her blood sugar. I think sometimes doctors want to go right to the most extreme form of treatment because so many people will NOT make the necessary changes and end up with insulin because it is "easier." Eat whatever you want and inject that insulin, and keep getting higher and higher doses. You two seem to get along so well and I think she will listen to you. You must impress on her that Metformin will NOT drop her blood sugar to a good range. The lifestyle changes must be made. I want her to show that doctor a thing or two! How long is the doctor going to give her with the Metformin before she gets checked again. I think it should be at least 2-3 months, but if the doctor is so sure she will fail she might schedule her in sooner.

I never liked LJS fish, but I liked the chicken planks. Lately they seem too greasy, especially since I have become accustomed to roasted chicken. The same with Kentucky Fried Chicken. DH never liked it because although he likes fried chicken, he doesn't like dark meat, and he prefers boneless. We went there a couple times and he was able to get white meat only, but it's just not somewhere we go often. We used to have Kenny Rogers Roasters nearby and we LOVED that wood cooked chicken, but it wasn't popular in our area so they closed. I saw online that they are still in other parts of the country. DH still prefers eating where you sit down and they serve your food to you. Much more expensive, but that's what the guy wants!

Donna, the cabbage roll soup sounds good, but for some reason, DH does not consider soup a meal. He wants a full cooked meal along with it. He also doesn't like the casserole. Cabbage is so healthy, whatever way you eat it.

Maybe you could call your doctor and ask for a script to get your A1c checked, then go in for an appointment to discuss the results. That's the way my doctor does it. My bloodwork is 10/10 and my appointment is 10/23, long enough for him to get the results back. I remember one time when I had bloodwork my fasting blood sugar was 150, but my A1c was 5.7. With such a good A1c, my doctor wasn't concerned about the fasting. It could be just a slight difference in your diet, or your activity level since you are dealing with car-pooling kids in college...or even stress.

Dgramie, how are you feeling? I hope you're getting better.

[pattygirl63]

Today, I am back to the low carb woe. I didn't take any medicine at all yesterday and my fbs was high which is no surprise. My weight was down a little more so that was good.

Today I used the greens I cooked yesterday and added 1/2 avocado, parmessan shredded cheese a slice of Canadian bacon. and and two eggs fried in Pam Olive Oil. I know we can use the regular oil, but the Pam makes for easier clean up. Then I just mix it all together and ummm it was so good. Plus it can't hurt to have the extra greens since this is a low carb day. I took half of the Metformin this morning and will take the other half tonight. I plan one more CAD type day tomorrow because I've been hungry for Chinese food for weeks so I plan to get it for lunch tomorrow. I don't think it will be too bad though because DH and I get one meal and half it and even then we do not eat all of the rice. I could take one of DH glimiperide pills tomorrow. However, I do need to start back on moderately low carb and get my fbs back to normal again. I do plan to do that. I'm thinking that maybe the thought of grains cause inflammation will give me the incentive I need to give up grains or at least to strictly limit them.

Shannon I understand how you feel because I have been fighting that seems like all summer. With all that is going on in your life right now, you are probably just really tired period and it kind of spills over into our eating. One of my problems with low carbing is that I get bored with it and get tired of trying to figure out what to cook. I really think that when your life settles back down to what is normal for you that you will be able to get back to eating on plan again. You can do it. Look at those pictures of yourself and see what you have accomplished. Maybe you could put one on your fridge.

As for breakfast, have you thought of drinking some smoothies or shakes? Maybe it would be a nice break from eggs for you and be easier for now.

I got a WW magazine yesterday. They are trying to woo me back I'm sure. I really hate that I got it at this time because I really want to do low carbing, but they had some beautiful recipes that looked so good. But I've got to do what I know lowers my fbs. So I will either give it to a friend or throw it away.

Carol Sue and Donna DH loves soups so hopefully he will like the cabbage soup as well as the cabbage wraps. It will be nice to have a variety of ways to eat the cabbage.

Y'all have a good day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Yesterday, we went to the casino and ate the buffet. Once again, the only carbs I had were the broccoli and cauliflower. I had my Metformin and Glimiperide with me to take. I always carry a Glimiperide but only take it if I am going to eat carbs. I forgot to take either of the pills. When we were leaving it was around 9 PM, so I checked my BS in the car before we pulled out. It was 125. I thought that was pretty good for not taking any meds at all. So I just took the Metformin.

Trish, I like to use Pam for eggs, too, because of easy clean up. Donna mentioned that it now comes in Coconut Oil. I looked for it in one store but they didn't have it. I just did a search online and there was a website where you could enter your zip code and they would give you the stores in your area that have it. There is 1 chain that carries it and there are a couple of those stores within 5 miles of my home, so I will look there for it.

I haven't eaten yet today because I was busy, and now my step son and grand son are on their way over. They might show up with food from McDonald's so if they do, I will cook some eggs for me. DH will eat their McDonald's food but not me! I am trying to be very good for the next several days because I get bloodwork done on the 10th. I know it reflects the past 3 months, but I want to do as much as I can now to improve the outcome.

I sometimes subscribe to WW magazine if I can find it cheap online. Last time I paid $4.95 for a year. I just received my last issue and won't order it again unless I find it cheap again.