Diabetes and Prediabetes Chat Winter 2020/2021
 

Have you been diagnosed with Diabetes, or told you have PreDiabetes? Join us here to discuss how eating and exercise effect your health.

You can review the Fall chat by following this link.

https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/dia...ll-2020-a.html

It makes me happy to start the Winter thread, because that means the next one will be Spring!!

Mad, I think in this day and age 2 cars are beneficial if one person tends to be gone for longer periods of time and the other person might be needing transportation, such as you and DH. People who just make short trips can usually get by with just one. The main expense of two cars is the cost of insurance. When I was growing up I lived in the city where public transportation was available. It was rare for any family to have 2 cars and many had none.

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to the Covid 19 vaccine. My first thought is to shy away from getting a vaccine that is so new, not really knowing what the long term effects will be. The first people to get it in the US are the first responders and those in nursing facilities. Then the elderly and those with underlying conditions. This will include me and DH. I know DH will refuse it. I listened to a discussion on the radio a few nights ago where they were discussing years back when there were vaccines for illnesses such as small pox and polio. I heard about small pox and it was part of my vaccination before starting school. I remember them giving the Polio vaccine to the whole school when I was in grade school. It took the whole day to vaccinate all students. Polio was a scary thought. So now I'm thinking that it might be best if I agreed to this vaccine. Although most people who get it recover on their own, I believe there are many who spend days in the hospital and die from it. So shortly I will have to make a decision.

Otherwise, I have been having trouble with a tooth. I think it's a wisdom tooth. So I guess I'm going to have to visit the dentist soon. I'd like to wait a while to see if the virus slows down, but that will depend on how badly it bothers me. It seems that when you go to the dentist for one problem they end up finding more, and I don't have dental insurance.

I'm still overeating a bit, but everything I eat is what I consider real food, rather than junk food. I have not had any salty or sugary snacks for a while now. They don't interest me. Any snacks I have are things like half a banana or an apple. My goal to work on now is to stop eating before stuffed, and not to eat again until real hunger hits, which should be 5 or more hours after a meal.

Fatmad We have only one car because DH says he isn't going to pay for the tags, insurance etc for it to sit there most of the time. However, there are times I really wish we had another one because I'm not sure how he would get to me in an emergency. Right now my BIL would have to come get him and bring him to me if I needed him. So there are pros and cons.

As for the vaccine, I'm not sure what we will do. Right now we don't plan to take it. We are both pretty healthy and just don't get sick. I never took the flu shots until my doctor in SC told me they changed them. The only time I ever got the flu shot before then was when I was about 19 yrs old and it was the last time because I have never been as sick as it made me. Then back when they had so many people die from taking the swine flu shot, my Grandfather was one of the victims of that one. So I will have to see how people do with this vaccine. I know most people don't believe in alternative meds and I know you have to be careful, but DH and I have been taking Vitamin C, D and Zinc the way we saw an alternative doctor suggest to protect us from getting covid-19 and it has worked very well so far. I will take meds when I have to but I prefer using natural when I can. In fact, when I heard that I had been exposed to the covid when DS got it, I just upped my Vitamin C and never had it. I know how to know if you get too much C, but don't think it is safe to raise the amount of D or Zinc. So we will see how things go for now.

Carol Sue, I do believe that I am probably doing a mixture of IE and mindful eating. Since I want to lose weight, I don't fit into the IE frame of mind, but I do eat more mindful to some degree. What was the name of that book we read years ago I think it had Fat Head in the title where he compared the foods he had on his side of the fridge and what his roommate had on her side and how he couldn't understand how she ate compared to him? He talked about how she would go in and take out the ice cream and eat a few bites and put it back in the fridge. When he asked her how or why she did that she said that was "all she wanted" as she knew she could go back and have more if she really wanted it? That was how she ate everything she ate. I thought of that because I'm kind of amazed at how some of the things I used to would eat more than a serving like I thought I would never be able to eat it again... binging on and now like in that book, I can eat a few bites or even a serving and I'm satisfied. I also remember reading a book I think the name was Delay Don't Deny. In this Synopsis book I read of Fast, Feast, Release said that you can have the donut, just don't eat the whole box. I think that is what I'm learning; in fact, you don't even have to eat the whole donut. You can eat as much as it takes to satisfy the hunger or even the taste. I actually got to the place where I ate that way in SC. (Just using the ladies thought with the donut as she did since I'm probably one of the few people in the world who would never be tempted to eat a donut. When I bought them for DH and DGS they would go stale before anyone could finish them.) However, back then I could buy my favorite cookies at Dollar Tree and eat on it for a month or more because one or two satisfied me. Somehow I lost that ability when I moved here and I'm not quite sure why unless it was just the stress of Daddy being sick and dying.

I have not stopped weighing everyday as it is such a habit. And I am happy to say that my weight is back down to 187.2 this morning. I think that was my lowest since starting WW but not sure. In fact, I would have to go back and look but I think that was what I weighed back on November 1st. I am mostly making sure that I am getting enough fiber. I told DH yesterday that I know he likes his white flour stuff because in SC when I breaded anything, I always used whole wheat flour instead of the white flour and he wasn't fond of it. However, now that he is battling with bs, he may have to change. He already uses the 100% WW bread that I use. The funny thing is when Wonder bread came out with a white wheat bread he didn't like that either. LOL Picky, picky. Any way I have a book I got years ago in SC that is a Diabetic cookbook that also explained how to keep bs down and I remember only 2 major things from the book Fiber lowers bs and they didn't know why but if you used Parmesan cheese on foods it seems to balance some foods so that it doesn't raise bs. So those are 2 things I'm using in my plan now.

I wanted eggs this morning but when I saw the scales moving downward and saw that eating within 4 or 5 hrs each day is working so well, I changed my mind. As DH#2 used to say, "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Besides once I have my Bullet coffee made with the EVOO and collagen, I'm no longer hungry until we eat our main meal. I am so excited that the scale is moving downward again and I just don't want to rock the boat. Sometimes it isn't just 2 meals but it is definitely IF with a 4 or 5 eating window so I guess I'm really doing my own version of IF Mindfully since I'm not doing keto.

Knowing all the ways that WW counts pts etc, I've decided that the important thing to making it work is consistency of eating a least 95% healthy foods and watch portion sizes along with some of the guidelines of SFPF plan. This is where some of the IE rules has helped a lot. So I will stay with what is working for me. I think I have actually made it my "own personal" plan.

I hope everyone has a nice day and stay safe everyone.

Trish, you have made a lot of positive adjustments in the past year, from trying the diet center to being so successful with WW. WW has taught you a lot and I have tried to learn through you. You have taken the best parts of different plans and turned them into your own plan. That's what's best IMO because no one plan works for all. You are doing great at staying out of the 190s. I am still working toward that. I'll get there, eventually.

I don't see myself ever giving up the scale, but I wish I could. I would like to reach a weight that I'm comfortable with without knowing the actual number and not having it matter. That was the way I felt until I was 21 years old and got on a scale. I haven't been without a scale since.

Carol Sue I would like to give up the everyday weighing and hopefully I will eventually. Having that as a goal, I realize that if I had not weighed this morning and seen the weight loss, I might have messed things up by eating 3 meals within an 8 hr window instead of staying within my 4 or 5 hr window. Since I've just restarted the 19:5 or 20:4 IF ratio, I think it is too soon to switch it around. It might would have mattered at all but you know my past history of bouncing around and since I am learning what works for me, I really have a goal to stick with this woe long enough to see how it works for me.

I really think you will figure this out for your own plan too. I remember years ago reading that as we get older that we need less food. My then SIL ate 2 Hershey bars and coffee for lunch and then ate dinner. I remember thinking that as I got older I had room to cut back when I get older such as the 2MAD we do know but I wondered what was she going to be able to cut back. I also remember thinking that if a calorie is a calorie is a calorie and calorie in calorie out was true it is no big deal if you have a candy bar or a the same calories for a meal. However, when I look back, she was sick with something all the time. I ate healthier since I was always dieting and I was never sick. So I guess we know why we can't live on candy bars. LOL

Having said that regardless of how you and I eat as for the food choices, we both are more comfortable with 2MAD or shorter eating window because that was normal for us growing up. That is why I am confident that you will eventually figure this all out so it works for you.

I have read so many nutritious books etc and a lot of IE books but I think I am going to move away from those and read more of the Mindful eating books. You and I have read so many nutritious books that just as my SC doctor told me one time that I didn't need to read any more nutrition books "You already know what to eat and what not to eat". He told me I just needed to learn how to bring it together so I could live with it and that is what WW especially the SF plan has helped me to do. In fact, I need to go through all my books and pack them up and take them to Goodwill. I gave away a lot when we moved from SC but still have a lot I don't need any more.

I understand what you are saying, that weighing daily lets you know right away how you're doing, and I DO miss that. But my eating has been out of control for the past month or so and I'm not happy about that. I do want to lose weight, but first I need to get my overeating under control. I did very well today. I ate like a normal person, which is my goal, and it made me happy. I want every day to be like today. Eventually I want to stop tracking, mainly because I don't think calorie counts are correct on MFP. Plus the calories I needed today might not be what I need tomorrow. But in my heart I know I will never stop weighing. It has been a factor through my whole life. This is just part of getting my eating under control. It may bring a loss or maybe a gain. I don't know. But psychologically I feel better and if I can continue this long term I can fine tune how much I eat from day to day.

I also have not been checking blood sugar more than twice a day. If I'm eating healthy food in the right portions I don't have to be checking frantically all day. I only check before my meds to be sure I'm not going to cause a hypo. For any lurkers who might be reading, this is what's right for me. Someone else's blood sugar will be different and they have to test accordingly.

Its coming up on bedtime. I hope I sleep better tonight.

Carol Sue You weighing only once a week seems to work for you so you should do what works for you. One of the things we have always stressed here on this site is that One Size does Not fit all. What works for one person even when it comes to controlling our FBG doesn't mean it will work for all. I think you and I both are taking what we have learned through the years from all our reading and applying what works for each of us which I like better because this plan I follow works for me. It has become my personal plan. I always remember your friend who has done so well by just watching what she eats and still does stairs etc and has kept her weight and bs under control. I want to be able to that too.

Last night my Fitbit malfunctioned. I removed it from the app and I'm trying to reinstall it. If I don't succeed I will buy a new one because this one is my favorite.

I got up at 6am to let the dog out with the intention of going back to bed, but DH got up and made coffee so I stayed up. He went back to bed. I got so hungry I got a headache. That doesn't usually happen. I don't know why. He got up at 9 and made breakfast but we have no bacon or sausage so it was just eggs. I'm still hungry but it will hopefully go away. I will need a nap today.

Two more days til weigh in. This week seems to be going by so slowly. I don't know if I will continue once a week weigh in after this. I'll play it by ear. I miss not knowing how I'm doing. I feel fat today even though I didn't think I over ate yesterday and my dinner was salmon and vegetables. I think fluid retention is beyond our control. It could be due to lack of good sleep. But I will continue to work on controlling my eating volume. My headache is starting to subside so I think it took my body some time to register that it had received food. Right now I feel like I want more food. This is what happens to me after I eat, my appetite increases, I eat more, then feel stuffed. I will try to get busy doing things to get my mind off food.

Weight down to 186.4 today. I checked to see what I weighed when I joined WW in may and I have now lost 20.4 lbs. I was surprised that I had the loss since I had an 8 hr eating window yesterday and ended up eating kind of late last night because I was starving. I don't know why I got so hungry. I didn't want to eat but ended up eating some raw broccoli and cauliflower w/o dressing for dip. I was still hungry so ended up eating a slice of cheese and a Fiber One bar before getting satisfied. I almost decided to skip weighing but decided I needed to know and was shocked/suprised to see 186.4. I'll take it. So an 8 hr window is not bad to do IF I am REALLY hungry. Plus it didn't hurt that I ate OP foods. However, I think I need the 19 to 20 hr fasts to keep my FBG low because because it was 123 this morning or else I got it as it was going up. Because I thought maybe it was a mistake or I had something on my finger so I took it 2 more times and it kept going up. I guess that is good to know. Any way I won't eat today until 3ish and plan to eat 0 pt foods.

Carol Sue I hope you can get your fitbit to work. Sorry you are having a hunger day. Those are the days for me when I want something but don't know what I want to eat. I ate it when I do that. That is kind of how I was last night as I felt like there was something I wanted but never could figure it out so I just ate the raw veggies. I should have left off the Fiber One bar and cheese although the 2 together probably was no more than 2 pts because that bar may have been why my FBG was higher unless I just caught it when it was going back up. . I hope it will settle down for you.

After saying yesterday that I wasn't sure I was going to take the vaccine when it comes out, DS said yesterday that if our doctor thinks we should take it that we probably should. So looks like we will take it if he recommends it. Hopefully by the time it gets to us, we will know how safe it is.

Hope everybody has a good day.

Closer to 157 today. I will fast overnight, because doing OMAD too many days in a row will put me into a low calorie cycle. We are getting take out later though, for me to have for my meals for my meetings. Since its usually an in person 2 day meeting at a hotel with meals provided, we will get paid for nice meals. I don't want to use "skip the dishes" or another delivery service though, they take too much of the profit from the restaurant.

Had my last day of clinical work today, cleaned my files and photos (25 years of photos of babies!) and thank you cards, trucked it all home. It was a quiet day, just me and an admin, no fanfare. Bittersweet for sure.

Have a good day friends.

Mad, it will be hard for awhile not to be involved in the births but once you get used to it I think you'll enjoy retirement, plus you will be involved in other things.

Trish, 20 lbs is a good drop in a relatively short time and I think you will hold it and continue on down. You are doing a great job of controlling your eating. :carrot:

I've done a 5 hr day today. I've decided that if I get hungry tonight that I will just go to bed. I just do not want another 8 hr eating window 2 days in a row.

Fatmad Retirement is an adjustment. Even when I quit working, I had so many other responsibilities such as taking care of grandchildren so it was almost like I didn't quit work at all. However, I have to say I did experience the empty nest syndrome when my kids left home and would have experienced it when our grandson moved out if we hadn't moved back to TX.

I never had empty nest syndrome. My step children got married a year apart. Him in 1991 and her in 1992. I was still working full time so maybe that's why i didn't notice it as much. I was too excited about my water bill going down without all the showers and laundry! Also, the phone wasn't ringing all day and night.

I slept well last night and I feel great. Big difference from yesterday. I did end up with a 90 minute nap yesterday which helped a bit, but not enough to ruin my sleep last night.

Trish, I find going to bed hungry to be a big help with weight loss, and I think it's better for a restful sleep.

When DH was in the hospital I was eating in a 4-5 hour window but I was also under a lot of stress and I imagine my calories were very low. I lost 15 lbs but was unable to hold it after he came home and we went back to eating dinner. My eating window was in the morning because that is when my body seems to want food. I don't know if I could go against nature and change that. I think the latest I could delay eating is noon. But my waking hours are different from yours. I am often up at 5-6 am and in bed by 9-10. We watch tv for a while but I often fall asleep right away. I can't remember the last time I was up at midnight. Probably last New Years Eve, and it was a struggle. So my breakfast is 3-4 hours after I get up and I drink black coffee during that time. My dinner is from 3-5 in the afternoon and I go to bed 4-5 hours later. I would like to do OMAD occasionally just to shake things up.

I also question low calorie eating. Who decided we have to have 1200 calories or more per day? Most people don't count calories. Our bodies burn fewer calories as we age so it makes sense to eat fewer, too. I can't understand the reasoning behind eating beyond hunger, especially if you are overweight. I think the quality of what you eat is more important than the quantity.

I spent the morning checking to see what kind of deal I could get with local cable tv. I like the company here that is TX owned. We already have out internet and land phone with them. We have been with Dish TV since we moved here only because we couldn't get some of the networks/stations we wanted with the local company. I got such a great deal for that I took it and the technician will be here between 1 & 5 tomorrow afternoon to set us up. Dish is not able to give us our local stations any more and when they get things worked out it will surely cost a lot more. I checked with DS to see how much she pays since she has the Triple bundle with the local company and where I was paying $284 a month with Dish and the local companies internet and phone service she was paying $244. That is a big savings. So DH and I checked out what they had to offer last night on line so I called this morning to see what they would offer me. I went from a 200 MBPS internet to 600, my phone didn't change and they kept me on that bundle I was on and she was able to get me hooked up for 2 tvs and I'm getting all the stations we wanted as well as a lot we don't care about for a total of $216.71. I just saved 67 dollars a month. So very pleased with that since that is our form of entertainment.

Weight bounced up today to 187.2 but I'm pretty sure that it was caused from my pork chops not being lean chops. I need to remember to get the bone in chops from the local store instead of Walmart. In fact all the meat is better from the local store than what I get at Walmart. One problem I am seeing with my new plan is that my FBG is going up. So today I have gone back to eating lower carb and I had breakfast and will try to make my main meal which we seem to eat around 4ish lately the final meal of the day. I am hoping that will get my FBG back down under 120s at least.

Carol Sue I agree with you. Who decided how many calories a person has to eat. Everyone is different and I don't think I eat the same amount of calories everyday myself because some days I eat more than others. Some days when I'm not hungry I don't even eat 1000 calories. That is why I think eating when you are hungry and not eating when your not is the best way to go.

I think I could actually do low carb/ lowfat along WW old Simply Filling plan. I've seen some people on SF FB group eating low carb meals so I'm going to work at that. In fact, I think that the original South Beach Diet could even be done with it. Any way, I need to get my FBG back down. I'm going to start eating berries instead of bananas and I won't buy potatoes any more either unless I know I'm going to use them since DH only like fries not regular potatoes. I do like it ever once in a while and I can buy one baking potato if I really want it. I've worked to hard to get my bs under control to let it go back up now. It seems to always be something but maybe I will finally get it all figured out.

Have a nice day everybody.

Today our governor announced that he is closing restaurants, bars, casinos and gyms. This is because people think its a violation of their rights to have to wear a mask and social distance. So now they ruined it for others. Our governor actually tested positive this week but has no symptoms. They said some of his staff tested positive so he probably got it from them. I don't know how long this closure is going to last. I will have to watch the news tonight. The casino in W VA is still open but I'm hoping DH doesn't think of that. LOL

Trish we have cable for 2 TVs, internet and phone for $197. We have 4 other TVs that are on antenna and just get certain channels. DH would have one in every room if he could.

I had pizza for dinner. I'm not too hopeful about the scale tomorrow.