Discussion Board

I am definitely over the funk, lost a bit more today, but discovered something too - and it makes me really happy. I have seen in a thread or two, discussions on loosing inches, but not pounds. I didn't know that might be going on with me until today. I realized I am floating around in my cotton tee shirts. Better yet, I also discovered that the jeans are so loose that I don't need to use the zipper to get them off

So I don't seem to be loosing on the scale, but I am in inches for sure. Given that, I decided to try on the next size down and sure enough I am there. Oddly, on diets before I had to loose more pounds to fit these clothes. Probably another 5 to 7 pounds. I now have a stack of 5 pairs of pants for the Goodwill and I think probably another 5 at the back of the closet.

Happy, happy, happy

Down .5 again

Wow, really great progress! Very impressive!

Dissolution - thanks for the kind encouragement - but compared to you, can we even call it progress

I sent an email to my Doc this AM to request updated blood work. I am way to curious to know what those numbers are doing now

No movement of the scale this morning, but I was up and out the door early for my blood draw. I can't wait to see the results of that, to me if I really have gotten rid of the pre- diabetes that's the biggest accomplishment of all. Fingers crossed and waiting

Good luck! I'll cross my fingers too!

Thanks Dissolution - numbers should be here by tomorrow I think. My HMO has a great website that tracks and graphs all our test results. If I have the pre-diabetes down and the liver down I'll be happy - I know the rest takes time and can fluctuate even if the weight is going south. I also took after a week of no exercise and it may be a factor. If it is - that will get me back on track exercised wise - well this week not much I could do about it - pool was closed and walking with high fibro pain is not advisable if I I don't want to double the pain! Still I'll take any number that is below the averages and be happy, happy & happy

Numbers yet? We're waiting with fingers crossed.

Dissolution, TY for the cRossed fingers, gosh I'll be fast I don't want you to have problems using your hands,

Hopefully, I'll have the last and two most critical to me tests today. And, I'll post tonight. whatever they are I expect some to be down. Anything down from the start is good

My scale is not down, hasn't budged sine the Friday Excursion weigh in

Hope you have fabulous results. I also wanted to comment that though the walking does make the pain worse well your doing I always found that later that night it would be better for me if I forced myself to walk anyway. Don't know if it would be same for you or not but it worked for me. Though I hated the few hours it was worse.

Hi Rosie:

You're so right about the higher pain after exercise and then a leveling off a few hours later for the fibro. My bigger problem is not the fibro it's the osteoarthritis I have in my once crushed ankle - and that I think will not bother me as much as the weight comes off. I can't wait for the weight to come off so I can get outside as much as you are!!!

So this is the sum total of all my numbers to date. I was pretty confused that some went up, I think that is the difference between exercise and no exercise and also I realized that I am actually doing three fruits a day - I have completely zoned out that my oatmeal has fruit on it! Apparently fruit can kick up the triglycerides and it in turn kicks up the cholesterol .. I learned that from Dr. McD

I am really close to kicking the pre-diabetes goodbye and that is going to continue to be the big goal for the foreseeable future. New numbers in green.


BP
Baseline
124/84 PR 92

Vegan
118/74 PR 68

Fasting glucose - should be below 100 for normal
SAD
5/14/2011 114

McDougall
11/19/2011 103



Cholesterol
TC should be < 150
LDL should be < 80
Triglycerides < 100

SAD
11/7/2009
TC 201
HDL 50
LDL 132
Triglycerides 97

Vegan: One week after starting vegan diet. I thought this was going to be my baseline, but I had already dropped fairly significantly

5/4/2011
TC 162
HDL 51
LDL 95
Triglycerides 81

11/19/2011
TC 170
HDL 47
LDL 103
TRI 98

Liver (ALT ALANINE AMINOTRANSFERASE), SERUM:
5/4/2011 SAD 42
7/12/2011 Esselstyn 36
11/19/2011 McD 26 No more fatty liver

CRP best to be under 2.4 for women in terms of heart health
11/19/2011 2.2

Thyroid:

I am on permanent meds for this, but more good news is the level of thyroxine needed is going down with the weight loss, so quickly that I will now be tested every 6 weeks

Probably not what you were hoping for, at least with the lipid profile, but combined with your other numbers, very very good. Congratulations!

Do you know what the specific test name is for your liver number?

Hi Dissolution: thanks for checking in on my numbers - not too much to report that is super exciting, and you're right I was disappointed in the lipid results, sigh....

But my liver is happy and I actually should have credited McDougall for that one. I got to the borderline with Esselstyn on that - not to say the Esselstyn diet wasn't great, but I was still diving off into junk food vegan binges! And really I do better with the starch component and cravings. Still, I wish I had gotten that pre-diabetes diagnoses behind me. Especially, as the scale is not budging even a little bit!

I am not discouraged by that though as the clothes are telling me there are big changes. Each week I am making up a bag of things I have shrunk out of, for the Goodwill:)

And tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I will be eating SAD. There is no way around that without hurting my Cousin's feelings He cooks and shops the entire week for all of us. The family favorites passed down are all on the table and are referred to by people's names - like Great Auntie Agnes' Pumpkin Pie.

He is super heavy; despite walking on the beach and doing the gym daily, it doesn't matter as he eats high on the fat chain. Many of us in the family are heavy, but this dear man picks his pickup by the one that will fit him. I hope he can drive home in it after this event!

I have even tried to just eat the veggies on the table - but they are coated in oil and covered with cheeses. Year before last sticking to veggies and one slice of pie I literally gained 2 pounds from that meal alone - no snacking.

But I have a walk planned with a friend bright and early Friday and I will be right back on the wagon - that is if McDougall's revenge doesn't incapacitate me

A week ago, I was confident I would be eating SAD, no questions asked. Tonight I am a little worried if I can stomach it. The kitchen has been transformed into a lab where it seems the only goal is to try and see how much saturated fat can be concentrated into the stuffing. I'm finding the smells of thanksgiving to be unpleasant at best.

On the other had, we have no out-of-towners visiting this year, which makes the wife sad. We've got some illnesses going on on both sides, so the wife has been in an especially depressed mood this week. So I will eat SAD and hope McDougall's revenge is kind to me.

Aww Dissolution, Sorry your wife is down over no out-of-towners for the holiday. It's amazing how many times our family was hit with viruses this time of year - which back then we just shared with family over the turkey. Sometimes the one's infected at TG, would show up for Christmas still sick from what we'd passed on then, but in the form of bronchitis or something of that ilk, EGAD.

Then there is the toxic food lovingly prepared that we will out of kindness put down our gullets today. I bet in my case it may even be tasty to me. Yet, I kind of doubt it -- I have really sweet friends a couple of whom have found the local vegan food joints. I live near a college town, so there are a few and good ones actually. But these are not oil free by any means -- and I find I no longer can taste the food for the oil.

Still it's all about being with family and friends, and then we get right back on our program and are even more thankful that we know what to do to reverse the damage! Good luck to all of us today and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Oh I dropped 1/2 a pound this week finally -- not to be pessimistic, but I doubt that will be sustained through to tomorrows weigh in