My son and his inlaws are having the vacation from H**L. They rented a huge beautiful beach house in Va Beach. There are 12 people I think. The weather is not cooperating, then this morning he called and said his MIL was having chest pains and was admitted to the local hospital. His FIL spend the night at the hospital with her. She is in her mid 70's and has a heart issue and takes meds for an irregular heart beat. I don't think she has ever had a heart attack or a blocked artery. They are taking turns cooking and are eating a lot of elaborate meals. I'm thinking that maybe she was having indigestion from eating unusual foods, or maybe I'm just hoping. Women don't usually present with chest pains. Mine is always pain in the jaw, and my friend usually has back pain. They are doing a stress test today and hopefully they won't find anything and release her.

Carol Sue I put heavy whipping cream in (not really sure how much bc I just pour til it hits the bottom of the blade in my vitamix, it's probably several tbsp, coffee is light brown when done), 2.5 packs splenda or 3 packs truvia, 1/2 tbsp grass fed butter, 1 tsp coconut oil and the coffee (2 tbsp grounds added to machine with 2.5 cups water....cups on machine, not measured before putting in).....that is how I like it but it's totally up to you what combo you throw together!

Still packing like crazy!

My son's MIL was in the hospital overnight. They did a stress test that showed nothing so they released her. When we talked to Dave yesterday, she was sitting on the deck drinking a glass of wine. They are all drinkers in that group! I guess I was right when I said it was indigestion from all the rich food they are eating. She is normally a healthy eater.

My bs is better and my weight is back down, but not lower than before. I really need a loss to keep up my morale.

Shannon, I mainly wanted to know how much of the coconut oil to add. I will put a tsp in a full cup of coffee and go from there. Thanks! How is your eating plan going through all of this?

Trish, I have tried several times to find out exactly how Metformin works and when it should be taken. Today I read that it slows down the release of glucose from the liver during fasting and helps the absorption of insulin by the cells. It should be accompanied by reduced carb diet and exercise, the amount of carbs to be determined by each individual, depending on their own bs spikes. Taking Metformin and not changing lifestyle is not going to help diabetes. As far as when to take it, it says to take it with meals to avoid unwanted side effects, but it also says it should be taken at the same time every day to keep the levels of med in the body even. That was what I thought. And this is in regards to regular Metformin, not extended release. My 3 meals usually occur within an 8 hour period. If I took my meds with those meals, I would be going 16 hours without meds and my levels would drop greatly during that time. This was why I was taking my pills at breakfast, around 9 or 10 and with dinner, around 4 or 5, and then at bedtime, but when I did that, I got up in the middle of the night throwing up. Good for my diet, but not fun! LOL After adding the glimiperide twice a day, the doctor told me to stop the bedtime Metformin and I have not been sick since. I usually take it with breakfast around 9 or 10 and then later in the evening around 9 or 10. 12 hours apart, even though I am not eating that late. I don't get any side effects taking it this way. If it's true that it keeps your liver from dumping glucose, then taking it later in the evening would cover you overnight and should be lowering your fasting glucose. I still have a higher fasting glucose if I eat in the evening. That's just me. Others do better with a bedtime snack.

I really hate that when you are diagnosed they give you a prescription and tell you to take it, not understanding what it's going to do to you. Most people think that it's going to correct their blood sugar reading and without correcting your diet and exercising, that's not going to happen.

As a note to Shannon, one article I read said that going completely low carb can cause your cells to be excessively sensitive to carbs, and I remember you said that you thought that happened to you after going with low carb. Some mentioned that you should have SOME carb at every meal, and others said it was not necessary. I wonder if they are counting the carbs you get from vegetables? Do they count? Or is it only starchy carbs that count as carbs. Is a carb, a carb? I never take them into consideration. I usually eat some vegetables at every meal, such as chopped veggies in my eggs, but I still consider that and my veggie lunch to be very low carb. I consider my dinner to be more carbs because that is the only time I ever eat starchy carbs, if at all.

I guess if each person takes their Metformin at the time that works best for them then that's the right thing to do. There was also mention that Metformin protects against heart disease, so that is a good reason to continue taking it, even if you are able to control bs with diet and exercise.

As far as the flatulance is concerned, Trish, I found that it deminishes in time if you start out slow and increase gradually. I still eat beans, but not as many as I once was. I am starting to eat some yogurt as a snack and putting Fiber One cereal in it, because from what I saw on my Fitday tracking, the Fiber One cereal has more fiber than beans, cup for cup. I am thinking of making some more Fiber One Haystacks again, but I get tempted to eat them all at once, which defeats the purpose. I know that when you add fiber it ups the total carbs, but we need fiber, and it helps me with constipation. I am still trying to lower my total calories for the day and see if that will jump start my weight loss. I really need that more than anything right now.

Yackety Yak! I got carried away again. Sorry!

Carol Sue just a word of warning, the first two days adding the coconut oil on top of the grass fed butter resulted in diarrhea but the past two days I haven't had that so I think the body adjusts but just wanted to give a full disclosure, lol!

Eating is good, back on plan since last Fri I think. Scale is moving again. Dr appt for physical is tomorrow morning.

Sorry I haven't been here earlier. I've really been tired today and then I got a call from my sister this morning that she and my BIL had been at the ER for about 4 hrs last night with my Daddy. His bp was too high. They got it down and sent him home and then it was high aga in this morning and he went to his doctor. They are sending him to someone to help decide if any of his meds are causing the problems perhaps working against each other. I also think he is so afraid of having a stroke that he has an anxiety attack and that makes it worse. So I spent a lot of time on phone with her and then with my son when he called.

As I said, I've been really tired. I don't think I'm eating that much, but maybe it is just not the right stuff for me.

I had Shannon'sdrink for breakfast today and it was very satisfying. Since I'm kind of bored with everything I'm eating right now, I could make this a regular breakfast for a while. Good luck with your physical tomorrow. Hope all goes well.

Carol Sue Although I do like beans, they seem kind of heavy for a evening meal for me. However, I use to eat Fiber One mixed with yogurt for breakfast years ago. I don't remember it feeling like a heavy meal so I just might get some and try eating that some in the evening.

Evidently the Metformin at evening meal works for me as my fbs was 124 again today. Seems to be hanging in that area since I changed to taking it at night. My doc has me taking 1000 mg pill. I just might try taking 1/2 of it in the morning and then having the other one at night and see how that works.

I find it interesting what you read about becoming carb sensitive after eating very low carb. I've been thinking a lot about the fact that maybe a little bit of carb (1 serving) might be good at each meal. I also wonder if the veggie carbs count.

Catch y'all tomorrow.

Trish, I am going to go to another diabetes board and see what they say about vegetables being considered carbs. I don't go there very often because they are soooo strictly carb free that I just don't fit in, but they always give me good answers. They might ask 10 questions before they answer, but in the end the answer is good.

Trish, I don't know if Metformin can be cut effectively. You could try it, but it might not be as effective as it would be using 2 - 500s. If you really want to do that, ask your doctor if you could get 500s instead of 1000s. Look to see if the tablet is scored in the middle. If it is, it CAN be cut.

Shannon, waiting to hear about your dr visit.

Dgramie, where are you located, if you don't mind my asking? School starts very early for you! I don't think ours starts until the end of August. My GS is going to kindergarten. He just turned 6....they held him back a year due to behavior problems. I told him if he doesn't listen to the teacher they will send him back to pre-school and now he's afraid to go to kindergarten. He likes to do what he wants to do and not what he's told to do. You have to make sure you have his attention before you tell him to do something or he just blocks you out. I think his parents overindulge him, but I keep my mouth shut because they are the parents, I am just the step-grandma.

My doctor's visit was kind of a disappointment unfortunately. I need to look over my labs again when I'm not in a hurry and then I will post an update.

checking in here! I have had a lot of trouble logging onto this site over the last couple of days. The satellite must have moved LOL! We live in the boonies and despite what they say on TV - satellite is not fast or reliable LOL.

177.6 today and my blood sugar was 94 this morning (which means it could be anywhere from 104-124 I use a contour but the relion usually measures 20-30 points higher)

I've logged 28 miles of walking this week and this weekend hope to bump it up to 30. We'll see! We have the company picnic tomorrow - at a place called Craigs Cruizers - pizza bar, etc. going to be a day of terrible temptations! Hopefully I can find a salad somewhere :)

Carol sue- I am in western ky. We get a wk off for fall beak and one for spring nreak. It's nice!
My granddaughter lives in IN and school started there also.
I had been eating very few carbs and the past 2 days I am starving. I had a sandwich and chips and I think it triggered something bad!! I am thinking of skipping dinner. My stomach hates when I over eat!! Fasting blood sugar was 106 today.

Shannon, I love bulletproof coffee! I add a tbsp of whey powder protein to it and it is my breakfast before working out, anymore than that makes me feel bleah when I'm walking. I put it all in the blender. I don't add cream though, it looks like I do by the time I finish :) Today I added a tsp of un- flavored gelatin, added a nice creaminess to the finished product. I put it in while my blender is going (I take the small insert out of the lid.)

Carol Sue My Metformin is the kind that can be divided. I took 1/2 at 8:30 when I had my bulletproof coffee and I'll take the other 1/2 at 8:30 tonight and see how it works. I get refills when I go to the doctor in September and will know by then if I need to get 500 mg pills.

It will be interesting to see the answers you get from the other diabetic group.

Today was DGS last day in summer school. He is out for 2 weeks and will be working a lot between now and when school starts again. He isn't living on campus this year because he is short his 3.0 for his college scholarship, but I am ready for him to be living here this year. We have been having a few moments the last few morning having coffee and talking. He is actually DH DGS and we seem to be bonding lately which is really nice. DH is teaching responsibility as he said he made his son pay rent when he moved back in after leaving home and he told Ty that he would have to pay some to help on the utilities. I think it was good for DGS. He has been more respectful etc since then. He is becoming a pleasure. So I think it is going to be a good experience for all of us.

Donna I was wondering if my bulletproof coffee was going to keep me satisfied in the morning until I get back home, but adding a little bit of whey/protein powder definitely should do the job of making sure that I'll be good till I get through with my trip to beauty shop and shopping before I get back home. Thanks for sharing this.

dgramie I have the same problem these days of overeating. I don't know if it is the satisfaction from the fat in my diet or what, but I have to eat less because my tummy just does not like feeling full.

My parents used to eat 1/2 grapefruit and 2 slices of bacon. It tasted so good. I love grapefruit (carb friendly) and I love bacon. My son calls me the "bacon queen". Around 11 to 11:30 I had this more like a snack. I asked my Daddy today when I talked to him if they had a diet reason for eating this combo and he said, "Yes, it is supposed to burn fat". Well, this is now going to be my "new" norm for a daily snack at least Mon - Friday. The bulletproof coffee will work great those days made without whey/protein, but since I won't be home where I can have the grapefruit and bacon in the morning I'll move it to later in the day on the weekend.

I read something interesting about fat in this months Prevention Magazine. Unsaturated fats builds muscle from fat where as saturated fat build fat. It said to fill our diets with unsaturated vegetable oils, nuts and fish. Later I read somewhere else that if you are eating a hamburger that you should add sliced avocado to it for good fat. It seems they are learning all fat isn't bad. In fact, it might be the difference in whether we have belly fat or not. Of course, they still pooh pooh butter. However, I have to wonder if they just aren't ready to admit they are wrong about some of that. Except for the bulletproof coffee where I use some butter(not organic), I mostly use CO or EVOO.

FBS was 129 this morning. I think that was from eating before I went to bed as I stayed up really late with DH. But my weight was down .4 lbs so weight is moving back down vvveerrry slowly. But any amount of down is good.

Have a great week end everyone.

I have answered two sets of questions for the magazine article in the last two days and I actually just got to read the first draft.....I think it's really happening, lol! It's not an incredibly exciting article but it is longer than I thought it would be and how they spun my story was kind of neat - I had wondered what caught their eye about my story but it was basically that I started making changes by giving up soda for Lent, lol!

Okay, so let's get to my doctor's appointment today. My fasting was normal for my lab draw but my A1c was the same, maybe actually 0.1% worse. And my lipids are horrific. Everything I have read gives me hope that my lipids will improve and the high fat part of my diet is really okay despite all the hype of past days but of course seeing my worsening results scares me. I am on an antifungal regimen right now (since my last appointment in May) and finishing it in a week. My dr told me it is possible that the antifungal is causing my statin to not be effective and that is why my results are so bad. They are both metabolized by the liver and she said in some people they compete and thus, the statin becomes less effective. (I have a double whammy bad gene for cholesterol from both parents, my brother does too, we are both on meds and have been for years and he is MUCH younger than me - my levels have been bad since high school - I just tell you all this so I don't get a lecture about statin use, I know it is controversial and I did a great deal of research and consulted with the medical director at my last job before concluding it was necessary. I did go off of it prior to and during pregnancy.). So, she was not concerned at all and just wants me back for repeat in December. But, I just feel like a big ole fake especially reading this article about how much healthier I am. It's true but then these results just make me worry. Especially the A1c....I really expected it to go down. I'm a little bummed.

We had our reinspection of the home repairs tonight and it was kind of dramatic. Long story but basically the sellers had no idea anyone was coming to their house and thought we were burglers. They were not home and we were in their house when they arrived. There was a major scene, they were very upset. Everything got checked though and they were nice to us, they were just really upset with their agent for not telling them and got very angry with the inspector. They did apologize later, it was uncomfortable.

I am more than ready for this move to be over. I still have so much to pack, after packing 75 boxes plus many that are un-numbered since hubby packed them. I think we've made 6 trips to the storage unit now. Tension and stress are high in our house right now, my husband is acting crazy/angry alot, my daughter is behaving terribly (because she is not getting enough attention and is bored with me packing all the time), we are eating out way too much because of being away or just too busy to cook....it is just wearing on my family. I look forward to a couple weeks from now when hopefully we are in a routine again. Of course then the stress of selling our house will be in full swing....sigh.....

We close Monday and I will be back in my current home Monday night but then Tuesday and Wednesday I will be at the new house (and spending the night at my mom's in the next town over) with no internet. So, don't worry if you don't hear much from me.

Shannon I think you just have and have had so much going on the past few months. Trips like vacation, stress of keeping Olivia entertained while looking for and buying a new home etc. not to mention the stretch there you went through not even sure if y'all were going to even move. I just read how one of these stressful situation takes a lot out of us especially those of us fighting diabetes. I'm sure when you get things settled and get back to your routine that you will get these health issues under control again.

You know statins are tricky. I used to take a natural statin. Can't remember the name. I think it was Red rice something. I didn't even know it was a statin until my doctor mentioned it. I read up on it and couldn't decide if it was good to take it or not so I quit because of the way he asked me more than anything. The strange thing is he has DH on a statin prescription. Go figure.

Well, I split the Metformin and took it 12 hrs apart and my fbs was 124 this morning. I've found a website of a doctor in Sweden www.dietdoctor.com through another diabetic thread on another site. I haven't had time to read a lot on his site, but he lowcarbs and teaches people how to lowcarb. I learned about him on MFP from a blogger who said the medical field in Sweden is the first nation who has dropped the western lowfat protocol and they have made LCHF their "new" dietary protocol. I don't have time now, but when I get back this afternoon, I will find her blog and give y'all the link to her blog as her walk with diabetes is quite helpful.

Got to run. Can't be late. Long day at BS as I'm getting along needed perm. My hair just goes limp in the humid weather we are having.

BBL

Shannon, I don't understand lipids, really. I have been on statins for years and my cholesterol varies from year to year. It has been below 200 since 08 when I had my heart surgery, but a lot of that could have been contributed to weight loss, exercise and low carb. They are lower when I'm exercising regularly and sticking to low carb. I have never been one to eat high fat, though, and I probably won't change that. It could be that yours are due to family history, but if the meds aren't working, why take them? Atkins followers always say that high fat does not contribute to high lipids but do all Atkins dieters get their lipids checke? My triglycerides are MUCH lower when I'm eating low carb and exercising. I still think you are doing well, though. You are losing weight, and in the long run, that should really help.

I don't think my next A1c is going to be as good as the last one was unless I get my bs under control now and keep it that way for the next 2 months. This past month has been bad. I think the last time I was trying to prove a point and I was more diligent. Now that I got a good A1c I have been more lax and eating more carbs, my thinking being that I can always take the glimiperide to bring it down. Not what I wanted to do. My bs was high last night and high again this morning. Last night we ate dinner at the casino buffet and although the only carbs I had was a small piece of potato, I really had a lot of meat and fish. I have to keep in mind that small meals are necessary for blood sugar control, not just low carb.

This move will all be over soon and once you get settled in the stress should subside. I hope! Now to sell your house. It is ready to go on the market?

Trish, the replies from the other diabetes board were OK. Yes, veggies are carbs, and quantities need to be restricted. No "eat all you want" which is basically what I do. They stay under 20gm per day, which is almost impossible for me.

I have always heard that belly fat is from carbs and has nothing to do with fat that you eat. Glucose that is not burned is stored in the fat cells. More carbs, more glucose. There is so much contraversy over sat fat and unsat fat, I don't know what to believe. I don't think I eat a lot of sat fat, but I don't go overboard avoiding it. I don't like greasy foods or fried foods. They just don't taste good to me so I avoid them, but it's because of the taste and feel of the foods, not because I'm avoiding fat. This one restaurant we go to makes a good baked Walleye. I know they cook it in butter and sometimes it's ok, but other times it's served sitting in a pool of butter and I don't like that. I prefer when most of the butter is cooked away.

Donna, the reason I am not too keen on the Bulletproof coffee is that I look forward to my scrambled eggs so much and don't want to give them up. It's not that I wouldn't like the bulletproof coffee or that it won't satisfy me, but my eggs with or without the veggies is very satisfying to me. I was so happy when my cholesterol came back at 125 because if it had been high I would have quit eating the eggs. My husband nagged me to death about how I was putting myself at risk, and now that he saw my lab results he had to leave me alone about it. He eats french toast, which is covered with eggs and lots of baked good, made with eggs, but he says he doesn't eat eggs. LOL

You are doing so well and seem to do a good job of sticking to your plan. You inspire me to try harder!

Dgramie, our schools here start at the end of August until early June, depending on how much time they lose due to snow. The only long break is between Christmas and New Year, 2 weeks or so. Spring break is just a few days, Friday and Monday over Easter weekend.

This is the link I promised y'all so you can read this girls blog about her diabetic journey experiences as she found her way from the recommended lowfat diabetic diet and found her way to the LCHF diet. She shares some of her research experiences etc... she comes from a family of diabetics and shares their results of following a typical diabetic diet that set her on this research journey looking for a better and healthier way of dealing with this disease. I thought it might not only be helpful to us on our journey but may even give us new places to read and learn more of the LC/LCHF way of eating in order to get better control.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/user/naughty_zoot/status

I'm not eating a LCHF diet either although I am eating good fats food. Although I have no desire to do the bulletproof coffee everyday,I decided that I probably will do it once in a while. I was putting CO in my coffee for months now, but I never was a latte drinker. However, making a bulletproof coffee would be a tasty quick drink on Sunday morning before church when I'm usually in a hurry.

After skimming over some of the Sweden doctors info, I've decided to give up the fruit. So I won't be eating grapefruit and bacon. I'll go back to bacon and eggs and I got some avocados to add slices to some of my meals.

Carol Sue I always think of lowcarb as 20 grams because of Atkins. However, I had forgotten about the 30 grams that Dr. Bernstein suggests in his book until I read this girls blog. Some start out at 30 grams until they get their cravings for sweets under control and then add more. I saw where some ate between 50 to 70 grams a day while some even ate more. I read somewhere else, I think on a newsletter by Livestrong that most people who do South Beach cannot do the 1st 2 phases we are always told to do, but some doctor or nutrition said many do well just getting on the maintenance plan and staying there. One thing about SBD is that you are allowed to eat the beans. Although they go more for lowfat, I have seen people do a modified SBD where they use the healthier fats. I think I would like a modified version of SBD like that. Maybe we could do that since we both do have some carbs that we like such as the beans. It is a thought. :)

Well, I'm out of here for today. I've typed a whole message once already and lost hit a button and lost it in cyberspace and had to start over with this one. So I better go while I still have this one. :dizzy:

Y'all have a good evening.

Trish, I heard that although the beans are high in carbs, the fiber in them offsets the effect of the carbs. I don't worry so much about my total carb number as long as my blood sugar is good, and I can accomplish that by avoiding the starchy carbs, like bread, sweets, rice, pasta and potatoes. Pasta and potatoes don't do me much harm if I eat them in very small quantities, if I want just a taste with my meal. Bread and pizza are the big no-nos for me that really spike my blood sugar, even in small amounts. Ice cream, too.

I hope I don't sound like I'm an authority on this. I am just speaking of what works for me.

No, I didn't take it that way. One thing I've learned in all this is that everyone is different. And hearing how foods affect someone else has helped me a lot. In fact, the fact that I couldn't eat 1/2 c of oats without it spiking my bs was always surprising since it usually helps keep insulin level for most. Even my doctor was surprised. The girl I read about yesterday mentioned that just a 1/2 c serving of oatmeal raised your bs to around 200. She is the only other person I've seen who has shared that.

I'm thinking that if I am going to have starchy carbs like potato or pizza that I have to balance it with protein and I MUST NOT have any other starch with it. It seems like when I have more than one starch bs goes up and I get brain fog.

Always feel free to share with me.:)

The only way I can eat oatmeal is if I eat a scrambled egg first. The protein slows down the carbs. I just remember that from when I was in the hospital and they gave me both at breakfast. I always ate the egg first. I cannot eat pizza at all. I do, but then I have to take the glimiperide. The pizza my husband gets is really good, but usually I just pull the cheese and topping off a slice and just eat that. It is medium thick crust. They say thin crust is a better choice, but DH hates thin crust. I could never eat more than 1 starch at a meal, but that doesn't really appeal to me anyway.

I was thinking about you Trish, and the fact that your doctor didn't want to give you glimiperide. I didn't realize you were only on 1000 Metformin per day. They usually increase the Metformin before they prescribe anything else. At least that's what my DR did. How much Metformin does your husband take along with her glimiperide? I think you're better off controlling it without it, but I sometimes like having it when I get a really high reading. It's like a crutch, though. I know I can control it without it, but knowing it's there makes me more likely to slip carbs in. That's not good.

I cooked beans yesterday and they were so good I ate to any of them. My tummy blew up. So I'm back at it tomorrow. Hubby can eat the leftover beans.
My fbs was 82.

LOL Dgramie! Too many beans! When I first started eating beans I was trying to eat 2 cups per day of black beans. Way to many to start out. Now I eat maybe 1/2 cup per day, sometimes more if I make chili. I love beans.

Carol Sue DH takes 500 mg once a day. He couldn’t handle the side effects of more than that. I don't know if I can eat pizza or any other starchy carbs or not since my FBS was 142 this morning. I feel like I'm back to square one sometimes. But I still believe I will eventually get it right.

I didn’t divide my Metformin today. I took it tonight. I’ve eaten a LCHF diet today. I evidently ate more high fat than my body can tolerate. I know that someone said that you will experience a loose bowels for a while, but I had it a little yesterday and a lot tonight. I really don’t want to experience this everyday for any length of time so I’m going to have to cut back on the fat. I realize it takes time to get used to a strict low carb which I really didn’t intend to do today, but it leaves me lethargic and I have no desire to live any length of time that long.

I’ve got to figure out where the grains fit into my diet since I don’t want to eat a lot of grain or fat. I guess I'm still in the process of figuring out how to make this diet work for me.

Behind in reading but just wanted to pop by to say our closing is in the morning! We are still in packing **** but we did reserve our movers tonight for next Saturday so I guess in less than a week the majority of the stress of moving will be over and we can work on the unpacking (which I plan to do very slowly and only as needed, lol) and putting our house on the market. We have not done that yet because hubby works from home and is totally unable to just leave at a moment's notice plus our house was such a mess from the packing there was really no way to get any good pictures until we vacated so once we are out, I will clean it up, finish painting a room we started in March and only got 3.5 of the walls done in (yes, you read that right!), fix all the holes from pictures, etc., touch up the paint and get it listed ASAP.

Hope everyone has a good week and I'll be back around once the dust settles!

Shannon, things are moving right along! This is exciting to me. I love to look at houses and I like change, so I would be happy moving around a lot. DH's family lived in the same house from when he was 2 years old until his brother finally sold it a couple years ago. When I was growing up we lived in several places, never more that 8 years or so in each place. We have lived in this house for 33 years, and that's the longest for me. Is your new house on Zillow, that we could see it? Don't want to seem to nosey! LOL

Trish, when I list my food on Fitday, it seems that my fat is high, but I don't think I eat a lot of fat. I have to keep in mind that a hamburger patty has a high fat content, and if I saute in butter, that's high fat. I do use a lot of olive oil, too, so I guess the fat is there, but I don't deliberately go looking to eat fat but don't avoid it either. DH makes me so mad. He will not eat beef or pork that has any fat at all, even if it's marbled, which makes the meat more juicy and tender and basically cooks away, but he wants me to buy 80-85% lean ground meat. I prefer to buy the 93% lean. It tastes so much better to me. When I make stuffed cabbage rolls with 85% lean ground beef the sauce has a lot of fat floating on it. Yuk!

Yesterday we ate out and I had a stuffed pork chop and ate all the stuffing! I took my glimiperide, but still at 3 hrs my bs was 192. I think it took a while for the glimiperide to kick in and I was at 140 this morning. This is something I rarely eat, but this restaurant really has good homestyle cooking and it was delicious. DH will eat that out but not if I make it. I think that was the first meal I cooked for him when we started dating. Back then he was trying to impress me and ate whatever I cooked. LOL

I think if you're eating most of your carbs later in the day, then that's when you should take your Met. Just my opinion. Does it seem to work better for you that way? I think they reason we are told to space it out through the day is because they think we should be eating carbs evenly through the day.

Does anyone here watch public television? Our local public station has a program running right now by Joy Bauer, relating to food and health. In the segment about weight loss, she has 4 rules. 1) 2 cups of veggies at both lunch and dinner, 2) 2 cups of water before each meal, 3) no liquid calories such as juice or soda and 4) no carbs at the evening meal. I'm backwards. I usually only eat carbs at dinner, but that's because that's the meal I eat with DH and I always have to make carbs for him. When we eat out, I can choose my own meal and usually don't order carbs, but I was so weak when they had that stuffed pork chop yesterday and could not resist it. Bad girl!

Shannon I thought of you closing on the house today and said a prayer that everything will go smoothly. That done you will be busy for sure, but it will be a more exciting busy. Check 2 things when you put an empty house on the market. Make sure your insurance you have on it is in effect and that it covers any unforeseen loss while no one is living there. You may have to leave some items to make it look lived in. I say this because deceased hubby and I sold a house in the country. The company we were making mortgage payments to did not pay our insurance (they did this to many, may people). When the house caught fire, of course the buyers backed out, but we then found out that in TX (I don't know about all states) that our insurance was had not been paid by mortgage company and that if they had the insurance would not cover an empty house. We had to sue to get anything out of it, but of course it was only a small fraction of what the house was worth. Just a warning of things that can happen.

Carol Sue I don't think I'm going to worry about the fat. I'm not going to add fat to my coffee. I do like using the CO and cooked my eggs in it this morning. After reading about healthier fats etc, I bought 3 avocados. Doing low carb, I like to fry 2 eggs, add whatever meat I want such as bacon or sausage, a slice of cheese and 1/2 avocado. I really don't think that I have to add any more fat.

According to what I understand as I read on the website of the Swedish doctor, he says if you eat low carb faithfully most of the time (sorry can't remember the % he gave) one meal like you had yesterday once in a while really shouldn't be a problem. It shouldn't mess us up. I have always suspected that after reading Dana Carpander's book. Probably spelled her name wrong. I think we just have to get rid of that guilty feeling we get like we do when we are not 100% OP. You weren't a "bad girl", you just chose to have what my DGS calls a "cheat day". I prefer what I read somewhere in some low carb site or book... you chose to have a "Planned Off Plan" meal. Stress makes diabetes worse. I believe that I get sssooo stressed out when I do what I think are "bad" things that maybe sometimes the rise in my fbs may be more from that stress than the fact that I ate off in the first place.

I ended up with one very low carb day. From the breakfast I had this morning and posted on MFP today, I might have had between 20 to 25 carbs yesterday. I'm not going to shoot for Atkins 20. If I can stay between 30 and 50 g a day, I will be happy. But I'm going to calm down and stop stressing about it. Except for the one planned meal with DH around 2 pm, I'm going to be eating only when I am hungry.

I'm still having some bowel reactions to all the fat I had yesterday. However, I'm not sure it is the fat only. I read somewhere that green tea, fat and curcumin are a detox combo. I had all that extra fat yesterday, then I took my curcumin. I seemed to be okay until I had a glass of green/black tea. I have not been able to stay far from potty room since. So no extra fat and absolutely no curcumin or tea for me today. I probably need to drink more water today any way.

Carol Sue Thanks for sharing about the Bauer rules. Interesting.

dgramie I have to be careful with beans too. I love them, but DH does not. I have several favorites like pinto, butter and great white northern. DH who is so picky will only eat the great white northern beans loaded with ham hock or pork 'n beans or baked beans depending on sauce in baked which is usually sweet and not very often on those. I guess that is why he has to take 2 glimiperide pills a day.

Slept in today so running late. I better get busy before my DS calls me this morning. I think he is headed home for a 3 days off so I won't hear from him while he is home.

Catch y'all later. Have a good one.

Fbs was 85 today. I am wondering if my potassium being dangerously low affected my pancreas. Now that I'm taking a supplement my glucose numbers are all back in the normal range. Hubby and I both ate the same dinner and his fbs was 135. He takes 1000 mg of metphormin twice a day and 3 mg of glyburide twice a day.

You may have hit the nail on the head, Dgramie! Read this:

http://www.wellnessresources.com/hea...diabetes_risk/

What was your A1c when you were diagnosed? Were you diagnosed as pre-diabetic rather than diabetic? It amazes me that doctors would not connect the two issues rather than just saying you have diabetes. Reading this could lead some type2 diabetics to take potassium supplements, which is really unsafe without knowing that you need it. Too high potassium is also bad. When I was in the hospital after my last surgery my doctor said my potassium was low and gave me some in an IV but did not continue it after I went home. It might have just been a temporary effect of the surgery.

What were your symptoms of low potassium?

dgramie I'm sorry I don't know if potassium affects the pancreas or not. I think it might be good to know. I've been thinking about checking some things out about the affect of potassium so I'll have to do that later.

DH just got up and we are going to have to go buy a new microwave as mine went out yesterday. So much for any of my plans today.

I forgot to share earlier that my FBS was 118 this morning and weight down another .4 lb. So my question is why in the heck do I mess with this and fight doing low carb? Is there really anything that I really have to eat that is worth having my bs out of wack? Even my bp is excellent this morning. I need someone to :kickbutt: :?:

Even though I said I was not going to buy any more diet books, I did. At the Goodwill Store I bought The Dukan Diet. It was only $1. They believe in high protein along with vegetables, but low fat. They say the low fat is for heart health, but I feel that my recent lab work indicated that fat intake did not harm my lipid readings, in fact they were lower. I think they improved because of the low carb.

Today in the mail I received a book I ordered online for 1 cent. LOL They charge $3.98 for shipping and that's where they make their money because the actual postage was much lower. It is Eat Fat Get Thin. I will start reading it later. I read these books for informational purposes, then I do additional research online to see what is being said regarding the information they provide. I try to use this information to tweak my own diet even if I'm not following their instructions to the letter. Maybe not following it to the letter is why I don't show good weight loss, but I have a problem doing things I just don't believe in. If I get one good idea from these books that helps me, I am ahead of the game. After my good lab results I don't believe that fat is the problem as far as my heart disease goes, but I cannot eat foods that taste greasy to me, and too much fatty food effects my gerd. But I have to find something to get this fat off my body. NOW! I have even briefly considered weight loss surgery, but DH would never let me do it, and I don't think I manage my eating well enough to do it safely. And if I could manage my eating better, I wouldn't need the surgery.

Trish, I would agree that 90% on plan is good except with my diabetes, every time I eat a meal like yesterday I spike my blood sugar, and every spike causes more irreversible damage. It might be OK for a normal person just looking to lose weight but I feel that I should stay more OP because of the blood sugar. JMO. This is why I get the guilts over it.

Edit: Trish, we were posting at the same time and I agree that we need our butts kicked! LOL That meal was really good, but was it worth the BS spike?

I went back and read that article about potassium. I have some of the symptoms they list for low potassium, but they could be from other things, too. I am having blood work done again in October and will ask my DR how my potassium levels look. I don't eat many bananas or potatoes, which both have potassium. I like avacados but don't buy them a lot because they go bad fast for me before I can finish them. I will have to look up other sources of potassium. I would not take supplements unless I knew I was low.

My potassium level was 2.6. Should be 3.5-5.0 I didn't have any idea it was low. I did have lots of upper body pain. We got a new matress and it's firm so I blamed it. I also had some chest pain. I also noticed a flutter but assumed it was from caffeine. Now that my levels are up I don't have those issues.
My a1c was 5.9. I was told I was prediabetic. I was watching my carbs super close and my fasting blood sugar was 131.
Dr put me on 20 mg of potassium twice a day. We will recheck it and a1c in oct.

The symptoms the article mentioned are sensitivity to heat and also sweating easily when exercising. I don't have to go too fast to break a sweat, and I am always hotter than everyone else in the room and also can't stand to be outside for long periods of time in the heat and humidity. I guess I am one of those old people that they warn to stay in air conditioning during hot weather, and I am very happy to oblige.

This morning, since my bs was a little high, 140's, I took 1/2 a glimiperide with breakfast. That must have been the perfect dose. I had eggs for breakfast and veggies for lunch and before dinner my bs was 92. I made stuffed peppers for dinner. I used 2 big peppers, one yellow and one red, ground beef equaling 1 hamburger patty for each pepper, about 1/4 cup of brown rice, onion, celery tomato sauce. I had made more brown rice than I needed so I ate the rest by itself, about 1/2 cup or so. I am curious to see how that quantity of brown rice effects my blood sugar. I rarely eat any rice and I am thinking that it will spike my bs, but the only way to know is to eat it and test!

Ok, 3 hours after and my bs is 156. This is with no other meds than what I took this morning. Not a really bad spike. Pizza puts me well over 200. But I don't think I will be eating excessive amounts of brown rice. I took the other half of the glimiperide to bring it down by bedtime. I think if I had only eaten the brown rice that I put in the stuffed peppers I would have been fine. In the future I just have to learn how to judge how much to make.

Carol sue I use to never sweat but sweat like a pig now. Wonder if my potassium is low. It was 3.1 at the last check. I'm talking to my dr about changing my blood pressure med. hoping to get off potassium.
Fbs was 91 today.

I finished the book Eat Fat Get Thin. A lot of it in the end was just menus and recipes. It was basically the same plan I am following now...protein and veggies. It does not promote high fat, but says not to do low fat either. That's what I do. I eat fat, but don't go out of my way to add extra fats. It is supposed to make you lose, but I think because I have trouble keeping the carbs out, here and there, I am not losing, plus my metabolism is so low. It explained a lot about how the body works and the effect of protein, fat and carbs. That was interesting to read, but I am not putting this on the "must read" list. We've heard it all before.

Dgramie, as much as we hate sweating, it is really good for you, unless it is really excessive. It controls the body core temperature and removes toxins. I think it comes with post-menopause, but can also be caused by other things such as meds. A friend of our has a medical condition that he doesn't sweat and it's considered life threatening and he has to be careful, and take meds for it. Is it your blood pressure meds that make your potassium go low? Some people take diuretics for blood pressure and when I was on them I had to take potassium pills. The doc didn't test my potassium, but just told me if I took the Lasix I had to take the potassium. I have been on the same blood pressure pills for years. They are ones that are also supposed to protect my heart due to my heart disease. I was put on so many different ones in the beginning and had side effects from all of them until they put me on these. I would like to lose enough weight that I don't have to take them. Same old story.

Carol Sue and dgramie Y'all talking about potassium made me think maybe I should see what mine was at last blood draw. Mine was 4.3 which is right in the middle. It shows that normal range is 3.5 - 5.2. I take OTC potassium because of the diuretic I take. I just did it on my own because I always believed the reason my 2nd husband died was because a new young doctor came in to take over when the other doctor left and started playing around with Bill's meds. It had a network of doctors months to get Bill's medicine regime down to where he was improving (using 20% of heart and had just improved to 25%). He changed the meds and put him on high doses of diuretics with NO potassium. Within a few months he was dead. I remember my daughter telling me (she worked in VA hospital) that it was just as dangerous to take too much as too little. So I don't really know all it does which I didn't have time to check it out yesterday, but will make time today.

Well, my fbs was 133 this morning. We went to eat at Huddle House when we went to buy a new microwave. The loose bowels gave me a few hours break and I thought I was over it. Any way, I didn't see the pork chop on the menu that I usually get so I got the country fried steak with green beans and a salad. I brought the salad home and added smoked oysters that I rinsed the oil off of to it and the buttermilk ranch dressing that came with the salad (carbs was only 2 g) and had it for supper. I thought I did pretty good because with the exercise I only went 25 calories over which low carbing doesn't matter. The carbs were less than 100, the fat was high enough that it should have covered the carbs okay according to what I read on Swedish docs site, but the protein was a little low. Oh I also about a handful of mixed nuts for a snack.

Then the diarrhea hit me again. I finally took some anti-diarrhea medicine and went to bed around 9 and didn't get up until almost 9 this morning. This diarrhea with the CO has just drained me of all energy. My weight was down to 221.4 this morning and my bp was good maybe a little low. But that isn't unusual for me.

I am beginning to believe that I do not need the CO. Carol Sue I appreciate you sharing what you read in the book because I think I just need to NOT eat ANY lowfat foods. I think if I just eat normal foods such as regular sliced cheese rather than reduced fat, whole milk rather than lowfat for example that I just might be okay. The main carby foods that I like is an occasional potato/mashed or baked, but not often and beans and corn. I noticed when I was eating the beans and corn, I had no problem with constipation. And as we know the beans slow down rising insulin. I do like avocados with my eggs and bacon or sausage, but I don't think I need a lot of it so I just used 1/4 of one today which will make 1 avocado last 4 days which is good considering the price of them.

I am doing low carb kind of using the Swedish doctors diet plan as a guideline. I noticed he said that it is up to us as to how low we go on the carbs reminding us that the less carbs the faster you lose. I would just like a steady loss, I don't care about fast at my age fast means wrinkles. :?: Don't want any more of those than necessary. Fruit can even be a part of the carb count if I want it as long as it is low sugar fruit such as berries. I honestly believe that eating this way I do not need to add any fat to my diet.

I'm still doing what I call Moderately Low Carb, but not LCHF. Maybe my age shows here, but I still think there needs to be some kind of balance. I hope that isn't what keeps screwing me up. I honestly felt good when I did lowfat all those years, but I'm not sure lowfat is all that good either because of the things they substitute to make it lowfat. Plus we know that a lot of the sweetners used to make it work isn't good for us either. I'm shooting for living the years I have left as healthy as possible. I don't want to be feeble.

My 91 yr old daddy does pretty well but he just believes anything and everything his doctor tells him. He is having problems getting his bp under control. However, I am beginning to hear him say "I guess I just have to learn how to do this myself". I sit and think "yes". If he will learn how to do it himself, he will do better. He did have one really good doc years ago who taught him to use vitamins for some things so he is open to new ideas. It bothers me that some things they tell him is wrong. However, the last doctor he saw told him to stay away from anything in a can. So he thought that he could eat anything frozen. I have taught him that just because it is frozen doesn't mean it is good for you. He had been eating Hot Pockets and one day noticed the high sodium content. I then was able to tell him that you have to read labels especially on processed foods whether frozen or not. Thank God he is learning. He too has the same problem I do though.... bouts with NO Energy.

I'm thinking maybe I just may be allergic to wheat. I asked the doctor once about me doing the gluten-free diet and he said you don't have celiac. But I've heard lately that you don't have to suffer from celiac to be gluten sensitive. I just haven't thought about it much any more.

Sorry jabbery today. Y'all are my sounding board. LOL

Later

Trish, I don't know anything about gluten sensitivity, but didn't this diarrhea come on just recently? It could be a lot of things. I would just eat normally, no extremes with anything. Do you eat yogurt? That might help. If it doesn't clear up, you might need to go for a colonoscopy if you haven't had one.

This might sound brash, but if your Daddy made it to 91, he must be doing something right. It's one thing to avoid extra salt for blood pressure, but if by the grace of God I live to be 91, I'm going to eat whatever I want and enjoy it!!!

My doctor does not give me a copy of my bloodwork results. Also, the only time he tells me about any of them is if something looks bad, or if I ask him outright.

Carol Sue The diarrhea seems to happen when I have starchy carbs with the CO. I was also using it for cooking after all HF is supposed to help lose weight. But I'm not willing to spend my life in the bathroom to do it. Also, when I purposely add more fiber also causes problems. First was the bloating from high fiber and then add the CO and stay close to the potty. :?: So I agree eating normal with no extremes is the best way for me to go. I think you can eat a "normal" low carb somewhere between Atkins and South Beach. I have to look at the SBD again because it might be a good basic guide. I actually could start with the Phase 2 which someone (I think Ruth) suggested to me years ago. I say use it as a guide, because I do not want to use lowfat products or margarine. I've seen a woman on a low carb site that has done a modified form of SBD and has kept her weight off.

I think the only thing that keeps my Daddy from eating just anything he wants at 91 is the fact that his Daddy and his maternal Grandfather both had strokes before they died and he doesn't want to have one. However, I have also read recently that they aren't even sure salt is the culprit for that any more. I only use salt when I cook for the family as DH has to eat salt for his heart. Another good reason for me to do low carb is that it is salt friendly.

I really don't want to get into gluten stuff. I hope that if I can get myself doing lowcarb at least 90% of the time that the few times I do eat bread starch won't hurt me. And who knows, when I stop the CO, I may not have any problem at all. Another possibility is a virus as DH was nauseous all night he said and was not able to eat all of his cauliflower he normally eats before he goes to bed. His stomach hurts today and he never eats CO as he doesn't like the taste and he didn't eat anything that I ate the past 2 days. So far I've had no problems today.

Carol Sue I never in my life heard of anyone getting copies of their blood work until I married Tony. He worked in a hospital as respiratory therapist for almost 20 yrs and he is the one who taught me to always get a copy. Our doctor always give us a copy and so do his specialists. All you have to do is ask. I keep them in a folder. The problem is sometimes I forget where I put the folder of the older ones. LOL

When my cardiologist does bloodwork for lipids they call me and give me all the numbers. I have a record of them from 2000 and 2001, and then from 2008 until now. For some reason my cardiologist hasn't been doing them so my PCP has. I have to call them for the results, and his girls just want to tell me "everything is good." I make them tell me all the numbers so I can write them down. Last time I went in for an office visit and I had him read them off to me, but only the lipids and A1c, not all the others. I have to go back in Oct and I will ask him for a copy of the other one. I have compared my lipid readings over the years and I noticed that they were best during the time that I was exercising regularly, 60 min per day, 5 days a week. What does that tell you??????

I think the reason my cadiologist hasn't been doing them is because they were pretty good for so many years in a row and he decided that as long as my meds stayed the same and I felt good there was probably no change.

Well, I did some reading on potassium and I found out that the bp medicine that DH and I take are not to be taken with potassium supplements. In fact, I learned that we should probably keep potassium foods limited which obviously our doctor doesn't know as he has a list of the supplements we take. Also seems that potassium might prevent diabetes, but diabetics need to be careful eating potassium foods like bananas, cantaloupe, mango, peas, potatoes with skin etc. I find this interesting because I had read that potatoes with the skin on is diabetic friendly. ???

I still don't know that was the problem, but the info is good to know. I learned about the food on Livestrong.com .

I'm not having any starchy carbs today and other than the flatulence, and I am pretty good. I only had baked chicken and broccoli with a little butter on it. An hour later, I was wiped out so I laid down a while, but decided to check bs before and it was 133. I really thought that was good and 3 hrs later it was 122. I really don't know what it should be. But I think that is good.

By the time I am finished eating today, I will have 1062 calories, 23 g carbs, 78 g fat and 72 g protein. So I think I have done well. And tomorrow, no more potassium supplements.