CrystalJo74's Journal, 14 Mar 23

Make small changes and be consistent. You can do it! 

You’ve lost close to 60 pounds! That’s something to be proud of! You got this. You already know consistency is key. Everyone has days they eat higher calories. Tomorrow is a new day to try again. Hang in there!  

Shamrocks grow beautifully outside wild. They spread easily too. My grandmother started all her inside shamrock plants from wild ones outside. She had them all over. They take very little care and if you are lucky, will get to see the flowers bloom - which is a sign of good luck! 

Hang in there, CrystalJo! Keep putting in the work and you’ll overcome this. 

Many of the foods we eat are highly inflammatory. I have had mild arthritis since I was little, but it has grown increasingly worse over the last 5 years. It has gotten so bad that I think I will need a hip replacement in a few years. Recently I have changed to pasture raised eggs as they have a much higher omega 3 to omega 6 profile and have started eating Carnivore in the hopes of eliminating some of those inflammatory foods. I really want to put off joint replacements as long as possible as they say the replacement only lasts roughly 10 years. 

For a while now, I’ve been doing Classical Stretch: By Essentrics (Miranda Esmond-White. It has helped me so much and I feel less stiff. I tape her shows on public tv, but she has dvd’s too. 

I come at everything from teh position of a diabetic, but I'm a diabetic because I ate all of the carbs.... Carbs make you hungry. Fat doesn't. I'm seeing high carbs in your diet calendar, even when your daily calories are low. Saw a doco a few weeks ago about how fruit appears in late summer/autumn, and your body's response is to become insulin resistant, store it all as fat, slow the metabolism (stop the release of fat via insulin), and make you ravenously hungry so that you will eat as much as you can and survive the winter. It makes so much sense to me! So anyway, I've decided to be in springtime now. I'm eating green vege, lettuce, cucumber, anything leafy. I'm eating all of the fat. All of it. Fat doesn't trigger insulin. Protein - I'm eating all of that too. I'm not hungry. I have managed to convince myself that cucumber is better than oranges (good at lying to myself), and I've sold out and bought atkins crispbreads for my salmon and cream cheese, and keto wraps for my chicken, cheese, salad and satay sauce wraps. If you're losing oomph, maybe watch some youtubes on keto, or dieting, or (my favourite, as a diabetic, guaranteed 100% motivational) videos of diabetics having their whopping great diabetic sores debrided. :D Sorry! I'm terrible. But I do love me a good debriding video. I come away, grateful for all of my toes, convinced I will keep my sugars low and retain all ten tootsies another year.... 

CrystalJo, remind yourself that you've done this before, so you can do this again. I've so admired your journey and all the work you've put in. You were up against a lot and still did it. I'm rooting for you and am so happy to have you as a FS friend 🤗😘💕 

And Bubbles...keto is not the answer to everything. I lost without being hungry on plenty of carbs.  

Crystal, I have a potted Shamrock I've had for multiple St.Patty's Days, too 💚🍀 I started some with bulbs outside last Summer. You have been successful with your weight loss before....you know what to do! Sounds like you need to come up with an alternative diversion when you're craving a cigarette. Maybe a sugar free mint, cup of tea, walk around your yard...get creative. We're all here to support you ❤️  

I know what you mean about your weight! I keep climbing upwards..it's not good but the pain from my knee was so bad I had no motivation to exercise. That alone is a telling sign of how bad it was. I know we can both do this...things have got to get better!💜💜💜🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 

CrystalJo, you CAN do this! Two things I've learned about myself that might help: 1. When I eat processed sugar I crave sugar, when I avoid it, the craving goes away. 2. When I'm doing something with my hands, I can't eat. So, I've taken up coloring, I find it calming and creative and distracting. Jigsaw puzzles also. As far as what I eat, I have no forbidden foods, but I try to eat a lot of fresh, unprocessed fruit, vegetables, meat poultry, seafood. I eat starchy vegetables, rice and pasta, but in moderation. I have lost over 80 pounds eating lots of carbs every day. My a1c has dropped from 6.1 to 4.8. I don't know if any ofvthis information is of any use to you, but just one more thing. I believe in you and I know that you are a strong woman and you can do this.  

danag1223🌞Such kindness in your comments. Blessings to you💙 

WifeMamaNurse🙋‍♀️ Making those small changes and hell-bent on the consistency!! Thanks for your encouragement💙 

StormsGirl😊 Yes, I HAVE lost a lot of weight since I started this journey and I thank you so much for reminding me about that! I wear smaller sizes now, I can walk unassisted, and it happened by being doggedly consistent for months on end!! I was doing ok with the 'maintenance' phase until I quit smoking too....but it's been over 3 months now and I'm ready to review my posts that I've shared in the past and get back to being successful again. Bless you for your kind words💙 

calpaintn☘☘☘ My indoor shamrock blooms about once a month! With THAT kind of luck, I should be able to master these doggone cravings!! I'll do a google search about shamrocks to see if they like shade/sun/etc and start spreading these seeds in a couple of weeks. It actually froze overnight here so it's a teensy bit too soon. Thanks for your comments and encouragement!💙 

moko13🌷 'Keep putting in the work'...yup! That's the 🔑!! 

nancilynhill🌸 Thanks! Think I'll make my next post about anti-inflammatory eating😊 

I would like the post on anti-inflammatory eating! That is beneficial and sometimes we need the reminders!  

Tim🚴🏻‍♀️ I appreciate your analogy and your gentlest of nudges back onto the road🤗