[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue I am going to have to cut back on my carbs too. I've been just holding at about the same weight this past week. I am going to try to do JUDDD again. I will have to be diligent because I don't think I can do the shakes 2x a day for 2 weeks. It just isn't me. So I will try to do it without using the shakes except in emergencies when I don't have time to fix something.

Perhaps doing Atkins Introduction and then adding carbs slowly would help keep us from being so carb sensitive, but I just don't have time to do that because I don't have time to go through the Atkins' flu not with taking care of my DD. It would be too difficult. However, I have thought about doing South Beach again mainly because I can still have the 1% milk, beans and nuts. I did do well with that one time, but will have to think about it. Right now I'm going to work at doing JUDDD. Today is my DD and I just might do a DD tomorrow as well. However, I am going to try to remember to just take "One day at a time". It would be good if I could do a 24 hr fast once in a while and maybe someday I can, but not now.

It is interesting how the Metformin works better for you spread out. I notice that the berberine seems to work better (potty issues not as bad) if I spread them out too. I just may take some in the bathroom so that I can take one around 5 or 6 whenever I usually get up and go to the bathroom and see if it lowers my FBG. Then take one later in the day and see how that works too.
I think the instructions say take it with meal, but I've noticed when I forget and take it later that I don't seem to have problems as much as I do when I take it with meals.

I saw a pill in the diabetic section at Walmart where they keep all the diabetic stuff that was called a glucose blocker. I have never heard of that before, have you? I don't know how it would work and I didn't even really look at it. I think I will look it up not to use it but out of curiosity.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, I think I looked at that glucose blocker a long time ago. I think the first and main ingredient was chromium picolinate, if it's the same one I saw. There are a lot of other supplements called starch/carb blockers that are primarily white kidney bean extract. It is said to inhibit the absorption of starchy carbs, like pasta and bread, but does not work on sugary carbs, and from what I've read, it's only mildly effective and works mostly if you eat a high carb meal. There is a prescription carb blocker too, call Precose. I don't know a lot about that, but I don't think it's highly prescribed anymore. I checked my insurance and they don't cover it, but I don't think it's real expensive. It is one of the few diabetes meds that Dr Fung approves of.

[Wannabehealthy]

Yesterday I found what must be the perfect combinations of foods for me. I had scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms for breakfast, lunch was 2 deli turkey and swiss cheese roll ups, dinner was steak with cooked broccoli and cauliflower, plus 3-4 of DH's fried potatoes. At bedtime I had a hard cooked egg and a banana. At bedtime my BG was 96 and when I got up this morning it was 116. Very good readings for me!!!!! I took my Metformin and half of my prescribed Glimiperide. I was tempted to eat some crackers as a snack but didn't. I think it's those little carby snacks that get me in trouble. If I can continue to eat this way I will be very happy.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue I read some on the blockers and what I read did not impress me. It isn't anything I want to try. I think you are figuring out what will work for you.

I think I have too. I got up this morning and decided I would look at the SBD and CAD and decide which one I think would fit my lifestyle. Instead I found a book that I have called Low-carb Dieting for Dummies. I remember when I found that book at Ollie's in Rock Hill, SC. It was the only copy they had. I've never seen it anywhere else. So I decided to look at it. I'm going to follow this book. The author is a Phd, RD. She looked at the low carb diets and lowfat and then created this plan.

While there are no foods you can't eat, using the Glycemic Load of foods, she takes some foods you can eat unlimited amounts which she calls green light foods, and then foods you eat cautiously called yellow light foods. The yellow light foods are the complex carbs which give you the nutrients like B-complex and minerals you. The green light foods are fruits, veggies, protein and lowfat dairy. She recommends a minimum of yellow light foods, but no more than the 5 daily which mean no less than 45 g and no more than 75g of them. However, they yellow carb grams are the only ones you have to count. The only fruit carb that she says count is the ones from bananas. She treats it like bread because she said people would eat too many of them.

This is actually the diet the dietitian recommended when I went to see her and the diabetic educator. I can actually live with this. Oh she said you can have a treat from time to time, but not to make it a regular habit for health reasons. The way you get the occasional sweet treat is to swap it for 2 of your allowed grams of carbs. 15 grams is considered a starchy carb serving. So you would trade 2 of your healthier 30 grams of carb and allow yourself 1 sweet treat in place of them.

They didn't explain all this to me at the dietitian's office. Now that I understand how this works, I can live with it. I'm starting it today.

Today is WI day and I am with the ticker, so it is a good time to start this. It is almost time to cook lunch and I haven't eat anything. She recommends eating snacks in between, but dietitian and diabetic educator did not and they didn't give them in the hospital. I am not going to get in the habit of snacks. I know I can have them if I want them, but I am not going to eat if I'm not hungry.

I'll share more from the book as I can. Carol Sue You don't care for the fruit, but you like the veggies, protein and lf dairy. So I think you are on the right track for you. The occasional carb won't hurt you as long as you don't overdo them. Keep them to the minimum of 3 if you eat them at all.

We are going to do this!!!

fatmad I hope you are doing ok. I thought some of this info could help you too for those times you feel you have no control at your meetings, etc.

[pattygirl63]

Just checking in to report on how Day 1 has gone on this GL way of low carb eating. I have to say that this has been so easy today. I had my 3 servings of starchy carbs with main meal. I didn't have breakfast because I wasn't hungry so didn't eat until 3:15 pm. I had 3 small about 4" cut stalks celery with a Laughing Cow wedge and wrapped a slice of low sodium turkey breast sandwich meat around each one for dinner. I will have another snack of strawberries and FF Greek yogurt in a bit. That will be it for the day eaten a within 5 hr window making this a DD.

I have great ideas for things I will get at the store tomorrow while out. I like cottage cheese mixed with tomatoes and cucumbers or mixed with fruit. This will be really nice snacks. I like this because I am not getting rid of all the starchy carbs and I don't have to give up fruit. I didn't have the banana although I could have it, but I have to count it as a starchy carb.

I'll be meeting DD and DS in the morning at Whataburger so it will be an UD eaten within an 8 hr window. I can have a breakfast of eggs and bacon or sausage with coffee and save the starchy carbs for 3 pm meal and then 2 small snacks... 1 for dinner and 1 more if needed. This is going to be sooooo easy. Using the Glycemic Load is such a nice way to do this. I plan to use most of my choices for breakfast and snacks from the Green light foods she calls freebies. So much to choose from there is not reason to go off plan. I'll use only 3 servings 15 gram carbs of starchy carbs. I will save the other 2 servings allowed for special occasions.

I am very happy that I found this book which helps me to put this all together for me. The book says that eating this way will help lower weight, blood sugar, bp, bad cholesterol and triglycerides and raise the good cholesterol. 3 to 5 days of 30 minutes of exercise is recommended weekly.

Excellent plan.

DH has to be at a doctor's office at 8 am tomorrow for the ultrasound for the tummy. I hope everyone has had a great weekend. I'll catch y'all tomorrow after everything settles down. Have a great Monday.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, I think I have that book. I'll have to look. I remember when you got it, I went to 2 different Ollie's looking for it but couldn't find it, but then I think I spotted it at Goodwill.

I did well again today. We went to McDonald's for breakfast. I had the Big Breakfast, eggs, sausage and I ate the hashbrown, but not the biscuit. The birds got that. LOL I didn't have lunch because we left to go to the casino. We had the buffet. I had roast beef AND steak. Green beans and a piece of baked fish. I scoop of mac and cheese for my carb, but didn't eat it all. That was around 4. I wanted to go to bed without a snack to see how it would go but I am so hungry, I had a half cup of cottage cheese and a half of a banana. My BG was 111 before I ate that. I took only my Metformin, and I'll see how that snack effects FBG. I'm so glad my blood glucose has been so improved. I hope I can keep this up. It's so easy for me to slip.

Hope DH's doctor's appointment goes well.

[pattygirl63]

I had to get up at 6:45 this morning to get ready to go with DH for his ultrasound. I checked my FBS and it was 145. I checked it again when I came home at it was 164. So fasting may not be the way for me, not sure. I may get up earlier and check it tomorrow.

DD and DS decided not to get out today. She didn't feel like getting out and he didn't sleep all night. I am going to go to Walmart and get a few groceries for my snacks etc. I really wanted to go to Walmart any way because I can get canned fruit in Splenda there and I couldn't fine it at our other store here. However, I can get somethings at HEB that I can't find at Walmart so I just try to plan according to where I am at the time. I usually do HEB when I go to beauty shop or to meet DD and DS.

Carol Sue I didn't remember you finding the book. I saw it at Ollie's one time when I bought it and I never saw it in the store again. I think it has been good for me to have read the information in the Glycemic Load book before reading this book again. It is helping me a lot.

Got to get going. I'm getting hungry so may scramble an egg to get me through until 3.

Have a good day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Hi Kristine. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease and cannot be prevented. Type 2 can be prevented by eating healthy, exercising and keeping your weight in a healthy range. Once you have it, it can be controlled with diet and exercise, and/or meds.

Trish, I just checked and I do have the book Low Carb Dieting for Dummies. After you told me you got it, I looked in 2 different Ollie's but didn't find it. It showed up in Goodwill months later. I thought I mentioned it but maybe I didn't since it was so much later. I also have Diabetes for Dummies and Thyroid for Dummies. I have quite a library here. LOL Goodwill get a lot of "For Dummies" books.

Last night after I ate my snack and before I went to bed my BG was 136. I took my Metformin but no Glimiperide and this morning around 8 it was 142. That's a little higher. I don't know what it would have been if I had not eaten the snack. I was really hungry and wasn't sure how that was going to effect my sleep. I know that hunger is not an emergency. If it really bothered me, I could have gotten up and had a slice of cheese, or something, or maybe I would have slept better. I hope to be able to try that another night, like maybe tonight. I remember years ago if I went to bed hungry my weight would be down a bit in the morning. Back then I was just concerned about weight...didn't have to think about blood sugar.

This morning I had some yogurt, and just had scrambled eggs with kale. I feel so hungry for some reason. DH is cooking some noodles with sauce for his lunch and I am going to be very strong and not eat any!

So anyway Trish, you fasted and your blood sugar was up, and I ate a snack and my blood sugar was up. So who's right? I know that I once heard that the bedtime snack is for Type 1, not Type 2, because they need food when they take their night time insulin. The nurse at cardiac rahab told me to not eat a snack if I'm not hungry. But I was really hungry! Or maybe it was false hunger. Different people tell you do do different things, and we have to decide for ourselves which one works for us.

[pattygirl63]

Hi Kristine Yes diabetes can be prevented. Like Carol Sue said, Type w can be prevented if you keep your weight down and exercise and eat healthy even when diagnoses pre-diabetic. Some doctors use the term, but all the doctors I've dealt with call it diabetes regardless. When I was first diagnosed Type 2, I got it under control within 2 weeks and was off the meds for years. I was very active and I exercised 45 minutes a day and followed a good diet plan to the letter. Years later when I couldn't afford to eat so healthy, it returned. I got it under control again and was off meds for a while. About 8 yrs ago or so, I went to the doctor because I thought it was up again. I'm hoping I can lose weight and get it under control again and keep it that way this time.

Carol Sue You could have told me you found the book, but I don't remember. You and I have a great collection of books and have discussed many of them.

Learning what lowers the FBS is a puzzle. I am not sure the doctors and dietitians know how to bring it down. I think that is why the dietitian and diabetic educator told me to not worry about the numbers but to keep doing what I'm doing and it would finally come together and just to remember that regardless of what the numbers say that I am eating healthy.

For years, I got up in the mornings and exercised 30 minutes aerobics and 15 minutes of stretches in the evenings. My FBS after exercising was always perfect. That was when I was diagnosed the 1st time. It worked that way for years while I was so busy during those years. I homeschooled the grandkids and took care of them till their Mama got of work then ran a commercial route with my then DH. I would get out and help deliver papers and help load them in the car or a truck we rented on the weekend. I was meeting myself. Then when I lost all that weight and had it under control, I went back to my old ways of eating and not as active the bs went back up.

I've tried exercising first thing before I check FBS like I did back then and it has never been lower right after like it was back then. I think something must change in our system, but I'm not sure what. I am trying the berberine on an empty stomach. My bs has gone down to 120. I had 1/4 of a banana and about 1/3 c ff yogurt before I went to the store. We won't eat until about 3:30 today so that is an hour away. I really felt that big drop in the bs.

Good luck on staying away from the noodle dish your DH is cooking. There are days I could go without that and there are days it would be trying for me. Sending you good vibes.

[Wannabehealthy]

It's funny Trish, but I forgot all about the noodles until reading your post. LOL I guess DH threw away what he didn't eat.

I have been checking my BS more often than usual the past few days, trying to understand the pattern. It has stayed below 150 even after eating. I have been taking about 2 gm of Glimiperide, when I'm prescribed 4 gm. I'm afraid to take it in the evening ever since I had that low of 44 during the night. I would rather wake up with a higher FBG than chance that again.

For some reason, I have felt terribly hungry today. Maybe it's because of the lower blood sugar. I made chili for dinner and I'm really going to try not to eat after dinner and see how my blood sugar is in the morning.

Right now I'm reading ''The Case Against Sugar" by Gary Taubes. It's a ebook from the library. I only have it for 2 more days, so if I'm not finished with it I will have to put myself back on the waiting list for it. Parts of it are too technical for me and parts are interesting. I know that there's more to the problem of diabetes than sugar but a lot of what they talk about is studies of how it effects different people, men vs women, young vs old, and about how the food companies add sugar to so many processed foods that we aren't aware of unless we read labels.

I also watched a video about how long it takes insulin levels to go down after eating in different people. She said that we don't start to burn fat until our insulin levels go down below 30, and that can take up to six hours in some people. I don't know how you would prove that, and you can't just check your insulin levels, but that could very well be why I don't lose much weight even though I am eating much less and much healthier than I did before, plus the fact that Glimiperide increases insulin levels. Just what I need. I'm hoping that I am able to see some positive results if I stop the snack at bedtime.

I'm starting to understand more why I lost so much weight after I was on that medically controlled 6 day fast in the hospital. That must have lowered my insulin levels so much that the weight just fell off. I did gain it back though, once I went back to my previous eating schedule. I really don't see myself ever doing a 6 day fast on my own!! LOL

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue Good for DH not tempting you with the noodles. That is progress. LOL That is interesting about the insulin, I always believed if I could get the insulin down then I could lose weight. However, I always hear people say lose weight and the insulin will come down.

I was thinking earlier while cooking lunch about having such a tough time losing weight and what the dietitian and diabetic educator told me about continuing eat like I was and it would eventually work out. I suddenly remembered reading about a woman who did WW for 1 whole year before she ever lost a lb. I certainly hope it doesn't take me a year to get the weight to start coming down.

The author of this book also talks about the processed foods having sugar in it. She talks about the fact that when they decided that "fat makes you fat" idea that people were eating more sugar etc in the high carb foods they were eating and people gained weight instead of losing weight.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, I will try to find the link I saw about not losing weight until insulin comes down. I think what you hear people saying is lose the weight and blood sugar will come down. The bad thing is, you cannot check insulin levels the way you do blood sugar, unfortunately.

Yesterday, I did eat after dinner. I got hungry, and I had some celery sticks with peanut butter. That was early evening, and I did not eat anything at bedtime. When I went to bed BS was 104, and Fasting this morning was 111. So it looks like this is the answer for me. It does not come naturally, though. I have to really pay attention to what I'm doing...not popping something in my mouth. When I got hungry last night, my mind thought "peanut butter and crackers" but then I switched my thinking and had the celery. Much better for blood sugar. Mostly I use celery for cooking, finely chopped in a recipe. I don't usually think to eat it as a snack. I am also down 5 lbs, at 201 this morning. I hope I can keep this up.

[fatmad]

talking about eating what works for you:

remember the old Slimfast shake program, where you had a shake for breakfast and lunch, and ate a "normal" supper?

Modified to LC, I have my high fat, high protein smoothie in midmorning, and have a meat and veggies meal for supper. If I am having a "hungry" day, I have another smaller smoothie during the day.

I have been eating just a little plain yogurt, (5% fat, not low fat) at bedtime to reduce am blood sugars.
Got back to ticker weight quickly after my little holiday.

I have the rest of August to reduce further.

Other big life changes,
We are moving from our country place back to the city, 30 minutes away.
DD will move in with us for continued support as she goes back to school and deals with her mental health issues. I will be less isolated. Will have to commute more for work. But am going part time starting in February.
SO we must get the house ready to sell.
Big stuff, and will be busy, lets hope I can eat well and stay busy.

[Wannabehealthy]

That sounds like a really good food plan Mad. A lot of people use shakes, either premade or make their own. I have never been able to do that. Mentally, I need the chew factor. If I have a shake, my mind seems to think it should be having a burger with it. LOL

I have been using a full fat plain yogurt, too, made by Cabot. It has some additives not normally in yogurt, as thickeners. It's delicious. I use it as sour cream to make my dill sauce for on my salmon. I bought some sugar free chocolate coffee creamer that I didn't like in my coffee, but I love it mixed into some of the yogurt. Tastes like chocolate mousse. It has been discontinued, so after it's gone, I'm going to try Diet Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Mix.

That's great that your going part time. It will help you have a more stable schedule. I hope you easily sell your home and the move goes well for you.

[pattygirl63]

fatmad Thanks for checking in when you can. I am so glad you are figuring out what is working for you. I think we are all in that place. Each of us is different and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for all. I can do a shake for a while, but I don't stick with it. My DD wants to start drinking shakes because he doesn't think he is getting enough protein so I'm giving him what I have here. I bought some yogurt that I eat with fruit. I can't find anything but FF here.

I read the Atkins type lowcarb works great while people are losing weight etc, but once they get down they don't stay with it and gain it back. They also say they don't seem to find it easy to get back on the diet. I still love that way of eating, but I am one of those who can't get back on it and stay with it. I want something that will work for me for life not just long enough to lose and get things under control again. I heard the same report on WW. Whatever I do must become a lifestyle and not just a diet.

Good luck on the sell of your house. I think these days are better for selling than they were a year ago when we sold ours. You will definitely be busy. I pray the busyness and eating will work together to help improve things for you. It did for my DH when we moved, but he didn't stick with it.

Carol Sue Great FBS readings. Congratulations on the weight loss. You have definitely found what works for you. I am so happy for you.

I decided to take a berberine at bedtime. I think I'm only going to take the one for now. I seem to get some of the same problems I had with Metformin with more. The new way of GL eating, exercising as well as moving around more and 1 berberine seems to be working. It is working slowly, but it is working. Slow is supposed to be better anyway. All I care about is eating healthy and improving numbers which is the most important of all.