Dorrie,

That's great about the treadmill. I hope you can keep up using it regularly. I find the things that count the most for health are the routine things we eat, and the routine things we do.

I encourage you to eat foods that provide minerals (vegetables) and that stick to your ribs (eggs, fish, meat, cultured dairy products - organic is best of course, but pretty costly). These foods provide good nourishment and a steady blood sugar level. I have found that eating like this requires planning - something I have trouble doing. I think it has to do with me liking to do what I want when I want. I don't particularly like other people telling me what to do. I've discovered that I don't even like me telling me what to do - and that's what planning is... me figuring out what is best and coming up with a plan that I am supposed to execute in the future. When that future comes, I don't even like me telling me what to do, if I don't feel like it at the time. But following a plan to prepare and eat a good breakfast, for example, helps me avoid eating sugary, starchy foods when I run out of gas, so to speak, later in the day.

Thank you for all the great feedback regarding my post on my blood sugar levels. I finally went to an endocrinologist in town here, one of the best doctors I have ever met (in case anyone lives in the NW) and we talked about it. She said that if I had really bulked up on a high protein meal just before I had that high glucose reading it could possibly have happened. But, I never eat like that. I spread my food out through the whole day--just kind of forage along. First of all, we are going to retest to make sure it wasn't an anomaly as labs can make errors. Other readings I had of nonfasting were higher than they had been before. The endocrinologist did say that the two doctors I talked to were wrong in that 166 is "normal". In that range it is considered prediabetes. Having this happen doesn't make sense to me as I have always exercised, eat very little sugar, am on the thin side, don't drink alcohol. I did find out recently though, that I have celiac disease and casein and soy intolerance and I am 50 years old. The endocrinologist said that because I also have autoimmune thyroiditis I could be in danger of getting type I diabetes. Apparently I already have the burning foot syndrome. It sounds as if some people are just more neurologically sensitive than others and although the line for diabetes is at 200, some people probably feel the sugar rise in their nervous system way before that.
That is very scary about aspartame. I drank diet coke for years, a bad habit I started in the SW. I no longer drink the stuff as things I read about it scared me. My sister tried splenda and said that she had diarrhea for 2 wks before she realized what was causing it. Maybe none of those sweeteners are really safe. I just go without sugar on my cereal or tea. It takes some getting used to, but it is better than having a sugar overload.