Ready to Quit

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
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Jan18
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Re: Ready to Quit

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rrmolo wrote:These are some thoughts from a 79 year old. Relax. Meditate. Intermittent fast. Find what makes you happy. I still enjoy raquetball, pickle ball, hiking. Think about how you can help others. Eat simply and enjoy every bite. It all boils down to enjoying this minute of this day. That is all we have. Thanks for sharing your frustration...we all feel it at times...especially when we digress!
Thoughts from a 79 year-old are, to use a phrase from my generation, "right on!"

Thank you, rrmolo!
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Re: Ready to Quit

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mike wrote: Barbara, everyone is individual, and while popular with many on this site, the Gundry Diet is not for everyone...no one is the same. Some deal better with carbs than others. Some deal better with grain than others, likewise for dairy. You need to find what works best for YOU. If you do not have problems with dairy, then try adding it back into your diet, remembering that milk contains sugar, so you want to have milk that has been fermented (kefir, yogurt, cheese), or heavy cream. Look for whole fat products, or you're likely to get added carbs. European dairy has better regulatory in place than the US. Are you a 3/4? If so, then you have more leeway on carbs, but still best to keep low, and avoid all added sugar and corn syrup. You have a lot or issues with exercise, but that is key along with ketosis for maintaining your blood brain barrier, which plays a key role in preventing AD. You had mentioned recumbent bike working for you in another post - is that something you can do more of?
Hi Mike,
Thank you for your words of support and reminder that we are all different. I just went overboard with all of the guidelines until I literally felt there was very little left to eat!

May I ask how you know that a 3/4 has more leeway on carbs? Do you mean more leeway than all others or than 4/4's?

I have no problems avoiding sugar or corn syrup as I don't buy packaged foods....I just bought one, Quaker Oats steel cut oats, last week, because I was dying for some grain!!! Turns out my glucose was 89 before eating a small bowl, 103 35 minutes later, and back to 89 an hour after that. I think some of that will be okay for me. (And by the way, my normal fasting glucose is usually around the 85 mark....still working on lowering that.)

My knee that still needs a replacement (other replacement fully rehabbed) gets sore doing the biking, so I am doing water-jogging/dance for aerobic exercise (water resistance is also good) and weight-training....well, I'm TRYING to get into weight-training. I hate going inside the gym and it's a 20 minute drive. But I'm working on pushing through those negatives and going 3x a week.

B.
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Re: Ready to Quit

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buck3Maureen wrote:If you don't mind cooking, then you are in luck. Try these cookbooks: "Artisan Vegan Cheese" and "the Homemade Vegan Pantry" by Miyoko Schinner. You will find recipes for butter , sour cream, and cheeses. They taste good, very good. Sure they may not taste as good as your favorite dairy cheese, but they are truly very good. THey are not hard to make. THe author spent a year learning how to make cheese from nuts and non-dairy yogurt. SHe sells her cheeses in specialty stores, but the packages are small and they are expensive. SO much cheaper to make them. THe book that will teach you how to make muffins, crepes, pancakes and waffels: "The chickpea Flour Cookbook" by Camilla Saulsbury. SHe has her own blog and will send you a new recipe almost every day. I have to admit that I have not found a real good bread recipe yet, but I have a couple that I found OK. Good luck to you.

Maureen
I actually have hated cooking my entire life, Maureen. But I've got cooking my first meal of the day down pat, so I will give some serious thought to your cookbook suggestions here. And I'm slowly accepting the fact that a big part of my old socializing, going out to eat with friends, has to go by the wayside. I occasionally go out, but restaurants are just so damned stingy with vegetables. They do meals backwards with huge slabs of protein and small portions of veggies. And their veggies are most often a million ways to cook potatoes and so few other one. So if I eat out, it's usually at egg places for my first meal of the day not for dinner. That's why I need to start embracing cooking dinner more!

Do you have to buy these cookbooks or can you find them online?

B.
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Re: Ready to Quit

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ncjlhp wrote:Your post really resonated with me- enough to actually say something, which I do rarely! I felt exactly like you describe when I found out my APOE status ( with strong family history as well!) Hopeless and helpless and to read all these posts from all these very intelligent and proactive folks made me decide to attempt these protocols. And what happened is I stopped living my life in order to do that. That is no good. Now I am moderate. I reduce carbs, but not to keto levels. I watch saturated fats but do not deny myself to the point of unhappiness. I do only use olive oil. I maintain a decent weight/BMI. I drink wine! I have always exercised but at aged 65, I started yoga--BEST THING EVER!!! And I do not know if any of this will help, but to be more restrictive in my life would just make me unhappy NOW and living for now is what I need to do. I hope you can find some peace- that also takes work. Hugs!!!!
Dear ncjlhp,
It ALL helps! Thank you for (uncharacteristically) saying this in answer to me. I think that touched me the most! It reminds me that we are all human and experience so much of the same feelings. We are more similar than different, and that is a breath of fresh air in the political climate, at least in my country, today. (I'll say no more politically.)

Your encouragement reminds me to love life, make small changes, and stick with it.

Hugs back!!!

B.
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Re: Ready to Quit

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Fiver wrote:Hi Jan18. I understand. It's gets to be overwhelming. We keep pushing and pushing, in part because we don't know if we are doing enough. Remember, there is good evidence that we don't have to get it all 100% right, all the time. The lifestyle studies that show reduced risk used broad categories which equate to "generally good eating" or "generally active". Even Dr. Bredesen has said that patients who do most - but not all - of the interventions can see benefits. I tend to focus on the ones that are likely to improve health overall - for many reasons. Like exercise, lowering sugars, a few supplements that seem important for me and seem to work for me based on blood test results. I get plenty of sleep. And I try to reduce stress. I still have days where I worry, worry, worry. But worrying isn't going to help - so I try to remember to go for a walk at those times. Forgive yourself if you get off your diet plan for a day. And if you need to relax your plan and just focus on the key things for awhile, that's ok in my opinion.
Your post is a voice of reason, Fiver.

It is so nice of you to take time to share it with me. You and everyone on this thread have gotten me back on track and I just love you all!!! (Is that too exteme to say? lol)

Thank you! I know without this community, I would never have persisted as long as I have....and some changes are now ingrained in my life. So grateful for that!
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Re: Ready to Quit

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CarrieS wrote:
Plumster wrote:Beans and whole grains (emphasis on whole) are extremely healthy. I would not leave them out.
I completely agree with you Plumster. I'd taken them out years ago when I eliminated foods to combat inflammation and felt great. Little did I know that by taking out whole food groups, we are eliminating an important source of food for our microbes (microbiome). My bifidobacteria was non existent no matter how much I supplemented. Ah - I wasn't feeding them. Once I started to incorporate small amounts (a couple of spoonfuls) of whole grains such as farro and beans, my bifido count increased dramatically. I now eat a very diverse diet that incorporates the rainbow of colors each day, as many varieties and food groups as I can and feel so much better. I challenge myself to pick up a new vegetable each week that I haven't been eating to increase my microbe diversity. Yes, I had to heal my gut first but after taking the steps to heal, it is important to incorporate a diverse diet again.
Hi Carrie!
So good to see you weighing in on this thread!

I still have our texts on my phone and remember our talks. Hope you are doing well!

Barbara
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Re: Ready to Quit

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broiler_x wrote:The strongest causality data says to avoid insulin resistance and try and use ketones as your brain's primary fuel source as much as possible. A direct link has been made between insulin and the clearance of plaques and tangles, as the same enzyme is involved (see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12634421 and many excellent follow-on papers). If that enzyme is busy working on greatly increased insulin due to insulin resistance, then it is not working on cleaning up your brain. This is the one concept that I try to keep in mind when making decisions about diet, etc. So how do you avoid insulin resistance? Stop eating carbs and/or intermittent fasting.
Hi broiler_x,
This part of your post is absolutely my #1 goal -- I've brought down my insulin from 16 at the start to 11. When I hit 9-10, it will then only be "mildly elevated" and under 9, I'll be on my way to insulin sensitivity again! I forgot what Bredesen recommends as the highest insulin number as I write this, but that most definitely is my #1 goal at this point.

So if I incorporate a little steel cut oatmeat now and then or 1/4 c. of beans very occasionally, I will be sure the overall percentage of my carbs is still below where it needs to be!

I track carbs, protein and fats, as well as nutrients, on cronometer.com daily. I finally ordered more ketone and glucose stips for my Keto Mojo and will be more vigilant with that until I get down pat what affects me individually.

And I intermittent fast daily (minimum 16 hours, maximum so far 20, but aiming to work up to 24-36 eventually....) Right now, uric acid is high and my doctor warns about gout attacks. We are doing two natural supplements to lower uric acid, derived from tart cherries and pineapple. I read fasting can raise uric acid, so I wonder if that is what raised mine. We need to get a handle on this.

Thanks for weighing in!
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Re: Ready to Quit

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Jan18 wrote:Hi Carrie!
So good to see you weighing in on this thread!
I still have our texts on my phone and remember our talks. Hope you are doing well!
Barbara
Hi Barbara! I was thinking about you the other day after I accidentally deleted all of my phone contacts but still had my text messages. I went through the texts and matched up names to the numbers and there you were. Let's schedule a time to chat like old friends again.
Carrie
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Re: Ready to Quit

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CarrieS wrote:
Jan18 wrote:Hi Carrie!
So good to see you weighing in on this thread!
I still have our texts on my phone and remember our talks. Hope you are doing well!
Barbara
Hi Barbara! I was thinking about you the other day after I accidentally deleted all of my phone contacts but still had my text messages. I went through the texts and matched up names to the numbers and there you were. Let's schedule a time to chat like old friends again.
Carrie
I'm not great with schedules, Carrie, but as of tonight, I have no appointments or set plans for tomorrow (Th) or Friday before 3PM. Call when it's convenient for you and if I am "indisposed" I can always call back! It will be fun to catch up!

Barbara
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Re: Ready to Quit

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Jan18 wrote:May I ask how you know that a 3/4 has more leeway on carbs? Do you mean more leeway than all others or than 4/4's?
More than 4/4s, less than 3/3s, but I should have clarified that this is really a more personal belief than a proved fact. It is based on the fact that most (all?) diets that seem to help AD are low carb. It is also my belief that ApoE evolved to deal with the higher carb load. You can see my argument for this in this post: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5301&hilit=neanderthal Your general metabolism will also have a lot (more?) to do with how well you will tolerate carbs. If you are insulin sensitive and your A1c is good, then you can have more carbs, whereas if you are like me with 20 years of T2D, then you should probably cut them out of your diet.
Sonoma Mike
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