Mad, I was down to 197 but am now hovering at 199, trying very hard not to go back to the 200s, but I'm struggling. If I stick very close to 1000-1100 calories and eat a mainly vegetable dinner I can lose and have better fasting blood sugar, but I have not stayed within those calorie counts lately. I think long term dieting has really screwed up my metabolism and my body is now really burning slowly. Eating more calories will fix that somewhat, but will also cause weight gain. I would like to go back to JUDDD or every other day fasting, but that's hard too when I factor in my DH's eating habits. He likes me to eat when he does. I could choose to only eat a small amount, but that's not my nature. I am better off not to eat at all. Once I eat a little bit, my appetite goes full tilt.

I feel that Immodium is just covering up the problem, but sometimes it's necessary to be able to go out somewhere. There are times when I don't use it if I'm going to be at home, just let things run their course.

Maybe for now you just have to include the least problematic carbs in order to get through the elimination diet. Just avoid the obvious, sugar and sweets. It's not as if low carb is the only option.

fatmad Sorry you are still having such issues. I pray you get some answers soon. I think for now you just have to do what works for your comfort. DS and I both told Daddy to call us when he has time and he doesn't call, so I guess he is sending us the message to stop babying him. LOL. He is having problems with his bp being too low and they are afraid to exercise him too hard, but until they get him off the thickened water, I don't see them getting that straightened out.

Carol Sue Actually I didn't do so well yesterday although I did try to eat only foods allowed. I am not going to do 2 whey drinks a day because the 2nd one seemed trigger something in me that made me want to eat everything in the house. From what I got from the article and what the doctor said on YouTube, the people in the research drank whey in the morning. So that is how I'm going to do it. I drank 1 whey drink this morning with my CAD CM of 2 eggs, 2 sl bacon and 1/2 avocado.

I am making a pizza for our main meal and then I will go back to eating the small tuna salad later in the evening to keep from eating past the 8 hr eating window. I will stick with IF of 8:16 ration with CAD. It just fits my lifestyle and the way DH likes to eat. If I were on my own and didn't have to go out to see Daddy every other day, I would probably attempt Keto as I like the benefits. I know the weight will come down slowly and the bs will too and that is what counts. I've decided losing fast isn't for me because I don't want more wrinkles. LOL

I'm not sure tracking on MFP is good or bad for me. I can't stand it when it shows I have too much sodium, but like you said Carol Sue, I don't always use the brands they do. Example, the thin pizza crust I have is loaded with sodium, I think I'm going to have to learn to make my own.

Momtopands

Going out to see Daddy when DH gets up and moving around.

Y'all have a great day.

Trish, I think you should continue to track and maybe not let the sodium bother you so much. If that's the worst thing you're doing, it's not the end of the world. OR you could use it as a tool. Each day look at the foods that are causing the high sodium and try to find a way to make another choice. For years I didn't even look at sodium. I used Fitday and Fitday does not show sodium unless you click further into nutrients, which I never did. I just went according to the main macronutrients which showed on the main page. Only when I switched to MFP did I see the sodium numbers, and I prefer MFP because it has a more thorough database. I like the diary in Fitday much better and also the body log. Too bad I can't combine the best of both. But I think you do need to continue logging. Just my opinion. OR only log if you are not getting the numbers you want, so you can see what's causing the problem. But don't give up just because of sodium numbers.

Is your Dad on blood pressure meds? Is he still on lasix? That could be the problem with the drop in BP if he is not drinking enough water. I hope they find the problem because he needs to have the exercise therapy. That's why he's there. They should be able to figure this out. This is their job. Maybe his blood pressure is going down for some other reason and I should just shut up. LOL

Dr Jason Fung is coming out with a new book very soon, similar to Obesity Code, but it's called Diabetes Code. I know that most of the info in Obesity Code is available in his IDM blog. I wonder if this book is going to be the same Diabetes info that he has on the IDM blog. I have been reading his blog for the second time. I was going to read the Diabetes part, but somehow got intriqued with the Fasting part and have been rereading that. When I'm done with that I going to read the Diabetes section. I have been reading it on my tablet. I had a very hard time figuring out how to get online with my tablet. So far, I seem to have my home WIFI saved on it so that's how I'm getting on, but I would really like to figure out how to use the Xfinity wifi so I could use it away from home. It keeps telling me that my username and password don't match. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I hate being so technically illiterate. I have had a couple people try to explain it to me, but they use terms that I don't understand and I get lost. It's frustrating because I have to keep stopping them and asking them to explain. It's the same if I look up the instructions online. I don't understand half of what I'm reading. I want someone else to get it all set up for me and then say "Just tap this button." LOL

Carol Sue Thank you friend, I appreciate your input. I do agree that I need to keep tracking on MFP. I don't always go over on the sodium and I find that tracking keeps me exercising. I've done equivalent of 15 minutes a day this week. I say equivalent because I did 20 minutes one day 30 one day and 15 another. You would think my knees and back would make me do the exercise, but it doesn't. Sad isn't it? So yes I will keep tracking. As for the sodium, those are the days I can take the mild fluid pill if I need to. Besides, I'm afraid that if I don't track that I will go way over my calories, carbs and fat. I just need the accountability I get on there.

I also need to stick to CAD without worrying to much about the carbs at lunch as long as I do the CM breakfast and CS snack. I like a lot of the keto meals and snacks that I could easily use for those times. I do love stir-fry veggies and plan to use them more. In fact, I might be able to use those on days I have a lot of sodium to help lower it on those days.

I agree that Daddy isn't getting enough fluids. If they ever get him of the thickened drinks then he can use ice water to pull his bp back up. That is how CHF clinic taught him to bring it back up, but can't seem to get anyone to do this for him. He has a CHF clinic appointment Monday and I will see about having them call and give them instructions on how to do this. This has always worked for him. I think they are so afraid of being sued that they won't change it. They are supposed to have a swallow test done again, but haven't heard any more about it. I will check on that when I go out there today. I need to let them know they have to take him to CHF clinic for his Monday morning appointment.

BBL

Getting ready to go to bed in a few minutes. I actually had a successful CAD day today. Early day tomorrow as I go to the beauty shop and then go by to see Daddy a few minutes before he goes to therapy.

Good night.

Trish, I hope your Dad continues to do well at this new facility. I think it's cute that he doesn't want you fussing over him so much. When I was in the hospital DH came twice a day. I told him not to, but I think he felt guilty if he didn't come. I felt like I had to entertain him when he came. He helped me with my sponge bath and took me for my walks, so I think the aides were glad he was there.

I ate like a pig again yesterday, and I think I know why this is happening. Every day when I got my pills out of my pill box I felt as if something was missing. I finally figured out today that I forgot to put my Vit D3 in there, so I have not had it for 4-5 days. I remember when you told me that you thought it decreased your appetite. I didn't notice that when I was taking it, but now that I think about it, that could have been why I was eating less recently. I usually just take it M-F but I will take it over the weekend since I missed it all week. It doesn't say anything online about it suppressing appetite. Here's what I think. I think if you are lacking in any one nutrient your body encourages you to eat more in an effort to try to get that nutrient.

Yesterday we went out to Goodwill in the afternoon. I was not hungry so I told DH I wasn't going to eat dinner. But by the time we were coming home I was starting to crave a pork chop. LOL Who craves pork chops? DH wanted a pizza, so while he went in to pick up his pizza I went into the grocery store next door and got a few things I needed, and got a little package with 2 pork chops. I cooked one with some cauliflower and broccoli and put the other one in the freezer. But then I kept snacking all evening, pretzels and potato chips, then a bowl of cereal before bed. I still have not had any sweets at all since I gave them up for Lent, but I should have given up the chips and pretzels too. LOL I can stay away from things if I give them up for Lent, and I guess that's saying something about me. I just can't give them up to preserve my health.

Carol Sue I forgot about the Vitamin D. I take 2 a day and maybe I should wait and take mine after dinner so I won't be hungry at night.

It is funny you craving the port chip. I have spaghetti sauce in the crockpot and I'm craving spiral zucchini/yellow squash with the sauce instead of pasta. I'm going to the store and they sell it already spiraled so I'll get a package of it. I'm also kind of hungry for spaghetti squash. What is happening to us.

I woke up this morning thinking I would try Keto diet. Not only is my baby sister doing it, I notice on FB that my oldest grandson has decided to do it. Then I realized that maybe I just need finish doing long term what I started CAD. I am going to commit to doing CAD until my next doctor's visit in July and just see how things improve. We know I have a difficult time staying with one plan because I hear of how something else works for someone else. Like you, I have a husband that makes it difficult for me to do anything other than what I'm doing. CAD is just so much easier when living with someone who is so picky about what they eat. I could have the pasta with the spaghetti, but it easy for me to make pasta for DH and I can have the squash in place of it. We just have to do what we can do.

Today is a new day. You will do better today and I'm working on a successful Day 2 CAD. We can do this.

fatmad Have you heard about prebiotics? I just watched something by a Dr. Gundry who claims we need to take them. Of course, he is selling his pricy product, but he claims we need them to correct the bad bugs in our gut. Just wonder if that would help you. He talks about something called lectins in the food we eat. I looked them up online but don't really understand what I read. I will look into it more, but he says that is why some of us have difficulty losing weight. He claims you correct the gut and you lose the weight and get healthy. I always question things like that. So curious what you think about it. Hope you are feeling better.

Trish, I also don't understand about the gut bacteria. I read so much about it that you should increase the good and get rid of the bad. But how do you know it worked? It's not something you can test like blood sugar. I switched brands of Greek Yogurt and now I see that the new brand I'm eating has some different cultures than the other one and when I read about them, they are ones that we need, so I am going to stick with this yogurt, even though the other one tastes better. It doesn't taste bad, just not as good as the other one. I put some frozen blueberries in it and I like it that way.

The particular culture is Lactobacillius Casei. It might be in the other yogurt, but it is not listed on the carton. You can read about it here. I got this yogurt at Aldi's.

http://probiotics.org/l-casei/

I also read about the lectins. Some other people say that is a bunch of baloney. So who do you believe? Eventually, we are going to have to eliminate everything from our diets. Some say never eat fruit, others say it's necessary. Some say never eat eggs, others say they have good nutrition. Then there's milk, grains, and on and on. DH's grandfather lived to be 91 and he just ate what his wife put in front of him. Never drove a car. Walked to work and back every day. He never got sick. He couldn't afford to get sick...he had a family to support. My uncle was the same. His wife cooked the food and he never said "No, I cannot eat those grains."

Today, Dr Oz had a segment about eating potatoes to lose weight, so DH started telling me that that's why he doesn't gain weight, because he eats so many potatoes. But then I told him, he hardly eats much of anything else. Many men will sit down to dinner and eat a big pile of potatoes, plus 3 pork chops. DH will fill his plate with potatoes, but he won't even finish one pork chop. He takes a couple bites and the dog gets the rest. LOL He does not eat like other men do. Even his brother says he will eat 3 hamburgers for dinner. DH can barely finish one. There is always food left on his plate. So that's why he does not gain weight. When his daughter lived here she said it was embarrassing that she ate more than her Dad. He eats a lot of junk food, but very small portions of real food. If I make pie, like lemon meringue, he will put it on a dinner plate, as it is 1/3 of the whole pie. On Thanksgiving, I have to make an extra pie for him because he will have one pie gone before the guests even get here. Then dinner comes and he eats tiny little servings. But I'm the one who carefully watches everything she eats but still can't lose weight come **** or high water, and I'm the one who takes all the pills all day. So who's right and who's wrong?

Climbing down off my soapbox!!

I started back taking my VitD3 again today but didn't take it until dinner time. I sure hope today is the last day I overeat. I had 1400-1500 calories but I feel stuffed. I had 148gm of carb. Yikes! I also started drinking water again today and spend an unbelievable amount of time in the bathroom. I had 3 bottles which equals 6+ cups, plus what I drank with my meds, plus a glass of water at the restaurant. I also had a couple cups of coffee this morning and a cup of tea in the evening, but I don't count them toward water since they tend to be diuretic. I won't drink any more now until I take my meds at bedtime.

I feel really tired and would like to go to bed now but I have to force myself to stay up a while longer. My sleep cycles seem to be messed up.

Carol Sue Could you PM me the name of the Aldi yogurt? I would appreciate it.

I read some reviews on the expensive powder that the doctor sells. He claims it isn't sold by anyone but him, but Amazon sells it. A lot of the people said it is worthless and not to waste your money. The brand of yogurt I have says has the L-casei listed as the last ingredient so I don't think it has much of it in it. Usually when it is listed way down in the ingredients it isn't all that much in it.

I don't count my tea or coffee as part of my liquids either. I figure anything that has caffeine is a diuretic shouldn't be counted as part of the liquids we drink. I know they have changed their mind about that, but I'm not buying into it.

Went to see my Daddy today and he was in bed. He had passed out when he went to the bathroom and was so weak they put him back in bed. I tried to sneak him so coffee without the thickener but I got caught. The speech therapist explained to me why he has to have it. They are trying to teach him to take sips to drink instead of gulping drinks and also to take smaller bites of food and chew it so it goes down easier. He said this would keep him from having acid reflux and gas so much. I told Daddy that I would start going to McDs and get a cappuccino that will taste better with the thickener. The therapist got some that he put in the room so it will be there for me to use. Daddy says black coffee with thickener tastes like mud.

DS and I have consultation next Thursday with the people we didn't get to see when Medicare/Medicaide inspectors were there last week. I hope we can see the doctor who is in charge of Daddy's care so we can get a referral to see a neurologist so therapists can know more about what they are dealing with. We see cardiologist Monday at the CHF clinic. I'm hoping they can tell us what kind of tests they can do for Daddy to see what is going on since he can't do MRIs. There should be some other way they can test him to see if there is nerve damage or perhaps vertebrae problems.

I've had a good eating day a successful Day 2 of CAD. It is my goal to stay with this until I see the doctor again. So far I haven't been hungry tonight however, I did take my Vitamin D3 at dinnertime so hopefully that is why.

I didn't finish tracking on MFP because I didn't reach the 1000 calories. I use it mostly as a guideline any way.

Trish, the yogurt from Aldi's is Friendly Farms. It is a 32oz carton and it is whole milk yogurt, not low fat. The L Casei is also listed as the last ingredient so it's the same as yours. But what I was buying before was Cabot, and it didn't have L-Casei listed at all. I think it tasted better because they add whey protein to it. I guess I could add my whey protein to the one from Aldi's and that would be a good way to get the whey protein instead of mixing it as a shake. But I want the L-casei even if it is only a small amount. I have some chocolate powder coffee creamer that I bought but don't like in my coffee, so sometimes I mix that in with the yogurt and it makes a nice healthy treat.
Some people on the Low Carb forum say that you don't want the one with the whey protein added, but I do not do as low carb as they do. I think it has it's benefits.

That's concerning that your Dad passed out. I wonder why he's so weak. Is he eating good?

When my food doesn't reach 1000 calories on MFP and I'm not hungry for more food I add something to make it come up to 1000 so MFP will accept it. I know that I didn't eat the extra 100 or so calories, and I'm not going to eat more just to make it come up to 1000. I have been waaaaay over 1000 calories all week.

I have been rereading all of Dr Fung's posts about fasting and diabetes. He made a statement that makes sense in a way, but the low fat community would dispute it. He said that when people eat LCHF the body will burn the dietary fat instead of the fat on your body and that makes sense, but there is a woman on the LC forum who eats 85% fat, and she is losing 1-2 lbs per week. She eats a lot of avocados, sour cream and puts a lot of butter and olive oil on her food to boost her fat intake.

Also, he said to ease into fasting, you should first go down to 2 meals a day, and then go down to 1 meal a day. At that point, you can go to longer fasts if you want to. And you can do 2 meals a day for a couple days, then add a 1 meal a day in here and there. You don't have to do the same plan every day. I think when you do the same plan every day your body adapts to it. I would like to do fasting to lower my insulin levels, but I don't know how I would fit it into my life with the way DH eats. I guess I could just fit it in when I can, and when I can't, don't worry about it.

DH had a dream and was talking in his sleep as if he was awake, so he woke me up and I can't fall back to sleep. That's why I'm online at 4AM. LOL

All this talk about Vitamin D made me think:
Trish, does your Daddy get much vitamin D? Low levels can cause muscle weakness, and I am sure he is not getting out much to get sun on his skin. Without a supplement, he would not get near enough, most seniors don't get a lot of Vitamin D fortified milk products, not enough for their needs? just something to keep in mind, and get checked by his docs if needed.

Yes thank you, I do take probiotics, usually by eating yoghurt or drinking kefir. I also like sauerkraut and other fermented foods. The latter all off the diet with the low FODMAP thing. The worst of the runs seems to be over, but I am left weak. I practically fasted for a the day, and just stuck to fluids. Yesterday the same. Finally trusted my gut enough to go out for a couple of hours last night, a little irish music concert to celebrate St. Patricks. Not sure I will be up to dancing at a Ceilidh tonight though.

Carol Sue, I am very sympathetic about the cravings, this happens with me too. My DH is a tall slim guy generally, and can eat what he wants (although part of the secret is he doesn't want to eat much) , and often will have a snack of chips etc in the evening, and how can I resist joining him. For a while he was good about not having stuff in the house, but lately we are all off plan.

I am wondering about the Dr. Oz show about eating potatoes? Now, if this is anything like the Penn Gillette stuff about his weight loss, you have to remember that it was just potatoes. No added anything. no oil, no butter, no salt even. And he started out on a potato fast, nothing else. But as a carb, they can be better than bread, for some people, but we can't eat them "loaded" with stuff.
Have a good weekend fellow chicks

Mad, from what I understand about potatoes, as in the Potato Hack, the potatoes are to be eaten cooked and plain, without any fat at all. No butter, no sour cream, mayo etc, ketchup and some say no salt. I only know this by following along on a Potato Hack thread on another forum, so it could be wrong. I think some add ACV. This is very different from the way DH eats potatoes. I didn't pay a lot of attention to what was said on Dr Oz because DH and I have been over this subject ad nauseum. I know how potatoes effect my body. I think DH doesn't gain for the same reason your DH doesn't gain. They are not big eaters.

DH has always kept his junk food in the house. His thinking is, just because I can't eat it doesn't mean he should do without, and I agree. I live in the real world, and foods are going to pop up at any time. It is up to me to learn how to not eat them. For a while I became pretty good at that, but recently I've regressed. Mental note to self to work on that. I used to really not like salt, so I think that is what kept me away from salty snacks. I realize now that I sometimes crave salt. There might be a change in my body that's causing that. Some nutrient shortage, or possibly a thyroid change. I tend to blame everything on what I'm eating.

It was my intention to do OMAD today. DH asked me if I wanted breakfast this morning and I said no. Then step-daughter came over to use our computer so I was busy with that all day. I knew we were going to go out for dinner and it was my intention to do low carb, and I did. The only carb I had was some cooked carrots. Then the problem came. I took my meds with dinner without checking BS first, and when I got home it was 122. If I had checked before dinner I might not have taken Glimiperide, or maybe only taked 1/2 mg, but I took 1mg. It usually works for several hours, so now I'm afraid I will get a hypo during the night, so I ate some scrambled eggs. I will test if I wake up during the night and have a piece of hard candy ready in case I need it. I am about ready to stop taking the Glimiperide altogether if my blood sugar continues like this, or maybe only take it in the morning. It is a really scary med. I am a little upset that I ended up with 2 meals instead of 1, but at least it was low carb. The whole purpose of doing the OMAD and LC is to lower my insulin. The Glimiperide increases insulin, so aren't I just defeating the purpose? Why do we have to play these games?

I just typed a long message and lost it. Don't feel like typing all that again.

Carol Sue I found a Greek Yogurt at Walmart that has the L-Casei in it and it is full fat which I've read is better. I read the link you shared and I really need this yogurt to take care of a lot of the immune/digestive problems I have. I don't usually like Greek Yogurt and this one tastes pretty good.

fatmad Thanks about sharing about the Vitamin D for my Daddy. He did take that by prescription a few years back and may need it again. Since I'm not doing his pills and things have changed through hospital and moves to rehabs ets, I'm not sure what he is taking. I will definitely have that checked. In fact, I will call CHF clinic Monday before we go there and see if they will check it for him.

That makes me wonder if my DH is taking enough. He had to take a prescription for D a few years ago and we both take D, but I give him half of what I take and maybe he needs more. I take Vit D3 10,000 mg a day and after Carol Sue realized that it kept her from being hungry, I went back to taking it with my main meal everyday. I was taking it in the morning, but realized that I don't have a problem of being hungry between breakfast and main meal. My problem was in the evening. Now that I take it with the 3 o'clock meal, I don't get hungry at night.

It is getting harder and harder to leave Daddy. I woke up this morning and decided that I needed to go this morning. Not sure why I felt such an strong feeling to go, but I did. When I got there he was asleep in his recliner. He didn't have any water so I got the nurses to bring him some. I couldn't find the thickener the speech therapist brought for me yesterday so one of the nurses brought some and I hid them in a drawer so they will be there when I go get him cappuccino to drink.

I came home cooked home cooked fried chicken I was hungry for. I only had one meal today. I was running late going to see Daddy so I mixed my whey powder in my coffee and drank it for breakfast. Had salad, fried chicken and beets for lunch and then this evening I had some of the Greek yogurt. So I haven't eat a whole lot today and fully satisfied I think because I did eat what I wanted. So I've had a great Day 2 OP. Tomorrow will be Day 3. They say if you get through day 3 you'll be okay so I hope I can get through it. I have a roast planned so I think I'll be okay.

Good night.