I can see this page and the message to Margaret, (glad you are doing well) but nothing else, it is as if the subject has disappeared. Hoping this message will bring it back or move it on.

Looks like I have jumped onto another page.

My problem is not that I wake up. I just dont go to sleep, getting up is recommended as lying awake can cause more anxiety. It is not often I go all night without sleep and I slept okay last night. If I do wake for the toilet I can quickly get back to sleep and once asleep I am like a log. I have had a lot of abuse through my life and, unlike some people, I dont seem to be able to put it in the past and keep trying to re-write history. My daughter says I should write everything down but it would be very miserable reading. Okay I dont have to show it to anyone. I tried with an online diary that was very private, then the system crashed and I lost everything so I prefer pen and paper but afraid of anyone reading it. Yes, I know it is stupid. Verano, I also do the deep breathing, read MMs book but it is same things, I do count, hold my stomach, feel my breathing, go through the alphabet. Once I get in the cycle nothing helps. I was taking an antihistamine called Atarax but been on it for years and know it is not good – not sure it was doing anything anyway.

Well, to say I had nothing to say, I do rather ramble on. Have a good week.

Margaret, glad your op went well, hope your recovery is swift.
SG, sorry to read about your sleep issues and the cause. I don’t have any answers for you, but hope you manage to find something that works so that your sleep is less impacted.

So, now to report on my ‘progress’ since this time last week ….. sadly a blip upwards of 1.8lb!!! Frustrating as other than what can most politely be referred to as ‘stalled motility’, I can’t identify why this has happened. Best I can do is tackle the motility issue and hope the scales issue rectifies as a consequence. Will continue to monitor what I consume too of course.

Wishing you all a good week.

S-g I think your daughter may be right.

I went through a trauma just over 19 years ago. I’d had a hip resurfacing in 2000 then in 2007 I contracted sepsis which went to my hip. Then I went through a series of maybe 3 surgeries to remove my hip and had nearly 5 months in hospital. The upshot was that rather than just getting a new hip and hey ho off I would go, as I thought, my surgeon said if I was lucky I’d be able to walk with crutches! I was stunned. Then after a further two surgeries I had a new hip. I was wheelchair bound for several months and my mobility improved but has never fully recovered. So now I use crutches and a walker if I go more than a few hundred yards as I need to sit down.

OK I know this is completely different from abuse. I just wanted to say that I went through a really low patch for maybe 12 months after being hospitalised and accepting that my mobility would always be compromised. I kept a journal for quite a long time after I came out of hospital. After a while I stopped and just put the journal in a drawer. Maybe 7 months or so later I saw the journal in the drawer and started to re-read it. My goodness it was really a very depressing read. At that point I decided it needed to go. Destroying the journal, ripping page by page into pieces was really cathartic. It was like disposing of the trauma and I felt much better afterwards.

No it wasn’t a ‘golden bullet’ my mobility is still compromised, but yes it did put lots of things into perspective. It has allowed me to accept things as they ‘are’ and to not re-live a time when I ‘hit the wall’ several times.

Maybe if you ‘journal’ it will help you to stop reliving the past…. you can’t re-write it….. if only we could!!! We have to accept what has gone before us but we really have to try not to let it ruin today or tomorrow. I know how hard that can be. For me, with a physical disability, I just say “I can do what I can do and what I can’t, I can’t”. I know that a ‘mental disability’, for want of a better description, is not that easy to overcome.

Don’t let the past define your future you’re worth more than that.

Thank you SunnyB & my eye is feeling much better today after using the drops that will continue for two weeks.
S-G I am so sorry to read about your experience of abuse. I haven’t mentioned it before that one of my previous roles was working as a Therapeutic Counsellor & Psychotherapist with clients who had suffered abuse & also clients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I found that helping clients talk about what they had experienced enabled them to review it but also by exposing it helped it diminish by re-examining their own reactions to it & realising that any feeling of guilt they carried was invalid. In psychological terms it’s called making it concrete so it can then be helped to dissipate. So much stress is caused by circular thinking which can re-impact the experiences. I had to have two years in-depth counselling as part of my training & exposed for myself some suppressed bad experiences & memories. Writing experiences down can also help make them more “concrete” & Verano’s action of destroying her writing by tearing them up can be helpful. I do know that my way of working has probably been superseded by current research but my clients found their counselling & visualisation exercises helpful. It’s never too late to try to do something about your bad experiences S-G.
With very best wishes
Margaret ❤️

Thank you Sunny, Verano and Margaret. I can just mention that I dont lie awake every night thinking back. It is the other way round. I cant sleep and sometimes it is restless legs, tingling feet, cramp, whatever and I can work through it, get up, have a drink and so on. Then some nights as I lie there not able to sleep and the past comes back. Once it does it is like a story unfolding in my head and just goes on and on. Margaret I once saw a psych and he did the blow your nose into a tissue then look at it as say you are sh-t, you are nothing, you are filth, you are not in my life etc etc. Then throw it in the bin. End of. Funnily it did work and I can even laugh about that person (very famous so I still see him everywhere on TV) but that was just one person. Not wanting to bring this down I will leave it at that. I think the only person who knows my story is my daughter. Sorry, I am getting upset.

Verano, you made me cry. I knew you used a wheelchair or a walker when we first ‘met’ and that this diet helped you in so many ways. You live with your disability every day whereas mine is just in my head. I have learnt that doesnt make mine any less, it is not a competition as to how much pain we have. Bless you.

Back to business. No weight loss for a few days, no reason so will just keep on keeping on. Decided I need 2 more kgs before daughter visits. Already lost one last week so 2 more in 4 weeks.

Have a good continuation, as they say in France. Bon continuation.

I’m so sorry s-g that certainly wasn’t my intention.
“Acceptance” is a wonderful ‘tool’. I think I must have ‘accepted’ my limitations fairly quickly after the initial shock of realising my mobility was going to be limited. It certainly hasn’t held us back. Life is just ‘different’. As we age we all have to make adaptations we just had to do so earlier, and with greater vigour! As I said above ‘I do what I can do, and what I can’t do, I can’t’. “Acceptance”, without ‘giving up’ has helped me a lot over the years.

Verano, I just wanted to give you a hug.

I had another fairly sleepless night last night but there was a reason and sometimes it is helpful. Got up at 3am (its always 3am) and did a blood test and I was down to 42 which is 2.27 on other scale, so very low. Had a Werthers, a low cal chocolate drink and a slice of ham and 30 mins later I was up to 128.

BTW I couldnt think of a veg beginning with D or J or X, or a country with X. Got all the rest. 🙂

Thanks s-g!
D= daikon, J= jackfruit… is that a vegetable? X=Xanadu …. is that a country?

That really is low s-g. Can you reduce your insulin or isn’t it that simple?

I did a google, there are no countries starting with X – Xanadu is a mythical place or a song by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch – wow quell memoire. Jackfruit is a fruit but Jeruselem Artichoke or Jalapeno Pepper count.

What shall I try next.

I have just reduce insulin from 20 to 18 and it is generally staying steady. My fault I only had 500 calories. I had a beetroot, apple and ginger shake for lunch – probably about 100 cals. Normally I have a snack in the afternoon but the day went by so quick I forgot. Will stay at 18 until after my blood test in 3 weeks. Then I have daughter visiting so it will stay the same while we party party party. After that I will let things settle and will probably reduce after my October trip to Vienna.

Had another bad night but no bad memories, just couldnt sleep. I have remembered that for years I have been taking Atarax which is an antihistimine for my skin irritation at night, it is one with the sleepy drug in it. I have been weaning myself off and now on zero. Think I might need to start taking them again as part of the problem was my face, chest and neck were itchy, so maybe I actually need it.

Been out to garden centre and bought a few hundred euros of plants to make a hot garden where we had a tree and a bush removed. Going to ask Gemini how to lay it out as I am no Alan Titchmarsh. Now just have to stop cat from pooping.

Well I have just weighed & after a week of couldn’t care less emotional eating I have gained 0.5lbs which I am not surprised about eating more carbs particularly ice cream & a glass of wine with most suppers. I know I must pull myself together & get a grip now having crept up in to the next stone bracket 🤔
Gosh Verano I hadn’t realised your own trials & tribulations & yes acceptance is a very positive thing to achieve & something I have always struggled with.
S-G you may be finding an effect from stopping a medication with some soporific action as I have found reducing Tramadol & I have returned to taking two at night this past week after my cataract op helping me sleep.
I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend & a good next week🤞🤞
Margaret xx

Sorry about your bad night s-g but at least no bad memories. Yes maybe you should start back on your antihistamines. I take another one that I was weaned of earlier this year then I had two attacks of my autoimmune disease within a week of each other. I’d not had an attack for years! Sometimes we shouldn’t try to fix it if it ain’t broke! Hope you sleep better tonight.

Margaret hope your eye is settling down now. I’m just over 3 weeks in and must admit it feels better than my first one but still a bit ‘fuzzy’. I’m due to see the optician in the first week in September so that will be the acid test. Not sure how long it actually takes to settle completely. The funniest thing for me is trying to take out my ‘contact lenses’ at night! After 30+ years it’s a habit that’s hard to break but, as yet, I’ve managed to resist! BTW I don’t often speak of my ‘issues’ I was just trying to help s-g. I always say if I’m sitting down I look ‘normal’!!! Well ……..

Have a good weekend.

Started taking my Atarax again and I am sleeping like a log. Will keep on with them. I still have a prescription as the doctor didnt take me off them, I did.

Bad news, 3 glasses of wine and I am back to last weeks weight. I should know better but it can be a miserable life if we dont have any treats. I know it will soon come off but it seems like a waste of a week.

Have a good week .

S-g forget the number on the scale. Think about your great sleep.
Enjoy your wine!

We are in our last semester!
We need to balance our health and our enjoyment. I understand that because you use insulin things are slightly different but does your weight, per se, really need to be the focal point of your life? Would another 7 or 12 pound loss really make your life that much better?

Please try and include your ‘treats’ each week and ‘enjoy’! Life is too short to worry about the odd excess, unless of course it bumps up your BS temporarily!

Just wanted to say hello. A weird thing since I had my cataracts done. I no longer wear contacts so now when I slice onions I cry!

Hope you’re all well.

Hello Verano I am getting used to not being able to read instructions on food labels in the kitchen so having to keep going to find my reading glasses now with my two long distance eyes 😂 I also tend to wear reading glasses now when chopping vegetables so they do protect my eyes when cutting onions 😀. My eye is still rather sore so five more days of eye drops with my husband putting them in for me because I was missing my eye & don’t want to waste them & have to get another bottle!
I hope everyone is doing well 🤞🤞
Margaret xx

V and Margaret, glad you are both doing well after your cataract surgery. SG, as V says, try not to stress about the little blips on the scales, overall you are down and that’s what really counts.

My weekly weigh in showed a 3lb drop, but this is only due to having got motility almost back to normal, so really only 1lb of that was a true discard. However, overall it shows a downward trend, which is the important thing. Have approx 5wks to our next trip away, which gives me a slim chance of getting into the right stone bracket before we go. Onward and downward.

Hi all, I am not dispondent, just fed up of never getting lower that 74 but know it is self sabotage. Also, it is so hard being a diabetic. It is like a hidden disability that I have to live with every day. I am always having to think about food and what I can and cant have, I think my treat is a few glasses of wine because it doesnt affect my BG but it does affect my weight. But weight is important. Daughter and sil are in France right now and just stopped off at the beautiful lakeside village of Annecy. Daughter commented on being tempted by Beignet – a French doughnut, no hole and filled with jam. My husband said why cant she just say no. I asked him if he ever says no when he goes to the supermarket and buys his weekly cake and he said he doesnt have to. So thats how it is. We just have to say no but some people (and mainly men) can just have whatever they want. Diets and diabetes suck. But it is the attitude of just say no like we dont 90% of the time.

Hey ho thats life.

Just wanted to chip in as someone who finished the 8-week phase a while back – it does get easier once the first fortnight is behind you. The thing that helped me most was planning meals two days ahead so I never got caught hungry with nothing suitable in the house. Walking 40 minutes most evenings sorted out my morning readings too. Keep going, everyone.

Hi Felicity, welcome and thank you for your input. Hope you stick around as we are a mixed bunch of oldies and newbies. All experience counts.

Got down to 74.1 and not going to mess it up over the weekend. My Monday reading is going to have 73 in it. Enjoy the weekend everyone.

Quick check-in – just got back from ten days in Croatia and it turned out to be the best thing for my numbers in months. We based ourselves in Pula and I walked everywhere along the coast plus swam most days, and my morning readings came back lower than before we left. For anyone worried a holiday will derail them: I packed the same two-days-ahead meal logic for the travel days and it held up fine. One practical thing – we hired a small car from a local office (https://rent-a-car-pula.com/) for a couple of day trips into the Istrian hills instead of being tied to the resort shuttle timetable, which kept the freedom without taxi costs. Back on plan now and honestly feeling better than before we went.

Welcome & well done Felicity & your holiday sounds lovely I have never been to Croatia but love looking at historical sites & it is an interesting country.
Unfortunately I have just weighed & have gone up a pound. I know that I have lately been much too relaxed with not recording what I am eating or counting calories. It has been too easy to just make a sandwich instead of a salad etc but I will go back to soup making for lunch & again keep a daily record of what I am eating. I am not diabetic Felicity but know my knees will benefit from me weighing less. Today I am roasting a chicken for lunch so there will be useful leftovers!
I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend.
Margaret xx

Hi everyone
My husband is diabetic & I am overweight so it’s time to change our lifestyle. Have been reading the 8 week blood sugar diet I bought for my husband some years ago and the recipes I’ve tried have been lovely. I really want to keep to the good habits and not go back to snacking on crisps & crackers. I’ve been shocked to see how much sugar is added to items in the shops – it seems the cheaper it is the more they are piling in – I now realise why we have an obesity crisis in this country!

https://mcusercontent.com/26360a74217f40071dd4d88da/files/2691257e-c817-a525-fb2b-61834f25a59c/10_step_starter_guide_to_good_gut_health_2_.pdf?utm_source=The+Gut+Health+Doctor&utm_campaign=1fc4bebefa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_08_10_02_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2b8a35f93c-1fc4bebefa-460098569&mc_cid=473ae1c0bd&mc_eid=f7f1bcdbca

This is basically about gut micro biome and how to get your 30 a week.

Just wanted to post this link, hope it works! I do my best to get my 30 a week although sometimes it seems difficult. I’m obviously a creature of habit!

Welcome felicity and Cops19.
As sunshine-girl said above were a mixture of oldies and newbie but with the same goal …. to support and help each other to better health.

Felicity I think meal planning is great but as a retired couple one of our first conversations in the morning is …..”What shall we have for dinner tonight?” !!! Guess it’s one of the few things that we can change at will!

Cops, sunshine-girl and I both joined this group around 10 years ago! Yes, I know that seems a bit mad. I started here with T2 and on the highest dose of metformin with another drug threatened even though my blood sugar wasn’t that high really. Anyway, way back then this way of eating was rather experimental so I was guided by my doctor and within 9 months I was drug free and have remained so for the last 9years+.

If I may say the real secret to lowering blood sugar is ‘controlling carbs’ rather than weight loss per se. You can be thin and have T2! However, when you eat fewer carbs and stop eating Ultra Processed Foods you automatically reduce your food intake and should lose weight. In it’s most basic form cutting out bread, potatoes, rice and pasta and not overloading on fruit, especially tropical fruits like bananas, pineapple and mangos, should see a pretty good improvement in blood sugar quite quickly. However if your husband uses insulin then sunshine-girl is the one to give you the best advice there.
Hope it all works for you both.

Wendy you made me look back at my ‘log book’ and I realise that I’ve hovered around the same weight for 6 years or so. Ok so it’s overweight, by quite a bit, but at least it’s not going up. Maybe at our age we should just be thankful that we can ‘stand still’??? Yes, I’d love to lose some weight and I know it would be better for both my health and my mobility, but part of me thinks after maybe 60 years of constantly thinking about my weight it’s time to I just sit back and go with the flow?

S-g 73 or 74 does it really make that much difference to your life? If it does then hey go for it but in reality I don’t think it will make that much difference to your life if you just accept that you have a ‘range’ between an and b?

Monday tomorrow, another new week, another clean sheet, another new start. Have a good week.

Hi all, not my weigh in day yet but doing okay. Verano, the difference between 73 and 74 is psychological. I was once 74 something for months and months and I finally got down to 72 about 18 months ago. When I passed the 74 barrier I said I never wanted to see it again, but, like we always do, went on a cruise and back it comes. So 74 is just a number that I cant seem to jump under. My real goal number is 65 so quite a big difference. For now I just want to see a 7 and a 3 instead of 74 on the scales. Hopefully soon. But we have a night out booked for 7th.

Cop19 and felicity, I dont think there is much to say that Verano hasnt already covered but if there is anything specific there are a few people on here who can help and I just happen to be the one on insulin. I will just add one thing for today. Have you tried making your own crisps out of courgettes or aubergines. Slice very thinly, sprinkle with a little salt to get the water out then rinse and pat dry. Arrange on a greased baking sheet (I cover with greased proof paper oiled) spray lightly with oil (I never use low cal oils). Cook in oven at a low temperature (160) for around 15 to 20 mins, check and flip over. At this point you can sprinkle with whatever suits, i.e. cayenne, garlic powder, even finely grated parmesan cheese and cook for another 15 or so mins until they are crispy.

Just reminded myself when talking about the oil. NEVER EVER use low fat, low calories or diet anything. It is all a con and contains other things, especially things that are bad for diabetics. For example, low fat fruit yoghurts are filled out with rice powder or corn starch to make them feel and taste creamy. So they take out the fat and add carbs and the fruit is still full of sugar. This goes for a lot of diet products. Now you have me on my hobby horse. FAT IS NOT THE ENEMY. Small amounts of fat can help make you feel fuller and more satisfied. If you are diabetic fats do not affect your blood sugars so always eat full fat everything, yoghurts etc. Use real oil or butter and also fats like nuts and avocados are great for you.

I had better stop now but there are lots of myths to do with diets and food.

Have a great week everyone.

Hi all, I did ramble on a bit yesterday. Today is my official weekly weigh in – down to 74.1 which I hit last week but just had the weekend inbetween and I didnt mess it up. So that has me on track to be around 73.6 by next weeks weigh in. I have a night out next Monday so need to get down a bit to give me some leeway.

I am having a visit from my vegan daughter soon so trying to put a menu plan together. I have joined a 10 course by a vegan society but havent had anything from them yet. It is all in French and they showed a lot of off the shelf foods that are naturally vegan but not things I would eat like some biscuits or snacks, ready sauces or lasagne and gnocchi. There will be some bean salads but we dont get all the beans you do in the UK so I am limited to red kidney, white haricot, chickpeas and maybe add in some sweetcorn.

Have a good week.

Back again, lost more weight and now down to 74kgs. Had a nice surprise yesterday. I havent had a swim for a couple of weeks so I have been concentrating on strength and a bit of pilates. Was watching a YTube about visceral fat and how to calculate it. I went onto the calculator and discovered I have lost 2 inches from my waist and 1 inch from each thigh. Didnt find out about my visceral fat except it said this is a starting point and you will know you have lost it when these numbers go down. As my daughter would say ‘no s-it Sherlock’ meaning that it is obvious what will happen. Anyway I didnt watch the rest of the video but it was nice to know I am finally losing inches.

How are you all doing. Pop in and say hello.

Didnt say, since getting back from cruise in mid May I have lost just over 8lbs.

S-g great, great and great! All sounding very good!

I’m just ‘plodding along’ but over the last three days I’ve gone back to three meals a day and I’ve gone back to setting my timer to remind me to drink water… who would have thought!!! Anyway the number on the scale seems to be going down. Maybe a shake up now and again is not a bad thing. Time will tell!

Have a good week.

Welcome to Cops19 & very well done S-G with your inspiring weight loss since your holiday.
Verano your point about aging but staying around the same & for me a plumper weight is true for several years apart from since becoming more sedentary after my knee replacement & recently my cataract op & not being allowed to play bowls for four weeks. I would still like to be slimmer but of course staying healthy when getting older is most important.
I have just weighed & gained 0.75lb now up into the next stone level which has shocked me at how very easy it is to gain weight eating carelessly with carby treats creeping in. I have asked my GP for a blood test to check if I have become pre-diabetic & will on Tuesday return to hospital to see if my left knee will need surgery. Obviously I am a bad example regarding closely following MMs excellent guidelines with strict low carb eating & must get back to this!!
Very well done to those of you continuing to lose weight & I hope we all have a positive next week 🤞🤞
Margaret xx

Sorry not to have reported in recently … last week was a bit out of kilter and I struggled with eating right. However, seem to have pulled that back and today weighed in at the lowest I’ve been for sometime. Still not in the right stone bracket and in reality, unlikely to get there before our next trip to Turkey at the end of the month (flight now booked). Will keep going though and hope to ditch a few more lb before we go.

SG, great result! You are always so determined and focused, you deserve to reap the rewards.
Margaret, that small blip on the scales will soon be resolved, so don’t beat yourself up about it … just keep right on going.
V, really like that you identify your issues and put a plan in place to deal with them. Hope you’re seeing results.

Well, all we can do is our best, remember we have the opportunity to make a difference each time we make a decision on what we’ll consume, so make it a good one!