June 9 2019 Sunday – It is a new day!
age 63
height 5’4”
weight 173 dressed
blood work just showed skyrocketing sugar
went from 108 to 132
Cholesterol, tryglcerides and blood pressure all down
focus is on NO ALCOHOL and reworking menus to exclude:
dipping and bbq sauces, glazes, pasta sauces, pizza, frozen yogurt ,wines,vermouth,
pickles, buns, and all the other usual high carb and sugary items. The above foods are just my current issues.

So, in the past year I have been battling with new diagnosis of high blood pressure and fighting the high cholesterol (familia) and triglycerides. While focusing on lowering carbs, I completely ignore “sugar creep” and had, in fact, taken it off “My fitness Pal” report area and replaced it with protein column. Not a good idea.

I have had a lot of “day 1’s”, as you know and I understand that no amount of menu planning, swimming, walking, and biking will help if I don’t give up the afternoon cocktail. Dang it, I love that hour!!! So here goes once again. If you do not succeed, try, try, again.

On a lighter note, I have been lurking about your comments and am so happy to see so many new successes!! Also happy to see Allie is all fixed (man that was irritating with your keyboard), Verano, Jgwen, ClarenetCathy, Wendleg, Reducia, Californiagirl ( in England now!), Woodduckie and all of the senior team here.

My hubby and I live in Florida and are a couple months away from moving into our newly built home. I really do play the violin in a local Orchestra and stay active by volunteering my accounting skills at my church.

Thank you for listening.

Catherine

Welcome back Violinist. You and me are in the same boat although I have stuck around here I too have gained some weight and I have my blood works done tomorrow so will let you know if my old problems have returned – cholesterol, triglycerides and BG. I do know that when I started this diet 3 years ago this month I was running at dangerously high triglycerides and cholesterol of around 7.0 and BG of 8.2 and within 3 months all that was down in a normal range with cholesterol at 4.2 and BG at 5.8. So I wait with baited breath to see if my sins (yes cocktails on a cruise and lots of wine) have caught up with me. At least we know that this will cure all our ills we just need to get back on track.

Catherine, you naughty girl for disappearing on us! I’ve missed your updates from Fla! It’s never too late to begin again,
my friend. Sunshinegirl and I are “old reliables”, we stay around come hell or high water, and even with impaired laptops
when required…Good to see you back!!!

Hi Violinist! I so remember your adventure building a new home in Florida and I remember it is near lovely wild areas and wildlife! How exciting to be almost done and ready to move in!
Yes, I have moved with my husband and two dogs to Bath, My OH took a job in Bristol — it’s been a wonderful adventure so far and I truly love this golden stone city of Bath.
You can quickly get control again and it will come easily to you. As an additional bonus, low carb helps with blood pressure issues.
Great to have you back posting!

My good virtual friends!!!! I so missed you all, but have been reading up! You are all so so encouraging! I thought you might be thinking “Here comes that lady again who can’t commit!” But no, you welcome me as if I am a new recruit! I really need to be more like you guys!!!!

Sunshine girl, ok, you and I can do this because Allie and Julia say so!!!!
Julia, what adventures you are having. Although I was in Sydney, Australia for a year as an exchange student at 16 years, and have traveled the world with hubby, there is nothing like living amongst another culture! I remember struggling with all the Australian vocab that is so different.

Allie, I solemnly promise to commit to 8 weeks today and to be present on this website sharing, comparing and supporting all who look for it. But, as you know, it may be 3 am, Florida time!!!

I lived in Oz for 5 years when I was in my 20’s. My first husband and I went as 20 dollar tourists (assisted passage migrant scheme) and stayed for 5 years. I remember going into a shop and asking for a packet of cigarettes and being given a carton of 20 packets. Sweets were lollies, so many different words. That was so long ago, I dont smoke and dont eat lollies so some things have changed. Much the same as when I moved to Scotland to be with my 2nd husband and I asked for a sausage roll and got a sausage in a bread bun. So many things frustrated me – people saying where are you staying, me saying Im not staying anywhere, I live here. Thought they thought I was in a hotel or something. Now in France and there certainly is a language difference but sometime not just because they speak French, there is a whole cultural difference. C’est la vie. Travel is good.

Good morning girls!
Great to hear from you again Violinist. I remember you posting something along the lines of….. “you can’t change the beginning but you can change the ending”. I wrote it down but am not at home at the moment so can’t remember exactly. Wise words. Another thing that is for certain is that we can all keep on keeping on…… as sunshine girl keeps saying!
I can’t commit to 8 straight weeks at the moment but am doing my best to stay low carb. One day at a time is the best I can manage and I’m just trying to rein in my ‘indulgences’. Best of luck on your new 8 week trip!

Good morning Verano and Sunshine girl! and possibly Allie who might be up this 3:46 am!!
Sunshine Girl, I know what you mean. I still remember 45 years later the different vocabulary of Australians.
Verano, thank you so much for the encouragement too. My schedule the next 8 weeks is clear without any traveling or visitors. My hbby just got back last night from a meeting with our builder at our new home to do a “walk thru” on what is left to do. They say we should be in by Sept 1 – 12 weeks, so will have that to look forward to.
Here in Florida it is now regularly in the 90 degrees so exercise for me is swimming laps in the apartment 60 foot pool. Every afternoon hubby and I ride our bikes to the pool. When it was cooler I walked to get the steps in. I do about a length a minute for 30 minutes.

Hi Violinst, good to see you back and hello to everyone else! I’ve also been missing in action for about 3 months other than a very occasional post. I am still following the bsd and after regular weekend only crusty bread creep, have finally got it under control….! 🙂 Long may it last…. the scales are moving down again now and I’m feeling a lot better.
Hope everyone is well? Lots of new members and it’s nice to see the regular “old timers” still here. 🙂
Kazzeex

Hey, Kazz! I like it much better when you’re not missing in action 🙂

Catherine, I was awake at 3:30am! Since you have returned to us, I’ll check in with you tomorrow, same place and same
station!

Hi Kazz!!! Good to hear from you too!!

Ok, Allie!!!

Hi Kazz good to see you!
So Violinist how was day 1? Hope you had a good start to your 8 weeks. If it wasn’t perfect no problem just think of the positives and don’t dwell on any slight imperfections if there were any.
I have put on a dress today that’s feeling a little snug! I will keep it on to remind me to stay on track!
Have a good day.

Welcome back Kazz! I have thought of you often! I hope all is well.

Good morning all! I actually slept until now 5:48 am.

Verano, Yes, it is going to be a bumpy few weeks here as I get my body and my hubby acclimated to no booze and better food. I am a very positive person but am really not happy with my food and drink choices in the past few months.

Hi CaliforniaGirl, Violinist, Verano, Allie- good to see you all again. 🙂
I don’t sleep that well and last night was awake at 2am, 4am and I get up at 5.30am! Someone at work suggested trying a lavender pillow mist spray so I’ve got that on order. She swears it works! We’ll see!
I managed a 36 hour fast last week and have been generally doing one meal a day and my main meal is at lunchtime. Seems to be working for me right now. Onwards and downwards!
xx

Kazz I’ve used a pillow spray in the past and found it worked really well. Lavender essential oil on a cotton pad also works. It’s best on a cotton pad because it’s very strong and if I woke in the night I could get rid of it if it was overpowering. I don’t wake as many times as you but do have fitful nights. I have started meditating and I find just ‘following’ my breath sends me back to sleep now. Best of luck in finding a solution.
Violinist as you say you made ‘choices’ they weren’t cravings so hopefully making better choices shouldn’t be too hard. It may just take a few days or so to get back into the swing of things.

Good morning! Thanks for the tip, Verano. I shall bear that in mind!
Well, I woke up cold this morning and couldn’t get warm. I’m wearing a teeshirt under a thin jumper! I usually skip breakfast but today I’ve had two scrambled eggs with a bit of cheese. I needed something hot! Roll on next week and rising temps! 🙂

Good 4:21 in a Florida morning all!

Verano, yes, these are not cravings. In years past I have had chocolate, mashed potato and pasta cravings but since I found out I was gluten and dairy sensitive, those have fallen by the wayside. They are mostly dumb choices made after an alcoholic drink, to be honest.

Kazz, I sure hope you can sleep better. I may be up early but I don’t last very long in the evening and fall asleep pretty early. My husband says I sleep like a rock.

Good morning all! This is the thread I am going to use for a while as a diary. My first week has been a bumpy one. I am one to fall asleep after 7pm and up at 3 am. That was not the case last night without my usual cocktail. I was up until midnight and then suffered from sweating and chills – so definitely withdrawals – which I consider a good thing. Yesterday I also put the scales away to focus on nutrition and mindfulness. I normally weigh everyday but may weigh monthly for a while just to remind myself what is really important here right now. I thank Julia for the encouraging words about putting less importance on the scales for a while. I see that going low carb easily puts me into the carb flu, but I hear all of you telling me to give it a week, so I will.

Catherine

Happy Saturday Violinist (Catherine), I had my bloods done at the beginning of the week and was so pleased to still be within normal ranges for BG and cholesterol. Not so for triglycerides but considering the number of cocktails I had on the cruise it is not surprising.

Instead of having one big holiday and waiting a year for it we have decided to take several small breaks and have booked a 3 night stay in a beautiful hotel in Burgos, Spain. We have stayed there before on our return from Portugal but just an overnight. We were on the top of a hill and so impressed that we could see right over the town, the cathedral and the monastry were within minutes walk and there is so much to see in and around the town. We have immediately applied for housesitters on the site we use and have already had 5 offers and picked one. So it is all go and will give me something in the near future to aim my improvements at – 15th July. Been back on the plan for 2.5 weeks and lots 4.5 lbs so far. I am not in any hurry as I have already been on this plan for 3 years and always keep my BG under control but a few pounds down would be nice. I do weigh myself daily as it is all connected to my insulin injections. A pound one way or the other makes little difference but, say 4lbs, means I am able to reduce the insulin. It would be a bit dangerous if I lost half a stone without having checked the scales and not adjusted the insulin. But that is just me.

Dont worry about the carb flu, it will pass soon. A lot of it is dehydration so drink plenty of water.

Thanks Sunshine girl! I loved Barcelona and Italy! Love to hear of your travels!

S_g good to hear your bloods were OK. Like you I also need to weigh every day. I find holidays are a time when I tend to stick my head in the sand a little. But hey life is for living!
So I shall be away for much of the next two weeks but starting July 6th I will be back on track. I’m really not looking forward to the scales next Friday even though I am eating lots of fish and salad but it’s washed down with red wine! I think I need a new plan to follow which will definitely continue to be low carb but as it comes up to my third anniversary I do need some form of renewal to get the enthusiasm going again.
Violinist it does get harder and harder each time we ‘restart’ but the important thing is to stick with the principles. That way we remain healthy even if we never reach the ‘body’ of our dreams!

Hi Verano! I hope you have a great vacation. I will be here when you get back!

I think you have gifted me with your erratic sleep patterns, Catherine! I’;m nodding off after dinner between 8 and 9, then
awake from 2:00am on. I hope you maintain this thread, because I will always know where to find you 🙂 Is O/H on
board with the idea of no cocktail hour? This is such a hard habit to break!!! I’m excited that your new home will be
ready for occupancy Sept1. How exciting 🙂 🙂 🙂 How far will you be from the Gulf?

Hi Allie! So sorry for your early mornings. Yes, this is my journal for a while now.

Actually, hubby stopped drinking wine earlier this week when he woke up with terrible heartburn, cough and could not breath due to probably an allergy to the wine. I took that and ran with it and did not buy any during grocery shopping for myself. He still has his Manhattan and I skip that. He isn’t sure what to say and hasn’t asked me what I am up to since I have been talking about doing this forever. Cool!

We are 30 minutes from the Gulf

Good morning from Florida folks!

Week 1 was a bumpy one but was finally able to get into a routine before dinner of simply drinking water and not a cocktail.. It helps to have a friend locally also working on her goals to lose weight and cut down her wine consumption.

Hard to believe the amount of water that is discarded in the last few days. Hubby continues to have his cocktail at 5 pm and I don’t. It is getting easier to ignore that time of day. I am sleeping better. I decided it doesn’t work for me to try and substitute alcohol with something like tea or a fizzy water. It works better for me just to own the responsibility and get on with the evening.

Doc visit went well even with glucose at 131.

I don’t see her for 6 months! Woohoo!

Happy July 1 everyone! I have been busy listening to videos over on diet doctor and one of the videos mentioned a great low carb menu site. Can I mention it here?
It has been 3 weeks since my recommitment. Many ups and downs and also our anniversary! No change in weight due to not meeting calorie limit. Overeating. Working on that now. Hubby will now be making his own alcoholic drink before dinner. I completely ignore the old “Happy Hour” now and trying to keep good fats up so I am not so hungry. Man is my body stubborn!!

Your body may be stubborn, Cat, but your will is stronger! You are in charge! Good job with circumventing happy hour!

Allie, just love your vote of confidence!!!!