The Journey

Small meals, and lots of 'em. Keep the tank maybe 1/4 - 3/4 full at any given time. That tends to keep the blood sugar happy, and you binge less. Serious fiber, too, which also means serious water intake. And you might want to get yourself a pedometer. It's kinda neat to see the steps add up.

Pulling for you!

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@Green Witch,

I will read your journals as Im in a similar medical condition. Ive been on Anticoagulants as a result of Atrial fib and BP issues. I like your studied approach aqnd I hope you are on a close self monotoring program.
Im on a ton of BP meds and I worked with a new cardiologist to begin weaning myself off some of them mostly because they have terrible side effects.
Where are you going to present your journal?

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@Green Witch,

I believe David Mendosa agrees with you. I follow his writing somewhat casually, and believe him to be honest and well informed. Anyway, he doesn't sell anything.

He writes health articles on anything that might pertain to diabetes in even the remotest sense. I doubt anyone has time to chase down all his articles and links, but here's a start.

http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/73865/inflammation-root

Quote:

Sunday, June 07, 2009

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More and more research pinpoints inflammation as a root cause of type 2 diabetes. Being overweight makes it harder for us to control our diabetes, but that can't be what causes it. Since a lot more people are overweight or obese than have diabetes, weight alone can't lead to diabetes.

No one ever demonstrated that obesity causes diabetes or even insulin resistance. In my most recent book, Losing Weight with Your Diabetes Medication, I speculated that essentially it might be the other way around: That what makes so many of us overweight could be insulin resistance or impaired beta cells.

Type 2 diabetes generally results from the combination of impaired beta cell function and insulin resistance acting on susceptible genes. Why then is there such a large overlap between being heavy and type 2 diabetes?

You might find something of use, or not even bother. There's no limit to articles on the internet

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Wow! I'm overwhelmed! Thank you all.

I've always been Susie-granola and have tried to eat well and take care of myself. Things slid, and then for various reasons they just kept sliding. I had moderately high cholesterol for ages but it was never deemed to be a problem because my HDL/LDL ratios were great and I was in good overall health. The day I was prescribed the meds was the day I decided that I needed to make some lifestyle changes so I could come back off them. I'm about a year off schedule but I'm ready to give it another go.

I'll tackle the food/diet/weight aspects first. They may be more difficult than I imagine but, if motivation has anything to do with outcomes then I'll make it to my goal. I'll also ask the doctor about weaning off of the Plavix in Oct vs jumping straight to the baby aspirin and then, eventually, weaning off or stopping the statin. I have no idea how she'll react. She wasn't too concerned about my bp med choice - in fact, she didn't even check my blood pressure Rolling Eyes

Fortunately, I have a monitor here and can check it myself. She'll have to be more on board for checking my cholesterol and the aspirin decision.

Soz - great, I'm trying to get in a 30 min walk daily. We'll keep each other posted.

Again, thank you all so much. You really have no idea...

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@farmerman,

Right here, farmerman. I'll post updates to this thread as I go along.

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@roger,

Very interesting! The Chilton pyramid is very close to what I'm following with the exception of fruits, seeds and nuts during the weight loss portion - they get added back in slowly once I reach my target weight. I thought eliminating fruit would kill me, which is why I waited until late summer to start the plan, but it wasn't difficult at all.

http://docs.google.com/File?id=dfjpm8t4_8126bqvt9dd_b

Quote:

I think she's also correct to write that even whole grains and fruits are mildly to moderately inflammatory. You probably won't be surprised that sugary, fatty, and junk food are inflammatory as are many vegetable oils (but not olive oil).

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@Green Witch,

Right, that was in the eighties article, with the additional info that a lot/most or all of the meat they ate was raw. Then there was some bit about that raw meat has (thymine?) in it, which cooking (shuts down). Thymine did something good I don't remember. Seems that recently homocystine has taken that role. Don't believe me, of course, as that article was twenty years ago and there's a lot out there since. I also remember some going on about the role of platelets in plaque formation. I suppose I should look all this up instead of blathering...
Mainly I'm commenting on a comment of mine that was a tangent in the first place. (bad!!)

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@ossobuco,

No worries, osso. This is a thread about a journey towards better health. Anything that pertains to healthier living is welcome.

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@JPB,

Oh, good.

I'm going to look up Roger's link that makes immediate sense re chicken and egg. I think I've read similar.

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@JPB,

A year behind you and tackling concerns as well. I admire your ability to organize your thoughts as you have. I'll be by to see how the journal's going - I'm very interested in the results.

Go J GO!

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Yep!

I have the same issues - following along here!

Go, J.....

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@JPB,

Best of luck to you, JPB. The Chilton Food Pyramid is similar to "The Formula" which the Mr and I followed last year (and both lost over 25 pounds). I have gained a few this summer thanks to too much bread but have dug out the book for another try. It was recommended to us after the Mr's blood sugar got too high and his doctor was worried about pre-diabetes. The weight loss and diet solved that problem. I'll be watching this thread with interest.

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@JPB,

Good on you, JPB!

I am enormously impressed with with your decision to improve your health & your life.

I will be watching your progress closely & cheering you on. Smile

And if I could be so presumptuous as to say...
Sharing the load seems an excellent idea.
Yes, you are a very strong person (obviously) but you are carrying too much worry & responsibility ... or so it seems to me. You can tell me I'm wrong. That's OK.

But it would be good if you were not quite so strong & stoic.
Others can share the worries.
Let them do it.

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@JPB,

Forgive me, but I think of Alex Chilton when you say Chilton pyramid.

1 Reply

@jespah,

The Boxtops! I remember them.

So... what have I learned in the first week? First, I don't want to die or wallow away for the rest of my days. Second, it didn't kill me to give up eating fruits/grains/fats. Nor did it kill me to reach out and ask for support Very Happy

Thank you all very much!

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@JPB,

Go go go!!!

(By the way, minor adjustment to my previous post -- when I say I'll get to the gym this week [Monday-Friday] I mean that I'll get to the gym at some point this week, between Monday and Friday. Not every day, Monday-Friday.)

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@sozobe,

gotcha, I figured that's what you meant.

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@JPB,

Go goil! I mean woman!

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AHA! I've been doing research and gathering up info/ammo to take to the doc re switching from Plavix to aspirin. I need to look at the individual studies in the references, but I found this for comparing Plavix (clopidogrel) vs aspirin.

Quote:

Stroke

For patients who have had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack, several trials have compared aspirin or clopidogrel alone with an aspirin-clopidogrel or aspirin-dipyridamole combination.7,11-14

In patients with ischemic stroke or TIA within the prior 3 months, the evidence favors clopidogrel or aspirin-dipyridamole. Use aspirin for most patients with a more remote history of stroke.

1 Reply

@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

(By the way, minor adjustment to my previous post -- when I say I'll get to the gym this week [Monday-Friday] I mean that I'll get to the gym at some point this week, between Monday and Friday. Not every day, Monday-Friday.)

NO! NO! NO! I read it as every day - so that's what I expect of you!

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