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Hi Verano, It must be ‘clearing out’ season!

I haven’t got rid of the ‘larger’ clothes 👗that I sorted out 6 months ago…they are still packed in a couple of suitcases, BUT… My house is over-run with books 📚, so I have decided to be ruthless and have bound up a number of “trilogies and/sets” that I have read several times and donated them! 😇 So feeling good that the bookcase is no longer groaning under the piles of books balanced on top! I cannot get on with a kindle….much prefer the feel of a real book…so I end up buying loads of paperbacks from eBay!!

2nd positive is my new kitchen mats …they are just what was needed to stop my elderly dog 🐶slipping around, and have smartened the kitchen up brilliantly!

Great to have some positives to share!

Just a quick ‘hello’.

Good to hear the ‘good’ and ‘improving’ health results. Hoping the next consultations are good.

It’s Tuesday, my weigh-in day so need to report I’ve lost :2.2 of my 2.4lb holiday gain so really happy with that.

New week. We can all start afresh with a new goal for the week. Let’s make it a good one!

Hi everyone,
I’m just finishing up a 36 hour fast. Will break it when my chia pudding is ready to eat. It was easier this time and I didn’t need anything other than water and a cup of herbal tea to get me through. My cgm sensor bit the dust this morning though. It has been reading low all week which has been frustrating, especially since the company tried to tell me it was working. Then this morning it measured a 2.9 mmol/L, which I estimate was probably in the mid-high 3’s based on how much it has been underestimating, but it suddenly packed it in, said it was shutting itself off for my safety, and told me to remove it. The adhesive has been getting very itchy anyway, so I took it off. I just tested with my regular monitor and it says 5.6, which is still pre-diabetic after a 36 hour fast! So clearly, I still have a lot of stored glucose making its way out of my system. Frustrating, but I was reading an article by Dr. Fung and he says this is to be expected and not to worry too much about it. He says he doesn’t even use fasting glucose as a check anymore as it varies so much and can be misleading for people who need to release stored energy, and that the medical system focuses too much on getting blood glucose down without considering the bigger picture that Type 2 diabetes is actually about too much stored energy rather than too much glucose that can’t get into cells as for Type . I am feeling slightly dehydrated still so that could be a factor as well. But I think all the evidence is pointing to needing at least 2 fasts a week. I have been less diligent on the exercise front this past week too, so clearly that was having an impact. It being August, I am feeling quite burned out from the farm, and more so this year than others, so I get lulled into thinking that I am doing enough work around the farm each day, but if I put my step tracker on, that is not the case, especially on days when I am doing my office job primarily.
So here we are. I will have my chia pudding with some raspberries, and then plan what to have for my other meals today and tomorrow. Will likely feature zucchini, broccoli, avocado, kale and chard for vegetables, and at least 1 fish meal and one soy free tofu meal. Keep on keeping on everyone!

Good morning everyone,
Margaret – good luck for your next check up! Hopefully when they re-dress your knee it’ll be looking much better! And thank you, yes, got my biopsy results this morning and all clear, so I’m good now for another 5 years🤞
S-G – Yes, I’m in Melbourne – a lot less humid in summer than you’d have been used to! And thank you for such a clear description of how complex and simple carbs differ in how they affect BG levels/spikes. Carbs are the one thing I do track very carefully, and it’s too easy to just lump them all in together! Also thanks for highlighting yet again what we’re up against when dealing with the (mostly very discouraging) medical profession – thank goodness for the support offered by all the wonderful people on this forum! And not just support but lived experience, both the highs and lows, which is a far more valuable resource than anything offered by most GPs or Diabetes Nurses.
Pootle – I do hope you’re feeling better in yourself now and aren’t still worrying about what the doctor said. As S-G so succinctly put it – “stuff them”! No effort spent on improving your health is ever wasted.
Anyway, take care everyone,
Lacy 💖

Hi everyone, Antigone I am Bergerac area. I have always weighed on a Tuesday because of the Sunday closing in France (too lazy to get up early on a Sunday morning). We shop on a Thursday (it is quieter) and I wanted all fresh veg to start the diet so did a shop on the Monday and started the diet on the Tuesday – nearly 10 years ago.

Pootle, I am not sure if it is just the words but to clear any confusion – the meal you had was full of complex carbs – low and slow with lots of fibre and nutrients – it was a great meal although you wouldn’t normally have that many varieties in one meal. Therefore, it should have given a good reading (5.2). Simple carbs are the ones to avoid like bread, pasta, rice, sugars etc. Now, what you doctor said, and I don’t want to upset you, it is true you will always have a propensity to diabetes (see my smoking analogy – once a smoker always a smoker). What she said that was wrong was that if you stick with low carb foods you will go back to pre or diabetes. That is not true – she obviously thinks it is too hard to maintain over a long period – hello there – I am 10 years low carb and kept my BG good. Obviously if you do slide back into our old dietary habits the diabetes will come back. But you know that, hence the slip ups of late and the higher reading a couple of tests back. Look at me, 2 weeks on a cruise, one week at daughters but still celebrating 32nd wedding anniversary and hubbies 80th so the treats continued leading to an extremely high HbAic (7.2 which is high for me). Like you I was met by a doctor who decided to talk down to me trying to tell me where I was going wrong and I would never get the hang of it. Well stuff them, we know what we are doing and we know it works for us. Just keep on the low carb plan and you will get back to that non-diabetic status. It might have set you back a bit but nothing is easy. I am hoping my BG is down to its 6.2 range when I am tested next month.

Woke up to overcast skies and forecast for rain but still waiting but mainly a lovely cook 24 degrees. Keep on keeping on…

I hope your colonoscopy result is good Lacy & S-G gosh having to deal with 40c plus heat must be very trying. I’m sorry to hear how disappointed you are with your results Pootle but you are doing the best you can eating low carb to help yourself & try not to get stressed about it 👍
Thank you everyone for support & I am on my second weeks course of on antibiotics hoping to quickly heal my second area. I have a check up on Wednesday when it will be redressed. I bravely weighed today & am pleased to say that I have only gained four pounds in weight despite all my husbands generous food offerings 😀
Keep on going everyone I hope to be joining you soon with some weight loss 🤞🤞
Margaret xx

Hi S-G.
I haven’t measured often after food…but have been measuring ‘fasting’ every morning… (only 3 spikes above 5.4 in the past 3 months). I got demoralised because I thought she was saying I am wasting my time keeping to low carb as I will eventually be diabetic again anyway!! 😩 All I am doing is slowing the process! 🥲 HOWEVER, having done the ‘after food’ test yesterday, with quite a lot of simple carbs in the meal ( weighed as; Squash 5g carrot 3g, Swede 3g, courgette 2g, celeriac 4g, beans 4g, broccoli 4g, gravy 2g, Apple 7g, berries 4g, cream 3g = 40g in one meal!!) I am satisfied that I am doing the right thing by sticking to the plan! I haven’t been eating that much carb in one meal for a very long time…sticking to around 50g per day. I don’t eat breakfast unless I am away…never hungry enough to be bothered at home! So although I have gone back into pre, I am going to ignore that and just keep going with low carb. I will still avoid the complex carbs…I don’t want to have to go through the carb monster withdrawal again. I knew that I was testing myself yesterday with that amount in one meal…

Thanks every one. I appreciate the back up!
K.xx

Good evening all,
Thanks for the encouragement! I really appreciate the advice and backing.
I had been feeling pretty down as it seemed as though the GP implied that, because of my genetic disposition to diabetes, I am unlikely to keep it in remission/at bay long term. 😩 and I must stop worrying about it, keeping weight down and on low carb despite the Hb1Ac showing I have gone back into pre diabetic.
However, I have decided to be positive and continue to record my stats, so I can keep an eye on what is happening! This evening, 2 hours after roast beef with a medley of roasted vegetables (butternut squash, celeriac, swede, carrots and courgette), broccoli and buttered French beans followed by cooked eating apple with black and raspberries, a prick test gave my BG as 5.2 mmol/L !!!!!!!!! There is nothing diabetic about that result even though I had a good plateful!

I think I will stop calculating carbs in everything I eat, and see how it goes!

So, all in all, I aim to retain control and will just be hoping that I will remain in remission!

You are all very special people. So let’s keep on keeping on!
K xxx

So it’s Sunday and my goal is now to find just one positive each day. So for today…

🌳🌳🌳 had some olive trees in pots pruned today. The olives have become ‘wild’ in the unusually hot summer here this year. They now look lovely.

Another….

👗👘👖👔🩳 Starting to sort out clothes for charity shops so we can put the clothes we ‘actually wear’ in the wardrobes!

Why do we ‘hang on’ to ‘stuff’!

At then moment I’m on a ‘clean out, clear up ‘ mission!

Hi everyone, Shetland I knew you were from (or living in) Oz when you said cleaning out the chooks. I used to live in Sydney – or just outside. Pootle, you are still in pre-d and your doctor is telling you not to be so obsessed. It is only us and our dilegence that can get ourselves at good levels. Yes, maybe stop testing daily – says she who frets if I dont do all my stats every day – try to get out of the habit. But, that can lead to forgetting and then getting a shock. Just do what is working for you.

It is still so hot but down 10 degrees from 43 to 33. Top today 38, hopefully we are forecast for rain on Tuesday, I will be outside dancing in it. About the rain, it is a waste of time watering anything now, everything is shrivelled up. Still got a few tomatoes to redden and a few geraniums in pots so I live in hope. Thought I might get a swim after our Sunday brunch but my delicate stomach had other ideas and then I couldn’t risk it. There will be other days.

Weight is steady but will wait for Tuesday for my weigh it.

Hi everyone,
I’ve been doing pretty well this week. My fast Monday went well. I did end up needing some bouillon to get me through the evening, but didn’t break it officially until Tuesday morning. I have been hoping that I could get away with just one fast per week to begin, but even though I’m eating fairly low carb, and my numbers are pretty good for a couple of days after the fast, by the end of the week they are popping back up into pre-diabetic range. So, I think I will have to do at least 2 fasts for a bit. I’m trying not to get down about this and realize that it is just a sign that I have more work to do and more weight to lose. I am feeling good otherwise, so I know the changes are making a difference somehow, even if not fully on the bg front. I have less brain fog at work and I think I am sleeping better as I am less exhausted in the mornings when I wake up. So it has had some impact and I have to remember that.
I phoned the company about my cgm and they were very helpful. They are saying that it is not broken, but that placing it on my chest may be making it read lower than it would if it were on my arm. I explained that they don’t stick to my arm as a working farmer and the woman chastised me and said they are only meant to go on the arm. I was reading online though that other active people have to use alternate placement though and seem to do ok with that. The erratic readings I was having last weekend were likely due to the fact that my bg was zooming up and down all day and it doesn’t do such a good job of being consistent under those circumstances. It leveled out again during my fast.
I was at a training day for work yesterday, and I took a salad with me for lunch. I put 1 cup of cooked quinoa in the whole salad, which made 4 servings, so only 1/4 cup per portion, but unfortunately, it did really spike my bg up. Nice to have some variety in my meals once in a while, and quinoa is a nutrient powerhouse, but it might have to sit on the sidelines for now until I get my baseline insulin levels down. The rest of the salad was kale, avocado, lupini beans, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, acorn squash and feta cheese, so I probably could have done without the quinoa. It is just interesting to experiment while I’m wearing the cgm to see what happens when I eat certain things.
DCT – good to hear you are leaning into the gym and swimming, in spite of the swimsuit issues. We have been quite cool here the last couple of days after a short heat wave, so I haven’t been swimming again this week, but it is supposed to warm up again tomorrow, so I may go then. It will be interesting to see if there is any change in the fit of my suit since last week, as so far it has been looser every time I’ve been putting it on.
Hope everyone else is keeping on keeping on!

Sunny sending🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

You’re so right about friends Verano. I’m so grateful for all of mine who have rallied around and offered help and support, both practical and emotional. It’s made this difficult time much easier to bear.

S-g I sympathise. Keep cool,

Hi S-G, hoping that you are managing to keep coolish without too high an electricity bill! I think I would try a sort of hibernation in those temperatures! I am not good in the heat, much prefer the cold…all bundled up outside, then get cosy by the fire!

So my blood results are in… 😢 still back into pre diabetes albeit one point lower than in early May (44). HbA1c now 43. Better than the 50 of June/July 2024 but still not as good as the 40 of December last year! I am still slowly losing weight, and have been really strict over the last 3 months.

When I phoned for the result, they said I needed advice from the diabetes nurse… so to avoid that calamity, this morning I managed to get an appointment with the doctor who is supportive.
I showed her my records… food eaten with calories and carbs, weight 7lb down since Christmas, BG prick tests fasting and 2 hours after eating…. Yes I am a bit of an obsessive nerd! 😄🤪😂
Her reaction was, if I hadn’t lost the weight and adjusted my diet I would probably be up into the high 50s or 60s now. She understood that I am determined to avoid the slippery slope of the medication route if at all possible. Her reaction was that I am overthinking it, and the numbers could be being influenced by the asthma medication I am on, and/or stress.
So for the next three months I am going to relax the record keeping somewhat. Just being mindful of what I am eating, no complex carbohydrates, no sugary foods, drinks or snacks and see what it is like at the next test.
The really bad news is she is retiring at the end of the month…. 😩😢 Only hope I can find another GP who is as good at listening and treats me as a person not a number!

.

Good to see you posting positives V … great that travelling is working out well for you again.

My positives today are …..
🌹🌻 got my hands into some soil today, was wonderful to get dirt under my nails and reconnect with Mother Earth.
👖🧥 a trawl of charity shops gave me a showerproof jacket and a pair of M&S cropped trousers.
💖🫂 looking forward to Saturday, when I get to see my lovely OH again.

What are the pluses in your little corner of the world?

Hi everyone, I am still alive, just. We are having another few days in the low 40s and it is unbearable. Fortunately, we don’t have to go anywhere or do anything. Sat with a facial electric fan on my desk or on my bedside table. For the first time every I have bought a big bag of ice – like the do in American films. It is coming very much in handy.

Had some weight loss so back on the move.

SL, I remember when I was gong for a colonoscopy – the worst part was the night before having to drink gallons of a foul tasting solution. And yes, white rice, mashed potatoes etc. Not a lot for us to eat.

Verano, it was around 36 when we were in Rome and that was in April. Must pick you brains as we want to go back for a few days. What do you recommend, how did you do it (organised trip or self booking). It will probably be next year as we have a holiday in the UK in September and another for Christmas (oh no, Ive said the dreaded C word).

Stay safe everyone.

Good morning all,
Verano, good to hear you are home safe and sound. That the ‘legged’ flight worked for you, with your luggage arriving at the same time, is brilliant!!

Margaret, a relief to hear that your problem with the knee is getting resolved, and excellent to get a round of applause for your walking without crutches!

S-G I really hope that the heat is calming down and you got all your delivery into the freezer in good time! . It is quite cool here this morning, so I am planning a much needed ‘muck out’ of the chicken shed.🙄 A job I tend to put off!

Antigone, Tulip, Heidi, Shetland and Mokovex. I hope you are all ok. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Thinking about everyone in this community, and keeping on keeping on..
K xxx

Sunny you sound like you’re coping really well. Thinking of you and great to see that you are still finding positives. It’s so easy to become ‘bogged down’. As s-g would say, just keep on keeping on……

Ahh Pootle this is where I read about your bountiful harvest. Our niece grows courgettes and a few years ago she gave us some ‘giants’. I made enough soup to last through a whole winter! Needless to say courgette soup is no longer on my ‘favourite’ list although I do love roasted courgettes. I often roast courgettes, onions, tomatoes, aubergine and peppers with olive oil and garlic and freeze in portions.

So yes I do have positives and I’m going to do my best to find some most, if not all, days ..

🛫🛬🛫 Experimented yesterday with a flight from Rome to Manchester via Barcelona. (We have assistance in airports).The reason was that this flight left at 2.30pm and arrived in the 7.30pm. All the direct flights didn’t leave until the evening, arriving late and then a drive home in the dark in the early hours. It worked! Two hour stopover which we needed to change gates, and the luggage actually turned up in Manchester! So very much a positive! Especially as we have a flight to Athens via Copenhagen in October …. feeling much happier about that now.!

🧺🧺🧺 Half of the washing done so just the ironing now!

🍅🥑🌶️ Ate a lot of lovely food while away with plenty fish and fillet steak with salads and vegetables etc. No interest in potatoes or rice but my daily treat was two inches of baguette with blue cheese. I also had an odd 1/4 portion of pasta and even shared a pizza with my OH. Italian pizzas are pretty basic without tons of toppings, thick crusts or ‘dough balls’. Actually quite healthy with rocket, my new favourite, and tomato salad. Now I just have to find ways to incorporate Italian pasta flavours into a lowish carb diet!

Hope everyone can find a positive or two today.

Thank you Antigone & brilliant weight loss 👏👏 gosh Mokovex you are having to deal with a lot & I hope your treatment goes well. I know how difficult it is to lose weight when there is so much else going on & all you can do is take one day at a time & be kind to yourself!
Well my update is that my wound breakdown is probably caused by dissolving sutures wanting to escape rather than dissolve!! I’m so pleased to have a reason because I was wondering if I had done something wrong. I’m returning on Friday to have a check & a fresh dressing applied with a photo being sent to my consultant to check the healing & if I need an extended course of antibiotics.
It was amusing because a physio came down to see me so we didn’t have to drive back there again within a couple of hours & he put me through my paces. He challenged me to walk without crutches up the corridor past patients waiting to be seen then gave me one crutch to walk back with & I got a round of applause from them which was encouraging & lovely😀. I must now only use one crutch & make sure I am rolling my foot from heel to toes as I am trying to walk. It’s weird having to think about how to walk because it’s usually so automatic but I have been limping for two to three years with my stick before my op so my muscles have to be retrained. 🤞🤞
Keep on going everyone it’s worth it taking as much control as we can to help our own health & I will soon be rejoining you on the BSD once I’m back in the kitchen cooking from scratch again 😀
Margaret xx

just to say I survived the heat from yesterday – 43 – today we are cooler at 41 🙂

Weight loss is a disappointment at only quarter of a pound. Still, better down than up. Had a swim most days but it never seems to impact on my weight. I did have a one slice of bread chicken sandwich just before bed last night as I was getting the shakes. Should really have done a blood test to see if I really needed it.

Big job today. Just taken deliver of £90 of Irish sausage and bacon. All has to be bagged up and put in the freezer to last a few months.

Stay safe everyone.

Hi everyone,
Yesterday turned out to be a bit rough. I was struggling to get my glucose stabilized all day without overshooting, but just ended up on an all day rollercoaster. Then I messed up with my evening meal as I had imitation crab in nori wraps, thinking it was low carb, but my glucose shot up and down again, so I had to eat some greek yogurt to help stabilize things before bed. Also, I may have damaged my cgm by going swimming. It is supposed to be water resistant for 30 min and I was only in the pool for 20-25, so it should have been okay, but it was giving me some erratic numbers last night. It may have dried out as it seems to be doing better today while my glucose levels are more stable, as I am fasting, and the numbers are matching pretty well with my regular monitor. We’ll see how it does when I start eating again.
I’ve been feeling better today and my blood glucose has been pretty steady between 4.3 and 4.8 while I’ve been fasting. I did have some nori snacks for some salt and because I got quite hungry this afternoon. Only 15 calories though, so it shouldn’t impact the fast much. I’m hoping to keep going until tomorrow morning for a 36 hour fast. Might have a bit of bouillon though to get me through this evening.

Just want to say thank you to ADMIN, the rubbish clogging our site has now disappeared. Many thanks for looking out for us.

Hello Mokovex
sorry to see all the horrible things you’ve had to deal with but glad you are feeling positive again and in control. Pootle we’re all keen to hear how you get on with nurse and doc!