Slow but Steady....

      On Wednesday, we depart for Birch Bay to begin our summer adventures which are always great fun. While in Hawaii, I've maintained a slow but steady weight loss. I currently weigh 182 pounds, so I'm down 17 pounds from 199 pounds when I began. I intend to continue the keto diet for life because of my successful weight loss without suffering and also because I feel excellent on this diet. My problems with epilepsy basically disappeared while on this diet, and that's a huge blessing. Most researchers claim that the keto diet can reduce or prevent seizures, although the complete mechanism is currently unknown. However, I know when I indulge in carbs, I pay several days later with an aura or a full-blown seizure, so in my case, the keto diet prevents seizures. Therefore, limiting carbs is now my permanent way of eating even after reaching my goal weight of 159 pounds or less.
     We will miss Hawaii and our friends here, but we're heading back in September. Days after we arrive in Birch Bay, we will head out to the British Virgin Islands. As a "Belonger," Steve is working on obtaining property there. He applied for this status based on his lineage and ultimate connection to enslaved people held in Anegada, BVI, by the British and forced to grow vegetables. Becoming a verified "Belonger" allows him to choose land there as reparations for his ancestor's enslavement. He has already chosen his parcel and hopes to formalize his ownership during this trip. Steve loves it there, and it is terrific to own more land to pass down to our children. We'll return to Birch Bay the second week in May. Transitioning from Hawaiian cuisine is not difficult because I don't really like most Hawaiian favorites. These include non-keto items like spam musubi, loco moco, and macaroni salad. Some keto items are poke, laulau, and kalua pig. I don't eat poke because of the raw fish, and the kalua pig is rather ho-hum. It tastes of smoke, but beyond that, in my opinion, it's flavorless. If I'm going to have pork, it will be pork asada, not pork con nada, like Kailua pig.
     However, I'm nearly addicted to laulau. I think it's delicious, and I'll miss having it. We buy it from our dear friend who sells it to support her shelter for women in need.  I'm already thinking about our Birch Bay menu items, including chicken masala served over sautéed cabbage, cabbage rolls, and pizza. Because we don't have a conventional stove with an oven in Hawaii, we are somewhat limited to the items listed in the menu section of this site. We do fine with these items and enjoy our meals very much. We also cook out a lot more than we do in Birch Bay. However, we like expanding our repertoire that a stove with an oven allows. Also, we are always looking forward to fresh salmon and shellfish in Washington. Hawaii has fresh seafood as well. Steve loves poke, but I've not discovered any Hawaiian seafood I really like. Steve is anxious to get his big boat in Washington ready for fishing. He plans to take it just inside Canadian waters to catch lingcod, one of our favorite fish. Of course, we have to wait until August to begin our crabbing, but that will be as fun as always. I shall miss my daily walks along beautiful Po'Kai Bay but intend to add a beach walk along Birch Bay shores now that I am not suffering seizure activity. I've avoided this because the sun sits lower in the sky there and, for some reason, causes problems for me. Hopefully, I will not be impacted anymore. We shall see!