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

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

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 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

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.