Hello everyone. Firstly the good news, hubby has no more problems. Doc said his heart flutter has spontaneously righted itself. He still has to stay on the BP meds but he was already on them, just a different one and to still take the blood thinners as you never know. All set for our holiday now and he can stop walking around like an old man, but he is 74. The cardiologist cost €96 but well worth it and we will get 99% of that back from the State and the rest from our insurance. The French system is great, yes we pay for insurance but no more than we would pay in NI payments in the UK. Hope your gynae problem is a small one Wendleg. Bad news is my BG was 8.1 this morning and I have gained .4kg. I am putting it down to a very poor nights sleep as I have been strict with my food and NO WINE. I am glad I read your post Wendleg, it is coming up to 12 noon and the cave closes at 12.30 and I was thinking…….. Then I read your post, so NO WINE.

Great news Cherrysoup – a stone is a stone whether you measure in lumps of butter or custard creams.

Just been reading Dr M’s Fast 800 book and got to the part about HiiT and I am going to start doing it again – 20 seconds x 3 times at 3 times a week. I dont have a bike so I do very fast running on the spot. See if that gives my weight loss a push.

Just a thought. My BG might no be quite so back as I took it at 7.30 am and I am normally still asleep then and doing it around 9.30 am. That 2 hours could make a different. Have a good weekend everyone.

Great news for Hubby sunshine! ❤️

Amazing news about your hubby sunshine-girl, sorry about your BG. But you you have got this, I think you are amazing❤️.

Just on a side line – does it matter if you don’t go into Ketosis? I’ve been weeing on sticks for 2 weeks now and still nothing!

I was thinking of getting the wee sticks, but is it that important to know? I don’t really understand it yet but would love to have all relevant info for my journey. 💞

Thanks for your good wishes. Birdy and Cherry – the wee sticks are pretty useless. A better method is using a ketone breath test – not to be confused with the breathalyser which measure alcohol not ketones. I personally know if I am shedding ketones my the smell of my wee. It becomes slightly peardrop like, you can sometimes smell it on your breath. Another sign of ketosis is peeing lots.

That’s great news about your husband SG. And I’m sure you’ll get your BG back down again. You’re a determined lady and seem to have great willpower. I admire you!
Everyone on here seems to be doing so well this week. Congrats to you all. And to all those going on holiday…..have a great time.
I gave myself a good talking to this morning as I’m on the slippery slope……gained 4lbs since Wednesday…..but it’s my own fault. Caved in and had chocolate. I really thought I was at the stage where I could buy Easter eggs now and avoid the temptation to eat them, but I was wrong!
How do you long term BSD’s last the pace?

Hi Scottishgal, you are doing so well in keeping your weight steady, don’t worry that you gave in to the carb monster once.

Maybe the gain is water due to carbs? One chocolate egg doesn’t weigh that much, but additional water could. A few days on your usual carb levels and that water will flush away.

It’s hard keeping away from your favourite non-foods when you have to keep them close by for your family. Maybe, this year they could be left with a neighbour?

Sugar is addictive, and you can avoid high carbs by keeping your kitchen clean of the obvious suspects. Easter eggs, chocolate biscuits, you know what you like. A few months hasn’t changed you that much, and some people liken sugar to heroin in its neural connections, so you are saying no, while gobbling up the chocolate. It’s not a matter of willpower at that point, it’s a very strong demand by your habituated brain.

You can test how to soothe the craving; maybe the nuts do that, or a square of lindt 70%.

So glad to hear your hubby got the all clear for the trip Sunshine.A few years ago my hubby’s GP spotted a heart murmur/flutter and sent him off to the cardiologist .He had to wear a monitoring device for 24hours and it picked up severe sleep apnea ! He now has to wear the Darth Vader mask but the heart flutter was very minor. I had not realisd that the horrendous snoring could be managed !! Your hubby will soon be more confident and walking proud ! I am sure you will stabilize your blood sugar too.You are highly knowledgeable.

Scottishgal …my experience is that my appetite for crappy carby foods has disappeared because the more I read the more it reinforces the message that food is for nourishment and if it is full of cr** then it is not doing me any good and that is that. I don’t have easy access to supermarkets here where I am bombarded with Easter eggs and other buns but I wouldn’t buy them if I was. I want to be lighter and healthier more than I want a pie !! Write down your WHYS ..your personal reasons for wanting to succeed. If you are prone to self sabotage …why is that ? Keep referring to those goals.Track your foods in a pretty notebook to keep you accountable ? Easter egg choc is full of fat and sugar. If you need a choc fix try a square of very dark choc. I am not really a long term BSDer ( 7 months) but Allie, Esnecca, Sunny , JGwen and lots of other very successful members will no doubt say sheer strength and determination and overwhelming desire to get healthy kept them on track.

Sunshine girl . What a great result for your husband. I’ve noticed that my pee was smelling unusual and put it down to the change in my diet. Now you’ve said pairdrops that’s exactly it and it’s good to know that I might be in Ketosis.
Scottishgal. You’ll pull this back no problem. Our relationship with food is a complex one and doesn’t change easily. It’s not just our tastes that need to change. I know that I’m an emotional eater and really going to look at how I use food to fill gaps emotionally and what I can do to change things going forward.

Scottish gal ..this is what you wrote on your profile
“I am a 51 year old female living in Scotland. Been type 2 diabetic for over 7 years (and a chocoholic for life ) with medication gradually increasing. Now wanting to take control and change things…… so decided to try the blood sugar diet”

That is your motivation !

Patricia is right.Sugar is addictive .It is toxic .”Pure White and Deadly !!!

I am not going to be easy on you …..just ask yourself if you want to be addicted and a chocoholic for life or not ???

Addictions are there to be broken and you can do it and take back control.

Scottishgal, will power can be a fickle thing and since it’s meant to come from within, it’s hard to synthesize which is why it telling someone to employ it isn’t necessarily usable advice. I agree with wendleg that it’s probably wiser to keep certain kinds of foods out of easy reach. Not buying the Easter eggs in the store is much easier and safer than fending off the impulse to eat them once they’re in the kitchen. I’ve been in maintenance since October 2017 and my home is a sugar-free zone. If I want to offer my guests something off my menu, I get it for a specific event and make sure they finish it or take the leftovers with them. It’s no hardship to me whatsoever. When you set up a working system it’s always easier and to go along with it than to throw a wrench in gears.

On the general topic of craving the foods we equated with happiness in the dark old days, have you noticed any chances in your palate since you began the BSD? I now love sour flavors that I used to run from and have a much higher tolerance for hot spices than I did before, for example. When you’re feeling a vestigial craving, you can get a nice goose back on track from something you like more now than you did before. Anything with probiotic bacteria like sauerkraut, kimchi, real fermented pickles, miso, etc. is especially helpful because it seems a lot of our sugar cravings are caused by inimical gut bacteria that crave sugar. Replacing them with the microrganisms that don’t crave sugar can be a direct-line correction.

You’ve done it before so you know you can do it again, Scottishgal. It’s just a shallow trough, not a slope. One step forwards and it’s over.

Birdy I don’t know Béziers. We live on the other side, near Toulouse. My youngest son was a student in Montpellier for a time and we love that city.I couldn’t face lengthy car journeys . I am known on here for being an absolute wimp in a car !!

Enjoy catching up on your sleep !

Wow we have never been to Montpellier but we are not that far from there about an hour so maybe we could go this year. Could you give me some good places to see while we are there please. How long have you lived in France. We went to Tignes in March skiing and loved it. Even though I hurt my knee I can’t wait to go back next year. 💞

See you over on the Let’s talk holidays thread, Birdy !

Something weird going on. My weight is down by 600g. 🎆
l also measured my hips at widest point at the same time last week, and it’s increased by 2cm. 👎
My waist has reduced by 3cm, so I’m getting closer to my healthy proportion of 2:1 height to waist measurement.
Is my body shifting fat around?

Wow Patricia that’s great! I have no idea if fat can move but imagine if as you got lighter the fat you had left went to the right places! I’ll have my tummy move to my bum (in a j-lo not saggy way) please! 😂

Hi Patricia, do you think you could be toning up? I don’t think fat moves around. But if it does I’m with you cherry on the j lo bum. Mines always been a bit flat.

Oh and great news about your waist getting smaller. I don’t know anything about the 2:1,ratio. Is it an NHS guideline?

Cherry, skipping, that made me laugh! Definitely not toning, but J-Lo hourglass maybe with a few more strategic fat jumps.

The proportion waist to height is here. It’s a good way of guestimating the abdominal fat.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist-to-height_ratio

A good Florida morning to you all! I have been on and off this site since July 2018. I weigh the exact same as I have for maybe 8-10 years. I have not practiced the BSD woe strictly, but have been eating a lchf menu and have done some intermittent fasting. I have also been actively working on cutting out my daily 4 pm alcoholic cocktail and snack on a regular basis.

Positives so far:
a1c has returned to normal from prediabetic for the first time
tryglycerides are in the normal range for the first time ever
waist is down an inch

Statistics for Catherine:
age: 63
height: 5’4”
weight fully clothed after coffee this morning 170.4 lbs
10 weeks to next doc visit
Here we go again!

Hi everyone and a big thank you to Wendleg. No alcohol this weekend. Funny thing is I dont even miss it. My weight has dropped down again but I am sorry to say my BG is absolutely sky high. The highest it has been since I started this WOE 3 years ago and I cannot pin it down. This morning I was 7.9 whereas I usually run around 4.5 and 5.0 – for me to go high is at 6.0 but this is a worry. Any old timers (diabetics)got any ideas, other than the obvious like Dawn effect, eating carbs (I dont although I had hummus last night), drinking alcohol, no I havent, eating a big cake NOOOOOO. I am not feeling unwell, dont have an infection and have been exercising 4 times this week. I am still thinking along the lines of the stress I have been under with hubby being under health investigation and now looking forward to the holiday. I am using 22 units of insulin and thinking I might have to increase to counter this. I should also say that it was also very high at my early evening reading, normally around 4.5 but now 5.5 – still normal but higher than I am used to. I will just have to see how things go. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Oh and a big hello to Violinist.

I have been thinking and thinking, what have I done different. I have started taking omega 3 supplements. What have I just read is that it can increase glucose production in some people. Me who has done all these courses on Food Myths, Supplements, Super Foods etc and I make a basic mistake. I have already taken my dose this morning but, in the name of science, will stop from now on and see how it goes. Still interested in any other suggestions. I have just read about the somogyi effect which is similar to the dawn effect but occurs when BG is low in the evening, it is known as the rebound effect and does pretty much the same as the DE when BG goes too low. I must admit I have been trying to reduce my evening snacks. I dont really know why I have tried to change as it has worked perfectly well for me for 3 years to have a small snack before bed. I will go back to my normal routines and ways of eating and see.

Hi Everyone,
I’m afraid I haven’t had chance to peek through the thread so far!
We’ve had a disastrous week away, Katy contracted Norovirus the 2nd day we were away closely followed by My mum then me. So another birthday spent mostly in hospital. We have decided to wipe this week from our memories and try again another day.
So in hindsight I didn’t need to worry about what I could eat whilst away as only had one meal out then spent 18 hours in resus (because they couldn’t decide what to do with Katy) being offered biscuits, then started being ill so unplanned attempt at fasting! I think it has actually minimized my symptoms as I’ve been no where near as bad as Katy and Mum. I’ve ‘ejected’ 2.5 Kgs but I know this will be fluid as I can’t keep it in very well, but I,m not thinking about that at the mo. Made a blunder though, succumbed to a small slice of fruitcake (I KNOW I KNOW) as that’s all I could face that we had in…..BG was 8.9 this morning whoops.
Anyway I’ll try and catch up with everyones news if I can xxxx

Oh Shellbob, that is such a shame – I hope that Katy and your Mum are very much on the mend – and you too! I think after all that worry and illness a piece of fruitcake as only available palatable foodsource definitely does not fall into “blunder” category but hope the blip in BG does not add to how grotty you must be feeling. Norovirus is really nasty. xx

Hi 6Turkeys, to be fair my BG is probably up in response to the virus. Everyone is slowly picking up thanks xxx

So sorry to hear about your awful illness while on holiday Shellbob but glad you are all recovering now. I agree having a piece of cake wasn’t a blunder in your situation.
SG, the only thing I could come up with after initially reading your post was stress but I’m pleased you seem to have got to the bottom of it. You do so well controlling your BG and you definitely seem to know what you are doing. Well done.
Thank you to Patricia, Wendleg, Skipping and Esnecca for your support. Everything you have said is so true. I have no excuses for eating the egg except it was there. I’m usually an emotional eater but have no major problems in life at the moment. I was angry with myself after eating it and I’m back on track again. I still have 3 eggs hidden in my wardrobe and I promise here and now not to eat them too!
I do enjoy eating all the foods on the BSD and I’m experimenting much more than ever. Discovered herbs and spices and adding them to everything lol. I think I’ve also found a way around the nut overload……I’ve bought whole almonds. They are definitely not as moreish as peanuts or dry roasted so I can have one or two at a time when needed. I’m also persevering with the Greek yoghurt and think I’m finally getting there 😁
Hope you’ve all had a good weekend and are looking forward to another positive week.

Hi Birdy76,
I was very interested to read on one of the other threads that your son is diagnosed with ADHD. – I have a 35 year old nephew who may be coming to visit me later this week. My nephew mentioned last week when he asked about coming to stay that he has been diagnosed as having ADHD, and he uses carbs to “self medicate” his moods. I would really appreciate any insights or links you can suggest to research on this topic.
It may sound strange that I didn’t know about the ADHD, but I don’t know him very well. He is the youngest son of my half sister who I also didn’t know very well. She was 16 years older than me, she was raised by her mother following our father and her mothers divorce, and I wasn’t told that she existed until I was an adult. Sadly there was only a brief period in our lives where we were in contact, and she died nearly 10 years ago.

Hi JGwen I have not read anything on self medicating on carbs before but I will now. My experience with my son is that if he has too many processed carbs he has terrible mood swings. I know the foods to avoid though, with him obviously. But what I would google is ADHD in adults, then add self medication through diet. Sorry I can’t shed more light on it but I will do some research and get back to you. Birdy💞

JGwen – I have 12 year old special needs twins in my life who are very precious to me and they follow a strict no carb, high fat diet to control their seizures. Until I met them, I had no idea that it’s an ideal diet for seizure control. They also have to have an avocado a day to help manage their cholesterol from all the fat. They don’t have weight issues at all (in fact it can be hard to get them to eat) and still have multiple seizures but much better than they were. It’s all so fascinating!

Sending hugs to you, gran and Katy, what a week! You have had the opposite of a relaxing break, and I hope at home you can feel better.
Scottishgal, hope those Easter eggs don’t cause you any further anxiety, but if it’s on your mind, put them in someone else’s keeping.

JGwen first website is ADDtitude they have some info on self medicating on carbs, all to do with the dopamine. When they self-medicate with food, their brains enjoy a surge of dopamine, an increase in glucose-based energy that improves attention, and a serotonin-based calming of restlessness. So had a quick look but many don’t actually mention the foods. But if that is how he copes I am sure he will know what foods he will need. I would ask him what they are. It is all based on a reward system and should help him with his impulsiveness from what I have been able find so far. I copied the bit above from the website. Hope this helps a little. 💞

Shellbob, you feeling ok? Have you asked for additional carer support as you all need that right now?

Hi Patricia,
I’m feeling loads better today but going to give my fitness class a miss tonight. Thanks for your thoughts, we are very lucky in that we already receive 24/7 care for Katy at home. Its just we like to go away and have a bit of family time once a year, and last week was that, so we had no backup. Anyway things are settling down now. Katy’s nearly back to normal, my mum is much better and I’m just a bit dehydrated still but ok. Xxxx

I still haven’t had a chance to read much of the thread but I did see Mr & Mrs CC’s success post, huge congrats to you both 🙌🙌
I too love the concept of comparing to packs of butter……66 for me so far…..mindboggling

Glad your husband is OK, Sunshine girl.

I’ve not lost any weight this week – not gained either though, so could be worse. I’ve been eating the right stuff, but I’ve not been paying much attention to portion sizes. I’ll make more effort on that front.

Thanks all, hubby has had a miraculous change. He now walks upright and doesn’t spend half the afternoon in bed. Amazing what a doctor saying you are well can do. No, seriously I do understand and the meds he is on can cause cold hands – so welcome to my world maybe now you will put the heating up – and it can cause mild depression, so he has probably been feeling down with the meds and also not knowing if he is ill.

My BG has gone down a touch but I must admit I increased insulin from 22 to 23 units. Going to leave it there until I get this sorted. I have not taken any Omega3 today and will just throw it out. The funny thing is, I dont usually take supplements except for a multivit but hubby ordered them before he had his heart episode. When they arrived I checked them against his meds and he is not allowed to take them. So I thought, waste not etc and decided I would have them. Big mistake. I should have checked them for diabetes interference. I am always banging on about people being careful about what they take and I went ahead and took something without checking first. Lesson learnt. Have a good week everyone. I will check in tomorrow with a weight report although that is not my main concern.

Crikey, one day off the forum and I come back to find the threads are buzzing ! Time to catch up !
Sunshine, I will shout at you any time ( with your permission of course !!) Glad to be of help keeping you off the weekend booze. My initial reaction when you discussed your BG levels was stress related to the worry and uncertainty of not being able to go on your planned trip.Stress is an insiduous thing.
I am sure it will all be balanced soon if the Omega 3 supplement is responsible.
Shellbob, so sorry to hear of the horrendous week .You definitely did not need that . So unfair that it was planned to be a special family time. You are staying positive.You are an amazing woman.
Scottishgal, can you trust yourself not to go raiding the Easter egg stash in the wardrobe ?? Are they lurking there for you ….or someone else ?? I would say get rid, give them away… !!
Birdy I have recently read ‘Grain Brain ’ and ‘Wheat Belly’ and both are very damning about the effects of wheat/gluten and its effect on our behaviour, specifically in relation to ADHD. In fact if anyone is hooked on bread they would be a good read .
I will go and check the Positives thread now as there is lots of activity on there too !

I will set up another weekly thread , folks ! Beginning April 9th xx

Hello all, just popped in to say goodbye to this weekly thread before I go to the next one. Lost 1.5lb so very pleased and, even better, I stopped the Omega 3 and my BG is almost back to normal. Just shows, if you have an illness or take medication you have to be careful what you put in your body, even if it is ‘natural’ or just a plant. Just over a week to the first leg of my hols so will be trying to lose a couple more pounds.