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What have you eaten today? (Low carb forum)

ianpspurs said:
Good evening all. The weather was much better than all forecasts suggested today so that was good. HbA1c came back as 37. I was anticipating something worse than my own figures suggested so not a surprise but I can't disguise the fact it isn't that good either. Best since June 2016 so puts me back where I was but hardly very good in this company. Definitely casts doubt on the value to me of all the hassle of IF, OMAD and fasting - looks like a bloke who knows all the words but has no idea in practice. Menu for today below:

B: 3 pints tea with h/m almond milk - over the period 5.45 to 9.00
MMS Mug French Vanilla coffee with double cream; H/M chocolate high fibre bar (flaxseed+psyllium husk powder; walnuts; dehydrated raspberries; inulin; 100% Callebaut chocolate) Version 2 mishap but turned out well
L: Livlife pork belly sandwich; Chunk Bishop Cropwell, Slice Corned Beef2 pints tea with h/m milk
MAS: Tassimo Americano Grande with cream
D:Egg and avocado salad, cider vinegar vinaigrette, chia seeds and psyllium husk powder; strawberries and cream (we have had a bumper strawberry day today)
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You’re very hard on yourself. Did you have some higher HbA1c results in 2017? Sounds like it from what you’ve written and if so, a big pat on the back is in order - getting back on track after a setback is much harder than initial success.
 
ianpspurs said:
Good evening all. The weather was much better than all forecasts suggested today so that was good. HbA1c came back as 37. I was anticipating something worse than my own figures suggested so not a surprise but I can't disguise the fact it isn't that good either. Best since June 2016 so puts me back where I was but hardly very good in this company. Definitely casts doubt on the value to me of all the hassle of IF, OMAD and fasting - looks like a bloke who knows all the words but has no idea in practice. Menu for today below:

B: 3 pints tea with h/m almond milk - over the period 5.45 to 9.00
MMS Mug French Vanilla coffee with double cream; H/M chocolate high fibre bar (flaxseed+psyllium husk powder; walnuts; dehydrated raspberries; inulin; 100% Callebaut chocolate) Version 2 mishap but turned out well
L: Livlife pork belly sandwich; Chunk Bishop Cropwell, Slice Corned Beef2 pints tea with h/m milk
MAS: Tassimo Americano Grande with cream
D:Egg and avocado salad, cider vinegar vinaigrette, chia seeds and psyllium husk powder; strawberries and cream (we have had a bumper strawberry day today)
Click to expand...
Hi @ianpspurs sorry that you feel a bit disappointed in your hbaca1 results but think you need to bear a few things in mind that you’ve done really well at
Most diabetics see worsening figures over the years and presume that as you say this was your best results two years ago so your more previous figures must have been higher? So you are bucking the trend and going in the right direction. I had a spell last year where, after an initial lowering mine was climbing again until I went keto. But I also had a lot of weight to lose - you haven’t and you’ve smashed that target.
You’ve also shown amazing determination and strength of character sticking at your experiments and exercise routines and you have had some good results.
It may be that you need to develop a more medium way of eating that suits you and you enjoy but that keeps your bgs at or below the level you are and stick to it for a while. There are companies one I used for my private cholesterol test which also do hbaca1 so you could experiment and then review after a month or so? As you know I’ve got brill hbaca1 but not happy with my cholesterol the balance is very difficult but life is also about general well-being too and so things need to be liveable for you too.
Hope this helps Ian please don’t be so hard on yourself we are all different and your hbaca1 is excellent and bet your DN was delighted.
 
Thanks for the kind words @Goonergal and @shelley262. Obviously I am pleased the result is better than December (38) and the very odd one last June (40). Looking at it from another perspective it seems like a poor return on investment but it has been a bit stop start lately with no proper exercise or eating pattern. What I will never know is how different results would have been if I hadn't fasted etc. Fortunately, I have 2016 fully annotated and some obvious pointers stand out. I did more weights and heavier work in the garden. This year I have not used weights as awaiting MRI results and I have removed all the trees and roots I need gone.
Anyhow, thanks and yes I may be hard on myself but I always reflect while cutting lawns and walking dogs and mellow in time. In line with the don't get mad get even school this needs cold calculated decisions so thanks.
 
Hi All, glorious weather here in Holiday Land.

Fab walks and sunny picnicing, and snoozing and only one full day left before we head for home. Sigh.

Lunch’s antipasto was delicious, ham, 3 cheeses, mini salami, smoked cheese cubes, sundried tomatoes, olives and herbs in olive oil. The frozen water worked like a charm. We always have to go into museums and NT properties one as a time because the other person is parked on a bench with the mutts. I used to resent it a bit, but have learned that it is a great way to enjoy the day. V leisurely and relaxed, and because of the dog cute factor, we always get passers by stopping to chat and stroke. Yesterday we netted a toddler who was utterly entranced with two gremlin-ewoks to meet, and an older lady who had just rescued a Shih Tzu (unloved and unwanted) and wanted to swap dog stories. Lovely lady.
Today was mainly fellow dog owners, with mainly cocker spaniels. Funny how dog popularilty is so regional.

This evening was pulled pork (thanks Instant Pot). Nice and simple.
 
@ianpspurs

I found scraping my HbA1c down through pre-D to ‘normal’ the hardest work of all. And the worst bit was to get the last bit down. But now i disregard my HbA1c almost entirely because I think my daily readings are so much more indicative and useful.

In fact, I haven’t been called in for an a1c for over 2 years now, and I’m not going to ask for one. Waste of time (in my case). The disparity between daily readings and the ‘quarterly figure’ makes one, or both, a nonsense.

Now I just focus on keeping bg steady and as low as I can while keeping sane and eating enjoyable v low carb food. Life is too short for beating myself up about ANYTHING. That energy can be best put towards plotting my next LC culinary indulgence. ;)
 
Brunneria said:
@ianpspurs The disparity between daily readings and the ‘quarterly figure’ makes one, or both, a nonsense. Life is too short for beating myself up about ANYTHING. That energy can be best put towards plotting my next LC culinary indulgence. ;)
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Thanks @Brunneria along with the others I appreciate your advice. It does seem part of a pattern with sleep hours and resting pulse rate being slightly off , well HbA1c is better than last 2 but not what day to day would indicate. Not beating myself up just need to cooly take things apart and put them back together a little better.
 
@ianpspurs - Why not choose a single approach and indulge yourself in a period of routine? YOu have some new toys (IP and SV) to make friends with. YOur bloods are well into the non-diabetic range.

M A1c is good, and I do have a bit a bit of a routine going on. I'm nowhere as ninja with my bloods/way of eating as many on herre, but for myself, the effort of paring back one more point, ro whateverre seems rather high, and what does it actually achieve, aside from, in my view, an ego boost for myself.

Of course, we all want to be hale and hearty, and avoid all those nasty complications, but I still want to live a bit.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
Bed 6.7 FBG was also 6.7.
Argentina are terrible. Cannot believe how poor they are for the players they have. It's been a strange World Cup so far.
That's the last transition school visit done. 1 week and 1 day to school holidays. No 2 got his first trip in the new car today and spent most of the day telling everyone about the glass roof and his new car seat.
B. Black coffee (after transition and trip to nursery had to get off to Aqua Zumba and Tescos)
L. Late on - slice Tesco high protein bread with that Tesco Finest roasted aubergine babaganoush.
D. Oomi noodles with yet another of these Iceland seafood mixes. This one is Mussels, squid, clams, prawns and shrimp in a herb and tomato sauce.

http://groceries.iceland.co.uk/icel...hrimp-in-a-tomato-and-herb-sauce-450g/p/64266

@ianpspurs - this is another one worthwhile when you just can't be bothered. Mussels, clams and the big prawns are shell on but it is very tasty. Definitely going back to Iceland to get more of these fishy mixes.

The Lego Zombie Baby is safely at home now. Awaiting the arrival of the twin zombie babies.
 
DCUKMod said:
@ianpspurs - Why not choose a single approach and indulge yourself in a period of routine? YOu have some new toys (IP and SV) to make friends with. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
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Thanks @DCUKMod Oddly someone else in another context hinted at something similar i.e. eliminating things. It feels as though I have all the pieces of a good jigsaw which I just can't figure how to put together properly. I think I am trying to force some pieces from other people's jigsaws into my puzzle and they clearly don't fit.
 
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Evening all

Just been wistfully reading your post @Brunneria: what a lovely doggy day! Also I love your attitude to your HbA1c, diabetes and life itself.

@ianpspurs I dont feel experienced enough to offer advice but have to agree with the rest of the gang, you are well into non diabetic range and it hasn’t sounded like you’ve enjoyed IF or OMAD much so maybe tweak find a more sustainable way to keep in the healthy range. Your energy and enthusiasm are quite inspirational to me and others.

Brunch today as I waited for my daughter to get up ( she’s been working lates so was sleeping in). Smoked salmon and scrambled egg, plus coffee with cream

MAS: 1/2 pack pork scratchings ( large bag the butcher makes himself)

D: DD chicken and cauliflower alfredo. This was another great DD recipe. Slightly higher carb than I’d usually pick ( 13g per portion) but as I’d had a pretty low carb day so far I thought it worth it.
 
Sad to be home from my mini break, however, breakfast: my usual low carb coconut ‘porridge’ with strawberries and cream washed down with a black coffee. I just love this breakfast and did miss it!
Lunch: Halloumi chips with salad of cauliflower, broccoli and sweet pepper followed by Greek yoghurt and raspberries.
Mid afternoon: Hartleys 10cal jelly and black coffee.
Dinner: mature cheddar and mushroom omelette with more cauliflower and broccoli salad followed by strawberries and Oppo ice cream plus a few squares of 100% cocoa nib and orange Montezuma chocolate bought at the Eden project yesterday. 0.5g carb per 25g. I’ve seen people talk here of Montezuma but this was my first try of it, well worth the expense :hungry:
 
DJC3 said:
@ianpspurs I dont feel experienced enough to offer advice but have to agree with the rest of the gang, you are well into non diabetic range and it hasn’t sounded like you’ve enjoyed IF or OMAD much so maybe tweak find a more sustainable way to keep in the healthy range. Your energy and enthusiasm are quite inspirational to me and others..
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Thanks @DJC3 You must have me confused with the other man with the energy and enthusiasm :angelic: As for the enjoyment of IF etc there is something in that. It seems to me that I have all the pieces of a jigsaw unique to me but I keep trying to force pieces from other people's jigsaws into mine - their pieces won't fit anymore than mine would fit theirs.:banghead: I just need to sort the pieces into 2 piles and start again.
Anyhow, thanks for the thoughts and chin up!
 
ianpspurs said:
Thanks @DCUKMod Oddly someone else in another context hinted at something similar i.e. eliminating things. It feels as though I have all the pieces of a good jigsaw which I just can't figure how to put together properly. I think I am trying to force some pieces from other people's jigsaws into my puzzle and they clearly don't fit.
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Ian - between August 2014 and March 2018, my HbA1cs literally toggled 31<>33<>31<>33 and so on. Literally.

During that time I did loads of bonkers stuff,and travelled, had some worrying tests, then some unpleasant surgery and recovery, high days, holidays and some challenged. I swore I had found my range and I'd be there "forever" (or until things started to go down hill).

Well, just as is usual with diabetes, at the beginning og March I broke out of that range and had my best A1c ever. OK, only down the slightest hair, but it took me into the 4% club. You could have knocked my down with a feather. In the immediately preceeding time, we'd had the festive period, house guests, we had a fairly big property deal bubbling in the background, which meant some fundamental changes in how we live our lives. I would have thought the stresses would have nudged me up.

I'm open minded what my score will be next. There's only so much we can effectively manage or influence, so my mantra is to try live a good life, with lots of living in it. A1cs will be what they will be. Should I see a scary number, I'll just have to buckle down and replan.

Just relax a bit.
 
Brunneria said:
@GrumpyOldPhart Where are you?
I have recently seen some adverts on tv for soya ice cream (part of the plant based diet popularity, I imagine). No idea how carbs they are, but it got me thinking.

There are actually lots of low carb ice-cream recipes out there. Maybe you could adapt one with Soya cream.

The simplest I know is 2 parts frozen berries, 1 part doublecream, erythritol to taste, and all blitzed in a good strong blender. Takes about 2 mins to make. Delicious.
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Thanks for that: I'm in very rural mid Wales, but unfortunately I can't cope with soya any more either: ( I did say I'm awkward!!!) ;-)}
 
Rachox said:
Sad to be home from my mini break, however, breakfast: my usual low carb coconut ‘porridge’ with strawberries and cream washed down with a black coffee. I just love this breakfast and did miss it!
Lunch: Halloumi chips with salad of cauliflower, broccoli and sweet pepper followed by Greek yoghurt and raspberries.
Mid afternoon: Hartleys 10cal jelly and black coffee.
Dinner: mature cheddar and mushroom omelette with more cauliflower and broccoli salad followed by strawberries and Oppo ice cream plus a few squares of 100% cocoa nib and orange Montezuma chocolate bought at the Eden project yesterday. 0.5g carb per 25g. I’ve seen people talk here of Montezuma but this was my first try of it, well worth the expense :hungry:
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I am a fan of Montezuma chocolate too, they do amazing flavour combinations for those who don't need to worry about the carb values, but for us carb sensitive people a couple of squares of their dark choc varieties is a nice change from Lindt or other very dark chocolate bars
 
DCUKMod said:
Ian - between August 2014 and March 2018, my HbA1cs literally toggled 31<>33<>31<>33 and so on. Literally.

During that time I did loads of bonkers stuff,and travelled, had some worrying tests, then some unpleasant surgery and recovery, high days, holidays and some challenged. I swore I had found my range and I'd be there "forever" (or until things started to go down hill).

Well, just as is usual with diabetes, at the beginning og March I broke out of that range and had my best A1c ever. OK, only down the slightest hair, but it took me into the 4% club. You could have knocked my down with a feather. In the immediately preceeding time, we'd had the festive period, house guests, we had a fairly big property deal bubbling in the background, which meant some fundamental changes in how we live our lives. I would have thought the stresses would have nudged me up.

I'm open minded what my score will be next. There's only so much we can effectively manage or influence, so my mantra is to try live a good life, with lots of living in it. A1cs will be what they will be. Should I see a scary number, I'll just have to buckle down and replan.

Just relax a bit.
Click to expand...
I agree with your thesis, life is for living, none of us knows how long that life will be so we should make every effort to enjoy it to the best of ability.
OK so we have an extra equation to deal with, you know the one, diabetes, but if like me, many of us are more in control and healthier than we were before diagnosis so in some ways its a blessing.
I lost my mum 15 years ago, she didn't have a condition that she could try to control or improve, it was very aggressive and very quick. She didn't always live her life to make the most of each day, she often put off what she wanted to do today until tomorrow, then one day there were not many tomorrows for her, that taught me, to do, within reason, what I can, when I want, ect and to enjoy it.
 
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