Keto and Extensions....

      Steve successfully launched a new crabbing season in Birch Bay this Sunday rather than Thursday because they delayed crabbing until the 19th due to soft shell crab.  He already made several crabbing trips in Bellingham Bay. However, it's much easier to go crabbing in the bay right in front of the house. He's got some perfect places where he drops his net, and he's very successful. We had company all week, and the last of them left early this morning. It's nice to be on our own again, but it's also lonely after having so many people around. Of course, we'll miss them, but we have plenty to do. Steve has decided to present a paper at a NASA gathering in Galveston, so he and I will be hard at it, writing and editing for a few weeks. Also, I decided to make an appointment with the weight loss specialist and got in immediately.  We discussed my inability to lose weight no matter how hard I work out.  She explained that the gut and brain hormones that regulate appetite also affect how the body consumes and metabolizes calories. Insulin, a pancreatic hormone, influences whether you store or burn calories.  Higher insulin levels promote energy storage in the form of fat, while lower levels allow the body to mobilize fat stores and use them for energy.  She thinks mine is a problem with these levels and suggested that I try Wegovy along with everything I'm already doing and see if that helps push things along. I will hang in there with this and see if it works out in terms of helping me increase my weight loss. If this doesn't work, I will get evaluated for lipedema. That means I'm extending my weight loss deadline at least through January to see how things work out. In the meantime, I published a cute little book on Amazon called "The Enchanted Lei Garden--Living Aloha," and I'm proud of it. I put it up on Amazon the day of the Lahaina fire.  I hope it gets some traffic.  I intend to force myself to send some things I've written to editors and see what happens. It'll be interesting to see if someone accepts my little story. That would be great.  In the meantime, I'm still getting some lovely produce from neighbors and have made several types of stuffed zucchini that have turned out quite well. I've also frozen a couple of cases of Hatch green chili, and our tomatoes are finally ripening. We've picked wild blackberries several times and made jam using monk fruit sweetener, and we both like it.  We are continuing with our smoked salmon brunches and alternating them with crab, green chili and egg wraps.  The salmon is almost gone, so we have to get some more from somewhere. I'm still working hard to build muscle.  I'm completing 50 to 60 minutes of cardio and 5-to-8-mile walks daily. Even though I'm not losing weight, I know I'm staying healthy. I'll take that for now while I continue pursuing other possible issues.