​We had a most interesting time at the marina the other day. A really little boat with three old guys on board towed in a 500-pound marlin. I'm absolutely amazed that they were able to catch this thing much less bring it in. It turns out that it took 5 hours for them to finally subdue this for fish and then it nearly took the boat down when they were towing it in. I would feel worse had this not meant a living for the three of them. The sale of this fish means they're going to survive for a few more weeks. This Hawaiian people are so committed to their lifestyle that they are unstoppable. Some of them go out on kayaks to fish for Marlin and tuna and many are successful. However, many have lost their lives. They often go after yellowfin tuna which can weigh up to 75 pounds. For the most part it's the younger men who go out on the kayaks as fishing for ahi it requires lots of strength and endurance. Steve is sticking to the marina. He hangs out on the dock with several other fishermen, and they enjoy catching three or four fish every evening. Steve has a favorite cat that hangs out at the marina and when he catches smiling of fish, he gives the cat he gives them to the cat. Otherwise, when the fish are an adequate size, he gives them to his friends because we aren't really interested in giving them. We head out every evening about 5:00 and stay for a couple of hours. When we come back, we have a light snack before we go to bed. We've been having our main meal in the late afternoon, and it's been working out well. We still have a statin smoothie in the morning and then our largest meal in the afternoon. We were thinking about hiking on Friday, but we changed our mind. We both want to rest a little more before we take on another hike.  I continue to lose weight, and boy is it adding up!  The keto cuisine, exercise regimen and semaglutide support is definitely the answer for me.

     We finally managed to hike all the way to the sanctuary at Ka'ena Point. The hike was much longer than advertised. In fact, it was three miles longer. However, it was an absolutely beautiful day. The weather was cool and sunny. We enjoyed the ocean view and breezes to the sanctuary and back. Just as we got there, the albatross returned from fishing. They went to their nests to feed their chicks, who sat patiently waiting to eat in full view of visitors. Sadly, we also saw a dead monk seal on the beach. We have no idea what happened. On the way back, I tripped and fell, hitting my knee, but besides being a little sore, I was fine. When I get tired, I get clumsy, so I have to watch that.  I got especially tired this past week. We worked very hard doing more home repairs.  As I've mentioned, we must keep our little Mango Shack standing. Of course, Steve does the bulk of the hard work, but I hang in there with him, and boy, it's exhausting! However, the results are terrific! We plan to do everything while Jake is away, so he doesn't feel disrupted. So, all things considered, we had a very productive week and ended it by getting to the sanctuary I've wanted to visit for several years now.  We're still enjoying our keto meals, and I'm continuing to lose weight.   Hopefully, I'll continue making progress! 

     ​Steve's doing more work on our little Hawaiian Mango Shack. We thought it best to start it now while our son is in Europe so that we don't disrupt his life or cause him any anxiety while we shift his things in and out to get to spaces that need repairing. As mentioned, our Hawaii house is an old plantation home built in 1917.  It is definitely a shack. However, it has add-ons including three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and a laundry room. Our goal is to keep it standing, and that means lots of maintenance. Jake is very happy living here, which was our reason for purchasing it. It's right around the corner from a beautiful bay where he surfs and I jog, and everything we need is within a block of our home. We enjoy coming here and hanging out and plan to continue doing so. Initially, we thought we would rebuild or remodel it, but we've changed our mind. We will repair and improve things here and there, but we'll keep it as-is because it's comfortable.  We'll leave it to Jake to fix up if he chooses to do so later.  Hiking is delayed because we've decided to work on the house. Instead, while Steve's doing the repair work, I'm sorting through things that need to be taken to Goodwill so that we don't have much extraneous junk. It's incredible how quickly one can overwhelm a space. I keep saying that we won't do our repair anymore and instead, we'll hire someone. Steve keeps agreeing, and then the next thing I know, he's diving in and doing it himself. He's now in his seventies and too old to do such heavy, hard work. However, he presses on, and trying to stop him is like trying to stop a moving train, so I've given up. I'm praying he doesn't kill himself as he's my best friend and soulmate.  Obviously, we did not hike this week and probably won't finish the home repairs until early next week. Therefore, the hiking won't happen for a while. We got fresh LauLau on Friday, and it is delicious.  Also, the semaglutide is still working and is perfectly compatible with the keto cuisine as long as I don't overeat and exercise faithfully. I'm living a wonderful Life!

​​     We made another disappointing attempt to hike to the Ka' ena bird sanctuary. This time, we hiked from North Shore. However, it rained during the week, so the pathway, which is basically a four-wheel drive road, was too muddy to navigate. We realized this after having gone nearly a mile and a half.  At Steve's suggestion, we turned around and walked to our car.  We still planned to stop by our favorite garlic shrimp shack on our way back to Waianae. However, just as we arrived, a group disembarked from a tour bus and lined up at the window, so we decided we could live without our garlic shrimp. It was a big disappointment, especially for Steve, but he will survive. We also discovered several shrimp shacks had closed, particularly the one we liked. The one with the tour bus bought them all out and added some shops selling other things tourists might enjoy. On our way home, we stopped by 24-hour Fitness, where Steve did his swimming, and I finished the rest of my cardio and my steps. We will try again this week, and I hope I have a better hiking report.  On a happier note, I'm losing more quickly these past two weeks. Also, I'm continuing research regarding semaglutide.  As I said, it mimics GLP-1, a naturally produced hormone when the body operates correctly. Nutrients stimulate GLP-1, so when eating, it is activated. It then influences several processes in the body. It slows down the stomach, resulting in a slower emptying of its contents. This effect contributes to a feeling of fullness and reduced appetite. It also signals the brain's energy center, the hypothalamus, to stop eating. Semaglutide mimics GLP-1 when it is not functioning correctly, signaling the brain to slow the emptying of the intestines and stimulating the pancreas to make more insulin. Before beginning my keto diet and then supporting it with semaglutide, my appetite sensors in the brain were not working correctly. Also, hormones in my body likely prevented weight decrease, maintaining a set point that became normal for many years. However, the changes I've made over time and my gradual weight loss should allow my biological systems to adapt to the new, healthier weight. Hopefully, I've done this slowly enough that my body will stop trying to return to my previous weight.  My systems that control hormone levels and neurotransmitters must adapt so my body's set point can change. The semaglutide support is essential to achieving weight loss, but my commitment to the keto diet and exercise over the past several years paved the way for everything. I hope that continuing it will serve me well in the long run.