February Chat and Support
 

Hi Rennie, I would be very happy with FBS of 100! I'm struggling with that again for some reason. I would also be very happy with your weight loss so far, but you have done the work and I haven't so you deserve it! You will get there. Weight lost slowly is better for maintaining, or is that just something they tell us so we won't get discouraged? LOL

Thanks for stopping by. We always enjoy seeing you.

Yesterday, we went to the casino. I meant to check my BS before we got there to see how it was before I ate but I forgot and left my meter in the car. I tried not to eat much carbohydrate. When we left to go home I checked BS to see how much damage I had done. Not only was my BS very high, but there was a sign of a thermometer on the screen. At first I wondered why, then I realized that the meter was in a very cold car for several hours! I stuck the meter in my bra to warm it up and checked again and my sugar was way down. So I got that bad reading because the meter was cold. There was a 150 point difference! I know never to do that again.

Moved from the January thread :)

Ruth sorry to hear about your friend :hug:

Hi Everyone, I'm doing well. I could complain but everything that I would say isn't, well is my fault so no need for complaints ;)

My fbs has gotten better this week. The lowest was 100. My weight has been (sigh) gaining and losing the same pounds over and over. Gonna try to work on that this month :)

Shannon haven't heard from you in awhile :)

Trish, thanks for the email and for thinking of me :)

Carol Sue thanks for stopping by to say hi on the other thread. :) Wow on the meter, who knew! Glad you thought to warm it up.

Sorry I haven't been here because there hasn't been much going on. My FBS went up to 122 last week. I made some changes that I thought would be acceptable, but obviously was not. So I'm back to eating like I did the week that I had the 108 reading. My FBS was 118 this morning.

I just haven't had much to share lately. I suddenly realized when I talked to my sister Thursday that I've been depressed. Not exactly sure why, but I'll be glad when the weather warms up so I can spend time on my back porch. DH likes a room with little light and I love a bright place in the morning when I get up. I end up staying inside too much and I think I just need my time on my bright back porch back. So I've got to get out of this slump.

Ended the month with a 3.2 lb loss and FBS 16mg lower than on Jan 1. So there is improvement so I am thankful for it being that good. If I could just do that each month, I would be down about 38 lbs by next January and my fbs just might be normal. So I need look at this optimistically and see it as a good sign and thankfully Keep doing what I'm doing. Even though it is very slow, it is working. Like you said Carol Sue They say it is better to lose slow. They claim it is easier to keep it off if we lose slow. I hope they are right.

Rennie I'll have to go read what you wrote, but from what Carol Sue wrote, you must be doing really good. I am happy for you. Hopefully this is our year to get it right for us too.

Trish, if you don't mind, would you expand on what I have highlighted above? I'm sure others beside me would like to hear what you have been doing that has made such a big change in your BS and weight.

Many people get SAD, "seasonal affected disorder." My step-daughter is like that. She gets very depressed in the winter and anytime the weather is dark and dreary. I think I am the same all the time. I got into the habit of spending most of my time indoors because of my allergies. Lately, I have been having trouble with my eyes, and they are extremely sensitive to the sun. It shines in my eyes and my eyes water badly and I can't see unless I really squint. If the sun is really bright, when I come in the house I am seeing spots for several minutes until my eyes adjust. I am OK if I am just looking out the windown when it's sunny outside. I will have to discuss this with the eye doctor when I go for my exam.

I hadn't read the thread in a few days. Just hadn't been online much.

Ruthie I am so sorry about your friend. I'm sure she would want you to take your meds and take good care of yourself. I know you and the other Mods who were so close to her will miss her a lot. Prayers for peace and comfort coming y'alls way.

Shannon Glad you got your book and looking forward to what you learn.

Carol Sue I'm glad you got your books. I've learned a lot from the Magic Foods that has helped me a lot. Like all the books we read, I may not agree with everything, but there is a lot that I do.

I am drinking milk again with no problem. I guess whatever my problem was left when I got the Metformin out of my system. My system is finally working almost normal. I digestive system and bowels are almost normal now. I did learn that I do have to kind of limit the grains although I do seem to need them.

The thing I really disagree on is their theory of coconut oil being bad because of it being a saterated fat. In fact, I do better if I have one serving a day of it and knowing the health benefits, I use it any way. Also, they say use 0 to 1 % milk, but I found out that DH would drink the 2% milk, but had switched to the whole because the 2% was spoiling too fast because he was the only one drinking it. He said if I go back to drinking it that he would drink either 1 or 2%. I suddenly remembered that every time he was in the hospital that they had him on special diets and they always gave him 2% milk even for a snack. My sister told me that she has gone back to drinking 2 glasses a day of 2% milk and noticed that the swelling in her legs had gone down. She didn't know if she has lost any weight or not.

I decided that if the hospital allowed 2% milk on their diets that maybe it isn't as bad for you as they say. They have learned a lot since these books were written so I'm keeping the coconut oil and the 2% milk in my diet plan.

I read that fenugreek is good for helping lower blood sugar. Can't find the plant in the store yet, but did find the supplement so I bought a bottle. You have to be careful taking it and closely watch the bs when taking it because it can cause you to go too low. I don't think DH could take it for that reason and because he is on Warfarin. No problem for me so I've decided to take it. I would like to find the plant though. You can read about it in the Magic Foods book and then I googled the benefits and found out about the interaction with the meds.

Carol Sue Did you read the Steps to setting yourself up for success in the Dummies book? it really helped me to see that if I set a goal and then realize that those off days will become less and less if we just learn to realize and accept the fact that they will happen from time to time and and not to let it cause you to give up, but just move on back on track. I got the feeling that everyone experiences these times and those who are successful at reaching their goals just don't get stuck because of these situations that cause them to "fall of the wagon". It has really helped me to stop getting derailed so much.

In fact, the fact that I had a week of getting my fbs down to 108 and keep it there a few days has been a real encouragement to me because I now know it can be done with a few grains in my plan. I have to admit that when I got back in the 120s for a few days almost derailed me because I couldn't figure out what I had done, but I was trying to expand some of my choices even within allowed foods. Then I remembered "one size doesn't fit all" thinking. I realized just because that food might be ok for some, it wasn't for me. I also realized that I had more than 5 higher carb foods than I should have. It took me a few days to remember what I had read in the dummies book, but when I did, I found it easy to move on. Hopefully the more I learn to move on will help so that an off meal or day will become a "no big deal" in time.

Sorry I'm so wordy. Mostly thinking out loud as well as sharing.

Have a great week Everybody. :wave:

First, I think the sun bothers DH because of some of the medication he is on. That could be your problem as well as you seem to take some of the same meds since you both have had heart issues.

The way I ate the week my fbs came down.

I never ate more than 5 higher carb (mostly carby fiber) each day. Although I do have days when I have my favorite egg breakfasts, most days I have a grain cereal which I like mine to have at least 5 g fiber... for me it is usually oatmeal. There are some cold cereals with 5 or more g of fiber. I use either berries or dice an small apple in it. The book suggested 0 to 1% milk, I like yogurt in mine and I sprinkle a little cinnamon and slivered almonds in mine.

Lunch is a balanced meal with some type of grain. When I eat beans, I ate it with barley I made in place of rice. And I've learned that it also is good to eat at least a 2 c salad with ACV and EVOO. The ACV makes the whole meal diabetic friends because even if it is a higher carb meal that normally would cause the bs to spike that the ACV will cause the spike to slow down. For example, every Saturday DH loves pizza for lunch. I read that if I ate at least 2 cups of salad with ACV and EVOO along with the pizza that it would slow down the bs spike. It really works. If you don't want or can't get a salad, I drink lemon water which does the same thing.

Dinner is usually more like lunch for me smaller meal. I usually make the turkey sandwich she mentioned in the dummies book with lettuce, tomato, onion and dill pickle and I use mustard instead of lowfat mayo on the whole grain 45 calorie Sara Lee bread. I usually finish the meal off with an apple.

I usually don't eat snacks. However, if I really need one later, I have a cheese stick and wrap a deli slice of meat around it and it does the trick.
I drink mostly water, some green tea and in the morning 2 coffee with stevia and ff half and half. And I recently started drinking 2 cs of milk a day

Also the question you asked about 5 guys, I love to eat there. It is a good place because they do offer the burgers in a bowl however you want it. Easy to stay low carb.

maybe TMI
 

hello friends.
just hunkered down by the wood stove today. Stormy out there, so have cancelled visits. Had a busy weekend with two babies, so they are here safely before this storm hit.
I had a carb day on Saturday, as I was constipated, but of course, I over did it. I ate too much period and way too many carbs. Things are moving again, but so did the scale, with a gain of 2 pounds.
Hope everyone is safe and warm.
Ruth: I am sorry to hear about Jiff. Losses get more common but not easier as we get older.

Trish, that is very interesting how you arrange your food for the day. I have begun reading Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar and I have seen so many references to the magic foods you are using. I have tried doing some of those things in the past and they have not had any effect on my BS, but maybe I tried them once or twice and decided they weren't working for me. I probably should have done it a little more consistantly to see results.

I got out my Consistent Carb diet that gave me in the hospital and was looking at it. It says to eat 5 carb choices at each meal, but I notice that their carb list includes fruit, milk, and starchy veggies like peas and corn. Even with that, I was not choosing 5. It was more like 3. So it was pretty close to how you are eating.

This menu was for both men and women, so they probably didn't expect the women to choose as much as the men would.

I think I will go back to using the ACV and the cinnamon. I didn't feel that it worked before but it can't hurt me. I will buy a bag of apples and try them again.

I love that Sara Lee bread and I buy the multigrain. I keep it in the refrigerator so it's out of sight and I don't snack on it. I only have a couple slices per week. I don't buy deli meat because I will binge on it.

What kind of beans do you eat?

Mad, we were posting at the same time. After I had my surgery the doctor had me using Colace, and I continued using it because I liked the fact that it kept me regular. Recently I read that you shouldn't take them long term so I quit taking them. 3 weeks now without them and I'm fine. But then I eat a lot of vegetables. Glad to hear things improved! LOL That weight gain was probably fluid because carbs cause fluid retention.

Rennie I hope you'll hang around more - we miss you! That's a great FBS!!! I have not checked mine since sometime last week but it was in the 120s :-(

Carol Sue I bet Donna has mentioned this before but there is a popular homemade drink with this plan called Good Girl Moonshine. There are a million variations of it but the item that is typically the same in all is 1-2 tbsp of the raw ACV. The one I have been liking lately is called Mama Dew and it is made to be similar to Mt Dew. It uses seltzer water, though I've also made it with plain water since carbonation sometimes bothers my stomach. Here is a recipe and you can double it or reduce it based on the amount you want to try. 1 liter (approx 33 oz) seltzer water, 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp ACV plus whatever sweetener and amount you like (I use about 5 droppers of the liquid stevia extract). Mix gently and pour over ice. There are other variations out there that supposedly taste like Hawaiian fruit punch - uses red zinger tea as the base. If you google Good Girl Moonshine you should find tons. The original recipe has ginger powder in it which aids in digestion and I like it too but I've been experimenting with variations. Anyway, just a suggestion for getting ACV in - I can hardly stand it but can drink it in this homemade drink pretty good.

Well, I am now up to pg 110 in the book and getting a pretty good idea of what it is about. I am nervous about it because it does allow for more carbs than I allowed myself previously but I actually really agree with their reasoning - totally makes sense to me and explains some issues I saw last year with my diet and why it has been hard for me to get back on it permanently. I do hear of people going off the wagon with this diet as well and being unable to get back on but I think that is with any plan. I see a lot more folks having lost their weight and maintained it for longer with this plan than I used to see with LCHF so that is encouraging. Unlike many plans which just tell you to eat a little more or allow a little more when you reach maintenance, this plan has a more concrete/detailed plan for when you get to that point and perhaps that is why there seems to be alot of success around maintaining with this plan. I also have seen more "skinny" people using this plan just because of how much better they feel when they eat this way, not because they need to lose weight. So, we will see. Just as a comment, I do not see hardly any references at all on 3FC to this plan but I think that is because there are sooo many Facebook groups for this plan and other forums specific to this plan. If you happen to see Woman's World magazine in the checkout line on the cover it says something about America's hottest underground diet. It is an article about Trim Healthy Mama - so take a look if you get a chance. There are a few inaccuracies in the article but mostly it is fine.

The general idea is that you do not mix fuel sources at meals. You always have a foundation of protein but you will either add to that a fat fuel source or a carb fuel source, not both. At a fat fuel source meal (called S meals) you can have some carbs but not more than I think 10 grams and they have to be from non-starchy vegetables or plan approved carb sources. At a carb fuel source meal (called E meals) you eat leaner meat (to avoid added fat) and only are allowed 1 tsp of oil/butter but you can have the starchier vegetables, more fruit options, etc. You cannot go over 45 grams of carbs in this type meal. You vary the S and E meals however you want. Most folks seem to like S meals at dinnertime because it leaves them fuller before bed and less prone to snacking. They want you to eat every 2.5 -4 hours (preferably as close to 3 hrs as possible) and definitely no closer than 3 hrs if you are switching fuel sources (ie. if breakfast is an E and lunch is an S you want to make sure your body has time to burn off the carbs from breakfast before switching it to burning fat at lunch). I think you can have up to two Snack times a day as long as there are 3 hrs between all the eating episodes. Foods that are "out" just like with the regular low carb plans include regular wheat pasta, white rice, regular breads, white potatoes - nothing different there really - but they allow Dreamfields pasta, quinoa, brown rice and rolled or steel cut oats which I had cut out entirely before. I think like with any new plan there is a period of time you have to think through what you are eating - I can remember with WW I would go around my pantry and write point values in sharpie marker on everything because it takes a while before you just KNOW what they are - I think it's the same with this. S meals will be fairly easy bc it is essentially LCHF all over again. The E meals are a little more challenging because of limiting the fat whereas I am used to piling on the fat! Anyway, like I said, the book really made sense to me though it make sound confusing or too complex, it really isn't - basically you are forcing your body to burn through what you eat and then start burning your fat cells after that, you aren't eliminating any food group which ensures that you are constantly switching things up which is good for metabolism and you are waiting enough time between eating to make sure your body has the time to burn through what you've eaten. Hopefully that helps. I am starting today - though with lots of grace. I'm still learning. I also start classes this week - have three night classes this week and two next week - it was a crazy week to start this but this is just how it fell so I will get started and we will see how it goes.

Shannon, that plan sounds like a healthy balanced diet. I like the sound of it. It would take some getting used to, learning when to eat and what to include in each meal, but not as complicated as some other plans. I have some questions, so I will probably google it and see what I can find. I keep swearing off buying new books. LOL

The thing that gets confusing for me is one plan will say that you have to eat some carbs each day, others say to limit carbs. I guess that's where the "One size does not fit all" comes into play.

I think we in the US have gotten accustomed to eating larger portions of carb than our bodies were meant to handle. If you look at a carbohydrate portion list you see that a normal portion is around 1/2 cup and if we had been doing that all along we would not have the problems we're having.

I have never actually done LCHF. I never added extra fat to increase my fat intake, but I would just not eat things labeled low fat. I would use butter on veggies and in cooking, and did not go out of my way to eat lower fat meats. At other times I would use Pam for cooking my eggs because they don't stick, and I also buy Spray Parkay to put on my veggies and it has no calories, no fat, etc but tastes like butter. There was a girl at work who used to spray it on her toast!

At first I could hardly stand the ACV but I got used to it after I started adding the lemon juice. I'm OK without adding a sweetener.

I think my best bet would be to plan my meals for the whole day and then stick to the plan. I do too much impulse eating. Right now I can't get my blood sugar to come down no matter what I do. :(

Fatmad So happy for you and the mothers that their babies were born before the big storm. Perfect timing. Stay warm. Yesterday wasn't my best eating OP day. Today is a new day.

Carol Sue I think I always got hung up on the high carb count too because I forgot that fruits and veggies carbs count too. However, I think what through me off was the day I went to a meeting with a nutritionist and she took the famous Pyramid they used back in the 80's and 90's and she pointed to the starchy carbs and said, " want you to eat 11 of these foods a day". She then said, "I want you to eat greens" and I looked straight at me and said "And I don't mean green beans". I had no problem with the greens request, but I knew that I would die from carb overload if I ate 11 starchy foods in one day. From then on, I just didn't pay attention to nutritionists because they wanted to give me a food plan that was full of the starchy carbs. Even today, I've learned that if I go over the 5 carby foods in one day like I did last night, my fbs is going to be up like it was this morning. It was 124 this morning because I had crackers with turkey and lf cheese during the game. My weight was up 1.6 lbs this morning.

I do agree that consistency is the key to all of this as well. I am back OP this morning. I am going to have to figure something out for Sundays. I tried drinking a shake with fruit before church yesterday morning. That would have worked for me because that is what I do on Saturday, but I spread the meals apart pretty good then. However, we just eat our main meal too early on Sunday for both DH and me. We find ourselves starving the rest of the day. I thought about making wings for a snack during the game and I think I should have made them, but DH didn't want any. Thus the cracker snack.
I did try eating 1 carrot with spinach dip snack when I started it, but even a carrot at night raises my fbs the next day. Only the cheese/deli turkey wrap works so far. While I can deal with a 120's reading is not a problem for a learning experiment with different foods, I want to be more consistent with lowering the fbs for now because I want a really good A1c when I see the doctor in March. So I will stick with what works and save the learning experiments till after the doctor's appt.

Shannon I am very picky right now for what I purchase in books. I may have to go to the library and see if they have it. But sounds like that book you are reading just might have some good info for me tweaking my plan. Just from the few things you have shared tells me why my plan works and could help me learn what things I need to change for those times when it doesn't. I see with some tweaking that even those times could be improved so that they would work for me. I just use ACV in regular water with Stevia. DH keeps seltzer water all the time. I like the idea of making a drink using the ACV in it. I will look up some of the other flavor etc and make it like a treat as I don't mind the taste. Do you just drink off it during the day? How much of it do you drink? Another drink I use a lot is green tea once a day. Thanks for sharing.

Rennie I hope you will be able to check in with us more often as well.

DH and I are going out today. Got to go get a few things at Sam's. Also going by one or two more stores. Have only one store here that keeps the seltzer water and have go there. I want to get some greens and make some fresh cooked mixed greens of my choice like kale and mustard for starters.

Y'all have a great day.

The GGMS makes 32 oz or so. I have these tall double wall insulated cups that I use. I fill it halfway with ice (and sometimes even add about a half cup or so of regular water to dilute the GGMS a little) and then add the GGMS and stir with my straw. So, making up one batch typically lasts me a day or sometimes into the next day. I am not a good water drinker at all so I've been trying to make myself drink a batch each day at least to get water in.

Thanks Shannon I could make up a bottle or big glass of the drink to drink one of those a day. It would be so good for me to make it a habit to drink it daily.

I bought the Woman's World Magazine and read it real quick while DH ran into the store to get some more seltzer water. But too cold to drink it after I got home to drink so I'll start it tomorrow. I understand now what I do right on the days this works for my bs and what I do wrong on days it doesn't. I think I can take what I've learned from the Magic Foods book and then add how they do the S & E meals to make this work even better for me. I think this is what I needed to tweak my plan.

So thanks Shannon for sharing about that and the Woman's World magazine too.

You are welcome Trish!

One thing I like about our thread compared to some other diabetes threads I have visited is that we get into detailed discussions about what we do that works for us, not just quoting the books. I take in all the information and try the different things, tweak them when I need to. So Trish, don't feel bad when you get wordy. I want the details, and some others probably appreciate them too.

So here's what happened to me yesterday. All day I was drinking my ACV water with lemon, and I put a little more ACV than I usually do. I had 2-3 bottles of the ACV water throughout the afternoon. For dinner, I purposely ate a rather carby dinner. Hotdogs without the bun, canned baked beans and tater tots. I also took my glimiperide. 2 hours after my meal my blood sugar was 129. That's very unusual for me to go that low 2 hours out. Unfortunately, when I went to bed I was in the 190s for some reason. So I drank some more ACV water, and when I got up this morning I was 163. Now, I know that's not good, but this was a test to see if the ACV water helped, and it did. So now I feel that maybe I wasn't using enough ACV when I tried it before and if I do this while following my LC a little more closely it should work much better. My tummy was a little upset at the end of the day and DH said it was from "That crap you were drinking!" LOL I didn't get sick and feel fine this morning so I'm not going to worry about it. Vinegar is beneficial for other things in your body too, beside blood sugar.

I didn't have any ACV yet today because I have to run to the store for a few things and I don't want to drink too much water before I go.

I checked and our library does not have Thin Healthy Mama. I don't know why they have some and not others.

Carol Sue Thanks. I agree with you about our thread. I like knowing what works for others. I knew a man who gave me great advice years ago about Christians that has really helped me in other areas of my life. He said that a person could give him advice, but he looked to see how it was working in that persons life before he took their advice. If their life showed they knew what they were talking about then he thought about what they said because he saw it working for them, but if their life didn't show it then, he threw out what they said because they were just talking.

I guess that is why I read books about what someone has had work for them. I heard of minister once who God healed off of a death bed and went on to be a great preacher. I studied under that man although I never saw him in person because I figured that anyone who had learned in his teen years how to be healed and keep his healing up until he died at 80 something could teach me something. He had seen 3 generations of offspring that would never even be born if he had just laid there and give up and died.

I feel that way about diabetes and weight loss. There are many ways I believe that you can live healthy years with it suppressed and under control and weight loss. Too many have done it, but they learned what would work for them although not everyone did it exactly the same as someone else. I have never given up on being one of them. I want to do this for me and for my family. So they can live healthier lives. I can only learn that from people with successes. I've lost weight before although never reached my goal but I wasn't always doing it healthy. Even when I did it lowfat, I know now I was going too low. That is why I felt like I ate all day. I couldn't sleep at night and now I think it was because my body was always digesting food and never could rest so I couldn't rest.

Your ACV experiment is quite revealing. With some of the higher fbs you've had the ACV made a big difference for you fbs. I think it worked good for you and I agree that it will be a great help to your lc plan.

Today my numbers... weight, bs and even bp was up a little for me. I know why. I just plain didn't work my plan yesterday. FBS was 137. This tells me what would happen if I ever go back to eating like that again. Lesson well learned and today I move on.

Shannon I made the ACV drink today and have drinking it now. I made mine with the seltzer water and water because it was too cold to use ice. This stuff is great made that way. I sent the recipe out to some family and friends and told them to google for more flavor ideas.

I'm trying to have no fat with breakfast today. I bought some Fiber-one to have cold cereal for a change and since it had a few almonds already chopped in it, I didn't any more because technically the almonds are an oil. So I guess mine was more low fat. I think that would be a better way to go on Saturday and Sunday when my eating plan those days are different.

I really don't know if going absolutely no fat in a meal is me. But I do see why it would work even without buying the book. Carol Sue Remember that book we read that told us to have a carby day a few days a week and low carb days and alternate them so your body doesn't know you are dieting? From what I'm understanding from what Shannon has shared and what I read in the Woman's World magazine, by alternating S/E meals you are doing the same thing. By alternating and mixing things up, your body is always a fat burning machine. I will tweak it into my food plan as best I can.

I got some nice mustard and kale greens yesterday. I used to put fat in them, but not this time. I cleaned them really well and put half in a bag to add them to my romaine lettuce for salads with ACV and EVOO. Cooked the others with just a touch of salt and squeezed the juice of one lemon in them. I read that lemon brings out flavor without adding a lot of salt. Then I remembered that the few times we had spinach when I was growing up (the only greens my Daddy would eat) she put pickle juice in it. In one of these books, I think it was the Dummies book said that if you have sour which I don't like sour pickles so I use dill, it will help slow down the insulin surge of the meal.

As we slowly learn to tweak with these little changes, I hope they weil become so normal that they won't feel like a diet but lead us to a better and healthier lifestyle.

Have a good day.

I wanted to start a conversation about eating fat. I asked my doctor one time what was the best fats or bad ones. He said that it didn't matter because you weren't supposed to eat a lot of it.

You see so many diets that allows good fats such as avocado, EVOO etc which have so many good benefits not to mention that it makes you feel satisfied longer after a meal and it doesn't raise bs. Then you see others that do not allow any fat etc, etc. You know all the thoughts in between and we all who have done Atkins have enjoyed a little more and still got healthy results.

I see a few books out there that will allow the meats that have almost no fat being the only difference in their low carb diet and regular low carb diets. I'm thinking of one I read about that is very low carb, but I never did it because it didn't allow for any fat.

Years a go when I first experienced diabetes, the lowfat diet had come out and it was so new that not even the doctors knew how low was safe. So I went on a very strict lowfat diet. I stayed on it until I saw a woman on a talk show telling that she had done the same thing. She was much younger than me and she was still young enough that she wanted to start a baby. She couldn't get pregnant. She found out that the body needs some fat even to get pregnant and had to add enough fat back into her diet just so she could get pregnant.

My point of conversation. I get the feeling sometimes when I read different books that the doctors and nutritionist are scared to admit how important fat is in our diets even the good diets. So they may have a good diet plan as far as low carb is concerned but just don't allow enough fat to do its job. This is why some people can go on a low carb diet with even a little more fat especially the good fats like many of us do and do very well when we do it consistently.

I'm not saying that we should go wild with fat as I've never been one to go along with the HFLC diets either. I'm just curious about how low we have to go and what others think about it. The thing that causes me to question this is that the Magic Foods say that we need fat, but like all says that butter and coconut oil is bad. Those of us who have used coconut oil know the benefits especially for when it comes to lowering triglycerides and I saw that when I used it and mine were lowered. Which makes me feel that one rule about saturated fats and other "good" fats don't make a lot of sense to me.

I think this goes back to moderation. Just wondering what are the thoughts of others?

Hi all: having a good day, got out skiing on the rail trail for a bit, though it is quite cold here. DD came for a visit overnight, she's 22, and still working out what to do with her life. She has quit nursing school now, and had left another program before that. She is very smart.
However, both her Dad and I didn't settle onto our life paths and wandered about quite a bit before that, so I am not terribly worried. She has a job, and lives a good life, so I will be grateful for that and be there for her as she talks it all out.

TRISH: a few words about fat. Fat has calories, makes foods taste good and helps provide satisfaction with meals. It has NO effect on blood sugar.
I haven't read anything that convinces me that low fat (and therefore higher carb) diets are safe for diabetics. Even the most "normal" diets balance some fats with carbs and proteins.
Atkins and other lower carb diets suggest replacing carbs with fat, not protein, or only raising protein a bit.
Kim on the atkins thread was always reminding people to ensure they got enough fat. Most of us don't put in enough fat when we reduce carbs, and we get very hungry and miserable. Hard to get enough calories to avoid hunger if we are low carb and low fat.
BUT, I think it is a good idea to make sure that many of your fat sources are "good" fats.

And yes, thanks friends, I am back on track and weight is down again. I just can't seem to avoid bingeing when I start on the carbs.
SO I got some clear lax today and drank a glass. However, interestingly enough, the bottle says it takes 2-4 days to work. (I don't think I remember reading that before, but that would explain why I stopped taking it because it didn't "work")
SO I assume I will be taking it for a few days to keep things going.

ttfn

I'm 2 days into the new way of eating and it is going really well so far, especially since I did not really meal plan and am just flying by the seat of my pants! I do not know if I am losing anything yet but I was very happy with my BS results today when I tried an experiment. My fasting after one day on plan had gone down from the mid-120s to 115 (probably not signficant but made me happy) so that was my FBS today. I decided to have an E (carb) breakfast which is just so new to me. I made this baked oatmeal recipe (scroll down to the second one that says Trim Healthy Mama style) http://www.stacymakescents.com/baked-oatmeal-revised
which I would like to share since it really does not contain anything that you couldn't easily get or already have and it was really tasty. Even Olivia liked it and she is SO picky! I added one apple to mine - I peeled and cut it up into very small pieces so that it seemed like there was a lot in there. I did have to drink my coffee with no cream for the E breakfast which was hard but it worked out fine. Anyway, I'm rambling, back to my experiment. I tested at 1 hour, 2 hour and 3 hour after the oatmeal and my BS was basically the same - it was 115, 112 and 110 (which on my meter, all those are probably around 100 or 101 if it were to have been done in a lab) - SO, I am very pleased that the oatmeal and apple did not spike my BS!! That really encourages me as I was very nervous about the E meals.

Trish glad you liked the GGMS! I am liking it alot too. I tried another new drink today that is called The Shrinker - it is kind of like an iced chai tea. I did not love, love, love it but I drank the entire thing and will make it again (especially since I went to the trouble of finding the Oolong tea at Big Lots!) - here is a link in case you want to look at it - there is no ACV in this, it has cayenne in it though which is supposed to rev up thermagenesis and the oolong somehow makes you burn more calories. There is also another drink called the Singing Canary - I have not looked it up yet to see what is in it but I see alot of people posting about drinking it to fight off colds. The idea with all these drinks is they are called "sippers" and on this plan you can have them anytime as they do not cause the body to change fuel sources so you can drink them with meals or between meals. I was a little hungry after my baked oatmeal so I made that Shrinker and it got me through til lunch. Funny, since I had the oatmeal for breakfast I decided to make bacon and eggs for lunch, LOL! I was lacking in creativity and time! Here is a link to the three drinks in case you want to read more https://www.pinterest.com/pin/359302876493443726/

This week is so busy. I have three night classes this week - have had two the past two nights. I feel like it should be Friday and it is only Tuesday night!! Today I put boneless beef ribs in the crockpot so that I could spend a little more time with Olivia. I made those with a sugar free homemade BBQ sauce and added creamed spinach (which I have never made before or liked but it turned out good) and grain free biscuits that are meant to taste similar to the Red Lobster garlic biscuits. I also made mac and cheese (boxed) for Olivia and Mark. Mark said "this was the best meal you've made since before Christmas" - wow, I must have really been sucking in the cooking department, LOL! But, that is a real praise because Mark rarely has only positive things to say when I cook "my way". I did add the mac and cheese which is probably what made him okay with everything else but he even sent me a text while I was in class telling me how good it was - that is miraculous!

Oh and lastly, in case you have not seen them there is a new yogurt available now that is sweetened with Stevia. It is called Oikos Triple O and Walmart has them for $1/each. That is about average price for 'fancy' yogurt but I have seen some folks adding plain Greek yogurt to it to stretch it further as they say that it is a little too sweet. I think it is just the right sweetness so I eat mine as is but just wanted to share as it is nice to see companies trying other sweeteners than just the aspartame or sucralose. Yogurt is yet another thing I had not eaten for a very long time that is fun new addition. These have 9 net carbs so they are considered an E unless you just eat half the container in which case they can be an S dessert or snack which can be eaten with or in close proximity to an S meal. (I know all these E and S references make me sound crazy but writing it out and explaining it to you all helps me solidify what I am learning for myself so thank you for indulging all my cryptic posts!)

Well, my ACV experiment failed big time last night. First of all, I didn't drink much of it during the day because I was out shopping most of the day. Then we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. I had roast chicken, broccoli, and a salad. No potato. I did taste a piece of a roll at DH's insistence because he said the butter didn't have any cinnamon in it. I tasted cinnamon. When I got home I drank some ACV water. I got diarrhea from something I ate. When I went to bed BS was 169. I drank some ACV water at bedtime but this morning my BS was 230!! I have no idea why. I really doubt that the small piece of roll I ate would cause that much of a spike, plus we ate at 4-5PM. Any spike should have happened before then. I don't know what is going on. It is really keeping my BS down during the day. I will continue with it.

Shannon, adding a carb side dish usually satisfies DH when the main course is low carb. When I made the hot sausage last week he said "It was really good, just remember what you did!" LOL The last time I made it, it was rubbery.

The one thing I thought of right away with THM is that I would never be able to eat a slice of my low carb toast with my eggs in the AM. I do that less than once a week if I get up and have low FBS, but I know I don't want to give up that occasional treat. The egg is protein, but it is also fat.

Trish, I agree with Mad that our bodies are made to have some protein, fat and carb each day, but the American diet has distorted our thinking about portions. Some diets go to extremes with eliminating carbs or fats totally or adding extra fat. It might help with weight loss in the beginning, but long term I don't think we are supposed to eliminate anything completely. I think "all things in moderation" works just as well. I think if we go back to basics and realize what a portion is supposed to be we would be better off. I speak for myself, because I think portion control is my biggest problem and I just can't seem to break that. I know that last night at Texas Roadhouse I ate way more than 3-4 oz of chicken, but in my mind I was thinking roasted chicken is low carb and lower fat and it's OK to eat more. Sometimes when I start to eat dinner I feel satisfied after several bites, but I don't feel that I ate enough so I keep on eating. The more I eat the more I want, and then I end up over eating. My husband only orders a 6 oz sirloin, which is a very small portion for a man, and he never eats it all. He never has a clean plate after eating except for dessert. LOL That's one of his good habits that I did not pick up! LOL

You can also cook greens in a little bit of chicken broth, too, rather than using fat. I do that sometimes and it's tasty.

Mad, I'm glad you are doing better. When DH was on narcotic pain meds he got very constipated and would not take anything for it, so I made jello and added some Miralax to it and it did the trick. I never told him I did that or he would never trust me again.

Carol Sue, that is an awesome way to get the miralax in! I can't have jello (citric acid related to citrus, = allergic reaction) or I would totally do that.
Things are moving along today, and I will keep taking it daily for a bit to keep things moving.

I would like to talk about meal planning and food tracking.
Its one of the reasons I had trouble with weight watchers.
Mentally, I am trying NOT to obsess about food, and tracking makes me feel very obsessive. People I know on WW seem quite obsessed about food and points.
I am trying to plan enough in advance (1-2 meals) to be able to stay on plan without getting overly into it. IS THIS CRAZY? will I never be successful if I don't track and plan everything in advance.

I try to keep things simple, breakfast is yoghurt with holy crap or skinny ***** cereal, and a serving of frozen berries. Yes, almost everyday, eggs for breakfast just once a week. I am doing similar with lunches, trying to make them simple and similar, without being too boring. That leaves mostly suppers to plan, and I can do that one or two days at a time. We like to shop "fresh" so I don't have a lot in the fridge to tempt me.

so give me your opinions about meal planning.
thanks friends

Mad, here's what I think about meal planning. For me, part of my problem is I start out the day so well, but by the time the day is over I have eaten too much, and the wrong foods. If I would plan my day, even going so far to plug the plan into Fitday or MFP, I would account for whatever calorie level, carb level, or fat level that I want for myself. As it is, I plug the food in at the end of the day, then I see where I went over. This could be hard for me to do because I have to take into consideration what DH wants for supper, and he would not want to make that decision at 8 AM. LOL But I could try to do it, and eventually I might be out of the habit of overeating and wouldn't have to do it anymore. It would come natural. Since DH needs carbs, mainly potatoes, every night, I have learned to just omit them for myself, or maybe have a very small portion.

My biggest problem is after dinner. This morning I woke up with that high blood sugar. I took a glimiperide and ate eggs with cut up broccoli for breakfast. My husband made roasted vegetables for lunch so I ate some of them. Then I walked 25 min on the treadmill. When I tested before dinner my sugar was at 116, which pleased me. Now that I have eaten dinner, I am planning another walk around 7:30 and then will test again at bedtime to see how I did. I have been drinking the ACV water but not as much as the past two days in case it was the cause of my tummy problems. I know that the walking should help, but I have to make myself do it. The main thing is to keep myself from eating again today.

EDIT: I just plugged my food into Fitday. Calories 1497, fat 67gm, carbs 118gm, protein 116 gm. That is at the very top of my desired levels.

The thing about WW is if you don't mind figuring out the points for everything you automatically eat the right amount of food as long as you stay within your points. But that's pretty much the same as calorie counting, to me. I hated trying to figure out the points for things I cook at home. I don't eat many packaged foods, where the nutrition info is right on the package. I think once you are sticking to a plan, it will become second nature to eat the right amount. Planning will help you learn that.

Today someone mentioned SF Popsicles and Fudge Bars. I will have to keep them in mind for when the weather warms up a little. Spring is just around the corner!!

Carol Sue In S meals you are allowed up to 10 grams net carbs. Technically only 6 grams net carbs should be from processed food but if your bread is 10 grams net then it would be fine.

My FBS was 111 today (yay!). I was really happy to see that bc it was 134 when I went to bed and I was not sure why other than having class and going 5 hours before eating again. I had an early morning meeting and was only able to drink coffee. So when it got done I was STARVING!!! Thank God for Moe's - I was able to get a nice filling S meal there and then run errands.

I had a bad thing happen today and I am so angry. I took my THM book (600 pages) to be split and spiral bound at the Staples. The recipes are in the middle of the book so I was essentially pulling those out into a separate book to keep in the kitchen. I got home and the pages are in the wrong order and punched on the wrong side in some cases. I called the manager and she did this whole "we can fix it" speech but I want my book replaced. It's a $30 book and I paid $10 to have it split.

Tonight I am cooking the pizzas with the bread I cold fermented. I will check BS before and after at several marks and let you know how it goes. I am highly skeptical but we shall see.

I didn't know Staples did that. Neat idea, as long as they do it right.....

My bread is 6.5 gm net carb per slice, so I guess I would be ok having the one slice. That's good to know.

Seems we all agree about the fat. I mostly use the good fats and the only one I use that the books say are bad is the Coconut Oil. I don't use all that much, but I do use enough in my food plan. I just try not to go too high or too low. I just find it interesting that the thought out there about it doesn't always see the importance of fat in the nutrition. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I know when I don't get enough, my hair gets dry and nails chip. I also know if I eat too much like I did for a while I problems with diarrhea. So it needs to be balanced.

Mad I don't plan mainly I don't count calories, points etc because I found that it worked against me. I think eating when I'm hungry and not eating when I'm not is important. I tried calorie counting using MyFitnessPal because my doctor told me about it. My problem was that when I wasn't hungry and didn't eat 1200 calaories, it would give me all the info. It just said I wasn't eating enough. I had the same problem in WW because they insist you eat the amount of pts they give you. I finally realized that they were teaching me overeat because when I was left to myself I did fine, but when I ate as much as they told me too then it seemed to trigger something I ended up eating out of control. I only make what DH and I are going to eat at the meal and fix our plates without leftovers to tempt us.

My hubby is like Carol Sue's in he fact that he is picky and he likes to eat out more than I do and sometime this is a problem for me. I just try to work around it as much as I can.

Shannon Thanks for sharing the websites. I will check them out tomorrow. Sorry about the botched up job with your book. I would be upset too. The reason I haven't bought the book yet is the price. But I am thinking about getting it. If it continues to work so well for you, I may go ahead and get it when I can.

Ladies, I have something to share with y'all about my day. DH and I attended the funeral of a precious lady in our church. She was the oldest of 4 sisters and one brother. I didn't know about the brother until I read the obituary. But I had talked to her years ago in a small group meeting we were in together at church. We as a group were talking about diets etc. After I talked to her about what she ate because she had mentioned that she was diabetic, but she had it under control. She ate low carb which when she told me a typical day plan of what she ate, I realized she ate almost like the Dr.Bernstien Diet. I went to her funeral because her sister is a sweetie and always hugging me and telling me she loves me when I see her on Sunday mornings and just had to be there for her. Her funeral was more of a celebration to honor her life and I left feeling like I had blessed like I had never been blessed by her life as that is what Pastor shared with us. All of her accomplishments.

This lady turned 97 on December 18th. When she was 18 she worked in Child Evangelism and worked in that association for years. O how I wish I had known that when she was living. I worked with them when I was in my mid 20s. But this woman had a BA degree from a Bible College and then got another degree at the age of 45 and got her Masters when she was 58. She announced to her family one day that she had decided that she wanted to see the United States and wanted to do it from an RV. Her kids told her that she couldn't travel across the country by herself. She said "I've already bought the RV and I'm going" and she did. He said one she told her family one time that she was going to Hawaii and when they told her she couldn't that she said "I've already bought the tickets and I'm going". I almost forgot to tell you that she must have made the RV trip after her 1st husband died because Pastor said when she got to California that she met her second husband and married him and lived there for 7 yrs and they traveled. They came back here to live and she took care of him until he died just a few years ago.

She and her sisters ate lunch everyday between 11 to noon at Wendy's. He said if you wanted to meet with her and talk to her she would have you meet them for lunch at Wendy's. Interesting. She told me she always ate a salad for lunch.

In her life time she wrote children's books, wrote biographies for the Moody Institute. She worked for a company that used to be here for in this own for 15 yrs helping people find jobs that they would be good at doing and enjoy. This woman was amazing.

I share this because she was diabetic and accomplished so much including controlling her diabetes. And she lived to be 97 years old and evidently had a stroke just a few days as she was in hospice and Pastor said she was blessed because he didn't have to be there but a couple of days before she went home to be with the Lord. I felt so blessed to hear her life story. Her family was so happy that she didn't have to suffer long and passed peacefully. They are all amazing people.

I left there with my faith so strong that I don't have to die young with diabetes because I can learn to control it and live healthy productive life. I know it can be done because she did it. She is my inspiration and my proof that it has been done. I just had to share this with you and say... Ladies let us not give up. We can do this if we just keep working at finding how to make it work for us.

Goodnight. See ya tomorrow.:)

Well, my plan didn't work again. I got into the popcorn tin so my BS was 190 this morning. But I am still trying. I want to use the rest of that popcorn to make some caramel corn for DH then I'll leave it alone. I will continue with my ACV water and go back to the amount and full strength that I used that first day, but if I get tummy issues again I will have to accept that ACV water is not for me.

About the Coconut Oil. When others started using it, I was not in favor of it because it was a saturated fat, and I've always heard that sat fat was the bad fat. But since that time I have read that although it's sat fat, it is not animal fat, but plant based, and that's the difference. I have also noticed that different books and plans say completely different things, and we have to do our own research and decide for ourselves what works for us and what doesn't. Anyone can write a book that says anything. And I think even doctors get it wrong sometimes. My cardiologist never discusses diet, but I am sure he would so no to fat.

For us, eating out is better than eating at home, but it is too costly for us. We rarely go to fast-food places. We go to sit-down restaurants. I can usually order an entree and 2 veggie choices instead of getting a carb side. DH can order his carb, and we are both satisfied. When I cook at home, I sometimes end up eating carbs, such as when I make lasagne and I just have to accompany it with veggies or a big salad and just eat a small portion of the lasagne. If I make a regular meat and potatoes meal for him, I have to adapt the meal to include more veggies for me to avoid the carbs.
Even if you do go to a fast food place, you can order a small burger and throw away the bun, and get a side salad instead of french fries, but unfortunately, most of us don't do that. It's all up to the individual to make up their mind to make the necessary choices. It's not easy. I did so well when I was single and lived alone and only had to make choices for myself, but I know DH will never change, and I would not trade him.

Shannon, there is not a lot of information online about THM. It's too new and they are making sure you have to buy the book. I checked the used book sites I use and there are no cheap copies out there. I will keep checking Goodwill. Someone will buy the book and decide it's not for them. Or maybe I will want it so bad I will pay the price. I am like Trish. I once gave away all the different diet books I had, and now I have a big collection again. I even bought another copy of one I had already given away. I am so afraid of investing in another book that I can't make work for me. It's my problem, that I don't follow through. I am rooting for you, that you found something that will work. You seem to have better staying power than I do.

Trish, your friend was truly a wonderful woman and lived a full life. It was God's plan that she live a long life. While I agree that we should take care of our bodies to have the best life we can, I also believe that when God is ready for you, it's your time, and not everyone lives to be old. I am not saying you are wrong, but just that I think differently.

Shannon The plan is definitely working for you fbs. Looks like you have found what works for you.

My fbs was 125 this morning and weight is slowly coming back down. While 125 is not bad, I know that the plan I was on when it got down to 108 is in the realm of possibility for me. So I have decided to continue doing what I was doing then at least as long as it is working and keeps my fbs low and the weight comes down. I've decided that the only change I will make is I will add the ACV drink. I still drink the small glass of ACV in water before eating breakfast because I don't want to drink the ACV so early. I will still use ACV and EVOO on my salad at our main meal at noon when eating at home. We don't eat out that much so the few times we do should not be a problem. If ever I will keep the book in mind because I know I can always purchase the book if I need to. I am comfortable with my new plan and as my Hubby #2 used to say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

I really believe that we are all becoming comfortable with what we are learning to do to make a plan work for us personally. According to the book I have of people who lose weight and keep it off this is what it takes in order for us to be successful. That is our goal as we learn to make a plan that fits our personality and lifestyle.

Have a blessed day.

I've been drinking the ACV drink all day today. 3rd day drinking it. Since I went to the funeral yesterday, I drank it after I got home because I didn't want to go a day without it. Today, I'm not hungry enough to eat dinner so skipping it. I think the drink is curbing my appetite. I think it is also making me feel bloated, but I suspect that will go away soon. Probably just part of the ACV working. I will continue drinking it. I drink one big 32 ounce glass of it each day and then drink filtered water after that.

I think I ended up eating within a 5 or 5 1/2 hr window. Funny thing is that I've been making myself eat dinner every evening even though I wasn't hungry. I've been afraid I would get hungry past my 8 hr window. Tonight I decided I was not going to do that any more. If I do get hungry, I can eat some kind of veggie if needed. But I am not going to go back to eating when I am not hungry.

This morning I was watching the Today show. They are celebrating Heart Health for Women Day, all wearing red, and all the women of the show had their cholesterol checked and they had a woman there to review the results on the air. These 5 women are all youngish (under 50) and thin. They checked total cholesterol, LDL and HDL. None of them had all 3 good. The woman gave them pointers of what to do for their particular problem. Only 1 of them had good total cholesterol, but either LDL or HDL was bad, I don't remember which one. She was the only one who said she exercised regularly, but the woman told her that to correct her problem she should exercise more! There was not one mention of cutting back on carbs. All that was mentioned was cutting back on red meat and fat. I was screaming at the TV LOL

Yesterday I took my glimiperide the way I'm supposed to, twice a day, before breakfast and dinner. My blood sugar was fairly good all day. It spiked a little after some carb at dinner, but by bedtime it was down to 119. This morning it was 178. I also exercised twice, afternoon and evening. I am starting to think that the meds artificially lower blood sugar but as soon as it wears off (in about 8 hours) blood sugar rises again. I will continue to experiment, going lower and lower with carbs, exercising twice a day and drinking the ACV water. I know if I get a bad A1c my doctor will just increase my meds, or switch them to something else, but right now I refuse to accept that I can't do this without meds. I am OK with the Metformin because I get no side effects from that. I do know that when you lower your blood sugar, FBS is the last one to come down. I have only heard of one person who had good fasting BS but still had a higher A1c.

I don't know if I'm allowed to post this here but I think it's important to all of us!

http://photos-ak.sparkpeople.com/nw/1/5/l1540229660.jpg

Trish the ACV is a hunger suppressant. It's one of the reasons they include it in the GGMS and encourage it as a between meal "sipper". When I feel munchy I immediately start drinking it and it does help!

Thank you so much for sharing about your friend's funeral. That was so heart warming to read.

Carol Sue I am certainly not advocating for anyone to spend money on a book! I am just sharing my experience so please don't take my posts any other way. But, if you are wanting more info there is actually quite a bit to be found online and in fact, though the book has helped me to understand the "whys" behind the plan, I learned most of it online before I actually got the book which is why I was able to start right after getting it. I already knew what to do I just felt like I needed to have the book to be "official". Like Trish has said we all share what works for us and if someone is able to take some piece or whole from that and improve their own situation then we, as a community, are working like we should.

Here are a few links that you, or others, can check out if you would like.

A quick start guide that does not outline the plan but has a lot of good tips and you can infer from many of them how the plan works http://www.gwens-nest.com/wp-content...Guide-9-13.pdf

A book review that more or less spells out the bulk of the plan (which is basically the same things I wrote in my post about the plan)
http://www.gwens-nest.com/trim-healt...a-book-review/

A good overview I found (CAUTION: be careful of clicking any links on this blog post - the blog is totally legit but I did get a strange virus type warning when I clicked one link)
http://savvyhomemaking.com/trim_heal...ew_start_here/

Another overview that has lots of recipe links in case you like that kind of thing
http://www.thecoersfamily.com/trim-healthy-mama/

A huge list of Facebook pages for bloggers on Trim Healthy Mama - from this you can deduce the blog name and go directly to the blog - many of these have book reviews, recipes, etc. Also, the blog this post is on has some seriously good recipes.
http://mrscriddleskitchen.com/thm-bl...acebook-pages/

And, if you made it to the end of this list without falling asleep then you get a special surprise - here is the really awesome free link - this tells you exactly what should be in each meal type (I'm still working on getting my meals to be exactly right, for now they are "in the spirit" of S or E as I understand it and am learning more)
http://seeminglyrandom.com/wp-conten...ing-Blocks.pdf

Anyway, I'm just sharing all this because I know the book is expensive. I waited til it went from $35 to $27 before I got it and I did look for used copies as well. Needless to say, I now have a ruined book and am waiting til the General Mgr at Staples returns tomorrow to talk to him about replacing it. In the meantime they did take my book apart and I reordered it and they punch new holes and rebound it but of course I now have a book with hole punches in both margins which is just unacceptable.

Good afternoon ladies! This has been a really rough week in my house. With all these night classes and all this cooking my laundry and other things at home have just fallen apart so today I spent most of the preschool time catching up on laundry, emptying trash cans, straightening the kitchen, making the bed 9for the first time this week - YIKES!), etc. I feel a little better now. Tomorrow Olivia has (another) birthday party and I need to make a gift appear out of thin air sometime before then, LOL! But I am super excited because tomorrow night Mark is taking Olivia out for dinner at the Daddy Daughter night at Chick Fil A and then to a Daddy Daughter Dance at her dance studio so I get an evening at home to myself - that NEVER happens! They almost never are both gone in the evening. I'm trying to figure out what I'd like to do with my time - Woohoo! LOL!

This morning I had a weird thing happen. I was about to leave to take Olivia to preschool and I checked my FBS and it was almost 140. I can't remember ever seeing it that high on a FBS. I decided to stay at home with her til the quiche was done in the oven and eat breakfast before leaving. A few hours later it was 103. Very odd. I have cheated the past two nights after dinner with sweets though so it could be related to that or maybe it was a liver dump or I suppose it could have been machine error. I think the highest FBS I've ever seen on there was maybe 128 or so. Oh well. I will check it the next few days and make sure it doesn't happen again.

I want to get back over here later and tell you about some of the stuff I've cooked this week, so hopefully later today or over the weekend. Gotta run to preschool now. Have a great day!

Shannon, I did not take it that you were advocating that others buy the book, just that right now it is out of my price range. Apparently you are much better at researching information online! I couldn't find much. I have bookmarked all the links you provided and will look through them all. Maybe I will get enough information to understand the plan without purchasing the book. :carrot:

I want to say to both you and Trish that I don't find the ACV water to be a hunger supressant. At least not so far. :( Maybe with the other ingredients you are adding.

Shannon, we were posting at the same time. I think your 140 was a machine error. There are many things I've heard that can effect a reading. Something that is on your hands, cold hands, etc. That one time my machine was cold from being in the cold car my reading was 100 points above my normal readings as shown once I warmed up the meter. I would keep it in mind, but not worry about it.