SaraRiley's Journal, 27 Jul 23

Hi Saran. A couple of suggestions....(feel free to tell me to shut my gob in public or privately) Perhaps in any given meal pick only one simple carb source (in an ideal world you'd get to the point of no simple carbs and no processed foods)...baby steps) Breakfast for instance, you have the breading on the chicken, as well as the potato salad. Would you consider trying just the breaded chicken with a leafy salad or fresh veggies on the side, or alternatively unbreaded, air fried chicken with the potato salad (same amount, don't increase the potato salad amount to compensate. You'd be able to have a greater quantity of chicken. Dressing and dips. I too liked my honey mustard, ketchup, sweet and sour sauces. I broke that habit and have discovered tzatziki. Lower in calories and has protein/fat. Or salsa, great to dip into and a healthier option. It takes some work to break the sugar/simple carb addiction. It took me more than a month to totally stop simple carbs and artificial sweeteners but it can be done. Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? Yes. Inflammation and weight is down, blood pressure meds halved and my mobility much improved. Congrats on there being no Mountain Dew on the log! Yay for you!  

Thank you for your help I air fryer the chicken tenders bec it's the only way I like them and I have them everyday now the ketchup and honey mustard I need to cut down on big time. I didn't know salsa was healthier for me I could very well switch to it because I love salsa . I try not to eat much potato salad I just had extra that I wanted to get out of the way since I paid ten bucks for it for a cookout and nobody ate any but it's gone now thank God. I have been using the starburst drink mixes but normally I drank my water without it. I have noticed tho I like them way too much. They are 2g of carbs and it's not bad but I don't want to make it a habit of having to use them. I'm currently working on getting the ketchup and honey mustard cut down and the carbs I don't need unless it's got a good amount of protein with it like the chicken. I did loose 8poubfs before I started using the app and logging my food by eating chicken tenders and potato salad and for both breakfast and dinner and then still have my Mt dew I did that for Feb and March and don't know exactly how much ea month I lost or if it was all one month but I weighed in at the Dr office in April 15 and had lost it. That's what made me realize that I could loose more weight if I controlled my eating habits and don't drink alot of Mt dew. I have now gave up all the Mt dew and trying to get the carbs even lower as Mon and Tues I did great under 100g or right at 100g of carbs and calories were 1030, and 1300 but since it's that horrible time of the month for me the last couple days I have been craving carbs more. Either that or it could be the starburst drink mixes I started drinking here and there making me crave more than I did Mon and Tues. I'll chalk it up to that time of the month. I want to see when I get through this week and see how much more I can continue to loose. Thank you so much for your help.  

Annis and yes I will be cutting the potato salad out now. I have to choose a better food like fruit over that stuff. Have a great day and stay cool it's so hot out there.  

Was wondering what dose of Oz you're on? Congrats on the efforts you're making to change your life for the better! I know how hard it can be (and sometimes still is). For me there came a day where I had to decide to really, finally make a change. I don't want to be on blood pressure meds for the rest of my life, felt truly unwell when I got out of bed and in pain, how hard it was to move around, how I couldn't even tie my own shoelaces, wearing slip ons with elastic laces only. I was on the fast track to either stroking out, dying outright or living a really crappy life in a long term care facility. Food/foodnoise, carb cravings and excess amounts of junk food has been a constant in my life since childhood. We ate well balanced meals at home but that wasn't enough for me. I'd get home after school and make a white bread, butter and sugar sandwich before my parents got home, then have the nice balanced family dinner. My food issues have been ongoing for 55+ years. For the first time ever Oz is helping stop it. Make no mistake, I've clawed my way to get where I am so far, but the addition of the medicine 5 weeks ago has been a game changer. Same program without the obsession. Give this a real shot Saran. You'll be shocked at how much better you'll feel physically when eating good whole foods and start to lose weight. My world has totally opened up, I feel much better, health is better, mobility is better. As far as mental health, the two are so closely tied together and with the improvement in the physical condition, the mental is far better balanced as well. I wish the same for all of us who have struggled and struggled, you included. Go Saran Go!