Hi All,

I'd like to hear from a bunch of people on this. Are any of you very hungry when you wake up? I mean the alarm goes off and the first thing you notice is how hungry you are?

I ask because all of my life I have been this way and the zone seems to have increased that fact. Doesn't matter how many blocks I consume, it happened when I started at 11 and continued as I experimented with more blocks. It happens if I eat the snack or it I don't.(tried not eating it to see if that would help)

My DH can't understand it as food to him is the morning makes him nauseous. Same with my DD. She does eat breakfast, but is not hungry.

I'm open to any suggestions, as I hate that feeling. I have to rush to the kitchen to get something quick or I'll be shaky.

Thanks for your help.

Hi!

The solution is to achieve better insulin control by following closer adherence to the Zone diet.

Sue, have you tried playing with a variety of bedtime snacks? Some snacks just work much better for me than others. If I have an unbalanced snack before bed, I usually wake up more hungry. And, it may also help to take your fish oil at that time. The fat may help to slow the glycemic response of your bedtime snack.

Sue - I precisely measure my blocks, hence the reason I did the study on actual protein per bock. I know I've posted a lot lately about the plate method, but my question has always been about accuracy. Either way, and I have tried the plate method, I still feel ravenous. I use the same block combo that will hold me during the day, and I don't need to adjust my carbs then, so not sure that I'd need to at night.

CC - ok, here is what I have tried. Went the liquid method with milk, no go. I've tried string cheese, berries and almonds, nope. Tried something denser, like oatmeal, peanut butter and protein powder. Nope. I'm open to other suggestions. oh and i've tried egg white, veggies and almonds. Not that either.

sue, since you are in the Zone all day and just wake up a bit hungry, seems to me as if your body is just "fasting" a bit too long.

A zone meal is going to keep you in the zone for 4-6 hours, and a snack is going to work for about 2 hours or so. But, we sleep for ## of hours, likely sleeping longer than the effectiveness of these meals/snacks. Now, I think that our metabolism drops during the night, but maybe yours is still in overdrive.

When is your evening meal and snack timing? How active are you in the evening?

Sue,
I agree with cc- about your matabolic rate staying in overdrive all night. that is possible.
My father and mother were both diabetic, and at times had to wake up at night to drink orange juice if there blood sugar had dropped. so they had a sm cooler in there room with oj,& pb crackers.

Not that you are diabetic but your insulin being that off when you wake, you might want to try keeping a zone bar on your night stand and having that when you wake. especially if you go to thegym or excersize during the day. Dr. Sears does recomend having a snack before going to the gym, as well as eating with in an hour of waking.

Maybe that will help

Julie

sue, here are a couple more things to think about. One, the Zone is not about achieving precision in measuring, but rather about finding the combinations and amounts of Zone friendly foods that will keep your insulin levels low while at the same time maintaining or increasing your LBM. That is the way to achieve satiety 24/7. Two, eating too much food overall, even if it's eaten in the form of your best personal Zone balance, is a sure way to prevent the lowering of insulin levels.

You could always get a fasting insulin blood test to see how you're doing with insulin control. In the 15 years I've been eating the Zone diet, I've never had a doctor refuse my request to order one once I've explained that I want it to use as a measure of my progress with my dietary approach to wellness.

If you'd like to post your LBM, body fat %, a day or two, or three, of your actual meals and snacks, including timing, your exercise, and how you felt throughout those days, maybe we could all offer some more appropriate suggestions.

Sue, I am confused by your post.

I think little sue has said on numerous occasions that she is NOT having any difficulty with insulin levels throughout the day. And, she is NOT gaining weight (I think I remember her mentioning that in a prior post). So, I don't understand why you feel she is eating too much food?

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue on 05/04/2009 4:14 PM
I never thought of that, and it does make sense. I myself might ask my dr. to order me one it can be a great measuring tool.

sue, here are a couple more things to think about. One, the Zone is not about achieving precision in measuring, but rather about finding the combinations and amounts of Zone friendly foods that will keep your insulin levels low while at the same time maintaining or increasing your LBM. That is the way to achieve satiety 24/7. Two, eating too much food overall, even if it's eaten in the form of your best personal Zone balance, is a sure way to prevent the lowering of insulin levels.

You could always get a fasting insulin blood test to see how you're doing with insulin control. In the 15 years I've been eating the Zone diet, I've never had a doctor refuse my request to order one once I've explained that I want it to use as a measure of my progress with my dietary approach to wellness.

If you'd like to post your LBM, body fat %, a day or two, or three, of your actual meals and snacks, including timing, your exercise, and how you felt throughout those days, maybe we could all offer some more appropriate suggestions.
</div>

From personal experience, asking for a fasting insulin test may be good, but it may also not tell a lot. I suppose it COULD tell something. However, even if you ask a doc for the order, doesn't mean that one won't have to pay for it. As a test that is not routinely ordered, it may not be covered.

I had hunger problems previously, and still had really good fasting insulin levels. So, for me, it was not really useful, other than to pat me on the back. Surely, my hunger had indicated that I was not in the Zone, but it certainly was not because of my dietary choices!

Also, FYI, fasting insulin levels will typically be elevated in those who suffer from "hyperinsulinemia", metabolic syndrome, and the like. But, it may also be very low in people with diabetes, due to the lack of ability to produce insulin.

Great Julie!

It's one of Dr. Sears 3 markers for determining wellness.

Here's the info for the 3 markers of wellness, taken from his newest book, TOXIC FAT:

"Silent Inflammation Status:

AA/EPA ratio ...>15, dangerous; 10, poor; 3, good; 1.5 ideal


Insulin Resistance Status:

Fasting insulin...>15 uU/ml, dangerous; 10 uU/ml, poor; 5 uU/ml, good; >5 uU/ml, ideal

TG/HDL ratio...>4, dangerous; 3, poor; 2, good; <1 ideal

This is not a multiple-choice test. Either you pass all the tests, or you can't be considered well."

He goes on to explain how looks can be deceiving by describing how Olympic athletes he's worked with have had high levels of silent inflammation from "training too hard" and have turned it around with the Zone, resulting in improved performance. The Olympic athletes Dr. Sears has worked with have won 24 gold medals in the past 4 Olympics.

Julie, Sue and CC - I will keep a diary for the next three days and post, I haven't written down my weekend meals and I'm sure I'll forget something.

Just off the top of my head though, in general my meal timing is as follows:

Get up at 5:30 - 5:45. Breakfast is at 6:30 - 7. Lunch is at 12 noon, snack at 4pm, dinner 5:30-6, Evening snack 9:30 -10 generally closer to 10. Bed is 10:30-11. My meals keep me satisfied and I am focused. I do not feel bloated or stuffed when I leave the table, just satisfied.

My evenings vary, mon and tues I have yoga for an hour. From 8-9, I eat my snack at 9:30 on those days. I am usually still full from dinner as it is only 1 1/2 hours before yoga. The Wed evening is generally relaxing as Rachel has a flute lesson. Thur and Fri, will sometimes include a walk if I didn't get it in earlier.

Tue, Thur, Sat are gym days, with weights and cardio. Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun are run and/or walk depending on my day. Gym days also include a walk or yoga or both.

My breakfast are pretty routine, so I can post those. I generally rotate the following:

4 egg whites with a few veggies for flavor (onion, red pepper, jalapeno) equal to 1/2 C. 1 slice 100% whole wheat toast, 1 cup LF Milk, 1C of fruit. EVOO for my fat. 3.5 blocks.

or 2/3 c. oatmeal, 1 C fruit, 3 P of protein powder, 1 tsp peanut butter and 1 c. milk. 4 blocks

or Yogurt (1 C, 1P) Bran buds 1 C, Fruit 1 C, 3 P of protein powder, Almonds for fat. 3 Blocks.

The fruit is generally berries, grapefruit or pear. They each contain a denser or unfav carb, but I have found that if I don't have a denser carb it doesn't work. Tried everything else.

I will post my meals tomorrow.

I am trying a two block snack tonight, just to see if there is a difference.

Girls, I had started this post this afternoon, DD needed the computer and I didn't want to lose what I had started, so I know it doesn't address the posts that came in since.

Sue - when we get finished building the accessible bathroom for my DH, and get him settled, I will see about getting to the Dr. for a blood test. However, as CC mentioned above, I did state that I am not having any problems during the day. You can see from my previous post that my meal timing is pretty close to suggested. Since starting the zone my LBM as increased from 95% to 102%. I am not gaining weight.

I will report tomorrow on how my 2 block snack this evening worked out. I had a block to use.

I also had sent in a question to Zone diet via the chat button. I asked a question that wasn't really answered per say, again about the protein issue. Here is the reply:

The minimum number of blocks a female should be consuming in a given day is 11. Increasing to 13 blocks per day is only an additional 200 calories per day, which, if are comprised of balanced carbs, protein, and fat will not hamper your ability to stay in the Zone and lose excess body fat. If you at least somewhat physically active, you should be fine consuming 13 blocks per day.



Hope this helps,



Theoni Gray | Sr. Supervisor Customer Service

Considering I'm am more than somewhat active, I don't think that on days I hit 15 blocks that it will be a problem either.

My question was about the plate method and not being totally sure that it was exactly the number of blocks I needed.

sue, definitely let me know if that 2 block snack works out for you. I was thinking that you could either just add the extra block, or you could "steal" a block from dinner. I was also thinking that maybe you could just try a 1 block snack but upping the fat content in the snack. Might help it last longer, too.

I was more concerned about your body being revved up in the evening, and that your metabolism wasn't slowing down to sleep mode after you go to bed.

If you are doing the gym later in the evening, then I would suggest trying to do that earlier in the day. The way you posted, I wasn't sure if you were doing gym in the evening or not, but I am assuming you are not, since you mentioned yoga, flute lesson, and walking.

The yoga shouldn't cause a problem, probably helpful to have it in the evening.

I know you have tweaked at your meals, and I am not really convinced that is the problem, if you are fine during the day, no hunger between meals, you are losing fat and gaining LBM.

So, I think I am still going to go with either the need for that extra block, or that your metabolism is still racing. From what I know about you and the responsibilities that you carry, I am thinking that you probably are working your tail off much more than you posted here.

BTW, interesting how Theoni Gray seems to support the additional blocks and that it really should not be an issue in the Zone.

Hi sue!

My comments in this thread are in reply to your question in the first post here, about being very hungry when you wake, so hungry that you have to rush to the kitchen to get something quick or you'll be shaky. Theoni's reply isn't about that, nor, for that matter, does it address a person of your LBM who is consuming 15 blocks in a day, which incidentally is the maxiumum block intake for an Olympic athlete of your stature. Whether or not a person feels hungry during the day, eating more food than they require for the Zone can keep insulin levels elevated. This scenario could possibly be a factor in the symptoms you're experiencing when you wake each day. Your consistent use of bread and Bran Buds at breakfast could be another factor.

Sue, how do you figure that little sue is eating too many blocks?

I don't really think you have answered that question yet, even though sue and I tried to address it in a number of other threads!

I can't help but feel a bit frustrated when you have stated that sue is eating too many blocks, yet she is not displaying any signs of eating too many blocks. She is in the Zone all day, she is gaining LBM, and she is NOT gaining bodyfat. You had stated that excess protein would be stored as fat (in another thread), and certainly if she were eating too many blocks, wouldn't she have more trouble staying in the Zone all day?

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue on 05/04/2009 9:24 PM

Hi sue!

My comments in this thread are in reply to your question in the first post here, about being very hungry when you wake, so hungry that you have to rush to the kitchen to get something quick or you'll be shaky. Theoni's reply does not address that, nor, for that matter, does it address a person of your LBM who is consuming 15 blocks in a day, which incidentally is the maxiumum block intake for an Olympic athlete of your stature. Whether or not a person feels hungry during the day, eating more food than they require for the Zone can keep insulin levels elevated. This scenario could possibly be a factor in the symptoms you're experiencing when you wake each day. Your use of bread and Bran Buds could be another factor. </div>

Sue - Theoni's reply basically says that being off by 2 blocks will not be an issue and it says that I only need to do basic exercise. I am definitely doing more than basic exercise. However we are not going to go there again.

As for my morning hunger issue. The bran buds and the bread are eaten at breakfast not later in the day, so if they were going to throw off my insulin level would not that occur between breakfast and lunch? They are also only 1/4 of my Carb for that meal and that fits with the recommendation in the books as far as I know. If I do not include those with those breakfast combos, I cannot go the recommended 4 hours because I do not have a dense enough carb in there to carry me. Adding more veggies did not work. I have found several meals through out the various books recommending eggs with a tortilla, a tortilla is made of flour and water, I know, I make them on occasion. At least my bread, which I make myself and know the exact ingredients includes EVOO.

Anyway, I am currently corresponding with Lynn Sears, so maybe she can clear up my block recommendations. I sent her my stats and the exercise I do, I will see if she feels I am eating too many blocks.

I still do not feel that is my problem when I wake up, since I am in the zone the rest of the day w/o any issues.

I will post tomorrow about whether the 2 block snack tonight made a difference or not. I did have room to add that extra block. It did not take me to 16.

Hi!

Be careful not to confuse insulin levels with blood sugar levels. A person's insulin level is not solely dependent upon what they ate in the past several hours. How a person eats in the long run determines how successful they'll be at keeping their insulin in the low ranges of the Zone.

Sue, are you making this up as you go along? LOL!

I clearly don't understand how you can pick apart one breakfast meal, totally ignore the fact that little sue feels fine all day, and then claim that this breakfast is causing her to be hungry the next morning!

No wonder most people find the Zone confusing. It is nearly impossible to figure out what meals work and what doesn't work, if we are to worry about the effects of today's breakfast not hitting us until the following day!

Zone literature clearly indicates that we can gauge success in the Zone by looking back 4 hours to our last meal. If we are still feeling satiety at the 4 hour mark after a meal, then we can assume that the meal was hormonally balanced.

Now, tell us what is wrong with that statement, because I do believe Barry wrote it in multiple books!

Ok, here is my report. The two block snack seemed to do the trick. What did I eat? 1 pear, 2 LF string cheese and almonds. I felt good this morning.

My breakfast today - I used the Huevos Rancheros Recipe from ETZ page 252.

1 whole egg
2 egg whites with chopped onion, green pepper, tomato, chili powder, and cilantro,
2 oz of low-fat cheese,
1 slice whole-grain bread
1 1/3 teaspoons almond butter
1 cup honeydew melon cut into cubes as side dish.

I made one adjustment, I used grapefruit as I didn't have honeydew and it is not yet available around here.

Sue - I hope you will notice that this recipe uses the same 1 slice of whole grain bread that I've been using. I knew i wasn't crazy when I created my egg breakfast as it was a take off of one in ETZ. On that same page is an oatmeal recipe that is just like mine only I used protein powder instead of canadian bacon. In fact all but one of the breakfast recipes in ETZ list a dense carb. In fact the one recipe is to have a plain bagel, 3 oz of lox or smoked salmon and 3 tbsp of cream cheese. Another uses a whole english muffin. Please see page 252-253 of ETZ and tell me where my breakfasts are worse than those. These were included by Barry Sears, shouldn't he recognize a balanced breakfast? I don't even have as much dense carb as the last two that I noted.

Look, I don't want to start disagreements on this or any thread, however when I am following what is written in one of the books, I don't understand how what I am eating is wrong. I'm gaining LBM, I'm not gaining weight. Isn't that a sign that I'm doing something right? The fact that I may need to just move my blocks around a bit to get better control at night should not be an issue. So I steal a block from one of my meals to deal with my bedtime, I don't get the problem with that.

I will await Lynn Sears recommendations on my blocks and I will post it when it comes. I will be back to post my lunch. I'm off to the gym, generally I hit the gym in the morning or just after lunch. Never at night. '

I am taking a snack with me for after the gym as i will be headed to the grocery from there.

Hi Zoners!


It's over simplifying to place all measure of success in the Zone on your response to your last meal. There's more to it than that. Barry Sears has set measurable parameters to determine wellness, as I mentioned eariler in this thread. To read about these markers of wellness, which are AA/EPA, fasting insulin, and TG/HDL ratio, refer to page 83 in TOXIC FAT. Both AA/EPA and fasting insulin levels have an impact on your ability to maintain satiety. sue achieves satiety part of the day but not all of the day, according to her first post in this thread. sue's situation of being unable to achieve satiety during the day without adding blocks up to the level an elite athlete would demonstrate that her AA/EPA and fasting insulin are probably not yet at ideals levels. Elevated fasting insulin leads to hormonal scenarios that result in diminished satiety. Elevated AA/EPA also hormonally negatively impacts a person's ability to maintain satiety 24/7. For anyone who desires a more in depth discussion of the scientific detail and the mechanisms at work in relation to satiety, Dr. Sears discusses it in detail in TOXIC FAT (also refer to pages 243 through 268 in that book).

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue on 05/04/2009 7:24 PM

Great Julie!

It's one of Dr. Sears 3 markers for determining wellness.

Here's the info for the 3 markers of wellness, taken from his newest book, TOXIC FAT:

"Silent Inflammation Status:

AA/EPA ratio ...>15, dangerous; 10, poor; 3, good; 1.5 ideal


Insulin Resistance Status:

Fasting insulin...>15 uU/ml, dangerous; 10 uU/ml, poor; 5 uU/ml, good; >5 uU/ml, ideal

TG/HDL ratio...>4, dangerous; 3, poor; 2, good; <1 ideal

This is not a multiple-choice test. Either you pass all the tests, or you can't be considered well."

He goes on to explain how looks can be deceiving by describing how Olympic athletes he's worked with have had high levels of silent inflammation from "training too hard" and have turned it around with the Zone, resulting in improved performance. The Olympic athletes Dr. Sears has worked with have won 24 gold medals in the past 4 Olympics.

</div>

*** Sue,
That is great .. I own all the other books i might as well get that one too. I t sounds like I can learn more on my well being from it. Thank you

Sue,
I am glad to here the 2 block snack worked for you. that is a positive change. I also found that when Sue critics our menus as she has done to a few of mine <img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/smile.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Smile' align='absmiddle'> its not to say you are wrong. How ever maybe just altering a few of the ingridents to work with your body chemistry. Like you had said prior about the dense carbs.
How was breakfast? I havnt tried it yet? <img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/smile.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Smile' align='absmiddle'>
We all have diffrent veiws and opions, which is why this forum is fantastic, we can take the info with a grain of salt try new things and see what will work for us and our indiviual life style. I Thank all of you for all your comments.

Big Sue (not to get the 2 of you confused),

Who gets to decide which parts of the Zone books to BELIEVE, and which ones to disregard?

Zone science is what it is. A meal that is not hormonally correct MAY follow you around to the next morning, BUT, it is also likely to affect much more of your day, as well. If I recall, little sue stated that she was LOSING FAT, GAINING LBM, and had GOOD ENERGY with NO HUNGER ALL DAY. I think you must have misunderstood what she said, because you seem to think she was only in the Zone PART of the day. But, her breakfast seems to be giving her good results all day. Don't know what she ate the rest of the day, but apparently nothing else seems to be causing trouble, because, again, she is having good results.

I won't go into the fact that those test results may or may not be important here, but lets be realistic. We can't take blood tests on ourselves every day to see if we ate in the Zone. We have to be able to gauge how we are doing by how we feel and what our bodies are doing.

It is entirely possible that sue's AA/EPA levels may be off, as well as yours and mine. But, isn't that why we are here? Don't you think that part of the reason why we are here is to address our lifestyles and make changes for the bettter? Well, believe it or not, that is what we are doing!

When one is hungry, either they are eating an incorrect ratio of protein/carb, or they are just basically not eating enough. If it is true that the extra snack is going to elevate insulin levels, then I would expect MORE hunger in the morning, as opposed to LESS. But, if it is true that sue just needed an extra block, then I would expect that the hunger would get better.

I really don't think we have to obsess any further on it, it doesn't have to be rocket science.

Little sue,

You probably read my previous post. Just wanted to jump in with you and say that I am really glad that the hunger wasn't as bad today. Give it a few more days, and keep us posted as to how the bedtime snack is working!

One thing that I know that you and I talked about in email is that we are all individuals, and the Zone was meant to be individualized. We are all not the same, and for some of us, we need a tad more dense carb than others. Keeping it to no more than a block is a good solution, and if it works for you, then I don't see a problem with it.

Now, if we were having a discussion about lack of fat loss, or lack of progress in the Zone, I think that maybe the suggestions from Sue would be more appropriate. But, since that is not the case, I don't think we need to go there.

Julie - yes we are all individuals and need to find what works. If you follow me around a bit you will see that what I post about what I am doing is constantly being portrayed as being incorrect. The amazing thing is that none of us live in each others bodies. The zone would not include adjustments if we were all the same. It would be very rigid

Sue - as far as all of those blood tests go, if you would like to foot the bill, I'll go right now. However, with my DH's dx and things that need to be purchased at the moment, I'll be spending well over $100,000.00 to buy it all and get it all done. No insurance doesn't cover the van needed to transport, the portable ramp to get him into places, the new bathroom that needs to be done to accommodate the wheelchair, the lift to get him up to an area that we can get the chair into the house. (the chair itself weighs over 300lbs). And who knows what all in the next 6 months. Sooooo I need to go by how I feel, no other option.

My gym WO today to keep me strong and keep me healthy took 2 hours and burnt 613 cals based on my Heart Rate Monitor that is set with all my stats. I know we don't count calories here, we use blocks and I know that ATP from fat means we don't need to replace 613 cals. Even if we cut that number in half, I still used up over 3 blocks on my WO. I will be going to yoga tonight, that always nets another 200 cals or at least 1 block. And I need to get my Ddog out for his power walk. At least another 200 cals or 1 block. So over the course of the day calc blocks as half of the cals burnt, I need to replace 5 blocks.

I had a one block snack after my WO (zone snack bar)

Lunch will be - 3 oz of extra lean ground beef, a large salad that will equal approx 1 carb, a pear and 1 Tbs of dressing made from EVOO and balsamic vinegar plus some spices.

Blocks for the day so far 8

CC - yes, I am not going to base my morning on one night of a 2 block snack. I will continue to monitor. And you are correct, I am losing FAT, gaining LBM and I do have energy I'm focused and feel great all day.

ok, Too much to do, gotta get moving.

I definitely agree, I think that it is totally acceptable to gauge the Zone by how you are feeling. I don't have the extra cash sitting around to spend on lab tests that are not covered by insurance, either. Not that I am planning to spend all that you need to spend, but you know how it is, raising 3 kids, trying to save for their futures, and always wondering if DH is going to have a job or come home with another lay-off slip (says work is very slow again, and he has no seniority).

And, as I pointed out, we can't follow our labs on a daily basis, so if things are out of whack on any given day, we would only be able to know this by how we feel. The SIP, fasting insulin, and TG/HDL ratio are only things that show Zone compliance over a given timeframe. They tell you about your past, but they really don't tell you about your future (unless you do nothing to improve your health--then one could assume that these tests are telling your future).

Another point regarding the SIP: if you get a baseline lab, and realize how far off you have been in the past, this does not mean that your current interventions are not working, unless you were going to recheck the test periodically. Again, since this is quite an expensive test, it is almost realistically improbable that most people would be able to afford to do a follow-up, let alone the original test.

So, how would you know if you were doing what you need to do to improve your health?

Well, seems to me that Barry has written about that, too. We go by how we feel!

CC - I hear you about general costs and with the state of the economy, I'm going to be paying these bills long after my DH is gone. My DS grads from college in a couple of weeks, so while that bill isn't going any higher, it still needs paid and let me warn you college isn't cheap. My DD is a freshman in HS, so in 3 years she'll want to head out to college too. Money doesn't go on trees, so all I can do is pray we'll be able to make it. Those tests just do not fit in the budget at the moment.

one thing that keeps me going is I had a cholesterol panel in July of 07, my Total Cholesterol was 145. At the time I wasn't worried about ratios, but I was told that everything was excellent, so I can only guess that nothing else was high or even boarderline since I was not told. My physician is very conservative and likes to get people started on meds when they are just boarderline on anything. A bit too drastic for me, but there was no mention of anything being even remotely close. I'll have to just live with those answers for now.

You could ask your doc's office to send you the results, or let you know what your triglycerides and HDL were, and then you can do the ratio yourself.

Then, you could assume that if your results were good pre-zone, then they can only get better in the Zone!

Hi Zoners!

Wow! Just gotta say, I'm appalled by the continuing barrage of sniping snarky remarks and badgering posts consistently being addressed to me by a couple of members of these forums. I can't speak for other members here, but I find that kind of behavior very offensive. It has no place in this friendly online community.

Sue,

I stopped by and saw your pic. I updated mine back to what I had. I should probably get a more current shot.

You have a bunch space after your pic. Try updating your profile and deleting all the space after the pic info.

Mine took a couple trys to get right. They were on top of eachother at one point.

Matt

Hey Matt!

Yeah, the space, I know. Thanks for reminding me. I've been away all day and was planning to work on it more later. I should do it now while I'm thinking of it!

The other day I mentioned to someone in the Zone Labs office that the photo links weren't enabled and they had the feature turned back on.

There we go! That's better.

Sue - if you felt I was being snarky, I do apologize. I've just been trying to get answers and I haven't felt that you clearly understood my full situation. I tried explaining what I am dealing with here at home.

Zoners - if you have been offended I apologize to you as well.

Dinner tonght - 1/2c zone pasta with brocolli, hot peppers, a salad, red pepper pesto, salad dressing, 3.5 oz of tuna canned in water, 1/2 oz of Romano cheese. Strawberries for dessert 4 blocks.

Day so far 12 blocks.

My next post will be my email convo with Dave Schrek.

Please read from the bottom up to see what I asked and how it was answered.



Hi Sue,

Well, two workouts 3 days a week, weights, cardio, walks and yoga. If everyone did half of what you do we'd be a much healthier country.
Based on your routine I'd estimate you as being "very active." As you're doing now use that level of activity as a guide. Notice how you feel, your recovery and strength to determine the ideal amount of protein. As mentioned before if you do need to add in protein it would only be one or two complete (P/C/F) blocks.
Hope this helps and keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Dr. Sears Customer Support
From: Sue Pfeiffer
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 2:03 PM
To: Dave Schreck
Subject: Re: knowing the exact amount of protein

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your reply. I'm wondering, could you go back over my email below and based on the listed exercise I do in a given week tell me which activity level to chose when checking the recommended level of blocks for my LBM? I'd like to measure it out for a week or two to see what it looks like on a plate. That will help me eyeball it better as I did need to up the protein from just my palm size as the first level I chose was not cutting it for me. Hormonally it was right, but my recovery and strength were off and that is why I upped it. I just want to be sure I don't have it too high.

Thanks again for your help,

sue

From: Dave Schreck
To: "spfeiffer64
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 1:48:19 PM
Subject: knowing the exact amount of protein

Hi Sue,

Fortunately, the Zone is flexible and most do not have to be exact and precise to achieve benefits. The first step to determine if your meal is hormonally correct (P/C/F) is to look at the time.
You should have good mental focus, physical energy and no hunger for up to 4 to 5 hours. Determining if your amount of protein using the plate method is correct is first reflected in how you feel after a meal. Over time, perhaps 1-2 weeks you may determine if you're protein adequate by noticing your strength and recovery time. A loss of strength and longer recovery times may indicate slightly more protein is required (1 block P/C/F). Short of blood work and expensive body scans these subjective markers are the best ways to determine your protein needs to maintain LBM.
We hope you find this helpful.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sears Customer Support



From: Sue Pfeiffer
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 10:41 PM
To: Lynn Sears
Subject: Re: A New Ask Dr. Sears has been submitted
Lynn,

Thank you for your reply, but I have a feeling I did not word that question as well as I should. There was a discussion on one of the threads and a person on there felt that I was eating too many blocks. I had been really struggling with my original number of blocks given by the calculator. I sat down and really thought about my exercise level. I went back to the calculator and it gave me a higher amount of blocks. So I upped to that and was doing somewhat better. I decided to try taking it up a bit more and felt that I had finally hit the right amount. I started at 11 and could not get that to work for me. The new value was 13. I've gone as high as 15. I'm generally in the range of 13-15.
My LBM currently is 102 and has gone up from the original 95. I'm 5'1. However I do exercise at least 2 times a day with 3 days a week being a gym WO that is both weights and cardio, plus another walk later in the day and /or yoga which I do 2x a week. On non-gym days I run in the morning and then walk later in the day.
My gym WO's generally last 2 hours, my walks are 45 min -1 hour. My runs are approx 45 min. Yoga is a 1 hour class.
The way I am eating, I can make the recommened eating times w/o hunger between and I am focused and feel great. My question is, do you think that I am mis-calculating my number of blocks based upon what I am calculating my protein needs to be? How would I be able to tell? I am not gaining weight, so I don't feel I'm over eating. I'm adding LBM so I don't think it's under.
Where the main question comes in, is when using the plate method. Since with that you have no "real" way of knowing the exact amount of protein you are getting, is there some clue other than weight gain, which could take time, if you are not over by much or loss of LBM which again would take time to register?

I hope I am finally phrasing this correctly since everyone wants to tell me how to adjust my carb and that is not what I'm talking about here.

Thank you for taking the time to answer this for me.

sue

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue on 05/05/2009 5:17 PM

Hi Zoners!

Wow! Just gotta say, I'm appalled by the continuing barrage of sniping snarky remarks and badgering posts consistently being addressed to me by a couple of members of these forums. I can't speak for other members here, but I find that kind of behavior very offensive. It has no place in this friendly online community. </div>

--------------------------------------------------------------

Sniping, snarky and badgering? What is this all about?

Yep, it is a nice, friendly community here, and I thought we all had a right to have a say. There isn't anything here that I see as offensive, but if anyone can point it out to me, feel free to let me know. I am not afraid to admit that I made a mistake, and I am not afraid to apologize, if an apology is due.

Well, sue, all I can say is that you must know your body very well! This is what I have felt all along, that YOU must decide what is right for you.

Based on what Dave says, you are right on the money with your activity level, and then he suggests a few more blocks flexibility to adjust for performance, if needed. And, your description of what your activity level is didn't even include assisting your DH.

Now, maybe if you actually eat the right number of blocks during the day, that might cure the hunger problem in the morning!

Good Morning Zoners!

Last night I went back to a 1 block snack since I knew for sure how many blocks I had, had yesterday because I measured and didn't plate any meal. My day ended with 13 blocks. When I awoke this morning, I was a bit hungry, but not like the other days. I knew I could slowly get my breakfast together. I will try 2 again tonight.

Breakfast today: yogurt, raspberries, grapefruit, Smart bran, almonds and Canadian Bacon for a total of just under 4 blocks

Lunch is packed: large salad w/chickpeas and deli meat and dressing = 3 blocks

I do not have dinner planned just yet, but will be back to post.

thats awesome sue!

sue,

Sounds good. Time will tell, but I am thinking that the 2 block snack at bedtime is a good idea. Even if you still want to keep the day at 13 blocks, perhaps just rearranging things so that you can afford the extra block at night.

My experience has been that I feel I "metabolize" differently at different times of the day. So, for instance, a meal that works nicely for me at dinner may not work very well in a different time slot. So, whether you go with 13 blocks or even up to 15 (or whatever it is that you are planning on), I think the solution is going to be in having that 2 block snack at night. My other idea was to make it a 1 block snack, but perhaps a bit heavy in fat, to help with the glycemic control.

I enjoy seeing your meal posts, keep'em coming!

Thanks Julie

CC - I am going to go with 2 blocks again tonight. That did seem better, so we will see tomorrow morning.

Dinner tonight - Pork, coleslaw, baked potato 3 blocks.

Evening Snack will be fruit and cottage cheese and almonds. 2 blocks

My day total will only be 12 today. I missed a snack when they were delivering the wheelchair. I'm not overly concerned as that also got in the way of my exercise.

I do feel that although my body is recovering from yesterday's WO, my body seems to do better when I work my blocks around my level of activity for the day.

Hi Zoners,

As some of you here may know, I'm re-reading through ETZ and I came across some parts that were alluded to earlier in the convo. I wanted to post these for those of you who may have never read this particular book.

These 2 comments are on page 97 and part of a section entitled Helpful Hints For The Zone, there are 6 hints in all, but I really like to concentrate on the last 2 of them.

#5 - If you find yourself hungry and craving sugar or sweets two or three hours after a meal, you probably consumed too many carbohydrates that last meal. Whenever you have a problem with hunger or carbohydrate cravings, look to your last meal for a clue to the reason why.

#6 - No matter how consistently you follow this dietary strategy, you are bound to make mistakes. This is especially true at parties or when traveling. Remember, if you're only out of the Zone for a short period of time, you're only one meal away from re-entering. It's like falling off a bike-- you just get back up and continue your journey.

I love how those are put as #6 seems to expand on #5 First you look back to your last meal. If it didn't work, then all you have to do to get back in the zone is make you next meal well balanced.

What I also love about that concept is that it's ok to relax and not obsess. Just as Julie stated earlier in her own way.

I hope that this concept may help others who are struggling and maybe don't have this book available to them at the moment.

Sue, thanks for the reminders! Hmm, think I have seen these before...LOL!

Hi Zoners!

Woke up a bit hungry today even after the 2 block snack. However, my day ended at 12 blocks instead of my usual 13-15, so I'm guess it was because I did not have enough blocks. My snack was 1/2 c. cottage cheese, almonds and grapes.

Breakfast this morning - 2/3 cups slow cook oats, grapefruit, protein powder=to 3 blocks, peanut butter for my fat and 1 cup of lowfat milk. 4 blocks

Lunch plan - Mushrooom soup (I found on in the organic section that is 1 carb block per cup.) I plan on 2 cups of soup, 1 c. coleslaw (my recipe contains pinto beans ) so 1/2 carb for that, 3 oz pork left over from dinner and a 1/2 of carb of fruit. Probably strawberries. 3 blocks

Haven't planned my snacks or dinner yet. Although dinner will be either chicken or steak.

Have a great day zoners

sue, if you review your posted menu from yesterday, you'll see there are other possible contributors to your lack of overall satiety, besides just the number of blocks you ate. (I'm using the term overall satiety to refer to the fact that you are waking with varying degrees of hunger). TOXIC FAT goes into great detail about the contributors to and mechanisms of maintaining satiety. The info would be very helpful to you.

sue, I bet it was the fact that you had a bit too few blocks.

Sounds like a yummy breakfast! I was in a hurry, otherwise I would have been in the mood for some oats, myself.

Just thought I would add more to that thought...

If your meals throughout the day generally work for you, and you don't get hungry all day, then I would not play around with them. I believe that you already have done your adjusting, and have found the right food combinations for you. So, I would not alter that, just because you were hungry in the morning, ESPECIALLY if you KNOW that you didn't eat enough blocks. I would start by correcting what you KNOW was wrong, and then take it from there.

Just my opinion, but I think you would run into more problems if you start altering all of your meals, too.

Sue - I will see if I can find Toxic Fat at my library. Can't afford to purchase it at the moment, but if I can get it through the Library I will. I have not read that particular book. Maybe I am missing something. I'm guessing you are referring to my use of a baked potato at dinner last night and my smart bran at breakfast. While those may have contributed, if I follow the guidelines in ETZ, the fact that I was not hungry, with the exception of dinner due to timing, I'm not positive that they were the main culprits, but maybe combined with the fact of my blocks being off. It may be a little bit of both. I will hunt for that book. Thanks for the tip.

I was fine the rest of yesterday and actually my snack before bed we closer to 5 hours after dinner than 4 which is my usual. I was not hungry when I had my snack, however I was hungry at dinner because of the chair arrival dinner was 6 hours after lunch, which I know is too long. It could not be helped yesterday.

CC--I will consider all possible reasons, one a at a time so I can isolate the issue.

Sue, I'm so glad you posted about TOXIC FAT going into detail about satiety....I will have to get that book as I don't have that one yet.

I've been watching this thread because I have a similar problem. I feel satisfied all day...but I wake in the night hungry then I cannot get back to sleep for sometimes an hour or two because of the hunger. When I wake in the morning I'm not starving, just a little hungry which I find strange (you would think I would be ravenous after being hungry enough hours earlier to wake me from sleep!!). I eat a normal 3 block breakfast and carry on with my day with no problems.

I have tried many different bedtime snacks to try to solve this dilemma. When I eat something like cheese, fruit and nuts or cottage cheese, fruit and nuts I am able to fall asleep easily but wake 3-4 hours later with the hunger. When I eat something heavier like oatmeal, cottage cheese and nuts I have a hard time falling asleep (again for an hour or 2) because I feel so full.

It seems the only nights I can fall asleep easily and sleep right thru are the nights that I have some unfavourable carbs...like a glass of wine or microwave popcorn (Orville Reddenbacher's Smartpop 100 calorie bag). Since these are unfavourable choices I think it may slow my weight-loss and keep me OOZ.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Jana

Sue - Toxic Fat is available through the Library, so I ordered it. It will take a few days to come in.

Janet (confusing cuz I am Janet also.....!)
Dr. Sears actually suggests a glass of wine and cheese as a nighttime snack! go for it!
good luck, the other Janet

Hi Janet

Feel free to call me Jana...I tried to change my name to this 'nickname' in my profile (to avoid the confusion) but I don't see where I can.

I don't mind a glass (or sometimes even 2!) of wine on the weekends but I don't really want it to be a nightly thing. It's nice that it's part of the Zone so there is no guilt when I have a drink BUT I don't think it was intended by Dr. Sears to be daily.....although I have to admit that the full nights of sleep are nice!!! <img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/smile.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Smile' align='absmiddle'>

Jana

Glad you found it sue. It's an eye opening book. I have don't know where you are now in regard to body fat %, but in TOXIC FAT you'll learn details about the of the types of metabolic dysfunction that occur in both overweight and thin individuals, as well as how they can be addressed (improved and can even be eliminated) through hormonal control and inflammation control.

For some more insight, the reason I had mentioned that you might want to consider the fasting insulin test, is that you are putting a great amount of thought and effort into this, without knowing where your insulin level really is, meaning if you are really in the Zone or not, if you are accomplishing what you are attempting to do (BTW, it's typically covered by insurance, is not an strange or unusual test, and is a simple fasting blood draw). A number of individuals I've helped with the Zone have had no hunger, they think they are in the Zone but are experiencing some minor difficulty (such as in your case where you have the varying degrees of morning hunger), and yet when they do the fasting insulin test they find that their fasting insulin levels are above the limits set for the Zone. These people went on to lowering their fasting insulin to excellent levels, and change their Zone results for the better, by changing their overall carb choices, practicing stricter adherence to the Zone diet, and eating the least amount of food needed to maintain their LBM and satiety.


Good luck and please let us know how you like the book!

Hi Jana,

Here's a reply that I just posted to Dee in another forum here. She had a similar question You might find it helpful.



Hi Dee!

Getting tired after dinner can be a sign that you could improve upon your insulin control. Later afternoon and early evening is the time of day it will catch up with some people, and then they begin to feel the symptoms.

Liquid carbs (such as milk) don't work well from some people. The larger surface area of a liquid causes the carbs in it get into the blood stream faster than carbs from solid foods, which depending on your level of carb sensitivity can prevent you from being in the Zone.

Night time hunger could also mean you're not getting enough food during the day.

Here are some things to try.

1. First recalculate your protein requirement to make sure your block amount is appropriate. If you weigh 300 pounds or more, there is an alternative way to calculate your protein requirement. If this applies to you, I’ll be glad to explain in more detail.

2. Keep a food dairy noting specific foods and amounts, timing of meals, and how you feel 4 hours after each meal. Refer to the ZONE SUCCESS JOURNAL tab in QUICK START GUIDE (link at right).

3. Ease up on the amount of fruit you eat in a day and use berried for your fruit.

4. Reduce or eliminate all unfavorable carb from you menu

5. Include more low density veggies for your carb, or go with all low density veggies for carb for a few days and then gradually add a little fruit back into your menu.

6. Make sure you're adding enough monounsaturated fat to your meals and snacks. Here’s how Dr. Sears explains fat blocks (taken from MASTERING THE ZONE, page 292 and 293).

“Why is a fat block only 1.5 grams?
Every block of low-fat protein contains approximately 1.5 grams of “hidden fat”. Therefore, by adding one extra fat block (which is defined as 1.5 grams of fat) for each block of low-fat protein, you are actually consuming 3 grams of fat or two blocks (one internal in the protein and one external) for each protein block. If you are using fat-free protein sources, such as isolated protein powders, then you should be adding two blocks of fat to achieve the same ratio. Obviously, if you are eating higher fat protein choices, you would not be adding any extra fat blocks to your meal. Remember that every time you add additional fat blocks to a meal, they should be composed primarily of monounsaturated fat.”
______


Also Dee, if you'd like to post you meals/menus here I'll be happy to take a look and see if there's anything that could be changed to give you better results.

Thank you so much for the detailed suggestions, Sue.

I had assumed because I felt fine during the day that I was only doing my night-time snack wrong....I see now that I need to pay better attention to my earlier meals and snacks too. I have a feeling its likely too much fruit, and I know I have missed some fat on a few occasions because of having non-fat protein and not adding extra fat blocks to compensate. I'll keep a closer eye on these 2 things and hopefully it will solve my sleeping problem! If not I may take you up on your offer to post some menus/meals...but I'll give it the weekend to try without bothering you.

thanks again for your support and guidance

Jana

Glad to hear my info is helpful Jana!

Snack - string cheese, fruit, almonds 1 block

Dinner - round steak, large salad and cantalope, dressing

Welcome Jana, you will find the help you need here.

Bedtime snack - cottage cheese, raspberries, almonds. 2 blocks

Day block total - 13

Thanks Sue and sue,

I'm going to try to eat as little fruit as possible over the next couple of days and see if that makes a difference. My biggest challenges will be breakfast and the bedtime snack....just doesn't seem right to have all veggies at those times of the day but I'm sure I'll come up with something!

This morning I had a veggie frittata for breakfast with all low-density veggies for all 3 blocks...no fruit. So I guess I have all day to think up an appropriate bedtime snack that doesn't include fruit as well!

thanks again
Jana

You're welcome Jana!

Try things like salsa, hummus , spaghetti sauce, etc. for snacks and for breakfast omelets. Chili makea a great snack and goes well with eggs for breakfast, too. Another Zone classic ishardboiled eggs, yolks discarded.eggs filled with hummus.

Thanks for the suggestions Sue!! I find I have to be careful at bedtime as I often get heartburn while I sleep (much reduced these days thanks to the Zone!) so I LOVE salsa during the day (had it in my egs this morning) but it probably wouldn't work at bedtime. I really like the idea of hardboiled eggs filled with hummus...I think that will be the snack for tonight! When you make the hummus do you just mash the chickpeas and mix in 1 block of LF mayo? or is there another way...sorry I've never made it before

thanks
Jana

I buy it already made. Hummus is typically made with chick peas, oil or tahini, lemon juice, and flavorings. You can probably google it to find recipes.

Ohh...already made sounds easier doesn't it?!! I've got to go out later this afternoon so I'll have a look to see if the grocery store has it. thanks again, Sue! Jana

You're welcome!

My favorite is Joseph's Roasted Red Pepper flavor.

Thought this was going to be about morning hunger, but it isn't ending up that way! New to the forum, hope you don't mind me jumping in late!

Had to read all the way through this one....

BTW, I do like prepared hummus, much better than making it myself!

Now, morning hunger is usually a signal from your bedtime snack. Could also be a clue from dinner, too; but I would really hesitate to claim that it is coming from any other part of your day, otherwise I would think you would be having more problems during the day, too. I was just curious to know if the morning hunger has been cured?

Jaybe - yes, the morning hunger seems to be solved by increasing that snack to two blocks. As you may have noted, between all the other stuff, I was find during the day. I shifted things a bit to make sure I can have a two block snack at night and that seems to have fixed the problem. Sorry that I didn't post a conclusion, wasn't sure people would get that far on this thread. I'm glad you had the perseverance to make it all the way through.

Ha! As a new forum member, I was picking through threads that had interesting topics. I saw this one, and when I read where it went, I guess it really got off track! But, I was interested to hear how it all came out. I am glad that the 2 block bedtime snack worked out.

I sure hope to get to know all of you a bit better.

Jaybe - if you stick around you will get to know several of us that post fairly regularly. I hope you enjoy your time here.

There are some interesting topics. You will find that many threads too get off track at some point. We welcome your input. Look forward to seeing more of you around the forum

Oh, absolutely, things do tend to get off track. I am glad that you did better, though. Seemed to me that it was important to bring that back to the top. If there is one thing that I have learned in the Zone, it is that not everything is black and white. There are several shades of grey in the books. I believe it is up to us to figure out what shade of grey that may be!

Jaybe - I totally agree. We are each individuals and what works for you may not work for me and vice versa. That is what I think is go great about the Zone, that it is a zone, not an exact point.

Glad to hear that your hunger issue has been resolved sue!

I'm doing much better as well, thank you for your advice Sue. I cut out fruit completely for a couple of days and found I was much better during the night, when I added some fruit (2 blocks / day) back in I was still fine through the night BUT when I eat one of those fruit blocks before bed, I wake up hungry during the night.....so I guess it is the way my body digests the fruit itself. I think as long as I avoid fruit in my bedtime snack I'll stay ITZ.

thanks so much for your help with this!

BTW Sue, I couldn't find the hummus that you suggested but did find one called '60 pepper hummus'.....very yummy! Love your new pic

Thank you Jana, sounds like you are doing much better yourself. That's awesome!

Thanks Jana. I like to keep changing it. :-)

You're welcome, and thanks for the update, too!

ok, so I finally got Toxic Fat. I started reading through it. I will post any comments as I proceed. One thing I did notice is that it gives a 28 day menu near the back. I've been getting bored with my meals, so I'm going to follow that to spice things up a bit and see how it goes. I'll keep you posted.

ok, this zone breakfast as written in TF is not a good one for me. I'm 1 1/2 hours out, I have heartburn, which I never get, and I'm hungry. So what this tells me is it was not good for my insulin level. Will tweak this meal in the future. Now for others it may work great, but not with my individual make up. Oh and for those wondering, I ate the 3 block, women's version.

I have a question after reading through this. What does DH stand for ? And I would like to suggest that the sort of barking back and forth really adds to the confusion and frustration of this lifestyle diet. Great to be very into something that you live, but, it sounds like some are ready to duke it out? Any way to get the answer from the person who created this? Would save alot of time and frustration. Seems like the bible, open to ones interpretation. Sue, honey congrats for going to Lynn Spears I could hear your frustration. And finally your body will inform you of what is right for you! And it looks like you listened to it and found that out. You go girl!

Sandra, I would totally agree with you on that, there are just some things that are open to interpretation. Like the hunger thing that we had been discussing... hunger can come from so many different things, not just a protein/carb imbalance, but merely a lack of food!

By the way, DH stands for "dear husband". Internet shorthand! It was only a few years ago when I was sitting there asking, what is LOL!

Now, my daughter has a shirt that says LOL on it--she had the nerve to suggest that I was too old to know what that meant! Well, LOL ROFL to that!

CC thanks for your thoughts. You are so right. Ripping that apart was ridiculous. She has figured out what it is and bless her heart. Some people are nauseated at the thought of eating in the morning by nature. Others look forward to getting up just for breakfast! Lets face it we are all different. Sometimes really active people especially women will need more food than even this diet dictates and they will still do well. If ones body burns it up with their activity, then they need to eat more. Simple. Great to eat in good balance though no matter how much or how little.
BTW... Glad it didnt mean dumb husband! I am still in the mindset that LOL means lots of love. And I had no idea what LMAO meant until I too had to ask my son, and I got the same response you got from your daughter.
Nice chatting with you CC.

OK, so I am ROFL about the DH! That might fit my husband! Glad he doesn't read these forums. I like LOL being lots of love, that is cool.

But, now I am lost, I guess I don't know LMAO! Can you fill me in on that one?

Sandra - thank you for you kind words. Problem solved so I move forward.

CC - LMAO = laughing my A** off. Not sure we should use that word here. LOL

Oh your welcome. I admire your sticking with it and figuring out for yourself and yet so quickly. It shows you really know your body too.

call me ms. curious. on your statement, may I ask who holds the future? Thank you.

Oh, thanks! Now I can sit here and read these posts, LOL, ROFL and LMAO while I think of my DH who will be stuck doing laundry and dishes if I don't get off my A** and get some work done here!

(sorry, I had to do that!)

Sandra - I know that "God" holds the future. At least He does for me.

CC - too funny, did you get something done?

NOPE! I was trying to upload some pictures from my camera, and it kept getting hung up. Finally got them done, though!

Yes you are correct. God holds all of our futures. Just some people havent figured it out yet.

CC you are hilarious. I am still caught up but may have guessed it. ROFL is that rolling on the floor? If I am wrong again, you are allowed to crack up!

Yes, ROFL is rolling on the floor laughing.

And, now that I got my pictures uploaded, I was trying to get my napster to work, but it isn't either.

OHH, not getting ANYTHING done here!

Sandra - I am do glad that God holds your future as well. And you are correct, many haven't figured that out yet.

CC - I hope you did get something done last night. I managed 2 loads of laundry.

Well, nope! But, I did get DH to help me this morning! So, will have to make sure things get done tonight!