|
I still haven't lost any weight, but I'm not gaining any either. I continue pressing forward with my vegetarian plan, and this week I got help from my sweet cousin. She sent me an Instant Pot which allows me to create some meals pretty quickly that comply with keto. This is exciting because I can cook things quickly, and everything turns out great. For example, I made red chili asada today, and it is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. This is precisely what I need to make meats that would otherwise be tough. Also, the Pot works beautifully for cooking the green chili stew that I make consistently. I tried making the cauliflower and broccoli crustless quiches also. They turned great! The Pot is perfect for following my vegetarian keto plan. I'm also avoiding drinking two glasses of wine every evening, reducing it to one class of barefoot nightly. Also, we are having lots of crabs because Steve is pulling in ten a day and are they ever delicious! We share two each evening, so that has become the focus of our evening meals each week. I'm sure we're going to get tired of crab, but for now, it works with everything I'm trying to do on keto. Also, this week we found an excellent dim sum restaurant in White Rock, B.C. Steve really loves dim sum. We have a great dim sum restaurant in Honolulu as well. However, we were never able to find a good dim sum restaurant in this area until today until Friday. We looked up this restaurant and saw that it provided a dim sum brunch daily, so we tried it. It is delicious. It's called Lee Yuen Seafood Restaurant, and it's in our favorite little town. So we continue to love our time here in Birch Bay, mainly because it is convenient to B.C. We hop across the border into Canada daily to visit our wonderful workout place, Grandview Aquatic Center, and on Friday, we enjoy a meal out. We've added Lee Yuen Seafood to our lovely Indian restaurant, Cilantros, for our Friday outings. Next week we plan to meet our dear friend Aline and her friend for lunch at a fish and chips place. Of course, nothing will be keto, so I will struggle to find something that works for my diet. In the meantime, I'm feeling happy and healthy. Also, the surgery I had for my cataract allows me to see distance and close up, so I'm looking forward to having the other eye done as soon as possible. I'll have more next week as a crab keeps rolling in, and I try to accommodate my palate without becoming bored.
0 Comments
Sadly, I appear to be gaining weight, and I must take control of it immediately. Clearly, the vegetarian meals I am eating are still too much, so I must make some adjustments as soon as possible. The wine is out for the time being. I'll substitute it with yoga?? Maybe???? Definitely a bummer. Also, my computer crashed, and that's a disaster because everything I do is linked to that computer. It means I'm going to have to put everything back into a new computer which by the way is going to arrive from Amazon on Tuesday. Steve just decided we would order another one for me because I could not do a disc repair on my all-time favorite computer this, Toshiba. I think it had something to do with a software update for Windows 11 when I had a Windows10. I mean a software update for Windows 11 when mine was Windows 10. However, it was part of a network that upgraded to Windows 11, so I think the Cloud didn't know what the laptop was doing. What a disaster! So now I'm trying to do all my blogging and settings and everything on my phone, and I guess I'll try to get by with this until my new computer arrives. So don't expect much from this week's blog except to know that Steve started crabbing in Bellingham Bay yesterday because the season opened there. It hasn't opened in our area, but that's okay because he can drop his boat at Louie Island and get on the edge of Bellingham Bay without using up too much of his gasoline. The neighbor Steve is getting to know went with him, and I'm so grateful because I hate it when he goes by himself. It worked out great. In the end, they got 25 crabs. Ten went to our neighbors, who had a license for five each. Then the guy that went along had a license for five, and Steve and I are each allowed five. The crab is just beautiful this season, and of course, we had fresh crab last night. It took me a long time to get to the keto piece of my blog. Last night we had fresh crap with butter. That is perfect for the keto diet. It is excellent for crab bisque, crab and cauliflower souffle, mock crab quiche, and all of the other items I intend to make using this delicious crab meat. So, although I've had a disaster with the computer, we had great success with the crab crabbing. This will be another exciting season. Ken, Steve's Brother, and his wife Trudie visited this weekend and brought in twenty more crabs! Very soon, I will be inundated with crab again and sick of it, but for now, we're counting our blessings.
Of course, as I've always said, I turned to keto-style eating to lose weight. However, along the way, I've discovered many other benefits surrounding keto, including reducing cancer risks, improving heart health, protecting brain function, managing hormonal imbalance and seizure control. I've discussed several of these in previous blogs, but I think it's time to review some of these keto benefits, particularly as they apply to me. As I approach my mid-seventies, I realize I am increasingly vulnerable to conditions that inevitably emerge simply by virtue of age, and keto studies claim to prevent or improve some of these conditions. Cancer risk reduction is always beneficial, especially for me since they removed precancerous colon polyps last year. So, as a preventative measure, eating the keto way seems like a good call. And then there are other age-related issues that keto may mitigate such as heart health and brain function. Apparently keto reduces the risk of Alzheimer's, and improves the thinking of those who have the disease. Then, while I'm not experiencing heart issues, both of my parents had blockages, so heart-health benefits of keto matter. Also, keto prevents m seizure activity, and that is life altering. I am no longer vulnerable when I sleep or find myself in lighting that triggers my type of seizure, and that is a tremendous blessing. I am comfortable going to an exercise club, or water walking without fearing a seizure. Other issues relating to hormonal imbalances level out with keto because it boosts insulin levels and protects the adrenals, particularly when under stress. According to this article, keto mitigates weight gain, hot flashes, energy, bone loss, mood swings and other symptoms related to hormone imbalance. I'm convinced that keto benefits me in many ways, especially because I simply feel good. I am actively engaged in my daily life, enjoying exercising, and sharing delicious meals with Steve every day. I intend to continue keto for my quality of life, including spending time golfing. In fact, Steve and I are going to play golf this morning. It's a gorgeous day and is likely to stay that way for the next ten days. As always, we're really enjoying our time together in Birch Bay.
Although the past six years were anxiety producing on many levels, today we are celebrating American Independence with our Canadian friends, and even though I am very disappointed about how our country is leaning, I continue to feel very optimistic. I often remind myself that our country was founded upon a belief in fundamental natural rights, and I am praying that good people will prevent others from perverting our democratic ideals. Bad actors in our government are stymied when good people like Margaret Chase Smith, Howard Baker, John Dean, and more recently, Liz Chaney and Cassidy Hutchinson stand up for democracy. So, although the past few years produced lots of anxiety, I hope a new generation of Americans emerge demanding justice and equality, and I trust them to pull things together. My youngest granddaughter exemplifies the students that I taught in Houston. She doesn't feel compelled to blast her views all over the universe. Rather she holds them to herself while carefully listening to others and is willing to change her mind. She remains an independent thinker who is also filled with love and compassion, accepting individuals at face value without ever considering ethnicity or religion. She is neither conservative or liberal, but she's definitely ethical. I fully trust her and other young people like her to take control of our country, and the sooner the better as we've made a mess! I'm also feeling a little anxious because my weight is in line with most of the Real Housewives of Atlanta who also have a big butts! However, I still intend to lose more inches, and I am working on it. As I have said before, my weight loss is incremental, and it is easy to become discouraged. So, lately, I'm using a few mindfulness techniques to counter my anxious feelings. Mindfulness helps me stay in the moment rather than allowing myself to focus on negative thoughts or "future think,." Jake, my youngest, talked to me a little about mindfulness, explaining that his husband, Harald, told him to use it when he starts feeling overwhelmed, especially during stressful times in graduate school. He explained that mindfulness is simply paying attention to the present. It helps with managing thoughts and feelings. I'm also beginning a mindful approach to keto, which means being fully present and aware of what and how much I am eating. I'm really enjoying most of the keto recipes I've discovered, and I appreciate how far I've come, so although the weight loss is slow, I'm sure I will achieve my weight goals. I am also realizing that anxiety triggers cravings. The things I begin feeling anxious about usually surround my children, so if they're okay, I'm usually okay. Lately, however, the stock market has taken a hit, and so has our personal finances, and at our age, finances are critical. Because we are retired, our monthly income is fixed, so we depend on our stocks to carry us all the way through to the end, which we hope is a long way off. So practicing mindfulness is essential right now, given the state of the world, Putin's craziness, and other things impacting our country's government and economy. However, anxiety triggers eating, so every time I start to feel a little bit anxious, I'm going to practice mindfulness exercises. Anxiety and stress triggers can be overwhelming, so combatting stress and anxiety is s essential. It's easy to give yourself over to stress. However, when stress triggers cravings, mindfulness training takes over if we practice it. If we train ourselves to be attentive to our thoughts, we have the power to shift our attention to actions helping us toward our goal. The Mayo Clinic comprehensively explains mindfulness to promote mind, body, and soul stability, and the linked article provides a mindful guide to weight loss. So join me in my new venture into mindfulness and see if it helps you remain engaged in a healthy life journey toward your weight loss goals.
|
EdieAuthor, Educator, Dieter,Foodie, Reader, Editor, Exerciser Archives
September 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed