p.a. your A1c is still better than mine! I just got my RX refilled yesterday and have committed to staying low carb through this 90d/s and then making an appointment to get checked out. I know I can do this with diet and exercise, but the question is, will I? I want to, but I get so weak sometimes. I have stayed away from ice cream for months. DH has been buying it but he prefers vanilla and I can go forever without eating that. Yesterday I was looking in the freezer and noticed that he bought chocolate marshmallow. That has been my favorite since childhood, and he knows it. I feel that he bought it purposely to temp me, because he doesn't even like chocolate anything. No candy, no cake, nothing. He won't even eat a chocolate chip cookie. I made the mistake of giving in and ate some, and now it's calling me. I have to work at staying away from it. Eventually it will get icy and I can throw it out. LOL

Trish, I started to watch that video from Dr Hallberg. I recognized her right away and realized I had either watched that video or another of hers. I have a hard time staying focused when I watch a video. I would rather see it in writing and just read.

I am not very interested in fruit. DH and I split an orange each day when we have them, or a banana. I have blueberries in the freezer that have been there for months. My plan was to eat some every day because they are so healthy, but I forget to do it. I don't like them unless there are frozen. I let them melt in my mouth.

When I do track my food, fat is the largest segment of the pie chart, but I don't feel that I eat a lot of fat. I burned out on avacados. I think most of my fat comes from eggs and meat, even though I don't think I eat a lot of meat. Average. But when I list my foods, I see that everything seems to have some fat and it adds up. I don't feel that I have to add any other fat to my meals. In fact, I have been starting to use that liquid spray butter on my veggies, and it has no fat or calories. God only knows what it's made of. LOL Probably chemicals to taste like butter.

I have no interest in using a flour substitute. When I bake, it's for other people, so regular flour is fine with me. And the only time I use a sugar substitute is for tea, which is 4-6 cups per YEAR! So no worries there. I could even use regular sugar I think. I bought some liquid Stevia at the suggestion of someone else and have never even opened it. It's in the cupboard, somewhere.

I used to never eat chips unless there was French Onion Dip to go with them. I could eat just the dip with a spoon, right out of the carton. Lately, I've been eating them. I want to get back to ignoring DH's snacks. It's funny how bad habits come sneaking in. You don't really notice them until you start writing them down. I've got to change my evil ways, Baby! LOL Anybody else like Santana?

My friend who lost the weight told me that she makes sure she eats a salad at dinner every day. That's like CAD. I think now that the weather is warming up I will try to do that, even though I have to be in the mood for a salad. I prefer warm food over cold, ice cream being the exception to that rule! LOL

FYI, while looking around at stuff about Dr Hellberg, I found a site called Diabetic Mediterranean Diet that has a lot of good info. It has a Keto Mediterranean Diet that you are supposed to start with, then you can continue on with the Low Carb Mediterranean Diet if you are able to add more carbs.

I also found a site called Splendid Low Carbing with Jennifer Eloff. She uses a lot of low carb baking mixes and there seems to be a lot of good recipes for anyone who's interested. I don't get into that because I'm the only one here who would be interested. If I ate something like pancakes made with a low carb baking mix, it would make me think it was also ok to eat regular pancakes if I was out somewhere. I'm better off to stay away from it altogether, but I know others who like to have these things available. Maybe if I lived alone, but I hope I don't have to face that for a very long time, or never.

I start reading something, then I click on links, which lead to other good sites. That's how I end up online most of the day when I should be doing other things. LOL

Carol i would suggest you find a treat that suits your way of eating, so when Dh has his you can have yours. Have you tried blueberries with a bit of whip cream ,,,it's delish and low carb. If you kept the berries frozen even better!!
I believe you can find your way....it's tougher having to cook or eat out with someone else,,. I went out with friends last week and one friend looked at me after everyone placed their order and said steak?? Lol..yup my go to low carb meal when I'm out.

PA: first off, I want to say "its not your fault" that your sugars are not coming down the way you want them too. Look at the weight you have lost. You are doing your best. My fasting has been a bit high again. I am considering having the nuts at bedtime again. Not many, just 10-15 peanuts or almonds. Just a little carb snack to stop the liver dumping the glucose for the "dawn effect".
It is just really hard when we are working to lose weight, and find a certain way of eating helps that, and controls sugars all day, to have that happen overnight, out of our control.

Tymaboy; the chips are definitely a trigger for me. We do have tortilla chips around, and I have resisted those, as well as bread etc. But other stuff, just has to stay out of the house. DH is being better about it than in the past. I doubt I will ever be able to resist the urge well enough to have many treats around.

Hello to all our friends, and have a good day.

p.a. I'm sure it could be the 15 hr fast. I read in Dr. Fung's Fasting Guidelines that when fasting that it is possible to see a high FBG reading because your body is burning the insulin that are in our fat cells. He says it is a good thing not bad. He says you will know that it is working. Of course that is high FBG readings, but I would have to assume that as long as you are OP low carbing that it is just one of those things.

Carol Sue I like reading or hearing more about low carbing etc from different ones. I am not following anyone 100%, but I do get a lot of info in order to tweak my plan to fit my lifestyle. The 16:8 where Dr. Fung says to start with will probably become my way of eating and I will be eating low carb. What helps me with Dr. Halberg's videos was that I don't have to loads of protein, but I do need to eat adequate amount. The same goes for the fat. I am back to doing what I did before. I choose to eat some lf/ff foods while also using enough healthy fats too. I just eat as much fat as I need.

I found a new doctor for DH and myself. We go meet him on the 25th and establish our relationship with him. I am very excited about it for many reasons. DH wanted to be able to go to the hospital DD goes to. We like the attitude of the people there. I also wanted to go to one of their local clinics that is much closer to us. Not only is it closer, but it is the same one DS goes to. We have 3 systems here to choose from. The one DD uses is Scott and White and for now you can use either of the 2 hospitals here. The one we were with was with the other hospital which eventually people with Scott and White clinic patients will have to go to as S&W owns it. Right now it is a new hospital that was built they allowed Hillcrest to keep the name. DD thinks eventually they won't let him go to Providence. Providence is the hospital is a Catholic hospital and they have some wonderful programs. The CHF clinic DD goes to is with them and they are fantastic. I hope I never need them, but I would certainly want them taking care of me.

I went online and while the do have a diabetes program, they also have loads of information on YouTube teaching how and what to eat etc. I've listened to a lot of it and will continue. The guys name on the YouTube is an author and I think he says his name is Ty Mason. I do not agree with everything he says, but he is very good about explaining about certain foods concerning the research and whether diabetics should or should not use them. It is quite interesting. Low carb is recommended and I am very thrilled with that. I also heard him say that drinking enough water will help keep diabetes low. I realized that I don't drink as much water as I used to because it is hard for me to drink water in the winter time. So I'm going to work at getting more water in my plan.

Giving up breakfast is working. My weight is starting to come back down. So I am thrilled about the way everything is falling in place.

yippee, managed a little whoosh, and got below that sticky 175. So that was especially exciting. Went for a walk even though the cold weather returned today, and managed to eat well and on plan today in spite of obstacles.
All in all a good day.
hope every one is feeling good.
Trish, hope the change of docs will do you good. Trust means everything

Yeah for woooshs!!!!

fatmad Yeah!!!! :carrot:Glad you got your whoosh!!!:carrot:

I am thoroughly enjoying my new doctor/hospital network. There is soooo much info on there for improve health problems. I have decided to take the info I am learning on there and working out my own plan within the 16:8 Fasting Program. I believe I can do that for both DH and myself as well as my DS and DBIL.

I stopped the Lipitor. I didn't take one last night as it was making me so grumpy/irritated and exhausted all the time. And it was obviously raising FBG as my FBG this morning was 108. I am taking the Trulicity as long as it helps me get things under control. A new doctor may not require me to take the statin any way. I hope he has a better way to help DH too. A read that a DO treats the whole person and knows more about muscles etc and I'm hoping he will be able to help DH with what he calls phantom pains.

Carol Sue Remember the book we read Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar that was published by Reader's digest? I plan to take what I'm learning from our network and that book to make my food plan. So much of what I learned on there reminds me of that book.

Y'all have a good day.

Trish, it's really not a question of whether the doctor will require you to take the statin. If you don't want to take it, you just say so. I don't believe statins are as bad as people make them out to be and they do have other benefits other than lowering cholesterol, but so many people cannot tolerate them. DH refused them after his heart attack in 1993 and he's still here! Cholesterol can be lowered with diet and exercise. Do some googling and read up on it. There are probably some natural remedies, too. Funny that DH has phantom pain. My DH gets pain mostly just at night. He won't tell the doctor about it because he doesn't want to go for tests. It's all I can do to get him to go once a year, and all he will let the doctor do is write a script for his BP. I think if he was not also my doctor he might refuse to treat DH. DH won't do anything the doctor suggests.

I still have that book. I haven't read it in a while. I got a nice bookcase at Goodwill and my books are better arranged there so I can get to them easier.

I'm glad you're working out a good plan for yourself.

I also am glad to see that Mad got a long awaited whoosh! Good for you!

Saw dr today,,,she was happy with my A1C,,,not so happy with my fasting number but I told her I didn't want more meds so we are waiting another 3 months. I 'think' it's because I ate a huge lettuce salad for supper the night before and crazy as it is lettuce has a lot of carbs. Next time I'll just eat eggs and bacon lol...sounds strange doesn't it.
Told me to keep at the weight loss and to get out and walk. Blood pressure was lowest its been!! Yeah..
See her in 3 months.

Carol Sue DH has mentioned his phantom pains many times to the doctor we had in SC, but he never seemed interested in them. I always felt like he didn't know what to do about them. From what I read about D.O.s, they know about such things. We will see.

As for the statin, I just couldn't stand being so tired all the time. It sounds crazy, but I didn't take it last night and my FBS was 108 this morning and I had the energy to do 20 min/2 miles on the recumbent bike. I have felt better all day.

DD was feeling better today when I went to do his pills. CHF nurse talked to the cardiologist and they cut him down to 1 Lasiz 3 days a week instead of 4 days. I don't have to go to beauty shop tomorrow and had planned to stay home, but I'm going to have to take the care to have it worked on if I the auto shop is open and we will drive DD car until we get it fixed. Hopefully they can get to it tomorrow otherwise we will have to drive it all weekend. We think the power stirring fluid is leaking out of it. I just hope I can get it there before it runs out.

As I listen to these YouTube videos on food and my appoint with the dietitian and diabetic educator, I find it interesting that they are finally facing that fat and protein do not raise blood sugar, but they still will not tell people not to eat some of the higher carby veggies and starches that cause it to skyrocket. I think they are just too afraid to go that far. They just say to eat them very carefully.

What I did like about one of the guys I listened to is that he explained that you can combine some foods with others to help slow down the rise of bs. That is what made me thing of the book that I mentioned to earlier to you Carol Sue. Such as putting veggies on a pizza to slow the bs rise when eating it. Even if you don't want to eat those foods very often, it is nice to know that in a pinch like when your DH wants pizza that you could add a salad or veggies on it to lower the glycemic load.

It did work for me when I did it before, so I see know reason why it would not work now.

p.a. I never heard of bs going up from lettuce, even with dressing! I googled and a large head of lettuce has 15 gm of carb. Did you have anything else in that salad? How high was your fasting blood sugar? I don't mean to be nosy, but I just never heard of that and I'm wondering if the high blood sugar was from something else.

Trish, I was reading online about phantom pain and it said it is when you feel pain in a limb that has been amputated or an organ that has been removed. Is that correct? I just thought it was unexplained pain that comes and goes, like my DH has.

I agree that you can eat starchy foods in small amounts without a problem, but for most people, starchy foods make you crave more starchy foods, and no one eats the small portions suggested. I know that when I eat spaghetti I have a plateful (or two, LOL) and it spikes my blood sugar. So I try eating a smaller portion, with a LOT of meatballs. Also, I can eat lasagne without a spike, because it has all the meat and cheese in it, so that offsets the noodles. But spaghetti with just sauce is a no no. And I imagine that's why the nurses told me to eat some protein at every meal. I was recovering from surgery, so they also felt that I needed the protein for healing, since diabetics have slower healing than others. But that still doesn't mean high protein. Also, I recently read an article about certain foods that can be eaten together to control blood sugar, but most of the foods were foods I wouldn't normally eat.

Sometimes I put the pizza toppings in a bowl of lettuce, but I am not a big salad eater. I have to be in the mood for it, and sometimes I force myself to eat it. I think that's because I want my food to be hot, or at least warm. Many times I will order soup with a meal instead of salad, or two hot veggies instead of one veggie and a salad. One restaurant we go to have a salad that contains chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, sauteed in a white balsamic dressing, so it adds warm to the salad, and I really enjoy that. I even prefer warm food in the summer. I always have to add that ice cream is the exception to that rule. LOL When DH gets pizza, I really would prefer to have something altogether different for myself. That's my opportunity to eat something that DH would not eat. Otherwise, I don't ever get to have some of my favorite foods.

Yesterday DH told me he's trying not to eat breakfast anymore. I guess he's on one of his diets that he doesn't talk about. I cooked some scrambled eggs for myself, and then we went shopping. Naturally, he got hungry and wanted to go to McDonald's. I just kept my mouth shut, and gave him a coupon I had for BOGO burgers. He got them to go and came home and ate one. The other one sat there for a while and finally I got hungry and ate it, heated up. It was terrible and I felt sick afterwards. No more McD burgers for me ever again. Why does he do that? I should have fed it to the dog. I don't know why I don't learn my lesson. Today, he is making breakfast. What gives? LOL

I can eat the more carby veggies without a problem, like carrots. I LOVE cooked carrots and I cook baby carrots often. I don't like raw. Also, I eat mixed veggies, like the kind in veggie soup, and it contains corn, carrots, lima beans, and I don't have a problem with them. My biggest problem is bread and anything made from flour, even whole grain. I think that's because if I eat it, I just want more and more. I cannot stop with a small amount. There is a woman on another board who went from 290 lbs to 115 lbs and has maintained for 3 years. She ate once a day, mostly boneless chicken breast and a big salad, with her home made low carb dressing. She is not and has never been diabetic. I don't know if her calories were low from this. But this proves to me that you don't have to eat high fat. It's boring to just eat the same thing day after day, but she said she would rather be bored than fat. She said she eat one meal a day because she's never hungry until she puts food in her mouth. Once she eats, she wants to eat more and more and more. I notice that too. Many times I can go most of the day with no food, especially if I am out and about and busy. But if I get up in the AM and eat breakfast, then I want lunch, then dinner, then snacks at night. It's not from hunger, just from having the food available.

Another thing I read, I think from Dr Fung, is that people who have a lot of fat to lose should not do fat bombs or bullet proof coffee. They should just work at keeping their insulin low and let their body burn the fat it already has. I see people who do a fat fast to get through a plateau, and I think that's OK, but don't agree with high fat as a regular daily thing, for me.

That's the thing. We hear so many different things, so how do we know which ones to do? Just because it comes from a doctor, doesn't mean it's right for the individual.

We are all different. I know I need to get back to JUDDD, as that worked for me! I was losing, my blood sugar went way down, and I really wasn't hungry. I felt great, and I did NOT want to overeat on UD the way some others do. I am seriously considering getting the Kindle book of Dr Fung's Complete Guide to Fasting. $10 isn't going to break me. LOL I've spent that on worse things. I will probably never do longer fasting, but I have heard things about that book from others, too, and it was all good. Curiosity is killing me. LOL

DH is going to want to go to the casino today. I don't want to go because it's Good Friday. I have a lot to do before Easter. Even though we are celebrating at my step-son's I'm making food to take. Horseradish and beets has to be made in advance to let the beet juice soak into the horseradish, so I wanted to do that today. But I usually go along with what he wants rather than argue. I didn't get married to argue. I could have stayed with my mother if I wanted to do that. LOL Bless her little heart, may she rest in peace. I know she loved me, deep down, but had a bad way of showing it.

I clicked on "Post quick response" but see that this is a book, not a "quick response." LOL

Morning Carol...I'm not sure. On MFP my counts showed 3 carbs for 1 cup and I had 3 cups,,so 9 overall...that's a lot when I try to keep my carbs under 20 total..plus I had tomato and cucumber plus dressing in it. Feel like a detective eating this way...lol. My dr suggested bringing my meter into my next lab appt and checked it against the A1C test....so I will. My meter doesn't show me that high normally in the mornings.
You mentioned fat burning...I thought I had an UTI so mentioned it to my dr so she wanted to do a dip test in the office and see. So handed me off to her nurse to get a bottle and go pee...when I brought it back she dipped the test strip in and it turned dark..lol she looked at me and said Oooo your burning fat!! I just smiled and said yup! then she said did u eat today? I chuckled and said I ate breakfast...she looked puzzled. I wasn't going to give her a low carb lesson she's the professional. Lol
But I was very happy to see that dark stick around and know I'm doing this right.

p.a. That's funny! Yay on burning fat! I wonder what kind of strip it was? Did it turn purple? If so, it was probably a keto strip, but I didn't think they used them to test for a UTI. I bought some keto stips but mine never even turned pink. Boo Hoo

Are you drinking enough water? I know that very low carb requires a lot of water. That may be why you felt as if you were getting a UTI. I feel like that sometimes and I drink a bunch of cranberry juice as soon as I get a twinge. I buy the Diet Ocean Spray.

About the lettuce. I can understand you wanting to stay below 20 carbs, but I would think it would take many more than that to raise your fasting blood sugar that high, but I am not a medical professional, and we ARE all different. I think tomatoes are not on a keto diet, but cukes are OK. I do not eat as low carb as you do. Maybe that's my problem.

Now that I think about it, there are some people on the low carb board who cannot eat salad at all without stalling their weight loss.