Thanks guys, just trying to get a handle on this, spent the day with my BFF, I hiked over to her place, was a little slow going because its uber icy out right now (we had a warm spell and now not so much so the ice is fresh and glassy ) and this morning it was all hidden under a fresh dusting of snow. I had a heavy backpack on though so I think it was still a decent workout. Not sure if I should really count that. I didn't really eat all day until 4pm I know that's not cool...I slept in and missed breakfast and then by the time we were done cooking it was more "lupper" than lunch or supper.

I made a chickpea curry, which I think was okay nutritionwise, I had about a cup of that and 1/3 cup of brown rice. I don't even know if it was worth it to have that single serving of grain.

I can't tell whether the weakness was due to hunger or the fact that I am still not back at 100% and felt slightly feverish due to the ongoing cold I have.

I had snacks later at a different friends not the best choices I'm sure I had 8 triscuits and 5 peices of medium cheddar and about 2 TBSP of hummus. And drank more tea, I drink a LOT of tea when I'm sick it seems.

Walked home, but it was broken up (because of the stop at the friends where I had the snack) so I don't think the walk home can really count as a bout of excercise its more just background non-exercise-activity which matters interms of weight loss but I'm not really sure how much it mitigates blood sugars.

Hopefully this cold dissapears soon, I am tired of being tired. And while having no appetite is, in one way convenient it also means that I'm taking longer to develop a proper routine which I know is important to staying regulated with blood sugars etc.

I need to make time to get groceries tomorrow.

Thanks Rennie - I hope that its an anomoly and that was I am stricter with my cab intake, and get back into my proper exercise routine (and hopefully keep losing fat) that it sorts itself out and stablelises. I'd like to delay a diabetes diagnosis if I can, I'm a realist though it may be too little too late. Plus I have MEGA family history against me. But maybe if I get extreme I can stave it off for afew more years. :-|

Patty - It's the intense exercise which I need to increase, I already walk everywhere which generally means, about 30 minutes of walking on a lazy day, on a day like today it was an hour JUST in transit between my place, and my friends places. And go for random walks "just because" when the weather is "nice". I do aerobics twice a week but obviously that's not enough, need to add in at least 2 and probably 3 workouts to meet the 150 minumum requirements for moderate intensity excercise.

Hope everyone is doing well thanks for letting me vent!

Thanks Shannon , I use two cans of tuna, green pepper, celery, onion, mayo, and relish. I like to eat it on green leaf lettuce with melted provolone and mustard. I don't like the smell either. I meant to tell you. I've made the kale chips also, I sprinkled crushed red pepper on them before baking so good

silentartic, I think the hike was great exercise with the backpack. The sodium in the curry may be the killer more than the rice and you snack were great IMO. Hope you cold fully clears up soon. I drink a lot of teas, mostly green tea with honey. My family history with diabetes isn't great either, one double amputee and death. SO I really need to get it together. I am a mother of five and want to see all of them graduate and see grandchilden some day also (I told my daughter in 6 more years if she and her husband are where they want to be ) My suggestion - If you don't track your food and movement anywhere you should definitely consider it. It definitely helps. You will know just how many calories you burned on those hikes and walks

I loss all of that bloat from last week. I am back down to my ticker weight and fbs was down to 122m, so I'm happy.

Have a great day everyone

love b the curry was not that salty, I cooked it... the chickpeas were from dry, I soaked them for 24 hours to make the cook time faster. So there was no salt added there, pretty much just the tomatoes since i was ... lazy to walk out to the store and buy no salt ones I used the ones my friend had in her cupboard, that was really the only salt added i don't use salt in cooking.

I'm tracking food right now but not forever, I don't feel like writing things down in detail is going to be doable "Forever" I am only doing it right now so that IF I get a referral to a dietician that I have notes to go through and so my nurse can review if she likes. I wanted to use fit day software but my nurse suggested writing down the exact times I was eating things unfortunately fit day (the version I have) only tracks meals not the "time" of the meal so I'm doing a notebook so its "shareable".

I have been eating carbs all last week and have been having to take my Amaryl. Last night DH wanted ravioli or lasagne, so I made the ravioli and made some meatballs with it so I would have more protein. Today I am determined to get back to my low carb. My BS was 136 this morning but that was with the Amaryl, so I don't count that as good. I want good without the additional meds. I forgot to get weighed before I ate, so I won't weigh until tomorrow. I know it went up, and I don't want a full belly to make it go up even higher.

Rennie, Where do you buy your Shirataki noodles? Are they sold in grocery stores?

Good job on getting your weight back down. You will move to the next decade before you can blink an eye!

Silentartic- Where do you live that you have all that ice? I guess the "artic" in your screen name should be a clue. LOL

I think the hiking was very good exercise. And the walks are good too, as far as blood sugar control is concerned. You don't have to be doing high intensity to lower your blood sugar, in fact, for that, lower intensity is better. The high intensity is better for weight loss. I don't do high intensity because I'm afraid about my heart since I have issues there.

Trish - The shakes and bars are a good idea for your trip. It will keep you from being tempted with other foods. For some reason I have never been able to use meal replacement shakes. They fill me up, but psychologically I don't feel as though I've eaten a meal. I bought some whey protein a while back and was going to make shakes, but I felt like I was drinking a milk shake and still wanted dinner. That's how the weight lifters put on weight!

It's the same when I eat something other than eggs for breakfast. I still want the eggs, so I might as well just eat them and be done with it. Then I'm satisfied and don't want anything else. I love eggs. One time when I lived alone, I went on a diet where I ate 1 egg and 1 slice of toast for breakfast and lunch, and 2 eggs and 2 slices of toast for dinner. That was all. I was relatively thin then and just did this to lose some weight that had crept up. I was totally satisfied and didn't crave anything else. That was long ago before they started to talk about the danger of eggs. Now I mix my eggs with egg substitute which is only the whites, and sometimes I just use the substitute. When I was a child, I remember gagging on eggs when my mother made them, but she made me finish them. I think she didn't cook the whites enough, and I can't handle runny whites. YUK!

Shannon, I started the Wheat Belly book last night. The first few chapters were just telling you why wheat is bad for you...nothing I didn't already know, so I skimmed over it. They described the way you feel if you are addicted to wheat, how eating it just makes you crave it until you can't stop, and that is exactly what it does to me....but it's soooooo good! LOL I wish I didn't like it so much.

I compared my measurements from my weight of 182 after surgery to now, at 196. Most of the measurements are 1/2 to 1 inch different until it comes to my waist. It is now 5 inches bigger than it was then! I know that a big part of that is because they cut through my abdominal muscle, twice. I don't know if I will ever get into the pants I was wearing back then, and that's very depressing to me. When I reached 182 I was very optimistic about my weight loss and bought a lot of new clothes. Now if I try on pants that fit my waist, they are so baggy in the butt and hips that I could never wear them. It seems I am destined to wear elastic waist pants the rest of my life, and I don't want to. The pants that fit my hips and butt don't come close to closing at the waist. Very upsetting to me.

silentarctic You are so active and especially if you do all that walking, you really should be able with your diet get your bs readings back down and never be diabetic.

Shannon and Rennie I actually have always loved tuna salad, but I guess I ate it so much that for years I couldn't stand the smell of it either. So I don't plan to eat it too much because I don't want to get to burned out on it again.

Well, yesterday was a disaster for me. I ate only allowed foods and stayed within my calories, but I was starving all day long. I'm not doing anything that makes me hungry. There are so many versions of low carb variations. This morning I realized that even The New Atkins Made Easy book has a menu example for days when you want the Atkins shakes and the Atkins frozen dinners for those times when you can't or don't want to cook. So I have decided to do a Moderately low carb way of eating. My fbs blood sugar is running between 120s and 130s and I had them lower with Atkins. At this time I really don''t want to go back to Induction so the moderate low carb seems doable. I will use some of the rules of TSB by making sure that I eat 5 fruits and veggies and of course drink plenty of water. I will eat 3 low carb meals and use the shake in place of a snack at night. I don't really need more snacks most of the time. I have all these frozen dinners and I'll use those when I don't want to cook. But I think I will be making all my meals myself so I know what is in them. I am going to get busy and do my recumbent bike 6 days a week this month because I'll have about 10 to 12 days that I won't be getting hardly any exercise while on our trip.

I've just got to figure out what I can take to eat on our trip. We usually eat only 1 meal a day when we're at Tony's sons and we'll be there for 3 maybe 4 days. I used to take protein bars, but since I can't handle the sugar alcohol those are out. Maybe Ruthie can tell me if the SB bars are made with sugar alcohol. I just have to shop around and see if I can find one without it. I've heard Slimfast and Special K make bars and while they will have sugar, it is only for a couple of weeks. Of course, I take the Atkins shakes for breakfast on the whole trip and there is always jerkys I can fall back on for snacks if need be. I'll have to put MFP on my smartphone so I can track while gone. I really need to watch the sodium. Any suggestions on what to take would be greatly appreciated. I'll be staying at my sisters and maybe a night or two with my grandson when I get to Waco and I can cook there so staying OP won't be a problem. I can't wait to see my new Great grandson and 2 new great nephews.

I think someone asked one time if anyone thought that sodium caused their fbs to go up and I have to say Absolutely. There is just so much that affects our bodies and I don't think we really know all of it yet.

My eggs and bacon sure was good this morning and so satisfying.

Carol Sue Someone told me on another thread asked me yesterday if I knew that beans lowers cholesterol. I missed that somewhere in all my research. I've got a brisket in the slow cooker today and we're having beans with it. DH cholesterol is always high. Mine gets better with low carb. I'm adding beans back into our plan, slowly, but the benefits are just too good not to eat them.

Have good day chickies. I really love you guys.

Carol Sue You must have been typing when I was. I agree with you about the shakes as a replacement of a meal. Also eating a replacement/frozen dinner in place of my main meal ended up being a disaster. I eat those sometimes for dinner because it is quick, but I add veggies to it while it cooks. If I eat my eggs, bacon and slice of double fiber toast for breakfast and a good lunch, I can eat a frozen dinner for supper and I will be satisfied especially if I really was hungry for the frozen dinner I have on hand. Lately I have wanted tuna salad. I think I figured out that I need to keep my breakfast and lunch which is our main meal of the day as is and then keep my evening meal (which is more like most peoples lunch a smaller meal) more flexible. If I want a shake or a frozen dinner fine, but if I want something else and want to take the time to make it that is fine too. I don't usually need a snack if I eat right at those meals, but when I do that should be the time for the shake. I can't handle the bars. I've got Atkins bars and candies here now that will probably eventually be trashed because I can't eat them.

I think we have both learned a lot about ourselves lately and how we need to eat for us.

Yes, Trish, I edited my post twice, as I kept thinking of more things I wanted to share. LOL Gabby me!

I think I knew about the beans lowering cholesterol, but I focus more on the blood sugar because I take meds that lower the cholesterol.

It's very had to get settled in on a food plan that works when you have to be concerned with so many things...weight loss, blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol. I am learning that the main thing I have to focus on is getting the bread out of my diet for good. Other carbs such as pasta and rice raise my sugar, but not as much as the bread does. I have just never been one for shakes and bars, although other people do well with them. As we know, one size does not fit all!

I love brisket! I am defrosting a roast for pot roast right now.

Here's my tuna salad gals! I had to seriously doctor it up - chopped pickles, red bell pepper, onions, celery, slivered almonds inside and on top, cheddar cheese and spices! LOL! It is definitely an option for days like today when I really didn't have any other protein ready (and now that I eat eggs for breakfast everyday I really don't want egg salad) but I think it still tastes/smells fishy!

Thanks Carol Sue, I sure hope so , I first found the Shirataki Noodles at Lowe's Food, but Walmart is now carrying them also. LOL my husband will only egg scrambled eggs that are cooked hard because someone made eggs when he was young that were runny (too soft). I can't even get him to eat an omelet.

Trish I can't eat a lot of tuna, it makes me nauseous for some reason, the same thing with eggs. After awhile the smell and texture gets to me. I actually have a little of my tuna left from this morning. I didn't put it on the lettuce leaves. I need to up my calorie count today so I used the low carb La Banderita tortilla. Trish that's why I like the recipe maker on MFP. The things that you don't think are bad will surprise you when you use that recipe maker. Trish send all of your Atkins stuff to me, I will put it to good use Love you too

Shannon lots of nutrients in your tuna, way to go Hey would you happen to cook with powdered egg whites?

I'm so jealous of all of the cooks here ... You all make my mouth water LOL. I am just so lazy when it comes to cooking now. I love things that go in the crock pot or the oven

Rennie I have not used powdered eggs before. I'm an equal opportunity appliance user though, I've had a pork butt cooking all day in my crockpot. I love my crockpot, in fact I have TWO, lol! Sometimes they are both going!

Shannon, I had two, one of the boys broke the ceramic bowl on one and I haven't replaced it. Aw man pork butt ... I think I'm gonna come to your house for dinner I found two recipes low carb corn muffins and low carb biscuits. The biscuit recipe calls for powdered eggs. I didn't know there was such a thing but when I googled it I found there's a ton of items you can actually order from Walmart and of course Amazon that are powdered. Who knew

My son is making waffles ... he comes in here and says, "My waffles taste better than waffle house, her Mommy taste!" I said nope ... he says, "Just a little piece" I can't eat just a little piece, I'd want more so I didn't cave, yay me

I made it to the gym today also, only did 34 minutes burned 258 calories. I am so trying to get to the next decade

Unfortunately I didn't get the pork in early enough so it is for dinner tomorrow and hopefully enough to freeze for another meal or two after that. It smells good though. This is my first time cooking one. I am trying this recipe
http://everydaypaleo.com/beyond-easy-pulled-pork/ It was on special buy at Aldi last Wed.

If the powdered egg whites are what I think they are I have seen them in the Walmart before, in the baking section. And yeah, I love the "ship to store" with them. We have "prime" on Amazon so free shipping there too.

I have never had them but was turned off when I read you have to rinse them alot because they has a weird flavor. Is that right?


So, weird but I hated eggs before, hubby would scramble them and I'd eat a few spoonfuls. Now I devour them and my day seems off if I don't start with them!

There are a few paragraphs or maybe pages that talk about binge eating and I remember thinking how accurate it was.

I had a c-section with my daughter and they left me with this hanging pouch that honestly, I'm not sure can be change. It is less poofy now that I am losing weight but I don't think it will ever be like it was....and I was overweight then, but I did not have a hanging pouch.

Shannon I'm gonna look for them at the Walmart's that I go to because they aren't cheap. The shirataki noodles have a fishy smell and you do have to rinse them and then put them in a skillet to dry them but once you add all of the ingredients to your dish they are fine. They are near the tofu/vegetarian items in produce. I was looking for a ham for Easter and couldn't find one that I wanted to pay the price. I didn't have a c-section but I went from 128 to 199.5 with my first and my belly area has never been the same. It's a saggy, out of shape mess, ugly. My doctor told me I'd need a tummy tuck which is definitely out of the question

I think I've asked this question before. I have a gas issue, since losing weight and eating healthy I have gas all the time no matter what I eat. Do any of you have this issue? I have gas but can't poop, go figure