Hi Friends: I will post my update then read backward to see whats up with folks, and perhaps respond to some posts.
I checked my fasting blood sugar twice this week, 5.2 both times. which is fine. (do I multiply by 17 or 19 to get American values? I forget)
however, the strips were variable by 10 %. I did three readings both times, ( the lancet device was good, but I kept bleeding and I thought it would be interesting, and the strips expire next week, so no need to hoard them.....)
and there was about a 10% variation. I know thats within acceptable limits, but can be confusing. Was my level 5.0, 5.2 or 5.8? I mean really?
If I were using insulin, wouldn't that affect my dose?
And in further news, the weight loss I was noting earlier last week, is gone, and I have gone up. I really cannot handle eating carbs. Thought I was doing reasonably well, and was controlling carb cravings reasonably well, but weight keeps going up.
SO I will go back to low carb this week. Except for wine. Wine will be my carb.
I am going away with DH for a week of winter resort and spa time.
I plan to cross country ski and relax and read all week. Also have some time away with my sister planned. Not planning to weigh in until Friday.
Also, don't think I will take my laptop.
So thats what is new with me for now, have a happy Sunday.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,425
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
Mad, according to an online chart I found 5.0 = 90 and 6.1 = 110, so I consider that good blood sugar. I would say your level was an average of the three readings. I too have taken 2 reading from the same blood droplet and had different results! I would not be concerned with that slight difference. One time I tested with 2 different One Touch meters and the results were 20 points different! The strips were old, but not expired. I opened a fresh box of strips and the readings were the same.
I can eat carbs in very small portions. One or two pieces of potato, one slice of bread, but not both of them at the same meal. But I realize I am far better off to pass on them altogether and have a small amount on rare occasions.
Your trip sounds enjoyable and relaxing. Have a good time!
I will just chime in about knee issues:
I don't often wear shoes with heels, but I got a nice pair of sandals a couple of years ago. Very comfy, fit my orthotics too, velcro closures, but still nice looking, with just a bit of heel. I rarely wear them, they seem to just throw me off enough to start knee issues. I can wear them for an hour or two only, and then have problems, and feel it the next day.
I also recently had to replace the black shoes I often wear with work clothes, they started to fall apart. Of course they don't make that style any longer, and had to get something else. It has a bit of a heel. I seem ok for the most part, but my knees complain if I wear them longer than a work day. 8-10 hours, but not at home etc.
away tomorrow! ttfn
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,425
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
When I worked, I wore a lot of really high heels and my body was used to them. When I started my last job, heels were not appropriate, but I could not wear a totally flat shoe for any length of them. I guess my body was accustomed to my heel being elevated. If I tried to wear a totally flat shoe my feet would hurt terribly. I think it was plantar fasciatis. I never tried any orthotics. Now I can wear a flat shoe, but one with a slight heel is more comfortable for me. I gave away all of my really high heels so I wouldn't even try to wear them now. But it was my foot that bothered me, not my knee. I think it depends on what is wrong with your knee. I have never been able to wear an open sandal, like a flip-flop. It has to have some type of support on the sides or my foot will hurt really bad. There is a shoe I loved that fell apart, and I hate that they don't make that style anymore.
Continuing on with my day, I exercised for 1 hr and 15 min while watching my soaps. I feel good, and it really dropped my blood sugar nicely. I am going to watch my soaps from 12:30 - 2PM each day, and it makes more sense to be exercising than sitting in my recliner. I go downstairs with the intentions of doing at least 20 min of exercise, and sometimes I have to force myself to do that. Other days, like today, once I get going I start enjoying it. Watching TV makes the time go so much faster. I did the treadmill, elliptical and recumbent bike. I am up to 15 min on the bike without any knee pain. Yay! I had read somewhere that exercising the thigh muscle above the knee helps to stablize the knee. Over the weekend, we were riding in the car for a hour, and during that time I did some exercises to help work the muscles. For the next 2 days I had some pain, but I don't think it was an injury, just muscle pain from not using those muscles regularly. After exercising today I walked up the stairs normally instead of one step at a time! I normally get pain, and my right leg cannot support my weight. I think the bike is helping to strengthen the muscles around my knee. I would be very excited if I could get back walking up stairs normally all the time. I'm not going to rush it, but will continue to exercise these muscles.
Last edited by Wannabehealthy; 01-19-2015 at 03:18 PM.
My knee is finally improving. I wear orthotics, have chronic (7 years now) plantar fasciitis that did not respond to any therapies and heel spurs. I also am pretty sure I have Morton's neuroma in one foot. Yeah, it sucks to be Shannon's feet, LOL! Anyway, I only own a few shoes bc of the issues with my feet and the pair I wore the day the knee pain started were a Croc shoe that looks like a dansko clog. I won't be wearing them again. Since then even my dansko clogs have hurt my knee and I have never had issues with them before, been wearing them over 5 years. I have been sticking to my tennis shoes which I have my orthotics in.
Ok, so I am having ZERO success with getting back on plan so I am going to investigate another low carb type option that I had looked into last year but bypassed for just going generically Low Carb without any counting and with increasing fats. It's called Trim Healthy Mama. Lotsofkids does it I think. The jist of it is more in how you pair carb, fat and protein but it is supposed to be good for BS and weight loss. I'm entering the investigative stage, lol....stay tuned.
We had a busy fun day....playdate with friends from our old town, out to lunch and to see the Paddington Bear movie and then to dance class.
Last edited by Shannonsnail; 01-19-2015 at 09:16 PM.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,425
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
Shannon, I hope your feet feel better with just the tennis shoes for a while. They usually have more cushioning and more room in the toe box to give your feet a needed rest. Feet can be a real problem.
I have heard of Trim Healthy Mama but don't remember the details. Good luck with that. Sometimes we have to switch around until we find our nitch with this.
Ahhh, my people! This is 100% how I pass up all the other carbs, in my brain I just keep thinking - save it for the wine.
I am trying so hard to keep up with everyone but I miss a few days and the thread just gets away from me!
I don't have much change to report here. I have my next appointment in almost a month and I've reached (and passed) my (very modest) weight loss goal so I'm hoping to build on that. I got very few steps in this weekend, despite being very busy and I'm hoping to improve on that this week.
Hope everyone had a nice weekend and a great week coming up!
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,425
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
I'm glad to hear you have surpassed your weight loss goal Secondhalf. I think it's best to have modest goals. They are easier to reach and give you incentive to keep going. Good for you!
My weight and blood sugar were up this morning. I'm hoping the weight is water weight due to the sauerkraut I had last nite. It has a lot of salt in it. I could rinse it, but that takes away all the flavor. I can just keep on trying.
Not much going on here. FBS has been 108 for a few days and weight is up a bit, but I'm sure it is from the sodium in the frozen chipped beef we had yesterday. I probably didn't drink enough water to flush it out. Also have been drinking half decaf coffee and I think I really need the caffeine in the morning. It also helps with fluid retention.
Been reading the Magic Foods book and have learned quite a bit. I took the test in the book and I have already made a lot of the changes. It suggests eating some meals beans in place of protein and shares some of the grains like quinoa and barley which are high protein grains. Doesn't forbid anything but stresses that you do better to make the higher GL foods an occasional thing. It is very doable and it is obviously the way I need to eat to lower fbs however, I may have to work on portion control.
I thought of you Carol Sue because it says that the more fruits and veggies we eat the better the bs control. In fact, they say that fruit is not the bad guy for diabetics as long as we eat the skin on those we can because we need the fiber of them. I'm not brave enough to eat more than the 2 servings that my doctor said I can have, but it does make it easier to have a it and portion control is the key to fruit. I can see why WW would would work if it is done right. I may have to switch to the WW plan until I get the portions right.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,425
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
I have never been one to eat much fruit. I think it has to do with my not liking sweets much. I eat apples with the skin, and pears too, some oranges. I like bananas but hardly every buy them. I prefer vegetables so much more.
I have eaten all my meals already and I am trying to not eat the rest of the evening. I will go to bed by 9 PM because there's a show I want to watch that DH will not watch. I will watch it in bed, and probably fall asleep while watching! LOL
hello friends: suffering from a bit of insomnia, so thought I would say hello. I brought the laptop because I have been writing a bit, but there is free wi-fi at this resort so here I am.
On Monday we drove up to see friends near a town called Bancroft and had a nice overnight visit. The next morning I went on their snowshoe trail for about 45 minutes to get the juices going. After lunch we left for our little resort stay.
Its about an hour away from them. Right on the edge of Algonquin park. Its a couples resort, so no families. I got in a nice ski that afternoon for about an hour, and then came back to the room where DH had unpacked for us, and got into the jacuzzi. We had a nap then went to supper. Very fancy, the men must wear ties and the ladies must wear "cocktail attire". Fun to dress up. Our 30th anniversary is next month and this is our "trip" to celebrate, even though its just a 2 night stay. We couldn't afford more than this two night stay this year.
After breakfast this morning, we had a hot tub, and when it got a bit warmer (went to -28 degrees Celsius overnight) to -15, I went skiing. I took some water and a granola bar and another protein bar. I ate them at the warming hut, more because I wanted to energy, but wasn't really hungry.
Another lovely supper started at 7.
An odd thing though, I haven't been "hungry" since we arrived. The food is spectacular and delicious, and I have enjoyed it all. But I was not "ravenous" for supper either night. Maybe the extra exercise is reducing my appetite or something. However, I am sure I am taking in more calories than I am skiing off. Tomorrow I will have another nice ski before we head home.
DH has a hernia this year and is just walking about on some packed trails in the forest.
Shannon, I really hope the knee pain gets better soon for you. does your doctor or physiotherapist know whats up with that?
30 years ago, I tore the ligaments in my left knee and fractured the tibia, the physio Idid then and keep up to some degree, involved keeping the thigh muscle strong. I did "quad sets" and lifts, both in the straight and slightly tilted position, and a few others. I still have well defined leg muscles and rarely suffer knee pain except with this one pair of shoes. I feel quite fortunate.
Now that the joint pain is better when I stay off the nightshade vegetables, I am pretty much back to normal for how I am feeling.
Chat soon everyone.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 13,425
S/C/G: 217/176/142
Height: 5'2
It sounds like you're really having a nice trip, Mad. Relaxing. Even if the skiing isn't burning off all the calories you're taking in, the calorie burn continues well after the exercise is finished, so I think you're in good shape.
I lost 2 of the 4 lbs I had gained, so I guess it was 50/50 water weight. I will get the other 2 off, too.
I am getting some of the pain back in my hands, but nothing near what I had originally. It was completely gone for a while. I'm thinking it has something to do with the cold weather being back. It was really good all summer. Most of it is in my thumb. When I was still working I called it "space bar thumb." Maybe I'm spending too much time online. Ya think?! LOL
Mad What a nice early anniversary celebration. Great that the extra exercise is keeping your appetite curbed. You are doing great with all the exercise you are doing. Sounds great.
I haven't done the bike until today this week. Strange y'all talking about knee pain. One night this week I never was sure if really woke up with my left knee hurting or if it was a dream. It was in the middle of the night and I'm pretty sure I woke up with it feeling like it was trying to lock up on me and I got up and walked to walk it out. I remember thinking I didn't want to wake DH. I also remembered that if I would ride the bike that it would go away away. I stopped taking the minerals for the joints when I ran out last month because I didn't think I needed it any more. When I first started riding the bike today, I felt a little knee pain, but only for a few moments. I really do need to make riding the recumbent bike a 3 or 4 day habit because the more I rode caused the pain to go away. I am so thankful for that.
Shannon I have had knee problems that the bike did not help. In fact, when I first got it I had been riding one when I was a member of the YMCA so I decided to up my time and rode for 1 hr and boy did I pay for that. I couldn't ride it for quite a while until it healed. I hurt it the first time vacuuming the upstairs before the kids came to visit. I felt it when I twisted the knee. It was an old upright vacuum that wasn't self-propelled when I turned it didn't. I have to say that I was blessed both times before DH DD was here both times and she worked for years for orthopedic doctors and she took care of me. Took a while maybe a few weeks or more. So take it easy on it.
Carol Sue Congrats on losing that 2 lbs. I had gained 2 this week and one of them is gone today and hopefully the other one will be gone tomorrow. We ate out yesterday and I was actually surprised that one of the 2 was even back.
My good news is that the way I am eating is really working for me. My fbs was 103 today. I am hoping that by the time I go back to the doctor in February that my A1c will be normal and hopefully my weight loss will be good. I look forward to seeing my blood work results if he does them. I'm not sure why he didn't order them before the appt unless he forgot because that was when we were talking so much about me doing IF.
Cold and raining here today so staying in. Supposed to be colder tomorrow and raining so not sure I'll get out after just getting over the bug I had for almost a month. Haven't decided that one yet.
Glad to say I lost that other lb and my fbs was 111. Not unusual for it to bounce back a little before it goes down some more. I'm happy with my new way of eating. Hope everybody stays warm and safe.
