Steve and I had an excellent week.  Although temperatures dropped into the freezing range at night, the sun was shining all week, so it wasn’t gloomy.  We are doing our usual thing, except for Sunday when we drove to Coquitlam, B.C., to get some fishing gear for Steve.  He plans to fish on the Vedder River in British Columbia with his brother next weekend.  It will be interesting to see if they can catch some salmon.  That would be great!  We stopped at a wonderful little restaurant that serves brunch all day.  That was perfect for me, as I always enjoy eggs benedict allowing myself an English muffin occasionally.  We really enjoyed our day.  In the meantime, I remain focused on my weight loss goal and continue using Wegovy.  I understand much more about the complexities of losing weight, particularly for someone my age, which causes hormone resistance, particularly with insulin and leptin.  I’m discovering that hundreds of hormones influence weight gain, weight loss, metabolic rate, eating behaviors, and more.  However, like last week, my current focus is leptin and increasing leptin sensitivity to burn more fat.  Leptin is very important.  As I explained last week, it tells your brain when you’re full, controls your appetite, and helps keep your metabolism healthy.  At the appropriate levels, leptin regulates appetite, food intake, and energy balance, helping you stay lean and healthy by telling your brain to burn rather than store fat.  When you become leptin resistant, the body generates high levels, beginning a vicious cycle of storing rather than burning fat, thus increasing fat mass and preventing weight loss.  Diets high in carbs and processed and refined foods increase leptin levels. while shutting down leptin receptors in your hypothalamus, so it takes longer to realize that you’re full.  Overeating carbs is particularly bad and promotes leptin resistance, while a high-fat, low-carb diet like keto helps reverse leptin resistance by decreasing the appetite, increasing satiety, increasing fat burning, and preventing insulin resistance.  Thus, the ketogenic diet positively impacts leptin levels.  I am doing the right thing.  However, I cannot do anything about my age, which is the other huge factor in the hormone issue.  Thus, the Wegovy support is working for me.  

     ​Things have slowed down in Birch Bay. We're not having any more company we know of, and we're heading to Waianae at the end of November. It's just the two of us doing our daily workout activities and not much more. It's cooled off here.  Most days remain in the mid-40s--cool, cloudy and gloomy. Fall is on its way out, and we're heading into winter. However, the Fall colors are stunning.  Steve and I are both anxious to return to Hawaii despite the fall beauty. Returning to the warm climate will be fantastic.  We love hanging out at the marina and taking walks around the bay. We're so blessed! I'm so happy we decided to purchase these properties when we did because it would be impossible to afford our beautiful living spaces at this point. I'm still regularly losing weight. I worked it out, and if all goes well, I'll be at my proper weight by the time we return to Birch Bay in the spring. That means I'll be at the top of my appropriate weight range. I am still deciding if I want to keep losing weight after that. I'll decide once I get there. I've been doing more research, and I'm beginning to understand more clearly how hormones impact and exacerbate weight loss. Two main hormones significantly impact one's ability to lose weight including insulin and leptin. This week's focus is leptin. It's interesting because leptin acts on the brain to signal fullness. Over time, when one is leptin-resistant, that stops happening, so people begin to overeat. I remember when I felt stuffed following a big meal. That stopped, and now I realize it is due to the Leptin resistance.  Fat cells produce leptin, which helps regulate energy balance and metabolism. It signals the brain's hypothalamus about the body's fat stores. When fat stores increase, leptin levels rise, and this signals the brain to increase energy expenditure and decrease appetite, which can help maintain weight and fat balance, ultimately influencing fat storage by regulating appetite and energy expenditure. Leptin resistance increases appetite and reduces energy expenditure, potentially leading to fat storage.  It also impairs the brain's ability to respond to leptin signals correctly, resulting in overeating and difficulty maintaining a healthy body weight.  Thus, leptin resistance contributes to obesity. A balanced diet, regular physical activity, and maintaining a healthy body weight optimizes the functioning of leptin and supports overall metabolic health unless one becomes obese.  Obesity changes hormone functions.  The more overweight one becomes, the less effective these hormones are. Thus, therapies supporting these hormones allow exercise and the keto diet to work.  Who knew?

      I'm feeling aggravated right now because earlier this week, I had a problem with a toothache that was so severe it began aching across the entire left side of my face. I called my dentist, and initially the receptionist told me they had no openings for several days.  When I asked what to do about the pain, she suggested I go to the emergency room if I got into trouble before they could see me. The emergency room! That's ridiculous. Nothing can happen in an emergency room concerning dental care. I said okay and hung up. But then I called right back and told her that I was shocked that they didn't accommodate emergencies. I reiterated that my face was aching horribly, and at the very least, I needed something for the pain. She suddenly realized I was pretty irritated about not being cared for during this emergency, particularly since we've been going to this dentist for more than four years. In the end, the dentist prescribed pain medication. They brought me in early the following day because they had a cancellation. However all they did was refer me to an endodontist which of course, will not help me because now I'm waiting to get into that guy. In the meantime, I will search to see what dentist in the area also does root canal therapy. It is not necessary to go to a specialist.  It'll be interesting to see what happens. We're leaving for Hawaii at the end of November, so I might not have time to finish the work here. The pain has subsided and hopefully it will stay that way until I figure things out. I am so grateful that this toothache disappeared before Kayla and her sweet little family arrived. The rain went away as well. I was so happy to see the forecasted sunshine from the beginning of their visit till the end. They went on a whale watching trip in Anacortes and saw many whales along with other sea life. They were perfectly comfortable, and nobody got seasick. They spent the next day in Seattle.  They had dinner at the Space Needle, saw all the sites, and had tons of fun. The kids were thrilled because they stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool, so they could spend all of their extra time swimming and splashing away. Friday, we all spent the day together. We started by having a lovely brunch at our little house, where I served crab, Italian sausage, and scrambled eggs. Then we went to Birch Bay Park, where they explored the bay. Next, we took them to Peace Portal Park, right at the Canadian border, so they could see where our two countries come together.  It is a gorgeous Park with many planting groups and trails that meander through each. They were thrilled to get to see this area. Next, we took them to the Blaine Pier, where we used little baskets for crabbing. The kids caught at least thirty little crabs, a few at a time, and we're very excited about this experience. Kayla's little boy, Carter, is so much like Bernie was when he was little. He is very busy and just doesn't stop! Carter is full of questions and asks one right after the other. We took him to the Marina Park on the way back so that he could use up a lot of his energy. Did he ever! He didn't stop running, jumping, climbing, and sliding the whole time we were there. Next, we stopped by Starbucks and grabbed ourselves a coffee.  Finally, we headed to Loomi Island to ride the ferry across Bellingham Bay to our favorite little restaurant. The kids were thrilled with the experience and, especially, their brick-fired Pizza.  They each ordered one, while the rest of us ordered seasonal offerings.  It is such a great little restaurant. I'm so happy that they opened again. I was not very confident that they would following covid. A lot of places went utterly belly-up. We had a very successful visit, and I was so happy to be able to entertain Kayla and her little family. It was wonderful spending time together, and we plan on doing it again soon. She's thinking about trying to come to Hawaii while we're there. I hope it works out. We're looking very much forward to spending more time together! Regarding my weight loss, I'm still very successful, and I lose daily. Everything I'm doing is working. I've studied the keto diet combined with insulin management, and most experts agree that keto positively impacts insulin levels, so it's beneficial when trying to lose weight using this method. Insulin management is certainly not a magic cure. One has to do their part concerning diet and exercise. Because I was so used to the keto diet, and the strenuous daily exercise, maintaining this is easy for me. Also I'm continuing strength training, specifically increasing the weight on my free weightlifting and continuing the deadlift on opposite days. I've been increasing the weight on the deadlift and plan to continue to do so until I can lift the suggested weight for my height.  It turns out that the keto diet and strength training are compatible because the keto diet provides adequate energy, preserves muscle mass, and reduces soreness when strength training.  Everything is working out on the keto side of things, so if I can get things figured out as far as my toothache is concerned, I'll be happy.

     ​I just returned from my Zumba workout and realized I failed to post my blog this morning. I've been distracted and very irritated because my Fitbit stopped working last Friday. I've only had it for a little over a year, and this is the second Fitbit that has just stopped dead. I went through a long, tedious process last time to get them to honor their warranty, and it appears I will go through the same thing again. I like using the Fitbit because I'm comfortable with the app, and the watch gives me all the information I want to track. However, it's very aggravating that the silly thing doesn't last longer than a year before it goes south. For now, I'm using a backup watch that tracks my steps and nothing else.  I've ordered a battery for my old Fitbit, and Steve will replace it when it comes in. I'll make do with these things until the company replaces my Fitbit like it should. It will be an endurance test.  In the meantime, I'm focusing on strength training with weights this month.  My keto diet supports weight training because it includes significant protein.  I've begun to understand how valuable that might become as I age. Strengthening muscles matters at this point, especially if I want to remain flexible and move around. Since I started using the barbells for deadlifting, I've noticed that it's easier for me to get up and down and in and out of my chair. It's incredible how quickly my muscles respond, so I will continue to do this work and see if it improves my stability and overall strength.  We played golf on Thursday, and it was a great time on a beautiful fall day.  My game is improving.  I'm hitting the ball consistently, and it's going further and where I want it to go for the most part. I'm also making par at each whole, and it surprises me when I keep up with Steve.  We enjoy outdoor activities and being together, but we're not committed golfers. We don't even keep score. Still, it's a lot of fun. Washington provides perfect golfing weather in the spring, fall, and summer.  I'm getting Christmas packages together because we're heading out to Hawaii at the end of November. I'll mail them out just before we leave because it costs much less if I mail them from Washington rather than Hawaii.  Ketowise, I've added very few things to my menu lately. I've enjoyed some of my old favorites regularly but have added a BLT wrap using my homegrown tomatoes.  The fresh tomatoes are the perfect addition to the BLT. It won't last much longer because I am nearly out of my tomato harvest. I'm not too fond of the tomatoes I get from the store, so I probably won't continue with the BLT until next year, but it has been a real treat.  As far as my weight loss is concerned, it continues to go down, down,  damn. This insulin adjustment makes all the difference in the world! I am so surprised that it is working for me. I have made no other diet or exercise changes and continue doing what I've done for over two years, but now the weight is coming off. I am so pleased that this intervention has worked for me. I'm a believer, for sure.

     Ken and Trudie came this weekend, so the guys went out on the big boat to fish around the Canadian Islands again.  It turns out that the winds across the bay are much higher than those in our area and were too much for their size craft. They're learning so much about Canadian fishing and boating.  I hoped they'd catch some ling cod and salmon, but no such luck.  When they returned, we pulled the big boat from the bay, and Steve will put it away until we get back from Hawaii next spring.  On the brighter side, I'm still losing weight, slowly but surely. It's been going much faster since I started taking the prescription. It's a blessing to finally get off that long, lengthy plateau and start moving downward again. It will probably take me a few more months to reach my goal weight, but that's all right. In the meantime, I've been making really nice meals centered around lovely salads. I made spinach, walnuts, apple, avocado, thinly sliced onions last night, and a lovely balsamic vinegar dressing. It was a real hit! I'm still attending all of the Zumba classes that are offered right around the corner from me. I'm rubbing elbows with some fancy ladies living on yachts moored in Semiahmoo.  It's interesting rubbing elbows with these older rich people. Most started out snooty, but then they began communicating and chatting with everybody.  I'm also working on putting my blog in a book form and publishing it on Amazon because it contains valuable information for those my age who struggle to lose weight.  Also, I've added another exercise to my regimen based on my son's suggestion. I'll begin lifting dead weight on my free weightlifting off days next week. The science behind its benefits is undeniable. The deadlift works on the glutes, hamstrings, trapezius, back muscles, and core, making it very effective for muscle building, and the keto diet is compatible with that goal.  However, the research supporting muscle building while on keto warns about consuming too much protein.  According to researcher Parker Hyde, the protein must be at most twenty percent of the calories while on keto.  Excess protein turns into glucose and kicks you out of ketosis.  Rather than consuming the quantities of protein recommended by weightlifters to build muscle, keto dieters need to depend on high-quality proteins containing all nine essential amino acids, particularly those rich in the critical muscle-building amino acid leucine.  These sources include eggs, cheese, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, lamb, fish, and seafood.  They will help your body add lean muscle mass and preserve existing muscle.  I've continued researching insulin resistance and discovered that it improves as the weight comes off and largely depends on physical activity and a well-formulated ketogenic diet.  I'm certain that my keto diet will help me maintain my weight loss.  I'll also pay attention to my yearly blood glucose numbers.  Research demonstrates that lifestyle behaviors, including weight loss and exercise, restore the ability of tissues to respond to insulin appropriately.  It will be interesting to see if I can maintain the weight loss long-term when I stop using the prescription.