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We have clear skies this morning after several days of rain. I expected the rain to continue throughout the day, but it is clearing up. That means it will be lovely for our Memorial Day visit with friends. We'll attend a neighbor's house for a traditional Indonesian dinner, and we're looking forward to the evening, especially since it is nicer outside. I'll bring mango dessert bars for the meal even though I cannot partake. I continue to eat selectively but enjoy getting out with others. My weight has plateaued this month. I've not gained, but I'm not losing anything either. Everything is the same, including diet and exercise, so I don't really understand it. I'll check the research to see if this happens to others using support from semaglutide. Another thing I'm noticing is that some nights I have trouble relaxing my legs. After researching, I learned that low potassium levels can cause restless leg syndrome because potassium helps regulate muscle contractions. Potassium aids your body with muscle and nerve function. Potassium also helps your body process protein and carbohydrates for more efficient use. It can lower your blood pressure and decrease your risk of heart issues. Because a magnesium deficiency often causes low potassium levels, sometimes it is advisable to supplement it. I noticed that taking a potassium tablet stopped the problem, but I decided to see if keto might be the culprit. I found out that it might be the problem, because the diet replaces carbs with fats and proteins, forcing the body to burn fat rather than glucose for energy. The fat-burning state is ketosis and might cause mineral deficiencies, including potassium. Therefore, while on keto, one should increase potassium using fresh vegetables. I have a spinach smoothie daily, but I'm figuring out how to increase potassium in other ways. One is consuming avocado, which we use regularly, and chia seeds also help with magnesium. This is a work in progress, so I will share more information as I learn. In the meantime, my smoothie can help with both potassium and magnesium. I might supplement the rest.
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We had another lovely weekend. Saturday, we spent the day with our friends from White Rock, and they treated us to a lovely time. First, they introduced us to a new Indian restaurant called Spice Republic. The food was excellent in general, but in particular, they had a lovely box luncheon providing tastes of ten separate menu items, which gave us an idea of everything they offer. We totally enjoyed the meal and the company. Next, we went on a tour of a lovely botanical space called Sendell Gardens. The plants that thrive in BC and our area were abundant and lovely. They also had a tropical plant hot house that contained many plants that thrive in Hawaii and Houston. It appeared that several weddings were taking place, and the Garden was perfect for their event, as was the weather. There were two East Indian brides. One was in bright red, and her husband had a matching turban. The other wore a lovely off-white gown covered with beads and sequins. Each had a wedding party dressed to the nines Indian style. We tried not to intrude but watched from a distance. Throughout the week, I did some research on monitoring calories. My keto diet limits me to between twenty and fifty grams of carbs daily and suggests a 2000-calorie-per-day diet. That doesn't work for me. To lose weight, even with the support of semaglutide, I must stay below 1200 calories per day. According to my current research, some people go on a fast keto program. They stay between 800–900 calories daily with the same carb limits and at least fifty grams of protein. I've not tried this, so I don't know if it would work for me. Generally speaking, strict calorie counting on keto is unnecessary because ketosis, which results from eating very few carbohydrates, teaches your body to burn fat faster. Also, the food items used for the keto diet are satiating, leading to decreased hunger. Regarding my calorie burn, research shows that a moderately active 5'6" and 135-pound woman needs 1,900 calories daily to maintain her current weight. At my age, I need fewer calories, even with consistent exercise. Even though I don't count calories, I feel good about my daily calorie consumption. I'm successfully losing pounds doing what I do, so I'll continue along this path.
This weekend, the night skies around our bay displayed all the colors of the Northern Lights. Our little space always provides fantastic views, but the light show was a unique and fabulous treat. This is my first time seeing this light show, and it's amazing. Then, in honor of Mother's Day, we bought several huge hanging flower baskets, which are beautiful. We get these yearly, and the flowers and colors provide a lovely display. Other than that, we practiced our usual routine. Steve and I joke that we are spending our retirement staying as healthy as possible in every way by every means necessary. Of course, sometimes keto increases cholesterol so we combat that with the daily statin smoothie I wrote about in an earlier blog. We'll determine if it's working next month when we get our yearly blood tests. We maintain our blood sugar by avoiding carbs and exercising daily, getting at least thirty-five minutes of cardio. So far, we're succeeding, but we'll know when we go for our regular checkup in early June. We're both anxious about our cholesterol because our numbers were at the top of the normal range, and neither of us want to start taking statins. My cousin had a problem with statins because they depleted her muscles. She told me she was looking like a death camp survivor. She rarely exaggerates about anything, so I'm sure this is factual. She told me her weight dropped to below 100, and when she saw her general practitioner, he also took her off the statin immediately. Her cardiologist prescribed them and monitored her but was unconcerned about her weight loss. It turned out that the statin caused rhabdomyolysis, which is muscle inflammation and eventual wasting caused by statins. The condition can be diagnosed with a blood test measuring creatinine kinase levels. It begins with moderate or severe muscle aches after beginning statin therapy. That's why Steve and I are avoiding statins altogether. We're trying everything possible to reduce our cholesterol naturally. That's why we're having our daily statin smoothie. As a reminder, it contains spinach, almond milk, green tea powder, chia seeds, and hemp hearts. We also take Cholesteroff, an over-the-counter remedy. We hope to get a good report when we return to our GP next month. In the meantime, we'll press ahead with healthy living as long as possible while enjoying our beautiful spaces. We are blessed for sure!
Our days in Birch Bay begin early with light, bright skies, and lovely views and end the same with gorgeous sunsets. Early spring is a beautiful time to enjoy this wonderful space, and it stays this way, sometimes through fall. We'll start golfing this week, and I'm looking forward to it. In the meantime, I'm adding balancing exercises to my daily routine because it might help promote stability. I've also done more research into insulin resistance. As I explained before, insulin is an important hormone that has many roles in the body. When your insulin sensitivity is low, like mine, it puts pressure on your pancreas to increase insulin production to clear sugar from the blood, causing insulin resistance. I learned that the symptoms of insulin resistance begin in the cells. Over time, cells stop responding to insulin, so the pancreas makes more insulin, trying to make cells respond. Eventually, the pancreas can't keep up, and blood sugar keeps rising, resulting in chronically high blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of obesity and other issues like diabetes and heart disease. Increasing insulin sensitivity helps cells respond to insulin and supports weight loss if combined with diet and exercise. Semaglutide helps me with insulin sensitivity, and I'm losing weight more rapidly while continuing keto and exercise. However, some studies claim that the Keto diet may cause muscle loss. That's a problem for me because muscle loss also occurs with aging. I've not noticed muscle loss, but I also exercise. Exercise can reverse muscle loss by keeping muscles active. Studies show that combining aerobic exercise, resistance training, and balance training can prevent and even reverse muscle loss. My resistance exercises include squats, deadlifts, free weights, and the Lat Pulldown. Some of the myths, misconceptions, and misinformation regarding keto include that keto diminishes exercise performance because building muscle requires carbs. Therefore, keto dieters might lose muscle mass, strength, and endurance. However, understanding how the body works makes it possible to experience the health benefits of keto while increasing muscle mass and improving exercise performance at the same time with carb restrictions. Carb consumption is not essential to maintain or build muscle. If I eat enough protein, ingest sufficient calories, and exercise correctly, I will maintain and even gain muscle mass. Exercising properly while on keto can preserve muscle mass while controlling fat. With that in mind, I am off to Zumba, one of my favorite cardio workouts, this morning, and then, I intend to enjoy another beautiful day in Birch Bay.
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September 2024
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