[Wannabehealthy]

Trish I agree with IE/IF WOE. Following a certain diet, so much of this, so much of that does not cut it for me. Its too much work to figure it all out. The purpose of eating is to fuel your body. You would not put gas in your car If the tank was full. You would not go back for more gas if you only used a gallon or 2. You wait until it is half empty or less. There are many different gas stations but for the most part it does not matter which gas you put in. But it does matter how much and how often.

I think I might try 5:2. 2 days a week I will eat OMAD. Not any certain days. Just the days when I don't eat breakfast. 5 days I will eat 2MAD in an 8 hr or less window. This will be very close to normal eating for me. I am not snacking or grazing anywhere near as much as I used to. Now I can work on gradually eating less food. This may seem like reduced calorie but I think I and a lot of other Americans have just formed the habit of overeating. I really doubt if I will be eating ultra low calorie except on the 2 days when I only eat OMAD. I will let my hunger be my guide. Many normal eaters have days when they just don't eat as much. I will be conscious of carb to control blood sugar but not counting. I know what foods and amounts of foods cause a spike. I feel that this will gradually bring weight loss. If I dive into a weight loss diet I eventually go off plan and regain. I would rather see a gradual loss without a gain. I will not be obsessive about the scale and not worry about bounce.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue It is amazing that we think along the same lines. That is exactly what I was thinking this morning. I've decided that I would fast 2 days a week. I can't guarantee the same day every time, but I think most Thursdays and Saturdays or Sundays that I could do OMAD. Then I will work toward 2MAD within 8 hrs or less. That is the way I usually ate when I was left to eating on my own without dieting. I am not going to have any rules of "I can't ever have this or that", but I will work more toward eating healthier.

Yesterday I cooked pork chops in the crockpot while we were out seeing Daddy. When we got home I wasn't in the mood to make a salad and DH wanted the coleslaw from Sunday so I made him broccoli to go with his dinner and then I cooked broccoli/cauliflower and brussel sprouts for me. I wanted a treat and had a carrot cake bar that we used to eat all the time. Last night I got hungry but was still within my 8 hrs window so I ate a few raw veggies and 1/2 serving of the beef stick. I was amazed this morning that I was actually down a lb from yesterday. My weight on April 1 was 218 and today I was 217.4 so just glad I had a loss although not as low as I would like. I couldn't decide if I wanted to order this Diabetic Management Magazine, but I've decided to renew my subscription. A lot of good info and recipes in there.

Yogurt is on and I hope it turns out okay. I took my calculator and figured out how much more H&H I would need and must have figured wrong because I had way too much. I only used one GoLive pack so will see. I think it will set, but maybe not as thick as we like it. I've got enough H&H for at least another batch next week. I can't believe how easy it is to make.

Well, DH has to get up in a few minutes for us to go for his doctors appt. and then go pick up meds at Walmart. I want to get some of the SF Powerade Zero and a few other things I forgot the other day. I do so pray that DH A1c is improved. We will probably get McDs on the way home. I don't like buying Fast food especially when we will probably do it again Friday after leaving the eye doctor. Oh well, hopefully fasting Thursday and Saturday will off set that.

Carol Sue that book on 5:2 fasting is that the Alternate Day Diet by Drs. Johnson and Laub? That is the kindle book that I have. I think they mention 5:2 as well.

Almost forgot to tell you that I heard yesterday. Dr. Berg said that if you eat too much protein that it can cause gout because of an acid it can cause in the our system and I think he said that too much can also cause kidney problems. He said don't eat more than 3 - 6 oz at a meal. I think I'm going to go for 3 or 4 oz and no more. However, he says that if you are doing only OMAD that you probably won't have to worry about it. I think that is good to know. So much we don't hear about. I think IE/IF will keep us safe.

I hope everyone has a great day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, we do have an awful lot in common. The book I am reading is by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer. I don't know who she is. He is the guy who started 5:2. The book is The Fast Diet. It is so interesting for me. It seems as if he is talking directly to me because the things he says are the way I think. That you don't have to do IF any certain way, but do the way that fits into your life. He says eventually you will lose interest in some foods you have always loved, and you just don't want to eat as much anymore, and both of those things apply to me. Today DH made deli turkey sandwiches with swiss cheese and mayo. I hadn't had breakfast, so I ate a sandwich. It tasted so good! Although I was eating bread, I would have had toast with breakfast so it wasn't something I wouldn't have eaten. I found that eating something that I really like was very satisfying and that is not something I would be doing every day. Mainly, because I don't buy deli meat often. I had no desire to stuff myself. My lasagna is in the oven. So I will be eating carbs today, but not stuffing myself, and I will not eat after dinner, so I will still have my fasting period. I don't know if Dr Mosley has a website, because as I said, this is an older book.

I really like cole slaw but don't like it everywhere. Some places make it too soupy and I don't like that. Sometimes I make it at home because I always have cabbage and carrots on hand, and when I do that, I don't put sugar in it. My friend told me it wouldn't taste right without sugar but I like it just fine and DH has never complained. One time I heard my SIL tell my step-daughter that I make the best coleslaw. His mother didn't cook much so I guess the little bit I cook impresses him. LOL I guess I could use artificial sweetener, but if we are satisfied without it sweet, then why bother? I love cole slaw with ribs and pulled pork.

[pattygirl63]

DH doctors appointment went great. He wants DH A1c to stay below 7.5 and it was 6.9.. He was upset that we both had stopped the statin and drew a picture telling us how it is supposed to protect us from stroke and heart attacks, but agreed that DH A1c was better as a result. I told him that I stopped taking it when my FBG went up to 160 or higher and that I would rather control my diabetes than take a statin and make it worse. He gave both of us a prescription for a milder statin which he thought we could afford because it is generic, but generic it was $141 for a 3 month supply. That was too steep for the 2 of us. The $47 a month would be doable but since the medicine is over $600 a month the insurance guy told me that you get into the Gap really fast. So we didn't get it. I will have to let the doctor know tomorrow.

I told him that I read an article that said if you are not a diabetic that you would be if you take statins. He said they actually monitor non-diabetics A1c to see if they are moving toward diabetes, but they still think it is a medicine that saves lives. Although I wasn't there for me, we did talk about me trying Metformin again at a low dose because I like the benefits. We will decide that in July when we go back.

We talked about diets and he does not like keto however, he has no problem with low carb. Saying that he prefers more balanced eating. So I will continue with the IF/IE and DH and I will work at eating less carbs although not carb free. I told me that a lot of people are drinking olive oil and having heart attacks. I'm thinking that could be true as I just read that a lot of companies that we trust to be EVOO are not pure EVOO. It is olive oil mixed with the bad veggie oils. I honestly believe that pure olive oil would not hurt you. Saying that, I'm not sure eating extremely high fat like some say just isn't all that good.

I saw a magazine in the waiting room that I am going to order. I know it is ADA but it was called Diabetic Forecast. I'm surprised and pleased to see that it had an article on IF. It is good to see that doctors are finally going to see that not all diabetics need to be eating the same diet especially the old way of eating.

Carol Sue I think IE along with IF will work for you and me because we both seem to be geared that way. I also know that it will do away with the stress that goes with worrying about what we should or shouldn't eat. Stress also raises blood sugar so being more relaxed with our way of eating has to be a good thing. Diabetic Management Magazine gave a website to check out about IE called benourished.org. I thought I would check it out tomorrow. It's too late tonight for me to do that.

DH stopped and got McDs just like I thought he would. I came home and did just like I usually do. I threw out the white bun and put mine on the SL MG bread. I like the fact that 2 slices is like eating 1 slice of bread. I don't know if I will eat anything else today. I would like to fast until tomorrow and make this a OMAD. I bought a mini-muffin pan and will make the fat bombs tomorrow and put them in the fridge to chill. We can eat one of those a day and get the healthy benefits of the coconut oil without going overboard with the fat. I think I will be using good fat but more moderately.

Our doctor told us that he would never tell us we couldn't have any carbs or whatever. He said just don't eat a lot of them. I think that makes sense. I feel comfortable with IE/IF. I like what you said about not filling up the car when we used only a gallon of gas. I have always complained about diets that told me I had to eat whether I was hungry or not. That is why I didn't like doing WW and I think that is why I gained rather than lost on it. I am wordy tonight so I better close this off.

Have a good evening.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish I saw an article today that the ADA is finally recommending LC for blood sugar control. I will see if I can find it.

I have been taking stations since 2008 and I still had a heart attack and still get blocked arteries. Last night I heard a guy on the radio say he stopped taking his statin because he found out that they make your lipid numbers look better on paper but don't really do anything to improve your health. That's the way it looks for me. I am just keeping the doctors and hospitals in business along with the pharmaceutical industry. I don't know who this guy was or where he got this information.

[Wannabehealthy]

I finally have my cardiologist appt tomorrow. I hope they didn't screw this up. I am imaging all sorts of things going wrong. I will finally get to the bottom of what went on in Feb. Its at 9:30 so it's an early wake up. I will get my shower tonight and have my clothes laid out ready to go. I am excited about this like it's the first day of school.

Trish I am glad your DH had an improved A1c. Give him a pat on the back from me! He must be so happy. I will get my new number in July and hope to see a similar improvement. I am aiming for below 6.5.

I can't really say I am following IE because I am still weighing and aiming for healthy food. I will try to eat what I want but still limit sweets and carbs. But the eating when hungry and stopping when satisfied is still part of my goal. This book talks about hedonic hunger, a term I never heard before. It is the drive to eat to obtain pleasure in the absence of energy deficit. Not real hunger and I'm learning the difference.. I want my pleasure to come knowing I passed up food when I knew I was not hungry. Also I am finally giving in to DH since he will not change. I resist eating as long as I can so I will be hungry when he wants to eat. I screwed up yesterday and ate seconds when I was not really still hungry. I let the food entice me. I can't blame that one on DH but I chalk it up to learning. I am still a work in progress. If we go to the casino tomorrow I will choose only the items I really want to eat and only 1 trip through the buffet.

EDIT: Here is the article about the ADA approving LC.

https://idmprogram.com/idm-community-april-30-2019/

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue I'm glad you finally got the appoint with the cardiologist. I can't really say that I am doing a true IE. I like to plan ahead and I also like to be sure I'm eating healthy and looking for substitutes or change recipes to make certain foods healthier that we do like. Also like you and eating with DH, there are days I have to plan to cook something for our main meal when I have no idea what I want. He doesn't make a lot of suggestions so it is up to me to decide and him being picky, I have to choose from his likable list. LOL. I'm not sure I am even doing IF except that I want to be more in control of eating less often so I am trying to stay within 8 hr eating window as much as possible. So I'm still doing low carb although not necessarily keto. I figure I can take some of the good info and work with it.

Thanks for telling me about the SF Powerade Zero. I drank one last night. I think it will help me keep my electrolytes under control so that maybe I won't be so tired from eating low carb because some days I might be low enough to go into keto but I think it was Dr. Berg who said that you don't have to stay in ketosis all the time. That may be what Dr. Davis and another doctor I listened to meant when they said they go in and out of ketosis. I expect the yogurt to help me with health flora.

I got up and wanted breakfast. I am getting hungry so late at night that it may be why my FBG is higher in the morning. I would like to get back to 2MAD 5 hrs apart so I think I need to work at 2MAD and 1 snack within 8 hrs for a while till I can get back to it. I want to do as low carb most days as I can so the only way I can eat my breakfast without bread is to eat omelets. The Magic Bullet makes it so easy to make it because I take the riced broccoli and cauliflower which is frozen and put in the container with the eggs and any other veggies and seasonings I want then make it up and put the bacon and cheese on top of the egg mixture before folding it over plus this helps me get more veggies. I decided instead of drinking BPC or MCT oil coffee to cook it in coconut oil. I used a tablespoon of coconut oil which was a little bit too much to cook the omelet so I will try 1/2 T tomorrow. I will make the fat bombs later today for our treat at the end of dinner to get the benefit of a small amount of coconut oil to help keep us from wanting to snack. I can make 24 and they will last almost 2 weeks if we eat only one a day. I don't like a lot of fat and I don't think I need to take gobs of it like others do. I decided if my problem has been eating low fat or fat free foods then I can just add a little bit of healthier fats into foods for flavor is probably wiser at least for me.

We will have grilled cod fish today for lunch and I'm going to cook some cabbage and maybe a small salad. I heard someone say they use coconut oil and ACV on their salad so I may try that as well. I will finish my 8 hrs with the yogurt and fast 16 hrs. I think this is very doable and should be easier to stay OP. This is where I am going to start right now and just hope I can cut it down to 2MAD only in the future sometime.

I thought of something else the doctor mentioned to us about the statins which turns me off of them. They can cause dementia. He tells us all these things and says he knows this sounds like a shot in the foot. Well, I am the one who is being shot in the foot and I choose not to be. I remember my grandmother always praying that she would not lose her mind before she died because she said everybody in her family had lost their mind before they died. DH and I talked about it last night and decided that we would just tell him we are not going to take it. I told the doctor when my FBG started running in the 170s and above that I came off of it. I don't want to keep my bs lower not make worse and I do not want dementia so I will just do the best I can with my diet and exercise and trust the Good Lord to take care of me. I'm going to be 76 in August. I don't know how many years I have left and I don't want the added problems of diabetes and or dementia. I think eating healthy and taking care of the diabetes lessens my chance of heart attacks, strokes and other diseases. Besides I heard a few cardiologists say statins only give me a 3% chance of not having a heart attack or stroke. Since I know that statins guarantee me that diabetes is going to get worse and I might lose me mind, I really don't think the odds are worth it. DH and I talked about it and decided to tell him we don't want to take it. DH and I both have set the goal of getting our A1c even lower by the time we go back in 3 months.

Hope everyone has a good day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, you can tell the doctor you don't want to take statins. DH has been prescribed, but just doesn't take it. I guess it's his choice. I don't take my full dose I am prescribed. The mail order pharmacy keeps calling me and telling me that I'm behind on my orders, so I order it but I still don't take it all. I don't want to tell the doctor I don't take it all. There are a lot of people I hear of who refuse to take them. Especially if you have not had a heart attack or other heart event. It's your body and your decision.

I used to buy the big bottles of Powerade Zero, but they didn't fit well in our refrigerator so I bought the mid size. I don't drink it every day and not the whole thing. I usually only drink it when I have potty issues because that's when I get the leg/foot cramps, and I drink half a cup and put the rest back in the fridge.

I heard that mint plants ward off mosquitos so I bought some seeds and am going to plant them in pots to put on my porch. I don't get bitten but DH does. I hope it works because he won't sit out often dark because of the mosquitos.

[Liz46]

Hi Carol (Thanks again for the invite!) and hi Trish.

I would love to read this whole thread, but did read over the last page of comments and boy did I come to the right place!

First, I want to mention the statins. My husband was on Lipitor and it was like poison for him and I believe what brought on his type 2 diabetes. He has severe diabetes, which is now affecting his kidneys, as he has an appointment with a kidney doctor in June. It's been several years since going off the Lipitor, but unfortunately the diabetes stayed. He's on two shots of slow acting insulin a day and has to take another mixed insulin before each meal. Some people can tolerate statins, I think, but it definitely made his health problems worse. Now onto lighter things...

Where to start. You two talked about so many things that I agree with. Such as, IE/IF and keeping carbs low. All in my plan! I am taking it a step further right now and tracking calories, as well. I'd love to get to the point where I don't have to track at all, which is what IE is really all about. Just trying to eat when hungry and not overdo. My fasting is 16/8. Some days I don't quite make it, but I do most days. I am not ready for OMAD yet, but I find it fascinating and my try it at some point. One thing I've found about fasting is that most days it helps me stay within my range. In the past, when not fasting and doing calorie counting, I found it impossible most days to stay within my range because I tend to have "false hunger". I don't know what else to call it. You feel like you're ravenous, but you know you shouldn't be close to hungry. I still have that problem, but I've found that not eating is easier than eating the first bite of the day...because then it's on!

I also agree with every time I jump into a plan (like Keto recently)...I find it too restrictive and fall off the rails every time. I don't know why I even started it again this time around. I am vowing never again! I know my track record, so why suffer through it, only to quit? This is why I'm being more lenient with the carbs. I love bread, pasta and rice and I must have them on occasion!

I'm also not going to be obsessive about the scale. I say that now. But after tomorrow morning's weigh-in, I'm going to try to only step on it occasionally. I make myself laugh when I say that! But I'm really going to try to avoid it for the most part. When a plateau(s) hits, I don't want to be aware of it.

One of you mentioned cole slaw and pulled pork. Our kids are coming over on the 11th and that's what we're planning. Butts on the smoker. Yum Yum! I make my slaw with Duke's Mayo, chopped cabbage, sweet pickle relish and S & P to taste. It's so good on pulled pork sandwich, I can hardly wait!

Carol, I hope you have a good appointment with the cardiologist today.

Thanks for allowing me to join in the conversation.

[Wannabehealthy]

Hi Liz. So glad you paid us a visit. I think you will be able to add a lot to our conversations. Our friend Fatmad is on vacation right now and Pipsicle reads regularly and posts on Sundays. Some others peek in now and then. All are welcome!

My doctor's appointment went well. He told me that they don't know why my stent blocked up so fast but it happens sometimes. Not anything that I could have done to prevent it. He took me off the expensive med I wanted off of so that is a plus. He was not impressed with my weight loss because he said he cares more about living a healthy lifestyle. The only number he wants to see improve is triglycerides. Overall I am pleased. Mostly about stopping that med. I still want to lose more for my own satisfaction.

[pattygirl63]

Liz to our thread. Glad to have you here and hope you stick around and give us your input. We love it when others join in. Sounds like you know what you can live with and that is half the battle. I have a tendency to lean toward keto, but I know there are times I'm going to eat starches so I have finally learned that I need to do what I can live with and stop trying to do something that sets me up to fail. Good for you for reaching that point.

Carol Sue So glad you were able to get off that expensive medicine and that the doctor's appointment went so well. I find it amazing that doctors are suddenly learning that being healthy is more important than weight loss, however, I still want to lose the weight too. Besides I guess I'm afraid to stop trying to lose because I don't want to gain weight. So I too will keep trying.

I got up and got things ready to make an omelet. Then I had my coffee and realized I wasn't hungry. It is almost 2pm and still not hungry. So I decided to have another c of coffee and eat one fat bomb and it has really worked to keep me from being hungry this morning. ISo I ate it around 10:30 am so am considering myself within my 8 hr window. I'm not sure that the fat bombs actually break a fast since BPC doesn't but I count my fast as being broken because the fat bombs recipe have 1/2 c coconut oil and 1/2 c peanut butter and I made 24 of them. However, I think the PB being in them would cause them to break my fast. I wanted to try them this morning because I wasn't sure how the fat would affect my system if it would cause potty issues but so far not any. I would love to be able to eat one of those with a cup of coffee in the morning before going to the beauty shop. A veggie omelet can cause a problem during the morning so not sure I want to eat one going out.

I actually only ate within 7 hrs yesterday so I did have a 16 hr fast by the time I had the fat bomb this morning. My weight even cam down to 217.2. I don't mind slow losing as long as I'm losing and my FBG was back down to 132. So not eating after 6 worked great for the bs. I really believe using IE along with IF is going to be a great plan for me.

[pattygirl63]

Day 2 back on IE/IF plan and it has gone very well. I did a little over 8 hrs but I still consider this a very good OP day.

Carol Sue I hope you had a great casino day.

[pattygirl63]

Can't believe I'm posting 1st today. fatmad is usually 1st but her being on vacation makes me first today. Hope she is having a good time.

This is Day 3 on IE/IF and it will be a busy day. FBG 138 and weight this morning 213.2. Very happy with that. Drinking coffee with H&H and Stevia and will have another with the fat bomb when I get back from beauty shop and hope store. I want to go to the store by the beauty shop, but if it is raining heavy, I will just come home and go to store later. We need berries and coffee and I want to get me some more salad stuff.

BBL

[Liz46]

Hi Trish! Thanks so much for the welcome! I don't know how I missed it until now!

Sounds like you are doing great with the IF and IE! I'd love to one day trust myself to not having to count every bite. You're doing great!

Looking forward to catching up with y'all later. Thanks again for the welcome

[Wannabehealthy]

Liz I suspect that you are in the South since you mentioned Duke's mayo. I have heard people rave about it but it was never available in PA until Wal-Mart got it in recently. I was eager to try it but neither DH or I liked it so we are back to Hellmans. I want to try the one with avocado oil but I don't know if DH will like it. I will have to say I picked it up by mistake.

I'm sorry to hear your DH had problems with statins. Sometimes they can switch you to another one without so many problems. I don't want to change mine because it is an old one that is inexpensive. Cost is an issue for me. I was diabetic before I started them and it was caused by my diet and inactivity so I can't blame the statins. If I really watch my carbs and portions I can keep my blood sugar well under control. I just have a hard time giving up carbs like most of us. But when I do I have great readings. I take Metformin and Glimiperide. I cut the G in half and only take what I need. Trying to get off it.

Trish are you still taking Berberine? They say it is almost the same as Metformin. I never tried it because insurance pays for the Metformin in full. I don't think it is what causes my occasional potty issues. I don't have a problem when I eat eggs at home but I seem to when I eat them in certain restaurants. One restaurant I get them no matter what I order. I don't know why.

The casino was ok. We didn't win but only lost part of our money. Ate lightly at the buffet. It was free for us yesterday