[fatmad]

Sleep study went well. I took a while to fall asleep without the CPAP on. It was a split study, checking both with/without CPAP. I put the CPAP on during the night, and fell asleep easily after that, and slept until 5. They start waking people between 530 and 6, so I stayed up and checked out. I may try for a nap today, still a little groggy. I have a counselling appointment this afternoon. I'd like to be alert for that. But after DH wakes up I will need a shower to get the sticky stuff out of my hair.
Carol: they sometimes recommend taking sleep aids, as its important to actually sleep for the test. If people have a lot of insomnia, the doctors usually prescribe something. The testing is about how your body and brain and breathing behave when you are asleep, so you need to sleep for it to be accurate.
DH and I spent quite a bit of time yesterday working in the basement storage room. We took a load to goodwill and have another ready to go today. Got a couple of other things re-organized, so I can quite understand being happy about getting rid of stuff once you are ready to let it go and you get it packed up. Feels like things are taking shape much better here. We want the younger DD to take away the rest of her things that she left here. One box though will not go to her new place. It seems to be a box of stuff from an old boyfriend. I think she meant to take it back to him, but didn't get the chance. The new fella will definitely not want to see or know about this box LOL. I realize I have very few pics and momentos of former beaux. DH isn't the jealous type, but I wouldn't rub it in his face.
Trish, finding the right balance for you can be very difficult. I hope this goes well for you.
The previous snow mostly melted away, but we got some fresh stuff overnight. Its just hovering around freezing, so I don't expect much accumulation this week, but most nights there will be a bit of snow.
Stay snug everyone.

[Wannabehealthy]

Mad it wasn't necessarily insomnia that kept me from sleeping. Its being uncomfortable with all the stuff hooked up, being uncomfortable in a strange place and having to stay on my back. The first one was done at a different place and they let me sleep on my side and I did sleep a little there . Also I always go to the bathroom during the night so I had to call the girl in to unhook things so I could get up. Its just something I will never do again. I told them I was not going to sleep but they made me do it anyway. We are told to make our sleeping area comfortable but they expect you to sleep in such uncomfortable situations.

Wt 197 FBG 150. It was 120 at bedtime 112 at 4am. So a drink of water and a cough drop later it was 150. I think I have it figured out. The DP is when your liver dumps glucose to get your body ready to start your day. When you have diabetes, it sometimes dumps glucose when you don't need it, or dumps too much. If you eat in such a way to not have a lot of glucose to store, it won't be there for the liver to dump. The body will store whatever isn't used by the body, burned in the muscles, etc. So I need to eat less, especially less carbs, as my body is not using everything I'm putting in. Metformin is supposed to stop/slow down the release of glucose but I guess it can only be expected to do so much. I am at the max dose of Metformin.

I will try to sort more clothes today. I have a list for the store. I have to make an appt for the dog. DH wants to go for a haircut. Have to figure out what to make for supper. Have to go for bloodwork tomorrow for the doc on Monday. DH will complain asking why I keep going for bloodwork so much. Well I don't want to but I have to play the game so the doc will write new scripts. DH wants me to refuse like he does. Also PCP insists on checking lipids but I won't accept scripts from him for that because Cardiologist takes care of that It seems like a wasted test, but I refer to it when the Cardiologist suggests that I have it done. I like the cardiologist better than him but I need the PCP for diabetes meds.

I'm in a crappy mood today. I feel like I have to invite inlaws for TG and I want to stop doing that. I feel really rude not inviting them, but why do I have to do something year after year that I don't want to do? I realize I'm putting her in a position of not knowing if I'm going to invite them or not. I have reasons for this. I never know how I'm going to feel from one day to the next. What if I wake up Thanksgiving morning with a lot of pain and feeling terrible? Also, I never hear from them from one year to the next. They see my step-daughter once in a while, but otherwise, we never have any contact. And one year she sat on the couch after dinner and texted with her daugher all evening, ignoring me. She would gladly do it at her house but DH wouldn't go there.

The year that I had shingles, it developed on Tuesday and Thursday was Thanksgiving. It was too late to cancel, so I had to cook, serve and host for all the family in lots of pain and miserable. I'm just really mentally done with this, but on the other hand, I think to myself, "It's only one day." So I still don't know what I'm going to do. I have to decide soon. Maybe I'll ask DH what he thinks, and I'm pretty sure he's going to say Don't invite them. He got mad one year when she was really sick but came and coughed and sneezed all over everyone and everything. He thought she should have stayed home.

Is it January yet?

[pattygirl63]

A quick check in. I don't know what was going on when DH FBS went so high. Maybe it was a fluke. It was 160 today. Maybe back to our old way of eating healthy is working. Or maybe it was just what he needed to think more about what he puts in his mouth. We all have to come to that realization. My FBS was 146, but no surprise since my weight was back down to 218.6 this morning. Quite a nice drop from the 221.2 yesterday.

A lot of walking today as we are going to see Daddy and then have to go to Sam's for tomatoes. I had planned to go to Walmart too because I need some shoes other than sandals and sneakers because I want to go visit a church Sunday. Actually my parents built the original church there, but it fell apart and changed it's name and the elder who still went there gave the church building and property to the preacher that is there now. I've been watching him on tv for about a year and decided that I want to go visit and see if he is as good in person as he appears on tv. He is a very humble man who leads his people instead of talking down to them. Any way, last spring DS gave me a bag of shoes and purses which some she had never worn. I decided this morning to check and see what is in there. I found 2 pair of shoes just like what I was wanting that can be worn to church. So I only had to go online and order some diabetic socks that look dress up to wear with them.

Back on CAD/IF is going good. I watched a girl on tv today talking about how to change things. She mentioned 21 days and DS had mentioned that the other day. So I've decided to stay OP for 21 days. Then I will set up another 21 days to change my habits into a lifestyle. Not sure what RM will be today since we will probably bring something home. I think a cheeseburger would probably be just as healthy as anything and I am getting so tired of chicken.

Carol Sue I understand where you are coming from about doing the TG dinner and having some people over. I used to go to DH#2 family for the holidays and wonder why I was even there especially when then DH didn't even really want to be there. I would look for him and find him asleep on his Grandmother's bad. Used to really upset me. However, we loved being with his Mother when she was there.

I actually am thinking about doing a Christmas party, but haven't talked to DH yet. Everyone could come and bring goodies to eat and visit and then everyone do their own thing on Christmas Day with their family. Haven't really decided that yet because I will have to get this house ready for that.

[fatmad]

Trish, for anyone to be consistent for 21 days is a great accomplishment, here's to you!
Carol, funny that they made you sleep on your back, that isn't the point at anytime I have been there. No wonder. Yes, the wires and all do keep one awake for a while, I am sure that's why it took a while to fall to sleep. I started repeating my meditation in my head and that's what helped. I am not going to take any meds for sleep except the 2.5 mg of melatonin for then next weeks. Now the sleep study is done, so am I. I will go back to the CBT and meditation techniques. I actually had a brief nap this afternoon, as I was sleepy after the short night. I want to go out tonight for a while. Even if I don't go out, it will be nice to not feel so tired. I feel asleep during the yoga nidra meditation that I was listening to. Probably only 10 minutes or so, but that was refreshing, and maybe over time will help get me out of the thought that I can't nap or sleep during the day.
You also got it right on the DP, you phrased it beautifully. My only addition will be that storage of glucose in the liver is a long term thing, not short term. This is why Dr. Fung teaches that a higher overnight fasting BG that is high is a sign you are getting rid of stored glucose, and we need to do this to help get rid of it once and for all.
Some of the fasters on the FB page test BG several times during a longer fast, and will have normal BG which is fasting, all the time, except in the morning, when DP has kicked in. After a while, when the insulin resistance is resolving, it stops and comes down to normal, a sign they are losing the stored glucose at last.
I have been going over my WOE, and I think to go down the next level of weight, I will have to go to plain water fasts. I will have to give up the cream in my tea. The fat has helped me last through, but may be holding me back from getting the benefits of my fasts. SO I will cut back on caffeine in general for a day or two or will have one cup of plain tea in the morning, and fast after that. I may do that tomorrow, even if I don't fast the rest of the day, just to cut down and get used to the plain tea. I don't really like it that way, but I think it would be too hard to give up the caffeine completely, and that's the easiest for me, since I don't do coffee and diet cola or other sources of caffeine would not be ok either. I think I am ready for this step, at least mentally. I had to come to this myself, and I'm ready for it.
Have a good evening.

[Wannabehealthy]

Mad, I'm glad to hear you say that you didn't think it was right that I HAD to sleep on my back. I feel that for the best results, I should sleep the way I sleep at home. This sleep study was done to see if my pressure needed to be adjusted, and I think they did raise it a tad. At home I am used to sleeping on the right side of the bed and DH on the left. One time on vacation we got into bed reversed, and it was uncomfortable for both of us and we had to switch. LOL The way both of the sleep studies were set up, the machine was on the left, so I had to sleep on the left. The room was very small and claustrophobic to me. Just not conducive to good sleep.

Trish, congratulations on the nice drop! I think there could be any number of things that made your DH's FBG spike. Probably nothing to worry about since it's back down again.

I know I mentioned to DH that I had to go for blood work tomorrow morning and that we could go to the Sr Breakfast Buffet afterwards if he wanted to. Now this evening he told me that his brother wants to come over in the morning to work on his truck in our garage since he doesn't have one. He said his brother will just have to wait until we get home. DH also wants to go to Goodwill and they don't open until 9. I want to go to the lab first thing when they open at 7 because I can't have any food or coffee before the bloodwork. I guess we will work it out somehow. Maybe by the time we eat it will be 9.

I wanted to buy some more frozen cauliflower today and everyone was out of it. Maybe there is another shortage. I have 1 bag downstairs and I don't know if I have any upstairs at all. DH told me to buy fresh, but I prefer the frozen. I can eat as much or little as I want. With fresh, I have to eat it all before it spoils. I got some frozen kale, too. I want to go back to eating it again. I read online that only 1/2 C is needed for the health benefits. Walmart doesn't seem to carry it anymore or maybe they were just out of it. I got it at the neighborhood grocery store. They are more expensive than Walmart so I only go there to get things I can't find at Walmart, or if I need one or two things in a hurry.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, have you been able to use MFP lately? I went in this morning and entered my food from yesterday with no problems. The only response I got from MFP was an email apologizing for not getting back to me and asking if I was still having a problem or if it had been resolved. I replied that it is resolved, as it is for me.

Wt 196.5 FBG 160. I have NO CLUE how my weight went down. I had over 2100 calories yesterday!! Of course, that's using the numbers provided by MFP and I don't know if the calories in my home made food are the same as what they list.

I will be leaving soon for my blood work. I looked online and saw that Quest makes appointments, and if you walk in, you go behind all the appointments, so if I have to wait long I will probably leave and go to Excela. My insurance covers Quest 100% but I have a $25 copay at Excela. I never have to wait at Excela. I am used to fasting for a while in the morning, but I am dying for a cup of coffee!!

[fatmad]

Slept fine last night. weight still under 160, so this is a 2MAD 4 days in a row without weight gain. I did see that I did ok while away that I didn't gain much, in spite of eating some desserts and having some drinks. This is more real everyday world life, and I am not gaining, so its nice to see maintenance work this way. I know 4 days isn't everything, but very different that how I have been eating the last 2 weeks, so its nice to see.
Today is my first day with nothing in my tea. I do not enjoy it like normal, so that will likely reduce my caffeine intake.
Having the cream or milk in it is likely enough to stimulate a little insulin release and I want to stop that. I really want to shed more fat and weight, and while I won't love it, I can do it. I can still have decaf tea with cream later in the day on days I am eating, so I am not giving it up altogether. I am planning OMAD today, just to mix it up a little.
I have also been doing better at not overeating when I do eat. Not so bloated and stuffed afterward.
More snow today, will go out to the trail and have a nice walk in a bit.
Hope everyone has a good day.

[Wannabehealthy]

There was no wait at Quest. It was fast and the people were nice. They said they usually have a line of people waiting for them to open at 7AM and that is probably people who get their bloodwork done and then go to work. I went around 8. We went for breakfast then to Walmart, then Goodwill.

Glad to hear you are sleeping well, Mad, and doing well with your eating.

[pattygirl63]

Weight 220.2 and FBS 145. I was up and slept very well and straight through, but only slept 6 hrs. So that may have something to do with the results. I woke up and ready to get up so I did the core exercises that I used to do before getting up and then got up.

We went to the new chicken place (for us) and DH must have really been hungry. They had a special on chicken tenders and he got that and coleslaw and gravy. The make the best yeast rolls that comes with it. As usual I was tired so I didn't add enough veggies. However, according to MFP my calories for yesterday was a little over 1400 calories and sodium was under 2000. So no swelling and didn't over eat. DH got way too much tenders and I may put some of them in the freezer for next week that he can have when I go for Daddy's 2 doctor's appointments. We will have some of it today, but I will eat a few of them and have a lot of veggies. My calories today will be 1287 and my carbs are under 100 and sodium is around 1300. Plus I did 32 minutes/3 miles on the recumbent bike. It will be a good day today.

I have a new Joyce Meyer's book that I got free for a gift I sent to TBN and I decided to get myself used to riding the bike again by reading a chapter a day. I was doing it to do 20 minutes. When the first chapter ended, I had done 24 minutes and was feeling pretty good so just went on to 30 minutes. I was so close to doing 3 miles that I just went on and did the 3 miles which came to 32 minutes. I will be doing great if I can get back to doing this at least 3 or 4 days a week. This is day 3 of my CAD/IF 2MAD. Today will be a 5 hr eating window.

When I listened to that young girl talking about how to succeed, I realized that I don't really set goals. I also have stopped doing some of the things I used to do that always helped me. I have let a lot of negative thinking creep into my life. DH Mother told us not to ever think of ourselves as being old. I am older, but I can choose to either be an old 75 yr old or an old 75 yr old. DS is bad about saying we are not young any more so we can't do what we used to. That may be right in some areas, but that doesn't mean I have to "act" or even "think" that way. She will call me and tell me how bad Daddy is sometimes and while isn't able to do as much as he used to, but when I see him or talk to him I usually find that he is not as bad as she tells me. I think I have allowed her attitude to become my attitude. I think the more I do what is right for me with my eating and exercise, the better I will feel and the healthier I will be. I think that our attitude is way more important than we realize.

Carol Sue Yes MFP seems to have resolved whatever their problem was and I'm having no problem tracking.

Fatmad You are doing great. It is nice when you can maintain in between your fasts. You have truly found your way.

Y'all have a good day.

[pattygirl63]

I am doing my best to drink water today which isn't easy because it is cold outside and we keep the house around 69 to 70 degrees and when I drink the water, it makes me feel even colder. LOL
I have learned that water is also a key to staying satiated.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, I don't drink enough water either. A few months ago I had a coupon for a free 6 pk of flavored sparkling water. When I first drank it I didn't like it. I thought it was like drinking Alka Seltzer, but I didn't want to waste it, and by the time I finished the last one I liked it. At that time, I was out of diet coke, so it was something to drink. The main thing I like about the diet coke is the fizz and this sparkling water has that. Now I got some diet coke on sale and am drinking it again, but I don't like it as much as I used to. So I might switch to this flavored sparkling water. I feel it's better for me, too.

I also found a box of tea bags I bought. It's salted caramel black tea. I just bought it and put it away without trying it, so that's something I can try in the evening. It will be nice on a cold night if I like it. If not, I'll give it away.

My foot has been hurting a little bit today. Not a severe pain, but noticeable. DH thinks it's from the diet coke since I haven't had any for about a month or so. I guess it's possible, but I had also backed off on taking my supplements because I didn't have any pain. I started back on them yesterday.

I can't wait to go to the doc's on Monday to find out the results of my blood work. I can't even remember what all he checked, but I'm mostly interested in my A1c. It was 7.4 last time and he said that was "acceptable." not good, but not bad. I was hoping it would go down below 7, and I hope it didn't go up because he will want to increase/add meds and I will refuse. I know I can lower it with stricter dietary changes, and I refuse to be adding more and more meds when there are natural ways to correct the problem. I know I sound like a broken record, but I don't want to give up. I want to get down to business from now until spring and be able to show a difference by then in my health. It is within my power to do it, it just means I have to be dedicated and do what needs to be done. I want to emerge like a healthy butterfly in the spring!!!

I do feel that I'm old. I can notice the changes in the past 2 years. I really wish I lived in a house without stairs. I'm already having problems with them, but DH tells me to keep doing them so I don't lose the ability. But I need to hold the handrails when I come up the stairs, and I can no longer come up the stairs carrying a laundry basket, because I am holding onto the hand rails. I don't feel that that is going to get better as time goes on, but get worse. I have to wash my clothes, and I have to bring them upstairs afterwards. Carrying groceries is a problem too, but I can put the bag over my arm as long as there's not a lot in the bag. If I have 6 bags, I will have to make 6 trips. I can change my attitude and say I am not old, but I still can't carry my laundry or groceries up the stairs.

Most of the time if we go out somewhere it's in a store and I use a cart, which acts like a walker. When we walk from the car to the store I either get a cart from the cart corral or I hold DH's arm. Recently he has been walking off way in front of me and I think he does that to make me walk alone. I do it, but feel unsteady. I have trouble getting out of a booth when we eat out. I notice so many things and it wasn't like this 2 years ago. I don't know if this would change if I start exercising regularly. I should have been doing it all along, but I used the pain as an excuse. Now I don't have that excuse anymore, it's just laziness. It's so much easier to just sit in a chair, but it's not good for me.

[Wannabehealthy]

Wt 197 FBG 154 .DH always eats something at bedtime. Recently he's been making egg salad with freshly boiled eggs and I can't resist it...eating it with bread. Only way I can have good FBG is to not eat at night. I should save it for the next day but then it would not be warm. We love it warm.

DH being a carb lover scoffs at the idea of low carb. He says carbs will never make you fat because he has never been fat . I wish I could stick to it more firmly and show him. I could but I am so weak.

[fatmad]

Carol: I will never shame you for caving to eating when your spouse is eating. I find it similarly difficult. I asked DH to stop and he agreed. If he goes out in the evening, he can do what he likes. For a year while he was struggling with not drinking, I had no alcohol in the house, and only drank if I was out without him. I still rarely drink at home. (although I could also say I rarely drink, it doesn't interest me much, my drug of choice is food). If I had a drink every evening in front of him, I think that would be difficult for him. So he accepts my request. I think maybe your DH could eat his snack in the kitchen. My DH is also not overweight, but has a small pot now that indicates visceral fat. (this can also be seen on ultrasound, if you think your DH has this, and needs to see it himself, mine just accepted my opinion.)
I need to do my bloodwork tomorrow morning too, as I have my doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and ultrasound on Monday. I look forward to my results.
I have been a bit erratic with my metformin, it makes me nauseous if I take it without food so I haven't taken it on fasting days. I figure that should not affect my results much though.
I hope to go the office for a bit today, depends on the weather.
Trish, hope things go ok with the CAD/IF (I think thats what you have gone back to?) and you get back to normal.
I am planning to fast today. I did the plain tea again. I do feel hungrier than usual today, (not yesterday though) without the creamier tea. But no caffeine withdrawal headaches this way at least. Bring on the water and some salt.

[pattygirl63]

Weight is barely back under 220 at 219.6 but I will take it. FBS 141 so that is better. I am having terrible nausea in the evening. Having just water is not working. I ended up having some crackers to ease my stomach but it didn't help a lot, probably because I decided to have string cheese with it so the carby cracker wouldn't raise blood sugar. I ended up having to take Zantac before it went away. I'm not sure what is causing this.

I was reading on an IF for beginners group on FB who is for 16:8 IF people. They were complaining that the plan wasn't working for them because the either lost some weight but stopped losing or some were not losing at all. Then I read some of what people were doing on CAD group. People shared that all they did was change what/how they were eating to just shake things up a bit. Someone told how Dr. Fung says to fast longer for a day or 2 to shake things up a bit. One person said she didn't eat at the same time everyday because your body adjusts. I someone else said they counted their calories and someone mentioned not to eat the same amount everyday. I know I am bad about that. It seems if you do the same thing every day that your body gets used to it and adjusts. Made me think of you fatmad when you would throw in a meal of steel oats in the mix of your low carbing. Those one meal breaks you take are probably just enough to keep things shook up.

This morning I was hungry for oatmeal because I thought it might be easier on my tummy. At first, I reprimanded myself because that isn't CAD, but then I remembered what I had read. I even saw on CAD where someone said that she had switched her RM to a different meal and got things going again. Also CAD gives you permission to have your RM any time during the day as long as your other meals are low carb CM meals or snacks. Not healthy but I remember seeing Rachel Heller on tv tell a woman who had binged one night on cooking that it would have been okay for her to have that binge if everything else she had that day had been CM meals. She could have made that binge of cookies a RM. She didn't recommend doing it all the time, but I guess it would be a way to keep down the guilt and the bs spike to a minimal.

I had steel cut oats breakfast for a RM breakfast and I will have a lower carb lunch today as we are having fish. I'm not sure I am doing CAD/Calp at all. I think I mostly want to do 2MAD of fairly low carb for both those meals. I was reading some info on nutrition yesterday and how you know what you are deficient in by how you feel and I can see what few grains I do eat. Besides CAD rule is do not eat nuts and since I can't take magniseum supplements, I need to eat nuts. So I probably shouldn't say I am doing CAD. I'm actually doing more of a IF style of Mediterranean Diet 2MAD. Because I don't want to mislead any lurkers, I will no longer call it CAD.

Carol Sue I thought of you the other day. I saw an add some where about compression socks called DocSocs. I found them on Amazon, but haven't read the reviews on them yet. You might look at them. They seem to help people with foot pain and also people with tingling in the feet etc with circulation problems. I'm thinking about getting some and trying them because I have complained for years with doctors about how my feet feel sometimes. It isn't pain, but I knew my Mama had circulation problems and just recently learned from my Daddy that he does too. I take very good care of my feet like they tell us to do and I think having these would be very good as well. They seem to be good for plantars too from what the add said. Any way, I figure being compression socks and not coming all the way up my legs which is hard for me to wear high socks they might be worth trying. Plus I don't like socks that bind my toes and this leaves the toes free.

I got to get busy. I need to do my bike before I talk me out of it. LOL Y'all have a good day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Mad, he does nothing to tempt me with the egg salad or anything else he's eating, except sometimes ask me if I want some. It's my job to say No. And eating in the kitchen would not help. I go into the kitchen and get it!! LOL I just need to make up my mind that I'm not going to eat after dinner and that's it. We have had the discussion before. He feels he should not have to do without something just because I can't have it, or stop eating at night because I don't want to. I agree that I need to be the one to not eat it, whatever it is.

DH also has belly fat. He knows it's there, but considers himself to be a healthy weight over all, comparing himself to other big fat guys he sees. The guys he goes to the car show with are all younger than he is, but much bigger, as in 300 lb range. They go to the eateries in the area and come back with big sandwiches, sodas, etc. DH eats nothing. Drinks water. They asked him how he stays so slim, but it's really obvious. He is not a big eater, but could live on doughnuts, cakes etc. If it was his option, he would never eat a vegetable again. He eats them because I prepare them. Sometimes he does not eat them. Depends on what they are.

Neither of us is much interested in alcohol. He buys a case of beer for Christmas, and it usually lasts until the next Christmas. LOL I have a glass of wine or beer a few times a year. His son and SIL don't like Coors Light so when they come to our house they usually bring their own beer.