Chili Dog!

I went to the airport with Carboface last night.  He had an early flight so we went the night before to hang out so he wouldn't have to wake up crazy early and take a cab all the way there.  Also because it sounded like a sorta fun thing to do.  I got some of the thrill and anticipation of travelling just spending time with him there.  Granted, it's the most tedious part of travelling, but dammit there's something magical about airports.  All that possibility.  I dunno.

Anyhow, I ATE A 7-11 CHILI DOG!!!!  I totally just caved and justified it saying he's gonna be eating all kinds of carbs in NY, why can't I have a measly chili dog?  I seriously crave those nasty trashy dogs smothered with the garbage cheese and chili.  We went to get one a couple weeks ago when I was saying bye bye to carbs, but they were out of chili.  Who wants a 7-11 hot dog without chili?  I put a ton of cheese and chili on, onions too also hot peppers, sauerkraut and pickles on top and on the side to nosh too.

It was GREAT!  I mean it was terrible.  We got a big gulp too and eating the junk food I could feel how compulsive my eating it was.  It was totally a carb and carbonated synergy creating a desire in me to eat even though I could physically recognize I was full.  I'd brought food for us, and I moved on to some of that when I finished the dog.  Cream cheese smeared on cucumber rounds.  It tasted good with the coke.

I thought my blood glucose would high after, but I think the carbs I had were less than 50 so I didn't spike, I went up to 5,  probably because we were walking around so much.

Based on this, once my weight bottoms out.I figure I can probably eat more than 20g of carbs a day in terms of maintaining my glucose levels.


WHAT I ATE TODAY

12:50 pm
2 egg omelet
50 g cheddar cheese
1 green onion
1/2 small tomato
2 slices bacon
bit of leftover green and yellow pepper
butter
water

2 cups coffee
whipping cream

beef and veggie curry
sugar free jello
whipping cream

6:30 pm
mixed nuts

8:30 pm
mixed nuts
green tea

10:00 pm
pastrami
1/2 Claussen kosher pickle
curry

CHILI DOG
BIG GULP!!!

cream cheese
cucumber
mozza chunk



BLOOD GLUCOSE

12:34 pm
before breakfast
5.8

3:50 pm
before lunch
5.3

1:35 am
before chili dog
5.6

3:49 am
after chili dog
5.3

Sugar Bugs.

Sugar is crap.  It tastes really good, but it's way too easy to eat too much of it.  It's in most everything processed because people love it.  Also if you add enough sugar to something that doesn't taste very good, all you'll taste is sweetness.  It makes yuck palatable and it makes it unhealthy to boot.

I miss it though.  I've been using the phrase sugar bugs when I talk about carbs with Carboface.  It's become our catch phrase for mocking or talking wistfully about the foods we used to love.  My niece's dentist used the term to explain why they had to brush their teeth.  :)

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a bad idea too, and that's because of the higher fructose content.  Fructose is the crap part of sugar.  It's the part that messes up you up metabolically if you have too much, not just once in a while - consistently.  I don't want to eat anymore of it...even though it is delicious!  But it's easy to get fooled when you read ingredient labels, because it's disguised,  and often the amount of sugar or HFCS is not even accurately represented.  

Sugar or carbs, may feed cancer cells too.

I'm trying to stay away from sweeteners too because they can cause insulin resistance as well.  I think the body responds to the sweet taste, and releases insulin in anticipation of the food energy that would be dumped into the bloodstream, and that insulin dump makes you hungry.

I'm not going to give up sweeteners altogether, but I am treating diet drinks and sugar-free jello with some respect.  They aren't FREE foods.  They are foods I can eat in moderation so I don't miss eating carby treats as much.   I do notice that they rev my appetite some, so it's probably good to have them in conjunction with other more filling foods.

And xylitol is a good sweetener.  It creates a perfect PH balance in your mouth and promotes healing in your gums.  Good news if you have gingivitis.

I have some Omega 3 liquid  that is sweetened with xylitol.  Carboface was worried that it had carbs so when checking it out, I found this info on xylitol incidentally.  My dentist told me it was good to chew sugar free gum as long it had xylitol, and now I know why.

I did a lot of walking today, a few hours worth, and I still feel so surprised and grateful at how I'm much more able to do physical activities.  It's remarkable how much MORE and stable energy I get from NOT eating carbs.  I think back to how I used to have to carry around food all the time in case I'd have a crashing low blood sugar.  It happened ALL THE TIME.  My blood sugars were good, if low at times, but really I was taking too much insulin!

Carboface and I were talking and wondering about the exact chemical processes involved that differ when you process carbs, or protein, or fat, for your body's needs.  Then he found this interview with Robert Lustig.  It's new!  And it has a great little animated segment that really explains what goes on when you eat.  And this article explains the processes too, same here.

I almost forgot, my weigh in this week - I'm down to 165.5, and Carboface hit 210. 


WHAT I ATE TODAY

12:30 pm
2 egg omelet
60g cheddar cheese
1 T spinach cream cheese
1 green onion
1/2 small tomato
1 1/2 slices bacon
arugula

2 cups coffee

4:00 pm
1 oz mozzarella
cucumber
green tea
water

4:50 pm
1 oz cheddar
1 oz mozzarella
cucumber
1/4 cup mixed nuts
lime diet coke
green tea

6:30 pm
1/2 stick pepperoni
1/2 oz cheddar
tea
water

8:30 pm
2 thighs chicken
1/2 yellow  pepper
1/2 green  pepper
soy sauce
butter

10:00 pm
green tea leaves

11:40 pm
1/2 pack soft tofu
sesame oil, sesame seeds
soy
Rooster hot sauce

1:06 am
1 T miso
4 rounds cucumber
slice ham
green tea
water

3:30 am
1/2 pack soft tofu
soy sauce

BLOOD GLUCOSE

11:08 am
before breakfast
7.8

4:51 pm
before cheese, nuts etc
5.5

8:27 pm
before chicken and peppers
5.1

3:23
before bed
4.9

Jello is Yum

I'm getting slacker and slacker about keeping track of my food.  I guess I'm not seeing the point of it much.  It will be much more important when I stop losing weight.   I'll be able to figure out where I can cut carbs and keep the weight loss going.

Another consideration, is how will my diet changes affect my cholesterol and blood pressure?  I am hoping that I won't need to keep taking the blood pressure and cholesterol meds.

I'm happy to continue on with my diabetes meds though, metformin, and maybe piaglitazone though.  At least for metformin, I know that some people consider it an anti-cancer drug. Gary Taubes said that one dude takes it prophylactically.  


WHAT I ATE TODAY

2 egg omelet
butter
cheddar cheese, grated, plus one chunk for munching
green onion
tomato
dill cream cheese
butter
pepper

2 cups coffee

1/2 pepperoni stick
water

Ryvita
dill cream cheese
green tea

6:40 pm
romaine lettuce
mozzarella cheese - shredded plus one chunk for munching
1 slice bacon
Caesar dressing

8:45 pm
beef and veggie curry
greek yogurt
lite spinach cream cheese - I looked for regular, but they didn't have any and I wanted to try this flavour.  It's ok.  I think I like the red pepper, salmon, or herb and garlic better though.  And plain is always tasty.

sunflower seeds, dill and bbq flavour

strawberry jello
with whipping cream

I found the sugar free jello too sweet, so I added some plain gelatin and a cup more water  The flavour isn't as strong, more mellow to my tongue, and  I just made 50 % more jello!

1/2 an orange

bite of pepperoni

2 ham slices
1 processed cheese slice



BLOOD GLUCOSE

2:00 pm
before breakfast
6.5

12:07 am
after orange
7.0

2:18 am
after ham and cheese - before bed
5.7

Food log - April 20, 2012

I went to Fatburger, cheated some with a 1/2 burger and bun, but I also tried a bunless burger and it was good.  I was worried that it would really suffer in comparison, but it didn't.  Topping it with chili really added to it.  And I didn't miss the fries like I thought I would.  I saw so many chubby people eating them and more than wishing for them, I thought if only you knew how much carbs are in that!

I forgot to post this before I went to bed.  I think I ate something else before I went to sleep.  Another Ryvita and cream cheese I think.  I was really missing crackery tastes.

I'm so glad I found some crackers with a net carb of 2. 

Doh!  Their website list a different carb content than what's on the package I've got.  According to them, the crackers are 5.7 net carbs.  That's much more than I thought.  I left a message asking why the difference, but until I hear an explanation, I'm going to assume it's 6 carbs.  Not a snack I'll be having very often during induction.

I'm going to check out a low carb store sometime next week and see what kind of stuff they sell.  I'd like some tortilla's or flat bread so I could make burritos easily.  Salads are nice, but I miss sammichy things. A low carb bread would be good too.   The more variety I can add, the better.  I get tired of eating the same old stuff.  Even though I'm getting full pretty quick on less,  I'm still a foodie at heart.

And I found a recipe for home made gummies, so that will solve the candy craves some.  :)

And tofu puffs satisfy chip cravings some.  They are chewy though and taste oily, but something about them screams guilty snack - like piggie puffs, they are super filling and a little goes a long way.

2 eggs
2 slices bacon
water
salt, pepper
slice of pastrami

2 cups coffee

1/2 double cheeseburger - fatburger
1/2 double cheeseburger - no bun, with egg and chili

diet coke

pepperoni stick
ryvita cracker
dill cream cheese

2 squares 99% cocoa chocolate

ryvita with dill cream cheese
slice of pastrami
cheddar cheese
tofu puffs
water

BLOOD GLUCOSE

2:16 pm
before breakfast
6.2

10pm
before pepperoni stick
6.3

2 am
after cracker, cheese, meat and tofu puffs
6.4

Food Log - April 19, 2012 - WB

I didn't track today, I remember what I ate, but not exactly when or the amounts.  Doesn't really matter though, I kept it low carb.  I ate a lot of different stuff, but my glucose levesls were good. 

We didn't cook today, and that was nice.  Just ate cold foods, except for the fish dinner before the opera. Aida is awesome BTW.


WHAT I ATE TODAY

cold chicken breast
1/4 pickle
water

salad greens
Caesar dressing
1 slice bacon
pastrami
more cold chicken breast
water

green tea
some mixed nuts, about 8

Really nice meal at the VCC cafeteria
poached sole with asparagus and cream sauce
green beans with tomato paste maybe?  It had a tomatoey sauciness, but just a hint of flavouring, also tasted some ginger and garlic.
bit of another veggie dish, mostly eggplant, with some onion and tomato
We shared our different fish entrees, so I also got a bit of trout, and I ate his lemon slice garnish, peel and all.  I think I might be low on vitamin C, since I'm not eating much fruit anymore.

more nuts, 1/4 cup about.
water

pastrami
cold steak
1/4 pickle

orange jello
whipping cream
chocolate green tea

3 strawberries chopped
whipping cream
chocolate green tea

water
 
bowl cauliflower curry
whipping cream


GLUCOSE LEVELS

11:35 am
before breakfast
6.8

5:42 pm
just after salad etc
5.7

11:47 pm
after cold meats and jello
5.6

2:45am
before bed
5.4

Food Log - April 18, 2012 - WB

I got caught short while I was out and bought a piece of Prime Time fried chicken which is what I blame for my 10g overage today.  I was waiting on a lecture where I'd get free opera tix, and the community centre caf only had carby meals.  I suppose I could have bought a couple ala carte boiled eggs, and noshed on those, but hey you can't eat eggs alla time.  I guess this guy would disagree though.

I didn't test much today either, probably because I was running around most of the day.  I started using an old glucometer last night and I think psychologically I have a resistance to using it.  It does more - like you can input your insulin dosing and you can graph results, so it's more useful, just the carrying case looks shabby.  I don't like pulling it out.  Seems silly, but I never wanted to test.  I was out and about though, and I often don't feel like testing under those circumstances anyhow.

I'm noticing I'm usually around 5 or 6 eating low carb - except in the morning - dawn effect has me 7ish then.   I really should just steam roller the reluctance and TEST already though.  It's good discipline for later on when I'll be seeing what kinda carbs I can bring back.  If that's possible for me even because I don't want to take insulin anymores!

I'm scheming on more carbs than 20 per day though.  Today I saw a loaf of gluten free bread.  It was made with tapioca flour and the loaf was realllllly light.  One slice was only 6gs net carbs.  I could go back to my regular breakfast of runny yolk eggs and dippy toast.  I really miss that.

WHAT I ATE TODAY

11:30 am
2 eggs
35g cheese
2 cherry tomatoes
30g spinach
1 green onion
1 1/2 slices bacon
1 T bacon fat
1 cup water

6g

2 cups coffee

3:30 pm
1/4 cup peanuts

2g

3:45 pm
strawberries
chicken breast

4g

5:30 pm
fried chicken, thigh
1/2 can diet coke

8g

coffee

10:40 pm
2 cups romaine
2 cherry tomatoes
2T cucumber dressing
poached salmon
1t soy sauce
2 strawberries
poaching liquid

8g


1:40 am
orange jello
whipping cream



2g

2:50 am
2 slices cooked ham
green tea

0g

TOTAL = 30g


BLOOD GLUCOSE

10:59 am
before breakfast
7.2

 2:50 am
before bed
5.9

Food Log - April 17, 2012 - WB

Haha!  I like how the commentary bitchslaps the author of this article  that tries to call out Gary Taubes for being critical of medical science's credibility when it comes to nutrition. Dude instead gets called out himself for  his slack strawman criticism.

Today I was reading about low carb desserts.  I realized I could get creative cooking low carb cheesecake and other sweets if I want.  I made some jello in celebration of that.  :D

I made the salmon salad, and Carbo Face made the chicken and mushroom supper.  Mushrooms are about my favourite food, and I'm thinking maybe it's because they're fried in butter.  I stole a bite of his mushrooms and remarked how much more buttery they tasted.  He said, I added more butter.  Genius!!

I'm wondering what the calorie content of my meals, but I'm not interested enough to be inputting them to sparkpeople, livestrong or whatever.  I figure my menu will change to reflect more variety once I get familiar working with low carb choices.  Like tonight I told him, isn't there some dish with chicken and mushrooms and sour cream and tomatoes and wine?   Chicken Paprikash?  Or is it a beef dish I'm thinking on?  Beef bourguignon?  Anyhow.  I'm no longer all mournful and thinking of how booooring it is to not have hunger making food taste good.  I can figure out how to make it taste good with FLAVOUR.

btw, FAT is soo flavourful.  It's awesome not being afraid of fat anymore. And maybe not salt either.

 I should be eating like my ancestors.  Probably you should too.

So remember to spice up your food!



WHAT I ATE TODAY 

12:40 pm
2 eggs
1/2 small tomato
1 green onion
spinach
50g cheddar
1 1/2 slice bacon
bacon fat
2 cups coffee

7g


5:20 pm
can of sardines

7:10 pm
50g lettuces
60g cucumber
1 cherry tomato
2 T daikon
6 capers
salmon
2 T creamy cucumber
30g  mozzarella

7g

10:10 pm
55g boneless chicken thighs fried in butter
120g mushrooms fried in butter
20g spinach with butter
1/4 Claussen dill
water
green tea

3g

water
Om tea 

12:30 am 
orange sugar free jello

I think the jello made me hungry, because I wanted more food almost immediately after eating and finally caved. 


1:06 am
slice cooked ham
kraft single

3g

TOTAL = 20 g

BLOOD GLUCOSE

12:07 pm
before breakfast
6.9


6:54 pm
before salmon salad
5.4


10:05 pm
before chicken and mushrooms
5.6

1:30 am
5.6

Food Log - April 16, 2012 - WB

Carbo Face was doing some reading on aspartame and I guess although it doesn't have any carbs, the sweet taste can create cravings for carbohydrates.  I think there's summat to that, so I'm cutting back on the diet drinks.  Though I did buy 20 boxes of aspartame jello this morning.  What can I say, it was on sale.  Besides, I'm not going to be sipping on jello all day long.  I miss dessert and sweet things, and in this initial going for 20g of carbs per day stage, I can't eat much fruit either.  Jello will have to do for satisfying my sweet tooth.

Another interesting bit, just looking at food can stimulate insulin levels.  Your body is primed by images and even just thinking about food can have your body dumping insulin into your bloodstream in anticipation of food.  This is why you get hungry when you see food.

I did notice yesterday, when eating grapefruit, that my tongue seems more sensitized towards natural sugars.  Ruby grapefruit is pretty sweet to begin with, but really, it was like eating an orange.  And even the little bit (1/4) that I had gave me a sugar rush.

And finally here's the poop talk.  I have been having yucky poops!  Like super dense turds that sink and are poky on my poor butt when they are exiting.  This must be because my diet has the ratio of protein to carb so skewed to the protein side.  I'm definitely going to be having more salads and high fibre carbs.

My goal is to have some fibre with each protein meal, and also to cut back on the protein some.  I think I went overboard in the beginning because I was used to eating lots based on the carb fuelled appetite.  As time goes on, I'm adjusting my portions to the idea that I get full on much less.

I'm thinking down the line, maybe I'll even throw in some fast days, maybe once a month, or every 2 weeks, maybe even once a week, if I take to it.  I used to think OMG how can people do that?  I'd literally collapse from hunger.  It seems doable now that I'm not taking insulin.  Low carb stuff doesn't pump up my hunger neither.

GROAN!

Carbo face brought home a scone he got for free, and we both had a nibble.   I declined the free pastries, but I was kinda glad he didn't because that little bite tasted SOOO good.  But now I feel like what the hell?  Why did I do that?   It's much easier to say no to eating carbs when they aren't in your house.

Also, the BMI (body mass index) is bull!

I'm still making my meals too big, and still wanting to clear my plate, not stopping when I get full.  I didn't realize how ingrained it was for me to serve portion sizes that no longer fit my appetite.
 
WHAT I ATE TODAY

1:15 pm
soft tofu
soy, sesame oil & seeds, chili sauce
4 radishes
berryblossom white tea

4g

3:40 pm
2 slices ham
1 kraft single
3 cups mixed salad greens
2T Ceasar dressing
1 cherry tomato
1 cucumber fingerling
berry blossom white tea
11g

5:45
boiled egg
cucumber fingerling
salt
green tea


7:05
2 eggs
20g spinach
25g cheddar cheese
2 cherry tomatoes
1 green onion
bacon fat
25 g cheddar

5g

7:50 pm
1/4 dill pickle

1g

8:05
bit of scone

I'm gonna guess 5g and hope that's not undershooting.


10:00 pm
steak
spinach
mushrooms
butter

5g


11:26 am
7.7

1:09 pm
after walk, before breakfast
7.3

3:38
before ham cheese, salad
6.1

6:40 pm
after boiled egg
5.6


3:00am
before bed
5.4

Food Log - April 15, 2012 - WB

I am having to put a period at the end of the Induction. label, because otherwise auto complete makes it into pre-induction.  What the hell?  I hate when something that is supposed to be a shortcut turns into a huge pain in the ASS!!!

I weighed myself when I woke up, and I'm down to 168.5, I was 177 at last Sunday's weigh in, and before that my highest weight was during my last period, at 185.  I've lost 8.5 pounds this week and 16.5 lbs total.

Bleagh.  I went off the rails today.  Just a little bit of added carbs along the way got me all the way to 35!  And I'll probably want to eat again today before I go to bed.  Dang.  I don't quite have the hang of balancing the carbs out, and I haven't had the foresight to buy enough variety in low carb fruit and vegetables.  Cauliflower and greens are the big winners.  Cucumbers, strawberries too.

I'll figure this out though.

Today I hit a wall in terms of feeling very bored with food.  I miss the roller coaster ride of eating carbs.  My meals used to be so much more enticing.  I don't even feel hungry anymore....well I do, just my hunger is so slack in comparison.  I can understand those people who forget to eat now. 

WHAT I ATE TODAY

2:00 pm
3 eggs, scrambled
50g mozzarella
2 breakfast sausages
2 slices bacon
butter
1/2 cup ice blue kool-aid
2 cups coffee

5 g 


4:00 pm
1 spicy thigh - Church's Fried Chicken
1/4 grapefruit


11g


6:07 pm
1/2 can chili sardines

 2g

7:30 pm
1/4 cup cashews
1 cup ice blue Kool-Aid

7g

9:40 pm
5 strawberries

3g

10:00 pm
1/2 package firm tofu, fried and marinated
soy
rice vinegar
chili sauce
minced garlic
2 1/2 cups raw cabbage - stir fried til tender then with tofu and marinade
1 cup ice blue Kool-aid

8g

12:30 am
soft tofu
soy sauce
sesame oil
chili sauce
sesame seeds
cucumber
water
green tea

3g


BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS


1:03 pm
before breakfast
7.3

3:57 pm
before chicken
6.7

12:27 am
before bed
5.1

Food Log - April 14, 2012 - WB

I had some carb cravings today.  Maybe it was going to the theatre and smelling all the popcorn, or maybe it was not being able to buy anything when I went to the cafeteria because the vegetarian meals were so goddamn carby.  I could have bought some boiled eggs but fuck that.  I wanted that spinach curry and rice, or some of that tamale pie.

This isn't going to be as easy as I thought.  I know this food will kill me, but it tastes so damn good!!  I think a carb addiction might be harder to kick than heroin.  At least heroin isn't available EVERYWHERE you go, nor is it constantly being advertised.

Oooo I like this song.  This is my carb free anthem.  I will stay out of the cave of carbs!
 

9:10 am
2 jumbo eggs
2 slices bacon
2 cups black coffee

11am, 1pm
1/2 cup peanuts
1/3 cup almonds
1/4 cup cashews
about 1/2 of mixture = 8g so 4g at each time.

3:30 pm
Church's fried chicken
1 spicy back
1 regular back
can of diet root beer

6:15 pm
4 strawberries

7:00 pm
2 slices ham
1 kraft single
2 cucumber fingerlings

9:30 pm
 2 scoops curry
1 cup ice blue kool-aid made with splenda
2 T greek yoghurt

310g flank steak
1 whole cauliflower, chopped, leaves and stems too
4 small zucchini unpeeled
1/2 large onion
bunch of baby carrots shredded - 1 cup?
2 stalks celery
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
2 T beef tallow
2 T chicken fat
1 T spicy tuna oil
8 pepperoncinis
garam masala
turmeric
some other curry powder mix

12:15
smoked salmon
cream cheese
green onion
alfalfa sprouts
capers
green tea

2:45 am
1 stick pepperoni
22g havarti
1/4 ruby grapefruit
 
BLOOD GLUCOSE

9:06 am
before breakfast
6.6

3:48 pm
after chicken
6.0

9:00 pm
before curry
6.8

9:44 pm
after curry
6.1

4:34 am
before bed
8.9

whoops!  I forgot to post this before I went to bed.  Doh!

Food Log - April 13, 2012 - WB

It's an emotional adjustment modifying your diet to low carbs.

I'm bored with food now.  I used to think about it all the time.  I used to worry about not having enough food because I was always hungry.  Now my hungry is caged and oh so slack in comparison.  And I feel rather bereft.  I've lost something.  My hunger really defined me, and shaped my days.  I'd day dream about different dishes, think about what I was going to eat next with anticipation.  Now I can't make my food nearly as interesting or compelling.   I feel like a heroin junkie who's cured, but misses the lifestyle and crave that pushed all their behaviours.


Today I felt kinda sick and tired.  My period is winding up, so it's not that.  I think I'm getting the ketogenic flu.  I crashed for a 3 hour period in the early evening.  I hope I'm over it by tomorrow.
I think I'm also feeling moody because my cat died on Wednesday, but I don't expect to not feel sad about that for awhile. 

I was eating for emotional reasons in the evening.  I wasn't hungry really, just missing my cat, and missing eating junk food and wanting to feel different by eating.  It didn't really work though.  I just felt too full.  You don't get the same feeling of contentment from carbs.  You get full, but you don't get the quick rush and mood alteration.

I got some rush from eating the 1/4 grapefruit, and I think that is what triggered my missing the carbs. 

I guess it's time to admit I've committed.  Starting tomorrow, I'll no longer say I'm pre-induction.

WHAT I ATE TODAY

12:00 noon cold plate
2 oz strip loin
2 oz smoked salmon
1oz cheddar and mozzarella
2T cream cheese
1 green onion
1/4 cup daikon
1/4 alfalfa sprouts
1 leaf iceberg lettuce
4 cherry tomotoes
diet cola
water

2 cups black coffee

3:00 pm
60g baby arugula spring mix
140g fingerling cucumber

5:00 pm
80g ruby grapefruit
170g soft tofu
1t soy sauce
1/2 t sesame seeds
1 t sesame oil
1/2 t chili sauce
water
green tea

10:00 pm
120 g cauliflower
4 breakfast sausages
butter, salt, pepper

11:00 pm
pepperoni
mozzarella, cheddar
celery
piggie puffs
diet cola

green tea

12:45 am
3 boiled egg

1:30 am
6 slices of bacon

BLOOD GLUCOSE

11:58 am
before breakfast
6.9

4:50 pm
before grapefruit, tofu
5.0

9:45
before cauliflower and sausage
4.8

2:34 am
before bed
5.6

Nurse appointment, Food Log - April 12, 2012 WB

I have to say I'm starting to get into the swing of eating low carb.  I went shopping today and I looked at the old junk foods I used to like and I kept seeing them as OMG, I can't eat that poison anymore.  There was a touch of wistfulness, but mostly I felt aghast that the foods I used to love, pizza, bagels, etc, were so very bad for me.

I'm having more energy and less hunger.  My hunger is of a different quality too.  I don't feel ravenous and I get full much quicker.  I'm not used to it.  I keep serving myself too much food, expecting that I'll want the same amount as I did before, but with the absence of carbs prompting insulin appetite surges, I'm satiated much more easily.

I went to see a nurse this morning and she was telling me that I should be eating 40 to 60 grams of complex carbs, per meal, and did the usual thing of showing me the portion plate with it's small servings of meat and carb next to double veggies.  I told her that carbs send my blood sugar up.  She said I need carbs for energy.  I said you should watch Sugar is Toxic, and told her about how fructose doesn't bump your blood glucose because it is turned to fat in the liver.  She was all hmmm... and wrote down the youtubery names I dropped.  She scratched the bottom of my feet and wrote a bunch more stuff on my chart.  I asked for a referral to a bariatric specialist and she said that sounded like a good idea.  

After getting some history - I'm a new patient to her - I told her about how I've got a rare disorder, one in a million and they don't really know a whole lot about how it comes about.  Just as an aside, because the diagnosis - Lawrence Seip syndrome - doesn't seem very relevant, except if it would be helpful treating it.  And so far it hasn't helped at all.  I was asking about fat panels and lipid profiles, because I wanted to know if they tested for the differing sized LDL particles, since the pattern B - for bad, small dense ones are more closely associated with Coronary Heart Disease.  I have high triglycerides, and there's a correlation between them and the LDL pattern B, so I'm assuming I gots bad levels.  Anyhow, at one point she said something like "maybe we are putting too much pressure on you to exercise and lose weight, maybe your weird metabolic disorder makes that impossible.  I gave her a look I'm sure.  

It's bizarre that when I'm finally gaining some traction in terms of doing summat effective around my health, through the simple act of changing what I eat, the nurse lady,  is well you should just not even bother worrying about it.  She's a nice lady, just she seems very much stuck in the typical paradigm of all calories are equal, lose weight through exercise etc.  That's another thing, I think when you are burning fat, or when you're body is in balance you naturally have more energy and exercising is not an exhausting chore.  You do it for the good endorphins and it makes you healthier and just plain feels good.  I'm thinking I'm gonna like using my body again, because I already feel better doing stuff.

Anyhow, I was telling her I want to take less drugs - the diabetes drugs, the cholesterol, blood pressure, etc meds, do I really need ALL of them?  And she said I'll print out a list and you can show it to your specialists and see what they think.  Hmmm...I'm going to see what my next blood tests say and go from there.  I really think that by 6 months time, I'll be able to stop with the medications, and my fatty liver will have shrunk down from biggie sized.  Knock on wood and all that.  Seems to be working. 


WHAT I ATE TODAY

10:00 am
2 jumbo eggs
50g mozzarella
1 cup cauliflower
butter, oil, salt, pepper
2 cups coffee


2:50 pm
100g smoked salmon
2 T cream cheese
sprouts
3 cherry tomatoes
75g strawberries


5:20 pm
can of jalapeno sardines

6:15 pm
1/2 of McDouble no bun, 3 slices pickle, titchy bit of mustard
1/2 a piece of grilled chicken
1 and 1/2 regular coke zero

7 - 12 pm  (movie)
1/2 cup peanuts
1/3 cup almonds
 a little more than half of the total 8g
 1 1/2 cups coffee

 1:10 am
2 oz striploin, cold sliced
1/2 chicken thigh, cold sliced
1 1/5 oz cheddar and mozzarella
1/2 boiled egg
3 T cream cheese
5 cherry tomatoes
daikon
alfalfa sprouts
ice berg lettuce
pickle
mustard, salt, pepper
diet cola


BLOOD GLUCOSE - INSULIN DOSING


9:30 am
before breakfast
7.4


2:49 pm
before salmon plate
6.8


5:10 pm
after salmon etc
7.3


1:20 am
just after meat and cheese plate
5.9

Food Log - April 11, 2012 WB

What I Ate Today

2:30 pm
2 jumbo eggs
40g mozzarella cheese
butter, olive oil, pepper
coffee

5:00 pm 
chicken thigh
1 cup su choy
1t soysauce
diet ginger ale
water

6:20 pm
McDouble - meat,cheese, extra pickles, no bun
large coffee, 4 creams shared

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm movie time
large coffee, 4 creams shared unfinished
green tea
10 almonds

10:00 pm
4 sockeye salmon, 2 atlantic salmon, 2 tuna,  sashimi 
2 lemon slices
lettuce, coiled vegetable garnish - extremely mild onion? daikon?
soy sauce, wasabi
diet ginger ale
green tea


11:50 pm
90g strawberries
6 almonds
water

3:15 am
60g spicy sardines - approx 4g carbs


Blood Sugar - Insulin Dosing

1:22 pm
before eggs
8.1

4:54 pm
before chicken
5.6

9:58 pm
before sashimi
4.1

11:47 pm
after sashimi/before strawberries
6.4

2:01 am
before bed
6.0

whoops, I stayed up a bit longer and ate some sardines.  I'm not going to test again. I probably went up a bit, but I'll wait and see what it reads when I wake up.

I didn't take any insulin and I was under 10.  My highest reading in the morning - 8.1 was due to dawn effect.  I'll probably go up a bit again in tomorrow morning, but I'm not taking insulin again tonight. I didn't check the carb content of the foods, but I'm pretty sure it was around 20g total for the day.

I see a nutritionist, actually a chronic disease nurse, tomorrow morning.  I'm really interested in what she'll have to say about my changing diet.  We'll see if she does the usual mostly complex carb, some protein, low calorie, low fat, approach.

Progress - 3 days = 11lbs!!!

This morning,  I was looking in the mirror and thinking hey, is my belly smaller? It is!  I've lost 2" around my bellybutton circumference.  Then I figured ok, I must have lost weight and I had to jump on the scale a couple times and then get Carbo Face to do it too, because I thought it was broken.  I've lost 11 lbs since Sunday, and some of that might be water weight, or period weight, since I got my period over the weekend too, but even so...

It's only been 3 days, and I'm not even doing the low carb thing seriously, I've simply been cutting back on carbs.  I think I must be doing something right.  :)

I'll be doing this hard core pretty soon.  Carbo Face is talking about going on a meat only diet for a month or so and seeing where that takes us.  I dunno, the idea isn't particularly appealing, but I could probably do it for a month.  Maybe it's  good way to do induction.  Swear off carbs altogether and then graaaaadually reintroduce them.

I'm almost certain I will be avoiding fructose like a poison because the liver turns that to fat immediately, and if I don't eat carbs at all, I'll be able to figure out which carbs I tolerate well by introducing them one at a time.  I'm thinking about it anyhow.

Also, this is one of the most concise videos I've come across in terms of explaining how you get fat.

 Also, this one from Fathead.  Why You Got Fat.

 

Food Log - April 10, 2012 - WB RIP my baby kitty cat

What I Ate Today


1:30 pm
2 jumbo eggs
2 ozs mozzarella
2 ozs cheddar
1 T bacon fat

3:20 pm
most of a McDonald's ice cream cone

4:00 pm
1/2 of a Mcdouble, sans bun

6:30 pm
handful of peanuts
coke zero


9:00 pm
170 grams strawberries
part of a chicken thigh

10:15 pm
taco salad
60 grams iceberg lettuce

I'm not going to be that accurate about the foods I'm eating until I'm actually going for induction. I did buy a scale today though, so I'll be able to weigh foods instead of guessing, or going by volume measures.

11:30 pm
shot of vodka
sugar free raspberry syrup

1:15 am
can of squid pieces in oil
piece of hard candy - orange with a squishy gooey centre




Blood Glucose Levels - Insulin Dosing

1:24 pm
before eggs
8.0

Insulin - 20 units Toronto

The NPH insulin I took last night wasn't enough to hold off the damn dawn effect.

I think if I want to lower my morning glucose levels without insulin, I'll probably have to start exercising first thing when I wake up, going for a walk or running up and down the staircases or something.

8 is not so terribly high, but it might be that high because I ate some cereal.

I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens when I go low carb in earnest.

Today is my cat's last day on earth. She's been ill for awhile with cancer and she's getting put down this afternoon. I'll be sharing an ice cream cone from Mcdonald's with her, so I'll be taking some insulin for that.

4:23 pm
after ice cream and burger meat
6.8

6:27 pm
before peanuts
7.3


11:15 pm
1 hour after taco salad
6.7


1:13 am
after walk
4.9

Why are you so hungry? Why are you so fat?? The Hunger Game.

Why are so many people angry when they hear that fat people are fat because chubby bodies respond differently to carbohydrates??
 It seems that these angry folk are people who can handle eating carbohydrates with ease.  They want to  think everyone else is just like them, and when they see other people getting fat because those bodies can't handle carbs, the carb munchers truly believe it's because the fat folk are lazy or lacking willpower or are greedy and simply not trying.

They have a vested interest in viewing carbohydrates as a good thing because that means they are the norm, and fat people are just like them, but laaaazy ergo, not as good as them.

It's their belief that they obtained their health through their own willpower.  It's in their perceived self interest to believe that they're lean because they have will power and they eat "right."  They have the sense to behave properly, not like those pathetic fatty mcfatties!   It's all about ego and preserving their superiority.

This false ego aggrandizement requires that they look at the group who don't process carbs well as inferior.  When the idea arises that the carb intolerant group are fat because they process carbs differently, it threatens the identity and worth of the group who can easily consume carbs. 

They think it's an excuse!  They think that fat people want an excuse to not behave properly and pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and eat like lean people do.

They don't want to believe in the science behind these differences because they want to believe that exercise and willpower are what made them thin, not that their bodies efficiently utilise carbohydrates.

Why can't they say this is great news!  Fat people can easily lose weight!  Instead they harp on their belief that this scientific evidence is bogus and is simply an excuse for fat people to continue stuffing their faces, with fat no less.

It's actually silly pitting naturally thin people vs. naturally fat people  or rather carbohydrate efficient processors vs. carbohydrate inefficient processors, but these carbomunchers want it that way.  They are continually putting themselves on top of the fat phobic pyramid, and the whole diet industry does it too.  And they keep selling the wrong message to fat people.  Eat like me and you'll be thin too.  It's lies though.


When I don't eat carbohydrates, I'm not hungry all the time.  I'm not hungry, so I don't think about eating.  I don't have to think about what I shouldn't be eating, because I'm not thinking much about eating period.  I'm satiated.  This is what people who process carbs efficiently don't understand.  When I don't eat carbs, I think I'm experiencing life close to how an efficient carb processor does, and I have to say they don't even experience hunger the same way a person who don't process carbs efficiently does.  When an inefficient carb processor eats carbohydrates, they get extreme insulin surges in their veins, screaming at them to eat more carbs.  It's that simple. Insulin sensitive vs Insulin resistant.  There is no way these different physiologies can do well eating the same high carbohydrate diet.

The carb efficient, insulin sensitive, folk can congratulate themselves on the fact that they can eat carbs all they want, but harping on the idea that "fat people just need to use willpower," is pathetic, because the efficient carbohydrate processor's will isn't being challenged at all compared to what carb intolerant folk go through when they eat carbs.

People who utilize carbs efficiently simply don't experience hunger the same way a carbohydrate intolerant person does when they eat carbs.  Period.  And propagating that false belief that a low fat, low calorie, high carb diet is a good fit for everyone is going to make many people fat and unhealthy and hungry while they're eating it.  There's some real Hunger Games for ya.

Food Log - April 10, 2012 - WB

What I Ate Today

12:00 pm
2 eggs
2 breakfast sausages
1 small slice sourdough bread, toasted
butter
coffee

2:40 pm
1 & 1/2 boiled eggs
3 oz cheese, cheddar and mozzarella
1 1/2 stalks celery
olives, black and green - 5 or 6
1/4 dill pickle
diet cola - 1/2 cup

5:30 pm
2 cups iceberg lettuce
2 oz cheddar cheese
1 1/2 slice bacon
2 T Ceasar dressing
8 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup diet cola

This is a huge salad, I think I'll probably eat 1/2 before I get full, and finish it later. 

I ate about 2/3 of the salad.  I'll have to add more tomatoes if I want any next time I eat it though because I ate them all.  YUM!

9:30 pm Taco Salad
 1 lb ground beef
1 red pepper
1/2 onion - about 1/2 cup
2 ribs celery
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3 T tomato paste
chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper
water

We made the taco meat mixture, divided it into 4 portions, then served it on a mixture of iceberg and Romaine lettuce with:

3 T grated Cheddar
2 T Greek yogurt
green olives, black olives - 3 of each chopped
Tapatio hot sauce.
1cup diet cola
green tea

It made a delicious and massive taco salad of only 12 grams of carbohydrate.  I couldn't finish mine and gave the rest to Carbo Face.   In future, I would divide the meat mixture into 6 porions.


12:10am
1/3 cup Cheerios
1/3 cup Cap'n Crunch
1/2 cup 2% milk

I want to see what milk and cereal does to my blood sugar.  Approximately 30g of carbs.  I exercised portion control, but I could have eaten a whole 'nother bowl easy peasy.  The minute the sugary yum hit my tongue the carb craving hit full force.

I wonder if I'm making carbs more desirable by creating an aura of forbidden pleasure around them, but whatever the reason behind it, I'm not imagining the powerful urge to eat more.

I waited 20 minutes, but the cereal made me very hungry.  My stomach was hurting, so I ate a couple sausages and a can of sardines.  Hopefully that won't affect the blood sugar reading from the cereal much. 

12:40 am
2 breakfast sausages
1 can sardines
green tea

I'm still hungry so now I'm eating piggie puffs

2:00 am
1 cup piggie puffs
diet cola

Blood Sugar - Insulin Dosing

11:40 am
before breakfast
5.7

Yay!  I don't know what it was when I woke up earlier at 8 and 10, but since I went back to sleep it doesn't really matter.

I'm taking some insulin because I want a slice of toast again this morning.

Insulin 20 units Toronto

1:10 pm
after breakfast
6.8

Obviously, toast is a bad idea, even with insulin.

2:40 pm
before cheese plate
5.1


5:15 pm
before salad
5.6

9:18 pm
before taco salad
5.3

11:44 pm
after taco salad/before cereal
5.4


1:23 am
after cereal
6.4

The cereal put me up a whole number!!

Damn, do carbs really stimulate my appetite?  Or did I just need some more food?
 
Apparently, it takes 21 days to acclimatize your body towards efficiently burning fat away from carb consumption.  Also, when your body uses carbs for energy, you'll experience hunger and insulin surges every 3 hours.

I think sooner, rather than later, I'm going to be ditching this pre-induction messing around with saying goodbye to carbs and seeing how they affect my blood sugar.  It doesn't make that much sense to keep eating carbs even on the lower end of the scale the way I have been the last few days, because doing so just keeps me from entering fat burning mode that much longer.  I think I have to go at my own pace though.  I do know I'm still attached to carbs and as much as I want let them go, a huge part of my life and habits are centred around them.  Especially the idea of ethical eating - I liked eating vegetarian dishes of beans and lentils and such, now I'm eating lots of meat and it's an adjustment.

2:30 am
before bed
6.7

I'm going to take 20 units of NPH, I don't want to wake up over 7, and I will if I don't.  Curse you Cap'n Crunch!

Insulin - 20 units NPH

Sparkpeople or Livestrong?

I started using Sparkpeople last year.  It's a pretty good site for managing your weight and health.  It has food tracker and exercise tracker, you can track most anything actually.  Plus it has a huge database of food, much of that foods' values are questionable though since they are entered by people, and some people only care about calories, and won't bother to enter in carbohydrate values or anything else, or may even enter erroneous values.  In any case, if it's a processed food, you'll probably find that someone has eaten it before, and if it isn't there, you can create the value yourself and share it with the everyone if you want. 

It also has an Iphone app that is free.  The app is really useful for tracking calories, and looking up nutritional info on the fly.  It works better than the full site actually.  It's simpler and easier to use.

Livestrong, I started using that last week to see if I liked it.  It's got a cleaner interface and it has less of a community support feel,  at least as far as I've explored it.  It seems more pay oriented too.  I keep seeing the ads for how much I'd pay a month to get full functionality.  Obviously they limit useful aspects to get people to pay a monthly fee.

I tried the app, and to get the app to talk to the website, you have to pay, so I didn't even bother trying it.  Why you greedy Livestrong, you can't live off of ad revenues eh?

They both have their pluses and minuses.  Livestrong is more low carb oriented and has a  yuppier health and exercise nut feel to it, while Sparkpeople feels more like a clubhouse of desperate housewives trying to fit in their old jeans by logging their calories and exercise minutes. They both have diabetes options, but Livestrong's keeps crashing when I try to track my glucose or insulin doses.  Both are flexible, both have pay options, Sparkpeople feels friendlier, it has a motivational point system, to make the site more sticky - you get points for reading articles or tracking your calories, there's even a log in bonus wheel spin that gives you points, and bonus spins!  The points aren't good for anything, except the more you accumulate, you'll see a little badge icon next to your name change.  I think I'm on reward level 4 now.  Silly as it is, the reward system does encourage you to use the site, and the more support you can find online, means the more you're likely to stick to and enjoy your lifestyle changes.

Also, I don't think you have to pay for the Sparkpeople calorie tracker app, but that might not be the case anymore.

Food Log - April 9th, 2012 - WB

What I Ate Today

11:20 am
2 large eggs, basted in bacon fat
2 slice sourdough toast
2 teaspoons raspberry jam
1oz cheddar cheese
2 cups black coffee

2:20 pm
1 cup romaine lettuce
4" cucumber
1 strip bacon
1 hard boiled egg
2 baby carrots
1 oz Havarti cheese
2 T Ceasar dressing
roasted rice green tea

5:30
5 breakfast sausages
1 cup steamed broccoli and cauliflower - mostly stems
sausage gravy
UK chicken wing hot sauce
water

8:00 pm
4 oz strip loin
1 1/2 cups cauliflower
butter

12:30 am
2 oz Havarti

Blood Glucose

10:40 am
7.3

Damn.  I was hoping 40 units of NPH would mean I would wake up with a lower blood glucose reading.  I guess I'll have to take more than 40 when my bedtime reading is 6.2. 
Oh well.  I'll see where I'm at tonight and try again.

I'm planning to have some toast and jam with my eggs this morning, so I'm going to take some insulin utilising my typical formula of roughly 1/2 of my reading.

Insulin 35 units Toronto


12:28  pm
after breakfast
6.9

meh, it's that's higher than I wanted.  I either need to take more insulin for the that amount of carbs, or eat less carbs. The latter makes more sense though.  Soon...soon soon, I'll be ready to take that step.  I'm still very attached to carbs on a taste bud/habit level.  I'm reluctant to eat them much of the time.  And when I do decide to have some, I'm conscious of the fact that the fructose is very bad for my liver.  Still, once they go in my mouth, all that gets forgotten in light of the taste.

2:16 pm
before salad
6.2

3:45
after salad
6.8

I feel sleepy and sore.  I'm wondering if the roasted rice in the green tea has any carbohydrate value.  My period could be affecting me too.  And Carbo Face was talking about this flu like effect that can happen when you transition to a low carb diet.

I'm going to have a nap and then a shower.

5:22
before sausages
5.4

6:45
after sausages
7.6

8:00 pm
before steak
7.1

9:30
after steak
5.9

10:13
before walk
5.5

11:28
after walk
5.1

12:50
before bed
5.5

Insulin - 40 units NPH

I want to wake up under 8 so I'm going to take 40 units again.  I'm 7 points lower, so I figure the same amount of NPH will do the trick.

I can't remember the last time I tested my blood so often.  11 readings!!!  Maybe when I was first diagnosed, but I doubt it was this many.

Oh yeah, did about a 1/2 hour walk took about an hour but there was sitting on swings and benches in there too, or just standing around looking at the water and stars.  I hear Venus is going to disappear so I was looking for it.


Weekly weigh in - 177

Food Log - April 8th, 2012 - Wheat Belly

What I Ate Today - Wheat Belly

3:30 pm Breakfast

2 hard boiled eggs
1/2 small apple
slice of cheddar
black coffee

5:28 pm

My stomach hurts and I'm very hungry.  It's been about 2 hours since I ate and I'm ready for more food.  Is it the insulin stimulating my appetite, or is it just normal for me to be hungry every 2 hours?  Maybe my stomach hurts because I was nursing my coffee all this time.  Acidic yuck tum?

5:50 pm BLT Salad 

2 cups iceberg lettuce
1 slice bacon crumbled
8 cherry tomatoes
2 oz cheddar cheese
2" cucumber
3 T Caesar dressing
cold green tea

I could make smaller salads in future.  I got full about 1/2 way through, but finished it anyway because it tasted so good.

7:50 pm
1 cup kombucha

Will this do the trick?  It's got fruit juice, so it's full of fructose, but that doesn't affect blood sugar levels, or at least that's what I learned today.

8:10 pm
1 chocolate jello pudding cup

8:30 pm
1/2 1/4lb hamburger patty
1/2 baby dill pickle

10:15 pm
1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli
1 small chicken breast
butter
cold green tea

11:05 pm
chicken skin fried until crispy - 1 thighs worth?
warm green tea

11:50 pm
chicken thigh
more chicken skin - rest of what was on 4 thighs
green tea

12:30 am
1/2 Claussen dill
2 oz cheddar
water

1:40 am
can of sardines in tomato sauce

2:22 am
small Gala apple
green tea

3:00 am
hard boiled egg
salt, pepper
green tea




Blood Glucose - Insulin Dosing

3:11 pm
before eggs
9.8!

Insulin - 50 units Toronto

4:58 pm
after eggs meal
6.3

7:38 pm
post BLT salad
3.8

Too low.  My stomach is hurting and I feel hungry again.  I took too much insulin, and there wasn't enough carbs in the apple and cheese at breakfast, nor in the cheese and dressing in the salad to cover the 50 units of Toronto I took in the morning.  My old ratio of halving the glucose number is obviously not going to work when I cut carbs.  Doh!  I should have realized this.  There has to be carbs in the meal for the insulin to work against.

7:50 pm

I feel shaky and gross and my hunger is morphing towards feeling yuck and not wanting to eat, even though I know that's what I need to do.  I'm drinking some kombucha and seeing if the 8g of carb in a cup of that will level me out.

8:10 pm
Doesn't seem to be cutting it, so I'm going for a jello pudding cup.  The first bite tasted fake and gross, but then something clicked and I started wanting to wolf it down.   It totally stimulated my appetite.  I felt like making a sandwich and eating a whole lot more after finishing.  I consciously waited and then I felt fine.

8:30 pm
I ate the hamburger meat because Joe was making it, and it smelled good.  I wasn't particularly hungry, but for sure eating the meat didn't make me go out of my mind with wanting to stuff my face.

10:11 pm
before chicken and broccoli meal
5.2

11:26
after chicken and broccoli meal
 5.7

I'm feeling a little hungry.  I could eat a sandwich easily.

I resisted eating carbs.  I wanted to eat them though.

3:00am
6.2

Insulin 30 units NPH

I'm hoping this size dose will have me waking up with a glucose around 5.

Tomorrow I'm going to compare Sparkpeople and Livestrong for tracking my food and its breakdown of carbs, fat, protein, etc.

Also I started my period today.  I'm not feeling crampy, so that's a good thing.  

The Benefits of a Low Carbohydrate Footprint

I'm getting more into the idea of eating low carb again.  There are a lot of pluses to maintaining a low carb diet.  One of them is simplicity.  One the one hand, it might feel like deprivation because you've eliminated such a multitude of foods, but the flip side of that is that it's much easier to make choices.   You don't have to think about whether something is a good deal, or if it's healthy.  You don't even have to begin to  sift through the marketing claims of whatever food product, because you only have one criteria to measure.  Is it low carb?  No?  Then get outta my face.

Once you wrap your head around the idea that high carb food is unhealthy, it's like you're a Food Terminator.  You have to switch on your google vision and check the food's metrics.  Does it measure up as edible, or will it be red flagged - toxic.

I'm getting into the groove of things.  In the beginning, I'll be doing a lot of measuring and blood testing, figuring out how my body responds to different levels and kinds of carbohydrates.  I'm finding it alternately tedious and interesting tracking my foods and blood sugar levels so meticulously.  I feel like I'm my own science experiment.  I expect this degree of attention will wane as I learn how my body responds to the changes.

And actually, it was a segment on 60 minutes last week that got the whole low carb business rolling with me again.  Robert Lustig - Is Sugar Toxic?






I almost deleted the show without watching, and I'm so glad I didn't.

April 6, 2012 Food Log - WB

I've been experimenting with my insulin dosing the last few days. I want to see what happens when I don't take any insulin.  My theory is my basal dose, usually 100 units, is too high, and that it's driving my appetite above and beyond what it would be minus the insulin.

I went low carb Wednesday, kept it under 20 grams total.  My glucose numbers were very good, hovering between 4 - 6 the whole day, except for the morning.  

When I woke up it was bit high 6.5,  and 1 hour after eating breakfast, I went up to 8.2, so I gave myself 20 units of Toronto.  I finished the day at 6.2 and woke up 8.4 the next day.   I think even if I eat low carb Bernstein style, meaning 30 grams or so a day, 12 per meal max and 6 in the morning, I might still need to use some basal overnight.  

It'll be interesting to see what happens when I completely emigrate to decarbiNation.

In the meantime, I'm still eating carbs.  I cleared a whole lot out of my cupboards, but I kept some that I like and want to eat.  I'll see how they affect my blood sugars.  I hope to be able to eat some of the carby stuff I'm used to, but I'm prepared to ditch what spikes me.


What I ate today - Wheat Belly

water

2 eggs, basted
2 small breakfast sausages
1 slice bacon


2 cups coffee


slice of fruitcake


slice of cheddar


5 peanuts


2 slices sourdough toasted with butter
4" English cucumber


green tea


diet cola


1/4 lb hamburger patty
1 oz Havarti cheese
1 large slice sourdough, cut in half
lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayo, ketchup, pickle


1/2 slice sourdough with butter


1/2 cup Neapolitan ice cream


4 pieces preserved lemon & ginger

Popcorn
1/4 kernels oil popped
 approx 3 cups popped
2 T melted butter
salt


1 cup cauliflower
5 breakfast sausages
sausage gravy


diet cola


2 slices ham
1 slice processed cheese
1 slice sourdough bread
mayo mustard
2 leaves romaine lettuce


1 cup kombucha



Glucose levels/Insulin doses


4:24pm
before eggs
8.9

Insulin - 60 units Toronto

7:36pm
after cucumber sandwiches
6.5


11:07 pm
after hamburger meal
7.9


3:08 am
after sausage meal
7.6


5:59am
after ham and cheese sandwich
8.2

Insulin - 42 units NPH


Right now my sleep schedule is turned around and I'm falling asleep as the sun is coming up.  I prefer my usual sleep schedule with my sleep window falling roughly between 2 and 10am.  It'll likely fall back into pattern soon though.

Introducing Wheat Belly and Carbo Face

The Last couple days I've been thinking about giving up carbohydrates and how that will affect my life.  I am sick of being sick.  I have a host of chronic illnesses that seem to stem from the fact that my body does not process carbs well.


My partner is healthier than me, but he too has health issues.  He's mainly concerned with losing weight.  Like me, he's struggled with his weight, most of his life.  I'm overweight too, but I have lipodystrophy and the fat in my body is mostly internal adipose tissue, and especially in my liver, there is tons of fat.  I used to feel like there was nothing I could do,  that I straight up had a wonky body that needed tons of meds, but the feeling of helplessness surrounding my health has dissipated.  Like in the movie I was watching tonight, Henry's Crime, where Keanu Reeves's character says,


"I used to go along with everything.  I didn't feel like I could change it."


Now I wonder why I felt that way - so resigned to my fate.


Well, maybe think about that later.  For now, I'm just glad I have this feeling of empowerment over my health.


My goal in starting this blog is to motivate and track our progress while we change what we eat and do.  We're gonna shed the habits surrounding food and lifestyle that aren't supporting health and replace them with eating patterns and exercise routines that are easy to live with long term.  I want these changes to be enjoyable.

All this was prompted when Carbo Face cued up this YouTube interview where Gary Taubes  explains how insulin is used to store fat in the liver.

I have type 2 diabetes,  and I've had that diagnosis for the past 10 years, yet it took a random youtube video for me to get this information. Even though I've been seeing tons of doctors, often more than one specialist a month, I've never had one tell me, well that insulin you're taking  - THAT's why you have fatty liver.  Well maybe it's not that simple, but I mean really.  If just once, a doctor had straight up said, carbs turn to fat because of insulin, well maybe I'd have chosen not to eat carbs instead of taking insulin.


Anyhow.  This is where I'm at right now.


Still eating carbs, but doing it in a conscious way where I'm saying goodbye to the foods I've loved that haven't treated me well.  They've been abusive, so I'm thinking on divorce.  First we'll go for a trial separation, then we'll try a couple dates and I'll see how they treat me.


 I'll be doing a weekly weigh in,  and keeping daily food and medication logs, and also note whatever extra effort is made on the exercise front.


Wheat Belly

182 lbs

waist 45
hips 37
neck 16
bicep 11
thigh  18.5

Carbo Face

220 lbs

waist  47
hips    41
neck   16.5
thigh   24
bicep  14


Here's to a healthier future.