Day 5

Hi,

I had a good thing happen this morning when I woke up the second time. When I stood up from lying flat in my bed I oddly did not have any back or body pain anywhere. I was completely surprised and very pleased. That does not usually happen until day 6 of a low carb plan. I  had gotten up a little early and went back for another hour or so and did have some pain when I stood up the second time, but it was not as intense as usual. And as the day has worn on, the pain seems to be back, so I don't know what happened this morning, but it was good while it lasted.

This sudden disappearance of pain is a phenomenon I have experienced before when I have been completely and strictly following a low carb program and, in the past, it always happens on day 6 and continues until I go off the wagon. But this is day 5 so that may be why it came back during the day. Perhaps because I am basically following low carb but now have eliminated all the cheats (candy and sugar). I guess this is the inflammation they talk about in the book that excess blood sugar causes in the blood stream. I am hoping that tomorrow on day 6 it will really go away. We shall see.

Sad to say, I did not actually try the tea yesteday, just continued to drink plain water. I don't really like tea but will continue to keep it on the list and maybe try it today or tomorrow. I have considered this a little further and have come up with a way that might work for me. I will brew some green tea in my coffee maker then put it in the fridge to have a pitcher of unsweetened ice tea. I can sip a cup or two whenever and it may be a nice change from plain water.

Yesterday I ate a two-cup salad of the two kinds of lettuce and some fresh broccoli with two of the Gorton's breaded fish fillets. I have stopped making my home made salad dressing because of the vinegar problem so for flavor I sprinkled the salad greens with garlic pepper, termeric, cinnamon, dried minced onion, and Italian seasonings. Then for wetness I drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil over the spices and stirred to cover all the veggies. I was pretty surprised at how pungent and good it smelled as I stirred. It tasted really fantastic, too -- I had never tried that particular combination of spices and herbs before. I am finding that I am really liking salads and they really don't take all that long to fix. And the fresher the better. I think the thing I like the most is that they actually seem to trigger the full feeling and I feel good after I eat them. It is so nice to have the eating machine turned off -- that is like a never ending and destructive tread mill -- and finding that salad quells that desire is great.

Later on, I was lazy and fixed some tuna/egg salad with mayo and the same spices as above but no fresh greens. Then last night I went the really lazy route and just ate cheese slices and drank water. But it was all on the program, so I did not do too badly, I think.

I've noticed that the fresh salad greens really seem to help the plumbing keep moving and it does not hurt to take some magnesium. I like the product called "Calm" in the orange flavor which is sweetened with Stevia, to which I add calcium and zinc tablets.  I had to take a dose early this morning because I had a really severe leg cramp in my left leg -- the mineral concoction and additional water in the middle of the night always seems to handle the problem. Perhaps that is the reason I had no pain the next time I got up. I will see how it goes tomorrow which is day 6.

You know, I am a prediabetic, per my doctor and the tests I was given. I have known for about a year now. But I really do seem to have all the symptoms that a regular high blood sugar level diabetic has. I have already had cataract surgery last year and had two lense implants put in so I can actually read and see pretty well now. I still need glasses for driving but I set it up that way. Sometimes I wonder if I should not have tampered with the lens distance in my right eye but did what I thought was right at the time. Anyway, I feel like I see pretty well now. I had been legally blind in my right eye from neglect -- letting the cataract grow and go without seeing a doctor because I knew what it was. I was afraid of eye surgery. If you have been told you have cataracts don't let it go like I did. My doctor told me during the surgery that I had the largest cataract of the day, that day -- and he was not able to get it all out because the fibers had begun to grow into the back part of the cornea. (I am not sure cornea is the right word, but it was behind the lens. Anyway, my doctor said I may need another operation in the future to laser a whole for me to see through.) The operation is really not all that complicated and takes about an hour and then you are sent home with a patch on your eye for one day. You have to keep putting drops in your eyes for a couple of weeks but that is easy. I can now read without reading glasses -- yippee -- and only need glasses to drive, so no bifocals, too -- another yippee. I am pleased with what my doctor did. I was glad to see that in the book it says that green tea will help retard cataract growth, so I really need to get started on that.

Another thing I have that only a regular diabetic is supposed to have is the numbness in my feet. I only rarely have the tingling but I do have it. I have been observing it for years progressing from behind my second toe on the bottom of my foot to include the big toe now, and it is beginning to be on the top part of my left foot now and a little on my right foot. I guess maybe because I have probably been a prediabetic (I did not know it, though I did fear that I might be a diabetic, since my father and sister are) for a very long time and have kept it rather in check by my meandering on and off of a low carb program which is the solution to diabetes. I must have just been keeping the blood sugar levels lower and aiding my pancreas in the process. But I am still having nearly all the side symptoms of diabetes. I am hoping this program will get me going in the right direction and hoping I will stay on it. I don't want to begin worrying about when the program is over. I need to pray about this.

For the sake of curiosity I just weighed myself and I have lost 7 pounds. Wow. In only 5 days. I don't know if this will fluctuate up or down, but that is the number for today.

On to Day 5: Another wow after reading the chapter. It answers, I think, my "worry" concern stated above. The program going step by step like this really seems to be perfect -- for me at least. It seems to be addressing my concerns as they come up.

Day 5 is about eliminating all "fast carbs" and the very powerful reasons why. Dr. Ripich describes how to tell a fast carb from a slow carb but not until after he describes the real and, I'm going to call them "fatal" consequences, of eating a regular diet of food made with refined and bleached wheat flour. He says that one of the single most important things a person can do to quickly reduce their blood sugar is to stop eating white bread. I include "whole wheat" bread in this category too, because this flour is highly refined, also. He includes all grains that have been made into flour -- another way of saying "refined."  He provides a long list of specific baked goods made from flour that he directs his patients to avoid. Even things made with grains other than wheat that have been refined into a flour. Even fast cooking refined white rice.

I know from experience that when you mention this to most people their hearts skip a beat and most of them will just walk away shaking their heads and mumbling under their breath that you are a lunatic and they are not giving up their most favorite thing in all the world to eat. They simply cannot even imagine life without this junk. But junk food it is. If you think about it a cake is made from the same stuff white bread is made from with the one exception that a cake actually might have some high protein eggs or milk in it. It is simply the quantities of the individual ingredients that varies. It is the same basic stuff, and we have no trouble thinking that cake is junk food because it is sweet to the taste. But that slice of white bread will turn into sugar in the blood stream just as fast as the cake, or a spoonful of table sugar. It all acts on the blood in exactly the same way: it makes blood sugar spike, demanding an insulin spike, which sweeps it all out of the blood stream turning it all into fat. Wow. So -- anything that is cooked or baked using the flour made from wheat or any grain is bad for a diabetic.


The doctor points out that eating these kinds of foods is really just a very bad habit that we have grown up with and the only thing needed to break a habit is time and commitment. He also promises to return whole grains to us in Phase two, the second 10-day period. For me, it is the commitment part that is most important. I actually do trust the time, because I have experienced it before. I very rarely eat bread of any kind. I have shared that my minor cheats have been getting me into trouble and actually leading me farther and farther away from the place I knew I needed to be. I had been letting in a little more and a little more. It is almost insidious. So in actuality they were not minor but major cheats. I was in denial. This program is getting me really focused again, and committed again, and that is what I have really needed: a way to get committed again.

One of the things about bleached flour that I did not know was that the bleaching process, which is done with chlorine gas, creates a dangerous and deadly toxin in the flour called "allozan" which scientists use to induce diabetes in lab animals, because they know it destroys the pancreas and allows high blood sugar to get out of control. The doctor says there are only two ways to combat this. First, stop eating that poisonous stuff. Second take Vitamin E (mixed natural tocopherols) every day. Scientists use Vitamin E to protect their animals from the affects of allozan and keep them from getting diabetes.

I am really giving a thumbs up to this very well written and researched book and recommend it to anyone who wants to be truly informed and also be shown the path to follow to correct the problem of diabetes. It has a wealth of information that I am only touching on. I know I am only on day 5, but I have scanned the whole book, and am seeing results after only a few days of following the program. So, get the book and do it. Take action for your health. Here is the link to the web site: http://30daydiabetescure.com/

Going for a ride with a friend. Be back soon.

--Marcia