Thanks for the recipe, Carol Sue I'll have to give it a try one weekend. It a full meal in one so that's easy for me to take to work also. I am the only cabbage lover in here

weight this morning 190.8 fbs back up again 181
I am down the pound that I was up yesterday but I am sure it will be back tomorrow, I had a tasting day today because I didn't know what I wanted. I made some sugar free cup cakes from a recipe form you-tube that I tweaked a little now those were pretty ok but they have an after taste. I bought some truvia for the time in place of my Splenda and it is not good at all. However that didn't stop me from eating two I want to do the all fruit day again tomorrow like I did last week. (I know all fruit isn't great for me) but I need more focus. I have tried to do it the last two days and it has totally not worked. I seem to stay more focused at work so let's hope I can kick start myself again this week.

Have a great evening everyone

No one has posted here in the past few days. My BS is down a bit and I think it's because I started using Metamucil. It will take a few more days to see if it's going to continue in the downward direction. Fingers crossed!

Hi Ladies, sorry it's been awhile since I posted, have been really busy getting the house ready to put on the market. I'm up to my ears in boxes and tape right now, and feeling very industrious and proud of all the stuff I'm getting rid of. I have the br, lr. guest room and kitchen ready to stage. WOrking on that last bedroom, which was the junk room, and then my bathroom. Amazing the stuff I can do without! So much stuff just sitting around taking up space. Must declutter!!

Didn't lose any this weekend but I ate some real food, due to a hectic Saturday, treated myself to chicken and snow peas from my favorite CHinese place. And a few too many pieces of watermelon. Back to the plan today! If I don't eat a little every few hours I definitely get light-headed and have started to experience that. I can't find my blood sugar measuring kit right now but DR. said keep doing what I am doing. And so I am!

Hope you are all doing well.

Sorry I haven't been here either. There have been times I couldn't even get here and when I did, I couldn't write anything. My pc kept telling me that
3fc wasn't a safe site. So I've been spending time reading and tweaking my plan. Read a lot more on Paleo and Primal way of eating and decided to make Paleo my foundation and build on it with a few things that I want to keep eating and made my plan more of a "personal" plan for me. Started last Thursday mainly because I was having to take too many fluid pills because of swelling and weight was up again. I'm experiencing the low carb flu like tiredness and looking for the day I have energy again. This is day 5 and Mon being my WI day, I've lost 3.4 lbs this week. FBS is back down to 188, it was over 200 5 days ago. It has been bouncing from 164 to 188 this week, but that isn't unusual for me when I'm losing. Now that I've found what will work for me that I can live with, I need to help DH find the way for himself as his fbs is over 200 and he is on diabetic medicine that is supposed to bring it down, but it isn't. Doctor has mentioned putting him on insulin. Just hate for him to get to that point.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Trish, I was having that same problem with 3FC but administrators were aware of it and I think they did something to clear up the problem. It's been fine for a week or so.

I have the same issues with FBS as you and your DH. Mine was running around the 200's or 190's. I cut out a lot of carbs, not all, and it came down to the 160's. The days that I took the Metamucil it was in the 140's. I didn't take the Metamucil yesterday and this morning I was back to the 160's. I was reading online about it and it is contraversial as to whether it lowers blood sugar or not. Some say yes, some say no. Some were taking it on an empty stomach. I think it needs to be taken right before your meal. If you put it in water and just let it sit, you will see in a few minutes it becomes a gel. That's what it does in your stomach. This gel absorbs your food and carries it through your intestinal tract so it is absorbed slower and does not raise your BS as quickly. Normally, carbs are absorbed at the beginning of your intestinal tract and fats and protein are absorbed further down. Things absorbed further down enter the blood stream more slowly. At least that is what I understood. I have not been on it long enough to be able to say it is definately helping my BS. Maybe it's just a fluke.

I think most of the low carb programs are basically the same. I still have trouble with bread. Sometimes I am in the position that the only thing available to eat is a sandwich, and it's not always one that I can take apart and eat only the filling. And of course, since I love bread and rolls, it's easy for me to give in and eat it. I have read up on Atkins. I think I might read up on Primal and Paleo. The Atkins book goes into so much detail about how terrible carbs are, especially for us diabetics. It does't just tell you it's bad, it explains why. When I'm reading it, I'm realizing how much healthier I would be without the carbs. But putting it into practice is a different story.

Granny, I have the same problem with clutter. I hate to throw things away. Many things I think I might use some day. Some thing I have given away and then I think I want to use it again. In some instances, I had to go out and buy another of the item. LOL When I retired I said I was going to declutter one room at a time, but 3 years later, I'm still cluttered.

Good luck to you on the sale!

Carol Sue All I can say is me too. I know I would do better on Atkins, but just never follow through. I did it for 8 months one time and got everything back to normal. I like Primal because I can have fruit and even some other foods I like and even then I get in situations where bread is tempting for me too. It is also hard for me to do Atkins while DGS is living with us because he wants to eat the protein too and I can't buy it for both of us. He is 19 and still eats a lot so I let him have it instead of me. He is gone for a month right now and I'm really thinking about trying "one more time" the Atkins Induction.

I also hang on to things because when I get rid of them, I too end up buying them again wondering why in the world I got rid of it to start with.

Trish, as I read about Primal I saw the fruit on the food list. I am not much of a fruit eater. Never was, even as a kid. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I like other things better. I eat it occasionally, but it does raise my BS. I do best when I eat mostly meat and vegetables. Atkins promotes high fat, and claims that that is what causes the weight loss. They say use full fat instead of low fat or fat free items, which I can do, but it is big on things like Coconut Oil, and I'm not into buying things like that. I just want to do this eating regular food. It says that the high fat is not what causes heart disease, it's the high carbs which raise your triglycerides. I believe them, but I have always tried NOT to eat high fat, so it's hard to get my brain to change. Also, a fatty diet causes my acid reflux to act up. I don't take meds for it but have always controlled it by staying away from fatty foods and not eating close to bedtime. I don't want those problems cropping up again.

Weight loss surgery is starting to look better and better to me! LOL I don't really mean that. I know that that should be a last resort and brings along a lot of it's own problems. It's not the easy fix some people think it is.

Wondering where everybody is.

Carol Sue I like what you said about want to eat normal. I decided that I do to. In fact, I'm using the WW 8 good health guidelines using calorie counting instead of the points plus. My doctor had told me a while back that he uses MyFitnessPal.com to keep up with his calories. So I went over there and made me an account to keep up with my calories and my exercise. It gave me the number of calories I am allowed daily. They have a lot of the restaurant/fast food items as well as name brands. I started taking Metamucil today hoping it with the diet and exercise will help bring the fbs down. Do you take only the 1 tablespoon once a day or are you using it more? 2 days and my weight is already coming down. I am surprised at how many calories and carbs I am eating and lose weight, because I didn't think I could eat that much and lose weight.

Hey guys if you are reading, CHECK IN!!!

Trish, I am so glad I clicked in today and saw your post from yesterday. My Metamucil says 1 teaspoon in 8 oz of water, not tablespoon. Was that just a typo? It was my intention to start out with 1 dose a day and work my way up to 3 per day, but after just the first day I got constipated. I cut back to 1/2 dose but I got no relief. After a few days, I quit taking it. I was very concerned because of my bowel surgery I had in 2011. I have to be very careful. It took about a week for me to get back to normal after stopping the Metamucil. I really wanted to continue taking it because it was lowering my BS by at least 30 or 40 points. I am feeling better now so I am going to try the Metamucil again, but starting with 1/2 dose per day. I know you have to drink a lot of water when you're taking it and I really thought I was doing that. I was attempting to do Atkins at the same time, so that could have had something to do with it, too. I am curious as to how it works out for you.

For a long time, I used FitDay to track. At first I was tracking calories, and then I used it to track carbs when I was doing low carb, but I have gotten away from the tracking. I was keeping a daily record of my weight, BS, BP, food and exercise. During recovery from surgery I got away from it and now only do it sporatically. I do need to get back to it.

Been MIA for many reasons but will try to be more "regular" in here - and elsewhere. I've had a stressful month but this past week was on holidays and have a weight gain to show for it. Before you ask, I've still not gone for bloodwork and it doesn't look like it will happen this week as I am caring for an extra two dogs and am not sure if they can be left alone very long.

The good news is that Delta Fair is on and I have managed to avoid cruddy Fair food; the bad news is that we have opened the Mill Cafe the past few weeks and I've been critiquing the food. At least the cafe food is local and mainly healthy.

I promise to be very careful this week, check my blood daily and take my darned meds!

Carol Sue It is 1 teaspoon not 1 Tablespoon.

Ruth So glad to see you. I was beginning to think everyone had left. I think we have all had problems, but I think we all need each other to help us to get on track.

Miss everyone. Hope everyone is okay and just busy.

Carol Sue My answer was kind of quick yesterday because I have been sick the past 2 days. I think my problem was that I didn't cook some meat I ate done enough. Didn't think I ate any of the raw places, but evidently I did. So wasn't feeling great. Still sore from losing everything I had eaten the day before yesterday.

Any way, I haven't taken enough of the Metamucil to know how it is going to work. I didn't take it when sick. When I did take it, I didn't see any change in BM, however, I will be glad to take at least a dose or two a day if it helps with FBS. Also, I read that it helps lower cholesterol etc.

I've decided that I want to eat more Primal... fruits, veggies but I also want to keep some of the grains although at a minimum. I also decided that although I like MyFitnessPal that I like Livestrong more mainly because it gives a graft of protein, fats, and carbs in a little pie shape which helps me know if I'm getting enough of each. So I've switched to it. Also decided to use the weight avatars to help me see better what I'm accomplishing. Guess I'm making some little games to play that I hope will help me to succeed. I'm exercising more now. Did 4 days on recumbent bike last week. I hope to do a minimum of 20 minutes 3 days a week. Also going make a point to go up and down the stairs so that I can strengthen my legs and keep good circulation in the legs. Learning to cook a lot of the foods that we like to eat at restaurants at home so we know what is in them and I can make them healthier. DH needs to eat healthier. I love to cook, but he never liked anything. Now that I am trying to learn to cook these foods at home healthier, I really am looking forward to doing this. And we will both be healthier and hopefully lose weight and get our blood sugar and other blood work #s in a healthy range so we will feel better. Strange where I didn't seem to have any interest in doing it for just me, I'll do it for him and me to be healthy.

We plan on a trip in the near future and I want to be able to do the walking etc that is necessary without any problems. Also, my son that I haven't seen in 10 yrs is coming to see me for Thanksgiving and I have some sightseeing short trips I want to take him on and I want to be able to do that too without any problems. Strange how having a reason to do things seems to give us the incentive that we need to move forward to reach a goal.

Fatmad, Bonnie, others You guys check in. Hey I'm starting over been only a week in, come join me girls.

Ruthie Keep checking in when you can and check you FBS. You've done this before just as I have and YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN. I know how you feel about having to do it at our ages, but remember the alternatives. I always believed that if I kept starting everyday that eventually I would get it going again. It helps to have our encouragement from each other. I know you have your fair and the new café that you seem to have a big part in. Do the best you can and focus on any success you have no matter how small. Those small successes will finally build back into bigger successes. Just have faith and move toward those small goals. We are here for you.

That goes for the rest of you out there who are struggling. Believe me, none of us want to go through the horrible complications that are ahead of us if we do not get our diabetes under control. My precious beautician just
lost her dad a few months back. Her mother was fighting to save her leg from cancer. Now that they saved that leg, she has it again in the other leg. COME ON GIRLS!!! LET'S GET WITH IT AND SAVE OURSELVES FROM THOSE KIND OF HEARTACHES!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!!

Looking forward to seeing y'all here again.

Trish - I am so glad that you are feeling better. I did that once when cooking chicken and thankfully it was only me who was eating it so I didn't make anyone else sick. It tasted ok, but I don't think it was cooked to the right temperature. Now I use an instant read thermometer on everything.

This is the second day of taking the Metamucil 1/2 dose and I am still fine, so maybe it wasn't caused by the Metamucil. I am going to up it to 1 full dose tomorrow and from there I can increase it gradually. The 1/2 dose is not lowering my BS the way the full dose did.

I am the same way trying to keep doing the stairs a couple times a day. I have a ranch and only have stairs to the basement. But I have to go down those steps to get to the garage to go out anywhere and to do laundry and exercise. So I think it's good to keep doing them. I have an exercise to strengthen your thighs above your knee, and that is the muscle you use when you push yourself up out of a chair or take a step up stairs. You can do this while you watch TV. Seated in a chair, hold you leg straight out in front of you and slowly lower your foot to the floor and back up 10 times, each knee. If you put your hand on your thigh above your knee you can feel the muscle flexing. Before I started doing this, I had to go up stairs one foot at a time, steping up with my left because my right knee was so weak. Now I can go up foot over foot as long as I hold onto the railing. This is such a big improvement for me.

I try to exercise M-F and I make myself do 15 minutes per day, even when I don't want to. Most times, once I have done my 15 minutes I'm in the mode and I keep going for 30-45 min. If not, at least I got in 15 min. I do it while I'm watching my soaps. When I was really exercising regularly I had a rule that I had to be in my exercise room and exercising to watch my soaps. I can't say I don't have time to do it, I'm going to be watching my soaps in my recliner, otherwise. When I had my surgery I couldn't exercise for a while and I got out of the habit. Have to get that habit back!

Ruth - I haven't been checking my BS as much as I should either because I get so discouraged when I think I did so well then I check it and it's high. I'd rather not know, so I don't check, but I know that isn't the answer. Like Trish said, we have to keep trying.....

If we can get Fatmad, Bonnie, Rennie and all the others back here we can get this thread booming again. Nimblegrannie, you too!!! Get thee hither!!! LOL

Trish, I copied your recipe for Homemade Beef Jerky from the recipe thread. I have a piece of flank steak in the freezer and wanted to make some jerky in my dehydrator, but I have never done this before, so I have questions. If I don't want it hot and I omit the hot sauce, do I have to make up the amount of liquid with something else, such as more soy sauce? Also, after the meat marinates, do you cook it with the sauce on it, or drain the sauce off. My step son makes deer jerky, but all he tells me is "It's easy! MEN!!!

I don't think you will need to make up for the hot sauce. You should have enough. You don't need the sauce when cooking because you want it to dry out. I'm trying to figue out how to make it with less Worchestershire sauce as it is just so over powering to me. My son makes it, but his recipe calls for the Worchestershire. I would like to play around with it and make it with less of it. Not sure what to replace it with. I know they make a Teriyaki jerky, but not sure about all that salt. Good luck. I hope you like it.

I had a great breakfast that you might like (low carb). I've been seeing it in a magazine and on Facebook so I tried it. Only made one change in it. I had 2 fried eggs with a slice of American cheese on it and 1/2 avocado and 2 slices of bacon. hummm. It was sooooo good and only 300 calories and 5 grams carbs. Healthy too. This is going to become my new favorite breakfast.