Yikes!  I missed my deadline.  ​We're heading to Waianae today, and I've been scrambling to prepare everything for leaving our little Birch Bay house.  I even prepared food and put it in the freezer so keto-friendly food awaits us when we return.  I'm having great success on keto, mostly because of this kind of preplanning.  I always have things prepared and waiting to combat eating compulsively, especially those things that might kick me out of ketosis.  In any case, we got everything done in Birch Bay and are on our way to Oakland to catch our connecting flight to Honolulu.  We were worried we would not get off due to the weather, but thankfully, we are in the air following deicing.  However, because of the delay, we might miss our connecting flight.  I certainly hope not.  We'll find out soon.  But, back to ketosis.  I think I've kicked myself out of ketosis several times, which prevented consistent weight loss.  In fact, I did not lose weight for several weeks.  I was getting kind of worried because I'd given myself eight more months to get to my goal weight, which initially was 165 lbs.  It is really slow going, and I'm not sure I will make it!  This is pretty disappointing because I gave myself two full years to drop 30 pounds.  That means I must lose 2.5 pounds a month to meet my goal.  When I was young, losing two and a half pounds was easy.  However, at my age, losing anything takes a long time, and it's very easy to gain weight.  Therefore this week, I began stepping up my game.  Along with everything I've been doing, I'm closely monitoring my caloric intake, so I don't exceed 1500 calories daily.  Most studies claim that strict control of calories is unnecessary on the keto diet because it is consistent with the food we are designed to eat, including proteins, fats, and vegetables, with few or no simple carbs and certainly nothing processed.  Because the diet triggers satiety hormones and suppresses hunger hormones, I should feel full more quickly and, consequently, eat less.  However, even though l feel satisfied, sometimes I want snacks and might be overdoing it, so I'm tracking the calories.  I'm also practicing portion control.  Happily, the adjustments I made this week are paying off.  According to the scale, I've dropped two pounds this past week, and I am pleased about that since it's been a while since I've lost anything.  Therefore, I'm proud of myself this week and hope to report more good news in the next blog!

     This week I've been thinking about balance in exercise, work, communication, and friendships.  Balance is also very important in my diet, and I've begun considering calories more than usual, especially calories in snacks like nuts.  I made a colossal peanut snack mistake while waiting for our truck to get serviced and shared my mistake with Steve.  I bought a bag of peanuts, and it turns out it contained eight servings, meaning a little palm's worth of peanuts is 160 calories.  Of course, I'm not constantly counting calories because I'm counting carbs and fats with keto.  However, overeating matters, so I've got to be careful about ingesting too many calories.  I've also doubled my daily miles and my cardio.  It's no problem at all.  I'm doing a YouTube Zumba in the morning and another in the evening while continuing my midday fast-walking routine.  I've also given up my evening wine and replaced it with lemon water.  It's working out just fine, and I hardly miss the wine.  I will try this for a month or two to see if my weight loss is faster.  For now, I continue to lose incrementally.  However, I'm not suffering, and our meals are delicious.  We're heading to Hawaii on the 28th, and I look forward to getting there.  It's very interesting because after we settle into our routine in Hawaii, I start dropping weight quickly.  I'm beginning to think that cold weather has something to do with my body hanging on to fat like Native Americans a because of centuries of "starving times."  It'll be interesting to see if my warm weather hypothesis is verified again.  I'm also balancing my writing with editing for Steve and reading.  I am rereading books from some of my favorite authors.  I began with less intense novels by Lee Ann Moriarty.  I enjoy her work.  I also reread all of the Cormoran Strike novels written by Robert Galbraith, who actually is J.K. Rowling.  Interestingly, she felt she had to use a pseudonym to be respected as a mystery writer.  In any case, I like the books, and I'm also watching the series on Hulu.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying my menus and feeling successful.  Also, I've finally faced the facts and stopped my evening wine consumption, replacing it with iced lemon water.   I'm adding a list of nuts below.  Each shows calories, fat, and carbs per 100 grams.
Chestnuts 213 2 46, Cashews 553 44 33, Pistachio 557 44 28, Peanuts 567 49 16, Almonds 575 49 22, Hazelnuts 628 61 17, Walnuts 654 65 14, Brazil nuts 656 66 12, Pine nuts 673 68 13, Pecans 691 72 14, Macadamia 718 76 14

     As I mentioned in earlier blogs, keto has several side benefits, and one may be controlling ADHD.  I've slowly come to this realization for myself.  Looking back, my ability to focus and the fact that I'm less distracted coincides with the keto diet I've followed for more than a year.  I've had difficulty focusing my entire life.  Not only was I easily distracted, but my thoughts also jumped from one idea to another before I could document my thoughts.  In previous years I managed this by consuming vast amounts of caffeine, beginning with coffee in the morning and switching to diet coke for the remainder of the day.  The caffeine helped manage my wandering thoughts but triggered seizure activity.  According to some recent studies, the keto diet helps control ADHD symptoms.  Foods to avoid for those with ADHD include sugar, refined flour, and other processed foods, and those promoted for managing the condition are those recommended for keto.  I'm thinking about this because of my recent uninterrupted productivity.  I've completed and posted several more of my True Tales, and I'm just about to launch a new series based upon those charged, convicted, and sentenced for their part in the January 6th Insurrection.  These are some tragic stories about mostly uneducated people whose lawyers claimed then President Trump led them to believe that storming the Capital was their patriotic duty.  Most entertained a complete misunderstanding of the legal issues surrounding what they were doing.  Some tried to claim that they only followed the crowd into the Capital, but that's like saying you're speeding because everyone else is.  In short, ignorance of the law is no defense.  However, these people, most of whom barely afforded the trip to D.C., have now lost years of their life along with money and their ability to function in American society as a consequence of felony convictions from which they will never recover.  They are guilty of following an ignorant leader who has manipulated the law and dodged legal systems for decades.  He may eventually face the consequences of his actions.  In the meantime, I feel very sorry for those who believed in him and his deceptions.  It's all regrettable.  So while the stories are sad, producing them is good news.  I've taken on the motto "to write means to remember," and we must remember the insurrection.  Also, Steve and I discovered an Indian buffet on Friday called Tandoori Flame, located in Surry, B.C.  We celebrated because Steve successfully completed his dissertation presentation to his colleagues and peers at Virginia Tech, another major milestone on his way to his Ph.D.  It'll be interesting to see how everything works out because he plans to finish by the end of the semester.  Wish us luck because we're definitely in this together!

     I have better news this week.  I'm finally losing weight.  I've lost two pounds, and I hope to carry the weight loss momentum throughout the rest of February.  I've increased my exercise by an hour a day, equivalent to another thirty-five minutes of cardio.  I've also reduced my caloric intake by having fewer meals and smaller portions, but I'm not suffering at all.  In fact, on Sunday, Steve and I enjoyed a lovely buffet brunch at a golf course in Surrey, British Columbia.  I like buffets because there are usually many options from which I can choose.    I'm thrilled with my success because the next step was to stop my evening wine, and I didn't want to have to do that.  However, if my weight loss stops, I'll have to take a second look at giving up the Pino.  I've also continued to use delicious keto menu items, including beef stroganoff and chicken tetrazzini, replacing the rice or noodles with shredded cabbage.  Both items are delicious, and Steve and I both enjoy them.  I've added a couple of keto snacks, and they help a lot! One is fudge made with unsweet chocolate, swerve, nuts and cream.  The other is keto crackers made from chia seeds and hemp hearts.  Yum!  I have two or three a day, particularly when I am feeling like grazing, along with some cheddar, and find the combination delicious.  Both recipes are posted.  Other than that, nothing new is going on.  At the end of the month, we're looking forward to heading to Hawaii and enjoying the beautiful weather there.  I'm anxious to use the pool again.  I do water walking at our workout place and in Kapolei, Hawaii.  I don't enjoy using the pool when we're in Washington because it feels too cold.  Also, it's an indoor pool, and the one in Kapolei is an outdoor pool.  I enjoy that much more for some reason.  Finally, I caught a cold, and I know I got it from Steve.  I tested myself so I know it's not COVID, but it still feels pretty yucky.  I'll survive.  Until next week.....