​It seems that I am genetically predisposed to migraine headaches from my mother's side of the family and a major seizure disorder from my father's side. Somehow I managed to be impacted by both off and on throughout  my 70 odd years. I remember that my father told me that he managed to prevent the Aura and seizure using fat and avoiding carbs, so he indulged in peanut butter, spam and cheese among other fatty foods. I've managed to avoid seizures by managing my lifestyle. I avoid lighting that triggers episodes and I rarely indulge in high carb foods like cake or donuts. But since I went on keto I've not had a single aura nor have I had the sparkle in the corner of my eye signaling the onset of a migraine. I'm convinced that the keto diet is preventing these issues.  However, I have not lost any weight this week at all, despite my commitment to give myself the loss of pounds for my birthday.  I have religiously stuck to my keto cuisine, so it has nothing to do with cheating.  I'm beginning to think that I need to think about managing calories as much as the fat-carb balance.  So, I'm currently investigating this possibility.  I know that I might need to cut the wine, and I definitely don't want to do that, because I enjoy my evening glass of Pino Grigio.  Still, it might be the culprit, and I would rather starve than give it up.  Does that sound crazy?  I don't feel crazy.  I enjoy my evenings relaxing with my husband, watching the news, having our dinner and my two glasses of Pino Grigio.  I will try to work through this.  Maybe I'll increase my exercise, and reduce the amount of food I'm eating, and see how it goes this week.  If I don't lose anything, I shall seriously consider giving up the wine for a while.  UGH!   

This week my weight is at a standstill.  Actually, it is a little bit up.  Clearly, I'm doing something wrong, and I'm pretty sure I know what it is.  I began making a dip using my roasted Hatch green chili and sour cream.  Utterly delicious!  I ate too much of it, and must back off this sort of thing.  Really, it's simple.  Although I remained in Keto, I ingested too many calories and I'm paying for it.  I've decided to have two days of veggies only.  I'll use some of my lovely recipes so I don't feel quite so deprived, but veggies it is.  It will be interesting to see if it helps me get beyond this plateau.  Of course, I'm sticking to my goal for October, which is another five pound weight loss by the time my birthday comes around on the 27th.  Our daughter will be here at the end of the week and stay through the weekend, so we'll be doing a few extra things with her and I'll have to remain steadfast in my resolve to stick with the program, but I've already been through several tests and I did just fine.  The weather here is typical for the fall.  It's rainy and gloomy, with very few sun breaks.  I've been comparing the weather in our Hawaii town, and am beginning to wish we were there.  However, we will remain here through December, so I'm adjusting to things remaining mostly gloomy.  What a difference a month makes!  Just a couple of weeks ago it was sunny with temperatures in the 70's nearly every day.  Now were mostly in the low 60's and sunny days are rare.  Actually this is the first time we've spent the fall in Birch Bay.  We always returned to Houston, Texas for our work.  Steve returned to NASA''s Johnson Space Center, and I returned to Houston Independent Schools.  But now that we've retired, we no longer have a reason to go back to Houston, so we sold our cute little house in Seabrook and are remaining here.  Fall in Northwest Washington is gloomy!  It'll take some getting used to but we'll survive.  Most importantly, we shall not eat our way into oblivion!

We entertained guests this past weekend, and one of our plans was a birthday celebration. You guessed it! Cake and several flavors of ice cream were on the dessert menu, challenging my self-control, but the good news is that I managed just fine. I worked my way through temptation, having made several keto treats in advance. While the desserts looked tempting, I'm more committed than ever to get this weight off and unwilling to jeopardize my current successes. Also, it helps a lot to create rich additions to my main meals.  Lately, I'm making rich-tasting soups and stews because it's cooling off, and they are warming, make the meal a cozy experience. Our guests enjoyed the smoked salmon chowder very much. As I think about my favorite soups, I remember how delicious asparagus soup tastes. I was planning to make that next, but I have a ton of green tomatoes. Of course, southern-style fried green tomatoes are out of the question, though they are delicious. So, now I'm obsessing about my tomatoes that are abundant and green while the temperature here goes down, down, down, and there are fewer and fewer sunny days. With more cloudy days in the forecast, l have little hope that they'll ripen, so I'm searching for green tomato recipes.  I've found an idea for keto-style fried green tomatoes that I intend to try, so wish me luck! I'll report back next week.  I've searched green tomato recipe ideas and found very few. There's a green tomato salad that looks okay, and I might try it.  However, I found a green tomato stew recipe made with curry spices and coconut milk. I shall try it and see how it turns out!  As I write this blog, our guests are packing up their SUV. It was wonderful having them, and I am so grateful I stuck to my keto despite serving carb-filled feasts. It is easier to ignore temptation now than it would have been initially, I think. In any case, I've proven to myself that we can continue our gregarious lifestyle without jeopardizing my weight loss goals, and I'm grateful for it.