Pen Pal for newbie in Jacksonville, FL???

[GTBraveGirl]

I just started Atkins on August 1. I would love to go through this with someone.

Thanks.

[yoshi]

Welcome. I've recently returned to low carb after 2 years of not being able to (long story). I don't follow any one particular program. I do between 30 to 45 carbs per day. I know that sounds like a lot when you're on induction and limited to 20. But you'll find as you move on to the on-going weight loss phase, your carb level may be about the same, unless you've chosen to stay on induction for the long-haul.

Good luck and hope to hear from you.

[GTBraveGirl]

Well, my first week is over. I haven't had any major issues. We did go out to eat one night and the waiter served me sweet tea by mistake. That was my only sugar this week. I only took a sip before sending it back so it shouldn't have hurt me too bad.

I lost 4 pounds this week.

I did lose on Atkins many years ago. I quit when I got pregnant and never could make myself do it again. I am now diabetic and I want to see what Atkins will do for my blood sugar.

How is everything with you?

[yoshi]

Hi, Robin. My name is Lynn. Way to go on the weight loss!

I'm a diabetic, too. Low carb has really helped to bring down my blood sugar. I'm on 2 types of insulin. Before low carb, I couldn't get my blood sugar below 250, unless I took massive amounts of insulin. Even then, my levels would often go up to 400. This past week, my levels have been in the high 100's to low 200's. I know they're still high, but they are coming down.

The first time I tried low carb was several years ago when I was diagnosed with diabetes. The doctor I was going to told me I needed to drastically reduce the carbohydrates in my diet. I had no idea what that entailed, so I went to the library and checked out everything I could find on low carb diets. I tried several before going with Atkins. I did very well on Atkins and was able to stop taking all my oral medications. My downfall was a virus that inflamed my liver. I wasn't able to get back on low carb and stick with it, no matter how many times I tried. I ended up slipping back into the old habit of high-carb low-fat eating, which further compromised my liver and gall bladder. A little over 2 years ago, my gall bladder got inflamed and ruptured. It abscessed into my liver. Part of my liver had to be removed along with the gall bladder. I tried low carb a few times after my surgery, but got very ill within a week. Maybe my liver had to heal enough before it could handle the low carb diet again. I don't know. All I know is that I've been able to stay with it this time for 2 weeks, and I feel good.

While I was in the hospital, I also had pancreatitis from the infection. I don't know if that, alone, killed off so many of my beta cells, or if my body had already been attacking the cells, and the infection just helped it along. My blood sugar went too high. No one would tell me how high it was, and no one would tell me what was going on. All of a sudden they were coming into my room, putting stuff in my IV and telling me I had to start taking insulin. After I got out of the hospital, I found a different doctor to go to. The doctor I had in the hospital wouldn't explain squat to me. The new doctor told me what I needed to know, so that I understood why it was important for me to take the insulin. I still make some insulin, but not enough to cover meals or keep my sugar levels down between meals or overnight. I know a couple of type 2 diabetics who've been able to go off their medications after going on low carb and sticking with it. I know I won't get to do that, but I have been able to reduce the number of units I take a little bit and hope to be able to reduce them even more over the long-haul.

How long have you been a diabetic? Are you taking any medications? What kind of exercise do you do? My son and I play Wii Sports. I can really work up a sweat doing that. I also have an exercise bike that I use about 4 days a week.

Take care.

[GTBraveGirl]

I found out I was diabetic a year ago. I knew it was coming because I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies. I didn't lose the pregnancy weight so I wasn't surprised. I found out when I had to get a physical for work. Since I had been gestational, they immediately put me on metformin without trying diet and exercise. I started on 500 mg. I am now on 1000 mg twice a day. My doctor says if the weight comes off, my diabetes will be easier to control. I still don't have my sugars where they want. My A1% is still 8% and they want it below 7.

I have been exercising. I thought that if I just increased exercise, that I could just not diet and still lose weight because of increased activity. I did lose 30 pounds by walking alone and keeping my diet the same. My problem was that I craved sugar all the time. I couldn't quit eating dessert. I finally decided the only way I was going to quit eating sugar would be to cut it out so I decided to go back to Atkins. My blood sugar never goes below 140. When I wake up in the mornings it is around 230. My fasting blood sugar is my highest.

I walk about 10 miles a day........almost everyday. The only problem I have ever had with Atkins is constipation. (This is terrible, but it works) To avoid the problem, I eat sugar free candy every night. It only takes 3 pieces to keep me going like I need to.

I have to get checkups at the doctor and get labs drawn every 3 months. I am hoping this next checkup will show some results. I don't go again until September so that will give me a good 6 weeks on Atkins before then.

Tonight we are having bacon and eggs for supper. My husband is cooking. The kids are having bacon, eggs, grits and toast.

About the best thing I've discovered on this board is the queso blanco cheese. We use it a lot. I have started using it as pizza crust........tonight it will be toast.

Keep in touch.

Robin

[yoshi]

It's good you're taking diabetes seriously and going to the doctor regularly. Right now, I'm not able to go to the doctor like I should. I don't have insurance, and I'm not getting enough hours on my job to be able to afford doctors and medication. We have a free clinic that's open for 3 hours one day a week. It's very hard to get an appointment because there's so many people here trying to get in (I live in a very economically-depressed area of Oklahoma). It took me 5 weeks to get in to get my prescriptions refilled. During that time, I ran out of the fast-acting, which was why my blood sugar got so high. At least, it lit a fire under me to get back on low carb.

I found out today at work that I'm finally going to get on fulltime with benefits. It may not happen until October. At least, that's only a couple of months away. Yippee!

I made the most amazing hamburger patty for dinner last night. I made spaghetti for my son, who doesn't need to diet, and kept out some of the raw hamburger for myself. I really don't like plain hamburger patties and really wanted a bun and all the fixings to go along with it. So, I decided to make as tasty a patty as I could. I melted some butter in the skillet and added worcestershire sauce, Louisiana hot sauce and minced garlic (from a jar). I cooked the patty on low heat, and about halfway through, sprinkled just a bit of garlic salt on top. Even with no bun, it was the best burger I've ever tasted! It didn't need cheese or anything else to jazz it up. I've definitely found the way I'm making hamburgers for myself from now on.

Stay strong and hope to hear from you soon.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

I am so glad your job situation is getting better. My husband and I are going through a real difficult time economically. He WAS the main breadwinner and he lost his job in June. I am a housekeeper at a resort here. I don't make much, but I get better benefits than he got at his job. However, I pay $600 a month to cover my family so I don't bring home very much. It certainly isn't enough to keep up a family of four.......but I'm not about to cancel the benefits because of the diabetes. Anyway, I am so glad things are looking up for you.

I just got home from work and I am eating sugar free candy. I don't eat it often, but it works as a laxative for me and I kind of need it right now. We cooked out steak last night. The meat market near my house has great deals on meat and they had Porterhouse steaks for $2.99 a pound yesterday. I think we are having pizza tonight(More cheese.........I hope the candy does it's job) I use the mexican queso cheese for a crust. It absorbs a little of the sauce like real crust and has a bready texture. I like it.

It has been difficult to hang in with my diet with all of the stress in my life. I am such an emotional eater. I'm sticking with it though. I checked my blood sugar right before I dove into my candy.........it was 132. My sugars are really responding to the diet. I hope I can get to a point where I can get off medicine. We'll see.

Talk later.

[yoshi]

I hope things get better for you. I know how hard it is to struggle and not know if ends will meet. I've been working at the local library for 5 1/2 years. I was originally hired at 18 hours per week, with no benefits. I really needed the job and figured it would be only temporary until I could find something with more hours and benefits. That didn't happen. There were many times I didn't think we were going to make it to the end of the month, especially after I was in the hospital and got buried under medical bills. Thank God for the food bank and free clinic and odd jobs I could pick up on the side. I am so excited to finally be getting on fulltime with benefits. I've been waiting so long for the hope to finally be able to crawl out of the financial hole we've been in. The change starts Oct 1st, so things are still going to be tight until then, but at least I have that hope.

I don't know if you have Joseph's Lavash bread available where you are. Sometimes our Walmart carries it, and sometimes I have to order it from Netrition. It's not all that expensive. Netrition charges $2.99 for a package of 4 sheets (half a sheet makes a meal). There are 4 net carbs for half a sheet. I use it as pizza crust and to make rolled sandwiches. It tastes really good and helps me stay on track when I'm craving those things. I've also made pizza with a layer of pepperoni or dry salami on the bottom as a crust.

There's an herb I take called Cascara Sagrada. I got a bottle of it at Walmart for $4.87. It works like Ducolax, without the chemicals. Part of my surgery included repairing an abdominal hernia. Since then, I have severe discomfort with even the tiniest bit of constipation, and it seems that without my gall bladder, I can get constipated very easily. I was taking Ducolax to keep things from getting backed up. Several months ago, my cousin told me about Cascara Sagrada, and I've been taking 1 capsule every morning ever since. It works so much better than Ducolax, for a lot less money.

I hope some of this info helps you. Take care and keep your chin up. Don't give up on the diet. If you need to vent about anything, just go ahead and vent. Sometimes it's hard to want to share too much detail where anyone can read it. After 25 posts and 30 days (I think -- could be 25), you can access private messaging.

Talk to you later. Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

I'm hanging in there. I got frustrated this past week because I gained weight. I think I know why though. I started taking vitamins. I forgot to take them Sunday and yesterday I had to pee about every 30 minutes. I am still getting rid of water. In the last 2 days I lost 4 pounds of water. I have no idea what is in the vitamins that might make retain water, but wow.

I've been re-reading my Atkins book and there are a lot of things listed to take to help weight loss if you are insulin resistant. I'm going to get some of them and see what happens.

Last time I did Atkins the weight came off a lot faster, but I was younger and didn't have diabetes. After my water rush, I am down another pound. That is 5 pounds total for induction. According to the book I should have lost more, but I'm not worried too much. It's 5 pounds less than what I was.

I'll let you know how these other supplements work. I'll check out the cascara sagrada too. I hate taking laxatives because you never know when they will work. I eat the sf candy because it works FAST and then it's done. I have to watch the carb count though.

We'll see what happens next.

[yoshi]

Hey, any amount of weight loss is good. The water weight could account for the weight gain on the scale. Have you been exercising more this past week? Sometimes the scale won't budge or will even go up a little, but you'll lose inches. I lost just under a pound this past week, but lost 1.25 inches off my waist. That's where I have the hardest time losing inches, so I was thrilled.

I bought Walmart's generic multi-vitamins and then later found out they have cornstarch and other additives. I should have checked the ingredients before I bought them. I don't know why I didn't. I'm not usually that careless.

I've already started working more hours, and it's catching up to me tonight. So, I'll keep this short and get my butt to bed. Talk to you later.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

My waist is down almost 2 inches. Weight is coming off slowly. I haven't been by the store yet to try the new stuff, but I am going to write down all the recommendations the book had for insulin resistance.

I don't feel deprived or anything. I'm not craving anything. Last night we had Cauliflower Shepards pie. It was good. Tonight we are having beef broccoli stir fry. I'm certainly eating well and feeling good. The weight will come off in its own time.

[yoshi]

That's such a great attitude to have, and it's a fantastic way to feel. Every now and then, I'll want something I shouldn't have, almost to the point of craving it. I found out I can get past it by drinking a glass of ice water and then doing something to keep myself busy until the feeling passes.

Always before when I would do low carb, I tended to focus on what I couldn't have, what I felt I was being deprived of, the foods I'd given up. This time, it's different. I don't feel deprived. I think it's because I finally realized this has to be a way of life for me because it's the only way I can control my blood sugar and not have to take enormous amounts of insulin. I've accepted it, and I'm okay with it, and I've decided to make the best of it. It's like any change. You can either fight it or embrace it. I've collected a lot of recipes over the years. I've been going through them and adapting what I can to low carb. If it can't be adapted, I toss it. I have kept a few unadaptable recipes that are heirlooms or are things my son likes. I put them in my "not low carb" file.

I'm not sure what I'm fixing for dinner tonight. I made a couple of big hamburger patties last night and ate one. I may have the other tonight and fix my son corndogs or spaghetti.

Lunch time is almost over. Talk to you later.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

Nothing going on much today as far as the diet goes. We had grilled pork chops tonight with roasted green beans. I'm kind of down today just because of everything that is going on here. My husband had a few job leads that all fell through today. I've been so upset. I did want to eat, but now I just want to cry it out.

I just hope that tomorrow is a better day.

[yoshi]

Hang in there, okay? I know you and your husband are going through a rough time. It's hard to worry about stretching every penny and praying nothing will break down and no one will get sick. I believe things happen for a reason. I just don't know or understand why some reasons have to be so hard when they're happening. Most of the time, when I look back, I can see why things needed to happen the way they did. I sure can't see it when I'm in the middle of it, though.

It took 5 years and 7 months to finally get on fulltime at my job. All the while, I was putting in applications and sending out resumes all over the place. I couldn't understand why nothing worked out. I got so discouraged. It felt like God was blocking every attempt I made to leave my job for something better. At one point, I was even planning to move to Idaho to accept a job offer. When my dad suddenly died, my son and I moved into the house I co-owned with my parents because my mom was terrified of being alone (we lived just down the street from them). I put my house up for sale, and for a year, nothing happened. Then, I got an offer, and started the ball rolling on selling the house. During the same week, I got a job offer from a company in Boise. Everything imaginable that could go wrong with the sale going through on time did. I needed the money from the sale for all of us to make the move, and when we found out it wouldn't be complete on time, I made arrangements to go on ahead by myself so that I wouldn't lose the job. But then I slipped on the porch during a thunderstorm and broke my tailbone. Because I couldn't make the trip for another couple of weeks, and I'd already had to delay my start date, the company withdrew their offer. I think I cried for a week. I felt so depressed and hopeless. I'd already been struggling and pinching every penny for 3 years, and all I could see was that it was never going to end.

Of course, that's when my house sold. After paying off debt and getting my car fixed and doing some much-needed repairs around home, I had some money left over to put back in savings. Because I had no benefits and no medical insurance, my worst fears were getting sick and not being able to work. Six months later, I had to face those fears when I ended up in the hospital and off work for 2 months. At least I had the money in savings to keep us going while I wasn't able to work. The important thing I learned was that I survived the things I'd been most afraid of.

I guess my point is don't give up. My fulltime job is going to allow me to do the things I love to do and get paid for it. I'll be in charge of video gaming for kids and teens, and I'll be teaching computer classes. I'll also have full benefits. It's been a long time in coming. If I'd gotten any of the other jobs I thought I should have gotten, I wouldn't be getting to play video games and teach now.

Take care, my friend. My prayers are with you and your family.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

Your story is awesome. I know everything happens for a reason and it doesn't happen on my timeline. My prayers lately have been for guidance. I know I was put on this earth to do something, I just don't know what. I taught school for 10 years. One day, I went to work even though I had an aching (abscessed) tooth. My face was swollen and I was in agony. I went though because it was Friday and subs are hard to come by on Friday. I had second period planning so I just had to survive my first period class and then see if I could get a sub. I got one and went to the office to let the principal know what was going on. His reply was "If you leave today, don't come back on Monday". My relply to that was, "Ok, have a nice weekend." I left and I haven't taught since. That was the beginning of our economic downturn. I got a job at a resort that didn't pay much, but the benefits were good. We were able to adjust to the difference in money and all was well. My husband was also teaching. They just decided not to renew his contract at the end of the year. No reason was given. His evaluations were fine. He can't find anything now. When I talk to God, I am always asking what we are supposed to do. It seems to me that we are not meant to teach. Unfortunately, when you have been a teacher, it is difficult to get a job outside of teaching. No one believes you can do anything else.

Now to my diet, I caved this weekend. I wanted chocolate cake and I wanted it bad. Saturday night, we made real pizza and I baked a chocolate cake. Since we still had cake left over, I ate it again last night. This morning, I am up 2 pounds. I am back on induction though. Oh, I had lost another pound before my binge. This morning, I was at 284. I'll see how long it takes to drop back down again.

Unfortunately, I am an emotional eater. I caved and I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. I was good all day Saturday until time to eat the pizza. Normally, I would have tried to eat the whole pizza and the whole cake. I could only eat 2 slices of pizza and one piece of cake. Yesterday, I was bad all day. We had chicken nuggets and french fries for supper and then my piece of chocolate cake. I didn't eat that much. I chose to cheat, but only ate EXACTLY what I wanted. Now those cravings are gone so I'll get back on track.

Andrew (husband) is out taking another certification test. He is trying to get certified in as many areas as he can. School started today, but we are hoping that openings come up as they see that certain areas are overcrowded or new teachers realize they are not in the right place. Andrew loves teaching and never wants to leave it. I, on the other hand, never wanted to teach in the first place. I don't care if I never walk in another classroom again. I just don't know what I can do to earn a decent living.

Right now, the most important thing for me personally is to lose this weight. My current job helps me do that. I wear a pedometer everyday and I walk anywhere from 7 to 12 miles a day. So I do have a purpose for my crappy job. It makes me move. Now, we just have to figure out how to survive until Andrew gets a job.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers.

Robin

[yoshi]

I thought I had a lot going on, but you've really got a lot on your plate! It's amazing you still have your sanity left! LOL! Sometimes all we can do for one another is pray and commiserate. I'm an emotional eater, too. I really have to work hard to stay away from food when I'm stressed or upset. It doesn't help when I have to cook things for my son that I'm not supposed to eat. That's why I've scoured the recipes on this site and other places on the internet to come up with substitutes. There's a recipe for a no-flour microwave chocolate cake on this website that has been an absolute Godsend for me. It's only got about 3.2 carbs. If you can't find it, let me know. I've got the recipe at home, and I'll give it to you. It's really really good and sure hits the spot. I'm a chocoholic.

It's just my son and me. My son is an adult, but he's developmentally disabled. He has the mindset of a 12 or 13-year-old in some areas and around 8 years old in other areas. He can heat things in the microwave (most things, anyway) or make a sandwich. So, I do the cooking and make sure he has things to heat up for himself while I'm at work. I'm fortunate that he isn't all that hard to please, foodwise. We eat a lot of hamburger and chicken. When I make hamburger patties, he takes care of assembling his own, and I either cut mine in half and put them in a low carb pita or eat them plain with whatever vegetable side dish I've prepared. He loves spaghetti, which doesn't tempt me at all, because I hate pasta (I know I'm weird -- my downfall is potatoes). I just keep out some of the hamburger meat before adding the jarred sauce and make some kind of casserole for myself. When I make tacos, it's roll your own. I chop the veggies and grate the cheese and heat up his tortillas, and the rest is up to him. I make a large bowl of veggies, meat and salsa, and then make fried cheese to use as scoops. It's a little more work to make 2 versions of the meal we're having, but it's worth it. My son is happy (usually) with what I've fixed, and I feel satisfied (usually) with my version. Pizza was hard for me to find a substitute for that I liked. Potatoes are hard to find a substitute for. I've tried cauliflower, and like it as cauliflower, but still don't think it tastes enough like potatoes to be a substitute.

I have a lot of moments when I want something that's not on my diet. I think that's just human nature. I'm very lucky that my son doesn't eat sweets (I know he's weird, too), so there aren't any in the house to tempt me. Just about every night, he has a snack of cereal (one of the low-sugar varieties like Honey Nut Cheerios) and milk. I would absolutely kill for a bowl of cereal some nights. So, I leave the room and go do something else for a half hour or so. If I stayed in the livingroom with him, I'd probably tackle him and yank the bowl out of his hands. Other nights, his cereal habit doesn't bother me. I think it's based on the degree of stress I've had to endure that day at work. Sometimes, when I can't leave the room, for whatever reason, a handful of mixed nuts can usually kill whatever craving I'm having.

Low carb hasn't been easy for me this time around. Just about everything out there that's sugar free is now made with Splenda. I have a reaction to it and can't use it. That's helped me to learn to cook more and make things from scratch. I'm not a salad-person. I don't really care for lettuce. I used to force myself to eat salads, which didn't help me to want to stay with the program. This time around, I've found it's easier to stay on track when I don't force myself to eat things I don't like.

Gotta go back to work. Take care, my friend.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

I'm back on track. I'm still having a hard time emotionally, but the diet is fine. I ate pork chops and green beans tonight. I have 2 boys (9 and 7). They do like dessert, but really don't chase sweets that much other than at dessert time. I keep sugar free popsicles in the freezer. I hate popsicles so I don't go after those, but if my husband decides to they only have 3 carbs.

I am a potato addict. I could live off of potatoes and be happy (ok I want some meat too). I do cook potatoes for the kids. I have to cook just enough and make sure I get straight onto their plates. Then I have to put the dish to soak in the sink immediately or I'll try to lick the potatoes out. I know that's sad, but it is true.

Today, I just cleaned house all day. I'm trying to work myself to death to forget about everything going on.

Keep up the good work.

[yoshi]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm having a night of being very tested, after having an extremely stressful day at work. I close the library at 8:00 on Tuesday nights. I go in at 11:00 a.m., so my meal times tend to be later than normal. Lunch is usually not until 3:00 in the afternoon because I won't be getting dinner until after I get home. That's not so bad. I've been closing the library on Tuesdays since I started working there. It's been stressful the last couple of days because 3 of our 4 air conditioners aren't working, and the heat is making everyone cranky. Oklahoma is bad enough in the summer because of the humidity (I'm still not used to it), and it's even worse without air conditioning. We have one air conditioner that's working and trying to cool down the whole building. We can't close from the heat until it reaches 88 degrees, and the one air conditioner is keeping the building just below that. I think it was showing at 84 degrees when I closed tonight. I don't have to work tomorrow, and I'm hoping the repairman will have the parts to fix the other units. It's been miserable at work since the units went out yesterday afternoon.

I'm trying very hard to ignore the Teddy Grahams my son has in the cabinet. They've been calling my name, and I don't even like them all that much! I know it's all emotional. I ate dinner. I'm not hungry. But I sure want those Teddy Grahams. I'm drinking ice water, trying to kill the want.

My son has never been big on sweets, but he used to always have cookies or donuts around. He also drank regular Pepsi and ate sugary cereals. He's the type that can eat only one cookie or one brownie and leave the rest for later. I'm the type who will eat the whole bag of cookies or the whole pan of brownies in almost one sitting, without even batting an eye. My illness and hospitalization in 2007 was very traumatic for him. He had to spend 3 nights alone until my mom and aunt could get here from California. He hadn't learned to trust anyone here enough to let them comfort him. He had to face the fact that I could die and leave him, and he wasn't emotionally mature enough to deal with that alone. Still, he put on a brave front for me. He took care of me after I got out of the hospital. As I started getting better and was able to do more things for myself, he started having panic attacks. For a short period of time, they got very severe, and he somehow convinced himself they were being caused by sugar. He gave up sodas and all sweets. Maybe sugar did aggravate them because they started easing up and then stopped after he quit. The anxiety that the panic attacks could return remained, though, which is what kept him from going back to those old habits. He hasn't touched any kind of soda since then. Only within the last few months has he relaxed enough to eat things with a little bit of sugar in them. I wish I had his willpower.

Well, I've passed the Teddy Graham crisis. They're still in the cabinet, untouched by my hands. Writing this to you has helped. Thanks for being there. I know how you feel when it comes to potatoes. I could eat them every meal. I had some cauliflower at dinner and tried to pretend it was potatoes, but it didn't work. So, I just pretended it was cauliflower!

Talk to you later.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

Good job with the Teddy Grahams. If I am going to eat something I don't need to eat, by golly, I want it to be something really good. Teddy Grahams aren't worth it. I don't pretend the cauliflower mash is mashed potatoes. I just like the mashed cauliflower. I love it with steak. I'm going to be so clogged up tomorrow. We ate Queso Blanco with syrup and bacon. Someone told me they make good pancakes so we fried it up and put sugar free syrup on it. It was good.

I experimented with the oopsie rolls tonight. Complete disaster. They are supposed to be poofy when you put them on the pan. My fell flat. They stuck to the pan, but the ones I got off of the pan did have a bready taste and texture. It was interesting.

It's time for bed. Good job staying away from temptation. After my cheat, I haven't weighed again. It'll take a while to get back into ketosis and burn some fat. I'll wait a week or so.

I hope by now you have air. I wouldn't survive long without it. Talk later.

[yoshi]

I called in this afternoon to find out if the air had been fixed. It hadn't. Maybe tomorrow?

The first time I made oopsie rolls, they were a disaster. They stuck to the cookie sheet and crumbled all over the place. Someone on this site mentioned adding xanthan gum to the egg whites while you're beating them to keep them from breaking down so easily. It actually worked. I added 1/2 tsp while beating the whites. I also put parchment paper on the cookie sheet and sprayed it with Pam. The oopsies puffed up and didn't stick at all.

My son threw the box of Teddy Grahams away. He said having them around to eat wasn't worth seeing me be tempted by them. Ahhhh....what a sweetie! Sometimes, he can be so sweet and considerate. Other times, he can be such a butt! I think the reason they were so tempting is because we're getting low on food and meals have been a little boring. Thank God payday is only another day away.

Good job on getting back on track. It's hard to do. Once I cheat, it's easier for me to justify cheating the next time, and before I know it, I've fallen off the wagon and don't want to get back on again. I know I'm too strict on myself, sometimes, but I have to be. My health depends upon me staying on plan. I'm not as strict with the carbs as you are on induction, but I still have to be careful. If I let my carbs go over a certain level, I stop losing weight and my blood sugar jumps up.

Stay strong. Talk to you later.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

I tried the oopsies again to have buns for hamburgers last night. I made a HUGE double cheeseburger on the oopsies and it was yummy. The oopsies overcooked a little because I didn't check them and the recipe said 30 minutes. They held up well though and I removed them from the pan while they were warm. It worked well.

Sugars are doing fine. Diet is going well. I don't know when I'll weigh again.

[yoshi]

I blew it this weekend. We found out Friday that the city doesn't plan to replace the broken air conditioning unit in the conference room any time soon. The conference room is where I'm going to be having the computer classes and video game tournaments here very soon. Without air conditioning? I don't think so! Anyway, I ended up letting myself get too stressed about it and ended up eating a lot of things on Saturday that I shouldn't have. My blood sugar jumped up, and I did not feel good Saturday night. I got back on track Sunday and stayed there, but felt tired and cranky all day -- the consequences of my eating choices. I'm feeling a little better today and staying on track, but it's only because I don't want to feel sick like I did Saturday night!

Lunch time is over, and I've got to get back to work. If there's anything I can do to help you with your diet or food choices, let me know. I know how hard it is to look around at what everyone else is eating and hate the fact that I can't eat that way, too, without paying the piper.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

I weighed this morning and am so excited. Down 5 pounds to 278. I haven't been able to break 280 in forever. I last weighed less than 280 when I went to my 20th high school reunion (5 years ago). I needed that. It helps the stress a little bit when at least my weight loss is going a little better. It doesn't help the finances, but I'll take any good news right now.

I think in some ways we are lucky. When you make bad food choices and have diabetes, you feel it. It isn't just that the scale goes up. You feel like crap. After my chocolate cake binge, I wasn't sick...............but I didn't sleep well and I was up drinking water all night. I was so thirsty because my blood sugar was up. I drank water all night and then had to pee all night. Sometimes, I think we just need to remind ourselves what certain food does to us. If you have to do that by eating something you shouldn't, then look at it as a learning (or relearning) moment.

I'm so sorry about the air conditioning. I know they are looking at the fact that summer is coming to a close, but I live in the south and run my air conditioner almost all year. I usually can turn it off for January and February, but that's about it.

I hope you are feeling better.

[yoshi]

I totally agree with you about looking at the benefits of how food effects us diabetics. If eating the wrong things didn't make me feel so rotten, I would be eating them all the time. I mean, I would be finding ways to justify eating the bad stuff, but I don't even go there because I want to feel good. I used to eat potatoes every couple of days or so because I love them and I kept the serving within my carb limit. But I started noticing I didn't feel so good, even after eating only the small, allowed amounts. Hanging onto something I really like isn't worth what it does to me.

I have a healthy appetite and look forward to meals. I used to look forward to having certain foods at mealtime, especially dessert. When I did low carb years ago, I got bored too easily with meals because I didn't look for things I could have on low carb to get excited about. I found myself starting to fall into that same trap. Back when I wasn't doing low carb, I used to make what I called an apple-cheese danish. It was just toast with cheese melted on top and unsweetened applesauce spread on top of the melted cheese. I've really been missing it, and instead of dwelling on it so much that I ended up giving up on low carb, I came up with a substitute. I fry cheese and, after it's cooled a bit, I spread 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (only 12 net carbs, which is within my limit) and sprinkle cinnamon on top. It works and gives me something to look forward to when I don't want eggs.

Your weight loss is great news! I gained 2/10 of a pound from my cheat on Saturday (I weigh on Sundays). Lesson learned! Keep up the good work.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

Tonight was a dinner of experiments. I tried the fried zucchini battered with cheese and deep-fried. It tasted really good, it was just really hard to keep the "batter" on the zucchini. While I had the grease got, I just sliced some zucchini and fried it with no batter. That was good too........and easy. Then I went for frying tofu. It gave a feeling of french fries, but the texture was weird. I'm going to get some flavored tofu and try it. I was just in the mood to try something different. The cheese-battered zucchini was the best. It was just a lot of trouble.

I don't weigh on a particular day because I get to anxious about it. I just weigh when I think about it.

[yoshi]

I barbequed hamburgers last night. This is the first time since summer hit with the hot weather. It also gets humid here, and the bugs eat me up. We've been having really nice weather and very few mosquitos. As soon as I put the meat on the grill, I got swarmed with flies! My son and I killed about 20 of them in just a few minutes. I love to BBQ but that made the experience very unpleasant. They were even landing on the domed top to the grill and dying instantly from the heat. This year has been so bad for flies in our area. Somehow, during the swatting and grilling process, I got something on my eyelashes that ended up in my eye just about the time I was getting ready for bed. I couldn't find anything and thought it might be an eyelash that had irritated my eye. It kept waking me up because it could start hurting so much. I finally got up around 4:00 this morning, got out my desk lamp and shined it right on that eye, because I was determined to figure out what was making my eye hurt so much. It took a few minutes, but I finally found a little black speck high up on the inside of my upper eyelid. I got it out with a q-tip, and the pain instantly left. My eye is red and irritated, but that awful pain is gone, thank God!

I'm a little tired from not getting enough sleep last night, and I have to work until 8:00 this evening. I did get enough hamburgers made yesterday so we can have them again for dinner tonight. I mix the meat with worcestershire sauce, Louisiana hot sauce and minced garlic. Even with the battle to get them cooked, they were good.

Sometimes, I like to experiment with food. I usually save it for my days off. After work, I tend to be brain-numb, as well as body-tired, so I want something I know is going to taste good, 'cuz I'm not likely to want to cook something else if it doesn't turn out.

Talk to you later.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat tonight. I just wanted munchies. I truly wanted to order pizza. I had to make something I could nibble on. I cut up tofu into french fry sized pieces and fried a block. I also fried some bacon. I just munched all night. It kept me from eating pizza. I think I am getting hooked on fried tofu. My son was even nibbling on it.

[yoshi]

I made pizza last night with the low carb lavash bread. I've found if I let the lavash bake longer by itself, it's more sturdy. It almost has to get burned first, though. Otherwise, I eat it with a fork. I'll take pizza any way I can get it!

My eye was pretty swollen last night by the time I got off work, and it was giving me a nasty headache. I fixed and ate my pizza and went to bed not too long after. I don't like to go to bed that soon after eating, but I needed the rest. I feel much better today. The irritation and swelling are almost gone. It's a good thing, too, that I'm feeling almost like my perky self because I've had computer problems at work today (I fix them). I really needed my wits about me to figure out what was causing the problem (our tech support office was absolutely no help at all). I got it figured out, and they're working great, but it took some heavy-duty thinking and deducting.

I'm having one of the hamburgers I bbq'ed the other day for lunch today. It's almost done heating up. I can smell it, and I'm hungry. Talk at you later.

Lynn

[GTBraveGirl]

My favorite legal dinner tonight: Steak and mashed cauliflower. Winn Dixie had a sale on ribeyes. I love bone-in ribeye steaks. So that's what we had. I mashed cauliflower and put cream cheese, butter, cream and cheese in it. It was good. No it wasn't potatoes, but it was good.

[gottalotagals]

Hey Robin! I'm in Yulee! I moved here in December from Jax.
So awesome to see a local on here!
I just restarted induction on Saturday.