I had a busy afternoon, but I just can't stay away from this place. So here I am.

Carol Sue Tony likes his cauliflower cooked with cheese and butter. We used to snack on raw cauliflower and broccoli florets, but I don't know why we got away from it. I made the mistake of making the chex snack party mix just with the stuff in it that he likes and leaving out the stuff he doesn't like and he is stuck on that now. I used to make it just with butter but now I cut the butter back a little and replaced what I took out with just a bit of CO hoping it would make it healthier. But noticed lately that he doesn't eat it as fast as he used to.

Thanks for sharing about the spike you have 3 hrs out. It isn't all that high any more and seems to come back down by the 4th hr so I think that is a good thing.

I really didn't think the beans caused my problem. I agree that it was the Metformin and the bullet proof coffee. Of course I was adding fiber and I thought maybe the combo of the high fiber and all the fat in the bullet proof coffee just might have been a problem as well. I don't shy away from the fat either especially since I've learned so much about how it works for us in keeping us satiated, but I don't use a lot of it like I did at first.

Today we went to DH favorite hamburger joint. Five Guys Hamburger and I decided to order a double cheeseburger all the way so I could have the veggies with it because I was going to take the stuff of the bun. I ordered the burger and I'm not sure what the man said, but I told him that I was not going to eat the bun and he said, "You want us to make you a bunless double cheeseburger in a bowl all the way?" I said, "You can do that?" He said yes and asked me "Do you do this because of an allergy or preference?" I told him it was my preference. I was so thrilled. Later we were sitting at our table eating and Tony read the bottom of the big sign that said "Hamburgers and Hot dogs also served in a bowl without a bun". Neither on of us had ever read that on the sign. Duh!!!

I got home and tracked it on MFP and my calories today will be below the 1500 and I may have counted all of it a little high because it didn't have any info about a double cheeseburger without bun and ketchup in a bowl only a small cheeseburger or a bacon cheeseburger. So I took the small and counted it as if I ate 2 of them just to be safe. I ate about 10 fries and their small order is ridiculously large and MFP has them counted it as 227 g and I didn't know how to figure that so just counted it as a 20% which was high because 10% counted it as all zeros and I know that isn't right. We never make a dent in those fries. So my carbs today are over 40% and fat is pretty high, but according LCHF that is not a bad thing just more than I usually would eat. The protein is in my normal range, but the sodium is a lot higher than MFP recommends, but according to Atkins that shouldn't be too bad either because lowcarbers need a little more to keep from having leg cramps and fatigue. I never eat enough salt. Just never was a big salt eater. I'll try to drink a lot of water between now and bed time.

We did a lot of shopping so we must have spent a good hour and a half walking and I really was sweating today. Does anyone else who does lowcarb sweat a lot? I mean sometimes I feel drenched. I had to come home and wash under my arms. Sorry more than you wanted to know. LOL
I hope that is a good thing. I've been doing that lately when I do any type of exercise.

Glad you gave the warning to other Carol Sue as we do share what we experience and works for us. I know that what works for others may not work for me. Like the bullet proof coffee turned out to be almost a nightmare for me. But now I know not to do it. However, I must say that when things are going as it should, I can put a small amount like a tsp of CO in my coffee. I just can't add butter to it. I just can't add a lot of fat to my way of eating.

I'm through now for tonight.

Good night!!!

I need a hug

This morning my FBS was 228.... It is safe to say that I have fallen off track BIG time.

I am still taking my meds so that is a plus. But I had stopped testing my BS. I started slowly eating bad and now I am just eating junk nonstop not even trying.

IDK why I do this. Its a continued pattern of me screwing up sigh. I am feeling really down about it and beating myself up even though I know that won't help. I just have to do better.

Moonkissed! I will give you a big hug! I know the feeling. This LC can be really hard to stick with. I still get a 200+ every once in a while because of something that pops up in front of me and I eat it. I stopped testing for a long while and that's how I ended up with the high A1c. But we know that is not the answer. Not knowing your BS reading does not make it OK. We need to get right back on the horse and try again, and never stop trying. Every time you have a high reading you do more damage to your body that is not reversible. You might improve your BS, but once the damage is done to the organs, it's done. Try to keep that in mind when you want to eat something that is going to spike your blood sugar. Try to find low carb alternatives that you like. For one thing, I have grown to love a hamburger patty without the bread. I just make sure I have lots of lettuce, tomato and onion to eat with it. Some people like cheese on it, too, but cheese on meat is not my thing. If you want a sandwich, try wrapping it in a lettuce leaf, or find some low carb high fiber wraps. There are things like cauliflower mashed potatoes. Although they don't really taste like mashed potatoes, they are tasty. Your taste buds will adjust eventually. If you can't give up sweets, there are recipes online for low carb options. I prefer to just pass on the sweets. You can do this, and we will help you. Think about the damage...you don't want to lose your eyesight, or your feet, or cause damage to your kidneys and need dialysis. This is real. Diabetes sucks big time, but we unfortunately have it and have to deal with it. With dietary changes and exercise we can lower our readings, but we can never again eat the way we used to.

Keep coming back here, we will give you support.

hugs! I can relate. I've been off plan for at least two weeks with moving. I have no idea when I will be able to get back on either. I have only tested a couple times in the last month. I feel down as well and also just feel like a big fraud since I'm still answering questions for the magazine article in the midst of this. It's ok. We will both get back to it. Baby steps. Let's plan one thing we will do today that is good for us. For me, I'm going to drink water. I've not had much water at all lately, way too much diet soda, I know I am dehydrated.

Trish, for whatever reason, I have always felt warmer than everyone else in the room. When I feel cold, I know everyone else is freezing. I also perspire a lot, but most of it is on my head and face. I don't exercise at a high intensity, but by the time I'm finished I'm drenched. I have to wear sleeveless things to bed, even in the dead of winter, or I will be too hot to sleep. Many times I wake up in the middle of the night and turn my pillow over because it's wet from sweating. I never related it to LC eating, but it could be from that because I have leaned toward low carb since my 30s.

I looked up french fries on Fitday. Here is what I found for one french fry.

From Fresh, deep fried 3-4in length 21 cal 1 gm fat 2gm carb.

From Frozen, deep fried 3-4 in length 27 cal 1 gm fat 2 gm carb

There were a lot of other categories, but these are the two that I saw that seemed to apply if you want to consider how many french fries you ate.

Here's what I don't like about ordering a hamburger without the bun. They will always give it to you without the bun, but they never deduct anything off for the cost of the bun. We go to this place that has a giant fish sandwich and comes with a hoagie bun. It has 3 big pieces of fish. We always split it and request an extra bun and they charged us $1 for the extra bun. Now that I don't eat the bun, we no longer ask for an extra one. But if we said we wanted it without a bun they would not deduct anything. They are happy to do it, because every time they do it, it saves them money. I have never seen a place that reduces the price if you don't want the bun.

We have never gone to Five Guys. Jerry prefers a sit down restaurant where they serve your food to you. It is more expensive that way, but he doesn't care. He's not the one who has to figure out how to get all the bills paid. LOL I have heard that their burgers are very good.

Have you ever gone to Red Robin? We went once and DH didn't like it. They specialize in all those hamburgers with a big variety of things on them. DH ordered a hamburger with lettuce and tomato because they came to take our order before we even got a chance to look over the menu to see what they had. I got a grilled chicken salad. We could have gone out for steak dinner for what they charged us. LOL

MoonKissed Bless your heart, I know exactly how you feel as I have done that so many times over the years since I came out of yrs of remission. And I promise you that this thread has heard me ask many times "What in the world is wrong with me? Why do I keep doing this to myself?" And on and on and on.

I am so proud of you for coming here and telling how you feel, how you are dealing with it and asking for help. BIG COURAGE AND STEP!!! You may be struggling, but you are trying. You don't know how many times I started everyday OP to only fall off. I have learned that although I am doing good right now DOES NOT mean I've got this thing licked. It means that RIGHT NOW TODAY, I am working the plan. I have learned to take it ONE DAY AT A TIME!!!! EVEN ONE MOMENT AT A TIME!!! It helps that I give my permission to screw up without letting it screw me up. That means that I get up and start over not tomorrow, but at the next meal or the next snack. I am NOT saying it is easy to do, because sometimes it isn't and sometimes I have failed. However, I have created my own plan in which I allow for days that I might NOT BE SO PERFECT at this.

I have learned that while most of us are really good at many things, we often feel that we gave to be perfect at following our diet plan. Did you know that even thin people have off days when they eat off plan? Why have we allowed diet plans to make our life so miserable that we beat ourselves up and end up giving up on our plan because "we" had a bad day or moment and ate off plan. You are NOT a bad person. YOU ARE A NORMAL PERSON WHO JUST HAD AN OFF DAY. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW IT TO CAUSE YOU TO GIVE UP!!!

Treat yourself like you would a little child learning to walk. Pick yourself, dust yourself off and get back On YOUR Plan. I say "Your Plan" because I think you have to learn how to take a plan that works for you and tweak it into a Personal Plan of your own that you can live with. Maybe you are failing at your plan, but maybe the plan you are using is failing you.

I follow my plan 100% most of the time, but I do allow for times when it doesn't. The main reason I do this is because I am a Perfectionist personality that believes I MUST be perfect at what I'm doing. So I have to take a plan for me LCHF and tweak and make it fit me, my personality and my lifestyle. So I shoot more toward 85 to 90% OP and allow for those 10 to 15% times that I may be off plan... even rare occasions that I have no real power over when I might even be 20% off. This way My Plan does not allow for something to derail me. There is no such thing as Off Plan or Failure in my plan. I knew a lady who said "Life happens" there are going to be times we lose control because of stress or whatever, but we don't have to let it screw things up for us for good.

Thank you for allowing us to be able to encourage you. Just by coming here and sharing with us is your first step back OP. I call those moments you are going through Learning experiences. What was I thinking? How did I feel? Was I really hungry for it? Maybe I should give myself permission to have this particular food once in a while so I don't feel deprives. I would say make it be a learning thing that is a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block rather than beating you down so much that you feel the way you are feeling.

Hope this helps.

Shannon I know you are doing the best you can considering your situation right now and I am just as confident that you will be back OP when things settle in your life. So you shouldn't feel like a fraud. You are such an inspiration and many will be helped by your LC experience.

Carol Sue No, 5 Guys didn't lower the price and I didn't mind the cost in money as I did the calorie expense. I don't think we have a Red Robin here in our small town. However, I Charlotte or some other town around us who have grown a little faster than us especially in NC may have one.

Thanks for the info from Fitday. Calorie difference in fresh and frozen fries is quite interesting. 5 Guys fries or fresh, but I make frozen at home when I make them for DH. I usually don't eat them at home any more.

I think we will be going to KFC today. Our KFC in York has lots of veggie choices. I will get 2 pc of dark meat and take the breading off, and my 2 sides will be greens and green beans no biscuit. I always tell them no biscuit, but they put it on there any way which is sad because DH and I don't eat them and they go in the garbage can. But I will be OP. An exercising will be walking stores. DH likes walking and I do good walking in the stores usually using a cart. However, I forgot to share that when we went to Costco this week, I had to go to the restroom. I was amazed as I walked to the restroom that I was not only walking with now awkwardness like I used to feel walking without a cane or the cart, but my breathing was nice and easy and I wasn't out of breath when I got in the stall. It is a long walk to the restrooms in that store and it used to wear me out. So what exercise I have been doing has really helped me to get back a lot of what I had lost.

I knew a pharmacist who quit working in a pharmacy to start his own Health Food store and learn how to help people Naturally because he didn't like what he saw the medicine doing to people he was selling them to. One day I was working in the office with him and he stopped working and turned to me and said "Pat, always remember that there is no health problem that you cannot reverse and get back, if you only new how too. Don't let anyone ever tell you or convince you otherwise." I've never forgotten that.

I am sure there might be some damage that we may wait to long to do anything about. However, I am walking proof from my own experience that he was right. When I married Tony, I had lost weight but I did not do it in a healthy way. By the time we married, I wore pull over blouses because I had damaged my body so that I could not button a shirt, I could not put my earring in my ears. When I wore shirts with button or wore earrings, Tony had to do them for me. I was not in great shape. Over the years of eating healthier since marrying him, I now can do everything for myself. I may be too optimistic, I just believe that if I work hard at doing healthy things that I will be able to get back even more. I know my doctor did tell me a few years ago that he didn't think the diabetes has damaged any of my organs. So the reason I work so hard to make myself do things I know are good for me is so that I can get back as much as I can. After reading these LC doctor's websites, I am even more convinced that I while I know I can never be cured of diabetes, I now know I can get into remission and I will work harder to do that. All this is just my experience besides what I have seen done in other peoples lives as they did the same thing.

I'm not saying you are wrong Carol Sue because I know how this disease damages bodies as I've seen that too. The diabetic doctor I know at church having his feet rebuilt which will take yrs. So you are right. I'm just saying that we are blessed to know these days how to eat, exercise and live so we don't have to go through those complications. I guess it just comes down to us making the decision of which path we want to take.

I read somewhere that our bodies will heal themselves IF we give it the right stuff to do it. Thank God we are learning new ways of how to do that everyday. Maybe someday people won't have to have any damage to reverse at all.

Love you guys.

Trish, I understand what you are saying that you can get diabetes into remission...control your BS levels and get off meds, but I am sticking to my belief that once you have organ damage, that damage cannot be reversed, and your body cannot heal it. I'm talking about things like diabetic retinopathy which damages your sight, neuropathy which damages your nerves, and can cause gangrene in your feet, and kidney damage. I know that this usually happens over a longer period of time, but it happens to people who don't work to control their diabetes the way we do. As far as that pharmacist is concerned, I know that pharmaceuticals sometimes just mask the symptoms but don't cure the problem and can do more harm than good. I know that many health problems can be reversed by other means, but I also believe that there are some that once they occur, they cannot be reversed. Once the damage is done, it's done. There are ways to halt the progression, though, keep it from getting worse. A good example is when a heart attack causes heart damage. You can condition the rest of your heart to take up the slack for the damaged part if you are diligent and do what is needed, but the damaged part will never heal and go back to normal. And, if kidney damage could be cured by the body healing itself, people would not need kidney transplants. I am not trying to change your opinion, but this is mine.

Carol Sue I don't disagree with some of what you say because I absolutely agree that when a person loses eye sight, and damage to kidneys etc that it can't be reversed. I actually don't know how much of some things we can get back, but I do think we should all work at making our bodies as strong as we possibly can.

I think we are really on the same page.

I just logged my meal at KFC on MFP.

Calories 1276, Net Carbs 2, Fat 28, Protein 29. This is because I took the breading and skin off the chicken and had 2 thighs. I ordered the original because I don't like it, I prefer the Krispy and knew I might be tempted to cave. Dodged that one. I at 3/4 of the greens and 3/4 of the green beans. Yay!!!

My end of the day food today will be

Calories 1076, Net Carbs 20, Fat 90 and Protein 72... Calories low but the ratio within my plan. I am truly enjoying this way of eating.

Well, you chicks know how good I am at "forgetting" to get bloodwork done. Well, I did this month and went to see my dear Dr Jack this afternoon. It was great! HA1C is 6.2 down from 7.2, BP is good, haemoglobin is back up to normal where it should be and he considers me "a perfectly controlled diabetic". So good to hear. Weight is 180 as of this morning - down 12 pounds from when he last checked me. "Whatever you are doing, keep right on doing it."

So you see, it can be done.

My apologies for not checking in here more frequently. As you probably know, I don't monitor my blood on a daily basis - in fact, I've not tested for a couple of months. Carefully watching my carbs and choosing "good" carbs seems to work for me. I'm doing a modified Atkins along with South Beach.

Ruthie So glad to hear from you dear friend. I think of you and wondered how you were doing. So glad you went to see your doc and got such great results. CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are doing great!!! Looks like modified Atkins with South Beach works for you. I've seen a lady on another lowcarb website that does a modified South Beach Lowcarb combo and she has been able to stay OP for years. I hope to join become one of those modified Atkins success myself.

Check back in whenever you can.

Good to see you here, Ruth! And congratulations on the big drop in your A1c and also your weight! You are definitely doing something right. I agree with you that it is not necessary for a type 2 to test often when they are following a low carb diet like you are. You know what foods not to eat and are confident that your diet is keeping your BS in line. You are an inspiration to all of us!

Trish, the only reason I said anything is because I wouldn't want a newly diagnosed diabetic who might be lurking here to get the idea that they could do whatever they want and then if they get a problem they can reverse it. I think doctors should make a point of warning patients of the gravity of long term high blood sugar. I know from discussions we have had in the past that we are on the same page.

Remember when I quit eating the kale? Well, I ended up buying some again. I ate 1 serving last week and 2 servings this week. The past 2 days I slept good with no pain in my back or my hands. Some people on another board told me I am giving credit to kale when it could be something else I'm doing that is easing the pain, but I consider the past couple days to be proof. There's something about giving your body the vitamins it needs that makes a difference. I'm convinced. It might not work with any old pain...it might be that the certain pain I have is helped with the vitamins in kale. I am not going to go back to eating it every day like I was because of the excess of folic acid. I will buy small bunches and eat it once a week or so, and I mixed it with shredded cabbage instead of eating it by itself.

I haven't had KFC for more than 10 years because DH doesn't like it. When I did eat it, I ate the extra crispy. I also take the skin off all my chicken. Not because of the fat, but because I just don't like it, even if it's crispy.

I have once again lost the 3 lbs that have been jumping on and off my body. LOL This time I will concentrate of getting lower rather than gaining it back again. Water, water and more water!

Carol Sue I'm glad you made the clarification because we never want to mislead anyone who comes to this thread. I really think we are one of the best diabetic groups I've seen on line and we don't want to mess it up. Thank you so much for having my back.

I don't know if it was something in the KFC or what, but my fbs was 123 this morning. UNACCEPTABLE And we are going out to eat today for my birthday. Not sure where. So I am thinking about adding back the other 1/2 of my Metformin. I know tomorrow will probably be higher too. Nothing was different with my other meals/snacks so it had to be there. I will try to be careful today, but I will wait and see how I do in the next few days. We have been out to eat 3x already this week and today will be 4. I will give myself a few days because tomorrow I will go back to doing all the meals at home.

I do notice that my system has settled down and doing better today. I actually woke up at 6:45 and decided there was no reason to get up. I got up sometime after 8. Life is going to settle down around here too and I will get back to my routine of eating and exercise next week. Just will have to see if the fbs comes back down when things get back to normal. If not I will definitely go back to 1000 mg of Metformin again. I just realized that I usually eat a small snack later in the evening to take the 500 mg Metformin, but I ate my dinner so late that I took it with dinner instead. I will try that again tonight before deciding to take the 1000 mg. Maybe I am one who needs to take it later with a snack. And my weight is still good. It has been about the same with only a bounce of .2 lb all week which seems to be my pattern of things. I may just have to do some more tweaking and really not eat out so much. By using MFP to track my food, it will help me to see where I need to make changes. Another thing I'm learning from others is that I should have tested with my meter 3 hrs after eating at KFC then I would have known if it was caused by eating there.

This is going to be a new part of this journey, but at least if I learn to do it right it will hopefully be a journey to success. I told my sister that my health is going to become my new hobby and it looks like it is. LOL

Carol Sue We are so alike in some things. I had not realized the connection of the greens and some things I feel until you said that. I haven't been eating my greens and I'm out of kale and I'm noticing it in how I feel. I noticed this morning after eating the greens yesterday that I am better. Strange things you remember, but in the old Weight Watcher's plan I was on 30 yrs ago, we were required to eat a helping of greens everyday. Think they had something right there. I do so much better with the greens. I still have some avocado I have to use before it ruins, but I think I am going to go back to putting greens in my eggs. A lot less expensive that's for sure.

Well, I have to get busy around here. My youngest son surprised me calling me on his way to work this morning and sang happy birthday to me. Was a "special" surprise and treat. Surprise because I don't hear from him too much. He is one who calls on birthday day, Thanksgiving and Christmas and Mother's day and it is usually sometime after 7 or 8 at night because he works such long hours. Since all my family lives in other states, who doesn't say something on Facebook will be calling me. Got a lot to get done before the phone starts ringing again.

Y'all have a good day.

Well Happy Birthday Trish!!!




Your are starting off the new year with a whole new you! That's wonderful.

I'm surprised that your BS went up with the KFC meal because you took off the skin and breading and only had veggies with it. I wonder if it's in the way they cook it. I don't think an occasional 123 can hurt with all your other readings being lower.

Our town isn't real big, but we have a PA Turkpike interchange 5 miles from our house so we have just about every restaurant and fast food restaurant you could imagine. No Cracker Barrel, but that is at the next exit several miles away. There are only certain ones we go to. It's mostly based on what DH likes, because I can find something to eat just about anywhere.

We are going to the casino today. I love their buffet, but I will eat too much. I will not eat any carbs, other than vegetables, but even too much protein can up your blood sugar. But it is planned and I am OK with it. Their pieces of meat are all small, but they have delicious roasted chicken, baked fish, poached salmon, and grilled steak, and I will sample some of each. They also have crab legs but the line for them is usually long. I won't eat any of them unless I notice that the line goes down. I had scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast and won't eat again until dinner at the casino.

When I eat my kale I usually buy it fresh, but I have started buying frozen kale and collard greens for when I want to add a bit into my eggs. It just makes it easier.

Have a good birthday!