Primal Challenge Journal (Griff)
(246 posts) (30 voices)-
Griff
Member@Baglady:
I test about a half hour after I wake up, immediately before and two hours after each meal, and before bed. I go through six to eight strips per day, so it's a good idea to strong-arm the doctor into writing an unlimited prescription for strips that you can refill as necessary. I "eat by my meter." If it's too high, I don't eat.
114 isn't that bad. 214 would be a lot worse. And try not to base your self-worth on one reading.
I use thedailyplate, which now has a diabetes/carb-tracking version for us blood sugar problem people, to keep track of everything I eat and how many carbs I'm eating, and a site called Glucose Buddy to keep track of my sugars, averages, and long-term trends. I recommend them both.
I do my best to stay below 20 grams of net carbs (that's total carbs - fiber carbs) every day, and most days I manage it.
Start your own primal journal here, if you haven't already, and keep plugging away. You will see results, both in weight and in blood sugar. Just hold firm.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberMy average yesterday was 105, with a high of 113 and a low of 98. Ouch. I haven't been exercising outside of walking around campus, and I think I need to get back to my weight workouts (which I did, this morning, and boy was it humbling). If I'm going to keep my sugars down, I have to keep building muscle. Oops. Forgot about that important point. *headdesk*
I'm going to have a fair bit of walking today, too, as I have meetings on campus all day.
Yesterday I had no breakfast, a chicken caesar salad (no bread or croutons) for lunch, and too much for dinner: nine ounces of sirloin steak, a cup of salad with blue cheese dressing, and two pieces of chicken. I think next time I'll just have the steak and skip the chicken. I do better keeping my sugars level for longer with red meat. I know it affected my morning sugar today, which was *wince* 119. :( I hope this is just a blip and not a new upward trend.
I'm also not drinking enough water - barely eight glasses a day the last few days. I've got to get that number up.
On the other hand, my net carbs yesterday were only 11g, which is significantly better than I've been doing.
I'm also tired. I was up until after midnight working on a paper that grabbed me and would not let me rest until I wrote it, and I woke up too early because of needing the restroom, which may partially explain my morning sugar today. We'll see what happens over the course of the day. If my sugars go down, I'll be able to relax. So let's hope that it was just a blip.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberMy average yesterday was 107, which is annoying. It's creeping up. When I look at my intakes, I'm not getting as many fats as I should be, and that has to change. I want to see those below-100 numbers again! My high yesterday was in the morning - 119 - and my low was before dinner - 96. Not great.
I had some cheddar cheese for lunch before I left for my meetings on campus, and a mixture of hardboiled eggs, caprese salad, and cheddar cheese for dinner when I was still on campus. There's not much high-fat food available without it also being high-carb on campus. It's annoying. When I got home I had some macadamia nuts and a piece of leftover chicken before bed.
I'm trying to drink more water, but it's harder when I'm in my office or on campus and would have to use a public bathroom. I try like anything to avoid them because, frankly, they're unsanitary. (It's a thing I have; don't mind me.) I drink most of it early in the day before I go to work/school and late at night after I get home, but that often wakes me up in the middle of the night.
I'm hoping my numbers will be lower again today.
As far as exercise, yesterday I had to walk a fair bit and I also did a weight workout in the morning. This may be why I feel limp today. I don't know.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Catalina
MemberInteresting that you equate the lower fat consumption with higher sugar numbers. . .is that something you've researched, or found out for your own body?
I know what you mean about school food--mostly sugar/carb based. I'm lucky that I can get a bag of pork rinds at the snack bar, or have them fix me a cheeseburger-hold-the-bun. You'd think that campus communities would be on the forefront of what is now being increasingly mainstream knowledge (someday, we'll be CW!)
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberCatalina: When my fat intake (as a percentage of calories consumed) drops, my blood sugars tend to go up, because my protein intake tends to stay pretty much constant. As a result, the only other thing I can be eating is carbs.
I had a higher-fat day today and my sugars behaved themselves. This applies only to my body; it may not apply to anyone else's.
And school food... yeah. It irritates me. When all I can find is cheese and hard-boiled eggs... *sigh*
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberAn average of 104's definitely better than numbers above 110. I'm hoping to figure out what it was that let me have 90s-level morning sugars so I can keep decreasing that trend, but for the most part, my post-morning sugars have all been in the high 90s or the low 100s, so I'm not complaining!
Yesterday I skipped breakfast again because I wasn't hungry. I had lunch - a chicken caesar salad without the bread or croutons - and dinner - a ribeye steak with a dinner salad and some non-starchy veggies (I skipped the carrots) - and my low was 92 before dinner, while my high was 111 after lunch. I didn't work out yesterday but I did have to do some walking around campus.
I'm trying very hard to up my water intake. Since it isn't so hot out, I'm forgetting to do it. I try to drink two 24-ounce bottles of icewater before I go anywhere in the morning and then rely on regular water-drinking events (with meals and to take my supplements) to make up the rest of it. But when I forget those morning bottles of water, I'm always under my goal at the end of the day. Oops. Gotta work on that.
Mostly, things have been going pretty well. I've officially broken the 50-pound mark: I'm at 347 as of this morning. And my waist is down another inch, to 54. This? Blows my mind. Pretty soon I'm going to have to buy new jeans. The ones I'm wearing now (with a belt to keep them up) are looking like sails on me.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
BikerPike
MemberCongrats on breaking 50!!!
New clothes are fun but when you shrink through them quickly it seems easier to wait a little longer and maybe skip a few sizes.
I went from 26s being tight to sometimes 8s or 11 sizes. I have so many old fat clothes to get rid of..but nice problem to have.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
nina_70
MemberAwesome to keep hearing your progesss!
For the water, what about a CamelBak? I'm a terrible water drinker myself, but walking around w/ a CamelBak helped solve that. I have a bigger version (so I can pack stuff into it). It's much more efficient than carrying a water-bottle...at least for me.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberNina: That's what I have, a CamelBak with my school logo on it. :D Thanks for the advice on that though.
Biker: Thanks for the congrats! I'm hoping to be in a 50 waist before Christmas. Maybe I'll even do it - I've only got 4 inches to go now, right?
And I should edit - I weighed myself before I had to, erm, "excrete" this morning, and when I weighed myself again I was down another two pounds, to 345. So that's well below the 50 mark now!
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberThanks, PK and Baglady!
My average was 106 two days ago and 103 yesterday. I'm not going to go into a whole redux about what I ate or what my other sugar numbers were as I'm kind of in a rush this morning, but I didn't want to leave everyone hanging and wondering where I disappeared to, either.
Weight's stable, sugars are stable, measurements are stable. I'm working out every other day or so - dance, or weights, or a combination of the two, plus walking all over campus - and I'm feeling stronger every day. On Saturday I got the pleasant surprise of being able to climb the (fairly steep) stairs to a friend's apartment and I wasn't out of breath or in pain at the top - I guess my legs are getting stronger. And I'm discovering muscles in places I didn't know I had them, and I can finally squat down and put my fingertips on the ground between my knees - something I haven't been able to do in probably ten years.
So things are going well. I'll try to get back to regular updating tonight.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
PrimalK
MemberSounds great all round!
I am amazed at all the little things that I keep on noticing - such as when I go out for a walk, my arms aren't brushing my hips any more as they swing. Or that bit of extra flab on the back of my arms has gone. Or when I look down, I don't see a sticky out, bloaty tummy. And my ass has shrunk (yay!). This morning I tried on all of my work trousers and they are all too big. A lucky charity shop will get them (one pair I'd not even worn yet!). And I will need to buy almost a whole new wardrobe (good for the ego, bad for the bank balance!). Good job I'm saving money on food....
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
dragonmamma
MemberYou've got to try again, Griff. It's not like they're not ordering large clothing from a distributor; they sell whatever gets donated to them!
I have several thrift stores that I check out on a weekly basis for clothing, household goods, books, movies, etc. A few weeks may go by when I find nothing, then one day--Bingo! I hit the jackpot and find tons of cool stuff.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberMy average yesterday was... really high for me lately. 113. I had a couple of numbers in the 120s, partly due to the heat (it was over 90 outside yesterday, wtf?) and partly probably due to pain. You see, I hike all over campus three days a week, and Mondays are actually the most strenuous because I have to walk to and from several buildings at the quick-march to get from class to class, but normally when I teach, I spend at least part of my time sitting down while the students dig into their books. Yesterday I didn't get to do that, because I was running a review session in each of the classes I taught and I was on my feet the entire hour, writing on the board and so forth. And between classes, I couldn't sit down anywhere to eat - the commons was completely jammed and there were no seats! So I stood up with my heavy backpack on to eat, and essentially spent three hours or so on my feet, which I'm not used to at all.
As a result, my legs and upper back were just plain sore. I got a LOT of exercise yesterday, okay? And we went out for a steak-and-egg dinner, and I know for a fact that my body took all that protein and immediately applied it to those sore muscles. I could feel it happening. It was wild.
Fortunately there was no joint pain to go with the muscle aches. I slept like a log, and my morning sugar is only 108 today, which is not bad. I'm not hungry yet and doubt I will be for a while. And since my sugars were up, I was pretty sure I was losing either pounds or inches. Surprise! I lost both. My hips are down another inch, and my weight is down another two pounds, to 343. At this rate I may make my 11/01 goal of 340 after all. (Woot!) This is great.
I'm hoping my sugars settle back down today, though, even so. I don't like seeing those higher numbers on my meter.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
Griff, I could really use your expertise. I have seen you post a couple times about cholesterol figures and how to interperet, and I would love if you could help with mine. Ill link to where I posted them...
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/topic/primal-diary-tara-tootie/page/5?replies=128#post-34900
I would be really appreciative of any help!! Thanks Griff.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberHey Goldwatergirl, thanks for the encouragement!
Yesterday my high was 115 after dinner and 85 before it, for an average of 103. I don't like seeing numbers even in the 100-teens anymore, but that 85 was worth it. I think I ate too much at dinner, though. And speaking of dinner, it used to not be too much, but now it is. I'm going to have to start taking part of my salad and entree' home when I have the three-meat fajitas. Lunch was just a three-ounce block of cheese and a couple ounces of macadamia nuts; I didn't have breakfast because I wasn't hungry.
Exercise? No, yesterday was a rest day, and after Monday's strenuous exertion, well-deserved, I think.
Lots of water, as usual.
I don't really have much else to report. (I know, so boring, right? Sorry.)
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
klcarbaugh
MemberHave you seen this?
http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/search/label/Physiological%20insulin%20resistance%20%281%29
Get your A1C tested.Posted 3 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberMy morning average is starting to rise again, drat it (it's in the 100-teens and has been for the last few days) but I've had a reading in the mid-80s before dinner every day and that's averaged me out to about 106 yesterday. That's not bad. My high was 116 when I woke up, and my low was 86.
I got my exercise walking around campus - not a lot of it, but I did get some exercise. I fell down on water consumption yesterday, though. I have to remember to drink more water than I'm drinking.
I had no breakfast yesterday; lunch was a plain hamburger patty with cheese (all I could get from the school commons) and a couple of slices of tomato; dinner was steak, chicken and salad. And yesterday I was really, really tired before dinner. Go figure.
Net carbs yesterday: 9g. Amazing.
My waist and chest have both dropped another inch - my waist is at 53 now. This boggles my mind. Today I've already worked out. I have a two-hour workshop to attend on campus at noon, we have to run errands and do laundry this afternoon, and I already know what dinner's going to be tonight, so on the whole, I'm doing pretty well, thanks.
ETA: Or better than "pretty well." I just stepped on the scale after my shower. I'm at 339!
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberSorry that I haven't been keeping up here - things have been a little busy.
My average yesterday was 107, and would have been better except that my post-dinner sugar was 117. *sigh* I know I can't be perfect, but it annoys me to see numbers above 110 anymore.
I didn't eat breakfast; my lunch was a chicken caesar salad that left me hungry (probably not enough fat), so I had a snack of raspberries and macadamia nuts. I was still vaguely hungry most of the day. Dinner was a ground beef curry masala with cauliflower rice - that finally stopped the hunger, but then I had that 117 spike after. *growl*
I didn't exercise yesterday as such, and I'm not exercising today, either. Tomorrow I'll be getting plenty of exercise walking all over campus and, frankly, I need a rest.
Once again I fell down on water consumption. I've got to get that back up, especially in this dry fall weather. It's not good for me to get dehydrated.
Net carbs yesterday: 25. Way too many. *wince*
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Griff
MemberMy average yesterday was 104, and the day before that it was 96. I'm pretty pleased with these numbers, as you could probably guess. My high was 113 before lunch and my low was 88 (!) before dinner. Net carbs yesterday: 20. No breakfast, as usual, but I had a chicken caesar salad for lunch and a large dinner salad with blue cheese dressing and a few buffalo wings for dinner. I don't think I'll need the protein platter at Islands anymore; five buffalo wings and a big salad was more than enough food.
I've been getting enough exercise just by walking all over campus, and a new development has me very excited: my balance is getting better. I used to go down a flight of stairs by grabbing onto the handrail with my right hand, putting my left foot down one riser, and then bringing my right foot down next to it. Alternating feet on alternating risers was beyond me for a long time. But this week I've started being able to do it - although I'm still keeping my hand on the handrail. I dream of someday being able to go down a flight of stairs with no hesitation and no handrail at all. Next goal: to be able to go UP a flight of stairs with steep risers while being able to alternate feet on each riser. I haven't quite reached that point yet.
I haven't been updating here for the past few days because my life got incredibly busy all of a sudden, but I'm pleased to report that my blood sugars have been totally stable (my average for the past week is 102) and my morning sugars have all been below 110 every morning this week. I like this trend, and hope it continues.
According to the A1c calculator on Glucose Buddy, I should have an A1c in the 5.5 range when I get my lipid panels and other things done two weeks from today at my doctor's appointment. The BGV2.xls spreadsheet is a little more conservative and predicts 5.99. We'll see. I can hope, and in any case both of those numbers are below 6.0, so... I'm also hoping for a stellar lipid panel, and I'm going to ask him to make sure they do direct measurement of LDL and also a free insulin test. Any others I should ask for besides A1c, lipid panel, direct measuring of LDL and free insulin? Let me know if you know of one that should be done. And I am antsy to find out what my blood pressure is. Last time it was measured it was 130-something over 80-something. I'd like to see that go down, thanks.
My smallest pair of jeans is loose on me. This rocks. I was able to tilt the steering wheel down a bit the other day. This also rocks. Everyone I know is noticing that I'm in a better mood all the time and that I'm disappearing before their eyes. This rocks, too.
Basically, my life is rocking like a rocking thing this week.
Posted 2 weeks ago #
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