Thanks guys, just trying to get a handle on this, spent the day with my BFF, I hiked over to her place, was a little slow going because its uber icy out right now (we had a warm spell and now not so much so the ice is fresh and glassy ) and this morning it was all hidden under a fresh dusting of snow. I had a heavy backpack on though so I think it was still a decent workout. Not sure if I should really count that. I didn't really eat all day until 4pm I know that's not cool...I slept in and missed breakfast and then by the time we were done cooking it was more "lupper" than lunch or supper.

I made a chickpea curry, which I think was okay nutritionwise, I had about a cup of that and 1/3 cup of brown rice. I don't even know if it was worth it to have that single serving of grain.

I can't tell whether the weakness was due to hunger or the fact that I am still not back at 100% and felt slightly feverish due to the ongoing cold I have.

I had snacks later at a different friends not the best choices I'm sure I had 8 triscuits and 5 peices of medium cheddar and about 2 TBSP of hummus. And drank more tea, I drink a LOT of tea when I'm sick it seems.

Walked home, but it was broken up (because of the stop at the friends where I had the snack) so I don't think the walk home can really count as a bout of excercise its more just background non-exercise-activity which matters interms of weight loss but I'm not really sure how much it mitigates blood sugars.

Hopefully this cold dissapears soon, I am tired of being tired. And while having no appetite is, in one way convenient it also means that I'm taking longer to develop a proper routine which I know is important to staying regulated with blood sugars etc.

I need to make time to get groceries tomorrow.

Thanks Rennie - I hope that its an anomoly and that was I am stricter with my cab intake, and get back into my proper exercise routine (and hopefully keep losing fat) that it sorts itself out and stablelises. I'd like to delay a diabetes diagnosis if I can, I'm a realist though it may be too little too late. Plus I have MEGA family history against me. But maybe if I get extreme I can stave it off for afew more years. :-|

Patty - It's the intense exercise which I need to increase, I already walk everywhere which generally means, about 30 minutes of walking on a lazy day, on a day like today it was an hour JUST in transit between my place, and my friends places. And go for random walks "just because" when the weather is "nice". I do aerobics twice a week but obviously that's not enough, need to add in at least 2 and probably 3 workouts to meet the 150 minumum requirements for moderate intensity excercise.

Hope everyone is doing well thanks for letting me vent!

Thanks Shannon :hug:, I use two cans of tuna, green pepper, celery, onion, mayo, and relish. I like to eat it on green leaf lettuce with melted provolone and mustard. I don't like the smell either. I meant to tell you. I've made the kale chips also, I sprinkled crushed red pepper on them before baking so good :)

silentartic, I think the hike was great exercise with the backpack. The sodium in the curry may be the killer more than the rice and you snack were great IMO. Hope you cold fully clears up soon. I drink a lot of teas, mostly green tea with honey. My family history with diabetes isn't great either, one double amputee and death. SO I really need to get it together. I am a mother of five and want to see all of them graduate and see grandchilden some day also (I told my daughter in 6 more years if she and her husband are where they want to be :D) My suggestion - If you don't track your food and movement anywhere you should definitely consider it. It definitely helps. You will know just how many calories you burned on those hikes and walks :)

I loss all of that bloat from last week. I am back down to my ticker weight and fbs was down to 122m, so I'm happy.

Have a great day everyone :)

love b the curry was not that salty, I cooked it... the chickpeas were from dry, I soaked them for 24 hours to make the cook time faster. So there was no salt added there, pretty much just the tomatoes since i was ... lazy to walk out to the store and buy no salt ones I used the ones my friend had in her cupboard, that was really the only salt added i don't use salt in cooking.

I'm tracking food right now but not forever, I don't feel like writing things down in detail is going to be doable "Forever" I am only doing it right now so that IF I get a referral to a dietician that I have notes to go through and so my nurse can review if she likes. I wanted to use fit day software but my nurse suggested writing down the exact times I was eating things unfortunately fit day (the version I have) only tracks meals not the "time" of the meal so I'm doing a notebook so its "shareable".

I have been eating carbs all last week and have been having to take my Amaryl. Last night DH wanted ravioli or lasagne, so I made the ravioli and made some meatballs with it so I would have more protein. Today I am determined to get back to my low carb. My BS was 136 this morning but that was with the Amaryl, so I don't count that as good. I want good without the additional meds. I forgot to get weighed before I ate, so I won't weigh until tomorrow. I know it went up, and I don't want a full belly to make it go up even higher.

Rennie, Where do you buy your Shirataki noodles? Are they sold in grocery stores?

Good job on getting your weight back down. You will move to the next decade before you can blink an eye!

Silentartic- Where do you live that you have all that ice? I guess the "artic" in your screen name should be a clue. LOL

I think the hiking was very good exercise. And the walks are good too, as far as blood sugar control is concerned. You don't have to be doing high intensity to lower your blood sugar, in fact, for that, lower intensity is better. The high intensity is better for weight loss. I don't do high intensity because I'm afraid about my heart since I have issues there.

Trish - The shakes and bars are a good idea for your trip. It will keep you from being tempted with other foods. For some reason I have never been able to use meal replacement shakes. They fill me up, but psychologically I don't feel as though I've eaten a meal. I bought some whey protein a while back and was going to make shakes, but I felt like I was drinking a milk shake and still wanted dinner. That's how the weight lifters put on weight!

It's the same when I eat something other than eggs for breakfast. I still want the eggs, so I might as well just eat them and be done with it. Then I'm satisfied and don't want anything else. I love eggs. One time when I lived alone, I went on a diet where I ate 1 egg and 1 slice of toast for breakfast and lunch, and 2 eggs and 2 slices of toast for dinner. That was all. I was relatively thin then and just did this to lose some weight that had crept up. I was totally satisfied and didn't crave anything else. That was long ago before they started to talk about the danger of eggs. Now I mix my eggs with egg substitute which is only the whites, and sometimes I just use the substitute. When I was a child, I remember gagging on eggs when my mother made them, but she made me finish them. I think she didn't cook the whites enough, and I can't handle runny whites. YUK!

Shannon, I started the Wheat Belly book last night. The first few chapters were just telling you why wheat is bad for you...nothing I didn't already know, so I skimmed over it. They described the way you feel if you are addicted to wheat, how eating it just makes you crave it until you can't stop, and that is exactly what it does to me....but it's soooooo good! LOL I wish I didn't like it so much.

I compared my measurements from my weight of 182 after surgery to now, at 196. Most of the measurements are 1/2 to 1 inch different until it comes to my waist. It is now 5 inches bigger than it was then! I know that a big part of that is because they cut through my abdominal muscle, twice. I don't know if I will ever get into the pants I was wearing back then, and that's very depressing to me. When I reached 182 I was very optimistic about my weight loss and bought a lot of new clothes. Now if I try on pants that fit my waist, they are so baggy in the butt and hips that I could never wear them. It seems I am destined to wear elastic waist pants the rest of my life, and I don't want to. The pants that fit my hips and butt don't come close to closing at the waist. Very upsetting to me.

silentarctic You are so active and especially if you do all that walking, you really should be able with your diet get your bs readings back down and never be diabetic.

Shannon and Rennie I actually have always loved tuna salad, but I guess I ate it so much that for years I couldn't stand the smell of it either. So I don't plan to eat it too much because I don't want to get to burned out on it again.

Well, yesterday was a disaster for me. I ate only allowed foods and stayed within my calories, but I was starving all day long. I'm not doing anything that makes me hungry. There are so many versions of low carb variations. This morning I realized that even The New Atkins Made Easy book has a menu example for days when you want the Atkins shakes and the Atkins frozen dinners for those times when you can't or don't want to cook. So I have decided to do a Moderately low carb way of eating. My fbs blood sugar is running between 120s and 130s and I had them lower with Atkins. At this time I really don''t want to go back to Induction so the moderate low carb seems doable. I will use some of the rules of TSB by making sure that I eat 5 fruits and veggies and of course drink plenty of water. I will eat 3 low carb meals and use the shake in place of a snack at night. I don't really need more snacks most of the time. I have all these frozen dinners and I'll use those when I don't want to cook. But I think I will be making all my meals myself so I know what is in them. I am going to get busy and do my recumbent bike 6 days a week this month because I'll have about 10 to 12 days that I won't be getting hardly any exercise while on our trip.

I've just got to figure out what I can take to eat on our trip. We usually eat only 1 meal a day when we're at Tony's sons and we'll be there for 3 maybe 4 days. I used to take protein bars, but since I can't handle the sugar alcohol those are out. Maybe Ruthie can tell me if the SB bars are made with sugar alcohol. I just have to shop around and see if I can find one without it. I've heard Slimfast and Special K make bars and while they will have sugar, it is only for a couple of weeks. Of course, I take the Atkins shakes for breakfast on the whole trip and there is always jerkys I can fall back on for snacks if need be. I'll have to put MFP on my smartphone so I can track while gone. I really need to watch the sodium. Any suggestions on what to take would be greatly appreciated.:) I'll be staying at my sisters and maybe a night or two with my grandson when I get to Waco and I can cook there so staying OP won't be a problem. I can't wait to see my new Great grandson and 2 new great nephews.

I think someone asked one time if anyone thought that sodium caused their fbs to go up and I have to say Absolutely. There is just so much that affects our bodies and I don't think we really know all of it yet.

My eggs and bacon sure was good this morning and so satisfying.

Carol Sue Someone told me on another thread asked me yesterday if I knew that beans lowers cholesterol. I missed that somewhere in all my research. I've got a brisket in the slow cooker today and we're having beans with it. DH cholesterol is always high. Mine gets better with low carb. I'm adding beans back into our plan, slowly, but the benefits are just too good not to eat them.

Have good day chickies.:) I really love you guys.:hug:

Carol Sue You must have been typing when I was. I agree with you about the shakes as a replacement of a meal. Also eating a replacement/frozen dinner in place of my main meal ended up being a disaster. I eat those sometimes for dinner because it is quick, but I add veggies to it while it cooks. If I eat my eggs, bacon and slice of double fiber toast for breakfast and a good lunch, I can eat a frozen dinner for supper and I will be satisfied especially if I really was hungry for the frozen dinner I have on hand. Lately I have wanted tuna salad. I think I figured out that I need to keep my breakfast and lunch which is our main meal of the day as is and then keep my evening meal (which is more like most peoples lunch a smaller meal) more flexible. If I want a shake or a frozen dinner fine, but if I want something else and want to take the time to make it that is fine too. I don't usually need a snack if I eat right at those meals, but when I do that should be the time for the shake. I can't handle the bars. I've got Atkins bars and candies here now that will probably eventually be trashed because I can't eat them.

I think we have both learned a lot about ourselves lately and how we need to eat for us.:hug:

Yes, Trish, I edited my post twice, as I kept thinking of more things I wanted to share. LOL Gabby me!

I think I knew about the beans lowering cholesterol, but I focus more on the blood sugar because I take meds that lower the cholesterol.

It's very had to get settled in on a food plan that works when you have to be concerned with so many things...weight loss, blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol. I am learning that the main thing I have to focus on is getting the bread out of my diet for good. Other carbs such as pasta and rice raise my sugar, but not as much as the bread does. I have just never been one for shakes and bars, although other people do well with them. As we know, one size does not fit all!

I love brisket! I am defrosting a roast for pot roast right now.

Here's my tuna salad gals! I had to seriously doctor it up - chopped pickles, red bell pepper, onions, celery, slivered almonds inside and on top, cheddar cheese and spices! LOL! It is definitely an option for days like today when I really didn't have any other protein ready (and now that I eat eggs for breakfast everyday I really don't want egg salad) but I think it still tastes/smells fishy!

Thanks Carol Sue, I sure hope so :), I first found the Shirataki Noodles at Lowe's Food, but Walmart is now carrying them also. LOL my husband will only egg scrambled eggs that are cooked hard because someone made eggs when he was young that were runny (too soft). I can't even get him to eat an omelet.

Trish I can't eat a lot of tuna, it makes me nauseous for some reason, the same thing with eggs. After awhile the smell and texture gets to me. I actually have a little of my tuna left from this morning. I didn't put it on the lettuce leaves. I need to up my calorie count today so I used the low carb La Banderita tortilla. Trish that's why I like the recipe maker on MFP. The things that you don't think are bad will surprise you when you use that recipe maker. Trish send all of your Atkins stuff to me, I will put it to good use :D Love you too :hug: :)

Shannon lots of nutrients in your tuna, way to go :high: Hey would you happen to cook with powdered egg whites?

I'm so jealous of all of the cooks here ... You all make my mouth water LOL. I am just so lazy when it comes to cooking now. I love things that go in the crock pot or the oven :)

Rennie I have not used powdered eggs before. I'm an equal opportunity appliance user though, I've had a pork butt cooking all day in my crockpot. I love my crockpot, in fact I have TWO, lol! Sometimes they are both going!

Shannon, I had two, one of the boys broke the ceramic bowl on one and I haven't replaced it. Aw man pork butt ... I think I'm gonna come to your house for dinner :) I found two recipes low carb corn muffins and low carb biscuits. The biscuit recipe calls for powdered eggs. I didn't know there was such a thing but when I googled it I found there's a ton of items you can actually order from Walmart and of course Amazon that are powdered. Who knew :)

My son is making waffles ... he comes in here and says, "My waffles taste better than waffle house, her Mommy taste!" I said nope ... he says, "Just a little piece" :dizzy: I can't eat just a little piece, I'd want more so I didn't cave, yay me :)

I made it to the gym today also, only did 34 minutes burned 258 calories. I am so trying to get to the next decade :)

Unfortunately I didn't get the pork in early enough so it is for dinner tomorrow and hopefully enough to freeze for another meal or two after that. It smells good though. This is my first time cooking one. I am trying this recipe
http://everydaypaleo.com/beyond-easy-pulled-pork/ It was on special buy at Aldi last Wed.

If the powdered egg whites are what I think they are I have seen them in the Walmart before, in the baking section. And yeah, I love the "ship to store" with them. We have "prime" on Amazon so free shipping there too.

I have never had them but was turned off when I read you have to rinse them alot because they has a weird flavor. Is that right?


So, weird but I hated eggs before, hubby would scramble them and I'd eat a few spoonfuls. Now I devour them and my day seems off if I don't start with them!

There are a few paragraphs or maybe pages that talk about binge eating and I remember thinking how accurate it was.

I had a c-section with my daughter and they left me with this hanging pouch that honestly, I'm not sure can be change. It is less poofy now that I am losing weight but I don't think it will ever be like it was....and I was overweight then, but I did not have a hanging pouch.

Shannon I'm gonna look for them at the Walmart's that I go to because they aren't cheap. The shirataki noodles have a fishy smell and you do have to rinse them and then put them in a skillet to dry them but once you add all of the ingredients to your dish they are fine. They are near the tofu/vegetarian items in produce. I was looking for a ham for Easter and couldn't find one that I wanted to pay the price. I didn't have a c-section but I went from 128 to 199.5 with my first and my belly area has never been the same. It's a saggy, out of shape mess, ugly. My doctor told me I'd need a tummy tuck which is definitely out of the question :)

I think I've asked this question before. I have a gas issue, since losing weight and eating healthy I have gas all the time no matter what I eat. Do any of you have this issue? I have gas but can't poop, go figure :?:

I will look next time I'm at the store...willing to try anything once! Yeah, I am not pooping enough either. It's driving me crazy bc I used to be very regular. Gas kind of comes and goes. Sometimes I seem to have less than I used to but other times it seems increased. I still recommend probiotics. They have considerably improved my gassiness.

I had my first "low" last night with the Amaryl. I checked my BS before going to bed and it was 64. I did NOT have any symptoms, which was the scary part. What if I hadn't checked? I ate a few fiber crackers with a piece of cheese. That's what they used to give me in the hospital. Waited 10 min and BS was at 74, so I went to bed. This morning it was at 117. I'm so afraid of having a low while sleeping and not knowing it. I just have to control my eating a little better so I don't have to rely on the Amaryl.

Rennie, do you eat yogurt? I think probiotics are good for gas problems. They are in yogurt, or you can get them in pill form in the vitamin aisle. I don't think my gas is excessive, but I guess I should ask my husband. LOL

I love tuna and could eat it more often. I just put some chopped celery and mayo in it. I also like to add it to my salad since making a sandwich with it is a no no, unless I do a wrap with a lettuce leaf. I never think of that. I had baked fish 3 nights in a row last week and decided I'd better not do that because of the mercury.

What are you going to use the powdered egg whites for?

Shannon, I finished Wheat Belly last night. It strengthened my resolve to stop eating bread, but didn't really tell me anything I didn't know before. One thing it said was that sat fat is not bad for you unless it is paired with carbs. I had heard that before, and I wonder how true it is. It was some study where a group of people ate a diet high in sat fat and carbs and the other group ate sat fat with no carbs. At the end of the study the carb group had high cholesterol but the no carb group did not. No matter what, the cardiologist tells me to avoid sat fat.

I have never had a flat abdomen. I had belly fat before but now it's terrible. My waist measures more than my hips. I do not care for vanity reasons because I'm too old to worry about that, but I sure would like to be able to wear those pants I bought! When I had my bowel surgery I asked the doctor if he could do a tummy tuck while he had me open but he said no. I would really love to get one, have them fix up my ab muscle that they destroyed. But like you, Rennie, that is out of the question. I will just have to wear Spanx. It has been said that low carb gets rid of belly fat. I want to see the results!

Well, I've been low carbing and I sure seem to have all my belly fat! My new size 14's are pretty snug but :crossed: that they'll be OK by mid-month when I go on a four day break with some friends in Philadelphia.

BGL has been fine and weight is actually down ten pounds from my April 1 shock! I've been sticking pretty much to pure Atkins induction but am going to add a few more veggie carbs this week. (Gotta get back to eating more carbs before strawberry season!)

Sorry I've not been in here more often but MOD and ADMIN duties seem to take a big hunk of my time. The Mill is also a time sucker these days as we interview and prepare to open May 17.

"This too shall pass."

Shannon and Carol Sue I do eat yogurt but only the carbmaster yogurt from Kroger. I keep forgetting to look for the probiotic in the vitamin aisle when I have the money for it because it cost more than what I thought it would. I think it was like $15.

Carol Sue I love fish, baked or fried. My son has started to deep fry it in a little flower not corn meal and it is quite good without all of the bread that we don't need any way :) I found a biscuit recipe that called for the powdered eggs, flour and gluten free I think it said on a low carb site. On the belly, I look fine as long as I am dressed ;) I so want to buy an actual spanx body item but again more than I want to pay. I saw that Target has one that somebody on 3FC had recommended when I was searching through the new post. It was only $18 ... things will come together for us financially and I will be able to get a few things for myself :)

Ruth good job on the 10lbs for the month :high:

well fbs was back up and I am not sure why but the scale was down. I weighed in at 161.6 down .4 from yesterday ... it's a happy day :)

Rennie, what I have is not actually Spanx brand. I ordered some online because I wanted the ones that go from right under the bra line down below the belly. It's hard to find them that don't include the bra or pants. They came 2 in a pkg and were cheap. I wear them when I am dressed up. They smooth things over but they still don't help me fit into my old pants.

A friend of mine was having really bad gas issues. She talked to a chiropractor who comes into the hair salon where she works and he said he could fix her up. She has been going to him and her gas has improved, but she is spending so much money. He is giving her a discount on the office visits but she is buying so many supplements from him, and they are very expensive. I would have tried a lot of other things before I got involved with that. She has spent hundreds of dollars.

I am so amazed that your FBG goes up when your weight comes down! But good job on the weight loss!

Congratulations Ruthie, on a job well done! You make me want to go on induction in spite of the fact that I have tried so many times and cannot sustain it even for the 2 weeks. I think if I lived alone I could do it but there are too many compromises that have to be made.

EDIT: I tried to find those body shapers online again. They were from Dream Products, but it looks like they don't have them anymore. I will have to find somewhere else to buy they when I need more.

Carol Sue what brand are yours? Do they roll up? That's my issue sometimes and that hurts. I have the gas tablets I bought at Walmart and I take them when I remember :D It's amazing to me also that my FBS goes up when my weight goes down. :?:

I am feeling blah today. I think I went up to the mountaintop of weight loss joy and am now in the valley of stuck scale. I have been hovering around 194 since early last week. I usually have a whoosh on Tuesdays. No clue why, it just has been a trend. I was happy I still had a loss for the week when I weighed yesterday but since I weigh daily I knew I was actually up from where I had been. I was really expecting my usual whoosh today but instead it went up. I knew the success I was having would not last forever but truthfully I was expecting it to last another 6-8 lbs. I guess I should be thankful I've had continual losses each week. I know some folks do not. Blah.

Shannon :hug: It's all of that good cooking that you do :hug: The scale will move :)

Hey guys, not feeling educated enough to comment much, and sort of overwhelmed so I know I probably come off self centered at the moment.


Thanks for being so supportive though, yesterday I didn't get a workout in, dissapointing! So there was only the 10 minute walk to work, (got a ride home), 10 minute walk back to work after lunch, the 15 minute (its uphill yo!) walk home and then a short walk to my volonteer activity where I didn't workout, I was standing the whole time but not really active. It was sedentary standing. :( So a fail on activity. And I ate a lot when I got home. And was tired, I just don't find working a full day, and then an evening volonteer activity leaves me time to workout at night. But in general I like to workout in the evenings this is... a conundrum. :-| Maybe I need to add in lunch workouts on those days. :-|


So trying again today I am eating breakfast as of today its just peanut butter and toast. and Half a apple,... or a a whole smaller fruit. I had the rest of the apple with 12 almonds for a snack lunch was a peice of toast with tuna salad on it and spinach salad with strawberries and balsamic vinegar. I keep feeling like I am eating SO much.. It's wierding me out.

I;ve been weighing in pretty consistently in the 290's for afew days now. this is the smallest I've been in about 5 years I think. It's a very odd feeling, 60lbs down from my highest weight and honestly I feel the same. I guess... morbid obesity is still... morbid obesity.

I'm scared my body is going to stall, it likes to do that, I see other people my side dropping weight regularily and I'll admit I'm a little jealous. I "Should" be able to lose 1% body weight, which is around 3lbs a week but nope not me. I will probably "hang out" in the 290's for a while. Which scares me, I want to have good numbers for my doctor. I want to show I'm "trying". :-|

Hang in there SilentArtic!

silentartic, not self centered at all ... there are people on the threads that never do personals or only talk/type/chat with who they want to so no worries. :) And like I told Shannon, not sure if it was on this thread or another. The scale will move ... it just never moves like we want it to/when we want it to :hug:

I've been super hungry all day but my TOM is coming soon so I hope that is the reason. All my food today was on plan food but I overate at dinner. I did not have anything else afterwards though and it's bedtime and my BS is 107 so I feel good about that.

Tonight I have been folding clothes. How on earth do the clothes and towels pile up like this? I do laundry every day!! We don't even own that many clothes. I seriously alternate a few shirts and a couple pants. It just amazes me. 3 hours of folding. I was hoping to make a batch of my wheat free, sugar free cookies tonight since I've been having some cravings lately. I like having on plan treats for when the cravings strike so that I don't think too much about all the other treats laying around that my husband "needs".

Tonight I reheated the pulled pork I cooked up in the crockpot yesterday and I made a really yummy crunchy napa cabbage slaw that I found on a low carb blog and I roasted okra for the first time. If you love fried okra and are not eating it because of the breading, I think you'll love the roasted okra as much as I did. I might have eaten the entire batch myself actually. Gulp! Hubby and daughter did not like it. It isn't slimy like regularly cooked okra. Mmm, I'm already dreaming of farmer's market this summer! LOL!

The weather station has warnings out for storms, flooding and tornados in our state today, overnight and tomorrow. I sent the hubby out for a weather radio tonight after dinner because I want it on overnight. My brother's area had major flooding today and he said there were 3 tornados in his area. There are pictures on the local news website of tons of funnel clouds and some damage - like entire trees uprooted from the ground, big trees! Storms scare me! They never did before but since having my daughter I'm alot more aware of how fleeting life can be.

Shannon, on the laundry, there are 6 of us and laundry has to be done daily. :) and with going to the gym and my son and football practice it's just crazy :) I hope you get some rest tonight, I can hear in your post how uneasy you are about the storms. Say your prayers and rest my friend :hug:

I just checked my stats from January 1, 2013 till now ...

In 2013 I loss 19.4lbs

So far this year I have loss 18.2lbs ... this is very encouraging. If I can lose 2lbs a month for the next 8 months I will weigh 144.8lbs by December 31st ... now tell me that's not exciting :)

on the note of fbs ... I have got to do something. I am up again today :( and the scale is down .8

Wow! You are doing great this year!!

I'm glad you checked in this morning Rennie. Now we need to hear from our 2 other Carolina residents. We got a storm overnight, but on the news they said the south got hit much worse than we did.

Rennie, when are you due for an A1c check? I am curious to see how it is. You HAVE lowered your BS a lot, even thought you get those ups and downs. You have done very well on your weight loss, and your exercise is good too. You might not be spiking much after meals, so it might be better than you think.

I got my body shapers from Dream Products online, but I checked yesterday and they don't carry the ones I bought anymore. They did not roll, but sometimes the top slides down and the bottom slides up. I think that's from age. They didn't do that when I first got them but I think that came from washing them. I have had them a couple years. I have another one that I bought at Kohls on sale. It doesn't have a bra, but it has straps that go around the bra area. I haven't worn it yet. It's a little tight, but the price was right and I figure I can wear it as I lose a little more weight. The ones without a bra or pants are very hard to find, expecially since I don't want to spend a lot of money on them.

Shannon, you are not losing weight because your body is adjusting to the initial rapid weight loss. That was a shock to your body. Don't get discouraged. Keep doing what you're doing and it will start coming off again, albeit more slowly.

Shannon, okra is a southern thing. You rarely see or hear about it up north, except from people who moved here from the south, and they are complaining that they can't get it up north. Some stores do have it. When I make vegetable soup, I think it should have okra in it, so I have found a store that sells corn, tomatoes and okra together in one can and I add that to my veggie soup. My step son and his wife pick it out of the soup. I have never had it breaded and fried. I probably would like it, but don't want to add any more breaded and fried foods to my diet! LOL

Trish, I am reading the book by Michelle May, Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes. It reminds me so much of you. Like you said, it is about IE, especially about how to keep the foods you love in your diet without going overboard. I like the references to what actually constitutes a portion of carb. Much smaller than most people serve. I am hoping that I reach the point where I can add small portions of carbs, but I'm really not there yet. I need to lose more weight and get my bs stablized before I can do that.

Last night I made stuffed peppers. I bought 2 big peppers, one yellow and one red. My protein was a mixture of ground beef and hot sausage. I added some sauteed onion and canned tomato sauce, salt and pepper. I had 1 cup of cooked rice, but I only used about 2/3 of it, so my portion contained about 1/3 C of rice. I filled one pepper for DH then I added some black beans and chopped spinach to the filling and stuffed mine. There are so many ways to add bean and veggies into your meals. I poured additional tomato sauce over them and heated them in the microwave, since everything was already cooked. It was delicious and I felt completely satisfied. Before dinner I tested at 99 and afterwards I tested at 117, so no big spike from 1/3 C rice. Before bed, I had some ice cream, and that was my downfall. I don't usually do that but DH left a small amount of ice cream in the carton and I didn't want to waste it. I would have been better off wasting it. My weight is still down this morning. I'm back to 194, but probably would have been lower without the ice cream. It's gone now, but I wish I hadn't eaten it.

I am trying a different bread, too. I always bought that Nickles 35, but this time I bought Sara Lee multigrain. It is 45 cals per slice instead of 35, but it has more fiber and protein than the Nickles. I put it in the freezer, and on those days when I really want a slice of toast with my eggs, it's there. I forget it's there. Out of sight, out of mind.

In the Michelle May book, she says to decide if you really, really, really, really want the carb you are about to eat. It must pass the "4 really" test.

It also tells the story of a woman who was craving the cookies she had made for her kids. Instead of eating them, she ate something else. Not satisfied. So she ate something else. Still not satisfied. In the end she did eat the cookies, but realized that she would have been better off eating 2 cookies with a glass of skim milk in the first place. She would have had what she was craving but not all the extra food she ate trying to avoid the cookies. This is why I like to eat real food instead of trying to substitute. There area some substitutes that satisfy me, but others leave me still craving the original food, so I'm better off to "eat what I love" and try to find a way to fit it in.

LOL DH is watching Let's Make a Deal. This one contestant was really energetic and Wayne Brady asked her what she contributed it too and she said "Thanking God every day." Another woman stood up and said "Prunes!" LOL

Good morning Carol Sue! We are alive and well too. Our new weather radio woke me at 5 with a tornado warning in Rennie's area and I couldn't get back to sleep. 30 min later it went off and had expanded the warning to my area so then I was really awake. Finally got back to sleep an hour later but the little one was up not too much later. It will be a long day, lol!

Fortunately the scale dropped today but I agree, the more I thought about it yesterday the more I realized my body probably needs a "pause" to adjust. I'm just dreading when my journey reaches the point I have to count anything or follow an actual diet vs just cutting out the higher carb foods. Counting and diets (following specific guidelines) are historically bad news for me. My eating disordered behavior (binge eating disorder) is triggered when I feel I have failed or when I try to do something perfectly and cannot. I've had years of counseling and have worked through these mental issues mostly but it is still a trigger with diet/exercise. When I count I become hyperfocused on the numbers and if I go outside what I'm supposed to be at it really affects me. If you read any of the posts over in Chicks In Control (esp the Intuitive Eating threads) you will see many others who cannot "diet" for these same reasons. I have spent years starting a diet only to realize a week later that it was doing me more harm than good and quitting. I have restarted at Weight Watchers so many times I've lost count but tracking just undoes me. It's kind of hard to explain because frankly, it sounds kind of dumb but the brain of someone with an eating disorder just sees things differently than what common sense might say. So, anyway, all that to say, I am just hoping to get further along and feel more confident before subjecting myself to plans, counting or recording food.

The roasted okra is not breaded or fried. It is drizzled with olive oil and salt/seasonings then cooked at a high temp like other roasted vegetables. It was really good! In a previous job I had colleagues in another office in NJ. One of them worked closely with me and I found out he was from the south. He paid me to pick up and ship him jars of pickled okra! Personally I don't like it pickled, thought it was really funny that he did.

I'd like to know about your A1c too Rennie!

Loveb ! Fab results overall.

Shannon : Just say safe, and be prepared, enjoy a cozy night in with your family.

Feeling a little odd today, not sure if I have a burgeoning infection or if my body is reacting o an increase in whole grains. my energy levels are fine i just feel slightly uncomfy internally if that makes sense.

Drinking lots of tea and I am going to try and figure out where I can scale back, i know I ate too much yesterday.

Sounds like an interesting book. We start going back to the library regularly for storytime when preschool ends so I will look for it. I have, so far, been enjoying my substitutes. I am trying lots of veggies that I never gave a chance before and I really love the sugar free, wheat free cookies I make each week. Regular cookies never satisfied me and I would eat way too many (like half a pkg at a time, 10+ cookies!) but these wheat free cookies are much more "dense" from the fat in the almond flour. I really can just eat 2 or 3 and they taste good. I don't feel like I'm really substituting, just acquiring a new taste.

Great minds think alike, stuffed peppers are for dinner here tonight!

Thought of you gals when this canned tuna recipe showed up in my blog feed today!
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/04/c...a-ceviche.html

Thanks Shannon :) I owe it to the consecration :)

ON THE SUBJECT OF MY A1c - I have not had it checked in awhile thanks to no insurance. My husband started the process but has not finished (WHY? I don't know). I do have kit to send in I just haven't done it. (WHY? I don't know). but I will do it in the morning so that we know. :) My fbs have been in the 130's.

Thanks for checking Carol Sue, I have two that are the body suit type that were extremely tight. I wore one on Easter and it wasn't that bad and it held they belly in pretty well :) I like the idea of eating what you really want and that is what I have been trying to do within reason. Yesterday I wanted chocolate chip cookies (which reminds me I forgot to add them on MFP) but we went to Aldi before the gym and I got the cookies. I ate 3 and I was done for 160 calories. They weren't bad and the 3 weren't enough I could have definitely ate more but I didn't (pat on the back :D)

Shannon if everything is going well for you the way you are doing it I wouldn't track. But I think you said you actually hand write some things out, right? The only way for me to stay OP is for me to record my food before hand. If I am left to think it out during the day rest assured the day is gonna be a fail. I am not disciplined enough to eat like I am supposed to. With carbs I haven't had any rice, pasta or white loaf bread since before January 2 of this year. I don't think I would have an issue with the pasta but rice with butter is heavenly to me (I'm like Carol Sue with butter and bread). The Healthy Life bread that I buy I store it in the freezer and take it out as I want it which is not that often because it's not that great IMO. Potatoes I like any kind of way they are prepared. I was gonna make Au Gratin potatoes for two of the kids and my husband last night and quickly changed my mind because I would have had at least a saucer full. ;) Fries I can eat in moderation if cooked at home, take out is a whole nother story :). I'm saying all of this to say do what feels right for you. When you think you are going to do something against your plan send me a message ... we can talk it down together just don't wait is what I have learned the sooner I talk about it the less likely I am to mess up :) I don't know where all of that came from but sometimes I need to see my flaws (mishaps in black and white :)) Shannon did that down pour just come through there? Oh my goodness I could barely see out of window, just like at 5:10 this morning.

Thanks silentartic :) hope you feel better soon :hug:

Trish where are you? :hug:

Oh and someone was saying they gave up fried food. My son fries chicken at least two-three times a week. I eat my 4ozs of boneless skinless lightly battered chicken thighs and I have no problems at all. :)

it has been a good day. My husband and I went to the gym I burned 300 calories so I'm happy :)

I am fine. We didn't even get much rain, but we are supposed to get rain tomorrow and Friday. We'll see. Hope everyone is safe. Really bad storms all across the country.

I've been here trying to get my head on straight. I know I have to low carb and I guess I've been fighting it or maybe I should say fighting through these crazy feeling. I got my newest Atkins book out to do some reading hoping it will help me get back on track which I am actually on track so far today. Wednesday is usually a tough day for me, but it actually worked itself out. I made tacos for lunch and talked myself out of eating the tacos. I made a big tacoless salad by making my usual salad and just adding the taco fillings on top. The neat thing is that I could not eat it all so I saved it to eat when I get home from church tonight.

I know I have to do the low carb because it is obvious that it is the way for me to keep my fbs under control. Just a few days of eating carbs and my fbs was 158 yesterday and and 144 today. My weight jumped up to 227.8 a few days ago and is back down to 225.6 for the past 2 days. These results are just not acceptable. So I'm eating lower carb again but not back down to induction, because I am eating small amounts of beans each day to get some fiber.

Rennie You are having great results. I am so happy for you.

Shannon You have done great and now your body is just trying to catch up to the weight loss as it gets ready for the next round of weight loss. Wonderful. Thanks for the tuna recipe, looks good so I printed it to try it. It will be a nice change.

Carol Sue I am convinced that if we would eat what we crave that we probably would be satisfied with a smaller portion. I know when I don't listen and give my body what it asks for that by the time I do cave in and give it what it wants that I overdo and end up almost making myself sick. I'm also sure that if I would do it that I could use IE rules with low carbing. Now to just do it. Thanks for sharing from the book.

Silentarctic Hope you feel better soon.

Ruthie Always good to hear from you and glad things are getting better for you.

Just been staying busy around here. Heading to IN in June and then on to TX to see my family so lots to do. Spending lots of time on phone calls with my kids and DH DD is trying to make her way back into our lives which I'm kind of the go between with her and her daddy. He is pretty hurt by the way she has done him and some how I have to help them mend their differences. I'll try to check in even if only to say hello.

Y'all have a good evening.

Thanks for the recipe Shannon :)

Trish glad you checked in :hug: I want tacos every time I hear someone mention it. :drool: I personally think you and Shannon are doing well :hug: My fbs is interesting also, not crazy high but after seeing 108-111 I'm a little disappointed seeing the 130's but like Carol Sue said they aren't in the 200's anymore, thank goodness :) Hoping things come together for your husband and his daughter :)