Fat 58 and diabetic, at least things can only get better

[Arum Lilly]

Hi jody, im reading the teen diary book, its hilarious and apparently totally true, its called My Fat Mad Teenage Diary by Rae Earl, and is based on her own teen diaries from the late 80's

Im doing this intermittent fasting diet thing due to the BBC Horizon program about fasting, so it a bit experimental for me. On the whole its working for me, but my glucose reading this morning was a bit odd. Ill have to see what its like tomorrow morning.

Today I have had the meal replacement shake and a salad this evening. We then went out for a walk for about an hour and half, ended up in a local bar for a couple of drinks before coming back home. I had a fizzy water and a black coffee.

 

[Arum Lilly]

weight this morning 97.3 blood glucose 7.8, so both are on their way down again.

This is the problem with weighing daily, weight isn't static or downward only, there are all sorts of variations. So im going to put the scales away and just weigh on Mondays. Ill just do my blood glucose daily because I need to keep a daily check on that. Although I don't want to take the Gliclazide, I may well have to if I don't see a significant downturn in the numbers.

Today is pretty hot here, 31c locally but feels hotter. we do have a good breeze though to cool it down a bit. Ive been in the pool a few times today but we have just got back to the villa to have a snooze before we go out this evening.

I finished the teen diary book, it was very funny, but very poignant, an overweight 17 year struggling with issues of boyfriends or lack of, skinny friends, overeating, and the whole general issues surrounding other peoples attitudes to weight issues. I hope there will be a follow up to it, because I had a lot of sympathy and empathy for Rae.

 

[Arum Lilly]

ok I didn't put the scales away and I cannot stop myself in anycase. This morning my weight has dropped to 96.6! and blood glucose at 6.9. Last night we had indian as well, although I was careful about what I had, prawn cocktail without the sauce and tandoori chicken with a salad, and of course a glass of wine. We walked down and back again, a walk that takes an hour or so all told. downhill on the way down, uphill on the way back but i think the wine had numbed the pain of that lol.

Tomorrow we are going to Puerto De La Cruz for a couple of days, staying is a beautiful old hotel right in the centre of the town. We will be visiting the lago Martiniaz which is a fantastic lido with the biggest seawater pool you have ever seen.

Today has been a fasting day. Im getting better at the fasting days, feel less weak on them although late afternoon is still a difficult time. Tomorrow evening hopefully, if we can get a table we will be eating at the Casa Pache, which is a really odd little 'restaurant' down a side street that we found by accident last year. Its basically 3 or 4 tables outside someones house, and they just do a few local canarian dishes. Its basic honest to goodness home cooking, very cheap and very delicious. They do a good salad too!

We went for a good walk tonight and now im ready to fall into bed

 

[traveljody]

I hope you have a great time in PDLC! The restaurant sounds fab, there is nothing as good as a really authentic meal, not all this chain rubbish that anyone who can use a cooker could make! What are the local Canarian dishes out of interest?

Good news on the weight and blood glucose too

 

[Arum Lilly]

It was a year ago when we last was there so I cant remember the exact dishes, but one was a salt cod dish I remember as someone was raving over it, but by the time we got a table they had sold out of it. Ill make a note of whats on the menu this time and report back! I do remember that I had a salad there last year and it was the most delicious thing. We had some wonderful home made tapas as a starter, I remember the croqettas (sp), ultra creamy little balls flavoured with cured ham, breadcrumbed and deep fried. I don't think ill be having any of those this time lol, too carby and calorific.

 

[Arum Lilly]

Yesterday morning blood glucose was 6.2, this morning was 6.9. We are in puerto de la cruz for couple of days now , I drank rather a lot of Red wine last night and woke up around 2.30am with a stinking rotten headache or should I say hangover . Fortunately I had paracetamol but found it hard to get back to sleep so today I'm feeling a bit wrecked. We went to the lago matianez yesterday and today and I was swimming all the time I was there, so that's at least 2 hours each day, plus we have walked everywhere! My calves are killing me.

The restaurant that I particularly wanted to go to now closes on wednesday so hopefully we will get in there tonight. I had cooked breakfast this morning! That's very naughty but I mainly had the grilled tomatoes on toast and a fried egg and a bit if fruit. I think the best tomatoes in the world are grown here in the canary isles because they were just heavenly. Still at least breakfast has filled me up, it's now 3.30pm and I'm still full even though I swam for 2 hours today

I'm going to take my legs around town now for another walk and hopefully my calves will ease a bit.

 

[traveljody]

Sounds like you are certainly working off all the food! Is it still nice there? Am guessing so if you are swimming so much, it's so hot here but I'm sure it is supposed to start raining this weekend. I used to do some breakfast waitressing when I was in my late teens, and after the early shift we were able to eat whatever we wanted and I used to have a full English and then wouldn't need to eat again until dinner, I lost loads of weight! Might have to try that again

 

[Arum Lilly]

Weight back up to 97.0 and blood glucose at 7.0 this morning. Ah well, back to normal now. Puerto was lovely, we had a really lovely time there. I got to eat at my favourite restaurant and we did go a bit overboard! I should have stuck to the salad lol, but anyway we had a good time. Thinking of going back for a one nighter later in the month when the family come to visit.

Today is sunny and warm, should reach 30 this afternoon, so I see a lazy day by the pool coming up. Its pretty quiet round the pool now that the families with children have gone back. I think September is the very best time to be here, hot weather no kids, its bliss.

PM update. We have just got back from the local fiesta in Los Abrigos. It was a wonderful evening, I love this fiesta with its saints and blessing the sea, and then the fantastic fireworks after. Today has been an eating day and we had a meal out this evening. I had a spicy dry Caribbean chicken with salad and 1 glass of wine, then I stuck to fizzy water for the rest of the evening, I had the usual half a baguette as prepared by hubby for lunch and I ate some melon for breakfast, so all in all not too bad a day really. Tomorrow is a much needed fasting day!

 

[Arum Lilly]

Woohoo!! weight 95.7 this morning, and its my official weigh in day! that's from 97.3 last Monday so a loss of 1.6kg! also BG was down to 6.4 this morning too. That has now put me over 6kg loss so time for my next kiva loan. This time I have sent a $25 loan to Maricel in the Philipines who needs to buy stock for her market stall to sell.

I knew yesterday that my weight was dropping as 2 pairs of shorts that would not go on when I got here, will now do up and are pretty much wearable, and the other 4 pairs I have are now quite baggy on me, also the long skirt that was too tight is now wearable.

 

[lisa32]

Arum lilly, you are doing great and sticking at it is certainly pay off well done x

 

[Arum Lilly]

Sounds like you are certainly working off all the food! Is it still nice there? Am guessing so if you are swimming so much, it's so hot here but I'm sure it is supposed to start raining this weekend. I used to do some breakfast waitressing when I was in my late teens, and after the early shift we were able to eat whatever we wanted and I used to have a full English and then wouldn't need to eat again until dinner, I lost loads of weight! Might have to try that again

The weather is good, very sunny and hot, but windy which keeps you cool, but sometimes drives me nuts with my hair blowing in my face all the time! I love a cooked breakfast and it can really set you up for the day especially if you avoid the carby bread and just stick to the good old egg bacon and so on. Its a great way to start the day on a low carb diet, which is kind of what im aiming for eventually to maintain.

We have friends arriving tomorrow, so ive been out today and shopped for them so they have some supplies in. Im guessing we will end up going out for a meal with them tomorrow night, but Tuesday is my fasting day so im going to be very strong willed and just have the plainest salad I can get and no bread, and no wine either. Today however is an eating day, so we are off out this evening into Los Cristianos to The House restaurant. We went there a week or so ago and I had a wonderful salad with chicken prawns and bacon, but tonight I may try one of their other salads.

I bought melon from the local supermarket a couple days ago, Sapo de Piel, omg its so good. I have a slice for breakfast with one paper thin slice of Serrano ham, its heavenly. The fruit here is wonderful and I am gradually eating a bit more as the days go by. Im being cautious because obviously I need my blood glucose to come down, but its still on a downward trend so im starting to relax a little as far as fruit goes. There are wonderful peaches called paraguaya, which we know as donut peaches. They are sweet and delicious, I usually eat one of those a day as well. The only other fruit ive eaten is some Fuji apple, which I chop up into the salad mix I make for fasting days, but today I did buy a pineapple, the smell from it was intense so I may start having a bit of that as well each day.

I love the fruit and veg here, the colours of the salad stuff is so vivid and it looks so appetising, the only thing I havnt liked which I do normally eat at home is celery, normally I love celery but the ones they have here have a very intense almost aniseedy flavour to it and it overpowers everything else, so ive given up on that.

In the supermarket today I found a bargain in the frozen fish, they are white fish fillets, although the packaging does not say which type of fish, but looks like a sole. 5 really good size fillets in the pack for less than €3, each fillet will be about 130 calories as are they are skinless, so I can have one of those on my fasting days with salad. If we don't end up eating out tomorrow then I will have one of those.

 

[Arum Lilly]

Arum lilly, you are doing great and sticking at it is certainly pay off well done x

Thanks Lisa! it really is starting to pay off now, less than a month and ive already lost just over a stone. Given that im on an extended holiday as well, im really really happy with that result!

 

[traveljody]

Wow! Well done Al, a stone in a month is epic, I couldn't do that if I tried, let alone whilst away from home!

I need to get into skinless fish, I like fish but it needs either batter or breadcrumbs or some sugary sauce . I had fishcake tonight but it taste odd and I spat the last mouthful out - very unladylike! I absolutely love that melon too, I think it's named the other way around here - Piel De Sapo, get it in Tesco, ever so sweet and always juicy. I am now drooling over serrano ham...I am due a cheat meal soon . Hope tomorrow is another great day.

 

[Arum Lilly]

Oh good result this morning! weight 94.8 which converts to 14.13, so im under 15st now! BG at 5.7 which is finally a normal blood glucose reading!. This also means ive now lost over 7kg, so time for my 7kg loss kiva loan which goes to Dinara in El Salvador who needs to buy roofing panels to repair her roof.

Our friends arrived yesterday, they were really tired out as they slept little the night before and had to leave at 5am for the airport, so we stayed on site here and ate at the onsite restaurant. Its the first time this stay that we have eaten there and I was really surprised at how good the food was and how cheap it was. Its just unfortunate that the people who run it have zero personality and barely speak to anyone, which is why we have avoided it so far. It was a fasting day for me, so I just had a fairly plain salad and a bottle of fizzy water, but that cost just €6.50 for mine so is really good value compared to other local restaurants.

 

[Arum Lilly]

Weight this morning is down to 94.3, and BG at 5.7. BG has been under 7 for 6 days in a row now, and hopefully from now it will remain under 7. I would like to see it in the 5's every day of course as that would be perfect but as long as it stays in the 6's or less its not doing any further damage to me.

Also ive now lost over 8kg so this morning ive done my 8th kiva loan to Paulo in Mozambique, a 56 father of 9 who is trying to complete the building on his house. He needed a total of $350 to buy cement sand and blocks so my $25 loan has completed that loan for him.

Weather here has been hot this week, we had one cloudy overcast day which meant that I could go for a really good walk in the day time, but mostly I walk in the evenings and swim in the day. I do feel that the extra exercise is beginning to pay off now, firstly in the lower BG but also Im starting to feel my stamina increase. At home in the Uk I was tired all the time, mainly I guess because my diabetes was totally out of control, but I had no stamina in anycase. It would knock me out to walk up the road, now its doable for me to walk about 3 miles every day, and half of that uphill! This may not seem like a lot to someone who goes to the gym regularly but to me its big progress!

My daughter and granddaughter will be joining us next Thursday, so that's very exciting! then the week after that the rest of the family will be coming out for a fortnight. Its going to be a challenge to keep to my diet plan when they are here as we mostly eat in in the evenings as there are too many of us to eat out, and its me that's in charge of the kitchen! I will do it though, hubby will help me through the fasting days and I should be able to cope ok with the eating days without going overboard.

 

[traveljody]

Well done on losing even more weight! You really are trucking on, about 25% through according to your ticker, you must be very pleased!

I know what you mean about stamina, I now get what I call 'muscle tired' when I work out, rather than wheezy, it's amazing how quickly your fitness can improve.

 

[Arum Lilly]

Oh wow, yes! I hadn't realised that! in just a month I have lost 25% of the total weight I need to lose. That's amazing!

 

[Arum Lilly]

Official weigh in day, I am at 93.3, that's 2.4kg less than last Monday! wonderful! Not so great is BG at 8!! oh god how did that happen? and it was a fasting day yesterday as well.

Anyway, im now over 9kg lost so I have done my 9th kiva loan this morning to a womans group in Sierra Leone.

 

[Arum Lilly]

Monday 23rd September

Its now 7 weeks since starting my diet, and today my weight is 93kg exactly, or 14st 9lb. I started at 102.5kg or 16st 2lb, so that's 21lb lost. Its made a massive difference too, im down 2 sizes from 22 to an easy 18, and I cant stop looking at myself in the mirror lol as I look so different than I did a few weeks ago. I have to keep this in perspective, I still have at least 3st or more to lose and im not exactly skinny at a size 18 but I can look at myself side on in a mirror without hating what I see.

This weeks overall loss is only .3 of a kilo from last Monday, so about 1lb not a great amount really but im happy with the result. Anything less than the previous week is good, and particularly so given my current circumstance. My BG is a slightly different story. Majorly better than it was at the start when I was getting so frustrated seeing results in the 9's most days. Now im getting results than are in the 6's or 7's mostly. My lowest Bg in the past week was 6.1 and the highest was 8.4 the morning after we had a BBQ and a chocolate dessert. Today it is 7.6 and yesterday was a fasting day! Sometimes it makes no sense at all.

Today the rest of the family are joining us for 2 weeks, and most of the time we will be eating at the villa. BBQ's I guess will be the order of the day and this should be ok as long as I don't go mad again. I think though its going to be very difficult to maintain the intermittent fasting over the next 2 weeks, so Im going to change plan a little. My plan will be 2 meal replacements a day and eat some of what I cook in the evening with salad. And a glass of wine of course!

We had a very hot day yesterday, and very little wind, it was perfect for just lazing and swimming and it looks as if today will be the same, but today I have to go shopping and prepare for the onslaught when the family arrive at around 5.30pm. I cant wait!

 

[traveljody]

Hi AL, just wondering how things are as I can see you haven't logged in for a while.

21lbs in 7 weeks is really amazing, if I could have done the same I would be almost halfway to my target!