I typed a long post this morning and lost it out in cyber space. Makes me so at myself when I do that. My fault... I hit the wrong button and out it went. Had a few phone calls and didn't get back to writing until now.

I never was much of beer drinker although I did like a couple of beers I drank when with other people and never knew what it was. I used to like mixed drinks when I was younger and learned to make them low calorie. I've tried drinking red wine because it is good for your health but I never can remember to drink it. I can't drink the beer or mixed drinks because I don't know how it will affect blood sugar and while the red wine helps lower some peoples blood sugar, it doesn't do a thing for mine. So I don't bother. I had planned to have a glass of red wine at midnight last night and forgot it.

I am happy to say that I'm starting Jan 1 under 230. I was 229.4 this morning and my fasting blood sugar is slowly coming down too. It was down 4 pts from yesterday. So the new year is starting off for me.

New Year Resolutions? I lost almost 70 lbs doing CAD 13 yrs ago. I looked at last years records I keep on weight, blood sugar and bp and I weighed 8.6 lbs less this day last year. So I gained this year. My bs and bp was better although my bp was low. Today the bp was really in a more normal range instead being so low. So my goal is to stay OP. New diets come out and I have a tendency to think maybe I should do that. I want to stop doing that and stick with what I know works for me. BTW I like a description for CAD on FB today. Someone as what CAD was since she was told it is not low carb. Someone said that it is lowcarb for 23 hrs. I like that and intend to use it from now on when someone asks what I'm doing. I really don't care what it is called as long as it works.

The other goal I have for this year is to exercise 5 days a week. I am going to keep my 2 miles on the recumbent bike and I am going to work up to doing 1 mile of Walk Away The Pounds by Leslie Sansone.

Carol Sue It is shocking to see the sodium content of the foods we eat. I just wasn't aware. I am thankful that we don't eat out as much as we used to. It really helps to do most of my cooking at home.

I personally think we have all come through the holidays pretty good. My feeling is that if we (I) can do it during the holidays then surely I can keep going when I'm past them. I am actually proud of all of us.

I hope everyone's New Year's got off on a good start. Mine has. My resolution is to continue what I'm doing for weight loss and exercise and trying three new recipes a month, including at least one out of my comfort zone (next week it's African peanut chicken soup.)

Today's menu...

Break - Irish bacon, fried egg
Lunch - ham/bean soup and side spinach salad
Snack - 1/2 homemade bun
Dinner - pizza burger w/o lid, leftover spinach dip & pita strips

O I dunno, PattyGirl...I could eat an awful lot of carbs in that one hour! And yea, beer was something you stepped in in college, so I was never fonda the smell either.

Well, I skipped the pancakes at breakfast, but ate some sweet potatoes at dinner....weeeelllll....they're not white potatoes, so can I cut myself some slack on accounta that? Anyway, back on track with MFP. Calories and carbs were on the mark today. Not enough protein...but golly, where'm I gonna put it?

I re-set the MFP goals for macronutrients to:
118g carbs
80g protein
60g fat
1500mg sodium
4700mg potassium
...not sure how MFP came up with their default numbers. And I'm not sure how anyone can get that much potassium --which is the AHA recommendation.

It's difficult to decide what kind of plan is best. I'm getting less concerned about what works (fast) and more concerned about what is healthy. This article (a summary of the original) is steering me away from Atkins or Ideal Protein--this plus my age and my taste buds!

I cannot believe it's just Friday. WooHoo! Whole weekend ahead!

Prairie Queen, this comment is astounding! LOL I can't think of a comeback. It left me speechless. LOL Me? Speechless?

Do not invite me over the day you serve the African Peanut Chicken Soup.

SeeMyFeet, I've forgotten the significance of the phrase Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit. Remind me.

I will occasionally have a rum and diet coke. That used to be my drink of choice when I went out. I keep a bottle of rum in the bottom kitchen cabinet so it's handy when I want it. One day my 47 year old step-daughter was here looking for something and said to me "There's a bottle of rum in here." She said it accusingly, like she was telling me something I didn't know, like she was a mother who just found a bottle in her teenagers room. Gawd, at 69 years old I think I'm old enough to drink!! LOL Why do kids think they invented being bad?

How were your sweet potatoes prepared? Candied is not good, with the sugar and marshmallows, but roasted or baked, which I love, are much healthier and provide some much needed fiber.

Jacqui, I took my ticker off a while back when I decided I was going to concentrate on my blood sugar rather than my weight. I felt it was time to bring it back, even though I am not planning on weighing every day. I don't have a specific weigh-in day but only weigh when I feel that I lost, or when I feel I better see how much damage I've done before it gets out of hand.

Trish, didn't you tell me that you used to take Tumeric/Curcumin? I don't normally take supplements, but I bought some a while back but quit taking it when I didn't notice it doing anything. Some things do change the way your body is working inside but don't have any outward signs. Recently I was reading about Tumeric, but I can't remember what they said it was good for, but I have started taking it again. I will have to look it up again. I think it had something to do with blood sugar, and a woman on a forum I'm on is really big on it. They said that you can buy it with added black pepper, which is supposed to boost it's efficiency. Mine does not have the black pepper, but each time I eat a food with black pepper on it, such as my morning eggs, I take a Tumeric. I remember when I was reading about it, it said that if you are preparing a recipe that contains curry powder, to add a few shakes of black pepper, too.

The thinking behind CAD is good. I think a lot of people don't like it because they want to go 100% low carb instead. But everyone needs to do what works for them, and something they can do for a lifetime. It's not much different than what Jacqui is doing, only having carbs once a week. It's the same theory. The only time I lost weight before was when I was 21. I just ate smaller portions of what my mother cooked and eliminated snacks/junk food and lost 25 lbs. I have never been able to lose more than a few pounds since then. It has always been an upward trend. I blame that on DH's eating habits, but you know the old saying..."You can lead a horse to food but you can't make him eat." (paraphrasing) I don't have to put things in my mouth just because he is doing it.

Trish, I read up on Tumeric and found that it is good for many things, but the ones that apply to me are lowers inflammation, like in RA, lowers blood sugar or reduces insulin resistance, and effective in treatment of psoriasis. They cautioned against taking it if diabetic as it can lower blood sugar too low, but I will be cautious about that. With my readings, I don't see my blood sugar going too low. Also, it says it can thin the blood, which is a good thing with my heart disease. A dose of 400-600 mg 3 times daily is considered safe and effective. It said to take it with food, preferably a fatty meal. I take mine once or twice a day with a meal where I use black pepper, like my morning eggs, and they contain fat. I have 42 capsules left which should last 3 weeks or so depending on how often I take it. If I don't see an improvement in my arthritis pain, blood sugar and/or psoriasis in that time period I will probably not buy it again.

..but why you bash me on the sweet potatoes Can't I be bad, too?? I whipped the sweet potatoes ('cause they're naughty ) with some butter, small amt of brown sugar and spices and threw in a few raisins. Not as sweet as the standard, syrupy candied potatoes, and no marshmallows....(what ARE marshmallows anyway? bleah). I put my exact recipe in the MFP and accounted for everything....oh my! this is reminding me of my awful experience with candied onions and Ian's "Calories in Farts" thread.

I take turmeric and put it with pepper on my eggs, too. Not sure it does much, tho. Best supplement I've found for RA is Bromelaine--an enzymmatic extract from the core of the pineapple. I was taking that, in desperation, before I got on the hard-core RA meds, and it helped a bit! It was demonstrated to be effective in controlled scientific studies, which is why I searched this town over to find it. I found it in a local organic grocery. I also eat a lot of pineapple for the same reason--which is why it's hard for me to keep my carbs low.

Ok, Ladees, I need some help. I have GOT to get this weight off and get my brain in a more peaceful place. I have not been losing weight and I have not accomplished what I wanted this year. I feel like I am just letting time slip through my fingers. I want my life to matter.

SeeMyFeet, I know you've told us before, but so I won't have to go back and find it, please remind me: What foods do you mostly eat (besides pineapple) and what foods have you cut back on or cut out? Also, is there anything that you feel you need to do and are not doing (or vice versa, anything you're doing and need to stop)? I know you swim, which is excellent! We will definitely help you in any way we can!

Trish, I agree with Carol Sue, your plan is like mine, only I cram my all my quick-burning carbs into one day and you eat one meal a day with carbs. I do have a question, and maybe this is how our plans differ. I allow slow-burning carbs every day and cram all my starchy/sugary carbs into Carb Day. Are you allowed slow-burning carbs in your 2 other meals a day or do you eat no carbs at all except for during that one carb meal each day? Either way, I think CAD sounds like a good plan, and I hope it works really well for you!

Carol Sue, I like your plan for weighing yourself. I wish I could allow myself to do that but I'm afraid if I don't weigh every day, I'll slack off. It's that darned all-or-nothing mentality of mine. In the past not weighing every day has eventually led to me not weighing at all. I really don't want to weigh every day though, especially since my weight loss has slowed down. I don't see the point. Well, except for the fact that if I stop, I'm afraid I'll allow myself to eat a little more of this and a little more of that and just not step on the scale when I know I should. Anyway, I guess this has been working for me and I better stick to it, but I like your "scale plan" much better! :

PrairieQueen, I'm so glad to hear your year is off to a good start!

I think the leptin factor has kicked in for me. I'm recognizing I feel hungrier now each day than I had earlier in this journey. Knowing I'm going to feel hungry because my body is sending me those signals as a way to get me to eat even if I've already eaten enough, I need to make a more concerted effort to battle those feelings! The late night snacking, even if it's only on raw non-salted pumpkin seeds, has to stop. And I need to start walking again. I really do believe the body tries to sabotage you after a while to get your weight back up. I know that not everyone believes in the leptin theory, but I do! Supposedly it starts around 6 months and I will be at 8 months tomorrow (woohoo!), so I feel fortunate that I haven't had to battle it until now, but I'm aware of it, and this time, I'm going to win this battle!

Week 29: High 171, Low 170
11/29--171
11/30--170.5
12/1--170
12/2--170
12/3--170
12/4--DNW
12/5--170.5 Carb Day

Week 30: High 173, Low 169
12/6--173
12/7--172.5
12/8--171
12/9--170.5
12/10--169
12/11--170
12/12--170.5 Carb Day

Week 31: High 172, Low 169.5
12/13--172
12/14--170.5
12/15--171
12/16--170.5
12/17--169.5
12/18--170.5
12/19--169.5 Carb Day

Week 32: High 171.5, Low 167.5
12/20--169.5
12/21--170
12/22--167.5
12/23--167.5
12/24--168
12/25--DNW
12/26--171.5

Week 33: High 173, Low 168
12/27--173
12/28--170.5
12/29--168.5
12/30--169.5
12/31-- 168 Carb Day
1/1--171.5
1/2--171.5

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
2 slices of bacon
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Lunch
Protein bar
Diet Dr. Pepper

Tea Time:
Hot green tea

Dinner:
Ham
Pumpkin seeds
Mio water

Today's Exercise:

Nice lazy today

Today's menu....

Break - 1/2 bun w/butter and apple butter
Lunch - one bourbon chicken thigh and brown rice, fresh pineapple
Dinner - 2/3 T-bone steak, asparagus, potato pancake
Snack - Saratoga chips

SeeMyFeet Here's my helpful hint. Lose the sugary sweet potatoes!! Hey, did you ever try Splenda Brown Sugar? Maybe you could put that in your whipped sweet potatoes.

Actually, I rarely use sugar substitutes except in my tea. If I'm going to eat something with sugar I just do it and move on.

Isn't it funny how you can post a comment anywhere on 3FC in reference to "Ian" and everyone knows right away who you're talking about! LOL He has had me rolling on the floor many a time. (Don't take that literally.)

So my blood sugar was 132 this morning and my weight was 198. I got on the scale first thing and that balance beam just sat there. Didn't waver. That always means a loss. Yay me! I have been really watching my carbs, but I am contributing this to the Tumeric and will continue it with my pepper as long as I'm seeing favorable results. I might even buy some in a spice jar and start adding it to my cooking. I noticed DH is getting a belly. He could use some Tumeric and pepper.

Prairie Queen, I notice you skipped the lite beer yesterday, but you just had to get that booze in the bourbon chicken, didn't you? LOL

I haven't had apple butter in ages. It was a staple when I was growing up.

Jacqui, everyone is different on their weighing schedule. After my heart surgery I had to weigh myself every day because a gain of 3lbs in one day could mean water retention and I would have to contact the doctor right away. Some kind of complication. So I did it for a while, and I found that the little fluctuations really bothered me. If I went up a pound I got the "why bother" attitude. I can tell other people not to let it bother them, but not myself. This is why I cannot enter challenges that require a daily weigh in. But others feel the need for it. When you consider your results against mine, your way is working much better!!

Oh, yes, your body definitely wants to hold onto that weight. You have to stay at a certain weight for a while before your body accepts it as the new setpoint. That's why we plateau. LOL If you are noticing continuing hunger you could increase your vegetable consumption to fill you up with more low calorie fiber. Or maybe check your fat intake. Fat seems to increase satiety. And you're right about exercise. It tends to block appetite. I'm sure you will figure this out and not give in to it. You have to get past this mark and continue on.

Is Mars ever coming back? Doesn't she like us anymore? I know there are others who have come and gone, but Mars was a staple here!

SMF I only know what's worked for me, and it's not for everyone....almost zero processed foods. And what is processed (flour products mainly), I make myself. If organic is available, I chose that over conventional and nothing knowingly w/GMOs. I am fuller and the carb cravings are almost non-existent (I do crave them and salty foods right before TOM). I don't use nonfat/low fat either and the only sugar sub I use is stevia in my tea. I drink a lot of water as well. I'm off the Lipitor and doc thinks I'll be off the bp meds by the summer. She's advised to keep aware of dizziness and when it happens I should start cutting my pills in half. Now my friend whom is 4'11", lost 80+ lbs and has kept it off by starving herself basically, biking, and spinning. It helped when she started getting hormone replacement too.

Carol Suecongrats on your numbers! Great way to start off the year I really hate using my good bourbon in the chicken (it's sold out for another year even though I get it straight from the distillery). My son gave me name of another small craft bourbon to try, but I can't remember what it's called. I'll have to text him when I'm ready to purchase again.

Bro Mark surprised me with a phone call from the hospital this morning! And, he was quite his old self. I could understand most of what he said (he still has no teeth...he'll get fitted once he's transferred to rehab facility) and we were back to chatting about our normal stuff. He is completely off dialysis and only has a side feeding tube.....they're going to do swallow test again tomorrow, fingers crossed. They want to get him on his feet with support tomorrow. He's optimistic that he'll be recovered enough to fly up here in summer to eat lots of garden veggies and just hang out. He misses that part of Ohio for sure. He's still having hallucinations but not as frequently. He's apologized to everyone at the hospital and brought one nurse to tears while doing so. He's a super nice and kind person and can't believe what's come out of his mouth! He's already got my mom planning a luncheon kind of thing for them before he leaves

The water weight is gone today and I managed to lose 1.2 lbs since I've been on my holiday break. Back to school tomorrow!

No problem with losing the sweet potatoes, WBH...DS ate them ALL! Btw, I only put 1/4 C brown sugar in 6 C sweet potatoes! I know you know I don't eat orange food very often....I should actually eat sweet potatoes MORE often as they have some good nutrition inem; I guess the 'potato' part scares me away.

I don't use sugar substitutes. I don't do low fat, either, except for purchased salad dressing and 2% milk (I prefer half/half in coffee). I've never purchased margarine, having made the connection between the artificial synthesis of solid fats in chemistry and the non-biological nature of trans fats in biology classes when I was 18. Tho maybe if I had used all that stuff, I wouldn't be in this shape. I track everything on MFP, and salt is not a problem--I may not be getting enough (900mg yesterday)--so that's an indicator of how little processed food I'm eating.

oooooo...I guess I asked for advice and now feeling frustrated to get it. I know this stuff and I do this already. I'm like your friend PQ--I just have to starve myself. I started to post my menus for the past few days, but was afraid you (meaning, Jac ) would start hollerin' at me to eat more. Even with the sweet potato "splurge", I only had 1300 cals that day, which is too high for me to lose.

One of you ladeees started a thread on timing of meals, and I suspect that is a major influencer on my weight loss. Circadian rhythms play a big role in the processes that have affected me, like glaucoma, RA, even the sinus issues I had a few years ago. Maybe I'm more affected that way than others? DH often eats a 500+cal snack past 11 pm and he's thin . I just intuitively know I cannot do that, and I feel that a small cal snack at night is a bad idea for me, even if I ate nothing all day long.

Maybe it's Just That...and if I can Really And Truly stop snacking Forever after 7 or 6 or whatever the magic hour is...I can lose weight like everyone else. I'm constantly looking for Things To Blame (not just in the weight loss area, but other health areas as well)....things like MSG, which is in Everything-- another reason I should start making my own salad dressing.

School starts tomorrow, PQ!! My kids start back on Thursday.

PrairieQueen, oh, that is such great news about your brother! And how sweet that he apologized to the nurses. He sounds like a wonderful man! I'm so glad he's doing better, and I hope his swallow test goes well tomorrow! Yay on the 1.2-lb loss!

Carol Sue, woohoo on losing a lb! I'm so glad the tumeric and pepper are working for you, and great job watching your carbs! Yes, I think you're right: I definitely need to increase my veggie intake! I eat lots of veggies and salads in the summer but in the winter, they just don't seem as appetizing. I'd much rather have a big ol' helping of spaghetti and meatballs (but of course, that's a no-no except on Carb Day)! Nevertheless, veggies are exactly what I need! Also, yesterday when I was hungry, I decided to eat ham for dinner with seconds so that I was no longer hungry. I was afraid it would cause me to continue to hold water but I knew that would be better than eating late. I still had a bit of hunger last night but it was manageable so I was able to avoid eating anything after dinner. And it paid off because I actually lost some of my Carb Day water weight! So you are right about the fats too! I agree Mars is a staple here! I don't think she's avoiding us. At least I hope not! (Maybe I should go back and see what I wrote! You know how blunt and clueless I can be!) My guess is after her trip, she just got really busy and probably has time just to jump on and post her weight, which is why she is posting on the "Chicks Up for a Challenge" monthly weight loss thread and not here. If she posts here, she'll probably want to stop and comment to everybody and that may take up more time than she has. I believe she knows we want her here, and I have to think she wants to be here too, so hopefully when her schedule lightens up again, she'll be back! I hope that's right, Mars! We miss you!

SeeMyFeet , lol! Yeah, you're right. I would, haha! But just do like Carol Sue does and tell me no mother-henning, and I'll do my best not to! And I think I'm like you. I don't do well snacking at night. I lose much more easily if I make dinner between 5-7 pm the last thing I eat for the day.

Trish, I hope you're having a good day!

I am back into the 160's today! I want to go exercise but my stomach is kind of gurgling and a stomach bug has been going around here so I'm hesitant. The Y closes at 5 today, so we'll see how it goes. I also need to go to the grocery and pick up a few things, so getting sick would be really inconvenient today! Ain't nobody got time for that!

Oh hey, today is my 8-month anniversary of committing to better health, dedicating myself to the Slow Carb Diet, and posting continuously on 3FC! (And believe me, they all go hand-in-hand!) On to many, many, many more!

Week 34:
1/3--169.5
1/4--
1/5--
1/6--
1/7--
1/8--
1/9--

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
2 slices of bacon
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Lunch
Protein bar
Black olives
Mio water

Tea Time:

Dinner:
Salad with ranch dressing
2 cheeseburger patties
Mio water

Today's Exercise:

SeeMyFeet, I hope you get to the bottom of your inability to lose weight. I rarely lose more than a few lbs, but I've accepted that for me. You are eating healthy foods and counting calories, and should be showing a loss. I was kidding about the sugar in the sweet potatoes. It wasn't a lot of sugar, you are not diabetic, and it shouldn't have made a difference. The sweet potatoes are full of nutrients and belong in your diet. I am down a lb from yesterday. I stayed around 1300 calories and I can lose below 1500. But we are all different. I think the people who say that you will not lose on low calorie are full of hooey. Look at the anorexics. Their body doesn't care about starvation mode.

By the way, margarine no longer contains trans fats. They stopped that a while back. I sometimes use spreads such as Smart Balance that contains plan stenols or sterols, whatever they are called, and they are supposed to be heart healthy. Right now I am using spreadable butter, but I'm not impressed with it. I don't know what I will switch to next.

I would like to see your menus for the purpose of seeing why you sodium is so low. Yesterday's eating brought both my blood sugar and weight down, but my sodium intake was 4900. Yikes! Everything I eat is high sodium.

Prairie Queen, so happy that bro was able to call you. He is recovering well.

Jacqui, you mentioning that the Y closes early today reminded me that I wanted to go to Goodwill today. They close at 7, but DH is watching the Steeler game and won't leave til it's over. Yesterday I bought another exercise video for $1. When I got home, I watched a bit of it and realized it is used with an exercise ball. DH said he saw one there and I want to go back to get it. DH says I will probably fall off an exercise ball, but if I give this video to someone else I would like to be able to include the ball. It might even be gone by now.

I have a roast in the crock pot. I put it in late so I don't know when it will be done. I hope I get to go to Goodwill before we eat dinner. I love Goodwill. Since shopping there, I really get sticker shock when I go into a store and see the retail prices. LOL You can get anything you want at Goodwill if you're willing to wait for someone to donate it.

By the way, it's snowing in Cleveland. So it can't be far from Pittsburgh.

It's ok to be selfish and keep your snow ALLLL to yourself, Carol.

Did Mars go someplace exciting? Again?

Oh, PQ, I just cannot comment on your brother. You see, my brother had the same name. It just tears me up inside to see it written out...but I am so happy for you and him.


I can lose weight, ya'll, but it seems to require an illogical and unreasonable amount of effort, given my size.

Ugh. I just deleted a long-winded post that included the menu from yesterday....it seems like too much whining and complaining...Carol, yesterday's menu was coffee and 1/2 C oatmeal (Quaker quick oats, not the pre-packaged flavored stuff) for breakfast, homemade salads for lunch and dinner. A vegetarian day yesterday, except for butter and milk in breakfast foods. No fruit. And a 0.7 mile swim.

....whatever it takes, ladees....