Family and Life Updates

[boltnrun]

27 minutes ago, Batya33 said:

I know! I never said you did!  I think you handled it so well.  I was trying to be supportive. I've been to restaurants and homes where someone is on a new diet or newly vegan or really into being vegan and interjects comments that are negative or critical about what people are eating.  I know you didn't do that.

OK, it seemed like you thought I said something critical directly to him based on this:

4 hours ago, Batya33 said:

And of course the guest should keep his/her mouth shut about comments about the food if they are critical.

I can see this was a misunderstanding on my part.  Sorry about that.

I have needled him when he's cooking for himself (not for me) when I rented a room in his home.  He makes a massive slab of meat in his slow cooker, cooks white rice in his rice cooker, then puts a huge portion of the meat on top of the rice and covers it all with cheese and sour cream.  He starts with an iceberg lettuce salad absolutely drowning in bleu cheese dressing and croutons.  I told him his meals are a heart attack on a plate.  And he said he works out so he can eat like that.  And I told him it doesn't work that way!  I care about him and don't want to see him having cardiac issues.  But he thinks since he is slim that means he's healthy.  One of the sickest people I know is very slim but it's because she has Crohn's disease (poor thing 😞 )  He has changed his eating habits a bit but still loves his butter and cheese and red meat.  I mean, don't we all but if I want to live I had to make changes. I hope he does too because I'm sick and tired of losing people I love.  I swear, the next one needs to be me because I don't want to go through that ever again.

And...this took a dark turn!

I'm meeting the kids for brunch today (ironically another meal!).  I ate some Weetabix so I'm not really hungry.  So I'll have some iced tea and maybe a sandwich or an app or something else small.

[mylolita]

Sorry to chime in randomly here like 🤫🥴🥴 “helloooo!” but, I forgot it was ThanksGiving for our American cousins across the pond!!! 
 

My husband had to deliver something “in time for Thanksgiving dinner” to a lady who used to live in New York, but is now in Kensington, London! 
 

Is Thanksgiving as big and important as Christmas? Sorry to be ignorant! It always seems a really cool time, especially how it is portrayed in ‘Friends’ 🤣

 

x

[mylolita]

And, I am sorry Bolt you have these worries and commend you with your efforts to be healthy! 
 

My husband has diabetes running on his side of the family - his mothers side. His Mum, my mother in law, was actually diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 6 years ago but managed (to everyone’s amazement!) to do a 180 on her lifestyle! She lost a couple of stone, took up light exercised and managed within a year to reverse the illness. She came off all medication and the doctor has told her she is no longer diabetic. I have great respect for how hard this must have been for her, as she kept all the weight off and has eaten well for years after since. I think it was a big wake up call and, I know she was also a secret smoker, and it made her quit (or, mostly quit, I still think she has the odd cheeky cigarette when she walks her dog!) 

 

Anyway, it can be done! My husbands uncle is also type 2 diabetic and he has been trying but he isn’t as steadfast as his sister; and the booze is a massive vice for him, along with all the amazing naughty food! 
 

Health is wealth. Corny, but true. Whenever I find myself wanting to complain, I have to remind myself that everyone is healthy and well and to basically shut up! 🤪 Works half the time - ha! 
 

But health is so important. I think we probably only realise this until it’s threatened or depleted. 
 

You’re doing well! 
 

I recently did 5 days zero sugar, which sounds nothing but, for someone like me, is an insane feat, as I’m the girl who will have a chocolate bar instead of a proper meal! By day 3 I was hardly craving it anymore and day 5 I went to a Birthday party and there was cake there and I didn’t even want it, it made me feel ill to look at it and think I would have eaten it! Then a friend said “stop being weird!” and I felt rude. I took a bite and it tasted horrible, sickly! I broke it the day after; then went back to no sugar for the next few days. Ever since I have hardly been craving anything sweet. I don’t expect to live like this realistically, but it’s interesting how your taste buds change and get used to pretty over the top stuff if you eat it enough! 
 

x

[Batya33]

I’m sorry that’s why I wrote “guest” as in a generic guest. I know you wouldn’t ever criticize. Because I work out so much and move so much and am not pre diabetic I am more lenient in certain respects. BUT I eat very small portions especially of the “bad “ stuff. I have a small appetite. I feel very satisfied with extremely small amounts of bad stuff. Also I drink nothing but plain water , a little bit no sweetener sparkling water and two cups of coffee or less per day with some low-fat milk no sweeteners. Gave up all diet soda years ago. Haven’t had any alcohol in years. If I went out for dinner maybe yes I’d have a half glass of wine.  So yes for me personally I have successfully balanced out the bad stuff. I can’t imagine eating a whole slab of meat plus sides meaning the entree size portion of meat or more. Let alone with any kind of rich sauce. I’d feel sick.  I do think a big issue is portion size. And for sure some people can’t eat any amount of certain foods.
But putting aside that I think a plate made up of mostly fruits/veggies /whole grains and then a small amount of a protein and seasoning and normal amounts of condiments that are low fat and sparingly on like the butter and Mayo is a good first step. But who knows. It’s not my area of expertise just what I’ve seen is effective. 

[boltnrun]

I absolutely do not eat the way my brother does.  Never did.  But what's interesting is, obviously we grew up in the same home.  We were taught that meat is expensive and therefore to be valued and desired.  I remember telling our mother I was full and she'd say "at least finish your meat".  Her grandparents went through the Great Depression so they taught their children that meat is valuable and that belief trickled down.  My brother still believes this.  He also believes meat is "healthy".  Protein! As much red meat protein as you can get down!  And I...don't feel that way.  I like a good steak now and then and there's nothing like a well made bar burger, but I don't want a giant hunk of meat covered with fat and more fat.  Ick.  I shudder to think what his colon looks like. 

My diet consists of fish, seafood, chicken and vegetables.  Preferably green leafy vegetables or asparagus, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, that kind of thing.  But I definitely was going overboard with the sweet pastries and ice cream.  I love me a good sweet pastry and there are a number of excellent small bakeries in my neighborhood so I indulged.  But I started to feel really awful when I added protein bars to my diet.  I thought I was doing something healthy but then I read the sugar content!  Holy cow!  I was slamming the equivalent of a massive chocolate candy bar every day and sometimes twice a day!  No wonder my blood glucose went up! Add in the ice cream and pastries and I was a walking Willy Wonka factory.  So those are gone.  I'm also being very careful about white flour and corn.  I stopped eating breakfast cereals like Honey Bunches of Oats and Frosted Mini Wheats and I gave my Pop Tarts and cookies to an unhoused woman.  I do not drink coffee or soda and I don't eat fast food.  I usually use hot sauce or salsa as a condiment.  

I've decided this is a goal, to get my numbers low enough that my doctor will say "OK, we're going to monitor you and do more blood work in 3 months (or whatever) and see how you're doing."  I believe I can succeed.

Unfortunately I do still feel poorly a lot of the time but I guess you can't reverse everything in four weeks 😕

[Batya33]

From all you wrote your decision to be this monitored by your physician will keep you honest -you seem motivated by that in addition to being motivated otherwise.  I also see -and agree -that you need a doc you respect and trust - to be able to have that person on your team so to speak so that if you're tempted to have another yummy pastry the monitoring you do will help you resist.  Many people avoid doctors for the very reason you are not -they'd rather be in denial.  You want the truth.

Oh if we hung out back then.  I also gave up pop tarts even though I started eating half of one at a time (hint -do not do this if you have -and want to keep -your traditional toaster even wide slice).  My grandparents were the same - my mom was born in 1932 and was served tons of heavy cream and butter for health.  And yes on the red meat.  Except she's always been very slim and never had issues other than our genetically high cholestorol.  My dad enjoyed red meat but back then -like 70s/80s the typical thing was -you had meat a few times a week, chicken and fish the other times.  My mom has been basically a pescaterian since 2016 when my dad died and she eats so very healthy.  And is too thin.

I basically eat like you and yes - it's so so important to read labels of those protein bars!! I agree!  

The last time I really craved red meat was my third trimester.  Yes I indulged - there was an upscale burger chain down the block from my office -now defunct- and I'd get a cheese burger a couple times a week (if I had fries -only a few -I wanted that meat).  

A chiropractor/nutritionist I listen to on the radio once a week or so has a tip I really like -try to eat something raw at every meal.  For me that's typically - a small amount of avocado and salad veggies like tomato/cucumber.  Or I'll eat some apple slices or pear slices between meals. I sub cucumbers for extra chips -I like the crunch with a sandwich which I do open face. Also I find spices or low fat condiments like spicy mustard add the flavor w/o the fat or then you use much less mayo, etc.  The raw is just -good to keep everything regular, plus it fills you up.  My sense is your brother does a lot of easy to eat foods -soft -and doesn't do much fiber so it's easy to eat a lot of white rice, etc.  

 

 

[Seraphim]

Blood monitoring for diabetics is every 3 months. Your red blood cells the majority die within 3 months and are replaced by others .  So the A1C is a measurement of your blood glucose over 3 months. 

[boltnrun]

2 hours ago, Seraphim said:

Blood monitoring for diabetics is every 3 months. Your red blood cells the majority die within 3 months and are replaced by others .  So the A1C is a measurement of your blood glucose over 3 months. 

I haven't been diagnosed yet.  My doctor asked me to do another blood draw but I couldn't get an appointment until early December.  So we'll see what those results look like.  And it wasn't just the blood glucose that was problematic.  There were several other things.  But I suspect my efforts will show at least a small improvement.

And I'm not at all tempted to "cheat".  After what happened to my two cousins (who essentially died of diabetes because they didn't take care of themselves) I am not at all willing to sacrifice my life for a few minutes of pleasure.  Even though some people are telling me "Oh, it's OK!  It's a holiday, you should treat yourself!  Just a little bit won't hurt!"  Yeah, treat myself to a trip to the ICU. No thank you!

Had a wonderful brunch with the kids.  My son's spouse had some great news and my son might potentially have some more good news soon.  

[boltnrun]

Even though he's completely not my type (diminutive, very young, not blond), that Chanel Bleu commercial that plays the Moody Blues and features Timotee Chalamet is, like, wow.  Those bedroom eyes and that sultry look on his face.  If I was 35 years younger I might have a big crush on him just from that commercial.

[boltnrun]

Didn't get enough sleep again last night. Fortunately I got a lot of sleep over the long weekend. I slept until 6:00 am Sunday morning and until nearly 7:00 am the other days. So I'm not completely exhausted. 

[Batya33]

1 hour ago, boltnrun said:

Didn't get enough sleep again last night. Fortunately I got a lot of sleep over the long weekend. I slept until 6:00 am Sunday morning and until nearly 7:00 am the other days. So I'm not completely exhausted. 

Hope tonight is better! Same situation here....

[boltnrun]

I had some bread and lunch meat that was due to expire in a couple of days. So I made some sandwiches and put them in a bag with some yogurt, planning to give them to an unhoused individual. There's a man who sort of lives around the corner on the sidewalk but I've given him food before and I know a lot of people help him so I wanted to find someone else. Well, they must have done a sweep because I didn't see anyone else! I accidentally walked 3 1/2 miles in search of someone to give the food to. I ended up just giving it to the man around the corner. I could have walked five minutes round trip instead of an hour and 20 minutes. My knee gave out and then my thigh muscle started hurting because I had to walk funny. But at least that man will have dinner tonight. He opened the bag as soon as I gave it to him so he must have been hungry. I'm glad I gave it to him after all. 

I do know they opened a kind of tent city for the unhoused and they have services for them so hopefully that's where they all went. 

[itsallgrand]

That's very nice of you! 

[boltnrun]

1 hour ago, itsallgrand said:

That's very nice of you! 

Thanks. I just have a big problem with food being thrown away. It seems wrong. I would rather have it go to someone who is struggling than go into the dumpster. 

[boltnrun]

Back to the office today!

I noticed I haven't been peeing 792 times a day anymore. I wonder if I peed so often before because my body was trying to get rid of the excessive sugar I had been consuming. 

[Seraphim]

I go a million times a day but I always have . It is good for the body getting rid of sugar . 

[boltnrun]

Power is out. Fortunately my alarm clock and other clocks are battery powered. Also have one lamp that uses a rechargeable battery but it's fading fast and sunrise is an hour away. And I was able to turn my gas stove on using the lighter stick thingy.  But I have to try to power my work laptop off of my phone until the power is back on and I don't get great signal. And I can't go into the office unshowered. Website says it'll be back up in about a half hour. We'll see.

Good thing today isn't an office day. 

[boltnrun]

Power back on. I was able to sign into work using my phone as a hotspot, but about 20 minutes in the power came back on.  And here I sit, in my pajamas with my hair all over the place. I'll shower when I take my ten minute break. 

[Seraphim]

That is always a pain. Glad the power came back. 

[boltnrun]

I think I left my brain at home today. Twice today I have made really stupid mistakes. And I pride myself in not making mistakes (at least, not at work). Fortunately neither of them impacted production in any way, but still...I looked foolish in front of two people. 

I'm feeling sort of fatigued and out of it today. Gotta do better at focusing.

[Batya33]

5 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

I think I left my brain at home today. Twice today I have made really stupid mistakes. And I pride myself in not making mistakes (at least, not at work). Fortunately neither of them impacted production in any way, but still...I looked foolish in front of two people. 

I'm feeling sort of fatigued and out of it today. Gotta do better at focusing.

Oh I’ve been there. When that happens what works for me is listing what I have to do first second and third - I don’t say it out loud but it keeps me centered. I hope the rest of your day goes well!

[boltnrun]

2 minutes ago, Batya33 said:

Oh I’ve been there. When that happens what works for me is listing what I have to do first second and third - I don’t say it out loud but it keeps me centered. I hope the rest of your day goes well!

It wasn't that I forgot to do something. What I did was accidentally edit a template instead of copying it to the folder and then entering the info. So the template got deleted.  My manager helped me recreate it. And the other thing I did was lock myself out of the floor while taking a short walk around the building because I forgot to bring my badge with me. Silly things, they're both kind of stupid. 

I'm tempted to just go home at lunchtime and finish the day there but I want to go to this little empanada shop after work and it's on the alternative way home. Yum, empanadas...

[Batya33]

1 hour ago, boltnrun said:

It wasn't that I forgot to do something. What I did was accidentally edit a template instead of copying it to the folder and then entering the info. So the template got deleted.  My manager helped me recreate it. And the other thing I did was lock myself out of the floor while taking a short walk around the building because I forgot to bring my badge with me. Silly things, they're both kind of stupid. 

I'm tempted to just go home at lunchtime and finish the day there but I want to go to this little empanada shop after work and it's on the alternative way home. Yum, empanadas...

My son loves empanadas!  I can’t eat pastry type crust anymore. I’ve never actually tried one but he’s had them in Europe and also at I think a Cuban restaurant here.
For me personally forgetting something goes hand in hand with the edit template type of error. I’ve done that but more because I thought the system saved it as a new doc and it didn’t etc.  I didn’t mean to dispute your experience !

[boltnrun]

No worries. I'm just super meticulous about my job tasks. I didn't forget I was supposed to copy the template or forget how to do it, I just forgot to do that step. Like I forgot I need my badge in order to move around the building. Just silly stuff. 

I only have less than two more hours so it doesn't make sense to leave now. And empanadas sound awfully good. This place has 19 varieties!!!

[Batya33]

2 hours ago, boltnrun said:

No worries. I'm just super meticulous about my job tasks. I didn't forget I was supposed to copy the template or forget how to do it, I just forgot to do that step. Like I forgot I need my badge in order to move around the building. Just silly stuff. 

I only have less than two more hours so it doesn't make sense to leave now. And empanadas sound awfully good. This place has 19 varieties!!!

Same -always been meticulous and v. detail oriented - they are lucky to have you! 19 varieities -wow! Hope you got some!