We pulled the yellow boat out of the Bay on Friday because Steve decided he had caught enough crab, thank God!  So now I'm looking out at the bay, and the only boat there is our fishing boat.  Our bay is gorgeous this morning. It is entirely still, and a fog bank sits behind the boat as it gently rocks back and forth with the incoming tide.  For dinner tonight, we'll eat the last fresh crab, and I will make shrimp bisque and several salads to go with the meal. We were alone this past weekend for a change. Steve's brother plans to return next weekend so they can go fishing again, maybe for the last time this season.  As far as we know, Kayla's family will be our last visitors this year. We'll leave for Hawaii in November. It's incredible how quickly time passes! It's already cooling off in the evenings, but the days remain in the low to mid-seventies.  Fall is a beautiful time of year in Birch Bay and around Vancouver. We're still going to Canada daily to work out, and on Fridays, we choose a restaurant for a late lunch in White Rock. It is always a treat. I continue to lose weight even with the occasional meal out, so the insulin support is working. I had no idea how vital insulin is when trying to lose weight. Apparently, the keto diet helps initially, but for some, the insulin sensitivity problem is impossible to overcome with diet alone and, therefore, requires further support. Current research claims that the "calories in/calories out" model does not account for complicated biochemical interactions creating energy balance, weight gain, and weight loss.  My own weight loss journey verifies this fact.  My doctor explained the hormonal mechanisms of weight and energy balance.  She said individuals have highly variable glucose responses to food, regardless of calorie content, and hormonal pathways influence energy use, making it a very complex process.  That's why she prescribed a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor.  It prompts the pancreas to release insulin while suppressing glucagon secretion.   It also slows the emptying of the stomach and digestion and prevents the liver from releasing glucagon that spikes blood sugar levels.  Therefore, although the keto diet and physical activity help insulin resistance, I need more.  My insulin levels mirror my relatively elevated glucose levels, impairing my body's ability to burn fat for energy, so controlling glucose levels in my blood improves the fat-burning state.  This information was a huge relief because it explains my inability to reach my weight goal despite my two years of hard work and commitment.  However, I did lose weight and managed to keep it off.  Therefore, the keto diet and exercise remain central to my success, so I plan to press ahead.  

Source:  Understanding blood sugar and weight loss: why tracking glucose with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) may be more insightful than tracking calories - Levels (levelshealth.com)​​

     We had company this weekend. Steve's sister Bethany and her family and Ken and his wife Trudy came to visit. We took Ken and Trudy to see "Ain't too Proud," the story of the Temptations singing group, at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Vancouver, BC. Of course, we enjoyed hearing all the old amazing songs because they were a popular group from our era. Then, on Saturday night, we had a crab feast. My tiny little house comfortably accommodated eight adults and three children. Everyone had a great time and claimed the fresh crab was a deliciously rare treat. Steve and I need to remember how much people enjoy the crab we take for granted due to its availability here. Also, it's costly. We're blessed to enjoy the abundant seafood from our bay. I also made a lovely dessert with fresh, wild blackberries from the area.  I didn't eat any, but everyone enjoyed it for me.  Since discovering that I am insulin-resistant, I've begun researching.  I discovered that some researchers think insulin resistance improves for most people when they begin a ketogenic diet, which is probably why I lost any weight at all and kept it off. Researchers think the improvement in insulation resistance is due to the ketones. Also, exercise is supposed to be one of the fastest and most effective ways to reverse insulin resistance, and I religiously exercise.  However, after seeing everything I am doing, my doctor added semaglutide to the protocol because it helps to decrease insulin resistance in several ways. First, it decreases gastric emptying time. That means food passes through my system much more slowly. It also stimulates and improves the release of insulin. This helps manage blood sugar. It also mimics the effects of a naturally occurring hormone called GLP-1 that lowers glucagon secretion from the liver and helps insulin secretion by the pancreas. The pancreas secretes glucagon when you're fasting, when you're hungry, and when your blood sugars are low. There's also evidence that semaglutide  decreases the appetite center in the brain. For those with insulin resistance like me, the "calories in, calories out" idea related to weight loss is simplistic and unworkable. Eating less and exercising more definitely did not work for me. But since beginning the semaglutide, the weight is coming off much more quickly. I will continue researching, but for now, I'm convinced!

     I'm sitting here looking out at our beautiful Bay. The sun is shining, and there's a gentle breeze sweeping over the tide as it comes in. Steve just paddled out on his little raft and climbed into the yellow boat, where he is setting up his crab pots for another weekend of crabbing. He absolutely loves our life here in Birch Bay! Even though we have tons of crab, he doesn't get tired of the activity, and I don't complain. It's terrific that he's enjoying his life after working so hard and accomplishing so much! Speaking of accomplishing things, I've lost more weight again this week.  It appears that I will continue having success. I'm extending my weight loss deadline from the end of September through the end of November, and I'll make it. I only want to get within my normal range for my height and do not plan on being skinny ever. However, I plan to be as healthy as possible for all my remaining days. If I can do that, I'll be happy. I'm also doing everything I can to keep Steve healthy. Of course, I can't prevent him from overeating, but I can keep from purchasing or cooking unhealthy food items, and I stay away from those. So, we are in pretty good shape as we look forward to the rest of our days and hope they play out as well as we intend. This weekend, we celebrated Steve's brother Ken's birthday. We had a great time together, as always. Steve and Ken went out fishing by the Canadian Islands and had some success. Ultimately, they enjoy these beautiful days and the gorgeous weather while hanging out together.  Many of our family members have visited us here.  Next week, Steve's sister Bethany and family will arrive.  Ken and Trudy will return and have another excellent crab feast.  Then, our granddaughter Kayla and her family will visit in October.  We are lucky we enjoy such wonderful family times. I'm still serving sliced tomatoes at every meal, and we're having fresh crab as often as Steve brings it in. The keto diet serves me well, and I will never stop!

     This week, I have great news! I've started to lose weight again for the first time in months.  I'm very excited because I have been on a long dry spell without losing anything, so watching the scale go down again is heartening. I'm glad that I went to the doctor and started using the prescription that regulates insulin. It's made all the difference. Instead of being on an interminable plateau, my scale is going down, and I hope it continues the downward trend, and I'm thankful.  The medicine for insulin regulation is making a difference. I was not very optimistic, but it seems to be working. Even though I wasn't losing any weight, I stuck to the keto diet and will continue to do so because it still controls the seizure activity that plagued me. That's no longer a problem, and it's a huge relief not to be coping with that. We had a great week again here in Birch Bay. Stevie came to visit.  He and Steve spent the entire time fishing and crabbing together. They crossed the bay to the Canadian islands, where Stevie caught a huge king salmon.  He was very excited about that. Of course, they also pulled lots of crab, so he took a suitcase full of seafood back to Austin on Friday. He plans to provide a Labor Day seafood feast for his friends. This weekend will be busy again because we're celebrating Steve's brother's birthday.  They'll go fishing in Canada again, and I hope they are able to catch some good fish.  In the meantime, I shall continue my keto diet and exercise and hope I keep losing weight. So far, I haven't made any progress on the January 6th biographies of those convicted and sentenced. However, I plan on creating a framework for at least one every week. It's disheartening to gyrate through these because I can see that the participants appear to be utterly ignorant regarding the rule of law in the United States.  As convicted felons, they won't be able to function in regular society when they emerge from prison. They have destroyed their lives.  Their ignorance of the law and stupid behaviors were encouraged by an equally ignorant man who thinks he can get away with acting like a gang leader, and they will pay for the rest of their lives.  In the meantime, I'm very interested in seeing how it all plays out.