Week 3 results

Thursday and Friday, some experiments:

Thursday: Protein drink (1 scoop Designer Whey, 1 scoop BCCA, 2 tbl coconut oil, 1 tbl cream); pre-breakfast blood sugar 93, 1 hour pp 129 (!), 1 hour later 108 -- this tells me that at this point, a protein drink gets converted to blood sugar too quickly for me --  :-(   (I like the variation from eggs or meat, so too bad)
- took a walk at the mall (hey, it's 100 degrees around here!)
- beef broth
- snapper, green beans, tomato/avocado salad, a few strawberries - before 91, after 94 - a good experiment, since the strawberries (at least in this quantity) didn't bother my glucose level!

Friday: 94; eggs, bacon, strawberries; 108
- beef broth
- walk
- steak, gn beans, 1/2 small avocado, cole slaw; 95

So, blood glucose doing well with the exception of the protein drink. Both days took a walk. Energy coming up. Because of when I got up, only did two meals each day, not three.

Weight:

Body fat:

So, doing fine. 5 days on a much restricted carb count. Lost 12.5 pounds in 3 weeks, essentially 7 of that this week--i.e., the intervention levels of carbs (no more than 30 g. or so/day) caused a lot of water loss. I've been ingesting plenty of sodium (salt on food, salt in beef or chicken broth) plus supplemental potassium (tablets) and magnesium (Calm brand drink most evenings) to replace minerals lost, so electrolytes should be good. A note, however: even with this amount of sodium (I salt most things I eat--mostly use Real Salt or Maldon Sea Salt) I'm probably eating less sodium than before, when I ate lots of processed (chips, for example) and restaurant foods . . . and in much larger amounts.

The challenge will be staying on this kind of restrictive diet long-term, but given my compromised metabolic system, keeping my blood sugar low will be a very good thing!

I will continue with experiments to see how different foods and amounts effect my glucose levels. It will also be interesting to see if my insulin resistance changes as I get more fit (increase exercise and amount of lean muscle) and (eventually) less and less visceral body fat (which has direct effects on hormones). Also, I suppose, to see if my battered beta cells (that produce insulin) are able to heal when not so much is being asked of them. In other words, can I become metabolically healthier--probably not normal, but at least to the point where my body can handle a higher level of carb and not kick my blood sugar above the desired levels.

I expect the weight loss to go back to normal next week. There's only so much fluid to lose!

Wednesday, 7-27-11

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs - 104
Lunch: 2 oz. cheese, 1/2 avocado, 93
Dinner: Chicken, salad, 1 tbl. coconut oil, 1 oz. macademias, 93

Blood sugars getting more consistent

Going much lower carb

I've already said that I'm a carboholic. But after re-reading Richard Bernstein's Diabetes Solution I decided I need to take carbs lower (at least for now) and closely track my blood sugar. He makes the point that normal blood sugar readings should be 80/85-100. Mine have been sometimes in that range, but post-prandial (after a meal) up to 150-170 after a lot of carbs (or a really big meal). Not good.

Consequently, I decided to follow Bernstein's guidelines, which are quite restrictive: 6 g carb for breakfast, 12 each for lunch and dinner (i.e. 30 g/day). Atkins "induction" is 20, the Eades recommend an induction of no more than 7-10 g/meal and less than 40/day. The Eades recommend staying at that level until metabolic issues have resolved themselves and weight is normal (some time away for me). That's what I have to do.

This means (for me) meat/fish/eggs/cheese plus salads and/or non-starchy veggies (green beans, etc.). No fruit, no nuts for now. I need to do this for at least 4 weeks or so to get a good baseline of food, how it affects me, and blood sugars. After that, I can experiment gradually (measuring blood sugar always!), adding (one at a time) low carb fruits (such as berries) or nuts (tough part here is to limit them!). Then I can know if I can stay within guidelines for carbs with fruit or nuts, but not blow my blood sugars.

I started on Monday. Following my colonoscopy on Friday, I relaxed on carbs over the weekend (partly because I knew I was going to go very low Monday!) with mostly moderate blood sugar, but one at 172 (yeah, I had soft drinks--NOT good).

Bernstein convinced me that I need to keep blood sugar in the correct range ALL the time. That for someone like me, metabolically compromised, allowing the larger numbers is NOT a good idea. Damage is constantly being done to blood vessels and nerves (which is why you see diabetics who are blind or have amputations--we had a colleague with both of those problems).

The American Diabetes Association says for tight control:

Tight control means getting as close to a normal (nondiabetic) blood glucose level as you safely can. Ideally, this means levels between 70 and 130 mg/dl before meals, and less than 180 two hours after starting a meal, with a glycated hemoglobin (A1C) level less than 7 percent.

For Bernstein this isn't even close to "tight" control. I want to move closer to his range, rather than the ADA's.

Here's where I am for the first two days:
Monday: waking 109; 1 hour after (normal post-prandial measurement) breakfast (3 eggs fried in butter, 5 cherry tomatoes) 115; chicken broth (remember, this is recommended when you start with this low carb content to replace sodium); dinner: steak, salad (forgot to measure after)
Tuesday: waking 95; breakfast: left over steak, 6 tbl coconut oil (supposed to help get into ketosis); pp 120; lunch: chicken (left over from a roast chicken we bought for dinner over the weekend), celery, cherry tomatoes, 1/2 avocado; 102; beef broth; dinner: 2 brats, sugar free jello; 98

This is a challenging diet for someone who loves bread, pasta, chips, and all manner of sweet things! It will be a challenge to stay with this, but I have to think about where I want to be, health-wise, for the rest of my life.

Picture of lunch below (very good, really!):

Week 2

Interesting week . . .

Colonoscopy on Friday, so weight went through the following changes:
Before prep (Thursday AM):

After MoviPrep (which empties you out, and after a day of clear liquids (in my case, homemade chicken broth, lots of water, and some soft drinks):

And then this AM (Saturday), after colonoscopy (all OK, by the way), then non-low-carb day (breakfast: 

2 eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, strawberries; dinner/Mexican restaurant: some chips and salsa, steak, 4 small nachos, ca. 1/2 avocado, beans, rice; and some nuts (pistachios) and 1/2 Jones cream soda:

And bodyfat:

Whatever water/fecal weight lost in the colonoscopy prep all regained a day later, probably to be expected (although I ate a high carb, large meal for dinner--had I eaten low carb, might have been different). Probably would have been healthier.

So, 6.5 pounds in the first two weeks. Plenty satisfying. 

Now back to lower carb!

Tues. July 19, 2011

Today took a short (15') walk in the AM . . . way out of shape! It'll take some gradual time to get back into it.

Protein drink in the morning, some nuts and cheese in the afternoon, then to friends for dinner: bison steak, salmon (both YUM!), tomato and avocado salad, corn on the cob (I had half of an ear) and cantaloupe. Half glass of Prosecco before dinner and a very small eclair for dessert. First bit of wheat in the eclair that I've had since beginning this. More on wheat/grains in a few days.

Overall, not too bad, considering. Mostly friendly, moderate (but not low) carb.

Wednesday will eat a bland, fiber-free diet, Thursday is prep day for a colonoscopy (all clear liquids), nothing to eat or drink after midnight Thursday, then colonoscopy sometime Friday morning. I would imagine I won't pig out after the procedure. That means that it's likely Saturday's weigh-in (after totally emptying myself out!) will be lower than one would expect . . . and that the following week (after gaining back water weight) might not show much difference. That's OK! Just want to keep moving in the right direction.

Week 1

So, a decent week. We had family around, so more eating out than I would ordinarily plan for.

I'm looking at low carb diet (as I said, I'm a carboholic) and lower carbs at first to get the switchover from carb burning to fat burning. However, with one meal at a steakhouse with great fries, I had a few (OK, about 10). And at a Mexican restaurant (where I had a wonderful steak), 3-4 chips, Mexican rice and a few bites of bean soup.

I've still been feeling bloated, which might also be the protein shakes: 1 scoop Designer protein powder, 1 scoop Grow protein powder (I like the taste of the combination), 1 scoop BCAA, an egg (raw), couple tablespoons coconut oil (virgin from Tropical Traditions), and a tablespoon of cream.

So weight and bodyfat are below (although bodyfat on a Tanita is not super accurate, especially at the beginning when you lose water weight--but over time, it should give a good idea of direction):

Not bad for a week in which I wasn't perfect--2 1/2 lbs loss. Bodyfat isn't yet relevant, but I'll keep posting it each week. Pictures will come every 6-8 weeks.

Since I'm posting this on Monday (Saturday was weigh-in day), I can say that I'm feeling less bloated and have done a much better job staying away from carbs--partly because we haven't eaten out.

Please understand me, I'm actually eating more veggies than before on this diet.

Both Sunday and Monday had protein drinks. Dinner Sunday (with a friend over) was:

steak (bone-in ribeyes on sale!)

cole-slaw (my wife makes a fabulous cole-slaw with sushi ginger)

green beans (with some butter)

and strawberries for dessert

Later, one piece of chocolate (I alternate between Dove dark squares and Hershey Bliss dark) and a few macadamia nuts.

Monday's dinner had a Johnsonville smoked brat with mustard (no bun, of course), celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and half an apple. Same snacks later as Sunday.

My job is to continue with this. I'm feeling past the worst of the "low-carb flu" (as some call it) with low energy, and will start walking again soon (maybe tomorrow, who knows!).

Transformation

So, what do I mean by "transformation?"

This will begin by being primarily physical. Could it move into other realms? Sure. But that's where I need to start.

I'm an almost 61 year old male with diabetes (controlled with metformin, no insulin) and minor high blood pressure (also controlled with medication). 5'10". Currently very unfit.

Simply put, I want to get back to where I should/can be physically. A weight close to what I was in high school or a bit more (if I can get more muscle): 155-165 pounds. Possible? I think so.

Here I am currently, weight and body fat with my Tanita scale:

That's as of Saturday, July 9, 2011.

I actually hit 251 about 3 days earlier. We've had a ton of junk food around and have been eating out (I live near Dallas) with house guests for more than a week and really pigged out. Cut back a little before starting.

Pictures:

So, you get the complete picture.

This blog is a way for me to keep track and keep honest. I'll post weight once a week when possible and pics less frequently.

I'm doing basically low carb--more about that later. It's what works for me and I am indeed a carboholic! One question I'll have (at some point) is whether it's possible for me to eat some bread, pasta, etc. and not go off the wagon . . . something I've done before. I may be addictive enough with carbs that I simply have to stay away from starches. But that's putting the cart 'way before the horse!

For now -- here's to starting!