Welcome Lisa, you've come to the right place! Great start with your goals!

Ama

Hope - You totally rock for sure! What a great plan. Cocoa almonds sound really yummy... and I get the smoked salmon, not weird at all, I love it too!

Ama

Goals

- Limit 2 slices of bread/day. 0, 2, 1 (so far)
- Get to the gym 2x this week. N, N
- H2O, lots of H2O. Y, Y
- Cook 5 healthy dinners (no eating out until the weekend). Y, Y
- Bring lunch to work 3 out of 4 work days this week. N, Y, Y
- Work 32 hrs minimum this week. 7.3, 7.4

Pre-plan for Wednesday

Coffee x 2
1 egg
1 toast with a little margarine
Grapefruit - little bit of sugar
Oatmeal with little light soy milk
Leftover potato salad and brussel sprouts for lunch
DH wants to go out... not sure what to pre-plan but will try to avoid anything deep fried, or that includes ranch-like dressing...

:D Ama

Hi Cassie - Great, so glad it is helping!!! Thanks for saying so. I sure have to be diligent to rise to my own challenge... I actually put a meeting notice in my Outlook calendar so I won't forget to post my pre-plan each day... :). I had thought about posting the deviations as well, as there are more than there should be. Last night I substituted chicken for pork chops, and added a home-made potato salad. But overall I am sticking with the plan. :D

Ama

Haven't had time to go grocery shopping yet so we are using up what is in the fridge.

On Sun my brother and sister-in-law didn't have time to make lunch so he took me along to Harvey's for take-out for everyone. Just looked up nutritional value and it has 980mg sodium for a plain hamburger--that's almost my daily allotment. They both know that I'm supposed to reduce my sodium content because of my kidney's. How do I politely tell them that convenience food is a no/no?

Jenn

Don't be polite! Just tell `em: "What are your guys trying to do, kill me? Does somebody have an insurance policy out on me?" JK! LOL. There's gotta be a way to say beforehand: I'm watching my sodium so convenience food is bad for me; is there a different choice we can all agree on?"

Yeah it's scary how much sodium they put in food.

Ama, thanks for your kind words and support. You look like you're doing really well.

I put the difference in my plan and my actual at the end of the day just to keep myself "honest." I am also, I admit, a bit anal.

But thanks for suggesting we post our plans; that helps me be more mindful and to stick to it.

Have limited time on the computer right now as I have to leave to pick up my granddaughter from school.

Lisa, welcome. :)

Jenn, glad your doc appointment went well. Hope you can get your A1C down under 7% next time. I know from experience it isn't easy, but I'll bet you can do it. :)

My meeting with the dietitian did not go as I had hoped. At this moment I am not a happy camper and haven't decided what to do with the advice I've been given. There were a couple times I got teary eyed in frustration. The dietitian was preaching (in a nice way, not condescending) carb intake totally contrary to my convictions for the past 10 years. Her assessment of my dilemma is that restricting my carb intake to 25g per day to maintain normal blood sugar (down from pre-diabetic) is shutting down my metabolism and that's why I can't lower my triglycerides or achieve the weight loss I need. She wants me to compromise with her recommendation of 45g carbs per meal and eat a minimum of 20-30 carbs per MEAL and 15g each for two snacks --in total almost quadruple my normal carb intake in order to speed up my metabolism. AND THEN if my now normal blood sugar gets out of control, to accept a prescription from the doc for insulin and start using a home blood glucose meter. In the end she suggested I get a referral from my doc to a dietitian at a local hospital. I had thought THIS dietitian was employed by my doctor or by my health network--turns out she is not employed by my doctor or by my health network, but by a pharmaceutical company that provides insulin and other blood sugar meds, testing supplies, meters, etc. I MAY followup with the hospital dietitian--or may not.

Mern, that is the plan that I follow BUT I also have to take into account I am on low protein diet as well. I am not a snacker so the dietician said that might not work for me (eating 5x a day).

I can see why you would be frustrated. The dietician I went to when I found out I had too much protein in kidneys was condescending too. All she said was what I COULDN'T eat--not at all helpful. I think you know what is right for you. If your blood sugar is normal now I would be concerned eating more carbs.

Jenn

mern, that is what my nutritionist said along with all the other diabetic and healthy diet information said out there that i could find. before i fell off track a couple months ago i was eating about 185g carbs/day (45/meal, 15/snack, 3x each/day) and i lost 50 lbs within 6 months as well as got my A1C to a 5.5 (i'm on metformin, but no insulin). i'm not saying because it worked for me it will work for everyone, but maybe just give it a try with an open mind for 3 or so months and see what happens. you could always go back to what you've been doing if you don't get the results you want. just my thoughts for you to consider.
~lisa