SugarFree Protocol – Donna

Donna will join us on Monday, October 15 — but you can read about her, and hopefully provide some caring support now.

Donna’s Introduction:

Hello! I’m fifty-nine, 5′ 5″ and weigh 268 pounds, though I’ve weighed as much as 330 in the past. I began dieting when I was only eight, after being taken to a doctor who prescribed amphetamines. My family’s drug of choice was sugar and I learned very well how to use it. Like many others here, I tried many weight-loss programs and spent a fortune through the years only to end up morbidly obese and severely diabetic.

I was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago (though I was likely diabetic for years before that), and wanted to keep it under control with diet and exercise and without taking medication. I could say I tried everything, but all I really did was purchase a book or a program that I would follow for a while. I went zero carb for several months and my blood glucose plummeted but I didn’t feel well. I have bottles of hcg I’ve never used – something told me not to go that route and I’m glad I didn’t. But since I’ve been eating without restraint most of the time, my blood glucose is extremely high; my last test showed a fasting level of 304 – a 50% jump over a test done only nine months ago.

Recently I was diagnosed with a fatty liver — Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), which is essentially cirrhosis of the liver —  and while doing research on it I found SugarFree. Her Protocol is just what I’ve been looking for. I’m so thankful for the work she’s doing, and glad that she’s helping others with her knowledge.

My Metabolic Blood test results revealed that I am now severely diabetic, hyperinsulinemic, have arterial, liver and pancreas damage, am hypothyroid with Hashimoto’s, and have massive inflammation. The damage to my body will take years to heal.

This path and my journey on it feels overwhelming right now, but I am encouraged and inspired when I read the other Participant threads. Scared or not, I am ready to begin.

Protocol Round 1, Week 1, Day 1 – 10/15

Weight: 267.8 pounds

Measurements:
Bust: 53″
Waist: 49.5″
Hips: 56″

Meal:
– 8 oz salmon
– 8 oz spinach
– 1 oz potato
– 9 oz asparagus
– 3.25 T. butter
– 3 oz mushrooms

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 765
Fat: 51.5 grams (61%)
Protein: 58.1 grams (30%)
Carbs: 17.2 grams (9%)

Ketostix: small to moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 209
1-hour PP (after lunch): 203
2-hour PP (after lunch): 211

I gave up sugar over the weekend and had a headache, but today I’m feeling pretty good. Things are going well – I ate my meal in a lunch meeting with no problem and no one mentioned anything about my food being any different. The food is very satisfying and so far no I haven’t felt hungry. Even though my blood sugar is very high, it’s dropped quite a bit from when the initial tests results and that’s encouraging. This is such a great Protocol!

Protocol Round 1, Week 1, Day 2 – 10/16

Weight: 263.9 = down 3.9 pounds

Meal:
– 14 oz chicken thighs
– 8 oz broccoli
– 1 oz acorn squash
– 5 oz string beans
– 2 T. butter

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 773
Fat: 55.5 grams (65%)
Protein: 55.2 grams (28%)
Carbs: 13.1 grams (7%)

Ketostix: trace

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 211
1-hour PP (after lunch): 214
2-hour PP (after lunch): 198

I stayed home from work today feeling tired and lethargic. I need to start getting more rest. I know that’s one thing that will help with my health issues. I enjoyed the roasted vegetables, they taste so much better. I also noticed I’m not as congested as when I eat a lot of dairy.

[Note: Donna, this is a good beginning. Your 2-hr PP dropped even lower than your fasting glucose, which is great, and I bet your body hasn’t seen blood sugar numbers under 200 in years. Your fatigue is due to drug withdrawal. Your body has been running on sugar as its main source of fuel for a long, long time — and now it’s not being given any. Unfortunately it takes two to three weeks to ‘switch over’ to running on fat as a main source of fuel, but when that kicks in you’ll have energy to spare. :)]

Protocol Round 1, Week 1, Day 3 – 10/17

Weight: 263 = down .9 pound

Meal:
– 10 oz chicken liver
– .5 oz onion
– 8 oz kale
– 4 oz celeriac
– 1 large hard-boiled egg
– 3 T. butter

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 773
Fat: 55.5 grams (65%)
Protein: 55.2 grams (28%)
Carbs: 13.1 grams (7%)

Ketostix: small to moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 169
1-hour PP (after lunch): 189
2-hour PP (after lunch): 166

I had a stressful day but stayed on track with the food. I was ready for lunch but not obsessing about it and not craving something to tamp down the stress. The kale was a lot, I think it took about an hour to eat! I’ll have to find another way to prepare it.

[Note: Donna, in just three days on Protocol, your blood sugars have HALVED. This is truly amazing. 🙂 As for the kale, make sure you roast it. Look through several recent participant threads for my comments about how to do that.]

Protocol Round 1, Week 1, Day 4 – 10/18

Weight: 261.4 = down 1.6 pounds

Meal:
– 12 oz lamb chop
– 8 oz swiss chard
– 5 oz green beans
– 1 oz sweet potato

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 779
Fat: 48.2 grams (60%)
Protein: 63 grams (32%)
Carbs: 15.8 grams (8%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 182
1-hour PP (after lunch): 188
2-hour PP (after lunch): 168

My fasting blood glucose on my labs before starting Protocol was 305. I knew it was probably that high and that I needed to do something about it. I also knew there was a way to lower it with food. I spent a lot of time searching for that way and I’ve found it.

I was surprised but very pleased with my numbers in the last two days. My fasting glucose yesterday was only 169, duplicated by my 2-hr PP yesterday and today.

I attribute this dramatic decrease to the way SugarFree’s Protocol works. It’s forced me to start taking care of myself – not easy – but the numbers speak for themselves.  I’m so glad to have found something that works… finally!

Protocol Round 1, Week 1, Day 5 – 10/19

Weight: 260.6 = down .8 pound

Meal:
– 9 oz shrimp
– 8 oz spinach
– 9 oz asparagus
– 1 oz potato
– 3 T. butter
– 2 oz sour cream

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 777
Fat: 51.2 grams (59%)
Protein: 61.4 grams (32%)
Carbs: 17.6 grams (9%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 169
1-hour PP (after lunch): 165
2-hour PP (after lunch): 170

It’s hard to believe I’m almost through the first week of Protocol, and have more amazing blood glucose readings today. I have a little more energy every day, even though I’ve had a low-grade headache most days. The food is delicious. I had a few stomach grumblings before lunch, which is unusual for me, but the feeling that I “have” to have something to eat is just not there.

[Note: Donna, the headache should begin to disappear over the next few days, as your withdrawal lessens. The goal for the next several weeks will be to get all your meter readings below 140 – which where the damage (and death) of pancreas beta cells begins. A glucose level of 139 is still very high, but organ damage will cease if you don’t go above it. :)]

Protocol Round 1, Week 1, Day 6 – 10/20

Weight: 259.4 = down 1.2 pounds

Meal:
– 10 oz chicken liver
– 1 oz onion
– 8 oz broccoli
– 11 oz zucchini
– 1 large hard-boiled egg
– 2.75 T. butter

Fitday stats:
Calories: 748
Fat: 51.2 grams (62%)
Protein: 58.5 grams (31%)
Carbs: 13.2 grams (7%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: Out-of-date strips
1-hour PP (after lunch): 215
2-hour PP (after lunch): 187

I didn’t wake up with a headache and had more energy today. After talking with SugarFree and running a few experiments, I realized I was using old strips that had not given me correct readings. The new strips show higher numbers. Disappointing, but they are still lower than when I started Protocol.

Protocol Round 1, Week 1, Day 7 – 10/21

Weight: 259.1 = down .3 pound

Meal:
– 7 oz beef steak
– 8 oz kale
– 10 oz asparagus
– 2 T. butter

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 765
Fat: 51.5 grams (63%)
Protein: 57.9 grams (32%)
Carbs: 18.5 grams (5%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 174
1-hour PP (after lunch): 177
2-hour PP (after lunch): 187

I’ll be glad when the withdrawal phase is over and my body adjusts to eating this way. I had a good day with Protocol and a delicious lunch even after SugarFree changed my menu slightly. She’s taken me off all starch/sweet veggies for this week in an effort to get my blood sugars as low as possible and stop organ damage. And it’s already working. Even with the new strips my readings are still going down!

Protocol Round 1, Week 2, Day 1 – 10/22

Weight: 259.1 = no change

Measurements:
Bust: 51″ = down 2″
Waist: 48″ = down 1.5″
Hips: 55″ = down 1″

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 158
1-hour PP (after lunch): 162
2-hour PP (after lunch): 165

My bad. 🙁 I didn’t measure food or do stats because I was busy. Tomorrow will be a better day. After a talk with SugarFree I realize I need to start putting my needs and my health first sometimes. 🙂

[Note: You had a great first week on Protocol, Donna. Aside from learning some important things that will help you in the future, you lost nearly ten pounds and a whopping five inches of fat! And even with the new strips, look at today’s readings. You are getting very close to 146 and should reach it within a week or so. Well done.]

Protocol Round 1, Week 2, Day 2 – 10/23

Weight: 259.1 = no change

Meal:
– 14 oz chicken
– 8 oz Swiss chard
– 9 oz asparagus
– 1.5 T. butter

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 719
Fat: 49.8grams (63%)
Protein: 58 grams (32%)
Carbs: 9.9 grams (6%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 155
1-hour PP (after lunch): 149
2-hour PP (after lunch): 147

Even though I was physically tired I got a surge of energy in the evening. And blood sugars are still coming down nicely.

[Note: Indeed they are! :D]

Protocol Round 1, Week 2, Day 3 – 10/24

Weight: 257.6 = down 1.5 pounds

Meal:
– 9 oz chicken liver
– 8 oz spinach
– 11 oz zucchini
– 1 large hard-boiled egg
– 2,75 T. butter

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 729
Fat: 50.5 grams (62%)
Protein: 58.2 grams (32%)
Carbs: 10.3 grams (6%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 131
1-hour PP (after lunch): 154
2-hour PP (after lunch): 149

I’m a lot more calm since starting the Protocol, it’s not what I usually feel but I could get used to this! And look at my morning glucose. Wow!

[Note: Wow, indeed! Keep this up and I’m going to run out of red ink – LOL. You may definitely start Maintenance on Monday. :)]

Protocol Round 1, Week 2, Day 4 – 10/25

Weight: 257 = down .6 pound

Meal:
– 12 oz pork chop, bone-in
– 8 oz broccoli
– 7 oz green string beans
– 2 T. butter

Fitday stats:
Calories: 748
Fat: 51.2 grams (62%)
Protein: 57.4 grams (31%)
Carbs: 14.2 grams (7%)

Ketostix: small to moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 150
1-hour PP (after lunch): 142
2-hour PP (after lunch): 147

I felt more relaxed today after getting more sleep last night, and my food was great. I stir-fry my veggies then mix in whatever meat I’m having – yummy. I love that I’m not ever hungry.

Protocol Round 1, Week 2, Day 5 – 10/26

Weight: 257 = no change

Meal:
– 10 oz trout
– 8 oz kale
– 11 oz zucchini
– 3 T. butter

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 775
Fat: 53.8 grams (62%)
Protein: 62.8 grams (32%)
Carbs: 10 grams (6%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 134
1-hour PP (after lunch): 138
2-hour PP (after lunch): 147

[Note: Donna, this is a stunning report. In less than two weeks on Protocol, you’ve not only gone from a scary fasting blood sugar of 304 –you finally got readings below the danger zone of 140! This is tremendous progress on the road back to true health. :D]

Protocol Round 1, Week 2, Day 6 – 10/27

Weight: 254.8 = down 2.2 pounds

Meal:
– 3 eggs
– 3 slices bacon
– 8 oz spinach
– 2 T. butter

Fitday stats:
Calories: 646
Fat: 56.4 grams (78%)
Protein: 32 grams (20%)
Carbs: 2.4 grams (2%)

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 145
1-hour PP (after lunch): 133
2-hour PP (after lunch): 120

I didn’t feel well this morning so I ate the light lunch SugarFree recommends in those cases. I am shocked but happy about my 2-hour meter reading. It doesn’t seem possible that I could recover in such a short time and without medication. But it must be true. I went to the doctor’s this morning and his meter showed my fasting glucose to be only 134 – though after speaking with SugarFree I realize that of course more time had passed by the time I got to the office, so my insulin had time to lower my ‘fasting’ number even more than just overnight.

Protocol Round 1, Week 2, Day 7 – 10/28

Weight: 253.9 = down .9 pound

Meal:
– 10 oz chicken liver
– 8 oz swiss chard
– 8 oz green beans
– 1 large hard-boiled egg
– 3 T. butter

Fitday Stats:
Calories: 786
Fat: 53.8 grams (62%)
Protein: 58.7 grams (30%)
Carbs: 16.8 grams (8%)

Ketostix: large

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 124
1-hour PP (after lunch): 141
2-hour PP (after lunch): 143

I’m really happy with my fasting glucose this morning. I should be elated but I’m afraid this isn’t going to last and I’ll be right back where I started. This isn’t the easiest program I’ve done and it wouldn’t be hard to just give it up. But I know where that would lead – back to the dangerous numbers. I want to feel better and I know this is the path to lead me there. I just want it NOW!

Maintenance Round 1, Week 1, Day 1 – 10/29

Weight: 253.9 = no change

Measurements:
Bust: 50″ = down 1″
Waist: 47″ = down 1″
Hips: 54″ = down 1″

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 124
1-hour PP (after lunch): 133
2-hour PP (after lunch): 137

I’m glad to be on Maintenance; I felt like I was eating at a restaurant today for lunch!

I watch my glucose numbers, weight, and measurements falling yet I feel almost numb about it. I’ve been down this road so many times, and I’ve lost weight and inches – but as soon as I ate ‘normally’ it all came rushing back on again. Maybe I don’t want to trust that this is really going to work, even though it IS working. It’s scary, but I am slowly allowing myself to believe this Protocol will change my life.

[Note: Donna, as with so many Participants who have tried diet after diet, it’s normal to feel in the beginning that this is just one more diet that will ultimately fail. It might take months and several rounds of Maintenance, during which you’ll eat boatloads of fat and calories yet never regain an ounce or an inch, to understand that Protocol isn’t a diet at all, but a new, healthy way of life. Today was the first of thirty days in which you will eat as if you were ‘in a restaurant’ – and by the end of it you will weigh what you weigh today (or less) and your waistline will be what it is today or less. Then you will truly start to understand and believe the truth: you will NEVER go back to where you were the day you began Protocol. Your life will indeed have changed, and you will continue to get slimmer and more healthy. Look how far you’ve come in just two weeks: fourteen pounds and nearly eight inches of fat gone. Forever. :D]

Maintenance Round 1, Week 1, Day 2 – 10/30

Weight: 255.7 = up 1.8 pounds

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 131
1-hour PP (after lunch): 133
2-hour PP (after lunch): 141

I went to a work party today with lots of food and sweets and I didn’t touch anything – even without eating beforehand. I’ve never been able to do this, ever. And someone noticed I’m losing weight! I ate at one, feeling like I needed to eat yet I wasn’t really hungry. My mind tells me I should be ravenous at the usual meal-times but I’m not. This Protocol is something else!

Maintenance Round 1, Week 1, Day 3 – 10/31

Weight: 255.7 = no change

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 134
1-hour PP (after lunch): 130
2-hour PP (after lunch): 124

Things are going well today, with less stress. I wish I could figure out how to stay this stress-free all the time, especially when I see my lower glucose numbers!

Maintenance Round 1, Week 1, Day 4 – 11/1

Weight: 255.8 = up .1 pound

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 138
1-hour PP (after lunch): 142
2-hour PP (after lunch): 136

I didn’t get enough sleep again and can see how that affects my stress and energy levels today. I will have to plan my time better in the future, something this Protocol is forcing me to do. I can’t just “go with the flow” with my time or food; that hasn’t gotten me anywhere. It seems fun at the time, but it’s not worth the negative effects on my health.

Maintenance Round 1, Week 1, Day 5 – 11/2

Weight: 255.8 = no change

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting:
1-hour PP (after lunch): 110
2-hour PP (after lunch): 99

My glucose meter battery died this morning so I wasn’t able to take a fasting reading. I’ll have to check the new meter but if it’s accurate, WOW!!

[Note: NO. RED. INK!!!!!]

Maintenance 1, Week 1, Day 6 – 11/3

Weight: 254 = down 1.8 pounds

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 108
1-hour PP (after lunch): 94
2-hour PP (after lunch): 126

After receiving my new glucose meter yesterday, I discovered the test strips that came with it were older than what I had been using. I used the newer test strips at the 2-hour reading so I’m assuming that’s why it’s a higher number.

[Note: Unless the new strips were out of date or within a month of expiration, the reason for the higher number is simply that your sugars were higher. That’s not surprising at this stage. Look at your fasting and 1-hr PPs – actually NORMAL! Your pancreas is finally slowing down the rate of insulin production, which is great. However, as we discussed during our consultation, it means you will now go through a period when your sugars will be elevated again, and for a week or so — there’s far less insulin to bring them down. Not to worry – they will come down again, and when they do it won’t be because they are being artificially lowered by insulin. It may be hard to appreciate now, but your insulin resistance is decreasing! :)]

Maintenance 1, Week 1, Day 7 – 11/4

Weight: 254 = no change

Ketostix: moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 120
1-hour PP (after lunch): 120
2-hour PP (after lunch): 127

I was very tired and slept a lot today.

Maintenance Round 1, Week 2, Day 1 – 11/5

Weight: 254 = no change

Measurements:
Bust: 50″ = no change
Waist: 47″ = no change
Hips: 53″ = down 1″

Ketostix: small to moderate

Blood Glucose:
Fasting: 121
1-hour PP (after lunch): 127
2-hour PP (after lunch): 131

Is my body still adjusting to burning fat instead of carb? I’m looking forward to my energy increasing soon.

[Note: No, you are fully ketone-adapted and your body is now using fat as your main source of fuel. However, three weeks — or even three months — is not sufficient to undo years of damage. You are still very insulin resistant, which means your muscle (and other) cells are not yet receiving all the nutrients you’re eating. That’s one reason for the lack of energy. The other reason is that you are still Hypothyroid, and the thyroid hormones that give us ‘energy’ and a healthy metabolism are in the basement. Three weeks is nowhere near the time needed to heal them. But you are making incredible progress. You began Protocol only three weeks ago with a 304 fasting glucose laboratory result – and Saturday’s fasting glucose was only 108 – a 66% reduction! :)]