During my weight loss journey, I've made so many important discoveries. I've learned that being overweight does not mean one suffers from the disease of obesity.  Indeed, obesity is a complex, chronic disease with multiple causes.  Ultimately, it leads to retaining excessive body fat despite attempts to lose it through diet and exercise.  Of course, the result is poor health.  Too much extra fat, can change how the body functions. These progressive changes usually get worse over time.  The major factor is the change in how the body uses GLP-1 which can lead to obesity in some.  GLP-1 is a hormone that causes multiple metabolic effects.  It acts on the brain to stimulate insulin secretion, decrease gastric emptying, and signal satiation.  Ultimately, then, the GLP-1 hormone tells the brain to control body fat, food intake, and metabolism.  Obesity disease is a dysfunction of the GLP-1 regulatory system.  When the GLP-1 hormone is not working, the brain fails to signal satiation and forces the body to return to a set weight.  Obesity is not a character flaw. While many assume obesity demonstrates a lack of willpower, this is simply not the case as my personal weight loss journey demonstrates. Discovering I lacked the GLP-1 function explained so much! I am happy I learned about the benefits of keto and began to live a healthy lifestyle filled with wholesome eating and exercise. I lost weight and maintained that loss.  However, the weight loss was so slow that after two years I sought help and discovered that I had the GLP-1 issue.  I decided to use semaglutide for weight loss support as recommended by my specialist.  It has helped speed up my weight loss.   However, the diet and exercise changes I initiated two years ago continue to make all the difference.  I've explained the collateral benefits of keto in previous blogs.  Also, while developing menus for the keto diet, I've become a clean eater. That means I know what I'm ingesting at every turn, and I avoid processed foods altogether. Everything I ingest is healthy. I use healthy meats, vegetables, and fats and avoid sugar. This means I do a lot of cooking. However, I usually cook on the weekend, creating all the sides and snacks we will eat during the week. Then I cook the meats, such as chicken or salmon, as needed. My recipes are linked to the menus on this site and are easy to follow. The ingredients are simple and available everywhere. The following list is essential when following the keto diet because it provides the ingredients you should always have to make foods that satisfy carb cravings to avoid impulse eating.  These items include almond flour, eggs, almond milk, fresh spinach, chia seeds, hemp hearts, Parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts.  I always make meal plans on the weekend and prepare in advance.  This streamlines my time in the kitchen, and items like spicy bread are available in case I have a snack attack.  I'll continue offering suggestions as I navigate through my weight loss journey.

     I've been thinking a lot about people shaming others for using support for weight loss.  I understand that some diet pills can cause health problems, and their use can be hazardous. Currently, some think using semaglutide support demonstrates weakness rather than providing essential supplemental help.  I don't understand that at all.  GLP-1, which regulates blood sugar and combats insulin resistance, is absent in those suffering from obesity.  If we see people's weight gain as a health problem, why wouldn't we use any safe measure possible to achieve weight loss? This negative response may also result from the fact that Ozempic, a diabetic drug, is currently the most prescribed of the semiglutide support drugs. Studies claim it may result in losing up to 15% of body weight. Clearly, based on my research, which I've shared in previous blogs, it is much more than an appetite suppressant. Nothing about my diet or exercise changed, but weight loss has increased since using semaglutide support.  Since its approval for weight loss, the various brands of semaglutide are helping those chronically overweight, and so far, it is safe. Nevertheless, people continue to shame those needing this support to lose weight, implying they are overeating or lazy.  That was definitely not the case for me.  Semaglutide mimics the body's GLP-1 hormone, which regulates sugar and delays the stomach from emptying, making weight loss possible. Still, the cultural conversation around weight loss drugs has become increasingly toxic, claiming some are "stealing" the drug from diabetes patients by taking medication not meant for them out of vanity and are taking the "easy way out.  My journey verifies the falsity of this position. Even now, thousands of patients share that the medication has positively impacted their health.  Creating stigmas around medical treatment is rude and dangerous. For me, using semaglutide successfully is a huge relief and has improved my health more quickly.  My research demonstrates that chronic weight gain is a medical condition and causes chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes.  Moreover, based on his experience as a CNA, my son Jacob warned me that patients who weigh more often struggle to receive accurate and helpful medical attention from doctors and are blamed rather than supported. Obesity is treated as a moral failure rather than a health condition. Our cultural conversations around innovations mustn't make obese people feel too ashamed to get the help they need.​

     Steve and I did another really wonderful walk several days ago at a place a block away from our little house in Waianae called Kia'iikeolamaiola Bettini Gardens and Hā Ola Village. It's a series of perfectly quaffed trails that meander up the side of a mountain, and beautiful tropical plantings border the trails.  The trails represent Hawaiian history, values, and vision for the future.  The gardens include over 1,000 trees, water features, artwork, and information kiosks.  Each trail was designed and maintained by a specific group from the area, and several trails offer a fabulous sweeping view of the Bay below. In the end, we walked about two miles, and a lot of it was up a slight grade but not too steep for me.  We both want to do this again because each trail choice guides you through a totally different experience.  Hā Ola translates to the "Breath of Life" or the life force that sustains all living things. Created under the guidance of the Health Center's Elders Council and Board of Directors, Hā Ola Village's experiential and interactive cultural activities align with the Health Center's mission to provide cultural training and to promote health and wellness. After our walk, we went to 24-hour fitness, where Steve did his swim. We planned to catch the Skyline, Oahu's light rail, into Honolulu for dim sum but changed our mind. We will probably do that next week. We want to see how convenient it is to ride the rail into the city rather than drive. When we finally do this, we plan to take an Uber from the station to visit our regular downtown haunts. We look forward to the convenience, but it might be more trouble than it's worth. On an anxiety-producing note, we're all on pins and needles, waiting for Jake to hear if he is accepted to Oxford. He is so hopeful, and it will be tough for him if he doesn't get in. The odds of his getting into Oxford are against him for sure!  I hope something works for him that allows him to fulfill his destiny. He spent the past few years developing Prussian Blue analogs for battery development and is at the point that only a few experts worldwide can guide him. So again, I've been saying many prayers on his behalf.  Despite the stress, we are sticking to our regular cuisine with a few restaurants stuck in here and there. We ate out for breakfast several days ago.  Steve had his pancakes, and I had my eggs benedict, which I love! We also have a Thai curry place we enjoy going to. The curries are yummy.  We've missed our dim sum, and I'm looking forward to visiting there again before returning to Birch Bay. My weight is still going down, and I'm feeling good. Of course, I'm sticking with my regular exercise and will always limit my diet to keto cuisine.