Monday Morning Blue Cloud

Current Wt: 339
Blood Pressure: 153/81
Morning Blood Sugar: 137
Total Wt Lost from 346 = 7
Original High Wt: 352 for a total loss of 13 pounds


Hi,

It's Monday and I am discouraged. My weight is going up, not down. Last night at church it dawned on me that I have not turned this over to the Lord -- I am still trying to do it on my own -- so I prayed and asked the Lord to bless me with weight loss, as I continue to do the program. The blood pressure is the only thing that is "OK"... it is still high but not as high as it used to be.

I am keeping my food journal and watching what I eat. There are two places that I find are troublesome for me. One is Sunday's. The other is the Reward Meal. I'll start with the reward meal:

The guidelines say that I must have two cups of salad before I begin. I've got that down. Then it says that your plate must be divided into thirds of craving reducing vegetables, protein, and high carb item. I've not been measuring but I have been eye-balling and trying to get the portions right, but I have trouble doling out the right amount of high carb items. Just like you would think that an alcoholic who is allowed one certain sized drink a day will find a way to fudge the size up, I think I am doing that with the high carb item. I've been pretending that the HC item can be just a tad larger than the protein, but I need to find a better way, at least for now, to make sure I am getting equal portions.

I think for a while I will actually measure the protein and the carb portions, so I can get them closer to real. Perhaps, if, for now, I just did half cup/half cup/half cup that would insure the portions. Then once I get accustomed to that, I hope I can go back to eyeballing but with better proportions in mind. OK... that seems to handle that problem.

The reason Sunday is a problem is that I go to an old fashioned Baptist church and the meetings can be any length they happen to be. Sometimes it goes short, and sometimes it goes long -- it just depends on how the Spirit is moving that day.

Yesterday is the first time I had gone back to morning church after having the blood clot, because I was afraid of sitting for too long (hour drive there, hour drive back, one hour for SS, and one hour for church is an average of about four hours of sitting). Steve suggested that I could get up between meetings and walk around, which I did yesterday.

My morning meal was at 8:15 a.m. but I was not able to eat again until 2 p.m. and since I was at a friend's house I did not accept the fruit and coffee that everyone else had. I simply requested ice water. I was OK going to evening church, but coming home, I think things may have gotten off kilter. My evening meal was at 10:00 (I'm not precisely sure on the time). That was just too long of a time between meals. Then on the way home I stopped to pick up my mail and Atkins had sent me three Atkins bars to sample.

I had already planned on having potatoes for my HC item in my reward meal. The bars had been out in the ninety degree weather sitting in the mail box, so I could tell they were softish and misshapen. I put them in the freezer... but they stayed on my mind. The addiction was kicking in before my meal started. All it took was a little too long between meals and I fell over. I overdid the potatoes and then in a craving frenzy I ate the three bars after dinner. Insanity ruled, last night. Before I ate the bars my blood sugar was 148 but I had to have the bars, too. I measured the blood sugar at about midnight and it was 123.

I need to plan a little better for Sunday. Part of the problem was the spontaneous invitation to Steve and Linda's which I accepted at morning church. I asked what they were having to eat and asked if it was OK if I stopped at Wendy's and got a Cobb salad for me to eat -- and they encouraged me to stay on my program. I appreciated that. I guess I'm going to have to plan some sort of snack, too -- either for on the drive home from church or something, because I was just too hungry and the old addiction took over instantly.

As I think back on it, and check my journal, I realized that on Saturday night I had overdone the high carb part of the RM, also. Again because of too long between meals. Don't you just wish you had my body that can gain weight on three ounces of extra carb with a meal? Well... I guess I'm going to have to be responsible and remember that. I do think the measuring will solve that problem.

I've also been thinking about the blood pressures which are still moderately high and the only solution I can see is more exercise. Exercise will bring down the blood pressure and the sugars. I'm still doing the aquatic with physical therapy with an additional swim at home, but I think I'm going to start getting on the Airofit again. That has helped my back pain in the past, and I hope it will again. I'll also do the stretchy cords, too.

So rather than continue to sit at this moment I shall end for now and go do the exercise. Then I have to go shopping -- I have nothing to make salad with, and I really need that replenished.

Be back soon,

Marcia