Brian I think alchol turns into glucose in the body and like sugar is an inflammatory. I have read so much that sugar does increase pain level. Its so hard to limit though. Melody I think the fish because it has high protein helps lower your blood sugar and omega 3 are known to help lower cholesterol and sugar levels. I'm sure its a combo of things helping you. I truly feel a well rounded plan is the way to go.

Sue, I know we aren't the only country that are bulking up, even some of the school kids are, some schools over here are banning soft drinks & stuff from their canteens, but what they do after school they can't control, but it's a start at least.

Melody, they do sound delicious, but i hardly ever eat Chinese/Japanese foods though, just wondering how you cook your fish ?
I just brought a glucose monitor to keep an eye on my blood sugar levels, not sure about the numerical measures compared to you guys in the US, i done a couple of readings in the morning before breakfast and it 4.5 one morning and 4.9 another, 2 hours after lunch it was 5.7 & 6.1, but after dinner it has been 8.1 & 7.6 so this another reason i cut down the evening meal, but haven't yet measured it since, I was told anything between 4.0 - 8.0 was ok, so i am trying to keep it in between those levels.

Vowel Lady, thanks for all the great suggestions, i am doing most of what you mentioned although any weights are out of the question because of C5,C6,C7 problems, it's easily aggravated then i am real trouble.
The multi minerals i hadn't thought of, so thanks for your input.

Brian

Med a few months back,was blessed with a great deal of money,that will
go to help Diabectic 2 Children... I can't tell how blessed,but it must be done.
And now...And i'm a big believer that recess,jump rope,hop ,skip,jump,
and yes junk food out,until then when should at least take a walk with
them,play catch...Well so on and the arts,not everybody has tons of money
for lessons. Just saying....Sue

Sue is absolutely right about the lack of exercise in our school systems. Why they did away with gym, and why these schools serve all this crap at lunch and breakfast, well, I know it's about money, but really. The kids are now obese and it has been said, the next generation will not outlive our generation due to obesity, diabetes, etc. It's frightening.

I remember we had gym class once a week when I was about 12. We had this stupid gym uniform. We had to play dodge ball, and volley ball, and we had to run around the gym. I was chubby and all the other kids made fun of me.

It made for lots of problems with the teachers keeping order. Can you imagine a teacher with 55 kids in one class, during a gym period, keeping everybody in line, running around, exercising??? Don't think so. Kids today run the show. There is no discipline in any of the schools unless the schools are run by the military, and we don't have schools that are run by the military. I wish we did.

Kids today bring cell phones, bring ipods, bring everything but the books. Kids have to go through metal detectors before they go to class. Any of you have to go through metal detectors way back when?? Didn't think so!!!

No, the world we live in today is a far cry from 40 years ago.

Too much freedom, too little lack of discipline. When they took away the parents rights, they lost it all.

Oh, for the good old days.

And Brian, all I do is take some fillet of anything I want, like sole, flounder, tilapia, or tubot, (it just can't have any bones). Now this recipe is for when I want to bread the fish. Here's how!!!In one bowl, I put egg substitute (or egg whites).

Now in another bowl, I put plain breadcrumbs that have no salt added. To the breadcrumbs, I add some garlic poweder, some minced onion, some cumin, some fresh chopped parsley.

Dip the fish in the egg substitute and then dip the fish in the breadcrumb mixture. Spray a frying pan with some no-stick spray. Heat the pan and put the fish in. Keep turning the fish as it browns. Takes about 5 minutes for a thin piece of fish. Fish cooks very quickly. Sprinkle on some fresh lemon juice and (only if you like salt and pepper), just season to taste.

Add some veggies and nice tossed salad and you're good to go.


Now if you don't want to bread the fish, here's how this recipe goes:

Spray a non-stick pan with no-stick spray (any frying pan will do just as long as you have no-stick spray). Chop up some parsley. Put on fish. Now take some chopped up garlic and put it in the pan with the parsley. Saute the garlic a bit together with the parsley. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil in this mixture. Then add the fish, and cook on one site for 3 minutes, turn it over and cook it another 3 minutes. Fish is done when it is white and flakey.

I also do this with Salmon. Over here, Salmon has one side with the skin still on. And this is a really good Salmon recipe.

Heat up a pan first (using no-stick spray). Put the fish in skin side down. In 5 minutes, turn it over and the skin will peel right off. Throw that away. Now you'll have a nice piece of boneless salmon. Just add chopped up garlic, parsley and lemon juice and cook until it's done. Salmon is thick so this is a trial and error thing. You'll know after you do this a few times.

It's delicious. I also have a George Forman Grill and Salmon is good on that.

But regular fish is too thin for the George Forman.

So Happy Cooking. This is what I made tonight. Fillet of Catfish, zucchini and a nice salad. Alan was a happy man.

Take care,

Melody

Thanks Melody. That sounds good. Do you have Trader Joes by you?They have salmon burgers that are in a patty you could make a sandwich with. I also take grilled salmon with some teriyaki sauce glazed on it. Add this to a salad with a little bit of walnuts,gorgonzola,and you could add some light dressing. I had a really good fish sandwich at this restaurant but the fish was cod but I had it grilled instead of fried.
As for kids today and eating habits. I feel we live in extremes. Even when I was growing up kids were not having the sit down family dinners. Now that both parents work I think the rush for quick is on and health often goes out the window. Plus have you looked in the supermarket. There are a million kinds of different treats. How many ways can hostess make a cupcake? I have so many friends one in general who eat like crap. They don't think about years from now. My one friend eats a meatball parm sub and puts Doritos in the sandwich. When your young you think your invinsible until something happens. I do wonder 20 years from now what the food industry will be like and what people will look like and how the health industry will be.

Yes, thanks Melody for going in so much detail & explaining it so well, much appreciated.
Brian

with interest. Thing is, what to do? Well, there are a whole slew of approaches, as you have gathered. I too deal with the weight, but its my meds that are the ultimate culprit, and I know it! The fact that I just had a WHOLE molar extracted and had to live on 'liquids' for the past five days is proof of that....Finding nutritious, FILLING and tolerable food-like substance has been a challenge to say the least. Hey, eating less and gaining more?
My own spouse is a type 2 diabetic, managed thru pills, exercise and diet. He recently received some diabetic counseling which was interesting in that it clearly pointed out the types and sizes of 'exchange portions' of the real life application kind. I have tried and tried to grasp this stuff, in a way I can relate to and all I can get out of it all is: Keep the bad stuff out of the house as much as possible, Keep simply fresh or frozen vegies to chomp on available. Plain cereals and breads and ideally, fresh or frozen meats, chicken and fish.
I can't tolerate fish well [long and boring stories], I also have one huge chest freezer in which I keep frozen veggies and fruits that I get from the farmer's markets and chill ASAp and bag for future use. Same with meats and poultry. I call these 'gems' my bags of sunshine during the winter months. Every bag I open, thaw and use is something that brings a bit of happiness as it is simple, good stuff and not at all 'processed' other than by me.
Anyone who lives in any type of 'urban' situation cannot avoid some or many 'processed' foods. Key is to eat sensibly and simply. I am finding that when I am out for lunch [rarely] I tend to order a soup and salad rather than the stuff I really want? I prefer salad bars so I won't have to 'get' stuff I do not want with my 'roughage'. [With tooth hole-rite now I would/could really use some of that roughage, but....] Due to this tooth aspect I am learning whole new dimensions to the concept of FASTING!
The whole thing to me is summed up into two words? PORTION CONTROL...we need lots less than we think we do. That and the 'convenience drive-thru foods' are and should be just that...Convenience. Make it a 'treat' say, once a month? I don't know about all of you, but such places were a 'treat' when I was a kid. I am trying not to make that treat a norm. Keeping things simple, using herbs or spices for flavor and steaming,stir frying, lite sauteing or roasting is really the best way to go.
Everyone is right about all they have learned...the trick to me is tweaking things to the degree that works right for you!
Small feedings at regular intervals? - j