chickadeee Was DH surprised to compare labels with Mock pancake ingredients? Sounds like you made a good teaching moment!

I'm still up 2 lbs from Carb Day. I'm ok with it, and will only be tweak my diet if my pre-Carb Day weight isn't going down. The difference in my sleep pattern is really marked depending on what/how much I eat. I think it's the carbs. After yesterday's normal eating, I got up at 3am, wide awake. Even will adding lentils and beans to dinner. This week carbs will be 60-70/day and I will gradually increase to see if there is any improvement in staying asleep.

Does anyone have special plans for the 4th?

Today I cut my breakfast down to 1 egg. I'll see how that works. I have an avacado that's ready to eat so I will have that for lunch with some vegetables. No dinner plans, yet. I do not feel as if I've lost so I didn't get on the scale.

I got a call from the cardiologist office. Cholesterol and LDL were good but HDL and triglycerides were not, but were better than last time. They suggested more exercise. I did not tell them I was not doing much exercise at all lately. Yesterday I rearranged my work-out room so that I can see the TV from every piece of equipment, getting ready to get back to it regularly.

The PCP will not call with results unless there is a problem that requires a medication change. I will call and make an appointment though because I want to discuss a few things and get a copy of the bloodwork to review myself. I also want him to look at my eye. I thought what I had was a stye but although it had gone down and no longer hurts, there's still a little bump there, like a tiny pimple.

Chickadeee, you are lucky your DH will eat the low carb things you make. DH has no problem with me eating them, but would never even try them. The pancakes sound good, but I'm afraid I would like them so much I would eat a ton of them. Not good! LOL I have a tendancy to think if something is healthy I can eat as much as I want.

DH and I make our own breakfast and lunch. I primarily cook dinner, but he will do it occasionally, too. I NEVER complain about what he makes because then he would never cook again.

Mars, I think cheap running shoes would be OK if they are replaced regularly. I think the cushioning would be good when they are new but break down faster than more expensive ones. Sometimes you are just paying for a name.

Why are you wary of eating avacados? Is it because of the high fat content? It is healthy fat. I think it would be one of the last things to cause a problem for you. I like to mash mine and mix in some chopped onion. I like the crunch.

No change on the scale today, but I am ending June in Onederland! Gotta love it!

Week 5: High 206.5, Low 204.5
5/31--(202.5) 206 Carb Day
6/1--(203) 206.5
6/2--(202.5) 206
6/3--(202) 205.5
6/4--(201) 204.5
6/5--204.5
6/6--205.5 Carb Day
Week 6: High 206.5, Low 204.5
6/7--206
6/8--206.5
6/9--205.5
6/10--206.5
6/11--205.5
6/12--204.5
6/13--204.5 Carb Day
Week 7: High 205, Low 201
6/14--204.5
6/15--205
6/16--203.5
6/17--202
6/18--201.5
6/19--201
6/20--201 Carb Day
Week 8: High 202.5, Low 199
6/21--202
6/22--202.5
6/23--201.5
6/24--202
6/25--201
6/26--199.5
6/27--199 Carb Day
Week 9:
6/28--199.5
6/29--199
6/30--199

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
Greek yogurt with Mio
2 eggs fried in coconut oil
Half a slice of bacon (I was pretty full and DH was eyeing my bacon so I gave the other slice and a half to him.)
Mio water

Lunch:
Greek yogurt with Mio
2 hotdogs
Leftover black beans
Mio water

Snack:
String cheese (I don't think I've allowed these before, but I am adding them because I think they are perfect for before my workout at the gym.)

Dinner:
Smoked sausage (We were going to have fish but DH changed his mind. I wouldn't have had hotdogs for lunch! )
Brussel spouts
Side salad with lots of veggies, with ranch dressing
Mio water

Today's Exercise:
2-mile walk around the track, 30 minutes on elliptical (15 min, twice), 3 sets of 12 reps each on 8 leg and waist machines

Chickadeee, does your DH eat your healthy recipe foods? I'm not sure if I could get my DH to eat them or not. Salad is about as healthy as he gets! Of course, he does well with all meats and he likes baked beans (unfortunately I can't get him to try black beans), and although he will wait until Carb Day for me to make pasta and potatoes, etc., he tends to keep grocery store potato salad, macaroni salad, and pasta salad on hand to eat with meals. (And he's out of control when it comes to bringing brownies, cake, and cookies into the house! ) I wish he could be happy with some alternative recipes, but I don't know. For instance, I'd love to make the mock mac and cheese, but I can't even get him to try steamed cauliflower! I guess if he didn't like it, that would just mean more for me!

Carol Sue, way to get that exercise room in order! HDL is always my trouble spot. Cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides are fine, but HDL is always low. I haven't had any lab work done recently (and I'm not one to volunteer for it ), but hopefully with the changes I've made in the last two months, my HDL is improving! I'm sorry to hear that your eye has not cleared up. I wonder if it's one of those tiny little harmless cysts. Harmless but I imagine they could be irritating in just the wrong spot! I've gotten them in the soft tissue on my eyelid and below my eye. If that's what it is, it should be easy enough for your doctor to remove.

Mars, yay! 2 lbs is not bad at all! That should drop off in a day or two! Be sure to drink enough water!

Rennie,

Carol Sue: I think it is a good idea to arrange your exercise room, you want to make it inviting, so you will enjoy being in there. (I got my exercise last night I mowed half our yard with the push mower, it felt good when I was doing it and when I was done, but I felt it in my hip this morning, no pain no gain, right!)

Jac: Yes, my DH will eat the low carb meals, he is amazed at the variety and favor. But he does buy chips and cookies for himself and I remind him do you really need all that stuff. (it doesn't bother me and I don't cheat - in my mind I know if I want to eat it I can, but I also know I would rather save myself for something really good and really enjoy it)

Mars: Ah, the mock pancakes compared to regular ones that have 39 carbs per small serving, yep, he gets it. LOL

I have no idea what we are having for dinner, no leftovers in the fridge and I am tired. Maybe a smoothie would be good. Correction, we had grilled burgers and I made cloud bread, it was like eating a regular hamburger. Lov'in it.

I tried eggs with coconut oil this morning, not bad, but I still don't understand how it can be better for you. Jac, does yours smell like coconut, mine doesn't, it reminds me of lard.

Chickadeee, of course take all this with a grain of salt because you know how studies are. One will say one thing and another will say the exact opposite and both will claim to be the truth! But from what I've read, both butter and coconut oil are high in saturated fats. However, the main fatty acid in butter is palmitic acid, which has been touted as the artery-clogging type, while the main fatty acid in coconut oil is lauric acid, which purportedly raises good HDL cholesterol. Here's an article on the supposed health benefits of coconut oil: http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10...f-coconut-oil/. My coconut oil, which is pure coconut oil, also does not have a taste or smell, and apparently that means it's a bit too processed for the greatest health benefits. I need to get extra virgin coconut oil, which still has a coconut taste and smell. But until I do, I'm going to continue to use what I have!

Jacqui, I forgot to answer your question about cooking on the grill. Ours is similar to a gas grill but uses natural gas and it is hooked up to the gas line in the house. It has 2 burners, left and right. I light the right side and put the meatloaf in a baking dish covered with foil and put that on the left side and close the lid. Since the flame isn't under it, it cooks like an oven. I also do that with chicken, but I put the chicken on the left side of the grill, right on the grates. In the past, I have also baked a cake that way. As long as there's not too much burned on grease on the briquettes it doesn't taste like meat! LOL

I ended up eating just some deli turkey on romaine for lunch and left the avocado for tomorrow. We went shopping and then went to Tx Roadhouse for dinner. I had catfish. It was OK. It was fried and I would have preferred it to be grilled. Won't order that again.

Chickadeee, how long do your cloud rolls keep and how do you store them? I still haven't tried making them but I think I would like them.

Happy July Everyone! Each new month feels like a new beginning, doesn't it?! What a great time to re-energize and re-commit to a healthy new lifestyle! I'm happy to report that I am starting this month off with a half lb loss!

Week 9:
6/28--199.5
6/29--199
6/30--199
7/1--198.5
7/2--
7/3--
7/4--

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 eggs fried in coconut oil
2 slices of bacon
Mio water

Lunch:
Large field greens salad with lots of veggies, shredded cheese, walnuts, and chicken, with ranch dressing
Mio water

Snack:

Dinner:
Manwich hamburger over steamed cauliflower and broccoli
Mio water

Today's Exercise:
2-mile walk around the track, 30 minutes of elliptical (15 min, twice), 3 sets of 12 reps on 10 arm and chest machines

Carol Sue, thank you for those instructions for baking on the grill! We really are due to get a new grill (we have a burner or two out) and when we do, I'm going to give that a try!

The one egg breakfast instead of two didn't make a difference in my hunger, so I think I will continue that when I can. DH cooked breakfast this morning so I got 2. I keep telling him to cut down on them, but so far he doesn't listen. Do I have to eat them all? No, I don't have to, but I do.

Jacqui, congratulations to you on the half pound lost! You are rocking this! I am stuck at 200, but I have not had a gain or upward fluctuation for a whole week so I consider that success. Tomorrow is supposed to be Carb Day for me, but I don't plan on doing it. The only thing that interests me for Carb Day is pasta and I'm not in a pasta mood. Twice a month is usually good for me. Today I am planning on making stuffed peppers. Mine are stuffed mostly with meat and beans with a bit of brown rice mixed in, so if that can be considered my Carb Day, then so be it. I don't want to do a real Carb Day not having had a loss this week at all.

So far today we don't have plans to go anywhere so I should be free to get in a good workout. I will take it easy, since I have not been exercising regularly, but my room looks so nice I'm looking forward to enjoying it. I know I am very lucky to have what I have, and I'm an idiot if I don't make good use of it.

Our grill is really old, close to 30 years I'd say. DH didn't want to be bothered geting propane tanks all the time so he installed the one we have. I have priced replacements but they are very expensive! We don't do a lot of grilling so we won't put out that money. We have replaced some things on it from time to time and it still works well. Actually, it's illegal because there was a write up in the paper that your grill has to be at least 5 ft from the house, including the deck. Ours is about 2 ft from the house, right on the deck. Luckily, it can't be seen from the road, but if we ever sell the house, it will most likely have to be removed. Who wants their grill to be 5 ft from the house? It's bad enough to be running in and out of the house, cooking things outside and inside at the same time without having to run out into the yard! LOL

I'm going to do some research on coconut oil. I have a jar but rarely use it. It just doesn't interest me for some reason. I'm so used to using olive oil.

Hi Everyone!
I sure enjoyed reading this thread yesterday, throughout the day! So impressed with how you all handle the extra challenge of DHs' preferences! Sometimes I think we should call re-name foods, like Mock Pancakes should be just 'Pancakes' and the regular ones should be labelled specially, like Insulin Pancakes, lol.

Jacqui Congratulations on that loss!!!

Chickadeee I have virgin (organic) coconut oil from Costco, a gigantic tub that will probably last a lifetime, lol. It does have a slight coconut taste which I like for sauteing veggies, or just to lick from a spoon for a treat. It might not work with eggs though because there is that slight sweetness to it.

I like to make a Moroccan-style stew of red lentils, garbanzos, ground turkey, onion, tomato, cinnamon. For that, the coconut oil really adds a nice flavor.

Carol Sue Your gym arranging is a great idea. I say throw everything you got at it to make it enjoyable. I have to wear the expensive running shoes because they are that only ones that work. If they don't feel right in the store, I know they won't work. I have flat, flat feet and that seems to require extra-dense, thick cushioning and a wide toe box. But it's worth it to be comfortable. i can't think straight if my feet aren't happy!

I'm still eating the big avocados! Thanks for the encouragement to keep them in. They were taboo on IP, and WW always discouraged them. It's funny how these ideas linger, even there is so much evidence to the contrary. My mom still thinks margarine and Triscuits are good diet foods.

I am going to a July 4th BBQ and bringing dessert. It's Carb Day so not a problem. My friends aren't big on rich desserts but I always bring fruit so this time might see if I can mix it up.

Mars, I think like your mother, sometimes. I remember when I ate Wheat Thins like they were going out of style because of the "Thins." LOL I knew they didn't make me thin, but I did it anyway!

When I was younger I had very narrow feet and had trouble buying shoes. I longed to walk into Payless and buy a pair of shoes, but I had to go to the more expensive stores that carried the N width. Now, between weight gain and wearing more athletic shoes my feet have spread and I can buy a regular width shoe.

I think many diets shun avocados because of the high fat content but it is healthy fat! I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but that's the old "low fat" rationale. My step-daughter's doctor told her to quit eating avocados because her cholesterol was high. I eat them, along with eggs, and my cholesterol just checked in at 126.

Jacqui, I did some quick research on coconut oil. I tend to pay more attention to sites that give the bad side, rather than the good side, because often the ones touting the good side are selling something. I trust WebMD and this is what I read there.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/coconut-oil-and-health

So they are saying it's better than some, but not as good as others. Other sites praise it.

While doing this research, I clicked on some other links along the way, like how to raise HDL http://www.webmd.com/heart/how-to-bo...od-cholesterol and another about Nsaids. http://heartdisease.about.com/od/car.../a/nsaids3.htm It seems that although Aleve is an Nsaid, it does not effect heart disease or cause strokes like Ibprofen, so maybe I CAN safely take that for my RA.

Carol Sue Thanks for the extra avocado impetus! A co-worker who has good credibility told me that same avocado thing, that her doc told it spiked her cholesterol, so I'm happy to have info to refute that. My gut tells me to eat them, pun intended! i never believed eggs were bad either, always ate a ton of them, and then hey were 'rehabilitated'.

I just decided to get on the scale, after drinking my am liter of water and a full breakfast. It's 169.9. According to conservative math, I can safely subract 2.5 lbs I think, since a liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. I also had 2 cups of coffee with my usual omelet. So I think I can safely say 167, almost to pre-Carb Day wt. But the really wonderful thing is I feel so nice & energetic, not hungry. I slept really well too, so I think I'm going to eat a 4th small meal before bed and stop calling it cheating!

that's so interesting re Aleve. I have always found it works much better for me than Ibuprofen. I had a mystery autoimmune arthritis in my 30s and tried every NSADI under the sun. The only one that worked was aleve. Thanks for the links--gonna check em out. I'm still a little nervous about the coconut oil. My friends like it in coffee.

Carol Sue, thank you, and I hope you get off that 200 soon and back in Onederland! The fact that you are stalled, not going up and down, makes me think you are in for a drop soon! I always think my body is making an adjustment to accept the new lower weight right before dropping. Let us know how your exercising in your newly arranged room went today! I agree with you on the grill restriction. Our grill is right on our back porch outside our back door, the most convenient spot for it! I love WebMD, but although they mention that more studies need to take place to examine the relationship between saturated fat and heart disease, they really are still on board with the idea that saturated fat causes high LDL which leads to heart disease, without distinguishing between LDL patterns A and B. Even the American Heart Association has not come off that generalized stance despite new studies. I wish I could find the in-depth article I had on how carbs are more responsible for heart disease than saturated fats, but I apparently lost it when I switched computers. When I first found it, I was researching heart disease and diabetes because my son is a type 1 diabetic. However, here's an article that contains some of the same information, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...-disease-link/. Obviously, we don't want to go out and just start eating loads of fat, but the new studies indicate that saturated fat leads to high LDL pattern A, as well high HDL, not LDL pattern B, the type that leads to heart disease.

Mars, thank you! I am so glad you've lost your Carb Day weight and are feeling better overall! Btw, I love your idea that we should switch the names of foods so that they reflect the healthier option as "normal"! And I'm going to need the instructions for that Morccan-style stew because the ingredients look fantastic, lol! Your Mom's Triscuits and butter made me laugh. I think I remember my Mom eating those too!

ThanksJacqui! Turns out I still have a lb to shed to get back to baseline, but it's only Wed. You are so close to your mini goal, and actually not very far from your overall goal. I feel like I got my life back after reaching goal, even with the regain. It really is worth it.

Carol Sue I have had the same ting Jacqui described with weight being flat line right before getting ready to drop.

Re Moroccan stew, my mom got the recipe in Morocco and I've tweaked it. It's called Harira. I make it all in one pot without measuring anything.
Brown some onions and bite sized chicken.
Add powdered cinnamon when almost done.
Add 1 can of chicken broth
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1 bay leaf
Simmer uncovered until lentils are tender, about 15 min.
Add 1 can garbanzo beans, let simmer a little longer on low heat to let flavors blend. Turn off heat and add chopped cilantro.

Things that I omit: 1 TBSP tomato paste, 1 can chopped tomato,1/4C Basmati rice)
Things that I add; carrots, sometime I sub ground turkey for chicken.

You can tweak it any which way of course ,& use dry beans, fresh tomato, etc. The cinnamon and cilantro are what makes it for my taste buds.