National Lab Week 2017 - 6 ways I've used lab testing to work for me in weight maintenance

Top 6 ways lab testing helps me in weight maintenance

Happy Lab Week 2017

In real life, I'm a lab professional. I've been one for 29 years. 30 if you count my student rotation back in Indiana.

Shout out to ALL lab professionals. Tough hours, tough conditions, high stress at times. Great payback to the patients and to the docs diagnosing and the nurses in patient care.

An extra awesome shout out to phelbotomists because they are awesome when they draw my blood, both as a patient and as a paid blood donor.

I've worked a lot of weekends, holidays, and fill-ins and call ins during my 29 years. And I've provided a lot of good lab data, too. I know I've made a difference in the Hematology-Oncology, Coagulation, and Quality Professions.

As far as weight loss and weight maintenance go, here's how I use at home and commercial lab testing to monitor my health.

What's working for me now

1.  Home Glucose meter, fasting & 2 hrs post to determine type 2 diabetes risks with meals and foods.

I can eat carrots, Brussels sprouts, onions, green onions, summer squashes, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries, and 85% chocolate with post 2 hour glucose readings 98 ug/mL and below. My fasting runs anywhere from 68-82 ug/mL or so.

Since I have the genetic predispostion for Type 2 diabetes (not diagnosed) I need to test. It's not my fault, but when I was obese for 40 years, my type 2 risk sky rocketed in 2000, post pregnancy.

2. Home Fecal Occult Blood testing, as provided by my employer near my birthday. Negative colonoscopy in 2016. Staying away from high fiber grains keeps my colon running BETTER!

3. Paleo, Low Carb, sometimes Keto food template for good outcomes with glucose & GI health

4. Occasional urine ketone testing just because it's fun. LOL.

5. Periodic lab testing for screening for insurance discounts and thyroid testing for medication dosing.

6. 23N Me testing with the Promethease HTML report. This is the single most important lab test of my life. I will live longer, in less pain, for much less cost. Owning my own data = super powerful.

What did not work in the past

1. Not monitoring glucose at home post potatoes, winter squash, and moderating Skinny Cow Icecream sandwiches. With M&M's spiked on the side. 5 WW points doesn't keep me from developing Type 2 diabetes. I now know my glucose spikes high and stays high when eat the SAD.

2. Shying away from wanting to know if I had fecal occult blood AND shying away from the idea of a colonoscopy. I've seen too many people not get standard polyps snipped out and who have died in their 50's. Very good treatments, individual for colon cancer now.

I must say that eating high fiber grains really did a number on my GI system. I was afraid I'd have long lasting effects. Thankfully, I stopped pumping my body full of oatmeal, Kashi, Fiber One and magically, my GI system got A LOT Better...

3. Calorie counting and Points counting did not work post mid-30's for me. In my late 20's yes. In my mid 30's and older- all the NOPES. All of that helped me get and stay obese for many years. Nothing fueled my Food Addiction more.

4. Not using low carb as a tool for weight loss and weight maintenance.

5. I avoided going to the doctor and avoided taking action on some really high HA1c's. Sigh. Better late than never.

6. Not owning and taking action on my own data. I just wanted to stick my head in the sand.


Okay, who else uses home and commercial lab testing to optimize weight loss and weight maintenance. I know a lot of our bloggy friends do. :) Kudos.

PS- one of our bloggy friends has requested a topic on GI health, specifically, stool health. Whooot!!  Post up in the next week to 10 days with how I keep my GI system pretty smooth, after years of too much and too little. Don't worry, there will be no actual photos. LOL

Congrats to Prof Tim Noakes and an "oh no they didn't" Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino - April 2017

A bouquet of flowers to Professor Timothy Noakes from South Africa for being found NOT GUILTY of professional misconduct for instructing a new mother to feed her baby- gasp! real food! Meeting Prof Noakes at a LCHF event is on my bucket list. Just saying! 

A link to the verdict details here

 Also thanks to Marika Sboros for the incredible coverage of the trial. 

Dr. Zoe Harcombe describes the Prof Noakes case (before the verdict at Low Carb Breckenridge). 

Here's what really is working for me now for my Paleo, LCHF, sometimes low Keto food template for long term weight maintenance and how it relates to the Prof Noakes case

1. I got better (putting obesity and food addiction in remission) by following the tools that Prof  Timothy Noakes,  Dr. Gary Fettke, Jason Fung MD, Dr. Zoe Harcombe, Jeffery Gerber, MD, Eric Westman, MD, and Barbara Berkeley, MD have provided. World Wide Subject Matter Experts ROCK.

2. I'm able to use the information and apply my learning from the information presented by subject matter experts to my own genetics and outcomes to avoid diabetes, obesity, and diseases of inflammation. 

3. I'm not waiting for the US government to change to change the food guidelines to get well. When grains and high carb, high processed foods failed to work as evidenced  by painful joints, cystic acne, food addiction, morbid obesity, I took matters into my own hands. 

There's absolutely NO SENSE in waiting for any government to swoop down and pronounce something. There is a HUGE benefit in seeking subject matter experts in the areas where I know I need to improve my health and taking massive action. 

Kudos Prof Noakes for staying the course. Kudos for those providing valuable tools to those of us who need help now, not in 5, 10, or 20 years.  We all need the Prof Tim Noakes of the world to speak out and provide their valuable clinical experience. 

Little Toot needs to tow the sugar boat away!

Now an "Oh no they didn't" entry

Okay, click through to the blog entry. The Gomer Blog is like the Onion for Medical types, so please take it with a grain of salt. It's satire, okay.

As the mother of a teenager, the sugar consumption at all coffee houses is a concern to me. Frequency, amount, your body will need to do something with 59 grams of sugar. It has no choice but to protect your heart, liver, kidneys, and eyes. NO, sugary coffee drinks are NOT an occasional thing for many in Jr. High, High School, and College. It's the dose and frequency. Sugary drinks have already created havoc in young kids.

Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino is a Colorful & Fun Way to Get Diabetes - https://t.co/EF04DtXXjB pic.twitter.com/41icBWiAh9

— GomerBlog (@GomerBlog) April 22, 2017

What's working for me now

1. Black coffee at home and at Starbucks
2. Coconut milk for a coffee whitener, on weekends
3. Stopping sugar substitutes to lose the "sweet" palate

What didn't work for me in the past

1. Getting Low Fat Lattes and thinking I was awesome. I wasn't, I needed to be dairy free
2. Using those flavored creamers thinking I could get into top health with a chemical add-in.
3. Using tons of equal in many cups of coffee thinking it would help me get lean.


Onward. Any thoughts on Prof Noakes and Unicorn Frappuccino's? It's okay to disagree.

5 years , 2 months in long term weight maintenance 2017 update

May 2011 and April 2017

May 2011 to April 2017

Starting weight 187.4 lbs

Goal Range 113-125  lbs

Current Weight 114.4 lbs

Keeping off      73.0    lbs

Time in maintenance 5 years, 2 month

Age 51

Menopause 3+years

Height 5'1"

BMI 21.6

BMI ave this month 21.7

BMI ave last month 21.9

Glucose (fasting & 2hr post this month range 68-95 mg/dL)

Glucose (fasting & 2 hr post last month = 68-113 mg/dL) ! Shingles caused some higher readings

Food Template:  Ketosis- mild and  LCHF Paleo, AKA- NSNG
Abstain from all grains, sugars*, dairy. Nut free, artificial sweetener free **
* 85% chocolate 1X per day
** Tiny bit of stevia in my Natural Calm

Food Timing or Time Restricted Eating Window or Intermittent Fasting 17:7 or 18:6

18 hours fasting (water only)
6 hours eating, 3 meals
Eat 6am Stop eating at 12 pm

Or 17:7, I change it up a bit

Auto-Immune Hashimotos 1997, 100 ug Synthroid daily

Food Addict in Recovery: 5+ years

High Risk, but never diagnosed Type 2 diabetes

Walking 13,000-14,000 steps per day

Weight lifting : I took about a month off due to the Shingles, starting back today for 2X per week

Sprints on the rowing machine 1 days per week OR stair sprints 

Stair Ave/day for the month 14 stairs (Apple Health Kit)

What's working now:

1. Abstaining for the WIN!!!!

So, so, so incredibly grateful for Food Sober Living the last month. I've recovered from the shingles almost 95%. I need to bring my upper body strength back online and a few skin areas to heal up. 

I'm being very mindful to get back to my normal self and not let food addiction back into my life. If there's anything I have learned it's that I can take one or two bites and have a lapse after a big illness or life stressor. So, I remain food sober. 

And for that, I am very grateful. Thanks for anyone in the past that has helped me abstain. Kudos. 

What didn't work in the past

1. Moderating all food within a point value. Calories in Calories out really did nothing to keep me food sober. In fact, it kept me in food addiction for far too long. 

Graphs, got them!  You  can see the Shingles 1-2 pound bump! LOL.