Been following my plan as closely as I can. I did have one day that I had almost 150 carbs, but it was all "legal" foods.
Work has been horribly busy!! It's been good, in that things are going fairly smoothly....but it's been busy. Which does make the day go faster!!
I've been trying to get my house on the market....and man is it a lot of work!! I have closets that haven't been completely cleaned in years!!! We're not going to be doing painting, etc....we're just trying to get everything cleaned up and packed up.
I have brought a ton of clothes and other things down to Salvation Army, and have a bunch more to bring down. I've also thrown out a ton of stuff!!!
A friend and I are now planning a trip for next spring. Not sure of dates yet, but we're going to Rome!! Holly, my friend, has been to Rome twice, but I've never been out of the country....except Canada as a kid and the Bahamas on my honeymoon.
So....here's the story. Holly has a plane ticket for a trip she was supposed to go on this past week. The trip was canceled, but the ticket can't be. It can, however, be changed to another date and destination. So....Holly had a deadline for changing her ticket and the two of us got together and decided we're going to go to Rome, but not until the spring. By then I should have my house sold and all my bills paid off. As soon as all is final with the house, I'm going to apply for a passport, then plan the date of the trip.
I am so excited!!! I've been following Dr Mike's posts about Rome....and boy I can't wait!!!
Speaking of Dr Mike....he's done it again. This time it's a post about inflammation.
I have long believed that the food we eat and many other things cause or increase our levels of inflammation. All the chemicals in "foods" that are a part of our regular diet cannot possibly be good for us. Well, according to Dr Mike, it's the food itself!! Read his post and see if you agree.
On that same vein, I've long believed that it is NOT good for us to spend an hour or more each day doing strenuous exercise. I've also believed that pushing yourself and exercising with pain is not good. The comments on Dr Mike's post agree with this. You know what I'm talking about....the ads on TV showing people "working through the pain" and taking drugs to stop the pain so they can continue to exercise!! Oh yea, that makes sense!!
One of the ways our bodies have to tell us something is wrong is by producing pain. Our bodies can't tap us on the shoulder and say "hey, your left knee is not doing good. It's all inflamed and needs a break". No....our bodies do this by causing pain. Pain should be a sign that you need to stop. And chronic pain means you need to make some serious changes!!
So...if you're finding that your inflammation markers are elevated, check the foods you eat and how you exercise. Stick with whole, natural foods whenever possible and take it easy with the exercise!! And yes, when something hurts take it easy!!
Personally, I'm a fan of resistance training over cardio exercising. Now sure, if you like running or playing basketball or biking, great....but it probably isn't the best thing you can do for fitness!!
I am also a major fan of Krill Oil for inflammation. I started taking this as a result of an article I read, again on Dr Mike's blog, about a study that showed Krill lowered inflammation markers. I have long standing problems with my back and neck, including 3 bad discs and arthritis with bone spurs. I noticed a difference in 48 hours!!
The most remarkable thing with the Krill is that after being on it for less than 3 months I had blood work drawn and almost all of my inflammation markers were within normal limits!! Sed rate was still a tad elevated, but my CRP and other levels were all within normal limits!! I cannot remember when they were last normal. Low carbing brought some down, but Krill seems to have done the rest.
I posted on this in the past, and only heard from one person, but that response was positive. I've told several people in work, but they all think I'm a nut case, so they'll probably not may any attention.
So, if you think it will help, give it a try. And if you do, let me know....and let Dr Mike know!
One caution. If you do decide to try the Krill, make sure it's "Neptune" Krill oil. I buy mine at Vitamin Shoppe and buy the Source Naturals brand. It's not very expensive and well worth every penny!!
I read an article today that will probably not be a surprise to many in the low carb community. It seems that triglyceride levels are more of an indicator of heart disease than it's been believed to be in the medical community. According to this article, it's not the fasting triglyceride level you have to worry about, but the after meal level.
In the past I've read several articles that stated that triglyceride levels are useless as they literally go up and down all day long. The argument was, what good is it to check a fasting level when it's an artificial level. While I can see this....and this article seems to agree....to me the fasting levels shouldn't be thrown out either. Before I discovered low carb my triglycerides were too high to count. At the time I was told that meant they were over 700. Now, if my fasting was over 700, what was it after a meal!!!
The article is a pretty good one, although they never really give any optimal levels, nor do they mention how long after a meal the levels should be checked. And then, at the end, of course they turn to drugs!!
Whatever the testing routine may ultimately turn out to be, dangerously high triglyceride levels require the same corrective measures as high cholesterol levels, McBride said, with close attention to the well-known risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and inactivity.(emphasis is mine)
NO!!!! No! No! NOOOOO!!!
Triglycerides are directly related to carbohydrate intake!!! Lowering fat intake is NOT going to help. Lowering protein intake is NOT going to help, Lowering levels with drugs is NOT going to help!!!
Lowering carbohydrate intake is the BEST way to lower triglycerides. Check out Dr Mercola for information, or Dr Mike, or Dr Vernon. Don't bother looking at the AHA site (or any of their influenced sites like WebMD) . Although the AHA does say to cut back on carbohydrates, they also suggest, of course, a low fat diet.
But, if fat is the cause of elevated triglycerides and not carbs, why do we see a dramatic lowering in people that start a low carb diet? Even those that follow very high fat (60, 70% and more) diets , when it's accompanied by a very low carb (less than 20-40grams/day) diet usually see a fairly rapid and very dramatic lowering of cholesterol levels! If fat is the cause and not carbs, why do people that follow Dr Ornish's diet or the AHA diet often see an increase in their levels??
Following a low carb diet is the best way to lower triglycerides. Following a low carb diet is also the best way to lower blood sugar and insulin levels. Most experts (real and imagined) agree that high triglycerides are often seen in uncontrolled or undiagnosed diabetes.
So lowering blood sugar and blood insulin levels are the way to go. And we all know that the best way to do that isn't with drugs, or with limiting fat, it's by limiting carbohydrates!!
Will the medical industry ever figure it out? When they can make a fortune on drugs and procedures why should they?
You know....I'd like to say I don't care. But I do. I have friends and family members that listen to and believe everything the AHA and ADA has to say. The simple fact that I am a RN with over 30 years experience and have been researching this for over 2 years doesn't matter. It's against what the "experts" (the imagined ones) say!!
Calling all insomniacs!!!! I read a comment on one of Dr Mike's blogs, where a commenter said that since starting vitamin D3 insomnia was a thing of the past. Well, when I read that, my jaw dropped.
I have been an insomniac for as long as I can remember. I can remember being a teenager and lying in bed for hours before falling asleep. Didn't matter how tired I was, I would lie in bed as the rest of the family slept. This continued into adulthood, and there were times that I would only be able to sleep for 3-4 hours a night. Night after night, I'd lie there, trying to sleep and still lying awake.
Several months ago, in March, I started taking vitamin D3. I use Carlson's brand and have been taking 5000 IU each day. About 2 months ago I realized that my insomnia was gone!! Now I've had periods where for several days I'd be able to go right to sleep, but never longer than 2-3 days at a time. And that would be followed by several weeks of insomnia. Now, however, I go to sleep withing minutes of going to bed!! I still have "bad" nights, like last night, but on these nights I lie there for 30-60 minutes before falling asleep. GONE are the nights of lying awake until 2 AM, 3 AM and even later!!
If you too have problems with insomnia, give vitamin D3 a try. If you've also noticed an improvement in your sleeping since starting D3, let me know. I'd love to see a study done, but of course there's no money in supplements. I have been able to find several references that say that insomnia is a side effect of low D3 levels, so maybe this isn't all wishful thinking!!
I've passed this info on to a friend who has as big a problem as I have. I don't know if she will take the D3 or not, but she sure seemed interested. If she takes it and give me a report, I'll post it here. And if anyone else has seen an improvement in their insomnia that is felt to be due to vitamin D3, please post a comment!
OK....I guess that's it for now. Again, thanks for visiting!!
