Diabetes, begone!

[Griffen]

High: 120 (after exercise)
Low: 90 (before dinner)
Average for the day: 104, my lowest yet. And all my numbers after lunch were in the 90s.

What was great about today was that I easily stayed below 20 carbs (13 net) and I haven't felt deprived at all. I had a huge dinner, almost all protein, and showed almost no bump in my sugars at all. Also, I'm down to 371 - that's a 26-pound loss - and my waist has dropped 9 inches since I started this. All of this is great. The numbers may indicate that my pancreas is starting to rally and/or that my cells are finally beginning to lose their insulin resistance.

Meals and activity today:

Breakfast: My usual cinnamon-parmesan 3-egg omelette and two strips of bacon.

Snack: Six thin slices of pepperoni (I know, I know, but no carbs!)

Dinner: Huge. We went to Hometown Buffet and I had a steak, about twelve ounces of fajita beef and onions, two pieces of roast chicken, and a salad of spinach, salad mix, cucumbers and blue cheese dressing. Oy, was I full - but my sugars only went from 90 to 95.

Nighttime snack: Two fried cheese wheels.

All meals had either a tablespoon of coconut oil, or four capsules of coconut oil (dinner).

To drink: Water, water, water.

Activity: 20 minutes aerobic dance, incorporating some bodyweight exercises.

[CookinsForMe]

Griffen, did you happen to check the BG three or four hours after eating that huge dinner? I'd be curious what it was!

[Griffen]

Originally Posted by CookinsForMe

Griffen, did you happen to check the BG three or four hours after eating that huge dinner? I'd be curious what it was!

About five hours later it was at 98. I didn't check three or four hours later.

I've read, and I can't remember where but when I find it I'll link you, that excess protein is not automatically converted to glucose. The body converts it on an as-needed basis, and if you've shifted to running on ketones, it doesn't need much. So a spike after eating lots of protein is not automatic.

[Griffen]

High: 118 (waking)
Low: 84 (before dinner)
Average: 102

That is the best daily average I've had yet. This is two days of "normal;" will I see a trend continuing? I hope so.

I didn't exercise today. I rested. I got a nap between lunch and dinner (and I needed it). I think I've been dehydrated - not surprising with the heat - and so I made a point of drinking an extra three glasses of water today. It seems to be helping.

My weight loss has stalled, but I know I'm building muscle after yesterday's exercise session which included weights, and I've read that other people with type II diabetes have found that when their sugars are nice and normal, their weight loss stalls, and when they start losing again, the sugars go up. This would make sense to me, because when your body begins to burn fat as its preferred source of fuel, glucagon is the hormone that's in ascendancy (if you will) and that's the hormone that's also responsible for bumping up your blood sugar. Insulin, on the other hand, brings high blood sugars down when you're not having insulin-resistance problems and/or hyperinsulemia. Ideally you want glucagon running the show as much as possible.

The fact that I've gotten myself down into a normal blood sugar range with diet alone suggests that my hyperinsulemia may now be under control, which is great because that reduces my risk of heart disease, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, etc. and may eventually make it possible for me to completely reverse the diabetes as well. (According to Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades, hyperinsulemia is at the root of the diseases of civilization (which include everything I've listed as well as many other problems) and if you can control that, you can avoid all of them at once.) Too many doctors are still focusing on symptom-based treatments, instead of cause-based treatments; I'm thankful that there are doctors like the Eades out there who put the clues together and said "Hey, wait a minute." You can read their research on Protein Power and/or in their book Protein Power - which I strongly recommend.

Even so, I'm still going to have the doctor run an insulin-level check. Last time it was tested, it was 38, which is almost twice as high as it should be.

Food today:

Breakfast - my usual three-egg omelette and three strips of bacon. And coconut oil and the usual supplement montage.

Lunch - the broccoli-bacon-mushroom-onion dish I posted earlier. And coconut oil.

Dinner - two sausages cooked by my dear husband. And coconut oil.

To drink: Water, water, and more water. I find I don't miss caffeine anymore.

It is so odd to feel hunger and know it's hunger, and to feel satisfied without also feeling mentally dead. I'm still getting used to that.

[Griffen]

My average went up today. Not much. But it still went up. This was aggravating.

Part of it might be because I was out in the heat and running around, but my high was 125 and my low was only 98. My average today was 108.

I know I shouldn't be disappointed - this might be just a blip in my downward trend, and the 125 was when I was out in the heat - but I am disappointed.

On the other hand, today's food was, overall, great.

Breakfast was my usual three-egg omelette and two pieces of semi-burned bacon; the pan was hotter than I thought (stupid electric burners), and coconut oil.

Lunch was an out-to-lunch with friends: no-carb fajitas with onions, and a salad, and four coconut oil capsules.

Dinner was beef stroganoff made with grass-fed beef, crimini mushrooms, yellow onions, and spaghetti squash for "pasta." It. Was. DELICIOUS. (And coconut oil, of course.)

No activity today apart from a fair amount of low-and-slow walking at the market we went to for the grass-fed beef.

To drink: Water, water everywhere.

Net carbs today: 30.

I hope this stall breaks soon, though. I'm tired of being stuck weight-wise.

[NurseMonkee]

Originally Posted by Griffen

I know I shouldn't be disappointed - this might be just a blip in my downward trend, and the 125 was when I was out in the heat - but I am disappointed.

Don't be. You're doing great.
I know that you want to see normal numbers ASAP, but you have to allow your body some time to do so. It has probably been on overdrive for a while. Don't get discouraged if you see a small spike. Just keep doing what you're doing. Your numbers will come down.

[Marvin]

Hey Griffen,
Quick question. I've seen other posts extolling the virtues of coconut oil. Was curious about your use of CO? Have you read something where it's a particuarly good thing for diabetics? If so, can you share?

[BillB]

I just made coconut oil mayonnaise today, then made egg salad, pimento cheese, and cauliflower salad. I didn't taste it by itself, but the salads I made with it are great. I have been trying to get more of it into my diet.
===================================
The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.

The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV.Brown Coconut It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia. As a result of these various health benefits of coconut oil, though its exact mechanism of action was unknown, it has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system.

Coconut oil is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are dieting. The reason behind this being that coconut oil contains lesser calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.

Composition: Coconut oil consists of more than ninety percent of saturated fats (Don’t panic! First read to the last word. Your opinion may change), with traces of few unsaturated fatty acids, such as monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Virgin Coconut Oil is no different from this. Let us have a bit detailed study of this.

* The Saturated Fatty Acids: Most of them are Medium Chain Triglycerides, which are supposed to assimilate well. Lauric Acid is the chief contributor, with more than forty percent of the share, followed by Capric Acid, Caprylic Acid, Myristic Acid and Palmitic.
* The Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Linoleic Acid.
* The Monounsaturated Fatty Acids: Oleic Acid.
* The Poly-phenols: Gallic Acid, which is phenolic acid. These poly-phenols are supposed to be responsible for the fragrance and the taste of Coconut Oil and Virgin Coconut Oil is rich in these poly-phenols.
* Certain derivatives of fatty acid like Betaines, Ethanolamide, Ethoxylates, Fatty Esters, Fatty Polysorbates, Monoglycerides and Polyol Esters.
* Fatty Chlorides, Fatty Alcohol Sulphate and Fatty Alcohol Ether Sulphate, all of which are derivatives of Fatty Alcohols.
* Vitamins (predominantly Vitamin-E) and minerals.
* A bit of moisture.

Health benefits of coconut oil include the following:

* Hair Care: Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shinny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. Coconut oil is normally applied topically for hair care.
* Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue.
* Skin Care: Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care.
* Premature Aging: Coconut oil helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
* Heart Diseases: There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful as it happens in case of other vegetables oils. It does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis.
* Weight Loss: Coconut oil is very useful in reducing weight. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.
* Pancreatitis: Coconut oil is also believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.
* Digestion: Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
* CoconutsImmunity: Coconut oil is also good for the immune system. It strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
* Healing: When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.
* Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.
* Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as they substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.
* Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.
* Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.
* Bones: As mentioned earlier, coconut oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium which are necessary for development of bones. Thus coconut oil is very useful to women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age.
* Dental Care: Calcium is an important element present in teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in getting strong teeth. Coconut oil also stops tooth decay.
* HIV and Cancer: It is believed that coconut oil plays an instrumental role in reducing viral susceptibility of HIV and cancer patients.

[Griffen]

So far my highest BGL today has been my after-breakfast number of 120. It worries me, but I've also been at 88 today. I need to avoid having berries and nuts at the same meal, as I found out - 140g of strawberries and 14g of macademia nuts, along with 2 oz of string cheese, put me too high. *sigh* Oh well.

In other news, today has had its ups and downs. I slept most of the morning and didn't have "breakfast" until almost noon. I did do a bit of working out today, mostly lifting, but it wasn't a long workout.

Breakfast was a little different: two fried eggs, an attempt at a fried cheese pinwheel (I failed miserably), three strips of bacon, and my usual vitamins, coconut oil, and fish oil. "Lunch" was more of a snack: 5 ounces of strawberries, a quarter-cup of macadamia nuts, and two ounces of string cheese. Dinner was fabulous: a Trader Joe's flank steak rolled up with feta, spinach and red bell pepper, and zucchini saute', and a sixth of a bar of dark chocolate (70% cocoa). And, of course, fish oil and coconut oil again - I'll need to go get another jar of coconut oil soon. I'm completely satisfied, and my net carbs today have been 23g, which is awesome. And of course I've had lots of water.

I love our new food scale. It's let me know that I've been severely underestimating what a half cup of zucchini is by weight, and weighing everything does make sense if you want accuracy. And speaking of scales, I've sworn mine off until next Monday; I will not step on it at any other time. Right now I'm stalled, and the stress of being stalled is not good for my brainmeats or my body either.

My current goal is to get my morning sugars to be an average of 120 or below by the 1st of October, and I think I'll achieve that as well as my weight goal of 363. The next goal is 340 by November 1st. I'm actually thinking that I need to start experimenting with intermittent fasting. I've read that others have had good success with that when it comes to breaking plateaus. We'll see. Today I technically fasted for 16 hours - I stopped eating last night at about 8 pm and didn't eat again until 12 pm today.

[Griffen]

Originally Posted by Marvin

Hey Griffen,
Quick question. I've seen other posts extolling the virtues of coconut oil. Was curious about your use of CO? Have you read something where it's a particuarly good thing for diabetics? If so, can you share?

Hi Marvin,

It's brought my sugars down, and so I'm convinced of its efficacy. You can read "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Mary Enig MD, who devoted an entire book to it. And BillB seems to have covered the rest of the reasons for taking coconut oil. Hope this helps.

[CookinsForMe]

Griffen, I haven't tried CO yet but plan to. Out of curiosity, though, with the combination of things you're doing to get the BG under control, how do you know the CO has lowered it??

[Griffen]

Originally Posted by CookinsForMe

Griffen, I haven't tried CO yet but plan to. Out of curiosity, though, with the combination of things you're doing to get the BG under control, how do you know the CO has lowered it??

Because they dropped from the mid-120s to the mid-110s about three days after I started using it religiously - and that's just the average. I can count on a ten to fifteen point reduction in my post-meal sugars if I take CO with the meal.

Read "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Mary Enig, MD, and you'll get all the science behind coconut oil and how it relates to blood sugar levels.

[CookinsForMe]

Oh, I've read that before but still wanted to ask you.

[Marvin]

Originally Posted by Griffen

Because they dropped from the mid-120s to the mid-110s about three days after I started using it religiously - and that's just the average. I can count on a ten to fifteen point reduction in my post-meal sugars if I take CO with the meal.

Read "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Mary Enig, MD, and you'll get all the science behind coconut oil and how it relates to blood sugar levels.

Did I read right? Are you taking some sort of CO capsules?

[BillB]

The gelcaps are only a gram...it takes 14 of them to equal a tablespoon serving. Although I do use them when I travel or dine out.

--bill

[Griffen]

Originally Posted by Marvin

Did I read right? Are you taking some sort of CO capsules?

Not capsules, unless I go out to eat (the jar's not exactly convenient to carry with me). If I go out to eat, four of the capsules I have equal one tablespoon of CO. Otherwise, I just have a tablespoon straight out of the jar.

[Griffen]

Today was my first attempt at a conscious intermittent fast. I finished dinner yesterday night at about 9:30 p.m., and I lasted until 1 p.m. today, so that's - what, about 16 hours, right? 15.5? Anyway, the only hard part was that I started to get a rotten headache from dehydration. (Note to self: when fasting, drink LOTS of water.)

I had two meals today: lunch and dinner. Lunch was more like a brunch: two fried eggs, three slices of bacon, coconut oil, fish oil. Dinner was at Islands tonight; their protein platter - a hamburger patty with cheese, a slice and a half of tomato, a cup of salad with blue cheese dressing, half an avocado, and some buffalo wings (not breaded) with ranch dressing. (I still have a chicken breast with mushrooms and swiss cheese in my refrigerator.) If you want to go to Islands for dinner, just ask for the protein platter - it's an off-menu item. And of course, I had coconut oil and fish oil with dinner as well, and lots of water all day.

I actually got about 20 minutes of dance in today, too. I hadn't really exercised much all weekend. It was exhilarating to dance again.

In two days it will be five weeks since I went Primal. Apart from today's headache, I've never felt better or more empowered about my body and my health. Finding out that I have a second-floor office didn't worry me at all - I'm happy about it. The stairs will give me a little extra workout.

It's strange to think differently about everything all at once. But I think if I do more IFs, it'll be alternate-day and only 16/8 at a time. It seems to be what I can handle for right now.

Oh, and my sugars? 114 was my high (waking) and 95 my low (before dinner); my average was 107 for the day. That's pretty good.

Oh, and I'm happy to report that GlucoseBuddy, my online blood sugar tracker, has this to report:

Average of First 2 Weeks: 125.4 Average of Last 2 Weeks: 109.8 Difference: -12.4%

Give it another six weeks, and I'll bet I'll be down another 10 or 15 points... and that'll put me in the "completely normal" range.

[BillB]

Originally Posted by Griffen

four of the capsules I have equal one tablespoon

You should probably check that...and if it's correct, please let us know what brand you are buying. The largest ones I can find are one gram.

--Bill

[Griffen]

Originally Posted by BillB

You should probably check that...and if it's correct, please let us know what brand you are buying. The largest ones I can find are one gram.

--Bill

Look for Emerald capsules. They have 4,000mg (or 4g) of oil per capsule.

[BillB]

Originally Posted by Griffen

Look for Emerald capsules. They have 4,000mg (or 4g) of oil per capsule.

The label says that a serving is 4 capsules. Each capsule is a gram.

--bill

[Griffen]

Originally Posted by BillB

The label says that a serving is 4 capsules. Each capsule is a gram.

--bill

Damn, I missed that. *sigh* Oh well, I guess I'll just take CO four times a day and not worry about taking it exactly with meals.

[BillB]

If you remember and take it an hour before you want to have a meal, the CO will definitely curb your appetite. The CO mayonnaise is easy to make. I recommend it, unless you just enjoy eating the CO out of a jar.

--bill

[Griffen]

Yesterday's progress didn't really feel like "progress," per se, because I'd been up until about two a.m. and it showed in my sugars. But my average yesterday was still only 116, so I'm not going to worry overmuch.

I'm happy to report that I've gone down to 368! I have a doctor's appointment today and couldn't face the thought of getting on the doctor's scale without knowing what I weigh, first. It looks like the stall is broken, which is great. This brings me to 16.3% complete for my ultimate goal, and 29 pounds total loss. (Can't wait for that number to go up!)

Food yesterday was my usual cinnamon-parmesan three-egg omelet and two strips of bacon for breakfast, along with fish and coconut oil, and broccoli, baked chicken, chicken marsala and a salad at Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. I didn't have lunch because I wasn't hungry for anything. I put a bug in the ear of the waitress to see if they can encourage OSF to carry spaghetti squash for their low-carbing patrons. If they start doing that, I'll be very happy.

Even so, my sugars were disappointing for most of the day - in the low 110s, which I'm trying to get below, dangit - and I was kind of in a funk most of the day. I didn't get much chance to exercise because I ate pretty late and if I exercise after eating and before two-hour testing, it messes up my sugars. Oh well. I'll take a walk tonight when we get back from the doctor's, I suppose.

[Griffen]

When I started writing this, I was still waiting on my post-dinner number, because I had a long nap this afternoon, but my average today is about 111, which is great.

Because of the nap and a doctor's appointment I had this morning, my eating schedule is a little off. I had an unplanned intermittent fast because I wasn't hungry this morning and thought I might have to have fasting bloodwork, so I had about a twenty-hour fast. It didn't hurt me, though - my waking sugar was 117 and before lunch it was 113. We had steakhouse fare for lunch - I had ribs, grilled chicken, and cottage cheese along with a salad - and then we came home and I took a nap because I didn't sleep much last night. When I woke up, my sugars were down to 105. I had a steak with eggs for dinner, along with coconut oil, fish oil, and a very tiny bit of chocolate. My sugars, which were 110 before dinner, only went up to 120.

I didn't exercise today. I rested. Tomorrow I'll be getting a workout, so I feel justified in not exercising today.

Net carbs today (if you can trust DailyPlate's assessment of my ribs, which I think is a little high): 33 carbs. Not too shabby.

And the doctor's scale says that my home scale is weighing about 10 pounds too high, so I'm actually at 367. That's 30 pounds down from my original weight, and it was effortless. I'm so blown away by that. That's 17% of the way to where I feel I need to be in order to have my sugars under really tight control.

[Georgia Lee]

Griffen,

Congrats on the fat loss! That is wonderful! I have enjoyed reading your posts. Thanks for sharing!

I'm going to go read up on CO.

[Griffen]

I'm trying so hard to get my averages down into the 80s. It's important that I do this. And right now, I'm still hovering around 30 points higher than I ultimately want to be. I'm sure you all can understand why I'm discouraged.

I have to actively remind myself that if my sugars are rising, my weight is very likely dropping. I will also admit to not having done any real exercise for the last three days, which is no doubt part of the problem. I've just been in a funk, emotionally speaking.

Anyway, yesterday's high was a wince-worthy 126 when I woke up, and my low was still above 100 at 101, right before bed. I didn't eat after 4 p.m. because by the time I got hungry again, it was after eight p.m. and I'm trying not to eat past that point, in hopes that my morning sugars will behave themselves better (that didn't happen either; I was at 121 this morning). My overall average was 115.7.

I had my usual three-egg omelet and two pieces of bacon (and twelve supplement pills) for breakfast, lots of water all day, and fajitas for a late lunch - steak, some onions, and some guacamole and sour cream (which was probably what spiked my afternoon sugars) along with a salad. After that, nothing.

I'm going to work out today, and I think that from now on I'm going to work out before I have breakfast because that's when I have time to do it - even if it does spike my sugars higher in the short term, I can't let that be something that deters me from a longer-term benefit. But I'm thinking I won't record my immediate post-exercise spikes, because they go down almost as quickly as they went up - within an hour after exercising they're usually back down to normal - and they skew my average way more than it should be skewed.

So, that said, I'm going to go work out while the rest of the household is still asleep. I'll get my shower and then I'll have brunch. That's the plan.

Oh, and I dropped another two pounds since yesterday. I'm down to 365, which is two pounds away from my end-of-month goal of 363. Now if my sugars would just get in line...

[Georgia Lee]

Griffin,

The pancreas self feeds every 5 hours, if you don't "feed" it. It is very important to eat something at bedtime. Even if you wake up in the middle of the night, take a bite of something.

My favorite bedtime snack is a 1/2 of banana with a little natural almond butter. IF I wake up in the middle of the night, I'll have a handful of nuts, piece of LC bread, piece of cheese...something handy I can keep by the bed.

I have found that eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours is key for me. I have to build a dam if you will to keep my pancreas from self feeding me. As you know insulin is a fat hormone, Lord knows I don't need any more of that!

At any rate, I've been able to keep my numbers coming down and still have been able to lose fat.

Please try to get some walking in, even if it's only in 5 minute intervals. You can get up and walk around the office for 5 mintues, then take the stairs for 5 mintues, it dosen't have to be all at once either. But try to get in 30 total mintues.

Lator Gator,

[Griffen]

Originally Posted by Georgia Lee

Griffin,

The pancreas self feeds every 5 hours, if you don't "feed" it. It is very important to eat something at bedtime. Even if you wake up in the middle of the night, take a bite of something.

My favorite bedtime snack is a 1/2 of banana with a little natural almond butter. IF I wake up in the middle of the night, I'll have a handful of nuts, piece of LC bread, piece of cheese...something handy I can keep by the bed.

I have found that eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours is key for me. I have to build a dam if you will to keep my pancreas from self feeding me. As you know insulin is a fat hormone, Lord knows I don't need any more of that!

At any rate, I've been able to keep my numbers coming down and still have been able to lose fat.

Please try to get some walking in, even if it's only in 5 minute intervals. You can get up and walk around the office for 5 mintues, then take the stairs for 5 mintues, it dosen't have to be all at once either. But try to get in 30 total mintues.

Lator Gator,

Hi Georgia,

I've tried the "snack at bedtime" route. It didn't work. I'm really annoyed with my liver - the pancreas isn't what's involved here; it's the liver.

I do walk every day. I don't work in an office, though. I'm a graduate student. Right now it's summer, but during the school year I'm walking everywhere on campus lugging a big bag of books, so I get adequate exercise. I'm talking about more structured exercise - workouts, as opposed to just daily movement - which I feel I need to do at least every other day. My doctor is insistent that I do weight training rather than aerobics - he said that the more I build muscle, the more insulin-sensitive my cells will get. That's reason enough to do weight workouts, for me, and in the last three days I have not been at home enough to do it. I went back to it this morning.

As far as fruit and bread - even the so-called "low carb" bread - I don't keep it in the house. I know me. I'll binge if it's there, so I don't eat it at all. My only carbs come from non-starchy veggies. (I take a metric assload of supplements, too.)

I'd rather IF than eat every two to three hours. It gives my pancreas a needed break from insulin production, and it seems to be what works for me except in the matter of the dawn phenomenon.

[Georgia Lee]

Hi Griffin,

Sounds like you have all your ducks in a row! I wish for you the very best in overcoming the liver issue! Good to hear you got a workout this morning.

I hear you about the AM numbers, those are always my highest of the day too.

I will continue to look for your posts and watch your progress.

Lator Gator

[Georgia Lee]

By the way, congrats on the 2 pounds down this morning!