sorry I've been awol

I apologize to you great folks here, especially Lanie and Jeannie, for being MIA. My life has just been crazy the past couple of months. On top of all the stuff that was happening with a couple of my kids, my mom (love being the sandwich generation ), and a couple of my own health issues (injuries not diseases), my business decided to grow about 30%. I mean, that's a good thing....but it is taking it's toll. I do private in home tutoring which means I spend a great deal of time driving around my county going to people's homes and a business. It used to be that I didn't have to leave the house until about the time the kids got out of school. Now I have a couple of home-schooled kids as well as a business that I go to. I am now leaving the house between 8 and 9 in the morning and not returning home until 8:30 and 9 at night. This happens 3 or 4 days a week. Needless to say, it is wreaking havoc with my eating!!! HELP!!!! I have been eating at fast food places while driving to the next place or sitting in the parking lot and eating. This is horrible. I need all the suggestions I can get so I can get back on the horse. I decided I really need to stay more active on here so I can at least feel some guilt when I screw up. I seriously don't want to undo all the progress I've made...besides, I gave away the clothes that no longer fit and don't want to go buy fat ones again. Please...a good kick in the fanny along with ideas for eating on the go. (I'm thinking, Sandy, you might be a good one for some ideas.) Again, I'm sorry I haven't been around.

Hi Karen,

I'm glad to hear you're okay- I've been wondering where you went

Living on the road has its challenges, that's for sure. There are so many temptations, and so many unhealthy quick fixes that even when I'm feeling on top of things, I have to always be prepared.

I was a home tutor for our local district while I was taking some bridge courses before I started my PhD work and I remember the horrendous time challenges, esp because these parents seemed to put everything ahead of the  home tutor...

Here are some of my 'tricks'- I always travel with a stash of Atkins Advantage shakes. If they are warm- I duck into a quick stop or 7-11 and purchase a glass of water- (the cup and lid and ice). It costs me between 10 and 15 cents- but I just throw the shake onto the ice. Sometimes I throw and extra packet of protein (whey protein- sugar free) into it as well - I also have Atkins AdVantage bars and OhYeah bars (the kit kat type) in my emergency kit.  I go to Mickie D's and buy the Caesar salad without the chicken- eat that and drink a shake (quick meal, filling and on track).

I also purchase Cabot 50% Vermont Cheddar in individually-wrapped packages at Sam's club.  When I can find them, I buy Black Diamond cheddar, Gouda, and Jarlesburg Swiss, Laughing Cow, String cheese, and the like as individuals- and tote them along in my bag.

I used to carry nuts in tiny tuppwerware containers (1 oz), but I started to feel like a squirrel and found myself eating way too many of those little containers in a day- so I confine myself to 1 oz portions of freshly ground almond butter and a bag of baby carrots every once in awhile. I find one of those is plenty- where I could probably eat 6 oz of mixed nuts and still want more.

I always carry Poland Spring water in sport size bottles by the case when I'm driving- and South Beach has these new packets that add protein to your water- I think they call them get-you-through (something along those lines- I'm out of them or I'd give you the exact name). I recently had to do a show- alone- 12-14 hour sessions, and those literally saved my blood sugar- I drank the bottles at regular intervals, even while I was conducting workshops- and I felt great.

Most Subways will now make your sub into a salad- you get the same stuff, just no bread. Some of them carry veggie burgers- so I get one of those + the veggie sub salad- quite tasty and filling.

I go to chinese places with a mongolian bar-b-que and ask for tofu, pick my plate of veggies and have them cook it in low salt soy sauce + oil

At chipotle or other mexican places - I get the Burritos in a salad bowl- no rice, black beans, veggies, quacamole, cheese and sour cream-

At Ruby tuesday- I eat the Salad bar, or veggie burger, no roll, mashed cauliflower instead of fries

At IHOP ( Denny's, Perkins) - I get an omelet with cheese, mushrooms, green peppers- and a salad no potatoes, no pancakes

I can find good stuff to eat anywhere except for Panera- heck, I even ate at the cheesecake factory - Eggwhite omelet with avocado and a side salad- it was so filling I didn't even want to eat a bite of cheesecake. 

Diner type places will always give you a side salad with your meal- one lady recently brought me fresh fruit (berries) and a salad because I told her no homefires and no pancakes or muffins- she gave me the 'nod' and brought out the good stuff- my traveling companion was so jealous- haha. I never said a word about being a diabetic- maybe she saw my medical alert bracelet- it was funny.

I can't remember how restricted with carbs you have to be- I think the Atkins stuff is all 1-3 net carbs and they taste good. And Oh Yeah bars are my 90 calorie/2 net carb life lines so often, they should use me as a company spokesman.

Hope this helps you!

sandy

Karen

I know I've said this before- but if I eat a no carb meal or have a very low carb day, my numbers run 10-15 points higher for the next few days. I've repeated this often enough to convince myself that too few carbs triggers something evil in my body and it goes into Dwn Phenomenon 24/7- the only way to ratchet it down is to go back to my usual number of carbs. I also gain weight on Bernstein- I have plenty of charts that show this correlation too.  I know the weight is just falling off of ceebee, but it doesn't work like that for me. ( I am soooo jealous of ceebee-lol)

That's why I stick to lower carb (60-80 net), 95% slow-acting. And use the link and balance system from the Insulin-Resistance Diet as well.  It works better for me than anything else I've tried.

I recently found out that proteins (the digestion of proteins to amino acids, amino acid supplements do it too) raise the levels of insulin in your body, but they don't raise blood sugar levels, as we all know. I don't need more insulin to make be fatter!

sandy

Hey gelchick:)

Don't be jealous of me, I'd trade places in a second. There is so little food I can eat and it keeps going down. Eating is a chore for me. I can't eat any wheat, fruit or drink any kind of milk or my bg soars. Seems meat,eggs and cheese are just about it. I can eat the Greek style yogurt and thank you for telling me about that:) If I don't eat though my bg goes up. Everyone I know has their bg go down if they don't eat so why does mine go up? I'm going to try those bars and see if I can eat them. I am so sick of eating the same things all the time but if I don't eat something, there goes my bg. Maybe I need different meds or more. I am seeing a new endo in a week because the last one was a real loser. I am eating just what I have to, to keep the bg between 80 and 100 but I am hungry all the time. I don't think I am getting the right nutrients and am starting to feel sick all the time. I'd take 30 pounds just to eat one meal.LOL All my tests turn out good so I think my body just isn't used to being healthy.

Thanks for the reality check ladies!

Just an an FYI- when I don't eat, my bg goes up too- it really is self-preservation by the body. The body can only make glucose from muscle and fat- so your bg is bound to rise.

I do best when I have small 'meals' throughout the day. Those 3 days that I was drinking the South Beach protein stuff in my water- I stayed at 83 the whole time. I thought my meter was broken and double stabbed with a spare a couple of times and got the exact same result.

I hope you both get help from your doctors- if you need insulin- go for it- it's more natural than the orals anyhow.

Have you tried the miracle noodles? not the tofu shirataki, but the miracle noodle made from konjac? No carbs, no calories-just fiber. I have been using the orzo (rice) shape in my soups- fabulous! They come in a ton of different shapes-

Also black soybeans- per 1/2 cup, those babies have just 1 net carb (7 grams of fiber +1 gram of sugar!) and protein (11 grams)- they taste great ( I am not kidding) - I get them at Whole Foods- they come in a can (Eden Organic brand)-with no sodium added (30 mg per portion)- but they do have potassium.  I ate 1/2 a can with some of the orzo and my sugar did not budge at 60, 90, 120, or 180 minutes! They are my new best friend! You should try them- it could be an opportunity to have some variety. And the beans are full of nutrients-magnesium, zinc, iron and the b vitamins. My co-op just ordered them dry for me- I'm getting a 25 # bag- that's how much I love them - even more than lentils ( and lentils are 1 of my food groups-lentils and greek yogurt!)

sandy

 

That sounds great- I have been using them together in my burrito salad- I'm thinking that when I simmer the dry ones- I can add  spices to the cook water to flavor them up too. Mexican, Greek, Cinese- I believe that they'll soak up the flavors just like when I cook edamame, or tofu.

sandy

Thanks for all the food ideas gekchick. I am going to try some of them. What is a slow acting carb? Carbs are different? For the past couple days I have been able to keep my bg at around 90 at the highest. I am still dropping weight. Seems the lower the bg is the more I lose. Is that how it works? I went to the doctor and got all the pred to slowly work down so am kind of scared what it will do to the bg levels. I do not want to wake up too low as I am here alone then. Being low scares me more than being high. I am also on two antibiotics right now for a UTI and a sinus infection so have to work hard to keep the bg low. Thanks again:)