Good morning from a frigid NH
I am at 5 below Zero, brrr, When I let my dog out, I stand at the door to get him back in as soon as he is done. Otis is a black lab mix I rescued almost 10 years ago, he is 12 and a great companion for me. Over the years we have competed in dock diving, canine agiity, and rally obedience. I can no longer run the agility courses in competition but I have my own at my house and we play every day.

I started feeling lousy on Sunday, sore throat, congestion, now I have that plus headache, and body aches. I took an at home covid test on Sunday and another yesterday, both were negative. I am fully vaccinated an boosted. I always wear a mask so I have no idea how I could catch anything. I have an appointment for a PCR test at local hospital on Thursday. Drinking lots of water, and tea.

I have been battling 2 lbs for the last 2 weeks, bouncing up and down although I have been 100% spot on. I am just going to have to be patient. Back down today to where I was 2 weeks ago, 232, and I am dying to get into new numbers.

Yesterday's food was OP but not the best choices-I had 3 slices of bacon around 1 pm , macadamia nuts at 3 ,then a small cheese souffle at 5. I hope to eat better today.

I don't think I could survive living as far north as you two Ann and Fatmad. It is in the 40s here in TX and I am freezing. I don’t know how cold it is in the house but I have a little heater on my side of the room to keep me warm and still have to wear a sweater. When DH gets up he will want the ceiling fan on so I have to sit wrapped up with a blanket. This is why it is difficult to drink water during the winter for me.

My weight is finally coming back down but it will still take a while to get back to where I was before holiday eating. Weight was 187.2 lbs which was so nice to see. That 189 I saw yesterday was just way too close to 190. I do not want to ever weigh 200 lbs again. I was surprised to see my FBG was 81 so maybe if I can keep my eating clean, I can at least keep it in the 90s. I don’t know what normal really is. My eye doctor told me to be careful and don’t go too low, but I don’t know what too low is. But going by the fact that I really did feel good, I don’t think 81 is too low. I’ll have to google that to see what is too low.

Going to Walmart to get some things DH and I need to get even though we can’t use their pharmacy any more. Plus we need to go to local store for meds from the pharmacy. Plus DH wants KFC for take out today so not sure how that is going to work out since it is out of the way. So today will probably be 1 meal and a then a snack this evening.

Ann Hope you get to feeling better and don't have covid.

Have a nice day and stay warm.

BBL

Scale is still at 190! 5 days in a row. I have to get it down so today I didn't eat til 1:30, a salad and 2 HBE for protein. I thought DH was going to want to go for breakfast but we went to Wal-Mart and he never mentioned it.

I can't find any sugar free cough drops anywhere. I only have a few left. I tried taking a Benadryl for sleep last night and it did nothing. They expired in 2019!! So I bought new today.

Trish I always heard normal blood sugar is between 70-110 but online it said 70-130. I know that's wrong! 81 is perfect! I won't even mention mine, plus coffee makes it higher. I wish I could go lower carb.

Trish, does your house have a furnace? I know many in the south do not. We don't get weather as cold as Ann or Mad but we get teens sometimes.

Ann, I hope you are feeling better.

Carol Sue We have central heat and air. I think DH keeps it set on 71 and don't move it. I could but I don't want my electric bill to go up. I'm not sure what DH puts in on in the summer, but we don't have to have it too low in the summer because we have fans to circulate the air. Our house is all electric which most houses are these days. I wish we could have had a real fireplace but the house was already built and we didn't have a choice. We had a fireplace in SC. Last year when most of the people in TX lost power, we still had ours and DS thinks it is because we live next to the air port.

Sorry your weight stayed at 190 but it has stabilized so maybe now you will be able to get it moving downward again. I hope so.
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Ended today with a 9 hr eating window.

Trish, we keep our furnace on 68-69. Sometimes I put on a sweater. For sleep I like it cooler but DH hates covers so he likes it warm. We have a gas furnace, water tank, stove and clothes dryer. I think people get adapted to the climate where they live. I don't like the heat in the summer especially if its humid. The cold is ok in winter as long as I'm inside. You get used to it if you grow up with it. It is supposed to get warmer the next couple days, 35 ish, then back to cold for the weekend. I don't spend much time outside winter or summer.

I took a little nap today.

good morning

Patty it is funny how we get used to the weather and surroundings where we live and can't imagine living where it is so different. I love the seasons here and as much as I don't care for the ice storms, the snow is pretty. For me the winter is a much needed break from mowing, gardening, and yardwork. I have always lived in New England and don't think I could live in the south where the summer heat is so bad, more than that is the spiders, scorpions, and snakes. Those terrify me, I will take my bears and moose, at least they don't sneak into the house.

I keep my heat at 62-64 all winter, if I sit on the couch I grab a blanket, but if I am up and busy I stay warm. I have an electric blanket on my bed. i like the air cool while I sleep and sometimes I have ceiling fan on as well.

Fatmad, I am so glad sweets have never been a problem for me, I would take a slice of crusty bread over a doughnut any day. I do miss fruits as I used to eat 4 naval oranges in one sitting, but I will be able to add them back in moderation when I get my weight down to goal.

I feel like I am turning the corner with this cold I have, I will get my PCR covid test tomorrow, not sure how long it takes to get results. I got online on Sunday as soon as i had symptoms and Thursday was the first open slot for a test.

I was down 3 lbs this morning FINALLY! 229 so into new numbers and 13 lbs total since 12/6 I am wanting to set a goal of what I should lose by Feb 6 but the scale doesn't always reflect the efforts and I hate to miss a goal due to that. Still, I am thinking that is 3 weeks, 6 lbs seems reasonable, but 7 lbs would hit an even 20 lbs total Ahh , too much to think about.

Plan for the day is to shower and get dressed and hopefully feel more normal. I cooked some chicken breasts yesterday and tonight will make Keto Chicken Pot Pie, that will give me dinner for the next 3 days.

Hi all, just barely under 157 today, not enough to count IMHO. I forgot to take the meat out of the freezer yesterday for a pot roast, so will have to plan something else for supper. We have the leftover seafood corn chowder for lunch. Maybe I will do a low carb mac and cheese or a spaghetti thing for supper.
The dog has a couple of spots that are not healing as well and come open on walks, I checked in with the vet, including a photo of the spots but no treatment needed at this point.

Ann, it sure sounds like you may have the new covid variant, but people can also get colds and influenzas in spite of precautions too. The PCR test will be more definitive.
You have lost a great deal of weight in a short time, so a short plateau is pretty normal. Changing things up is a good idea, and hope you find a way to manage that.

I am pretty sure its reflux bothering my throat, and sadly the medication is not helping. I am going to go over all the things to do for GERD and see what I can manage. We tried raising the head of the bed and it did not seem to help.

Trish, like Ann I don't think I would enjoy life without seasons. Dressing well and insulating our homes well makes all the difference. In spite of that, complaining about the weather is a great Canadian past-time, LOL. Today is warmer, with temps up to near the freezing mark, so I can likely go without the long underwear and wear my short jacket instead of a parka when I walk the dog. Balmy!

Have a good day everyone. Happy Wednesday

I think my step sons in laws have the best of both worlds. They live in a mountain home here where they don't need air conditioning in the summer and go to their winter home in Phoenix where they can golf all winter. I don't know what they will do when they get too old to do this anymore. They are 80ish now. Actually I could live anywhere because I am not an outdoor person. I just stay in air condition in the summer and in warm house in the winter.
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Sleep was so so even with the new Benedryl. I fall asleep easily but don't stay asleep. Most things I try make me dopey when I wake up.

You are having nice losses, Ann. Your plan is working for you.

Mad, I used to get terrible gerd. Waking up with acid coming up. Stopping late night eating helped. I don't think you do that and what you have sounds different. Hope you find a solution soon.

Trish, I hope your weight continues to come back down, mine too!!

Fatmad and Ann I love the four seasons. My system changed when I married DH and moved to FL. Doc tells me I'm so cold because I've lost my fat insulation So I figure that is what I was doing about the time I married DH and moved to FL. I had lost a lot of weight and I remember getting extremely cold driving to work. Then I married DH and moved to FL where it was nice weather most of the time. I only had to wear a light coat or a sweat shirt if it was cool. I think I became thin skinned there and when we moved to SC, every winter I would freeze and just couldn't get warm. I just never got my thick skin back thank God I had a nice heavy coat for going out. I have to say SC was my favorite place to live except we had no family there and I am a person who likes having family aorund. I loved the snow in the winter and changing colors of the trees in spring and fall.

North TX gets a lot of snow, but we don't always get it here where I live even though we do get the very cold weather which sometimes gives us ice but no snow. I would have moved further north and thought about it but my family lives here and I came here to spend the last few years with my Daddy before he died.

Weight and FBG was up today. Not unusual when we have KFC and as usual I never have a good eating day when I eat KFC and yesterday was no different. I did very well with eating within 5 hrs but got hungry later and ended up eating giving me a 9 hr eating window.

Definitely tracking on MFP. I am doing things different than I usually do. I am tracking as a go, not planning what I am going to eat in advance. I've had my favorite of apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast. I couldn’t decide what to eat so DH wanted eggs for dinner. So I've had about 800 calories so far and not sure what I will do later, but it will still be just a snack. I’ve learned that popcorn or cheese and crackers usually helps me have a low FBG reading the next day so I will probably choose one of those. Not sure which but calories should end up around 1000 if that.

Carol Sue Hope you can start getting your sleep.

Adrienne hope things are well with you.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Everything is well down here! I love to LOOK at the 4 seasons, but as long as I have to go outside, winter is the bane of my existence. I grew up in Chicago so I am well aware of what real winter looks like. So far here in Georgia we have not had a real winter yet, not even for here. Most of you would laugh out loud at what happens here when one flake of snow is forecast. My first year here they mentioned that snow was coming, so when I got up in the morning for work I checked the news. When they said we got 4 inches of snow I turned it off and went to work. Remember, I am a nurse, 95% of the staff called out saying they couldn't get out of their driveways! It never occurred to me NOT to go in. Now, I know how bad the roads can get if there's ice since there is not real snow removal here but it is very dramatic. The pandemic has nothing on these people in snow! My favorite place I've lived was Los Angeles. Perfect weather, 80's in November, sunny and beautiful. I loved it. Now spring is my favorite season since everything is coming back to life and while I don't sit in the midday sun in summer I prefer the heat(an AC when I go inside). My heat here is set on 78 degrees, everyone gives me a hard time about it but I just can't be cold in here. That foolishness about wrapping up in blankets has never worked for me. I will just work an extra shift and pay the bill! Of course it seems I'm getting into the hot flash stage and I close all the vents to my room and sleep under the fan but I can't have my kids freezing too! My daughter is always cold, even with the 78 degrees, but I guess that's what happens when your max weight is 100lbs!

My weight continues to go down but it finally slowed down today. Hopefully things will become more stable as far as loss. I was at 277.6 today so I'm still pleased. I have been successful at not eating past 8-10pm and fasting at least 12 hours. It's just a start but I'm feeling good and not hungry. I still have leftover chili, plus I cooked several things today that should get me through the next couple of days and my work weekend. I made another crustless quiche, pan fried salmon, and the zesty hamburger soup from my taste of home diet cookbook. I even cut down the pasta and potatoes that are in the recipe and it turned out great! My FBS was 101 today and I haven't gone above 150 except once.

I have also found that Dr. Fung has a youtube channel where he explains everything that is in his books plus more. I am a very visual/auditory learner so this is perfect for me. I can even listen while in the car! He has great information and I am loving the way he describes IF. I am not doing more than 14 hours but that's working out very well for me to start.
I also felt really good on my walk today so I did a third lap around the ball field and my knee is still fine. I won't do it every time but I do want to get to a mile per walk eventually.

Trish, great job on tracking, I need to get back into that so I can see where I am. I loved MFP when I used it before and it helped me with not estimating things, which I cannot do at all.

Carol, keep up what you're doing, the scale will eventually move downward! Have you tried Melatonin for sleep? My kids have sleep issues and I'm thinking about trying that with them after talking to their doctor. My daughter's friend takes it and gave her one(I fussed at her for taking stuff without talking to me first), and she said it knocked her out. Like I said, she's tiny and maybe it was too much.

Ann, good job on your losses! I usually make conservative goals so that if I exceed them I feel that much more successful!

Fatmad, hope your dog's paw heals up soon. My doctor put me on a medication for reflux but I think I had been overeating and laying down after stuffing myself. Since I stopped that I haven't had issues with that. I hope you figure out what might be causing it because I know it's miserable to have to deal with it.

I have always been a warm person compared to others. Adrienne, I would die if my furnace was set at 78! Too hot for me! I laughed when you talked about how people respond to snow. Growing up in Chicago you would be used to it. They get it worse than us here in Pttsburgh.

I am not doing well at all. I overate again today. I spoke too soon about DH. He made a huge breakfast at 9 am and I ate it. It was good, but eating early like that gets my appetite rolling and I overeat all day. I'm afraid to get on the scale. I really think he's trying to sabotage me but I don't know why he would do that. He knows that when food appears in my line of vision I'm going to eat it.

I bought some melatonin. I bought 1 mg thinking I could take more if I needed it. I took one the first night. When I got up to go to the bathroom I felt like I was drugged and could barely stand up. I hated that feeling and am afraid to take it again. I might try taking half. A,friend of mine takes 5 mg! I can fall asleep in seconds but can't stay asleep. I haven't been taking my tart cherry so maybe that's the problem. I never thought it helped but maybe it did. I'll take it tonight. By the way, last night I had a dream that I worked with President Obama! No idea where that came from.

Good morning

Adrienne-wow 78 is warm for sure, but what temp do you set your AC in summer? I am reasonable in the house, i do keep it 62-64 unless we are having a really cold snap below zero with wind. Then I bump it up to 68. I have an electric blanket on the bed, heated throw for the couch as well as warm fuzzy blankets. I like my body to be warm but the air I breathe to be cooler, I often have the electric blanket on high and the ceiling fan on high at the same time. When I first met my boyfriend I warned him I had the ac on cold enough to hang meat in the living room, he lived in sweatshirts in the house. I am more reasonable now and keep them at 74. But when I get in the truck, I need it blasting cold air in summer and set the temp to 80 in winter, drives him nuts.

Carol, my daughter suggested melatonin to me too. I can take it if I do so at 6 pm, then when I go to bed at 10 I am relaxed and when I get up i don't feel like a zombie. I can't take Tylenol PM, that has me staggering around til noon. I missed a day of work when I took it one evening for knee pain.

I had cooked chicken breasts on Tuesday so I made my Keto Chicken Pot Pie last night, gosh that is such a good meal. Even my boyfriend really liked it. super low carb, filling and tasty. I am making a quiche today that will be breakfast for 4 days. I use sauted mushroom for a 'crust.; I have some asparagus that needs to be used so I will steam that and add. When I was working I would make one every week and vary the veggies and cheese, cut into 5 pieces and it go me through the week.

I have my PCR test this am but don't know when I will get results. I wear a mask everywhere I go outside, there is a mask mandate in the town or all stores. I will stay isolated until I get the test results and that may be at least 2 days. I live in a very rural area, the nearest store is 10 miles away and there is no delivery of anything other than mail and heating fuel. I have enough stuff here that I could easily last a month if need be.

My meter comes today so I am anxious to get my FBS, do you fast for 12 hours or longer?



I felt good enough yesterday to do my 22 on my bike. I ordered a DVD that is a 'walking' tour of forests to give me something else for motivation to get on the bike.

Didn't sleep long but it was deeper than usual. I took the tart cherry. It has melatonin but I don't know how much. I never thought to take the melatonin so early, Ann. I might try that. Maybe i'm not taking my sleep aids early enough. Also, I haven't been drinking my sleepy time tea in the evening.

My weight finally dropped 1/2 lb into the 189 range. I need to keep it there til tomorrow for my 1 lb a week loss. I need to increase my protein. I think that's my problem.

Ann, online it says 8-10 hours fasting for fasting blood sugar. For me its at least around 12 but for some who do IF it can be longer. Also,,in some cases fasting can increase blood glucose. That's because after your blood sugar gets so low your liver will release stored glucose. You will just test for awhile to understand your own pattern.

You explained the heat thing, Ann. I also need to be breathing cooler air. I can always wear layers to warm my body if needed. I know that heat plays a part in my sleep issues. He just keeps it too warm for my liking.

Trish, I track as I go. I rarely plan ahead. Its hard to do that with DH. I track my breakfast then look to see how many calories I have left for the day. Sometimes DH makes such big breakfasts that it is high calorie. When we have sausage that really adds to the calories. But its protein. I read an explanation of why calories in/calories out doesn't work. Explained in a way I never heard before. Take 300 calories of fat, carb or protein. The fat uses 3% of the calories to digest, the carbs use 5-10% and the protein uses 25%. I don't know if that's true but it explains why low carb, carnivore gives faster fat loss. This also explains why some people can eat 2000 calories per day and still lose. I would gain on that, but maybe not if I ate more protein. But MFP goes according to calories. I always look to see my carb and protein levels too.

I have to go to the store today to prepare for the snowy weekend, like everyone else is going to do. The main thing I need is SL bread. I can only find that in WM. DH never lets snow stop him from going out but the stores are always wiped out of everything from everyone else.

Trish, I saw a link online for pork chop recipes and the first one was pork chops in the slow cooker with cream soup. Isn't that what you do or do you use gravy? I have some chops in the freezer and want to try that but don't know which to use.

Adrienne, I also like to make conservative goals so I don't feel like a failure. I also don't like to make long term goals, but this time I'm thinking that 50 lbs would put me at a perfect weight and 1 lb a week would get me there in 50 weeks, in time for Christmas 2022. The weeks are going to pass whether im losing or not, so why not lose? 1 lb per week is not as easy as it sounds when you take into consideration fluctuations out of our control. It is so annoying to get a 2 lb up tick that occurs on weight in day when you were doing so well all week. Its so depressing although it happens to all of us regardless of how well we stay on plan. When I was in my 20s and 30s the weight would just fly off once I set my mind to it. Now, every tenth of a pound is a struggle. I hear of other people who drop the weight, sometimes 100 lbs. So why do I have so much trouble dropping 10? I realize we are all different and I go off plan so easily.

My meter came after I got home , I read the instructions and since I had not eaten since 7pm I did the test. Was horrified that it was 107, higher than my fasting at Dr office in July. I am keeping carbs under 20 g per day so I don't think I could have any stored glucose in my system. Then it hit me I had 2 cups of coffee at 8am, I only use Stevia, but I also had 2 teaspoons of light cream in each one. I will test again tomorrow before I have anything, if still in that range, I will contact my Dr and see if I should get a lab test. She wanted me to lose 25 lbs and said that would bring my FBS down, but I have lost 14 and no change. I am not sure what else I can do foodwise, but I will see what tomorrow's reading is.

Ann, I am sensitive to caffeine so even the black coffee I drink raises mine. Also, everything you eat can make some glucose, such as protein. Some people need a bedtime snack to lower fasting glucose. Its screwy. Different things affect glucose. Give it some more time before you panic. By the way, I would kill for a 107. Did your doctor do an A1c? That's where you get the big picture.