Doing Better

Wt: 337
Morning BG: 113
BP: 147/82
Ankles (scale of 1 to 10) about 2 -- which is great


Hi,

I think I finally have things straightened around (for the moment. LOL) I stopped doing the reward meal for a few days, just to see if things straightened out and they did -- this morning, in fact. I'm kind of thinking that I will not have a reward meal every day, but about every third day and will monitor what happens with that. I do believe I need some high carbs... I just need to get them regulated so they don't cause me weight loss or health problems.

I'm also seeing that I need to up the portions on the protein. For some reason I just don't buy cuts of beef (even grass fed) when I am standing in front of the counter. The prices are high, but I just don't understand all the cuts and how to cook them -- and I am reluctant to buy nine dollars worth of meat and mess it up. Perhaps I need to find that information so I can begin to make decisions about what to purchase. Vegetables are a whole lot easier.

I had a nice experience at physical therapy yesterday. When I got out of the pool, I could tell my body is stronger than when I started out a few weeks ago. That was a nice feeling and I like that I have finally seen some payoff from the exercise I've been doing. I am also encouraged to keep at it, since I can see the good results. It has also dawned on me that when you build muscle your weight may go up because muscle weighs more than fat -- which might be a plausible explanation for some of the ups and downs I've been seeing on the scale.

Yesterday a friend shared with me that her weight and her husband's weight also go up and down daily as I have been experiencing. That was kind of a relief to hear that their weight can also change in four-pound increments over night. I felt a little better after that, so, see, when you share weird stuff it can be helpful to others!!

I mentioned that I had gotten some "Atkins" stuff in the mail. Part of what I received (for free) are the guidelines of how to follow their program which I have been reading. It is not so much different from my "craving reducing" meals. On that one you can eat as much as you need to fill you up, also.

They sent a small "chef" recipe book which is interesting to read but you have to be careful and notice that not all the meals are OK for what they call their "induction" phase. This irritates me. Anyone who needs the guidelines to begin would need phase one recipes, don't you think? I also don't like all the sugar substitutes they use and one of the (about six) recipes was for homemade almond flavored gelatin. Puleeze. Who would eat that stuff? It looked like a white blob on the plate. I guess there are people out there who like "flan" -- I am just not one of them.

I did like the recipes for salmon, but you have to start them in a skillet and then place the skillet in the oven (in 90 degree weather? -- NOT) and, of course -- they are recipes for four servings. Don't they know it is easier to multiply than to divide? I can turn a recipe for one into any number of servings I need, but turning a recipe for 4 into a recipe for 1 does not always work. One good point was that they told you there were more recipes at www.atkins.com -- so that is a redeeming quality.

I guess I should not be complaining -- they sent the stuff for free, after all, and I have used it to compare to what I am doing. Their program is not all that different, except for the reward meal -- which has been kind of tripping me up. Well, I guess, I've been tripping myself up -- but in the course of things I see that I can cut down on the reward meals and hopefully get things back on a more even keel for longer periods of time. I leave the actual weight lost to The Lord -- as I simply continue to be obedient to the program.

I liked some of the suggestions they have for snacks between meals -- like one stalk of celery and cheese, or 10 olives and a bite of protein. They seem to have it all thought out for you. Of course, I've never been able to follow someone else's meal plans but I can get ideas from them.

I enjoyed my salad today. I went shopping the other day so have plenty of things to add for variety: three kinds of lettuce, radishes, fresh raw skinny asparagus, avocado, sun flower sprouts and broccoli/clover/radish sprouts. The salad was refreshing and very filling. I cooked up about a third of a pound of turkey sausage for the topping and my protein for the meal and am completely satisfied. And the BG afterwards was 111 -- excellent!!

OK. So much for the diet travails.

Hope you are doing well!! Write and let me know!!

Be back soon,

Marcia