Low Carb diets do work folks.

So my husband and I have been following a sort of South Beach diet, somewhere between strict phase 1 and phase 2. He of course has lost 10 lbs to my 7, which is par for the course. I don't eat fish which complicates things. I'd like to but get a scratchy throat which could mean allergies. But we've eaten chicken, beef, ribs etc, cottage cheese, cheese.....just little bread. It can be done. I've been eating carb free jello. I have sugar free coffees.

Most interesting is that my blood sugar (I'm a type2 diabetic) is now hovering between 5 and 7 all the time. My doc reduced my metformin a bit. Nice!!! My ankles aren't swollen as much, and she also reduced one of my heart meds that affect my blood pressure. I went to Pritikin in the spring and they say that losing 5% of your body weight improves your health, so I am closing in on that. I need to do it several times.

I got onto this because one of my acquaintances lost 60 lbs and improved her blood profile while doing it. She pointed me to the book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes and the rest is history, in that I am doing lots of research on the idea that carbs and therefore insulin can almost be said to be the root of most of the obesity epidemic.

Of course skinny folks don't have to worry as much except if they eat a high carb diet, of simple and easily digestable carbs. Also high fructose corn syrup is a culprit. But being fat brings its own brand of wonderfulness - high blood sugar, high insulin readings, insulin resistance. Fat doesn't just lie there, it is working all the time and affecting you.

I'll let you know how things go, and how my blood profile changes over the next while. Learning to burn fat and stay away from carbs will be interesting.

A sane person's view

What has happened to the driving public? They have all gone mad. Or have gotten so insufferably arrogant. For instance, so many people in large trucks think that they are safe turning after the light is red. It
is like they are saying, "Try it" to the rest of us who drive Corollas. It is true that a car in the intersection when the light turns yellow has the use of the intersecton until they are through, but you can't enter the intersection when the light is red and expect to get through safely every time.

And don't get me started about red lights. I see at least one person running a red light every time I drive. These are the people who speed up when the yellow light is getting old. You are supposed to be cautious when the Don't walk sign stops flashing and be prepared to stop.

I'm prepared to support red light cameras and the resulting fines. Call it a tax on stupidity.

Society works in most respects because people support reasonable rules. If driving becomes too haphazard, there will be more carnage on the road from every day driving and not just high speed chases and road rage.