Hi ladies, I hope you're all getting on OK!

I am very tired at the moment, with one thing after another meaning I'm not getting enough sleep. Sorry I haven't been able to stop by much, I've been reading along for most of the posts.

I think we'll get a rest over the weekend and our diet can FINALLY start next week too, so I hope I'll get a bit more energy again, and I'll be able to do some personals!

Lisa, so sorry your knee was so painful, agony is not a word I want to hear from you my friend I hope the doctor was able to help!

ThinkAgain - I remember you, coffeeshopgirl!! I mean, welcome back!! hey big congrats on getting your master's degree! and on your soul searching. best wishes and visit here often!

JesikaBeth, congrats on being smoke free for 38 days!! but very sorry about the diagnosis The elimination diet sounds like a practical idea.

Coop Hi ! sorry to hear you are tired, hope you can catch up with some needed sleep!

Since I last wrote on the 7th, we have had more crummy wet, cold weather! I am actually sitting here with a thick furry blanket!

I am still doing very well on eating about half of what I used to. And really not missing it. I've had 2 people comment, ask if I'm losing weight. what a great thing to hear!

My husband has been diagnosed as Type 2 diabetes It was inevitable. I have been telling him about the glycemic index diet, can anyone add anything useful also? I've been telling him that I've been dieting since 10 years old, I know this stuff! He has to decrease portions and eat right. I know it's hard!

Dr Michael Mosely is a fairly well known Dr over here - he works for the BBC, if that means anything - he reversed his type 2 diabetes, and has come out with a couple of diets that can help others. The first is the 5:2 - did that ever take off in the US? It's intermittent fasting - you eat whatever you like on 5 days and then fast for 2 (can only eat 600 calories). Not sure of the success rates though. Read more here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/...-diabetes.html

The second, which has a reportedly higher success, is the 8 week blood sugar diet, where you only eat 800 calories a day for 8 weeks (although it's better if you do it for 12 weeks). Diabetes charities in the UK did some studies into this, and found it put 40% in remission, but after a year, only around 15% were still diabetes free - mostly because people who finished the diet went back to their original ways of eating. More info: https://thebloodsugardiet.com/what-i...ugar-diet-bsd/

Low glycemic is essentially the way to go - lots of lean meats and vegetables, and not many quick release carbs. My dad has type 2 diabetes, and finds exercise is key to reducing blood glucose too.

Hello,

I am still having trouble posting here. Very, very frustrating!

Hi ladies,

I hope you all are ok. I'm not in the greatest of moods.

The closing on moms house happened on Friday. I'm just frustrated. The money has not been distributed. I have no food or gas.

My knee is still causing me pain.

Sorry, I'm just not myself.

Holly,

My father had Type 2 diabetes and managed to stay off meds for 20+ years. When he was diagnosed he was on the thin side of normal; he read everything he could and went to the Josslin Clinic in Boston for a week to learn how to deal with it- and, it worked. He walked every day, went to the gym and swam on a regular basis. He was very careful with his feet; he bought a certain type towel and took time to carefully dry between toes, etc. He ate three small meals a day and three snacks; he always had a protein with a carb and never drank fruit juice; he always ate fruit. He would have a lite beer on occasion, maybe three or four times a year.

Like anything else, once you get used to it, it is easy to deal with.

Good luck. I will try to think of other things he did to stay healthy into his 80s and will post again soon.

Monica

Hi ladies,
Its good to see old faces coming back to post.

I just wanted to say hi to everyone. Sorry I have not done personals. Just a lot on my mind, stressful stuff.

My kitten Hazel turns out to be a boy. She shoved her butt in my face today and I saw small balls.

My knee really hurts today.

I hope you all are well. If not vent away.

Hi there. That's great that you're doing so well. Keep up the awesome work I am Type 2 Diabetic. The BEST way to manage blood sugars is low carb. My A1c went from an 11.3 to current 5.9. I am on Metformin and Trulicity. Also, the American Diabetes Association has excellent resources and an active forum/message board for both the diabetic and loved ones. I know how overwhelming it can be, so if you ever need anything, let me know

https://community.diabetes.org/home

JesikaBeth - thank you for the link and that info! very very helpful. My husband said that there is a nutritionist he can make appointments with, at no charge. I want to be able to attend one of those meetings with him, I think that would be helpful. and I suggested we buy a scale to weigh our portions. thank you so much for your input!

EasySpirit - thank you for your input on this also!! wow to your Dad for having the self-control and will to do such a great job managing. I have been telling DH that I have read about the glycemic index on foods..maybe the nutritionist will second that. thanks again for your info!

Lisa - so sorry your knee is still hurting!! and what a way to find out your kitty is a boy , lol!!

Coop - thank you for those links also!! lots of info for me to look into. thank you my friends!!

and hello to Kathleen ( I have to look and see when she is going to Ireland) and everyone else

I worked extra hours for the RB this past weekend as there was a lacrosse tournament in town and they needed help. Made some $$ Today was my day off and I saw thunderstorms for this afternoon; so I hustled and geared up and weedwhacked for 2 hours then mowed for an hour and got it all done before the rain came. Then relaxed for a couple hours now I can't believe it's almost 6 o'clock and my one day off is almost over

Thank you JesikaBeth and VermontMom!!

It's nice to be back

Ok, more thoughts about balance. This has been the underlying theme in my life while I was in school last year. Before that, I don't think balance was very important to me. College seemed to be a hurry-up-and-wait lifestyle.

Hurry up. Wait. Learn a ton of information in 3-4 months. Stress out during finals week. Break. Wait for next semester to begin.

That was my life cycle for a very long time. I never really had a balance. The only consistency was stress. As I have learned, boredom can be a form of stress too. Just think of how awkward silence can be.

No wonder I developed an all-or-none thinking pattern.

I feel like I'm just learning what balance is. Especially life balance, since it is unique to each person based on their goals and quality of life. I wish colleges had a required class on this. Asking the really important questions: What will you need to be happy in life? How are you going to create the life you want to live? Pass/Fail solely based on completion of assignments. No grading scale. There is no right or wrong. Just introspection.

Then there is readiness and state of mind. This is the first thing I look at every time I notice myself binge eating and gaining weight. My state of mind is the first thing I have to put in check. It takes patience, which is hard to have with yourself. Because it's too easy to get depressed and blame yourself for something that you already feel bad about.

So what do I do about my emotional eating cycle? I use my cycle against itself. I notice the boredom as well as the rigidity in my evening schedule (the stress eating comes at night, so that's where I focus). I give myself credit for the healthy eating I do during the day, and I accept my body for the weight it currently is. Do I want to slim down - of course - but this is where I am now. And that's ok. I can honestly say that to myself in the mirror without feeling ashamed of my body. And that takes a lot of honesty as I am 50 pounds overweight. I'm used to being a cheerleader, a gymnast, and turning heads when I walk into a room. It's still ok. I am more than my body.

The balance comes from within. Wanting balance and realizing that my life was out of balance. When you're caught in the storm, it's hard to see anything but the rain. I have begun to realize that I do not control the storm, but I do control where I stand to watch the rain.

This was helpful for me to write. I hope it was helpful to read. My lasting thought for today is: Good things take time.

Thank you for sharing, and WOW!!

A theme in my life for the last couple of years has been balance, as well

My life had been going along just fine and then I was out of the blue diagnosed with Cancer in 2013 at the age of 33. Completely threw any sense of balance off. Constant adjustments to "new normals" and bouncing around just became life. Since becoming Cancer free 2 years ago, though, my sense of balance is just still completely off. I don't feel grounded emotionally, physically, or spiritually. I developed PTSD after Cancer, of which I've mostly worked through, but that balance piece remains... well, for lack of a better phrase, out of balance

Something that I am learning about balance is that balance doesn't always *feel* "balanced." I also have ADHD and OCD and Bipolar (and tend to be perfectionistic) which is a funky combination especially when it comes to the theme of balance, LOL

A coworker said to me a couple of months ago "Jess, sometimes you gotta learn when to say f*ck it" --- LOL

Mantra # 1

Also I love the quote you shared.

Question:

So, what are some things YOU ALL do to 'reset' your sense of balance? Both daily and longer term?

I am going on an overnight retreat at the beginning of august. That's my 'happy get-a-way' place.

Have a great day everyone

Congratulations for beating cancer!

I like what you said about balance not always feeling like balance. I can relate, especially when I was going through a lot of change in my life. I look back and realize that being out-of-balance was the norm at the time. Sure, it was uncomfortable, but I was making changes. Significant changes. Changes in my perception and emotional reactions. In those times, it was necessary to feel out of sorts. It was downright unsettling and uncomfortable at times. I needed to acknowledge that it was uncomfortable. Without judging myself. After all, I am my own worst critic

So how do I reset my sense of balance? I'll give a recent example with my "new" weight loss plan. I say "new" because I have done versions of this plan many times before. They failed for one reason or another. And that's fine. I was missing something.

First, I was connecting my weight to my sense of self-worth. I felt like a failure if I didn't lose weight right away or if I snacked, so I quit. Self-fulfilling prophesy there. I still struggle with this. But I'm working on it.

Second, I was being too strict in my plan. I love schedules and order, so making the plan was a success! I kept failing on the follow-through.

Third, I had become a workaholic. I was addicted to stress. I couldn't think of the last time I really enjoyed myself. Really laughed. Really let myself go. Except for when I binged. This is how food became my ONLY source of pleasure. No wonder I continued to binge and fail on any plan! Food = Fun

Each one of these epiphanies was unsettling to my core. I hated to face myself. I was the reason for my failure. But I didn't want to shame myself. How do I disconnect these two thoughts?

Acceptance. These were parts of myself that I needed to see in order to overcome.

Compromise. I made a plan that involved calorie counting (because I need to know when to stop eating each day), fun, and chores. Basically, I made a weekly schedule where two days out of the week, I do something fun. Two other days, I do light chores (20 - 30 minutes at most). Friday, grocery shopping for weekend meal prep.

I. Am. Taking. This. Plan. Slowly. One day at a time. Looking for 4 weeks of success. Realizing that I have failed in the past. Scared that I will fail again because my mind wants to rush to self-judgment so I will give myself permission to binge.

The opposite of rushing is moving slowly. *channeling my inner snail*

I got this!

Thanks for the congrats! It was a long road, and life is definitely different now, but having had Cancer changed me, I believe, for the better.

Acceptance and compromise - I like that. Lately, I've become my own worst enemy when it comes to stress. I hear ya. Hence, I've been binging and have gained weight again. TBH, I haven't been able to get back on track and STAY on track since my mom passed away almost 6 months ago (tomorrow.) I recently realized my binging is a way to "let go"...

I also love "channeling my inner snail" hehe. I think I'll adopt that as another mantra of mine

Thank you for sharing!!

I've been on our new diet for 4 whole days now, and I'm not skinny yet! (kidding!)

Had a major clear out at the weekend, we've been eating gluten free since Tuesday and I've had bottomless hunger since Wed I don't know how to stop it - I've been eating plenty and drinking lots! I'm feeling a lot better already because we've been eating proper food again, more veggies and no soda. I'm less exhausted, but still have a long way to go.