Need to make some big changes

Needing to adjust my overall plan I think, to account for the insomnia. The positives: I'm doing a pretty good job avoiding the forbidden foods. God bless my husband for hiding the peanut butter! I found a gluten free pancake mix made from rice flour that I can eat when I get a bread craving. Using applesauce instead of eggs, it comes out cake like in texture and tastes good. My overall health is getting better - a whole other subject but I'm doing a good job with lifestyle changes and my meds are working. I'm also exercising daily and getting my water intake in. The exercise is a lifesaver for me and helps me feel mentally better when it's a rough day. The negatives: I'm so much hungrier at night than I used to be and having trouble sleeping. A bad combination even if I'm eating healthy foods. Who needs to be eating apples at 4 AM? I am going to try yoga before I go to bed to hopefully help me sleep better. My weight is creeping up to almost 120. Though not overweight, I can't keep this trend up or I will be. It's totally due to the midnight munchies. Gotta keep all of this in perspective. There are much worse problems to have. This little blog is helping keep me on track!
 
Long busy day and I am genuinely tired. Cut the caffeine to 2 cups of coffee today which will help. Not feeling super well so am going to sleep soon. Hope anyone who may read this has had a good day.
 
Slept through the night except for a one hour window, during which I got up an read a book. This is a big improvement in the sleep routine thankfully. I hope it lasts! Glad that yesterday I avoided my off limits foods, drank the water minimum and got the exercise. I didn't get to do the yoga though because something came up unexpectedly. Weighed in almost five pounds lighter than yesterday morning so I must have been retaining some serious water. I am seeing a new doctor today and have high hopes that he can offer an missing component to my overall get well plan.
 
OK, the bad news is I checked my blood sugar per dietician recommendation and it is in the pre-diabetic range. Have a follow up lab blood test scheduled in a few weeks. Hopefully, the home test kit I bought isn't really accurate. If true, this would explain the intermittent bread carb and fruit sugar cravings that I have recently experienced. Here I thought it was a lack of willpower that had me cheating on my elimination diet. If indeed this is pre-diabetes I am glad to know now and have time to plan to prevent or delay diabetes. I figured my blood sugars were crashing but assumed it was for different reasons. This is sobering. I looked up the things I can do to cut diabetes risk and I already do them. I'm definitely in need of professional assistance.
 


Rain is in the forecast so probably will have to take my walk indoors though :( .

Send some rain our way, we can definitely use it. I love walking in the rain. :)

God bless my husband for hiding the peanut butter!

That's a good idea.

The exercise is a lifesaver for me and helps me feel mentally better when it's a rough day.

Me too. I always feel lighter (mentally) after a walk.

OK, the bad news is I checked my blood sugar per dietician recommendation and it is in the pre-diabetic range. Have a follow up lab blood test scheduled in a few weeks. Hopefully, the home test kit I bought isn't really accurate. If true, this would explain the intermittent bread carb and fruit sugar cravings that I have recently experienced. Here I thought it was a lack of willpower that had me cheating on my elimination diet. If indeed this is pre-diabetes I am glad to know now and have time to plan to prevent or delay diabetes. I figured my blood sugars were crashing but assumed it was for different reasons. This is sobering. I looked up the things I can do to cut diabetes risk and I already do them. I'm definitely in need of professional assistance.

Hopefully the home test isn't 100% accurate and the upcoming lab test will set it all straight. Wishing you the best.
 
Slept through the night except for a one hour window, during which I got up an read a book. This is a big improvement in the sleep routine thankfully. I hope it lasts! Glad that yesterday I avoided my off limits foods, drank the water minimum and got the exercise. I didn't get to do the yoga though because something came up unexpectedly. Weighed in almost five pounds lighter than yesterday morning so I must have been retaining some serious water. I am seeing a new doctor today and have high hopes that he can offer an missing component to my overall get well plan.

Glad you got a good night's sleep!

OK, the bad news is I checked my blood sugar per dietician recommendation and it is in the pre-diabetic range. Have a follow up lab blood test scheduled in a few weeks. Hopefully, the home test kit I bought isn't really accurate. If true, this would explain the intermittent bread carb and fruit sugar cravings that I have recently experienced. Here I thought it was a lack of willpower that had me cheating on my elimination diet. If indeed this is pre-diabetes I am glad to know now and have time to plan to prevent or delay diabetes. I figured my blood sugars were crashing but assumed it was for different reasons. This is sobering. I looked up the things I can do to cut diabetes risk and I already do them. I'm definitely in need of professional assistance.

Seconding Beth. I hope you get better news when you get the lab blood test results. And if the results are the same, hopefully the dietitian can do,e up with some good recommendations that both help your blood sugar and work around the things you need to exclude.
 
Thanks for the good wishes ladies :) I checked my blood sugar this morning and it was just within the normal range for a non diabetic. That was good news but I'm still following up medically. I either did something wrong on the initial self test or the sugars are fluctuating. I can't explain these weird overnight food cravings and I assumed it was hormonal thing but cravings are blood sugar based also. I have been good staying away from the forbidden foods though and keeping the other things I need to do for my health on track. My weight has been weird this week though. I'm staying in the normal range but it swings a lot more than it used to. I've dropped 7 pounds in the last two days, after gaining 9 in the previous week. I figured some of that was water weight but I don't think normal weight fluctuations are that great. Very weird. I expect to have a good day though! I absolutely will get all of this figured out!
 


When I used the blood glucose monitor today, I realized that I'd used it incorrectly the last time I monitored my blood sugar so the normal range reading was inaccurate. I am going to do everything I can to keep the borderline range blood sugars from getting any worse and will follow up medically. It is helping to eat every few hours as the dietitian suggested. I have woken up the last two nights, and had to get up to read because of the insomnia. Both nights, I've been fine with a cup of herbal tea and had no cravings. Have not cheated on the elimination diet but did eat a small amount of a vegetable that tested just below the "sensitive" range yesterday. Did have a reaction so now I know for sure to stay away from asparagus for now. Got my exercise in and errands done. Am actually eating dinner early right now, because we are meeting friends for dinner at a restaurant. I know there is nothing for me there, but if I eat ahead I can nibble on some raw veggies and will be fine. I may cheat and have a cup of real coffee for dessert though! Wisely, my husband continues to hide the peanut butter :)
 
Actually slept through the night! Had a wonderful time with friends at the restaurant last night. There was literally nothing on the menu I could safely eat, so I ended up sipping my water and enjoying the company. So glad I ate before going out! It is getting easier to resist the forbidden foods and limit my caffeine. I have subbed decaf green tea and water for most of the coffee I used to drink. Cravings haven't been present for the past few days, but I'm not kidding myself that they won't return at some point so the peanut butter remains hidden from me. I have to plan ahead a bit to keep on track with my food and exercise routine because I'll be on vacation soon. Am planning to pack things like hemp protein powder and chia seeds to make sure I get some good protein and omegas to supplement what I can scavenge from menus. It is going to be so much harder eating on vacation this time, since most the things I can usually order are off now limits. I could always at least get a salad and supplement protein with nuts, but can't have either now. I don't usually have a problem maintaining my workout routine on vacation, except for the days when the schedule absolutely doesn't permit it. I think that will only be two days of this trip and the walking those days will help compensate a bit for the missed exercise time. Not liking my AM blood sugar reading. Read up on things I can do to prevent diabetes online and am concerned because I already do them. On the bright side, it iooks like it will be a beautiful day today so I'll get to walk outside! Happy Sunday!
 
Up early this morning but did sleep all night for the 3rd day straight! Very happy that I've not eaten a food that is on my list of sensitivities in 6 days and that my temptations to consume off limits foods have been much less frequent. It just isn't worth it. I did stop buying bananas, so love my husband for not minding because he really likes them also. They were just staring at me from the in the fruit bowl! So far, limiting caffeine to 3 cups of coffee first thing in the AM has worked out. Supposed to cut it out completely per doctor but this is a good start for a caffeineholic. I was at a birthday party yesterday, and I did think about taking a cup of coffee but stuck with decaf tea instead. That was a bit hard but worth it! After I work out, will check fasting blood sugar. Hoping it isn't still borderline range because I've been omitting the high glycemic fruits and eating the small frequent meals as recommended. Weight has been resting steady around 113-116, my normal range, since the weird fluctuation last week so glad about that. Happy Monday to all and good luck to all with personal health goals this week! It is a challenge day to day but we can all meet them in the long run if we don't give up!
 
Avoided the foods I'm sensitive to today, which is getting a lot easier for me to do. Still keeping the caffeine intake low. It really makes me appreciate my morning coffee! Rough day in other ways, but thankfully it is almost over. My blood sugar was elevated again this morning. Luckily I was able to I move the lab blood test to tomorrow morning. This little blog has been so helpful in keeping me on track.
 
It sounds like you are on a roll! I'm glad you are sleeping better and I hope the lab turns the test around quickly.
 
So happy that the blood sugar level was normal! The doctor was able to run a test that calculated my last three months average blood sugar and it was normal! He said that the test kits from the drug store were not terribly accurate! Still sticking with my elimination diet too! I'll be getting ready for vacation the next few days and don't plan to be online while on vacation. Will update when I get back!
 
Well, I'm back from vacation and updating my blog. There is good, bad and ugly to report but I do have a plan!

The good: I have been feeling significantly better physically so I know that most of my medical issues are resolving. I saw my doctor the day before we left and got some good medical news. My hormone levels and adrenals are slowly improving, but need I further dietary, medication and supplement changes (not a surprise). I maintained my morning workout routine except for two days when is just was not feasible. One of the days I was at Magic Kingdom and walked about 8 miles, so I did get exercise. I let my body rest the following day to avoid any muscle over use injuries so I don't feel bad about skipping that day's workout. I didn't meet my walking goal every day but I did meet it when it was feasible to do so. I also maintained my caffeine limitations, which is a really big accomplishment for a caffeine lover like myself. I also made sure to drink enough water to equal half of my body weight in ounces. I am pretty happy about those things.

The bad: The cravings for salty foods, ie nuts and my beloved peanut butter, will not likely cease until my adrenals are fully functional and this will take quite a bit of time. Apparently salt cravings are typical with people having depleted adrenal glands. I need to exert will power in the meantime! My intake of fats and proteins is too low and is causing my body to not absorp the fat soluble vitamins properly and possibly adding to the cravings. Plus, stupid menopausal hormone changes are still affecting my appetite. The news about the fats and proteins are not a surprise because the good fats and proteins I was previously eating are mostly banned while I am on the elimination diet. This was a concern of mine and a key reason that I consulted a dietician so I am not beating myself up for this. My leaky gut syndrome issues are still pretty problematic and will really take a long time to resolve.

The ugly: Food! I was on a cruise most of the trip and the vegan options were quite limited, not necessarily low calorie, and contained ingredients I'm sensitive to. Most days, I did my best during the day munching on fruits and veggies but ended up so hungry by the end of the day that I really overindulged in the bad stuff. I gave in to the salty nut cravings a LOT! I also ate way too much at MK, especially Dole whips! They are vegan but do contain foods I'm sensitive to. Salt makes me swell up quite a bit and I blew up like a balloon. Hopefully much of the weight I gained is water but I'm sure that there are at least 5 pounds of weight gain that need to come off the old fashioned way. I have a small frame and weight always goes to my tummy so it is particularly obvious.

The Plan: Resume my normal eating and exercise pattern, add two new supplements and one new medication to my diet, add the five foods that were recommended for increase of proteins and fats, keep a good attitude, not beat myself up over the weight gain and move on. The weight should come off within a month or less I think if I am good. Fortunately, most of my clothes are not overly tight but I would like for all of them to be comfortable by the time I return to work next month. I also need to be good because I had some new clothes delivered while I was gone and am looking forward to wearing them! I did resume the normal eating yesterday, and am already feeling better. I will also keep blogging because it does keep me accountable. Happy Sunday everyone!
 
Thanks for the welcome back! Vacation was wonderful! Yesterday was a good day! I met all of my exercise, food restriction and calorie goals. I've added more protein powder to my smoothies and now am eating avocado and olive oil to increase fat intake. I'm down 3 pounds from when I returned from vacation but still not at the weight I was before I left. I should be able to get back to my old weight range pretty quickly just resuming normal exercise and eating patterns, but boy is sure is easier to put it on than take it off! I bought a fitted new dress to motivate myself to shape back up! I tried eating a more filling bedtime snack than usual and it really helped me avoid the kitchen when I woke up in the middle of the night. Today is a pretty busy day for me and will involve a lot of sitting so I am planning to get my workout and walk in very early. It will also be a stressful day so I need to make sure I don't involve myself in any stress eating later. Best of luck to all of you striving towards your personal health goals today. We can all do this together!
 
Stressful day, but I got the workout in, drank my water, limited the caffeine and haven't eaten any foods I am sensitive to. Hopefully I met my walking goal. My fitness tracker lost it's charge at some point today so I don't have any data. Going to bed early. Hope anyone reading this has had a good day.
 
Feeling pretty good this morning! Woke up overnight for about two hours, had some decaf tea and puttered around, then back to bed for some real sleep. No snacking on the peanut butter toast! I really have to laugh at myself. Other people address healthy eating needs by striving to replace or minimize a large number of foods. I mainly just fight one big battle with nuts, peanut butter and bread! I lost 3.5 pounds since yesterday morning. I really seem to have picked up a lot of bloat and water weight on vacation but thankfully it is coming off. I'm watching the calories though, so that I get to my pre-vacation weight range. I have about 3-5 pounds to go. I see the dietitian later today and will have to fess up that I have cheated with the elimination diet. I did at least follow her recommendations for adding additional foods and supplements though. I counted my meds, supplements and vitamins and the total is 21. Insane! All are known by and recommended by my doctor though. Busy day today so I'd better drink my coffee and get started! Good day to all!
 

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