I believe that net carbs are carbs minus fiber. From the Atkins diet, I think. It is just a way to get in a few more veggies during the day. Pretty much still rules out fruit.

Sorry you cannot join us/me, Ilene, but have a fabulous time in New York!!

I love Broadway....

Went for a walk with my daughter and grandson for an hour and 15 minutes on my fasting day. Bad mistake. Well, not really....spending time with my grandson is never a mistake.

I became very hungry around 3pm. Very unusual for me to have any appetite or cravings. Ate some tuna and raw peppers. Then some sunflower seeds. Then some homemade turkey breakfast patties with a granny smith apple. Added a glass of pinot as well. Wound up with 47 carbs for the day instead of zero.

Didn't lose any weight this am but my BG was 95 instead of the usual 99-104.

Have the grandkids today so probably won't be fasting.

Have figured out my supplement adjustment and will begin this weekend. I really do not like taking pills, often passive aggressively forgetting to take them so I need to set up a routine. My husband has been taking supplements for years and he does it standing up at the kitchen counter while eating some cereal. They go down better for him. I have found some brown rice cereal - organic and nothing but the rice. He has switched to that. I know rice is a grain. But this is his routine and we haven't come up with an alternative method of ingestion for him.

I think I am going to come up with a low-carb smoothie recipe for me to down the pills (fish oil). I will be taking a liquid Vitamin D drop as well.

I am also checking into transdermal bHRT. According to Dr. Davis of heartscan blog. bHRT is one of the only ways to reduce Lp(a). Saw my gyn, Tuesday. She looked at me kind of funny as I am long since over menopausal symptoms so she is having some tests run to see what I "really" need. Should be interesting. I am printing out a list of things that bHRT is claimed to help:

Estrogens:
• Estriol[E3], estradiol[E2], and estrone[E1] are often prescribed in combination to re-establish a normal physiologic balance.
• Relieve menopausal symptoms, including vaginal thinning and dryness
• May increase HDL “good” cholesterol and decrease LDL “bad” cholesterol
• Help to decrease blood pressure and reduce plaque formation on the arterial walls
• Reduce the risk of colorectal cancer
• May improve mood, energy levels, and sleep patterns
• May reduce the risk of developing or the severity of type 2 diabetes
• May improve memory and cognitive function
• Reduce bone loss

Progesterone:
• Is commonly prescribed for perimenopausal women to counteract “estrogen dominance”
• Alone, or with estrogen, may improve Bone Mineral Density
• Minimizes the risk of endometrial cancer in women who are receiving estrogen
• Is preferred by women who had previously taken synthetic progestins, according to one Mayo Clinic study
• May enhance the beneficial effect of estrogen on lipid and cholesterol profiles and exercise-induced myocardial ischemia in post-menopausal women (in contrast to medroxyprogesterone acetate)

Androgens, such as testosterone:
• enhance libido (remember my husband's testosterone level - sigh...)
• provide cardiovascular protection (lower cholesterol)
• enhance bone building (increase calcium retention)
• improve energy levels and mental alertness

Does anyone have bHRT experience?

Sandy, thanks for the info on the net carbs I understandn now` LOL... I've never had bHRT experience but that was a very interesting read... AND you didn't fail at your fast by any means, it was just one of those days where you just couldn't do both, fast and walk for over an hour, it'll be better next go around...

I was down again this morning 154.4, but as you all know it's the weekend

Oh-Oh, you don't know how competitive I can be. I will have to really watch things today, so you don't get too far ahead of me. Or should I say below me

Eat, Eat and be Merry!

I'll be working my tail off, cardio that is.

Bring it on Sista!!

I cant do the under 20 net carbs, but I can commit to what works for me, which is under 50 total carbs.[U[/U]

The concept of net carbs is based on the principle that not all carbohydrates affect the body in the same manner.

Some carbohydrates, like simple or refined starches and sugars, are absorbed rapidly and have a high glycemic index, meaning they cause blood sugar levels to quickly rise after eating.

Other carbohydrates, such as the fiber found in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, move slowly through the digestive system, and much of it isn't digested at all (insoluble fiber).

In the U.S. and some other countries, fiber is shown as a sub-category of carbohydrate. Non-digestible types of fiber don't count as a "net carb."

So, anyone buying a product labelled in the US will need to subtract the fiber figure from the total carbohydrate value to work out the 'net carbs'.

In the United Kingdom, the rest of the European Union and some other countries, fiber is shown separately. In other words, the total carbohydrate value is the 'net carb' count.

For example, a slice of bread sold in the U.S. but made in the United Kingdom might say on the nutrition label that it contains 10 grams of total carbohydrate and 4 grams of fiber. But it would be a mistake to conclude that it contains only 6 grams of net carbs. Because it's made in the United Kingdom, the total carbohydrate value is the 'net carb' count.

The same product made in the U.S., however, would contain 6 grams of Net Carbs. That's because it follows U.S. practice, where the fiber is included in the carbohydrate.

ANYWAY, I imagine you already know that.
My last two days I had
41 total and 9 gm fiber = 32 net
37 total and 24 gm fiber = 13 net

SO I imagine since I usually run about 35-40 total I am probably at 20 grms a day net,

Yah, that's what I meant to say....

What I did last time is since I fast every fourth day, I took my 2 week average which equaled 25. Each day I tried to stay below 20 net, but stuff happens and then I rationalized that a running average would be OK.

Anywho, I did lose twice as much weight as when I was hitting more like 50 total carbs. I am hoping to duplicate this again.

I wonder how carbs are labeled in Canada? US or U.K method?

Well girls, I thought I would check in with you. My weight was creeping up and you all had given me some good advice to watch the wine and nuts. I did ok with wine, had one day where I really overdid it, and have cut back on nuts without eliminating them. I also did (as advised) track my intake online for three days. Tracking it made me more likely to stay to my 1800 calorie range, and let me see how many carbs I was actually eating. I don't think tracking gave me an accurate picture, but it did let me recalibrate! I try to come in at 1800, then don't measure exercise at all. I bike commute, and row 2-3 times a week, so that should work out. I don't know what I will do come Winter! I will still be going to the gym, but won't burn nearly as much. I sometimes ride 5 or 6 hours a week!

And now my weight (which was creeping up to the 164-166 range) is now more around 162-164, so it's headed back down.

I'd like to get down into the 150s (seems to be a common theme here, right Sparky and Ilene?) but I'd also be happy to stay at this weight with less effort, and low carb makes it a lot easier to stay at or under 1800 calories. I have found that I would go to log dinner and realized that I didn't have to squeeze to come in under the line. I'm also just not so hungry as before.

So after reading everything I can find on the web, I am still confused but thinking about changing my eating just a bit to see if I can improve things. I have posted in the past about my dismay that my fasting blood glucose has gone up slightly since going low carb. I wonder if I just don't handle low carb very well and need to increase carbs a little.

But no, I am not going back to my old ways of eating. I feel too good now and too many other things are improving. I hope the fasting BG thing is just a bump in the road. That being said, I am going to try to increase my carbs to about 100g a day or so and see what happens. I will need to either reduce fat or protein to do that. I am considering one of the two:

• 125g (28%) carbs, 95g (21%) protein, the rest (51%) fat ("maintenance" Primal Blueprint)
• 100g (22%) carbs, 50g (11%) protein, the rest (67%) fat (Perfect Health Diet).

Any thoughts?

I've been hovering around 50-60 carb grams daily and have been losing. But my fasting BG has me bothered. I am of course worried about stalling or gaining by increasing carbs, but health is more important. I have no intention of adding cereal grains to get carbs; rather, will try to eat more veggies (I already eat a lot), a bit more fruit, sweet potatoes, maybe some white potatoes on occasion or a more benign grain like rice.

sf40,

I am rather low carb (below 50) a day and I fast every fourth day. I find that the morning after my fast day my BG is in the 80s. The other days they are in the high 90s, low 100s. Any day I exceed about 35 gr of carbs, I tend to be in the low 100s. I am going to do a 2 week challenge of eating 20 or less net carbs and I will report how my blood sugar goes during those days.

Like you say, everyone is different. So my results may mean nothing in your case. I cannot remember if you exercise. I just walk daily and yesterday my daughter dragged me to the post office and back for an hour and 15 minutes, half of it up hill. My number this am was 95 even though I was close to 50 gr. yesterday. So I think for me exercise might make a difference.

I am thinking that my insulin resistance is going to take a while to fix and until then I will not be able to get and keep my BG down to normal. Right now I am just noticing things....

Although a few things are different, in Canada the carbs are labeled the same way as the US.

Mahalia -- great news that you've found the key for your next phase of weight loss. Those sneaky nuts and that yummy wine!

Today, I had probably my highest calorie highest fat (56%) day in 4 months and I feel sated and happy. After a week of more food and less frankenfood, a pair of jeans I purchased last week that produced LARGE muffin top in the store are surprisingly closer to being suitable for wearing in public.

Well, I don't know about cracking the whip... There are some powerful biochemistry reactions going on in your body. If you've got the "monster," you're probably carb- or sugar-sensitive. (Kathleen DesMaisons came up with term "sugar sensitive" She writes about it in her books, Potatoes, Not Prozac and The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program, and on her website radiantrecovery.

A brief summary of her theory and possibly what's happening for you:
A SS person has naturally low levels of betaendorphin and eats carbohydrates to get more BE flowing to the BE receptors in the brain. When we dramatically reduce or stop eating carbs, we reduce the BE in the brain and are grumpy for a little while. The BE receptors "upregulate" -- become more sensitive and/or those that were "hibernating" open up waiting for the slightest hit of BE. Then, when we have one of the old "drugs" in the form of some sugar and flour delight, whammo, the BE receptors scoop it up and start screaming for more.

If you can, do other things that stimulate your betaendorphins -- exercise and good sex are top of my list.

Just take it one day or one meal at a time. You could also slowly taper your carbs back down over a few days, using whatever primal foods work for you (root veg, fruit) Good luck!

sf40 and Sparky I've been listening to these free podcasts by Nora G something who has Primal Body - Primal Mind website and book. Anyway, there was a caller that was type 1 diabetes and wanted to try primal eating to see if she could get off the insulin. ANyway to be honest I don't remember the details of the call and my dh is very talkative this morning so it's hard to concentrate as I write this but I remember her mentioning food allergies are a big factor with blood sugar??? Her podcasts are free on iTunes (Primal Body Primal Mind Radio) but I think this was a podcast I got off her website with Jimmy Moore.

Next time I get to listen to them, I'll make a mental note as to what she says but I find her to be very knowledgeable.

Thanks wildviolets...

I will check both places.

You are all so sweet, I am sure you are sick of me talking about some of this stuff. Last night I couldn't sleep for some reason and I put my headset on and listened to talk radio reruns. On the news break, I heard that by 20XX, (don't remember the date< was groggy ), 1/3 of the people in the US will have diabetes! I am going to research more to make sure I didn't dream this.

If it is true, fixing obesity is the answer for us and for our families. So for the folks who don't have diabetes now, it is in their future, if they don't get the weight off, IMO.

Thanks again.

PS: I blame it on high fructose corn syrup. Don't eat corn in any form. Use it for car fuel, or use it for kitty litter.