9:30AM
4 boiled eggs with 3 string cheese
12:15PM
Hamburger patty with American cheese, pickle, lettuce, tomato, and mayo, mixed veggies with butter
3:00PM
Cashews
7:30PM
Grilled shrimp, salad greens with Ranch dressing, chicken teriyaki with zucchini, squash, onions, and shrimp sauce
CURRENT WEIGHT: AWAY FROM SCALE UNTIL OCTOBER 11, 2008
NOTE: On our last night in Hilton Head, SC before heading back home on Friday, I took my wife Christine out to one of those Japanese steakhouses with a hibachi table. We enjoy these because it's very low-carb friendly if you skip the rice (I do, Christine doesn't). Grilled meats and veggies is AWESOME and we really love it--although it's a little pricey, so you can't do it too often. We're happy this week is over and we look forward to seeing how these treatments help Christine. Most likely, we will be coming back again in November for another week of treatments if necessary. THANKS for all of your thoughts and prayers for us this week. And, in case you are wondering, I do intend to continue eating product-free when I get back home and I'll try to give up the diet sodas, too. Sigh. Plus, I can't wait to get back into my workout routine.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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15 comments:
It will be interesting to see what your scale reads when you get home! Do you drink a lot of diet sodas? I try to keep my diet soda intake to 1 a day. On my days off though I usually end up drinking 2.
I drink about 8 a day. I want to work on that, but that's what I drink currently.
A few days ago we mentioned getting a diet prescribed form a low carb doctor for you to follow (to the letter). Are you going to follow up on that?
Hey Chris, Dr. Eric Westman is my low-carb doc and he has a "no sugar, no starch" diet that is written out for his patients. It's basically Atkins Induction and I was on it for a couple of weeks back in May. I didn't lose anything. I just knew I would at the time. When I return home, we may tighten this a little more on Monday and try this again.
Eight cans a day may indeed be the cause of your stall :)
It sucks, it really does. I know you gained a small amount of weight when you came off them a few years back but it might be worth trying again.
P.S. Please post your thyroid results. I respect Dr. Westman's carbohydrate knowledge but I don't know if he knows much about the thyroid.
Can you move those diet sodas to meals? that would help with the insulin response.
If you're having them sprinkled throughout the day, and your insulin rises a little each time you have one, that insulin rise could stop fat loss and appear to un-do your whole "products" experiment.
Both the chocolate and the diet sodas are more about the body's reward system than about calories or carbs, imho. Are you up to addressing that one yet? It could help you understand the mechanism underneath that "can't stop having them" feeling.
What I suspect is you have stopped being a literal sugar addict, but you still have the reward system of one. That can be changed...
Howdy, Jimmy.
I'm not trying to bust your chops but does Dr. W's induction diet allow for diet soda?
We're all trying to find your "needle in a haystack". The factor or factors that may be preventing you from reaching a healthier weight.
Maybe this one element (the diet sodas), even in the context of a strict induction diet, is enough to mitigate any benefits?
I don't know. I just thought I'd mention the possibility after hearing about the quantity of diet sodas that your drink daily.
No offense intended. Just trying to contribute to your success!
Be well!
Harry
WOW, look at all these comments that came in while I was traveling home today from Hilton Head! THANK YOU for all of your input and I'd like to respond to a few things.
While 8 diet sodas in a day may seem like a lot to most people, I used to drink upwards of 16-20 regular sodas before my low-carb lifestyle. I'd guzzle the stuff like it was going out of style and didn't think anything of it. When I started on Atkins, I made the switch to diet sodas that were sweetened with Splenda and preferably were caffeine-free (like Diet Rite--my FAVE!).
I've gotten it down to around 8 diet sodas a day from 16-20 sugary ones, so I've come a long way. And I did drink LOTS of diet soda for the past nearly five years of my low-carb lifestyle. This isn't something new I've suddenly added--it's been a part of my regular routine all along. So I'm not understanding the correlation now when there hasn't been one the past few years. Lynn, I don't have my thyroid results in front of me and I trust that Dr. Westman (an internist) when he says those levels are fine. :)
I appreciate your input, Connie! I usually drink water with my meals and use diet sodas in between meals. I hear you on the reward thing and it totally makes sense.
No offense taken, Harry. This has been one area I have battled back and forth with myself for several years...to keep diet soda or not. I've blogged about this controversial subject before. Dr. Westman's plan allows unlimited diet soda consumption as long as it is caffeine-free. That's why Diet Rite is the PERFECT one to drink. Water and flavored seltzer waters are preferred, but decaffeinated diet soda is permitted.
My perspective on this at this point is that there may be some merit to the argument that just the taste of sweet on my tongue is initiating an insulin response. I don't know why it is happening now when it has never happened before, but that's my hunch. So, if I eliminate all sources of sweet from my diet, including diet sodas, my beloved chocolate bars, and even the fruit I added prior to my workouts, then maybe the insulin will be controlled. I dunno, but it's worth a shot. I'll like try this starting Monday morning.
But I'm gonna need some major prayers to pull this off. My sweet tooth is strong although I don't eat sugar at all.
There comes a point when your body can't handle the soda anymore. 8 sodas (though less than 16-20) is still a hell of a lot.
A couple of weeks on the no sugar, no starch, no products is not long enough. You need to give it a good try at least a couple of months.
I agree, Sue, which is why I'm entertaining the idea of trying to come off of them again. However, Dr. Westman's plan allows for diet soda. Are you suggesting I modify that plan even further and try to eliminate those along with his "no sugar, no starch" plan? I still think there might be merit to the "sweet-taste-spurs-insulin-release" connection, so it might be worth a shot to eliminate ALL sweet tasting anything for at least a month to see the effect if any. Man that's gonna suck, but I'm willing to try it to see if it works.
all this talk of diet sodas makes me want to go grab one! Gosh Jimmy, I didn't know my little question would start such a fury of comments :D
Jimmy, cutting back on the diet sodas may be beneficial, but I do NOT think it is necessary for you to cut them out completely, esp since you drink Diet Rites, which are caffeine-sodium-aspartame free.
I also do NOT think diet sodas are the reason you are stalled.
Whether some of your other readers here want to acknowledge it or not, you already know for sure you are suffering from excessive gluconeogenesis and severe insulin resistance. Remember that previous discussions ended in you going to zero carbs, which is not something you have shown a proclivity towards. Even zero carb may not work for you, and if it does, it may not be corrective, but something you have to do indefinitely. Basically, I do not think you can nitpick this problem away. You have the deal with the major issue first.
I'm totally with Chris that you have monitor your calories, and based on your menu, it appears your calories are appropriate, though I would actually count if I were you. (I use Excel for my daily calorie and carb counts.)
It was a good question, SadeKat and one that I readily accept COULD be a contributing factor in my current predicament. I agree with OnPoint that the jury is still out on that one, but we shall see.
Yeah Jimmy, the needle in the haystack is a good metaphor.
As to why you could lose before using diet products, so what is different now? Perhaps one theory is, your pancreas is just getting more tired, and it took this long to show up.
This is on the theory that you personally put out a lot of insulin compared to others. If your pancreas has to do this "lively" response not only with meals, but also with treats and drinks, then the pancreas has to work extra hard.
Onpoint theorizes that you are still severely insulin resistant. I'm not so sure about that one, since now you have months of strength training behind you, and your tissues take up glucose just fine - hence the hypoglycemia.
But it could be that your muscles use glucose just fine, and also your fat cells take up glucose just fine. Which is a problem if you system is adapted to do gluconeogenesis at the drop of a hat.
As always, best of luck. You are already a winner.
Jimmy, I applaud your decision to mostly stay on plan during this difficult period. You already know what lies ahead, and you have the faith and strength of character to handle this.
I still believe you are suffering from insulin resistance. Even with the products, you would be losing weight by now were that not true. Your calories are at an appropriate level to lose weight, plus your exercise level is high enough to see some weight coming off. Remember that not everybody who loses weight is in ketosis or even on a low carb diet. W/o insulin resistance as a barrier, I honestly think you would be losing (even if just 1 lb/wk) based on the diet and exercise regimen you have been following since Fitcamp. But that's just me . . .
At the time you received your blood glucose test results, you had already been working out with weights for more than 6 months. I actually can see how the extra three months might have made a difference, but the results you have been getting just do not bear this out.
Stick with the Metformin and adjust the dosage if need be.
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