Congratulations!!! Great incentive. What a joy to look forward too.

Well girls, I may have blown that magazine article. I got a little po'd with the photo editor in an email yesterday. My 15 seconds of fame may be cancelled, lol!

Last night I spent 3.5 hours on kitchen organization and finally saw 75% of the counters cleared off and nothing on the floor. I am seriously considering tossing any unopened boxes marked kitchen, lol! I think I am going to stop opening anymore boxes til what is inside is put away.

I keep trying to get back on plan but blow it by afternoon. Eventually I will get there. I'm up to about 182 from a previous low of 176 point something. I was 178 just a few days ago so there might be some water retention in there too. Anyway, I am still, for the most part, maintaining a 30 lb loss so I'm not going to stress too much right now. There are too many other things to think about.

I think I mentioned that we are overseeing the renovation of my MIL's house. It was on the market well over a year, maybe close to two, with no bites. It is being completely gutted inside. It has past termite damage which is all being replaced plus a complete update of floors, walls, fixtures and kitchen. We have picked out appliances, fixtures, etc. and drive over at least once a day to check the progress. Yesterday they dug up a ginormous tree in the front yard with an extensive root system, going to the edges and slightly under the house. They are also clearing the back yard of overgrowth. My MIL refused any updates or repairs to the house that were not critical. She was paranoid about workers. So, this house is dated back to the 70s with all the original carpet, etc. and has a yard (with lots of trees and shrubs) that has not been maintained, other than mowing, for 20 years.

Shannon, it sounds like you MILs house is going to be a big job. I hope she's going to get enough for it to cover the cost of the renovations.

Do NOT throw away boxes marked kitchen. I will give you my address and reimburse you for shipping. LOL (just kidding)

As far as the magazine article, you should have some say-so about it! After all, it's going out to the public for all to see and read.

I have no doubt that you will get back OP. You did so well, and it is understandable that you should have a bit of a setback after all you have been through the past couple months. That's the past, this is now!

Dgramie, the same with you. Forget the bad eating day and move on. It happens to all of us. Congratulations on the new grandbaby. That gives you a goal to look forward to. We will give you encouragement to help you reach that goal!

Trish, as far as what plan you should follow, you did well with the LCHF except for the tummy issues. I think you are trying too hard to find a plan to follow 100%, and you don't have to do that. Do the LCHF on the days you are able to stick to it and don't beat yourself up on the days you don't. No one does 100%. Keep your fat level where you're most comfortable. Don't worry about keeping ratios. Just eat the best you can for you BS and your weight. Enjoy your little splurges and go on. I have found that every diet plan has something that I can't stick with. That's why I have "Carol's Plan." I am not setting any records with BS and weight, but both are improving slowly. I am going to aim for the plan I laid out in my previous post, but I know it will never be 100%. The IE is good and so is the IF. I think whatever food plan you decided on will work for you, but make it "Trish's Plan."

checking in, been awol for the past couple of weeks mostly due to my horrible internet. It seems better now - we'll see though

I'm bouncing from 180 to 177, not too worried as I seem to need to just maintain for awhile. Still walking 5 miles about six days a week and my blood sugar is good.

Always good to hear from you Donna. It sounds like you're doing great. That 5 mile walk is motivating to me. I need to get back to it badly.

Has anyone here ever watched the show The Doctors? I watch it sporatically. It's on at 12 noon and also at 10 PM in our area. One of the doctors has written a diet book. (Who hasn't?) Tomorrow, they are going to feature a diet sure to work for anyone, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's his diet. This might be a repeat because his book has been out for a while. According to the description on Amazon, his diet is adaptable to different eating styles, such as meat lovers, etc. I will be watching the show to see what they have to say. I am also going to check his book out of the library. It might not be for me, but reading about different diets gives me pointers and encouragement to you in my own plan.

Just wanted to mention it in case anyone is interested.

Also, I have been trying to buy all 93% lean ground beef, as I really don't like fatty ground meat. It's been hard convincing DH. One time one of the meat cutters at the supermarket told him a fattier meat makes a better tasting burger. I disagree. When I eat out, I will only order an Angus burger. I finally got him to try one and now he likes the Angus beef. Recently when we were shopping he saw Angus hot dogs by Oscar Mayer. We bought a pkg and he's sold on them. They are more than double the price of the hot dogs we normally buy, but they do not contain any nitrates and are much tastier. I compared the nutritional info. They are the same calorie count. The Angus burgers are higher fat, but they are all beef compared to the others that are pork and chicken. They have a 1gm lower carb count and a 2gm higher protein content. So I think that's favorable. We don''t eat a lot of hotdogs, but DH eats them often for his lunch and we do have them occasionally when dinner has to be a quick one. Maybe I can get my DIL to switch to them because I read somewhere that children under 10 should not eat anything that contains nitrates. My DGS eats hot dogs, breakfast sausage and smoked sausage. I wish she wouldn't give them to him. The nitrates are said to contribute to childhood cancers.

Shannon Sorry about the article. I know you will get back OP. Sounds like you still have a lot going on with the sell of your house and your MIL's house. You are one busy lady.

Donna You are doing great. Good to hear from you.

Carol Sue Of oourse, you are right. It does upset me when I can't do 100%. I think that comes from being raised by perfectionists. I have no intention of doing IE per se except that I do need to think about foods that I like. I thin I read in the New Atkins book that there are certain foods that you should not decided that you cannot eat especially if they are important for you. I don't need the bread and can usually do without them. However, I do miss fruit. That is why I think I am not going to forbid them. I will just allow myself a little more carbs as I have no desire to eat only 20 or 30 carbs a day. I will continue to use some healthy fats, but not worry about having higher fat grams than the protein grams. Sometimes it just doesn't calculate. However, I am going to watch the calories.

For example, today I am doing an 16/8 IF day. I am going out for Mexican food with a friend this evening. I planned my eating to be between 2pm and 10pm. I have figured my calories etc already on MFP. My calories for today is less than 1200, net carbs will be 88, fat I think is around 58 and protein 68. I'm not going to worry about it because the calories are low.

I've been reading the IF thread here on 3fc and there is a pretty good group here. I'm learning quite a bit from what I've read so far and may end up joining the group eventually. Right now just reading.

You know, DH and I like the better cut of meats too. I like the Angus cuts and I didn't know about the Angus hot dogs. Thanks for the heads up; I will look for them. I have always loved bacon which I know has nitrates. Eating the way I have decided to eat, I won't be eating it very often any more.

Went shopping because I had to go get meds for DH. I got some zucchini and also some butternut squash. I've never eat it that I know of but decided to try something different. I got a bell pepper to make DGS and me some stuffed bell pepper. DH doesn't like it, but I do so thought I would make it like previous DH grandmother did. Cut the bell pepper in half and fill with meatloaf type meat and share it with DGS. He can take it to work the next day.

Most days will be LCMF, but allow for those days when we eat out. I think I just got upset because I thought my eating out in carby places was done for a few weeks. I go to the doctor in 2 weeks. It won't be a good thing like the last time I went. And I know it. But I have 2 weeks and 2 days before I go and while my A1c won't be great, maybe I can get a lb or 2 off by then. I hope.

I had a op day yesterday with 5 bottles of water. I worked in the garden pulling up tomato plants and mowing. I have 5 pepper plants left. I will leave them till frost. I enjoy having them in the freezer to throw in chilli and meatloaf and fajitas.
My goal for today. Water , no dessert at church and only half of a roll. I'm really working on cutting processed carbs. We are having fried chicken so I will not eat the skin. I may ask for extra green beans and no potato casserole. I have lost weight before and got to get my head back in the game. I think I have the same issue as Trish. I have to be 100% or I give up. I have to learn gray areas are ok.
Fbs was 96 today.

dgramie Yes, I too have to learn how to handle the gray areas. However, I also have lost weight before and we can do this. YAY We both had an OP day yesterday. We are on our way!!! Your FBS is great.

My FBS is coming back down and was 133 this morning. I ended up having a great IF day with an eating window of 5 hrs. My friend ended up working until almost 5 pm so it was about 5:30 before we ate. I even cooked for DH and DGS. I made shrimp scampi (my own lowcarb version). DH eats it with broccoli w/cheese and I made extra and added noodles to a serving for DGS to take to school for lunch today. AND I WAS NOT EVEN TEMPTED TO TASTE ANY OF IT!!! YAY!!! About 3 pm I finally ate some yogurt with a cup of grapes.

I couldn't find the food values on the food at the restaurant I went to. I know that I love Mexican food and don't get it very often. Didn't eat it while in TX like I usually do. So I planned ahead of time. I knew on IF that I could have what I wanted within reason. So I found the menu online and planned in advance. I ordered the cheese dip to eat with the chips and sauce that always comes with the meal. And I ordered the chicken taco salad instead of the beef taco salad that I usually would order. I could only go by Taco Bell food values and there the chicken taco salad had at least 200 calories if not more less than the beef. The only problem I found with the chicken t salad was it was too watery so I didn't eat all of it and I didn't like their taco bowl. Either it wasn't as good as it used to be or my tastes had changed. I brought 3/4 of the cheese dip and chips home for DGS to eat. Came home and just before 8 pm I ate a couple slices of sandwich meat with a slice of cheese so I could take the 1000 mg Metformin.

Today, we go to Sam's and DH said we will go to Cracker Barrel. I will be able to have the catfish (it is farm raised but with IF it will be okay. I'll have greens and maybe coleslaw and 1 corn muffin. I always drink water with lemon. I'm actually eating 2 snacks and 1 meal each day. Today may be just 1 meal and a snack.

Carol Sue You said something about using IF. I found this link that you might like reading.
http://www.theiflife.com/intermitten...-start-part-i/

He tells that there are many different ways to do IF and I noticed that to be true on the 3fc thread. I don't know if you have read their thread. I didn't purchase his book because I can read a lot online.

I told the lady on MFP that I was not going to do LCHF. Seems her DH is having the diarrhea problems with so much fat too. She did say that she often does IF along with LCHF. I told her that I was going to do more of a LCMF. However, I'm not going to make it a written in stone day to day rule. I know there are times that like today and yesterday that I am going to want to eat a little more carbs. (I guess that is the gray area dgramie was talking about.) On most days, I can do more LCMF than others. I think I have to allow myself that leeway in order to not feel like I've done a bad thing. And the weight is coming back down and hopefully I will finally get back down to that 219. I don't know if I'll get there by the time I go to see doc in 2 weeks, but I think this will give me a better chance because we know stress is a BIG enemy of diabetics. If I eliminate the stress and can relax with my plan, then that will help the bs to come down as well.

My system is something else lately... age maybe. I tried the curcumin again and sure enough had to run to the potty. Can't have that especially when out somewhere. Turmeric is in mustard so evidently the curcumin is too strong for me so I'll just have to get mine from mustard or adding a little bit of turmeric as seasoning.

Guess I rambled enough. Again, wordy today.

Shannon, Donna and others

Have a great day Chickies.

I got the Doctor's Diet book from the library and started reading it yesterday. It's interesting. He includes all food groups as I expected, but in the weight loss stage there are no potatoes, pasta, or rice. You are permitted 1 grain selection per day, choosing from 1 sl of wheat bread, 1/2 C of Oatmeal 1/2 C of sweet potatoes or 1 C cold whole grain cereal. That is not very much carb. The portions of everything are smaller than most people eat on the standard American diet. He tells you to get rid of the sugar totally. He says that sat fat is not bad, but monounsatured or polyunsaturated is better, but fats are still limited. There's an extensive list of fruits and vegetables permitted. Nothing is unlimited, however. He says that even if you're eating healthy choices, you will gain if you take in more calories than you are burning. That's a big part of my problem. He explains what each food group does for you body and why they are necessary. I think it's based on 1400 calories for women. He doesn't take the one-size-does-not-fit all theory which we have found to be true. I guess you could tweak the calories to your own level. No weird unusual foods. He says at times they come out and say that a certain food is bad for you, so it's better to not eat any one food excessively so as not to over do it on something that turns out to be harmful. While I am glad I got to read the book, I wouldn't recommend going out and buying it. If you can get it from the library or borrow from someone, it's a good read.

Dgramie, I always have gray areas and I will say that my weight loss is extremely slow. If I did 100% I know it would be better, but I just don't think I'm programed to do 100%. DH's attitude is he wants to enjoy what he eats for whatever time he has left on this earth. I somewhat agree with that, but he doesn't have a weight problem or diabetes, and I do, and should be a little more stringent.

Trish, my husband didn't like stuffed peppers until I started making them with red and yellow peppers instead of green. They are a little sweeter and have a better taste. I don't know if it's the pepper or the filling that your DH doesn't like. I know some people only eat the filling because they don't like the peppers. We like stuffed cabbage a lot better, but that is a lot more work and time consuming.

Trish, we must be eating the same thing! LOL I checked my tracking for the past several days and I am averaging carb grams in the 80s, fat in the high 50s and protein in the high 60s.

I rarely buy bacon, but recently I was talking to someone on another thread, saying that I miss eating a BLT now that my tomatoes are ripening so fast, and she said she makes a BLT salad...lettuce with chopped tomatoes and bacon, so I might buy some bacon and try that. I can't eat straight bacon because it is too salty for me.

Carol sue I make BLT salads. I love them!!

Carol Sue Thanks for sharing from Diet Doctor's book. I guess he believes in eating more variety of foods than most lowcarb diets allow. I think he must be more Primal with a few carbs. I like the idea of allowing 1 grain a day although I would tweak and allow myself corn and maybe the sweet potato on occasion. Perhaps a couple of days a week. Today, I plan to have the corn muffin. I think eating IF will make it doable for me. With his plan tweaked, I would not need gray areas to worry about, as it would just be part of my plan. I'm not a 100% person either so I guess that is why I need a more flexible plan.

As for the peppers, Dear Mr. Picky eater isn't willing to try any color pepper and he doesn't like meatloaf either so he won't even eat the stuffing. It is a mind thing. DH #2 who would eat almost anything didn't like bell peppers either, but he would scoop out the filling and eat it and give me the pepper. he didn't like cucumbers but loved pickles and he always told me "Don't ever buy zucchini because you won't like it. It tastes awful". When he died, I bought a zucchini and cooked it. I stood in the middle of my kitchen and said, "Well Bill, you were wrong, I love zucchini". LOL My 1st husband would eat anything. I've never made stuffed cabbage. I don't really know how to do that. I will have to google it to see how. Might be another healthy thing DH may not like, but I could probably make it for DGS to take to school for lunch.

I think since I'm trying to keep from becoming bored with the food I eat or getting in a rut, I will try making DGS and me stuffed ones with the other colors of peppers sometime. Thanks for the heads up on that. As for DH, he does love a BLT once in a while and I will put that on the menu for him in the future and make mine as a salad. I think that would work beautifully.

I wanted to get an egg plant to cook for my dinner sometime, but they are so big. I want to pan fry them in some olive oil, but I don't know how long they will last in the fridge cooked or uncooked and don't know if I would like them after freezing.

Trish, I don't think the DR Diet is Primal. I thought Primal was a lot of meat.

I had typed a big paragraph about the Dr Diet and then I found a site online that gives all the information if you want to read it.!!

http://www.chewfo.com/diets/the-doct...oods-to-avoid/

I am going to stay on my current plan because I want to continue to eat a late breakfast/lunch and then dinner. But I am going to try to eat the portions he suggests instead of what I'm used to eating.

I bought a small eggplant and grilled slices on my grill pan. I just started eating it recently. DH won't eat it.

Guess I'll have to buy some bacon for BLT salads since you and Dgramie gave it the thumbs up!

My ticker is finally true again, but my fbs is up again today, however, I know what I did so at least I know NOT to do that again. I can eat fruit in the morning or 1st part of my 8 hr eating window, but not at the end. So fbs was back up to 145. I'll get that back down.

Carol Sue The website you gave was Doctor's diet, but the Swedish doctor's site is dietdoctor.com. It is a different. But it got me searching some more on lowcarb dieting and I found this site called the Dr. Chase Diet. I thought you might be interested. I printed out the foods he allows which isn't really paleo/primal either because it allows more carbs although he does say the more carbs you eat the slower you will lose. However, the thing I liked about his site is that he shows 3 body types and how many carbs, protein and fat you should be eating. I am the Endomorph body type. I used his formula for eating for normal body weight. Had to have Tony help me because I'm not at working with grams and kg. Carbs for my normal size should be between 30 to 59 g. My protein should be between 50 -56 g and Fat around 84 to 100g. He said for weight loss everyone should keep their ranges Protein between 60 to 100 g, fats 120 to 200 g and carbs at 30 g for the 1st month or 2 until your body starts burning fat.

http://www.drchasewebber.com/diet-nutrition/lchf-diet

So I'm trying to figure that out on MFP, but still don't have it right. Right now I've got mine set on there at carb g 53, protein 88 g, and fat 95 g. But then I guess it is hard enough. It is difficult to get them right because MFP goes by percentages evidently rounded off.

I'm still going to do the IF and combine it with the LCHF. It does help with the fbs and hopefully my body will catch up and adjust to it. I can live without potatoes, bread, pasta and rice on a daily basis and of course sweets. After a while I won't even miss the bread. I do like veggies and I notice that while some LCHF do not recommend eating fruit, some do say use fruits to satisfy the sweet taste. I do plan to have some kind of grain at lunch like beans or corn just count the carbs. My second meal will be more of a protein salad. Today is going to be egg salad.

Still alive over here just bogged down in the daily ins and outs of unpacking/organizing while also dealing with the old house. Going this afternoon to drop off more paint and get a key to the realtor. We have to replace carpet and counter tops there so dealing with that too. Sigh..... House goes on market Sept 11 and we go on vacation Sept 14.....can't wait to finally be done in the old house and leave the selling to God! Still not on plan....some meals are, most are not....someday....lol! Here in the new house I attended preschool orientation and it seems ok enough, it's hard getting used to a smaller community sometimes but I remind myself regularly that I grew up with simple and turned out fine, lol. Then yesterday I went to the local MOPS meeting. Being a smaller community, it's a small group, around 50 moms (versus 150+ at my last MOPS), they seem nice so hopefully I will make some friends. We still need to start checking out churches.

Trish, the Doctor's Diet I was referencing was the book I'm reading, by Dr Travis Stork from the Doctor's TV show. The more I read that book the more optomistic I feel about my own weight loss. He thinks like me. I bookmarked the site you posted and will check it out later. Thanks!

My weight was up yesterday but back down today. This is why I don't weigh every day. The fluctuations annoy me and give me false information. I know that numbers don't lie, but a higher weight does not necessarily mean you ate too much. There are so many things that cause these fluctuations. My highs are getting lower and my lows are getting lower. That's all I care about. My BS was better today. I finally bought the Bragg Vinegar. I started drinking it in my water yesterday. DH came to bed last night and said "What were you doing in the kitchen? It smells like you ate a salad." LOL I think I spilled a "little" vinegar on the counter!

Shannon, it sounds like things are working out fine for you. You will make new friends and eventually get used to the smaller community. I think you made a good move. Hopefully your old house will sell quickly.

I wouldn't worry about being OP right now. Halfway is better than nothing. You'll be fine!