Thoughts on my 400th entry and osteotomy update

This is my 400th blog entry! While I will not say that low carbing is a piece of cake, it's certainly become a way of life for me. Lots of people think that eating low carb means no fruits or veggies, and that is just not the case. I eat many more vegetables and whole foods than I ever ate when I was on the Standard American Diet rat wheel.

Eating low carb starts off very rocky, just like quitting anything does, then it becomes easier and easier over time. During induction (the first two weeks of eating 20 carbs or less per day), your body is actually just beginning to tap into the stored fat to use in fat burning mode, so of course your body can be quite cranky and really just not wanting to use up the stored fat. In leaner times, it was great to have a fat storage, but in modern times, not so much. We were built to survive, so it's no wonder why our bodies can be reluctant to use our "energy savings" so to speak. Eating low carb actually forces your body to burn the stored carbohydrates (read: fat).

Years ago, I never really gave much thought to what I was eating, but I "knew" one thing... Eating fat was "bad." I thought of deviled eggs and bacon as "naughty" because of their high fat content. I was extremely disillusioned! I would eat a bowl of white rice with "I can't believe it's not butter" and think I was doing wonders for my body, eating low fat. That was obviously wreaking havoc on my blood sugar and causing serious spikes, which lead to my insulin resistance and pre-diabetes, no doubt.

I will tell anybody who asks how I've lost my weight, because I have lost quite a substantial amount (over a hundred pounds). I just answer, "low carb." Do other people notice the looks of disapproval when you come out of the low carb closet? Even though I think most people would benefit from a low carb regimen, I am careful not to try to put other people on a diet or anything like that. When people are addicted to carbohydrates, they may not even realize it, but the thought of them giving up their morning bagel or toast or pasta or whatever actually causes them great distress and it must be our own decision.

Years ago, I scoffed at the Atkins diet, thinking it just was extremely unhealthy for your heart and actually speaking out against it when I heard of people even trying it, but I think I was just secretly afraid somebody was trying to steal my toast. I was painfully addicted to highly processed carbohydrates and my order at any restaurant was based on how I could fit in the most carbs versus what I actually enjoyed eating.

I told my dad to just try eating eggs for breakfast because I think it's all about small changes and constantly moving in the right direction.

I'm definitely still learning, but I've lost about 80% of my excess weight, but that does not mean that I only have 20% to go and I'm done. For one, if I quit eating low carb now, the weight will surely come back quickly. Secondly, the closer I get to goal, the slower it is coming off. At first, I would lose a pound a day of weight, which was quite motivating. Now, even if I'm on plan, I'm happy to see a pound of weight loss on the scale in a week. I'm about 25 pounds away from getting to a normal weight and I'm very excited.

In terms of my knee, I was looking at my legs in the mirror yesterday and they look straight! I'm so excited about this. I truly thought that my left leg was screwed for life, to be honest. Even at the young age of seven years old, my legs were very knock-kneed, which lead to the growth portion surgery (staples in the inner bones of my knees) that I had at ages 12 and 13, respectively. My right knee was a success, but my left knee over-corrected itself and what was once a knock knee quickly became bow-legged. My orthopedic pediatric surgeon never dreamed I would grow to be 5'10'' and so he was just in hurry to operate because he feared I was done growing. He really should have done a simple x-ray of my wrist to see how far my growth portion had to grow and estimate my height that way, but that is water under the bridge. My point is, I've never remembered having straight legs until now and while one is still 3/8'' shorter, I'm in a lot less pain than I was in pre-surgery when the angle on my knee was just completely off, which my doctor called a malunion in my knee.

Life is good and I'm continually moving in the right direction!

Low carb menu:

- Pork rinds with pork bbq
- Unpotato salad
- Mashed cauliflower with Dottie's cream of mushroom soup as a gravy
- Tuna patty sandwich cheese, deluxe on an oopsie roll
- Quarter pound cheeseburger patty with onions, tomato, lettuce and low carb ketchup
- Four pieces of one-carb peanut butter fudge

I Cured My Acanthosis Nigricans!!! No more dirt ring!

It's embarrassing to admit, but I had what looked like a "dirt ring" around my neck for at least 15 years. No, it was not really DIRT, but a condition called Acanthosis Nigricans. I remember it being there when I was 12 years old, but I'm sure it showed up sometime in the years before.

It turns out that it was due to a build-up of INSULIN in my blood. I was pre-diabetic! My body was showing insulin resistance on my skin! The thought of me having to poke myself with needles and all the crap the comes with having Diabetes scares the shit out of me. It just seems like such a horrible life-long cross to bear. I know that people have turned it around and quite frankly, I may be one of them!

Now, I have never had my blood sugar tested (that I know of) and this is horrible! Looking back, I think I've just been in complete denial because I didn't want to find out I was a diabetic... or any bad news, really. Ignorance is bliss, right?

It actually caused me a lot of grief. Everybody knows how sensitive teenage girls can be about their perceived imperfections. I would really hate wearing my hair in a pony tail (and I had to sometimes) because I hated the thought of anybody seeing my seemingly "dirty" neck. In fact, when I worked in food service and had to wear my hair back, I always wore a collared shirt to make sure that I would not have a problem with anybody seeing my dirt ring.

Tonight, I have my hair in a high ponytail, and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

"Where is my dirt ring?" I thought.... I leaned in closer in the mirror, inspecting my neck. It's virtually gone! It was very gray/dark and now it's so light that I really can't see it at all. My mom told me a few weeks ago that she didn't see it, but I thought she was just being nice and I could kind of still see it.

Do I care what my neck looks like? Maybe a little bit, but more importantly, I am no longer on the way to becoming Diabetic!!! That is the biggest non-scale victory that I could ever hope for. If you are plagued by this "dirt ring," being on a very low-carb diet has proven to cure acanthosis nigricans for me! It really makes sense when you think of it on a solely biological level. I LOVE what this low carb diet (and by diet I mean what I eat on a daily basis; not fad-diet) is doing to apparently regulate my blood sugar.

I know this is a crazy question, but can I test my own blood sugar without going to the doctor? I really have a phobia of doctors (which I must get over), but really, where could I better spend my money now that I'm thinking about it? Yeah, I will find a good primary care physician that I'm comfortable with and get all my labs done.

This is what I found about it over at AOL Health:

"Experts suggest that AN may be a skin manifestation of insulin resistance, which is a condition characterized by impaired biological responses to insulin. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, regulates blood glucose levels by promoting the movement of glucose into cells for energy production or into the liver and fat cells for energy storage. (Glucose is a simple sugar that is the body's primary source of energy for cell metabolism.) Some clinicians suggest that insulin resistance causes a build-up of the hormone in the blood, and then it finds its way into skin cells. Insulin resistance may be associated with various disorders, including obesity and non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes mellitus. In individuals with type II diabetes mellitus, the pancreas produces insulin but the body becomes resistant to its effects, leading to insufficient absorption of glucose and abnormally increased glucose levels in the blood (hyperglycemia) and urine. As a result, there may be a gradual onset of certain symptoms, including excessive urination (polyuria) and increased thirst (polydipsia), and the development of particular complications without appropriate treatment."

Full article here.

I just want to take this sappy moment and thank all my blogging friends for essentially saving my life! No, I take that back. I'm saving my own life... with your support! So thanks for reading and being on this wild ride with me... ;)