What have you eaten today? (Low carb forum)

[shelley262]

Sorry to sound dim but I just want to be sure. If I buy something that says on the packet 10g of carbohydrate and 2g of fibre, I count it as 10g, not 8?

I can empathise. I took early retirement 9 years ago and it was a good thing as my partner started to developed severe osteoarthritis a few years after. It is now very severe and he also has balance problems and in May developed a problem with the sight in his right eye, which has since become severe. He is waiting for laser surgery (with no sign of anything happening). Consequently I have to do pretty much everything (although I'm certainly not complaining) which sometimes stresses me.

It's ridiculous really, when I think that mother managed a husband and two children and did all the shopping, cooking and cleaning and never seemed to break a sweat and I, doing less, get stressed. When I was working I had a demanding job and had to juggle far more things than I do now (which is mainly domestic tasks plus the usual personal admin). I also went out a lot more than I do now and did my share of the home tasks. Sometimes though, today was one, I feel it's all getting on top of me and I get totally stressed. Once I felt on top of things I felt ok.When did I become so hopeless?

Thinking of you @Mauriac caring is unrelenting and stress builds so easily and is so so bad for us in so many ways. It’s also common for carers to feel hopeless especially when the person you’re caring for isn’t getting the help and intervention they need for their condition. That’s something you probably can’t change but you do need to look after your own health too. It’s great you are taking steps via eating more low carb to help manage your bgs but you also need to consider the effect of stress on bgs because of the cortisol rise from sustained stress - so many carers have issues with their bgs. Look for a few small things you can do for you - not easy I know but maybe start with doing just one thing you enjoy regularly. Remember if you don’t look after you - you won’t be well enough to care for the person you care for. If you like podcasts search for Dr Rangan chatterjee his feel better live more podcasts have some great ideas on stress management if you search stress and Dr Rangan Chatterjee I’m sure you’ll find one. Just one caveat he does free podcasts but has some commercials you’ll need to bear with I tend just to mute until advert finishes and he gets to the good stuff!

 

[Mauriac]

Thinking of you @Mauriac caring is unrelenting and stress builds so easily and is so so bad for us in so many ways. It’s also common for carers to feel hopeless especially when the person you’re caring for isn’t getting the help and intervention they need for their condition. That’s something you probably can’t change but you do need to look after your own health too. It’s great you are taking steps via eating more low carb to help manage your bgs but you also need to consider the effect of stress on bgs because of the cortisol rise from sustained stress - so many carers have issues with their bgs. Look for a few small things you can do for you - not easy I know but maybe start with doing just one thing you enjoy regularly. Remember if you don’t look after you - you won’t be well enough to care for the person you care for. If you like podcasts search for Dr Rangan chatterjee his feel better live more podcasts have some great ideas on stress management if you search stress and Dr Rangan Chatterjee I’m sure you’ll find one. Just one caveat he does free podcasts but has some commercials you’ll need to bear with I tend just to mute until advert finishes and he gets to the good stuff!

Thanks Shelley for the kind thoughts and the information too. You are right about looking after myself and I'm now trying to get my BS and weight under control as I need to keep the show on the road, so to speak.

 

[DJC3]

The tea party was great fun and a good time was had by all. Neil kept his distance most of the time. I really have slowed down over the last while - it took me right up until 3.30 to get everything done. But it was worth it, even if I can't move for the moment for the pain in my legs and back.

I've been avoiding Metformin since Sunday, to prepare for the Endo/Sigmoid/oscopies and organising my week to fit in but I had a phone call this afternoon from the hospital cancelling the appointment. It has been moved to next Wednesday instead. So back on the Metformin until Sunday and cancel the blood test appointment until the following Monday. Apparently, somebody is in more urgent need than me. Fair enough. As long as I get it done some time soon.

Brunch was about noon and consisted of a few mouthfuls of egg mayo. I kind of grazed on bits and pieces of cheese, prosciutto as I prepared the mini quiches and after it was all over, the filling from 3 left over mini quiches. Lots of tea and glasses of water to keep me going.

Em and her brother went home with a "doggy bag (box)" of tarts, cakes and mini pizzas. Great grandchildren went home with a rather large box of a mixture of goodies for the family. They were pretty tired after running wild among the trees in the garden. One thing that worked very well was "Jammie Dodgers" topped with a glazed strawberry and chantilly cream. Very quick to do and quick to disappear. The one who ate most of them was Gr grandson who NEVER eats fruit or veg but today enjoyed the strawberries. Maybe a start. Was surprised to note how much weight Braidie has lost. He's still plump, but nowhere near as overweight as he was this time last year.

You are very sanguine but it must be such a disappointment after all the mental preparation for the procedure. Fingers and everything crossed for next week now

 

[Antje77]

Sorry to sound dim but I just want to be sure. If I buy something that says on the packet 10g of carbohydrate and 2g of fibre, I count it as 10g, not 8?

Exactly!
In the USA this would say 12g of carbs, of which 2g fibre.
So packages are easy, carbs are carbs, but watch out with google and check the source, lest you find yourself on an American site!

 

[Goonergal]

Realised 2 minutes after putting the bases in the oven that I’d forgotten to add the eggs so had to scrape them off the baking trays and mix the eggs in.

If it happens again, the mix is just fine without eggs - not that you need to hear that right now. Sorry about the blood and readings. I’d forgotten about @maglil55 ’s cream cheese frosting. That is delicious.

 

[Mauriac]

Exactly!
In the USA this would say 12g of carbs, of which 2g fibre.
So packages are easy, carbs are carbs, but watch out with google and check the source, lest you find yourself on an American site!

I haven't been deducting the fibre but had just wondered whether I could/should so you have dashed my hopes on that one. At least I hadn't been deducting them incorrectly, as that would have been much worse.

I had quite a good day yesterday, carbs-wise:

B: Mug of coffee with almond milk, tsp of Splenda and 10 ml of Jersey cream
L: Smoked turkey with beans and broccoli salad; a pear.
Afternoon snack: 1 oatcake with 37g of St Augur.
Pre-supper: A glass of wine and some almonds and macadamias.
Supper: 3 sausages with broccoli and cauliflower; 75g of raspberries and 90g of 2% yoghurt. 2 chocolates.
Before bed: Another coffee with almond milk and cream.

Just under 60g of carbs.

My morning readings, which are normally high 7s or low-mid 8s were 6.9, 7.1 and 7.5 so I'm taking that as a 7, which I'm really pleased about.

I'm off to do the ironing now and then get ready to go out for the first of our restaurant lunches. I'm going to move every sinew to resist having rum baba, which I love, and is on the menu. Wish me luck!

 

[Brunneria]

Forgot to post yesterday (busy evening )

B was bovril and then a low carb hot choc around 11am
L was ENORMOUS!!! I had a portion of my smoked bassa fillet in cheese sauce, which would have been enough anyway, but I added half a keto GF mug roll to it (to save it from going stale, of course).
Didn't need anything else until 9pm, at which point
D a small omelette

Am beginning to think that maybe I spoke too soon about the mug rolls.
The last couple of days my ankles have been swelling by evening.
I put it down to the heat.
But yesterday wasn't hot, was it, and they blew up like balloons.
Obviously need to do some systematic testing.
The rolls may be fine, in cooler weather, and not everyday...

 

[Annb]

It's ridiculous really, when I think that mother managed a husband and two children and did all the shopping, cooking and cleaning and never seemed to break a sweat and I, doing less, get stressed. When I was working I had a demanding job and had to juggle far more things than I do now (which is mainly domestic tasks plus the usual personal admin). I also went out a lot more than I do now and did my share of the home tasks. Sometimes though, today was one, I feel it's all getting on top of me and I get totally stressed. Once I felt on top of things I felt ok.When did I become so hopeless?

You are NOT hopeless! You are dealing with stuff that you were never trained to deal with in the course of your previous life. This is bound to cause stress. Add in the fact that you are a bit older than you once were, which inevitably causes changes in your body and emotions and you begin to feel inadequate. Then you beat yourself up about it. That becomes a vicious cycle.

I admired my mother and her apparent capabilities but I'm pretty sure that, as she got older, she started to slow down as well - probably yours did too. We can all do much more and sail through difficult times, if we have youth on our side. The trick is to be comfortable with whatever your level of ability when youth starts to fade (or waves goodbye from a distance).

You are dealing with so much - your partner's needs and your own as well as all the domestic stuff. Even domestic admin becomes harder these days - it is more complex than in the past and you don't have the kind of support that you would have had while at work. On top of all that, you now have to deal with diabetes and its associated problems (and maybe other health issues as well, which is a common situation).

You are obviously trying to improve the health issues you face, and even if it never seems to meet your targets, whatever you can do will help. You can only do what you can do. No point beating yourself up over what you can't do. So don't do it!

It's not an easy lesson to learn and we don't always remember to take it a bit easy on ourselves when the stress levels build up (I still beat myself up from time to time over mistakes I feel I made in my late husband's care, but have to give myself a shake and accept that if I did, they were genuine mistakes and I am only human, and I'm pretty sure that, if he is still in the ether somewhere, he has forgiven me for them).

One more thing - you know the old saying "if at first you don't succeed ..." - it's good advice.

 

[Chook]

@Annb - lovely post and so true. Good luck for next week. xx

 

[Chook]

Another weird BG day. I will give it until Monday to get better and, if it doesn't, I will then fill the prescription the DN has arranged for me for insulin.

Bed time last night: 8.9
FBG this morning: 11.6

Breakfast: Mackerel fillet fried in butter with a light drizzle of apple cider vinegar - this is not any old ACV - this one had 'the Mother' in it!!! (I have absolutely NO idea what 'the Mother' is apart from making the vinegar cloudy and more expensive.)

Dinner: cod loin baked with lemon and garlic on top of chard wilted in butter with the remainder of my fake puttanesca sauce

Black decaff coffee until lunch and then water

 

[Brunneria]

Here you go.
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/t...efits-of-apple-cider-vinegar-with-the-mother/

Note the heavy use of 'could' in every benefit but one! hahahaha!

 

[DJC3]

If it happens again, the mix is just fine without eggs - not that you need to hear that right now. Sorry about the blood and readings. I’d forgotten about @maglil55 ’s cream cheese frosting. That is delicious.

Good to know thanks, its bound to happen again. I didn’t want to chance it as I was making a triple batch and thought the ingredients were too expensive to waste if it went wrong.

 

[Annb]

FBG 13.2! I must've inhaled too much bad for me stuff yesterday.

Brunch at noon was the remainder of the bouillabaise. I thought I'd better eat it before it climbed out of the fridge by itself. I wasn't really hungry but I had it anyway - the first actual meal in about 48 hours, I think.

Later I will have bacon and egg - probably no more veg should be consumed today.

We have had a few problems recently with high humidity making things go mouldy very quickly. When I took out the extensions to my dining table yesterday, I realised that 1) the wood (teak) needed to be oiled and 2) the extensions were developing mould on the lower 18" - they were stored on edge. So, before they could be used they had to be cleaned of the mould and before they went away again the whole table needed to be oiled. That meant leaving it set up all night while the oil soaked in. This table is in my kitchen/living room and it was very much in the way. And the smell of teak oil is a bit too much in an enclosed space. Anyway, we took out the extensions this morning and closed the table back into a circular one but then I discovered that the thick protector pad also had mould on it, so that had to get cleaned off and dried. That meant that the plastic and felt top cover (royal blue tiled in food pics) has to be dumped - no way to clean mould spores off of the underside. So next, find the old table cloths that I used to use - many of which needed a good wash after being stored for so long. Then the washing machine started leaking! Maybe I put too much washing liquid in it, I don't know. Seems OK at present and the floor looks to be staying dry now.

At least all the dishes are washed and stacked away again and the basket of ironing has already gone (with the postman) to be done by DIL.

Em now has a polo shirt in the laundry "livery" with the label "pillowcase quality controller" on it. She's proud to be part of the family business. She actually does point out when pillowcases are being allowed to be a bit out of shape when they are ready to go into the rotary press, and makes sure they are done properly (elder brother can be a bit slapdash - at 22 he feels he is cut out for better things and isn't asked to help very often). In DIL's laundry quality and efficient service is the order of the day so no slapdash work can be allowed.

 

[shelley262]

Another lovely warm day - lots of rushing around but the pleasant weather is uplifting
Swimming before my Zoom meeting - got back in time and had dried hair for the meeting!- I’m feeling very proud doing four early mornings in a row and one more booked for tomorrow. Will do home based resistance training over the weekend for a change and balance. Also I may need to whizz up to mums in York’s early next week so making the most of the swimming while I can.
Brunch one slice of bacon fried egg and half a toasted chaffle
Mid pm salted nuts and a few squares of 100% choc
Dinner slow cooked beef with sprouts and roast celeriac and glass of dry red wine followed by sf jelly with garden raspberries and yoghurt.
Going to plan a few days of three small meals to give my body a change. Good to surprise it and make changes!

 

[MrsA2]

Proud of myself today. Out for lunch to celebrate someone else's birthday and I had garlic prawns (refused the bread) followed by half chicken and salad. Might just have had a red wine, but only the one.

So far am skipping dinner but not sure if thats a good decision or not

 

[ziggy_w]

Hello all. Didn't post yesterday, so again playing catch up.

Hugs for your suboptimal days, @Annb and @Mauriac.
@Brunneria -- What a disappointment. Was hoping that this mug bread would work for you.
@Chook -- Keeping my fingers crossed that your blood sugars will come down soon. Also hugs for your experience for the nurse -- isn't it strange that she didn't seem to recognize what you have already accomplished with coming off insulin and having normal blood sugar levels for years.
@shelley262 and @Mauriac -- My admiration for all you do for your loved ones, it entails a lot of sacrifice.

Yesterday (let's see if I can remember) ...

Breakfast: A double decaffeinated espresso with cream and erythritol. Half a DD keto roll with beef salami.

Lunch: Tuna sashimi with a dip of sambal oelek, ginger-garlic paste, vinegar, cucumber and erythritol. About 30g of of white chocolate experiment.

Dinner: Nothing to eat, but some watered down dry red wine.

Late night snack: Three small chicken wieners. A piece of cheese. About 15g of 88% chocolate.

 

[ziggy_w]

Today ...

Breakfast: A double decaffeinated espresso with cream and erythritol.

Lunch: Three scrambled eggs with spring onion tops and Manchego cheese. Three large radishes. Half a DD keto roll with mayonnaise and shrimps.

Snacks: Some more of the white chocolate experiment, about one square or 5g of the 88% chocolate.

Dinner: Half a chicken wiener. Watered down dry red wine. Will probably have a bit more to eat before I go to sleep.

@Mauriac -- Congrats on resisting temptation tonight.

 

[maglil55]

Another weird BG day. I will give it until Monday to get better and, if it doesn't, I will then fill the prescription the DN has arranged for me for insulin.

Bed time last night: 8.9
FBG this morning: 11.6

Breakfast: Mackerel fillet fried in butter with a light drizzle of apple cider vinegar - this is not any old ACV - this one had 'the Mother' in it!!! (I have absolutely NO idea what 'the Mother' is apart from making the vinegar cloudy and more expensive.)

Dinner: cod loin baked with lemon and garlic on top of chard wilted in butter with the remainder of my fake puttanesca sauce

Black decaff coffee until lunch and then water

The "Mother" makes me think of the late Pete Postlethwaite's character in Sharpe when he kept looking in his hat and talking to "Mother, can you hear me Mother".
Seriously, I hope yours helps your BGs. xx

 

[Mauriac]

@Annb Thank you for your lovely post. You are right about being older (and heavier!) slowing us down. I've always been quite a capable person and I don't like feeling that I'm not managing everything well. In my head I'm still about 35 but the reality is, of course, somewhat different......... I will try to take your good advice. It's much worse for Alastair of course because not being able to do so many things for yourself must also be very frustrating. I have a chronic knee injury and can longer run up and down stairs or run across the road and it drives me mad.

One good thing, we had a lovely lunch today with our friends and I managed to resist the temptation to have rum baba although Alastair had it and it certainly looked very good. I took my BS when we got back but by this time it was 4 hours after my first bite of food so the figures were a bit meaningless and it was probably a waste of a couple of strips. Anyway, they were 7.3 and 7.5.

I had French bean salad with a small slice of pâté to start, then cod with lentils (they brought quite a large bowl but although I love them I went easy on them) and then I took the advice of someone on here (I forget who) and had cheese for pud. I also had a couple of smallish glasses of wine and a coffee. I wasn't able to weigh everything as I normally do of course (the kitchen staff might have been a bit surprised if I'd gone in there with my scales ) but the only thing with an appreciable number of carbs was the lentils and, as I said, I went easy on those. For supper I had a few almonds, a bit of Quorn 'ham, a sun-dried tomato and a little bit of M&S broccoli salad and two chocolates (so much for Alastair eating them all ). I might have a coffee with almond milk before I go to bed.

For once in my life, eating out wasn't a carb and calorie disaster. Tomorrow we have the Côte meal so let's hope I can be as 'good'.

 

[Antje77]

I had garlic prawns (refused the bread) followed by half chicken and salad.

I just spent at least five minutes wondering how you re-use bread with or after prawns before noticing you wrote 'refused', not 'reused'.

First time in days I've had a proper cooked meal, somehow life got in the way with cooking and shopping.
Fried vegetables - green beans (I pre-cooked them for a couple of minutes), green cabbage, a small onion and two sorry looking forgotten mushrooms from the back of the fridge with oven baked marinated tofu bits and peanut sauce, and some leftover salad of onion, tomato, cucumber and mayonnaise.