DIABETICS ON THE BEACH 12/01 - 12/26/2004

Cetaganda · Wed Dec 01, 2004 3:05 am

We are starting a new thread for diabetics on the beach for the month of December.

Here's the link to last month (November)'s topic/thread:
http://67.43.8.10/~sbdiet/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21748

Cetaganda · Wed Dec 01, 2004 3:29 am

Today is the beginning of a new month.

I was gone almost the entire month of November visiting my relatives back East. While there my mother got married. She is also diabetic. She has not totally comitted to the South Beach Diet Way of Existence (WOE). Therefore, I had a difficult time staying with my program. I even left my blood glucose monitor behind ... on purpose because I wanted a break and because I am not now on diabetes medication. It may have been a mistake ... I'm not sure. The scales do not lie, though ... I stopped losing weight and gained 5 pounds instead. This is not something that I wanted to happen, of course, but I ate the right food mostly, often too much of it. And then there were the desserts at the family reunion, church dinner and Thanksgiving dinner (pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie with whipped cream, white cake, banana pudding, chocolate delight, lemon delight) and much cornbread and bacon (can you be in the South and not eat these things??)

PetCat and I are teaming up starting today to get back on track with our South Beach Diet program.

We would be very happy for you to join us.

Patcat: I will touch bases with you this afternoon (Wednesday).

I am having a frozen shoulder manipulation under anesthesia this morning at 7:30 am (got to be there by 6:00 am). BTW: Did you know that diabetics have a higher risk of having frozen shoulders and carpal tunnel syndrome than non-diabetics? Interesting, eh?

Bobbe, where are you? I miss everyone. Please write.

Please feel free to use this topic/forum for anything you like. You can post your meals, questions, links and references, or just chat.

Looking forward to hearing from you....

patcat1964 · Wed Dec 01, 2004 4:07 am

Hi Cat

I will be thinking about you during your procedure. And i am raring to go.

Dont totally have all the right foods but i am willing to give it a shot. I am not weighing in until the 9th.

Talk later in the afternoon

Pat

bobbeleh · Wed Dec 01, 2004 4:11 am

Hi there.

Yes, I'm here. I upgraded to DSL last Monday, went along swimmingly for about 6 days or so, and then I found myself in Connectivity Twilight Zone. This, of course, pushes everything else I need to do back and throws my schedule wayyyyy off. At first, it seemed like I would need a new Ethernet card, but it seems that the problem (aside from I need more RAM) is that my antivirus software and firewall interferes with my DSL modem -- lets things in, but not out. Sunday night, I didn't get to bed until 5:00 a.m., having spent most of the night on the phone with tech support in a variety of countries.

They were the ones who told me it was my ethernet card. Thankfully, e-cards are cheap (under $20), but the one I bought will be returned to the store unopened, since I accidentally hit on the problem and so I have my DSL, my back-up dial-up, and my phone all up and available. Woohoo.

Made it through Ramadan and Eid. Eid was fabulous, although I seemed to be eating from about 11:00 a.m. until around 9:00 or 10:00 in the evening. Wouldn't have missed it for anything, though. There are times when you just gotta do stuff like that. It took me a couple of days to come down off the sugar-high, but I did, just in time for Thanksgiving!

My Mom, her husband, and an old childhood friend and I decided to got to a Turkish restaurant that had a buffet. It was wonderful. I didn't worry too much about the food -- I've learned a few things about balance.

I have discovered that if I have a "day off" or a "meal off", I make up for it. Today is a perfect example:

Mom and I went to Cafe Cacao, the restaurant attached to the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory in Berkeley, CA. This was my very, very belated birthday lunch (my birthday was last February for heaven's sake). We began with their handmade herbed potato chips, which we shared. Mom opted for the lentil soup, which had a nice hint of curry and I went for the braised lamb shoulder with polenta. Yes, I ate the whole thing and a piece of Mom's bread for the sauce.

And then, there was dessert. I opted for the chocolate sandwich. Okay, think grilled cheese here, but with chocolate instead of cheese. And yes, it was wonderful. I couldn't decide between that or the chocolate bread pudding, so I got the bread pudding to go and it's in the fridge.

So now, I'm sitting down to a very SBD dinner consisting of a stew sort of thing with ground buffalo meat, asparagus, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes cooked with Persian spices and some salt and lemon pepper. I'm not worried about portions since the entire dish is SBD allowable foods. I have some ground lamb for tomorrow. It's really about using up the stuff that has to be eaten.

As of this morning, I was at 226, about a pound or so over what I was. Not bad, all things considered. I've learned to offset days like today with Phase I days in between. I don't feel frustrated and I don't gain all my weight back either. If I'm really good, I should be ahead of the game by the weekend.

I also realize that I've been carrying this weight around for at least the last 20 years. It isn't going to disappear overnight and in the meantime, I'm learning how to live within my allowances.

Yesterday, I didn't feel like cooking after dealing with the computer for the last 24-36 hours, so ended up at Jack-In-The-Box. Got the Asian chicken salad and a pumpkin pie milkshake. That ended up being my meal for the day pretty much, other than the 2 ounces of string cheese I had earlier. I just didn't get around to eating. I do find that since I've been on SBD, I don't get nearly as hungry, so if I'm pushed for time, I'll grab some cheese or a small handful of nuts and I'm good to go. Not ideal eating habits, but at least I'm not eating donuts. :wink:

Sunday, the 28th, I went to the ballet with friends and we went out to dinner afterwards. I had the fish and chips -- and yes, I ate the whole thing AND the chocolate mousse for dessert. That's why Monday, I only had one main meal, which brought me to today. I'm on Phase I until the weekend, so I should be fine.

Linda, we definitely missed you and are glad you're back. Now is the time to get in shape for Xmas. I'm on vacation from about the 23rd through the 1st. Just going to hang out around home. No big plans. We're probably going for dim sum for Xmas dinner (have you figured out that we don't do big family dinners anymore? :lol:)

I'll do a strict Phase I a few days before Xmas and a few days after, which should keep things steady. If I don't lose any, that's fine.

So that's what's up here. I've got to get back to working -- gonna be a fairly late night. :roll:

Hugs,
Bobbe

Cetaganda · Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:33 pm

Hello everyone,

Well, I had the frozen shoulder manipulation procedure this morning. Everything went very well. I spoke to the anesthesiologist in the holding area. He had a syringe and told me that he was going to give me something (injected into my IV). The next thing I knew I was back in the holding area waking up from the procedure ... not too bad.

I did get the cortisone injection into the shoulder joint. The doctor prescribed intermittent applications of ice, physical therapy 4 days per week for a couple of weeks, and Vicadin (30 pills). As I so far have no pain, I am holding off on the Vicadin Rx.

The orthopedist told me that he had to move the frozen shoulder a relatively small amount (as compared to the other frozen shoulder which ended up hurting like hell and for a long time). I expected that to be so ... even that amount of adhesive capsulitis was enough to keep me from reaching behind my back. I suppose that I should see if I can do it now ... nope ... I hope that physical therapy will bring back my range of motion now that the adhesions have been removed.

So, feeling good and in the Christmas decorating spirit, I went to Rite-Aid and then to the Big K (Kmart) and got some decorations. I am also going to buy a large fir (real, not made-in-China) wreath (they are inexpensive in the Pacific NW) to decorate with faux red apples and a red bow and some real pine cones with glitter ... and hang it on our front door. I also have a wreath which we have not yet located that has a snowman with cross-country skis.

This year I want to do something different on the tree. So, I am going to use beige toule (spelling?) (see through ribbon) bows with a border of gold, faux red apples, real pine cones, some favorite Hallmark ornaments and other ornaments that have been gifts over the years and others that are especially beautiful and/or have sentimental value to us.

Cetaganda · Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:49 pm

Hey Patcat,

When you get a chance let's touch base about our recommitment to the South Beach way of existence (WOE), starting today.

I ate 4 slices of bread yesterday (Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted whole grain flourless bread). Bread being dense, I got a lot of carbs (though slowly broken down). I also had two bananas yesterday and some whipped cream on sugar free Jell-o. I think that with all of this taken into account, my morning BS of 112 was to be expected. It is usually 110 or less....without diabetic meds.

My latest A1C was 6.0 and both my doctor and I are pleased. After last month's "vacation", however, my next A1C is going to be higher. Maybe I will just move the appointment ahead a couple of months ... because I want my A1C to reflect how I usually live on the SBD.

I enjoyed reading your sharing yesterday evening, Bobbe, as always. Thank you so much for responding whenever people ask questions. If there is a question that we cannot answer, I belong to another diabetics on the Beach thread on another forum. I have received a lot of valuable information there ... I have only been self-monitoring and following the SBD guidelines since the beginning of August ... nevermind that I was diagnosed about 2 years ago.

It's so very easy to be in denial about diabetes type 2, especially when your BS readings are good and your A1C is below 7.0. About a year and a half after my internist told me again that I needed to lose weight and start monitoring my morning BS and that I needed to go on the South Beach Diet, I FINALLY did as she advised. Why did it take me so long? Having a mood disorder (bipolar) and denial both played a major part.

So, PatCat ... I am ready and waiting to hear from you, girl. Is there anything that I can do today to lend support to you? The same goes for everyone else ... we are here to support each other as we reach for better and better health.

Cetaganda · Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:20 am

Hey everyone,

In July, 2003 my photo was taken with my husband in Atlanta at my brother's house.

This was when I weighed about 260 or more pounds ... near my highest weight.

Since then, due in part to a major depression (couldn't eat because of a seriously dry mouth that lasted and lasted and lasted until I called it quits with the med) and in part to the South Beach Diet, I have come down to about 220 pounds (well if I behave myself I'll be there soon) and my teeth are whiter.

Anyway, if you would like to see me (and my husband for more than 36 years) when I was close to my highest weight, click on the following link:

http://67.43.8.10/~sbdiet/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21347

I am, sad to say and even sadder to admit to myself (ain't self-deception great??) ... still in the obese category. Who me ... how can that be? Holy moly and mother of pearl ... but yes, I have to face the fact that I moved from the overweight category into the obese category some time ago.

My doctor says that setting a goal for next November of 170 pounds is a realistic goal. She also said that she is proud of me ... and so am I. :D

I have to give a lot of credit for what has happened in my life recently to many things and people: my doctor, my husband, Dr. Agatston, and my SDB online support groups.... giving appropriate credit to myself for starting to make permanent changes in my life and my husband's life and even supporting my mother to help her gain and keep control of her previously out of control blood sugars.

I remember way back when in 1988 I weighed 172 pounds and then went on a low fat Jane Brody type of diet. My body fat percentage went from 36% to 22% and my weight went down 45 pounds to 127 pounds. I even have photos of myself during that time ... when I was only 39 years old. This weight loss happened so quickly because I was walking 3-6 miles almost every single day and doing strength training at the gymn and doing aerobic dancing about 5 days per week (until sore knees caused me to have to take a vacation from aerobic dancing).

Then ... my stress level went through the roof and I stopped taking care of myself. Then my son drowned the following February .... I cannot tell you what that did to me ... there are no words that can convey the horror and the pain and the devastation.

I gained my weight back over the years ... until I had a major depression episode in 1999, when I got down to 155 pounds. Then I gained and gained and gained until I found myself last November, 2003 at 268 pounds. Had I even suspected that I would weigh this much today during my twenties or thirties ... I am sure that I would have gone bezerk and maybe even become suicidal in thought only. But we get heavier and fatter one day at a time until we realize that it is truly harming us, shortening our lives, and causing us to have diabetes and diabetic complications.

So, here is the photo of me near my highest weight. If I can find a photo of myself on the computer or on a disk I will also post the photo, with the appropriate information.

Do you have photos of yourself that you would like to share? You can do the same as me and create a topic in the Before and After SBD section, if you like. It might be very interesting to get an idea of how we look as we go along. Well, so, what do you all think?

I would love to see photos of you ... to put a face to your name and your words. If you would like to send me a photo of you instead of posting it in a journal ... or if you have trouble uploading to this website ... please do. Click on the email link below to send me a message and hopefully attach a photo or photos of yourself.

Thanks, everyone!! :D :D :D
_______________________________

Linda

patcat1964 · Thu Dec 02, 2004 2:31 am

Hi Cat

Had a very hard day today. I had trouble restarting sb. I did pretty good until i went to work then had a soft pretzel. Then i had a good sb dinner.

I know that i have to cut it out. For me to be healthy and i didnt get my water in either.

I did not prick my finger today. I will do that tomorrow morning. My fingers hurt.

How did you do today

patcat

Cetaganda · Thu Dec 02, 2004 7:59 am

Hi Patcat,

I'm sorry to hear that you had a very hard day yesterday. Don't feel bad about having trouble doing a restart on the South Beach Diet way of existence. I am having a bit of a hard time doing so, too.

Do try to remember to measure your BS levels ... at the least once a day in the morning. How many times per day does your doctor want you to monitor your BS? Perhaps you should talk with your doctor again about this? Do you keep a log for your doctor? When did you last have your hemoglobin A1C measured and what was the number? When will you get another A1C measured? I'm supposed to get mine measured in January ... it's going to be higher than it was before because of my many less than perfect choices while on my almost month-long trip to Florida and Georgia.

You said that your fingers hurt. Can you get or do you have a glucose monitor like mine (LifeScan's One Touch Ultra) that you can use to take blood from your arm? My doctor says that it is not as accurate to take blood that way .... and you should only take blood that way if your blood sugar is not changing rapidly. I sometimes do this in the morning because I get tired of pricking my fingers, too. You could experiment by pricking your finger and taking a reading, then pricking your arm (less nerve endings there so less pain) and taking a reading and comparing the two. They will probably be in the same ball park.

You said that you had a soft pretzel at work .... and then you said that you had a good South Beach Diet dinner. To this I say: congratulations on the choices you made for dinner, PatCat. You know ... we are making choices every day, whether or not we are aware of it. So, don't give yourself a hard time about the soft pretzel, sweetie. Remember that you made good choices for your dinner ... and that counts a whole lot. Tomorrow is another day and you will have new opportunities to make good food choices. No one is perfect ... and the South Beach Diet does not require that people be perfect on it. Just do the best that you can each time you have a choice about what you eat.

Do you have some cheese sticks at work? How about some nuts or some other SBD friendly food such as celery with peanut butter or cheese or an apple with cheese or peanut butter or some sugar free Jello with a little whipped cream or some lowfat cottage cheese and some fresh fruit? By having some good food choices with you at work, you will be much less likely to eat a soft pretzel.

The way I see it is that yesterday you were hungry and had no good food choices on hand. So, you naturally ate something that you like that was at hand. We need to be very gentle, kind and compassionate towards ourselves ... we deserve it, PatCat.

For tomorrow (Thursday) just focus on getting enough water and making as many good food choices as you can ... review your choices but do not beat yourself up about the ones that were not SBD friendly.

Remember that it is going to take us a long time to reach our goals ... don't worry ... just focus on the good choices that you make ... that's the ticket!! :D :D

Here is how I make sure that I get enough water when I follow the recommendation of 8 glasses (12 oz each) of water per day. That comes to 96 ounces of water ... three quarts, approximately 3 liters.

1 glass: I drink a glass of water before breakfast.
Then I take some Metamucil.
2 glasses:Then I drink another glass of water after the Metamucil.
3 glasses: At midmorning (snack time) I drink another glass of water.
5 glasses: At lunch I drink 2 more glasses of water.
6 glasses: At snack time in the afternoon I drink another glass of water.
8 glasses: At dinner time I drink 2 more glasses of water.

I like flavored sugar free water and have it as a treat, although admittedly it is an expensive way to get a quart of bottled water to drink. I sometimes fill up three quart size bottles with water or sugar free flavored water and put them in the refrigerator ... I like cold water better than water at room temperature. Sometimes I even put a bottle into the freezer ... and I usually forget about it until it is frozen solid!! No problem ... I put it in the microwave oven until it melts a bit.

You will have your own system for making sure that you get enough water. 96 ounces is more than I have been drinking lately. While I was vacationing I probably did not drink half that much.

Well, here is what I remember about what I ate today (Wed Dec 1st):
I ate nothing today until about 10:30 am because of being in the hospital for a very short stay ... couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before.

For brunch we ate a sandwich made from 100% whole wheat flour and 1/4 pound (4 ounces) of deli sliced roast beef, with some mayonnaise and a kosher dill pickle slice and a couple of slices of tomato.

I ate some dark chocolate in the afternoon ... a couple of squares only. The chocolate bar was made by Cadbury's and it was too good (which means more sugar) so I need to be careful about eating this chocolate.

I also ate a lot of lightly glazed (with sugar) almond clusters, something I buy at Costco, something I think tastes great. I didn't count the number of clusters that I ate ... grazing is not such a good idea ... it's better to measure out the nut clusters that you plan to eat beforehand.

For dinner I grilled 2 half chicken breasts on my George Foreman grill, put one in the refrigerator and sliced the other one for my husband and me. And I served it with a Caesar salad mix (romaine, Caesar dressing, a little grated cheese) ... Grilled chicken Caesar salad.

For dessert I had some sugar free Jello with a bit too much whipped cream topping. I do not buy the fat free kind because the fat is replaced by sugar and Dr Agatston said to eat the "real" kind ... just eat a little bit of it.

Now it's time for bed. Tomorrow is another busy day. The dogs are going to the groomer at about 8 am. Then I go to my first session with a new physical therapist at 8:30 am. Then I have to pick up the dogs at the groomer's by noon, followed by lunch with my husband, as usual. :D

For breakfast I would like to have 2 slices of Canadian bacon, 1 slice of Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted whole grain bread (maybe with a little peanut butter and spreadable all fruit jam), and two eggs and either a mandarin orange or 1/2 navel orange or 1/2 banana.

I will carry a cheese stick with me to physical therapy to keep me from getting hungry.

For lunch: Hmm. I don't know what I will prepare yet ... hopefully some grilled vegetables (from Trader Joe's) and some kind of lean meat.

As an afternoon snack I will have 1 ounce or 1/4 cup of nuts ... no more.

For dinner: Hmmmm. I don't know, but hopefullly I will have a green salad, some lean protein, and some fruit or whole grain such as brown
rice.

Dessert or bedtime snack: 4 oz. container of sugar reduced fruit flavored yogurt.

This is my meal plan for tomorrow so far ... things will probably change once the day gets going.

I'll let you know as time goes by.

Good night, everyone. Patcat ... please write tomorrow. We will succeed ... remember that every day.

Hugs from Linda

By the way, you probably noticed that I changed my Avatar (image on the left side of the message) from animated orange butterflies to a very small photo of me taken in 1988. I did this to remind me of my goal. I was once at a normal weight ... I will be there again before too many months have passed (probably 1 1/2 years). :D :D

Do you have any photos that you would like to share? If you need any help with them, just let me know ... I am very experienced with computers.

One more thing: I put some photos of myself (June, 2003 and a larger version of my Avatar image) in the Before and After photos section of the forum. Take a look if you like ... the 1988 photo is much larger than the Avatar. This is what I hope to look like again some day ... unfortunately with more wrinkles and saggier skin, I suspect. And so go the days of our lives. :D :D

Here I am in 1988 when my body fat was 22%: http://67.43.8.10/~sbdiet/forum/viewtopic.php?p=183271#183271

patcat1964 · Thu Dec 02, 2004 2:18 pm

Hi Cet

I emailed you because i was having trouble posting on board. I am going to try harder today. I am going to hit the store before i go to work. Even if i have to leave early. I dont have much money but i will try to get something good to eat.

Patcat

Cetaganda · Thu Dec 02, 2004 4:23 pm

Good morning everyone,

My morning BS was 144 ... good golly Miss Molly! Jumping Jehosephat!

Both my internist and my orthopedic surgeon told me that I was going to have an elevated BS ... still, I thought they meant 120 not 144.

I am going to look around and see if I can find any Avandia ... probably not, but I am really uncomfortable with this reading. I measured it 4 or 5 times ... the number is real.

Well, I'm off to see a new physical therapist ... the orthopedic surgeon wanted me to get in as soon as possible ... never mind that my shoulder is sore this morning. I'm running out of time, haven't even had breakfast because I over slept (why didn't that alarm go off?). I'll grab something like a cheese stick and nuts on my way out the door.

Have a good day, all. PatCat my SDB buddy: Will check with you later. :D

patcat1964 · Thu Dec 02, 2004 4:28 pm

Hi Cet

Will do! i work today from 1:30- 5pm and then i will be home and free to use the computer hubby is working tonight.

Talk later

pat

patcat1964 · Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:00 am

Hi Cet

Didnt do perfect and i didnt do bad today. But it is very hard to do. I am going to sit and read the book again tonight. I am going major food shopping on saturday. Then i will eat better.

How are you doing Cet my sb buddy?

Cetaganda · Fri Dec 03, 2004 3:03 am

Hi PatCat,

I stayed up too late last night and pretty much slept the afternoon away.

I had physical therapy this morning, the first time after my shoulder manipulation. This will continue 4 days per week until my next appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, in about 2 weeks. How much PT I will have after this (maybe another couple of weeks or more) I will find out about then.

For breakfast this morning I ate two cheese sticks and a handful of walnuts. For a midmorning snack I had a latte' with extra nonfat milk. For lunch I had SBD friendly shrimp scampi and arugula salad with a few sweetened dried cranberries and some low carb Italian salad dressing from Trader Joe's.

I went shopping at Trader Joe's today, retuning with a lot of groceries, including some calamari (squid) rings, which will go well in some marinara sauce over some whole wheat pasta.

In the afternoon I ate 2 pieces of sprouted whole grain bread with peanut butter and all fruit spread. Then I ate a handful of lightly glazed almond clusters. So, I ate too much for my midafternoon snack ... in fact way too much.

Otherwise I have been doing pretty well with my food today.

Have you ever made shrimp scampi? With one pound of (frozen) raw peeled shrimp you can make 4 servings. How are the prices for shrimp where you live?

Do you like lima beans (the dry kinds)? You can make a wonderful relatively inexpensive dish with a pound of lima beans baked in a bruschetta sauce. I use bottled bruschetta sauce from Trader Joe's or Costco. Can you buy it anywhere near your home? If not, not a problem ... I have a few good recipes for bruschetta sauce that I can share with you. I promise you that your family will like this dish. My husband did not like it because he does not like the skins on lima beans ... so I pureed the dish and he ate some of it and said that he liked it as a bean dip ... but then he didn't eat any more and I ate the rest of the bean dip. I much preferred the lima bean dish without it being puree'd.

Unfortunately I am not getting in any exercise these days ... this must change ... it is part of the SBD program.

Gotta go for now, buddy. Will catch up with you later.

We are on our way, PatCat ... isn't it grand? Isn't it great?

Please write to let me know how you are doing.

Hugs from Linda

patcat1964 · Fri Dec 03, 2004 3:10 am

Hi Cet

I have never made the shrimp or the lima bean dishes before. And i dont have a trader Joes or a costo near me. Remember i am from NJ they dont have much here.

today i had

eggs and sausage

Lunch i had

Akitins yougurt
orange

dinner chicken veg and stuffing which is a nono but it wasnt so bad though

Hugs from Pat

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