On Wednesday, we depart for Birch Bay to begin our summer adventures which are always great fun. While in Hawaii, I've maintained a slow but steady weight loss. I currently weigh 182 pounds, so I'm down 17 pounds from 199 pounds when I began. I intend to continue the keto diet for life because of my successful weight loss without suffering and also because I feel excellent on this diet. My problems with epilepsy basically disappeared while on this diet, and that's a huge blessing. Most researchers claim that the keto diet can reduce or prevent seizures, although the complete mechanism is currently unknown. However, I know when I indulge in carbs, I pay several days later with an aura or a full-blown seizure, so in my case, the keto diet prevents seizures. Therefore, limiting carbs is now my permanent way of eating even after reaching my goal weight of 159 pounds or less.
     We will miss Hawaii and our friends here, but we're heading back in September. Days after we arrive in Birch Bay, we will head out to the British Virgin Islands. As a "Belonger," Steve is working on obtaining property there. He applied for this status based on his lineage and ultimate connection to enslaved people held in Anegada, BVI, by the British and forced to grow vegetables. Becoming a verified "Belonger" allows him to choose land there as reparations for his ancestor's enslavement. He has already chosen his parcel and hopes to formalize his ownership during this trip. Steve loves it there, and it is terrific to own more land to pass down to our children. We'll return to Birch Bay the second week in May. Transitioning from Hawaiian cuisine is not difficult because I don't really like most Hawaiian favorites. These include non-keto items like spam musubi, loco moco, and macaroni salad. Some keto items are poke, laulau, and kalua pig. I don't eat poke because of the raw fish, and the kalua pig is rather ho-hum. It tastes of smoke, but beyond that, in my opinion, it's flavorless. If I'm going to have pork, it will be pork asada, not pork con nada, like Kailua pig.
     However, I'm nearly addicted to laulau. I think it's delicious, and I'll miss having it. We buy it from our dear friend who sells it to support her shelter for women in need.  I'm already thinking about our Birch Bay menu items, including chicken masala served over sautéed cabbage, cabbage rolls, and pizza. Because we don't have a conventional stove with an oven in Hawaii, we are somewhat limited to the items listed in the menu section of this site. We do fine with these items and enjoy our meals very much. We also cook out a lot more than we do in Birch Bay. However, we like expanding our repertoire that a stove with an oven allows. Also, we are always looking forward to fresh salmon and shellfish in Washington. Hawaii has fresh seafood as well. Steve loves poke, but I've not discovered any Hawaiian seafood I really like. Steve is anxious to get his big boat in Washington ready for fishing. He plans to take it just inside Canadian waters to catch lingcod, one of our favorite fish. Of course, we have to wait until August to begin our crabbing, but that will be as fun as always. I shall miss my daily walks along beautiful Po'Kai Bay but intend to add a beach walk along Birch Bay shores now that I am not suffering seizure activity. I've avoided this because the sun sits lower in the sky there and, for some reason, causes problems for me. Hopefully, I will not be impacted anymore. We shall see!

    We had a fabulous time during our daughter's visit to Hawaii.  Along with a day trip to Kauai to see Waimea Canyon and other beautiful sites there, we added a snorkeling trip to Hanauma Bay, and it was fabulous!  Snorkeler's saw amazing sea life, including sea turtles, seal pups, and the different varieties of colorful tropical fish native to the Hawaiian Islands.  However, Stef and Steve discovered days later that Po'Kai Bay just behind our house has all that and more!  All the running around meant we ate out several times while Stef was here, yet I managed to remain on keto.  We went several times to the little restaurant just behind our property.  We walk there within minutes to enjoy the live music.  It's filled with locals, while a few tourists and military people vacationing in the cabins rotate through.  The menu items available to me are primarily appetizers.  I chose coconut shrimp, artichoke dip, and chicken wings.  We had a Sunday brunch there, and I chose eggs benedict.  Even though I ate the muffin, I remained within my 50  gram carb limits.  We also went to Mei Sum Dim Sum in Chinatown, where I enjoyed spare ribs, tripe, and a few wrapped pieces.  When we went to Kauai, we ate brunch at Daddy O's, where I enjoyed a breakfast sandwich, including the croissant, but still remained within my daily carb allotment.  When we visited North Shore we ate garlic shrimp at Fumi's, a delicious, and totally keto meal.  On Stef's last Sunday, we went to a local favorite called Spinners for breakfast, and I had a really great omelet.  So while keto limits choices when eating out, it's still possible to thoroughly enjoy your meals.  Our at-home meals are consistently keto-friendly.  I made oxtail soup for the first time, and I've decided to add that to my keto repertoire.  It's really delicious and has a unique Vietnamese style taste, bordering on pho but containing all of the Korean style scrumptiousness of over-forty soup.  For the first time in a long time, we visited Waikiki, so Stef might experience that vibe.  It is still filled with wealthy Asian tourists who constantly shop and young people who are surfing, skateboarding, or simply enjoying one of the many sports bars in the area.  However, overall, our very best day was spent at Hanauma Bay.  I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Oahu.  Reservations are required and are very difficult to get.  You have to wait until ticket sales are open at 7 a.m., two days before your visit.  Sit at your computer by seven in the morning to get your tickets.  Be sure you have the web page up and ready to go with the filled-in form ready to submit, or others will beat you to the limited spaces.  The place is definitely worth all the struggle to get tickets.  This is a protected reef.  The State is trying to manage the sea life and reef.  Apparently, at one time, it was nearly destroyed and fished out.  It became protected in 1965, and from that point, careful monitoring brought it back.  There are full-time lifeguards because of several riptides, and swimmers can get in trouble.  The snorkeling is fabulous, and the sea life is abundant.  The day we visited, a large seal lay basking in the sun on the beach, even snoring slightly.  Of course, everyone is instructed to leave any beached animals entirely alone.  Thankfully, our sons had everything ready for us to come and enjoy a wonderful day.  The other thing that you have to watch is the parking.  There are minimal spaces, so you have to be prepared to jump in early when you come.  For example, if you have a 10:30 ticket, you better arrive before 10:00, get a parking place, and then be standing at the ticket office by 10:15 to enjoy your visit.  We also spent lots of time in Po'Kai Bay.  Stef swam with sea turtles of all sizes and many beautiful varieties of tropical fish.  She left this morning at 7:00 a.m., and we already miss her.  We left very early to get her to the airport by 5:00.  Being early is essential because the crowds are beginning to grow again, making the airport very busy.  What a wonderful time we've all had together!  We're so blessed to have our beautiful family.

     Our daughter arrived five days ago, and we've been all over Oahu since she got here.  We've also had excellent dinners every single evening!  We began with broccoli cheese soup and a fresh rotisserie chicken from Costco.  Friday night, we had another steak cookout, and our boys joined us.  We had a nice green salad with homemade dressing.  Turnips are again the center of our sides in the form of turnip au gratin and green chili stew.  I'm showing her that keto can be fun, and then there's no need to suffer or feel hungry because there are many different recipes that keep it interesting, and the participants satiated.  But success requires letting go of the idea of speedy weight loss because that's not the case.  Slow weight loss becomes especially true when you're considerably overweight, and your metabolism has slowed for various reasons.  You must be happy with the incremental losses because every ounce adds up to substantial numbers of pounds over time.  So far, I have lost eighteen pounds, and I continue to lose every single day.  I'm happy because the weight is going down, down, down.  Moreover, I discovered that I lost three inches at my waist after finally measuring myself!  There is a correlation between waist size and heart disease.  For women, anything over 35 is highly correlated to heart disease.  Although I'm still over that number at 36 inches, I'm close to being on target.  Also, my blood pressure is better, and I look forward to improved blood work on my next physical.  In the meantime, we're thoroughly enjoying our keto meals, and visitors seem to like them as well, sides and all!  Today, we're heading to the Dole plantation, and I've saved my carbs for one of their soft ice creams.  Then we'll go to North Shore and meander through the shops, get a late lunch, and travel to the Polynesian Cultural Center for their show.  It's going to be another great day!