FBG was 97 this am. During the night it was 74. In the past, I have eaten a piece of candy if it went below 90, but I didn't do that last night, so I don't know if it went any lower. But I think if I had eaten a piece of candy it would have been higher in the AM. I test often, and the only reason I check in the middle of the night is because I get up to use the restroom. If I can keep eating on plan I will not have to check as often. Right now I do it to see if I need more meds, or to see if I took too much med for the amount/type of food I ate. I can't really say I ate on plan, because I did have carbs, but my plan is reduced carb, not eliminate. I did have carbs, but I did not overeat, I did not have sugar, and I stopped eating after dinner and kept my fast. I consider that being on plan.

I had some pain during the night and took Tylenol. The pain was still there this AM but not as bad. So it might be a fluke about pain increasing if I eat sugar. I still want to stay away from it, and this is a good excuse to do it.

Trish, that's a shame that your Dad is telling people that you know he's there but he hasn't seen you. Maybe he is not aware of the days, and doesn't realize you have been there recently. It may seem like a longer time to him. I don't think it has anything to do with how often you are there, but the way he perceives it. I think the staff there sees you and knows that you take turns coming and that someone is there a few times a week. Please don't let that make you feel guilty. You are good daughters. You all spend time with him, and nieces and nephews too. Do you think he is accidentally turning his phone off, or that he does it on purpose?

I think the fasting periods between meals is really helping you. That way, blood sugar has had a chance to recover before you eat again. I think that's important. I know many times I did not do that or didn't pay attention. If your blood sugar is a little high and you eat the next meal, it's going to go even higher not matter if the meal was a good choice or not. It really makes sense to start out low before each meal. I'll bet a lot of diabetics don't even think of that. I know I didn't for a very long time, but I will pay more attention to it now. My breakfast is low carb 99% of the time because I eat the same thing. My preference is to skip lunch, but sometimes I eat some of whatever DH is eating. And I don't always test before dinner. I will work toward that goal. It should make a big difference for me.

DH told me he wants to eat quick/easy meals now, not for me to cook a meal each night like I used to. I have stopped buying meat other than the chicken legs I like and ground meat. He likes burgers. I used to keep steaks on hand as a quick meal for him but he doesn't even want them anymore. Occasionally I will make chili, stuffed peppers, or a roast...things that I miss from my home cooking. He is OK with that once in a while.

Today we are going to have hamburgers and hot dogs for the traditional Memorial Day meal. I will probably make a little bit of potato salad for him. I will try to eat light and keep this momentum going..

150 this am again. Was harder to fast yesterday, since I didn't eat LCHF before the fast. But I managed.

All the walking and gardening is having a good effect. Seeing some actual "sculpted" muscle in my legs and arms coming through.
(and of course muscle burns fat, even if it weights more). So if I see some change in the tape measure in a few weeks (takes longer than weight loss, but that's fine by me) I will be double pleased.

Time to head out to work soon. Planning meals for tonight. Salad with feta, avocado, cucumbers and tomato for lunch, and lamb chops and wedge salad for supper. Olive oil on everything!

Mad, I cannot get that link to work. I wonder if you have to sign in for it. What doctor is it? I know there have been studies that show that LCHF does work for heart disease, but I don't get into studies so I could never produce them.

DH's cardiologist said that it doesn't matter what you eat. If you have a family history of heart disease, you will also have that tendency. Diet/exercise could play a role in preventing it or delaying it, but family history is the main key.

Here is an article that discusses LCHF diet to promote heart health. It's not a "study" just one person's opinion. I don't really know how to look for an actual study but I'm assuming they are out there. It has taken the medical community years to even consider this WOE. So there might not be as many long term studies available.

https://lowcarbcardiologist.com/is-t...logist-agrees/

In more recent years it has been discovered that this WOE has heart healthy benefits and that it's the sugar, starchy foods that are doing the damage. That does not mean to say that I don't think plant based is heart healthy, too. Many people associate plant based with vegan or vegeterian. It's not necessarily the same. But eliminating animal protein can be difficult or impossible for many, so it's good to know there is an alternative.

Carol Sue I don't think Daddy turns his phone off on purpose. I think he doesn't know what he is doing and he has that phone in a mess. He has things on it that I don't understand how they got there. He forgets what I tell him 5 minutes after I tell him. I must have told him a dozen times where DS and BIL were. He didn't even seem to remember that their DD was in her new home. The nurse was surprised to see DH and me because we don't go on Sunday, DS and BIL do. I think they pretty well know DH and I go on Mondays. However, I felt that us going today would mean he had gone a whole week without seeing any one. DS and her hubby may go by there today when they get back in town if they get back early enough to get his phone so she can take it home and switch info to the new phone. I figure they or BIL will take him the new one and show him how to use it tomorrow. I think he hands are better but he still has problems using them so he is always messing up the phone just like he does with pc. DH had to get him back online and close a lot of things he had left open. I will go back to going most Fridays after beauty appointment and then go on Mondays with DH.

Weight is back up some. I tried using the BPC yesterday but I think it is just too much fat for me. I just can't do LCHF although I can do LC Moderately higher fat. I had a 14 hr fast before coffee this morning and FBG was 131. I didn't eat anything until I got hungry at noonish and bs reading was 122. Remember although some call that 16 hr fast, I don't because of the calories in the HWC. I don't know how to count the carbs in the yogurt I make so I figure it is low because I make it with H&H and HWC and the yogurt starter pack I use has 1g carb which is from 1 g fiber making it 0 so I figure the 4 oz serving I eat is les than 3.4 g carb per serving. I decided to eat it with a c of coffee no fruit. I will check it at 1 hr and 2 hrs and then of course I will check before I eat dinner. My weight is up quite a bit and I think that is from eating too many carbs and too much fat the past few days. I did make a BPC this morning, but used only 1/2 T of coconut oil. Tomorrow I will go back to trying the MCT oil and only use 1/2 T instead of the coconut oil since it is suppose to help me lose weight.

Carol Sue I think almost every family has some form of cancer or heart disease tendency however, I think there are a lot of reasons. I remember when we were young and didn't understand about health and nutrition etc, we would foolishly joke saying if one didn't get us the other one would. Thankfully we know more than our ancestors. I say that seeing that my Daddy's Mother's family didn't have a lot of weight problems because they raised their food and ate healthier than my Daddy's Daddy's family who ate huge not so healthy foods. Foods made with sugar was rare in my Daddy's Mother's family while I don't ever not eating sugar when visiting his Daddy's family. Daddy was so blessed because he was raised with his Mother's family. I don't know much about my Mama's family except that her Daddy and brothers had alcoholic addictions and if they weren't drinking they were eating lots of sugary foods. One brother was always overweight and Mama and her sisters all craved sugar and battled with their weight. Her Mama was a vegetarian because she didn't like meat. I honestly believe that as we learn to eat healthier that we have learned how to live longer than those before us. I remember Mama saying that only one of her siblings lived to be 70. Her Daddy died from heart disease in his 40s and her Mama lived to be 80 I guess from old age.
I remember when my Grandmother died that the doctor said that her body was shutting down and that it took about 2 weeks for that to happen. She died with her kids around her bed telling her good bye. What a testimony. I am one who believes it is possible to prevent these things from taking me out and am working for a better quality of life along the way.

I think quality of life is more important than years. It is not a contest to see who can live the longest. We all die and don't know when, but we can make an effort to make it the best we can. DH always says he wants to eat what he enjoys. His first wife ate very healthy and died at 43. So it's up to each of us to make our choices and live with them.

Diabetes is a huge risk for heart disease, and taking care of diabetes will do the most for our healthy hearts.
I feel this weight loss and blood sugar stability is the best thing I could have done for healthy longevity.

Had a great day with lots of exercise. Took a fruit basket to a neighbour who is home from the hospital after a minor stroke.
No work stuff tomorrow until I am called out. All in all a good day today. Ate well, but did indulge in some dark chocolate for dessert after supper.
Time to get back on track.

Carol: I think if you google "white coat, black art" you will get to the CBC website, and then to the podcasts, and look for the Keto diet podcast, and then the plant based diet is next.

The podcasts certainly didn't convince me that the plant based diet was as science based, which I think isn't true, so there may be some bias there. The one on low carb was more scientifically convincing on the listening end, which is not true in research.

Trish: this time with your father's confusion is hard, but precious. You can't have any expectations of him now. The time is getting short and he won't always be aware but there will likely be a small awareness. Do your best and do it with love, its all you can do.

Carol Sue I agree the quality of life is the most important part thing for us. I'm thinking of eating more healthy these days.

fatmad Yes, I do believe that just loving Daddy and spending time with him is so important. That is why I've decided to start back to going twice a week to see him. He loves takeout and until the weather was so bad, I was taking food to him on Fridays and now that the weather will be better I can do it again. It is so hard to leave him out there and I really hate it when I can't call and talk to him. I told him yesterday that I'm nosey and want to know what he is doing. LOL

I've had a good day today and stayed OP. Didn't check bs for evening meal because I forgot to look to see what time I started eating. I will have to be more alert to check that.

I'm tired tonight so I'll be ready for a good nights sleep. Hope we all have a sleep tonight.

I just watched Dr. Fung's video, How to reverse diabetes type 2 – the video course (I'm not sure if this is the video that you wanted me to watch, but it's the first one that I found). I like his general point about the importance of diet, but I don't think his point about keto vs low-fat diets is convincing.

He talks about how losing weight can improve (or cure) diabetes.
I already knew this, and it makes sense.
However, there's still the question of which weight loss method is best for treating diabetes.

He cites a study about weight loss surgery, although I don't think surgery is the best choice for everyone, due to the risks. He talks about intermittent fasting, but only mentions one patient and no studies.

Later in the video he cites the study Reversal of type 2 diabetes: normalisation of beta cell function in association with decreased pancreas and liver triacylglycerol where people lower their blood glucose by eating only 600 calories a day. This isn't sustainable, and there are healthier diets that lower blood glucose just as effectively.

He talks about keto, but again only mentions one patient and no studies, and backs up his point by saying "we all know this is true." He says that low-fat diets are not effective for treating diabetes, but he doesn't seem to be familiar with Anderson's study or Barnard's study. In Anderson's study he used a weight-maintaining diet, which means that the good results were caused by type of food, not weight loss (I suppose he would've gotten even better results if they did lose weight).

I haven't had a chance to watch Eran Segal's video yet, but when I do, I'll see if I can find the Stanford study that you mentioned.

I think diet and other lifestyle choices are the main factors, and genetics only plays a small role. There's a big difference between heart disease rates in different countries, even if you only consider people from the same genetic heritage. If heart disease runs in families, it's probably because people in the same family often have similar diets.

Japan has a relatively low heart disease rate, but Japanese living in Hawaii have twice as much risk as those living in Japan. Japanese living in California have 50% more risk than those living in Hawaii (source).

In Uganda they eat a mostly plant-based diet, and heart disease is almost non-existent, but negroes living in St. Louis have a considerably higher rate of heart disease (source).

"For decades medical establishments have convinced us to eat low fat, higher carb diets. How has that worked for our health? Here’s a hint, we have record numbers of obesity, diabetes and dementia."

The average American eats a diet high in refined carbs, so of course it's not healthy, but I don't think this can be used as an argument against carbs from whole foods.

"As it happens, a Low-carb High-fat or ketogenic lifestyle (LCHF/Keto lifestyle) dramatically improves your body’s sensitivity to insulin, reduces the amount of insulin secreted, and it allows your body to naturally use your fat stores for what they are designed for: Break them down into energy!"

It's not clear why he thinks this. According to this study, insulin sensitivity is improved on a high-carb diet, but impaired on a high-fat diet, and they cite several studies to back it up. However, it does depend on the type of fat. For example, this study shows that replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated fats improves insulin sensitivity.

Here's a quote from Penn Jillette (after explaining how he lost 100 lbs):
"I now eat whatever I want, but what I want has changed profoundly."

150 again today after eating mostly on plan (except the chocolate for dessert) yesterday. Today and Thursday will be fasting days, and DD is home Friday. Great news too, she is taking a new job starting in August as cruise director for a company that does adventure north cruises, to Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland and in the Northwest Passage. She will either have winters off (and maybe do pick-up work elsewhere) or work in the office or from home).
Either way, we will be home base and see her more without necessarily travelling all over to do so. Thats great for DH, who does not enjoy travelling as much as I do.

I think watching one Dr Fung video is not understanding IF and his take on it at all. I would advice reading the books, (either Diabetes Code or Obesity code, they overlap a fair amount) that cites the kind of research you really love MJF. He is not against a plant based diet in the books, I think he has seen better results with LCHF, but its the IF that is the cornerstone of his work. IF can be done no matter what your base diet is, even with SAD! My own DH, who doesn't have insulin resistance or obesity, used IF and lost considerable fat around is belly. He just had a pouch and its mostly gone. We are going to be doing more exercise together, weights and wall sits and he will do some yoga with me, as we both work to get into better shape as we age. We got the bicycles out yesterday, it is raining for the next couple of days, but I want to get out briefly, even just riding around the block, to "break in my butt" on the bike. Thats usually what keeps me from cycling in the last few years, but I bought this lovely bike last year and want to get out on it.

I hope everyone has a lovely day, even with the rain here, its warm and my garden can use the watering!

My FBG was 87 again this morning, so under 100 for 3 days in a row. This is hard for me to achieve but I know it will be good for my next A1c. I think it's done with a combination of lower calorie and IF. I haven't been counting calories, but I think I am in a safe range, just not overeating. I haven't been eating after dinner for the past 3 days. I don't really consider that IF. This is how we ate growing up....three meals and nothing in-between. It never entered our minds to eat something after dinner until the next day. I know this is called IF by today's terms, but I consider a fast to be a longer period of time. Calling it a fast could make me think that someday I will not do it, and I want this "no eating after dinner" to become the norm for me.

Mad, the new job for DD is fantastic news! Is she happy to be able to spend more time at home? Will it be visits or will she living there when not working? Is she the one who has the dog, or is that your other daughter? I get the two mixed up. Do you think the two sisters will spend more time together?

My step-son is going to put his dog to sleep this week. I feel closer to this dog than his last one because this one is smaller and gentler. Loves affection. I'm wondering how my grandson is going to take this. When he was little he teased and tormented the dog so the dog learned to avoid him and never got close with him. I don't know if they will get another one, but if so, I hope DGS will be nice to it. It would be so nice for them to be companions since DGS will never have a sibling.

I am going to do a new test today. During the night blood sugar was 74. At 8AM it was 84. At 10AM after just black coffee, it was 107. At 10:30 after breakfast it was 131. Now I have taken my Metformin, no G. I ate some leftover potato salad, you know, the old "resistant starch does not raise blood sugar" story. I will test in an hour or so to see how high it goes. I have never believed that. Potatoes always raise my blood sugar to some extent, cold or not. I will consider this my final test of the resistant starch theory.

Carol: I think cold potatoes might be like leftover rice. Apparently the chilling (and reheating) makes it different and releases the stored starch more slowly. So potato salad may be a better way to enjoy potatoes for some.

I am not eating today, so drinking lots of water and some tea. Housework day too, and going to do some yoga now. DH and I are discussing autumn plans, since I will be off at least 2+ months, and maybe 3. He is willing to do some travelling within Canada. DD will be away at that point too, from the beginning of August to end of October. She will be living with us when not away for work. We have a 3 bedroom townhouse, and all her "stuff" is here. Since her divorce, she has lived here when not travelling. Her ex paid her for her share of furnishings etc, so her possessions are few. Its mostly clothing and about 6 large rubbermaid containers of other things. It was 12 before, she has given up more and more as time has gone on, every time she is here she whittles it all down a bit.

I am still hoping to get a dog to inspire me to walk more. In the meantime, up and out to the neighbour who had a stroke, needs a little help with things today.

Mad I have never had success in the past with leftover potato salad so imagine my shock when I tested at 111 at 12:30 and 97 at 1:30. No elevated blood sugar at all. It may be from the combination of some other things I'm doing. I should be back in the 80 s by dinnertime.