Carol Sue I too find that there are very few foods that I really like any more and want to include in my eating plan these days. The snacks you talk about sounds like what I should have had back when we were traveling so much. It was so hard to find good snacks back then especially when we liked to have a little snack at night at the motel. LOL

I've never heard of magnesium cream. It is a problem for me putting things on my legs at night too and also difficult for having things on my hands.

I do know that death is part of life. I have felt like it is just a blessing that I have had this time with my Daddy. Because of Daddy's and my past history, I feel blessed that God has given us this time so that I can heal from all those hurts I felt as a child and teenager. I need this time of healing emotional. It won't be easy to let him go, but it will be much easier now than it would have if I were still living out of state and still have those emotional feelings and would never have been able to resolve them.

Wt 193 FBG 79 at 4AM. I have not checked it since I got up but I expect it to be good.

I am happy to be down that 1/2 lb. My little fast did some good. I don't remember when I started it. Sometime between 12 and 2 yesterday. No dinner. I think the weight loss would have been greater if I hadn't eaten the mac and cheese and doughnuts. They are gone now Thankfully. I should have thrown them away in the first place.

Trish, here is the lotion I was talking about. I ordered it from Walmart and picked it up in the store. I also soak my feet in Epsom Salts occasionally, but using this cream on my legs is less messy than soaking my feet. Epsom Salts contains magnesium and that is what does the healing. I don't use it every night, but I have never had a leg cramp when I did use it. I don't always remember.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dr-Teals-...gize/874638570

I bought magnesium citrate. That seemed to be the recommendation from the IF group. I don't feel differently taking that than the Jamiesons brand (much cheaper) I was taking before, which was a combination of oxide, lactate and gluconate. I take it an hour before bed everyday, and add a middle of day capsule on fasting days. Extra salt (in water, on melting on the tongue) is a big thing to get through fasting days. Helps keep the hungriest times manageable.
Today is an eating day for me, and I am going to have breakfast and lunch. I did that a few times before, and seemed to lose weight better then. Still getting plenty to eat. Its still an 8 hour window, so I think the key is having the late lunch so I don't feel like I've lost my supper. DH likes a late lunch. I am not busy today, so hope that will all work in.
I slept well for about 6 hours, but still feel tired, though I could not sleep more. Maybe a little nap with the meditation app will help that later.
I will wait to go out and to work until the plow/salters have been out. Its pretty icy, and I am glad I don't have to drive right now, even with my awesome snow tires. They held the road wonderfully last night on my way home in the freezing rain. But really icy conditions are a test I don't need to take.

Trish: Dr. Fung says all sweeteners cause us to release insulin, no matter what. So if you are having anything sweet, whether with sugar, stevia or other sweeteners, have it with your meal. For me this means if I am having dessert, have a small serving at the end of the meal, not an hour later. And do not snack. I am having sweet very occasionally now. I am saving my next sweet time for December 6th, when we have our work Christmas party. I know I can't and don't want to give desserts up entirely, (I want to enjoy life!) but knowing I have a time in mind for such a treat is helpful. Its not so far away that I can't look forward to it. but in the meantime, I will get the weight down and be in good shape. I am thinking of buying a new dress for the occasion this year. I have been wearing the same couple of dresses for fancy occasions for a long time now. They complimented my formerly larger figure. One I gave away with the purge to Goodwill. The other is a more formal black one, I haven't tried it on yet. Maybe do that this morning and see how it looks. With black, you can dress it up differently year to year so that may do. Depends on the fit. It has a wide flared skirt so will not show off my new figure at all. But if it looks good, who cares?
I go off call Thursday night and have 2.5 weeks off, then working over Christmas and full time in January while my work partner takes a holiday. Then just a bit in February and March, so once I get through January, things will be very easy this winter. We are hoping for some nice time to go skiing. DH does downhill while I do a couple of hours of cross-country those days. Then I read a lot. Thats a great holiday IMHO

Have a good day friends.

Mad, I think magnesium citrate is what low carbers use to combat constipation. I don't mean to answer for Trish, but I think the problem she had with it was potty issues, so that is probably not the form she should take. She could google the various forms and read the side effects, and find one that does not cause these problems. I used to take SlowMag which releases it gradually into your system. I don't remember what form it is, but I stopped taking it because I don't know if I need additional magnesium.

EDIT: I looked up SlowMag and it IS magnesium citrate, but it also has calcium and it might not cause potty issues since it is slow release. It is coated to go through your stomach into your small intestines, which is supposed to help with digestive issues. I don't know if they mean potty issues. Here is a website for it, and it contains a coupon for $2 off if anyone is interested.

http://www.slowmag.com/

I just ate. I had 3 fried eggs cooked in butter and drizzled a bit of melted butter on top. I usually eat 2, but DH made an extra one so I ate it. I felt that I can eat more eggs without a problem. I want to try to stay VLC today, not even any veggies, hoping that my blood sugar will stay low enough that I won't have to take any Glimiperide. I would like to see what my FBG will be tomorrow without any G today but if my BG goes up I will take it.

Carol Sue and fatmad Thanks for the magnesium information. I did go on line and researched for a magnesium that will not cause potty issues and learned about magnesium glycinate which does not cause those problems. The thing I found was selling it but rather expensive so I went to dear ole Amazon and found an affordable which has 500 mg and I could get a Prime special of 3 for a cheaper price so I ordered it. DH and I both need to take it and I'm happy to find a healthier kind we can get from there. We will get it by Friday and DH is almost out of the one he takes from Walmart so I will switch him to the better one when I do our pills Sunday for next week. Since I'm switching from low fat and fat free products, I don't need to be taking a magnesium that acts like a laxative. My doctor will be pleased as he wanted me to take it. While I will still eat nuts, I won't eat very much and save those calories.

I am still following more of a moderately low carb plan because of some of the good carbs I want in my diet for health purposes. Although I am not counting calories any more, I have decided to keep tracking on MFP again so I can keep up with how close I am staying within a 30% carbs and 45% fat and 25% protein. Most of my carbs comes from veggies with some nuts and a few grains.

I forgot to check my bs before I ate as I wanted to see how if it came down after having one cup of black tea with a little bit of Stevia. I never eat sweets or starchy carbs outside of my main meal any more as I decided to go back to the CAD rule of starchy carbs at RM which is one meal eaten within 60 minutes. After reading this book by Paxton, I better understand why that is important. However, I do still have my 1/2 banana with breakfast since it is eaten with protein which he suggests to always eat fruit with protein. I need the potassium so this way I get that. This is why I call may plan more of a modified CAD plan because I use low carb eating for 1 meal and 1 snack and eat all my carby foods during the meal they call a Reward Meal. As long as the small amount of Stevia I use doesn't raise my bs, I will continue using. I was happy to learn that my baby sister who eats more low carb than I do has switched to Stevia. I tell you, she and her DH both look great. They lost their weight mostly with low fat and later finished and now maintain with a modified low carb way of eating and they don't have an ounce of fat on their bodies. They have really inspired me and I'm so thrilled they are moving back here.

I don't know how he makes it but he even makes a pecan pie that he made for his siblings because they loved it and as far as I know they only use Stevia. If I find I ever I can't use the Stevia, I will give it up.

Yesterday I barely got my eating within 8 hrs because we were so late getting home from shopping. Our dinner was quick and no salad or veggies as we didn't feel like waiting. I had made chili and left it in the crockpot. I wasn't how it would go this morning. I was thrilled that my weight was back down to 217.6 and FBS was 150 which is very acceptable. I ended up with eating breakfast at 11:15 yesterday morning and dinner at 6:15. So I had an 7 hr fast in the middle of my 8 hr window.

I feel good about my plan. I slept so sound I didn't want to get up this morning and slept long than I like too but I figure I need it when I do that. I don't know if the Tart Cherry Extract caused that or not. I can't remember if that was supposed to affect sleep or not. It might be my imagination but my hands felt better this morning after taking the extract and the B6. Even my knee didn't hurt but a second and the longer I exercised on my bike the better my joints felt this morning. I got 20 minutes on it done and have done some strengthening etc off and own today. I want to do my weights too. I feel myself wanting to do the exercise and looking forward to seeing the results of what I am doing.

Y'all have a great day.

DH fell on the ice and went to the hosp in an ambulance. I didn't go because of icy roads. Waiting to hear.

Oh, my goodness Carol Sue. I am praying for you and your DH. I pray they will check him out and find nothing broken so that he can get back home soon. Are any of your children able to be with him in the ER? It is terrible to have to be home and wonder what is going on, but I agree you don't need to be out on the icy roads yourself. So I pray God will give you peace during this time of waiting.

My 8 hrs will be over in about 30 minutes and I'm not hungry so won't eat. However, I decided to drink a cup of decaf coffee with 1/2 T butter to guarantee I won't get hungry later and be tempted to eat. Won't do that all the time, but just thought it wouldn't hurt to be sure.

Trish, DH just called and said his hip is broken and they are going to operate tomorrow. I am a basket case. I just want to go have a good hard cry. My step-son is coming tomorrow to take me to the hospital. Right now they have given him pain meds and he is getting groggy. I hope he just sleeps. Thank you for the prayers.

Awe, ((((Carol Sue)))) I wish I could reach out & give you a great big hug. I am so very sorry, but that is something that they can fix and then he will recover and be back home. I will continue to keep both of you in my prayers praying for a successful and quick recovery. I know this isn't easy but do try to get a good nights sleep. The Good Lord will get y'all through this. I've heard hip recovery is easier than knee recovery so that is a good thing.

Doctor told DH they have 5 hip surgeries to do today, from people falling on the ice. He said he will have sedation, and 3 little holes to put pins in. So it should not be a long surgery, just waiting for his turn. I'm so glad he's not getting general anesthesia. He is is good spirits, which is great.

Thank you for the prayers!

In lots of ways Carol, the type of surgery he is having (pins, not hip replacement) means the joint itself is in good shape, and not fragile bones or poor arthritic joint.
No wonder you are a basket case. You two have been through the wringer this year.
I had a minor car accident last night leaving the hospital. Slippery streets. A woman with a child in the car was also leaving the hospital. She got turned around a bit. She was at a stop sign on the cross street and pulled out to go across the street I was going down. I had a hill. I hit the brakes, but with the ice, I hit her back end. She hit a pole in front of her, fortunately, or the truck would have gone into the river. I get upset thinking of that. We all would have had hypothermia, because I would have had to go in after them. Fortunately not deep there, but would have been awful. She felt so bad, was charged with careless driving, but I think she was confused not knowing the streets well. This town has a funny set up, so I said I would testify in her favour if she goes to trial. Any other night I would have been able to stop and would not have hit her. Both vehicles were drivable afterward, so in the end, very minor.
I hope this will not throw me off my game. I am doing so well. After good meals yesterday I woke up this am to 155. Tape measure says 34.5 inches on the waist. I hope this continues so well this week. I will take time off from the fasting after Friday's fast. I fast today, eat Thursday and fast Friday. Then I will do 2MAD and maintain for a few days.
Trish, enjoy the day too, and hello to Pipsicle, you did so well over TG!

Carol Sue I am so thankful that his surgery will be simple like that. DMIL broke both of her hips after DH and I married. Her surgeries were done like that and her recoveries were very well. Like fatmad says it isn't like a hip replacement so from what I've seen of recovery from both, I think the recovery from the broken is easier. DMIL was in yr 80s so your DH should do very well. My aunt broke her hip when she was in her early 80s and did very well too. At your DH age, he should have no problems at all. I've been wondering if he will be able to have therapy at home? Prayers continuing for you two.

My weight was 219.0, but it isn't unusual for fluctuations for me when losing. My FBS was down to 140 today from 150 yesterday. I did drink Stevia in my black coffee as I've given up the H&H to lose the calories although Dr. Whitaker allows his patients on berberine to use it. I did go back to exercising after drinking the coffee and before breaking fast. I checked my still fasting bs after all that and was thrilled that my second FBS reading was down to 123 from 140 earlier. I am very happy with that. I know what Dr. Fung says but I already in this one IF book where Stevia does help lower insulin. I do know I read in Dr. Whitaker's book that he allowed it because it does not raise bs. As long it works that way for me, I will use it. I think one thing that helps me is that it doesn't take near as much of it as it took other sweeteners I have used in the past. I'm using about half as much as I did of Splenda.

fatmad and Pipsicle and Lurkers, Y'all have a good day.

I assume Carol hasn't checked in again because she is at the hospital with DH. Hope his surgery goes well and they will be ok.
I had a fall on the ice today too, landed on my back hitting the edge of a concrete stair. Bad day, car accident and fall. I had a soak in the hot tub. Have the rental car now as mine is in the shop. The body shop guy didn't think I should keep driving with the headlamp partly broken, so I got the rental right away. I also have to get some engine work on the car once the body is fixed.
In the mean time, still fasting for now.

fatmad No she hasn't checked in. I also assumed she was still at the hospital with DH. I am so sorry to hear of your fall. Are you okay? Take good care of yourself dear friend. I know you have to work and don't have a choice, but DH and I just don't get out when there is ice on the ground any more. I don't think it is worth the taking the chance. I hope you aren't hurt worse than you think and won't be sore tomorrow.