That was a great pep talk, Trish, and I know you are right. You should be a motivational speaker. I am the one who has to do this. No one can do it for me. A friend's mother lost 50 lbs and her doctor took her off her diabetes meds. I think she is in her early 70's. It CAN be done.

I took a look at SB and I realize now why I gave the book away. It's not something I'm comfortable with. I don't do well on plans that say "eat this, but not that." I know I have to really limit my carbs. That's all I know for sure. I want to be able to eat all foods, in moderation, while limiting starchy carbs. I lost weight before, and kept it off for 10 years, so I know it works. It was no walk in the park. I had to work at it, but I did it. This was when I lived at home. My mother did not cook "diet foods" for me. She cooked delicious home-style meals. It was up to me to limit what went on my plate and in my mouth. Now I'm in a similar situation with my husband. He wants delicious home cooked meals, and he does not want low fat, or low carb or low anything. He has never had a weight problem and will never change the way he eats. So I have to go back to being in control of what and how much goes on my plate. I can do it. I can enjoy all foods.....just not eat until I'm stuffed and can't move. LOL I know I have to limit carbs and always will. I just need to get my mindset to do this.

When you said about all the information that is out there and it gets confusing....it's true. The first time I dieted I didn't know anything about nutrition, except that sweets were empty calories and real food had the nutrition. I just ate some of everything, in smaller quantities. I never put second helpings on my plate. When I was finished with what was on my plate I was finished. Period. After I started reading diet books, etc, I started trying every diet under the sun, thinking I was going to find a magic potion. There is no magic potion, is there, Trish? As you said, we all have to find what works for us and "Just Do It."

Our common denominator on this board is diabetes. That makes this journey all the more important!

Did better again tonight. The difference might have been where we ate. When we are outside at the picnic table, the food is in front of me. Tonight at the kitchen table, I was at the short end, and the food was farther away. I could have more, but would have to ask someone to pass me more. I stopped eating sooner. I was also ticked with DD, but bit my tongue, and went in the bedroom to grind my teeth and not yell. She is being a stinker, didn't help with supper when asked, sat waiting to be served, not helpful, not sociable etc. Grrr. This is like the 17 year old her, and I don't like it.
We leave early tomorrow, and I don't think she will stay at the house tomorrow after we get home, I think she will leave for her place in town, but if not, I will ask her to leave. Have had enough of her and need my space. DH is staying behind at the island, a niece and grandniece will be here for the long weekend and he wants to visit, but I have to work, so will miss them.
Also taking my Dad home, that will be another 5 hours of driving there and back. Ack, so much driving, just for a nice holiday.
Its been great having Dad here, he doesn't make me grind my teeth or anything.
Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Carol Sue Your story sounds so much like mine. When I did gain weight, I never had a problem losing until I started trying all the different diets and even diet pills etc. My Mama always did just normal home cooked meals. I think they mostly followed the 4 food groups that was popular back then. Potatoes were not considered "bad" for you just one example of how things have changed. That is how I raised my kids. Junk foods were for special occasions only. As for me using SBD, it is only for a foundational basic guide for me. I am using some fat free foods, but I am replacing some of them with healthy fats. I use a lot of coconut oil because it actually lowers triglycerides and I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Apple Cider Vinegar in my salads. I think grains are important for me as I need the fiber so I'm using oatmeal and will be learning to use some other healthier versions. However, I will only be eating around 4 starchy grain carbs most days. Like you, I don't really like a plan that says eat this and not this etc. However, at the same time I want to eat as healthy as possible for me. As I heard one chef say, "80 to 90 percent" healthy. I cannot eat a lot of lowfat/fat free foods because they usually replace the fat with sodium and that makes me retain fluid. Like you said, "there is no magic potion", but we can take the info that we have learned and create what I like to call A PERSONALIZED PLAN that fits me, my lifestyle and my personality. No one else has to approve of it or even like what I'm doing except me as it belongs to me planned around my likes and dislikes.

Fatmad You asked earlier about what we do about night eating. I'm still working on that one. I'm trying to fit my eating within a set starting and ending time similar to Intermittent Fasting, but I haven't quite figured out my 8 hrs eating. I am hoping to have a cut off time and fit my eating within those hours. I decided that I would like to work oatmeal into my way of eating and hope that by moving that to an evening meal that it will satisfy me so that I will not need a snack at night. However, if I do need a snack, I've planned a handful of peanuts or air popped popcorn. Because I'm a snack eater at night, I know that I had better have some kind of plan that can include it or I will end up raiding the fridge. Hope you find a way to solve your problem. Share if you find it, please.

Ruthie, Bonnie and lurkers :wave:

ok friends, have updated my ticker, to my shame. I am going to embrace meal planning, and plan for a 1 year time frame to see where I get. Must get back to a good life again. I am not happy with myself, my health, my sugars. And since I am happy with work, my marriage and the rest of my life, no excuses!

Forgot to take meds!
 

Yesterday I had breakfast with my BFF and Co-Worker Cheryl, had a great time as always and of course talking like there is no tomorrow!:cofdate: I get homw and took out my little pill box that I keep in my pocket and realized that I did not take any of my meds!!:nono: No Metformin, No Blood Pressure Pill-no nothing! So this morning my FBS was 136, which is not bad considering that I had no meds! Too busy running my mouth and not my brain I guess!!:D:D Hope you all are having a blessed day! :hug::hug:

Hey ladies Sorry MIA for a few days but we had to have my aunt admitted In the hospital. She had a fever of 103.3. she is doing better jest got home Monday. I started Pt yesterday they taped my knee and all the pain is gone I still have some popping but it will be ok.
My daughter hubby is going to Illinois for a few months to a hunting club she will be staying with us while he is gone and also my son is moving back cause him and his girlfriend is calling it quits. Thanks god they are paying for their self's to stay here and its not on me.
Well I better be going I have to go find me something to eat.

Bonnie - Sounds like you are going to have a houseful. You always seem to be taking care of everyone else....and while that's commendable, don't forget to take care of yourself. I'm glad to hear that PT is helping with your knee pain.

Mad - Right now I would be very happy to weight 187, and I never expect to get to 120, like your goal. I think with my age and medical issues, 150 would be a good weight for me.

I try not to eat anything in the evening after dinner. I grew up eating 3 meals a day and nothing else, and I believe that's what we are meant to do. I sleep so much better if I go to bed on an empty stomach. It just so happens that I eat waaaaay to much at those meals, and that's why I'm overweight and have diabetes. I guess it's intermittent fasting, but I just consider it normal eating pattern.

Tammy - I forget to take my meds now and then. Usually, I realize it and take them later in the day.

Trish - I still don't consider potatoes "bad." When they aren't fried or covered with creamy sauces, they are very nutritious. But the carbs are bad for diabetics. An ideal diet for me would include a bite or two of baked or roasted potatoes. But before I can do that, I need to get my portions under control. I would like to incorporate vinegar into my diet for the blood sugar benefits, but I really don't like the bitterness of it. I have started back having a small bowl of oatmeal in the morning, sprinkling it with cinnamon. Cinnamon is supposed to be helpful with blood sugar. I also bought some apples, and will have one daily as a snack, with cinnamon sprinkled on it. Sometimes I have some plain greek yogurt with Fiber One cereal mixed in. It is great fiber and has a little bit of sweet taste...adds some crunch. Since I am not much of a fruit eater, I bought some of those little cups of mandarin oranges. They are good for fiber, too. I've also been trying to fit some beans in. I love them, but they do have their problem, ya know! LOL But they are very healthy, and I heard that things get better once your body gets used to the extra fiber. I made some bean dip for a party at my sons house and I find that I really like it with celery sticks. I used greek yogurt instead of the sour cream and topped it with some salsa. Very good! I do like healthy foods, but it seems that the non healthy foods are more convenient and we end up reaching for them. My husband eats completely unhealthy foods and he's thin. It's just not fair!

I read the Stress Eating Cure by the Heller's who wrote the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet books. I understand now why I have had such a difficult time getting back onto low carb eating etc. At the same time I've found a low carb website where there are some people who have been doing the CAD/CALP way of eating successfully and getting advise on how they have made it work for them. I am now settled into my way of eating that will not only fit into my life but it will become a lifestyle rather than a diet. This is not going to be a diet that I will get off of someday when I reach goal, but it is the way I will eat for the rest of my life. This way of eating is designed to control insulin so I am thrilled to find it. On this plan, I can even do it with Intermittent Fasting and eat only 2 meals a day which was the normal way I ate back when I was thin. I've had a great day today. Ate my meal with carbs around 2. I had planned to eat the low carb meal around 6 so I could eat within a 5 hour eating window, but ended up with a 6 and a half hour window because I wasn't hungry 5 hrs later, but I was hungry 6 1/2 hrs later. I have no intentions of ever eating just because it is time to eat ever again if I'm not hungry. I enjoyed today and look forward to eating this way from now. It almost feels "normal" and done right no one would ever know that I'm dieting. I was already slowly easing into this way of eating this way beginning Monday and FBS is already coming down. Now that I'm following the guidelines of SEC/CALP, the weight should start coming down as well. The new book says it will come down steadily. I will let y'all know how it goes.

Trish - I read the CAD book too. I think I have read every "diet" book out there. That is part of my problem. Information overload, and I ended up trying to combine diet plans, and you can't do that. I can eat 2 meals a day as long as one of them is breakfast. I love breakfast food. Lately I have been having 1 scrambled egg, oatmeal and a glass of milk. This is what they gave me in the hospital when I was diagnosed type II, but they added fruit also. Sometimes I have fruit if I'm still hungry. I have never been a big fruit eater. If I put off eating this meal until around 11 AM, then I don't need lunch and can usually wait til dinner to eat again. DH doesn't usually eat breakfast, but he liked starchy foods for lunch, like mac and cheese, or one of those pouch mixes with noodles and sauce. There's usually more than enough for him and I get tempted to finish the leftovers instead of throwing them out.

Trish, do you live alone? It was so much easier for me when I lived alone because I didn't have to take into consideration what someone else wanted to eat. We go out for dinner a lot because then we can each order something different. I have been getting into the habit of ordering my entree with a side of veggies and either a salad or soup, and doing away with the potato. Also, I bring a doggy bag home. When I was still working, I loved to take those leftovers for my lunch and sometimes I got 2 lunches out of it. Now, if I bring stuff home, I eat that instead of my egg and oatmeal the next day.

I have decided that eating what I want, eliminating carbs as much as possible, will be my food plan for life. I will mainly work on portion control. Knowing that the leftovers are in the refrigerator if I really get hungry will keep me from stuffing myself at meal time. Bread and portion control will always be my biggest problems. Knowing your triggers is half the battle. Right now we have tons of tomatoes ripening. I used to can them, but I get a lot, but not enough to can. I love tomato sandwiches. I could eat a couple of them every day, but there's the bread. Sometimes I slice a tomato and eat it with my scrambled egg. That's good. I also try to cut up some fresh tomatoes if a recipe calls for a can of diced tomatoes.

Another issue is exercise. My best time to exercise is between 12 and 2. During that time I watch my soaps, and if I'm going to watch them anyway, it's better to be on my treadmill or elliptical rather than sitting in my recliner. The bad part is, if I'm going to do that, I don't want to take my shower in the morning and then get all sweaty. So I wait until after I exercise, and that puts me in time constraints because that is when it's time to start dinner or get ready to go out. Since DH doesn't eat much during the day, he doesn't want to wait too long for dinner. That brings me back to living with someone else, and having to consider their needs. I feel so much better after I exercise, not only physically, but mentally, also. But sometimes it's just so easy to stay in that recliner....... Then I get angry with myself afterwards.

Today, my 5 year old grandson will be here. Mostly he plays outside with Pap Pap, but he really keeps us hopping! I told my DIL it's so nice when you can send them back home to their parents, and she wanted to know if she could send our son back home to his parents. LOL

Hello to Mad, Bonnie, Ruth, Tammy. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

just a quick flyby, no time to read. What I am doing is just coming into the office to work, and have internet here but not at home. I am keeping busy though just not online much.
I have been switching it up, and am tracking again.
My breakfast is large, and sustaining me well, and suppers are lighter, and I am surviving. Looks like I may have lost some weight but will see if that lasts through the weekend before I move the ticker.
ttfn

Hi Everyone :wave:

I've been reading a little and I'll tell you ... you all are full of information and I thank you. I need to try some of the things suggested and that you all do and see if it will help me. In the last 2 weeks my fbs has been really high. I am not sure why because I haven't done anything any worse than before. My weight stayed in the low 190's or at 190 also, then today I woke up to 188.4 but my fbs was still ridiculous. I wanted to be 185 by Monday but since I just got back into the 180's I don't know whether it is possible or not and my tummy was upset after lunch yesterday so that could be it also.

I hope you all have a great weekend :hug:

My husbands FBS was hight also and they had to put him on two more different types of diabetes meds and since then his FBS has not gone over 100 and it was between 280-300 before! You should talk to your doctor asap so they can evaluate you and see what needs to be done! Congrats on the weight loss!!:hug:Tammy

This week we have really done well with our eating. Still going walk at 4:15 am every morning, up to 3 laps around the street and it is so HOT!!! but we push on. Will try and alternate next week of doing 3 laps one day and 4 the next and then 3 and then 4 to work our way up to 4. Hope everyone has a blessed Labor Day weekend!! Tammy

Carol Sue No I don't live alone. I have my husband and his DGS comes in on the week end. I only cook one meal a day for DH and me. We kind of do our own thing the rest of the day.

The Stress Eaters Cure book is so full of new information because the Heller's studied loads of research info seeking to learn why they were hungry although they doing everything the had learned to do before. I found you saying you like breakfast and want to eat it because in the new book they talk about all the researched they have learned about the importance of eating a really good breakfast. They learned that if you eat a big breakfast in the morning that you won't eat as much later in the day. In fact, they say you are less likely to need snacks at night.

In the new book they don't call the meals Reward Meal and Complimentary Meals. They moved the Reward Meal to breakfast and call it a Big Balanced Breakfast. However, they know everyone will not want to eat breakfast so for those they said they could eat what is now called an Alternative where a more carby meal can be eaten at lunch or dinner. What used to be Complimentary is called Balanced Protein meals. I am glad they don't call it Reward Meals any more. I never liked that name and I actually prefer to call it my carby meal and then call the others low carb meals or snacks.

The interesting thing is that I really took notice of the importance of a big breakfast, but like I said, I don't want to eat a carby breakfast because I want to eat carby meal with DH. But I just had to try it today any way. So I decided to have a big low carb breakfast. I made me 3 eggs, 3 slices of bacon (they say Canadian, but I prefer regular and this is about making this a lifestyle that I can live with), about 1/4 c mozzarella cheese and brussel sprouts. I had my regular cup of coffee with FF h & h, Stevia and Coconut oil. Amazing thing is it really works. I at breakfast around 10 or 10:30. Didn't get hungry and eat again until about 5 o'clock. I had planned to go ahead and have 3 meals, but I am amazed that I still only needed 2 meals because I'm just not hungry for more. Can have a snack of nuts later IF I need it.

I am just amazed at how this works. No willpower involved just follow the solutions they give and it is working.

I honestly think you are learning what will work for you Carol Sue because you are already doing some of what they have learned to do to correct the insulin problems. If I understand what I'm reading right, you correct the insulin problem and the other hormones that are affected will correct themselves and when they are corrected, weight will just come off.

Even they say all that they suggest isn't written in stone because each person has to personalize the plan for themselves. I've found my way and I hope that in time that you will find yours.

I hope that for all of us here at 3fc who are fighting to get control of this crazy disease.

Y'all have a very nice Labor Day weekend.

Yes, Trish, I like breakfast foods, mainly eggs, and I could eat eggs for supper. But I agree that it doesn't have to be eaten first thing in the morning. I have had people tell me to eat something as soon as I get out of bed to stop my dawn phenomenon that is raising my FBS. I don't know if that's correct. One nurse at cardiac rehab told me not to eat if I'm not hungry. That applied not only to meals, but also to bedtime snacks. She probably told me that because I am overweight already and don't need to be adding food. If you think about it, the purpose of food is to fuel your body, and hunger is the body's way to tell you that you need fuel, just like the fuel guage in a car tells you you need fuel in the gas tank. So it's wrong to tell someone to eat as soon as they get up or have a snack at bedtime if they are not hungry. It might be different for someone with type I diabetes who is at greater risk for a rapid drop in glucose. But I agree that I should not be eating just because it's time to eat.

Also, it could be different for someone who works. They might not be hungry at breakfast time, but will they be able to go all the way to lunch without getting hungry? Each person needs to evaluate their needs so they will feel hungry at the next mealtime, but not so ravenous that they eat too much or grab junk food to get them through to the next meal.

The thing I didn't like about the CAD food plan is that carbs were to be eaten at the same meal every day. Most of the time I don't have carbs at breakfast, then I know I can have a small amount at dinner. But sometimes I add a small bowl of oatmeal at breakfast, so I watch the carbs at dinner. If I know I'm going to have carbs at dinner, I do not eat them at breakfast. I cannot keep them to the same meal every day.

So my best bet is to only eat when I'm hungry and keep my portions small so I only eat enough to be satisfied. That is difficult when you are used to eating until you are stuffed. It is something that has to be learned. You have to think about it, not just eat mindlessly as I have a tendancy to do. If I can keep my meals smaller, then the next time I eat I will actually feel hunger, rather than eating because my husband is eating, or because the clock says it's time to eat.

Rennie - I'm so glad that the discussions here are helping you. It's helping me, too. I'm glad I have this group where I can come and talk out my thoughts with other people who are in similar situations. I have bad habits that I need to change to be healthy. The more I express these ideas to others, the more I will think about them the next time I am eating.

Here are the rules I am developing for myself.

Eat foods that I like, but in smaller portions.
Eat when hungry and stop when satisfied, not stuffed.
Limit carbs
Exercise at least 30 min, at least 5 days a week.

And mainly I need to start putting my words into actions so I will start seeing some positive results.

Tammy - I could probably do better if I was put on more diabetic meds, but first I am going to try to improve my BS on my own, with diet and exercise. If I still can't do it, then I guess I will have no other choice but to increase meds. The mother of a friend of mine lost 50 lbs and exercised and was taken off all her diabetes meds. At this time, I haven't heard if she was able to sustain the loss and stay off the meds long term. But I would really like to do that, if possible. I don't even mind if I continue to take the Metformin, but just to have better BS reading would be welcome.