[HereIStand]

I'm so thrilled that we're all seeing so much success on our journeys! This is such a positive place to come, first thing in the morning. Especially after all that we all struggled with in the weeks/months past.

Linda, man oh man, you look fantastic. And congrats on the new decade!! Are you starting to calculate a due date for moving to P2?

Blue, thanks for all the cheerleaders. Yes, yesterday was pretty amazing for me. Brrr, 35 degrees! It's 42 here this morning, and if I weren't heading out the door in an hour, I'd start a fire in our wood stove.

Another 3/4 pound gone this morning, which confirms to me that I'd been retaining quite a bit of fluid. I might just make my wished-for goal of 153, which would be a total of 60 pounds lost. Starting tomorrow, I'm upping my running days per week from 3 to 4. I found out there are yoga classes at my gym, and have thought about trying one of those. Have any of you done yoga? I feel like it might be good for stretching and flexibility. I'm about as flexible as a brick.

[hysteria_625]

HIS - CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Goal, size 6, and an amazing 5K time!! I second Blue - one of the best days ever I'm sure & thanks
...just to be a nag though , you are still going to mention the edema to your PDoc, right?

Linda - A new decade!!!! & Thank you The bra I wore with the outfit was HORRIBLE though lol (and SO uncomfortable) - I see so many imperfections in that picture, but yah, I LOVE the fact I got my waist back Saw your fb picture today too - both this one and fb are amazing and btw - you don't look a day over 35

Blue - weather changed here too - but nice and fall-ish...the 80's on Friday just didn't feel right

So the group that met with the band Friday night were 'regulars' and we all knew each other - a few of us refer to ourselves as the "Carbon Leaf Family" - we are actually the newbies lol That picture ended up being slightly awkward as we are all looking in different directions with 3 different people taking pictures. I love it though and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do that with DH and our friend.

I am still concerned about the hypoglycemic episodes - but I guess I've had a history of them...they just seem to be coming quicker / harder now than they used to. Just doesn't seem the 5.5 hours is that long to go without food, kwim?
Numbers were good today though and I ate regularly.

I hope P3 & the reintroduction of carbs takes care of this...but if not, I guess going into P4 I am going to have to adjust my normal eating pattern and become a 'snacker'...something I've never been...I actually like intermittent fasting and have done that some what successfully - but IP might (probably) have changed the way my body works.

Guess I will see tomorrow what PDoc has to say - but I refuse to go in again before my appointment Friday (my insurance is crap).

I know my glycogen stores are back too - areas that had hallowed out (my armpit of all places ) are filling in again.

I am currently averaging about 1,300 k/cal

The scale hasn't really been my friend though...was up 2.4 pounds yesterday morning but this morning I saw my lowest weight yet - 146.2! Yay Let's have some flux

Had plenty of energy today and enjoyed a 3.5 mile walk this afternoon. Beautiful

[Ro22]

Originally Posted by hysteria_625

I am still concerned about the hypoglycemic episodes - but I guess I've had a history of them...they just seem to be coming quicker / harder now than they used to. Just doesn't seem the 5.5 hours is that long to go without food, kwim?

Beth - I had this happen to me which I have posted extensively about. I got quite ill after not eating for 5 hours and thought I was going to pass out - as soon as I ate I felt much better. I'm sure if I had taken my blood sugar it would have been low but this would have just been a symptom. This situation plus another one that happened on the golf course is what led me to the doctor with my thinking my electrolytes were off kilter. They ran a battery of tests and found abnormalities with my blood - elevated platelets, low T3 (thyroid problem), non-existent production of testosterone, very high cortisol and very low Vitamin D. I never got a definitive diagnosis as they have varied among 3 doctors I have seen. The first doctor had me stop the diet completely and the 2nd one was in agreement with the first to stop the diet, which led to me gaining the weight back. I did get treated with the Vitamin D, but I think the most important thing I did was increase my calories and eat a variety of foods as they instructed. After 5 months, I finally got a normal blood test back. The first 3 months were awful with no energy and migraine type headaches - it was like having the flu minus the body aches.

But, if I remember correctly, you had all that checked, right?

I am not trying to scare you but just convey to you that you should be vigilant in getting this checked out. Like you, this occurred at the point of my transition. Based upon what I know now, I would have increased my calories to my BMR/AMR and been focused on maintaining my weight with a ketogenic diet as I was taken off the diet immediately and didn't get a chance to gradually re-introduce carbs. The doctor put me on an anti-inflammatory diet that was predominantly carbs which I think just shocked my system. I think the key was an increase in calories and whole foods, which is what I would do now if it happened again.

[hysteria_625]

Thanks Ro - yes, I just went in for blood work 10 days ago - I was hypothyroid & medicated on 125mcg levoxyl when I started IP - I was also very low Vit D & have been supplementing 10,000 IU through the whole WL process.
Anyway, my last tests showed normal CBC (including platelets), Vit D is perfect, and I am actually hyperthyroid now (0.25 total TSH) and they've lowered my meds.
The only "odd" thing from this test was my iron being slightly elevated. I saw another Dr in the practice that day but my PDoc confirmed that with the amount of vegetables I've been eating (spinach) that it wasn't anything to worry about. They did advise me to go ahead and start phasing off and watch to see if I had more episodes. They also recommended I eat every 2 - 3 hours (which I obviously didn't do).
That was why I went ahead and got a monitor - my BS that day I went in was 75 - slightly low but 60 - 100 is "normal", although many people will start feeling funny under 80
So they are aware I have slightly elevated iron and have been having hypoglycemic episodes. I let them know about Saturday with full disclosure that I hadn't ate in over 5 hours.
I had already started adding good fats back in and I've "officially" been P2 since that day and my first P3 breakfast will be this coming Saturday
I admit though that I am a little scared I've done something to my pancreas / insulin production
I will definitely be keeping everyone posted as I work my way through this.

[Ro22]

I should have also mentioned that I have had inexplicable spikes in my cholesterol too. This is the main reason why I am getting my blood checked again tomorrow. Doc wanted to test again after 3 month mark from last one. Has that happened or happening with you? And, another symptom for those awful 3 months was severe insomnia. My current doctor believes it was either a virus my body was not able to fight off due to being on such a low calorie diet for a long time coupled with getting run down from holidays and home remodel. But, my reaction to that is doctors diagnose a virus when they aren't sure such that it is a catch-all when stumped. The other possibility she said is an episode of hypothyroidism. She said that the general public believe you either have it or you don't but she said it is more episodic than that such that more people get "bouts" of hypo or hyper thyroidism. One symptom she said is fluctuations in cholesterol which is reason she is testing me tomorrow. She said nodules can grow on thyroid so she told me not to be alarmed if after the test, she tells me she wants to ultrasound my thyroid. Just wanted to provide you with that additional info I had from my experience to see if it applicable at all...

[HereIStand]

Originally Posted by hysteria_625

...just to be a nag though , you are still going to mention the edema to your PDoc, right?

I know my glycogen stores are back too - areas that had hallowed out (my armpit of all places ) are filling in again.

I am currently averaging about 1,300 k/cal

The scale hasn't really been my friend though...was up 2.4 pounds yesterday morning but this morning I saw my lowest weight yet - 146.2! Yay Let's have some flux

Had plenty of energy today and enjoyed a 3.5 mile walk this afternoon. Beautiful

Beth, fortunately my primary care guy goes to my church, so I can hit him up with, "Hey, such-and-such happened, do I need to come in and see you?" But he's been out of town on National Guard duty for the last couple of weeks. I'll talk to him next Sunday, unless I have a repeat of the swelling before then, in which case I'll call the office. It might be time for a check-up anyway. My last physical was July 2014, and the only abnormal marker in my blood work at that time was low niacin. I'm actually amazingly healthy for someone in her late 50s. Most of my peers are either on bp meds or have diabetes or high cholesterol.

haha, it's funny that you mentioned the armpits. I just noticed recently how hollowed out mine are, too! I mean, to the point that it's hard to get a razor in there!

Today marks the start of my 2nd week on P2. Yesterday I finally had the acute hunger that some people talk about. My stomach was growling so loudly in church, my daughter noticed it. I stayed OP, but had to supplement with tea, coffee, lots of cucumbers, and then some pickles before bed. I didn't do anything strenuous yesterday, but after I took some old lettuce out to my cows, I thought, "Well, as long as I'm outside, I might as well take a walk," so I strolled 2 miles. It was nice to just walk leisurely, rather than thinking about time and pacing.

Getting ready for P3.... I bought muesli, and of course the peanut butter that I mentioned 2 weeks ago. This week I'll get out my yogurt maker and get a quart made on Saturday or Sunday. I will probably do oatmeal in a jar mostly, but gosh, pb on toast sounds pretty amazing, too. Can't wait!

I'm starting my new routine of 4 days of running this week, and one day of cross-training. I have to find a cross training exercise that I enjoy, something besides walking. The gym has the elliptical, a pool, and assorted fitness classes, so it will probably be one of those.

Hope everyone has a GREAT week!

[hysteria_625]

Ro - again, thank you so much. I have a complete physical coming up Friday and will get the rest of the blood markers done then - cholesterol, complete metabolic, etc...They probably will not retest what I just had done as it will have only been 2 weeks since starting the new Levoxyl dosage.

HIS - sounds like a plan. How is you daughter doing with IP?
For me, I know better - or at least I should know better I've kept a 'diary' of sorts for years and hypoglycemic episodes are nothing new...heck, DH, who is healthy as can be, had a severe episode in 2014, right before my dad passed away while we were visiting in the hospital. Heavy exertion + no food = man down in the hallway of the hospital! It can effect anyone.

Oh mmmmmm peanut butter *drool* I've been looking at steel cut oats / Ezekiel Bread. One of my favorite pre-IP 'healthy' breakfasts was oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter mixed in. My first P3 breakfast is suppose to be Thursday, but I am going to wait until Saturday when I have time to cook / enjoy.
I am also pushing it back b/c I really don't want Thanksgiving to be 'official' Day 1 / P4. I had already planned out my P2 meal based on originally starting P2 11/21 and I am going to stick to the plan, relatively speaking, but have a good P3 breakfast.
The plan is: mashed rutabagas w/ WF syrup, dark turkey (I always get a leg!), and probably some crock pot green beans (made with fatback!)

I'm also weary of having a splurge meal right out of the gates - although that Saturday I may indulge in a slice of Pumpkin Pie - maybe...

The other reason for my hesitation is the scale is being kind to me again. Down another -1.2 this morning - 145!!!

I really, really, really think 150 - 152 should / will be my scream weight (after hopefully getting to 140 - 142) and that makes these last 5 pounds so friggin annoying & important.

and I will post this over in maintenance too - but am wondering how long does one hold out doing more than a day of P1 once that weight is hit...ie, I have a splurge meal and the next morning see 150 - 152...I get that after a splurge meal / day you immediately drop back to P1 / P2 for a day and then resume healthy habits...but I am just curious how long folks hold out at their scream weight before doing something more extreme...a week? 10 days? 2 weeks?

[Destony]

Thank GAWD someone mentioned the armpits....I have had the worst time in the past couple of weeks, more so on my right side than my left trying to shave them babies- thank goodness it isn't tank top season anymore...I've been slightly afraid that it was something really bad....
Beth congrats on the ongoing weight loss- and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you with the issues you have been going through. Oh, and thank you for the HUGE compliment- this 51 year old will take every one she can!!
HISYou're probably going to think I'm wacky for saying this, but I'll bet the oreo and the run have a lot to do with it. I know it was only one, but with everything I am reading I think it is a definite possibility. Thank you for the congrats - honestly I haven't set a date for P2, I'm still pretty much enjoying P1, so I'm just going to keep on going. I really want to get to 130. Then I'll consider getting to P2- I think part of my reasoning is that I am super comfy here, trying new things to eat-so I'm not bored, so I'm happy to keep plugging away-unless something drastic happens- I'm a Gemini-lol- ask me the same thing in a day or 2- it could be a totally different response-lol

[HereIStand]

Destony - I'm so glad we can share the armpit discussion. My real-life friends would think I'm nuts for saying I'm having trouble shaving in that area.

Funny about the Oreo.... Today I ate 1/4 of one of those large bakery muffins before my run. (I had calculated the carbs and felt that that portion would be okay.) Usually I run up and down my long driveway, but today I decided to go out on one of the local, rural roads. I ran for 35 minutes (although I had to walk up two pretty steep but short hills), and then when I got home, I used Google maps to calculate the distance. Turns out I was running 10 minute miles! So maybe that 9 min/mile pace on Saturday WAS accurate, since it was a flat distance. Was it the pre-run carbs? I don't know. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, changes when I can have real breakfast food in P3/4.

Speaking of breakfast food, I have my eye on a 5K in January, called "The Hotcake Hustle." The post-run festivities are held indoors, with a free pancake breakfast. That just sounds heavenly to me right now.

My daughter is doing GREAT on the protocol. She just finished her 4th week and is down 19 pounds. She's a little discouraged that she hasn't gone down a pants size yet, but she says they are definitely loose in the thighs. And she had to wear a belt today. She has a total of 60 to lose, and like me, she's very impatient. She's much more creative with her meals. She experiments with all kinds of recipes, whereas I'm likely to eat the same thing 5 days a week. I'm really very proud of her.

[Ro22]

HIS/Beth - I saw my doctor today and some things we discussed I thought I would share with each of you as it may resonate given what you are going through. My doctor is board-certified in bariatric medicine (I specially sought out a specialist to see while doing round 2 of IP to avoid what happened the first time).

My doctor asked me if I have had any leg swelling. I told her no, but then I thought of you, HIS, so I inquired as to why she asked. She said that for me she is asking to see if I had a sodium build-up and she felt around on my legs. She then said if it was other patients she has, she would be asking for a different reason. I didn't pry at that point because I didn't want to violate any confidentiality so it seems like the most common reason is fluid retention from sodium build-up so I think you may have already reached your answer. However, she said if it happens repeatedly, it is something she would want to investigate further.

I told her about episodes last 3 weeks of strong hunger pangs (which I told her are unusual for me on this program) and that was what happened to me as the first symptom that something was wrong the last time. I also told her that the next symptom was almost passing out from not eating for 5 hours. Her response beyond doing blood work is she said that our brains will give us very strong indicators when we reach our thermostat of where our bodies think we should be. She said you can change that thermostat over a long period of time, and it is an area that scientists are extensively studying so she told me this time if that is happening to transition. I told her I am about 15 pounds from goal so I am going to keep going as I told her I think I just overdid with doing minimums and boot camps and such but I thought of you two when she was explaining that.

Along the same lines, when speaking with the nutritionist today, she told me she has a number of clients that are needing to consume more calories than their BMR/AMR indicate as they are continuing to lose in transition and maintenance mode. So, she said if feelings like I described are happening to consume more calories as certain people's metabolisms at the end of the weight loss journey have become so efficient that they just need fuel. So, she said if that happens with me, we'll increase calories until I see a gain on scale for 2 weeks. So, consider increasing your calories with whole foods!

I have the hollowed out armpits too - I had a tougher time shaving this morning. I remember this from last time and have been anxiously awaiting when I was going to hit this point this time around - LOL.

[HereIStand]

Thank you, Ro, for sharing that info, and for remembering your 3FC IP peeps. Yes, I definitely think that the swelling was sodium related. One of my non-protocol (bad) habits is to salt my food fairly liberally. My bp has always been good so I never tried very hard to change that habit, and I haven't ever measured my salt intake while OP, although I am usually careful about reading labels on things like pickles. I don't know how I didn't notice that those meatballs were sodium-rich. I think now I will have to re-examine my practice of adding salt to meals. Obviously, my body was letting me know to watch the sodium.

I love the idea that my body may be becoming more efficient at calorie burning! I've noticed that I am still losing in P2, and a little more or faster than I expected - once I got past the fluid retention - , so maybe I will need a few more calories than planned, to maintain once I get to P3/4.

I just spent about 30 minutes working on the P3 breakfast calculation sheet that I got in the IP Alternatives FB group. So I know my Oatmeal In A Jar choices are okay. I need to figure out what bread and cereal to buy, and then I can do the calculations for french toast or cereal w/ yogurt. Not a big egg eater. I like them, but they don't like me - terrible heartburn. I saw a suggestion for a breakfast grilled cheese sandwich, which is intriguing.

[Ro22]

HIS - Here's some more detail on that which we discussed. She asked me how much sodium I consume a day. I track this so I knew exactly so I told her 2,000-3,000 mg a day. She said that 2,000-5000 mg a day is fine and in a healthy person, would not cause fluid retention.
Like you, I salt my food liberally with salt. I have blood pressure on the lower end. For example, today's was 106/68 which is normal for me. Btw, the IP salt, if you use it, is 250 mg for 1/4 tsp.

[hysteria_625]

Fwiw ladies, imho sodium alone isn't the problem - it's combining it with a Standard American Diet (SAD) / processed foods from boxes, bags, and cans that also contain ingredients I doubt we were meant to ingest- just a theory though...but it takes A TON of sodium now to get sausage fingers

Ro - thanks and I hope your blood work comes back perfect I would like to think that between the diet and exercise I have done over the last 8 months maybe I've improved my metabolism- as opposed to wrecked it - so I definitely like your nutritionists theory
I also find the thermostat theory interesting...this was why I went ahead and got the bg meter.
Today I started testing how different foods are going to effect my bg - so am fasting was 80...breakfast this morning was protein / fat (eggs and 1.5t of coconut oil in my coffee) - sugars stayed stable - even exercised and 4.5 hours later bg was 96. I ate about 1:30 and took bg again at 3:30 = 109. I started feeling a little hungry but knew from the reading it wasn't an episode, but since I did an hour at the gym I had a protein pudding.
On Saturday when my bg went to 60, I had ate 2 scrambled eggs with a protein pancake / WF syrup. Tomorrow morning I am going to do a PP chocolate shake with the coconut oil so something with af sweetener and see what happens. The shakes - at least the PP ones, have never really kept me satiated.

[Ro22]

Thanks, Beth. I am curious to know if you have used it to measure blood ketones. I got one and have only measured ketones vs glucose. The ketone readings have made no sense to me so I just assumed the device isn't working properly as it has me between .4-.6 ketones in last 12 weeks - I should be measuring much higher in nutritional ketosis. I was trying to use it for the same purpose you are to see what effects certain foods had on ketones/ketosis. For example, I wanted to see what the Quest bars did to determine if I could really trust the amount of dietary fiber. I had bread from the Great Low Carb Bread Company and wanted to measure for the same purpose. But, I have took enough readings and they are always .4-.6 which make no sense to me being under 25-35 total carbs a day, primarily from the 4 c vegetables.

[HereIStand]

Originally Posted by Ro22

HIS - Here's some more detail on that which we discussed. She asked me how much sodium I consume a day. I track this so I knew exactly so I told her 2,000-3,000 mg a day. She said that 2,000-5000 mg a day is fine and in a healthy person, would not cause fluid retention.

IIRC, I'm in the 2000-ish range every day, but last week I did have a day where it was closer to 4000 - and that was not counting what I added to my food. So I was probably over 5000 that day. Definitely have to start watching that.
____________

Yesterday's run felt so good, I was considering going out again this morning, but then I remembered that the last time I increased my running days and mileage too fast, I ended up with repetitive stress fractures. So I'm practicing self-restraint and sticking with my plan to run 4 days/week until this next 5K, and then I will add in a 5th day of running or cross training.

A couple of weeks ago, I got in on a "Two Free" offer from the YUP company. They make B-Up protein bars, sometimes found in GNC, and they were doing a promotion to send two bars to the first however many people who signed up. So my bars arrived yesterday - Vanilla Sugar Cookie and CC Cookie Dough. I had the vanilla one last night. It's restricted, per IP protocol. The texture was nice and soft, and it had a nice flavor with no chemical taste. I'm more of a chocolate girl, so I probably wouldn't buy this particular flavor, but they're definitely on my radar to replace Quest bars.