Carol- The casino challenge is a tough one. Hope you feel better!

Mad- Keep up the good fight; it will pay off!

Trish- Congrats on your monthly loss!


Great news- for the month I can claim a 2.5 pound loss. Weird news- it is 4.5 pounds lower than my posted current weight. For the monthly loss, I use the unconfirmed number. For the posted current weight, my personal rule is I need to confirm the loss the following week. I was hoping I could make a current weight change today but the last time I had a weight below my posted current weight on a Sunday was October 13! There were many weekdays below it but on Sundays it would bounce up (very maddening!). Therefore, even though it is looking really good, I need to mark it as pending. I'll need to get it to stay for a whole week. This week we'll be back into our routine for the most part. Although, we have an overnight trip on Friday.


We are taking our daughter to the Santa train. She's 14 but it is a family tradition now. Thanksgiving week went well. She got along with her cousins well and did lots of sledding with them. I had too many yucky childhood memories bubble up but managed my way through the week. I unexpectedly had to work a lot which was a welcome distraction. Got to see my cousins including the one from England. My other cousin who was lost to us for many years due to a unfavorable custody arrangement was there also. His step-mom makes the step-mother in Cinderella look like an angel so it was good he had a warm reception with us.


This week I am going to do my best to do an extended fast, actually two. I'd really like to find a way to merge them to be one giant fast. I've looked back at my weight loss tracker and I started IF back in August 2018. I don't think I talked about it much until recently but I've been at it for a while. I was really hoping for more substantial results. I follow the guidance given in a book written by Dr. Fung (The Complete Guide to Fasting). The other thing I really need to pay attention to is reducing the amount of sugared soda I drink. I was surprised to notice I had it half of the days in the last month. Part of it was due to travel and another part was due to not feeling well (ginger ale). Either way, I need to be more mindful and make better choices.


Fall thread results summary: | | |

Looks like we are all starting the month of December with good plans.

Carol Sue So sad you can't get DH to stop going to the casino. I hope that will work out.

Mad Glad to see your weight coming back down, but I knew it would.

Pipsicle Glad your trip went fairly well and you were able to keep the 2.5 lb loss.

Well, I did keep the 3 lb loss into today. FBG was 115 and I'm well on my way to a good month of eating right this month. I only get 1 shot this month so I'll be relying on the diet pills mostly.

Carol Sue I had the same experience one night this past week. I had been feeling bad and I woke up during the night and had to change my gown because it was soaking wet from sweating. That was when I realized that I must have had fever and didn't know it. Sometimes I feel like I have fever when I don't so I don't really realize it when I do. I still don't know what the problem was. Glad we are both over whatever we were going through.

Have a nice day everyone.

I had a good day today. Didn't overeat. Never felt stuffed. Stopped eating at 5 so should have a good night.

Popsicle I'm glad to hear you had a nice weight loss! You deserve it, you've worked hard for it.Sounds like you managed to get through your family gathering nicely.

Trish, you have done well, too and with blood sugar. May we all continue on to the new year.

Pretty happy today, 153 after eating yesterday. Also feel like I will have a good BM today so after fasting today, tomorrow should be a good weight. Yes I seem to be back to daily weights, but it is now encouraging me as I am doing well with fasting and eating. Maybe DH's diet change is helping
Did I tell you I convinced him to go gluten free? His rash is already better.
Yesterday we only went outside to shovel the walks. We will do the same today. We have snow now, but there may still be ice underneath, so we have the salt out.
I did not sleep great last night again. A little disheartening. I did not seem to be disturbing DH by reading my e-book so I stayed in bed determined to manage without getting up.

Carol and Trish, you are both doing well sticking to plan and the results are coming.
Pipsicle, I am really happy for you. I think if you can get off the soda, or at least do diet soda instead, that will help. I mostly go with soda water or bottled water if its available. I usually try to remember my own water bottle, but if stuck, I would rather a bottled water instead of a bottled soda.

Today is a fasting day again. DH has gotten used to that now, just asks if the day is an "eating day" or not. I am making sure to have good meals together on eating days.
Hope everyone has a good Monday, and Happy December. I guess we have to start the winter chat soon. Must support each other through the holidays

Mad, I'm glad to hear that DH went gluten free and his rash is improving. It's good to have family eating the same as you.

I read an article online that there are 2 new heart doctors at our hospital and they will be doing the TAVR procedure that I need. I have an appointment with my cardiologist on the 11th so we will probably discuss this. They say my quality of life would really change. I don't know. I feel my mobility issues are more from bad knees than from shortness of breath. They look at my heart and see the problem but I don't seem to feel it's effects. Maybe I will be surprised.

Slept ok last night once I finally fell asleep.

Carol Sue I'm glad there are doctors in the hospital close to you who can do the surgery you need. That is nice.

Mad It is nice that your DH is doing GF with you. It is helpful when someone is doing it with you. DH and I do similar but not exactly only because he doesn't need to lose weight

Sounds like everyone did very well yesterday but me. I had a slip last night and not sure why. One of my eating nights I get every once in a while. Back on track this morning with just 2 sl turkey bacon and 2 eggs and my 2 c coffee. No bread this morning. DH and I are going to Sam's and Walmart when he gets up. I didn't want to go but we do need to get a few things and Sam's has the batteries on sale that he needs.

FBG was 126 this morning but that was the carbs I ate last night, but my weight is still the same for 3 days in a row. I hope that means my body is adjusting and the weight will come off soon.

Although I can get on the app, I still cannot contact the main office of bariatrics so I can't even get a copy of my report from last appointment. I really am not happy with getting only one shot this month which I get next week. I will see how well they work with me next month after the holidays. If things don't get better, I'm going to talk to my doctor about me getting the shots on line and having DH give me the shots. I just need to know that I can fall back on my doctor is something were to go wrong even if I have to go in to see him every 3 months instead of 6. Besides the diet they gave me on the app isn't much different from the low carb I already was doing which happens to be quite different from the sample sheet diet that they handed me in the office. It had more carbs on it than the app shows. Not sure what that is all about. Hopefully things will get better after the holidays.

I actually am sleeping better at night right now, but you never know how long that will last. I take the cherry extract if I needed to sleep however, I can't take it all the time.

Seems like my body is getting wise to the fact that I am losing a little weight. My weight loss headache has returned. I haven't had it so much in this go-around of weight loss. However, in the past when I was losing weight I would get a really bad headache. I haven't been able to find any information on why. It is definitely not related to dehydration though.

Also, I have been very hungry the last three days. On Saturday, I overate. I was so hungry, I would drool and then finally give in. Then I would wait and wait but never felt satisfied. So I'd repeat the cycle almost every hour. The healthier my snack the harder it was to wait. I did everything I could to distract myself to no avail. Yesterday, I still felt hungry a lot but it wasn't quite as bad. I overate with regard to my calorie target for weight loss and barely exceed my calorie cap for maintenance.

Hoping to stay on plan today but I have been hungry all morning.

Pipsicle, I am sorry to hear that you are getting the headaches again and the hunger. Many years ago I used to get headaches when I didn't eat. I never knew why and it doesn't happen anymore. I rarely get headaches or feel hunger but I think that's because I still eat too much. Although I am doing better, I am still overeating as far as weight loss is concerned and I haven't weighed for a long time. So Trish, I should not be included in those who are doing good. Just better than terrible! LOL

Trish, I am sorry you are disappointed in the service you are getting from the center. I think I would be, too. As far as the difference in the diet plans, I would go with the one that works best for you for weight loss. I know you don't particularly care for low carb. Maybe you can just keep them as low as you are comfortable. You need to find out why you are getting hungry and overeating. At least you are maintaining your loss which is a plus. Maybe you are expecting to lose as fast as your sister but you said she is much heavier than you and would lose faster. Hang in there and do the best you can. Are the shots you can buy online the same as the ones at the center? Just hang in there, gf.

I am still reading the books about autophagy. That interests me more than keto because of the health benefits in how it fights disease. I think our culture has expected to have food available at all times and eating between meals is normal. I think an 8 hour eating window is normal eating for most days and we would all be healthier with a daily fast of some sort. It's about so much more than weight loss, although I sure would love to find that magic pill.

One thing I noticed about my DH is that although he eats every few hours he eats very small amounts. That's why I tell him I could live off his leftovers, and I could.

Pipsicle: are you getting enough fat with your food? Some of the cheats when not eating is to have some "simple" fat. An avocado, some whipping cream in your coffee or tea. Also having some soda water or pickle juice, a little salt under your tongue, to help you when you are hungry and "should not" be hungry.
IF gets easier for many of us, but that doesn't mean it is easy. I don't "fear" hunger any more, worrying my blood sugar will bottom out, because my higher fat diet prevents those issues now. I also know the hunger will go away in a little while, and I have tricks to get through it.
You don't have to go totally Keto to make it work, just increasing fat will help.

I made it to an early evening yoga class tonight. I hope I will sleep better as a result.

Blessings and have a good night everyone.

Good morning! Another good sleep. I didn't feel well. Runny nose again and watery eyes. Like allergies. I took a Benadryl in the evening and slept in my chair again. These evening naps are helping me along with the sleep I get when I finally go to bed.

FBG 97. Still no scale. The naps are also keeping me from evening eating.

We are getting some snow this week. We are due for 8 inches for the month of December so no big accumulations but the small ones can cause icy roads. I haven't been out of the house for 2-3 days. I want to go for a haircut and we need a few things from the store. I have an RX waiting at Walmart. Tomorrow we go for bloodwork. DH will probably not do his. I don't care anymore. He can do what he wants. We have the PCP appointments next week and I make him go for that. If he doesn't go he won't write his blood pressure RX. DH doesn't care because it he runs out he just won't take them but I make him take them. I have the cardiologist and PCP. So I don't want snow with all the running around we have to do.

I was reading about the risks with the TAVR and now I don't want to do it. I guess I shouldn't read those things!

I made myself get on the scale. 189. No loss, no gain. Whew!

Good morning friends: 150 this morning (fasted) , and things are moving again. I will credit yoga for that. When I am there I wonder why I have let that slide.
I know one issue is that my BIL and SIL sometimes go to the same studio and I prefer not to see them, we don't speak anymore. And just seeing them raises the stress level and may affect me. But I also don't want them to be able to rule my life. I have several pre-paid classes at this studio, so I want to use them up and then decide if I want to go there or elsewhere. I also don't actually know if they still go there. They went in the mornings before. Morning or noon is the only time I can go today, if I were to go. Yesterday I did both the walk and the yoga and that felt pretty good and I slept better. I will have to decide if its worth it.

Carol: I think the issue with all surgery is the risk vs the benefit. What are the risks of NOT doing it? is your evening nap part of being tired from heart issues? or sleep issues? are the sleep issues caused by the heart issues? I know my Dad's heart surgery was needed, he was failing fast, so even though there were some complications, in the end he lived another 10 years, mostly good quality life. I think with the information at hand, your PCP may be able to help you decide better than the surgeon who has a vested interest in you having the surgery. I assume there are no worries about kickbacks.
I hope DH will refill and take his meds. You do not need the stress of him not being healthy.

Its cold here today but will warm up as the day goes on. Hope everyone has a good day.

The first evening nap was from lack of sleep the night before and the second was from the Benedryl I took for my runny nose. So I don't think it's a heart issue. My occasional light headedness and palpitations are probably from the heart valve. My cardiologist does not have a financial interest with this but he and my PCP both are recommending it. From what I've heard if I don't get it done it could go to heart failure and you have one year to live after you get symptoms. If you wait too long they can't do it. Also, I might not meet the criteria. But, nobody lives forever. I think my cardiologists have my best interest at heart.

I bought a loaf of gluten free bread today. I wanted to try it because the only time I have it is toasted with eggs. I ate a slice plain when I got home. It wasn't as bad as I expected. I need to have something that doesn't taste too good so I don't eat too much!!

Busy morning. FBG was 111 and weight up almost 2 lbs but I'm sure that was the KFC cole slaw I had yesterday. I didn't feel like cooking something else to go with the chicken yesterday. I am staying within my calories and my 8 hr or less eating window. So it could also be sodium in the chicken since I mostly eat just the chicken without much of the breading. Trying my best to stay OP these days. Spending money on pills and shots, if I am going to cheat.

DS lost another 4 lbs this week so she is doing great. She said that she was pushy to get more shots so I will have to do the same thing. I go next Tuesday for a shot and she found out she could get a shot on the 18th so I'm going to see if I can do the same thing and get a shot that week.

Carol Sue I'm sure you will figure out about the surgery. You and DH be careful out doing your errands tomorrow.

Mad I'm sorry about the problems with the yoga place. I hope you are able to work that situation out.

Hope everybody has a good day.

Haha- my scale is totally messing with me. It said (yeah, it actually talks to me) I was at a new low weight. This new weight is 7 pounds below my posted current weight (-8). That would make it a 15 pounds loss total (unofficial by my personal rules). I really, really want to believe it but come Sunday it will bounce up. It seems to do that no matter how careful I am on Friday and Saturday. Typically, Friday is my lowest weight of the week. Likely because I do 13-16 hour fasts on Tuesdays and Thursdays and almost always stay below my calorie target on Wednesdays.

Went ice skating for the first time in two and a half weeks. It was terrible. I only did about 40% of what I was doing before. I probably could have done more but I wasn't feeling it and was getting scared about injuring myself. I didn't feel dizzy or lightheaded but felt wobbly. Had some pickle juice when I got home (and silently toasted you Mad). I'm getting to the tail end of a 24 hour fast (four more hours to go). However, I am also trying to figure out if I can make it a 48 hour fast. Took my BS a little while ago and wanted to see something better than 119. My BP was in the yellow zone on my BP monitor though. I'm sipping on some diet tea that I bought a while ago. I'm not sure I've even had it before. Must have been feeling somewhat desperate and tossed it into the cart.

We got a bunch of snow when I was out of town and it is all melting now. Our property is on a corner and the north side by the road can get a lot of mounded up snow from the plows. If we are not careful, the runoff comes up on to the sidewalk. One of my favorite things is to go chip out the gutter so the runoff can flow freely. I was able to spend a few minutes today doing that. I find it really satisfying; I'm such an odd duck- quack, quack.

Pipsicle, here's hoping you hold the weight loss!!

Trish, I don't know why your scale showed up 2 lbs but I don't feel that it's fat. It's fluid, for some reason. Keep on keeping on!! You'll get there. I hope you can get them to give you more shots. You would think they would want to, so they could make more money, but keep taking the pills!!

I have calmed down about my heart issues. God answered my prayers that I would not have to go to Pittsburgh, so I am just putting this in his hands and trusting him.