March Madness - #SoCS - Go Figure

Well, Linda has given us the prompt of "Figure" and told us to use it any way we like and have fun.  There are lots of figures in my world these days.  Tuesday will be my birthday and the figure I'll see is 65!  That's right.  Medicare eligible!  In fact, I used Medicare for the first time yesterday when I had some blood tests done.  My last set of blood tests were done in September and since then I was able to stop taking my diabetes medicine completely.  I have also lost another 20 pounds and the figures reflect that.  My Hemoglobin A1C, which is the test for diabetes, is the same at 5.8 - in 2015 it was 8.1.  Normal is less than 5.6.  A year ago it was 7.3.

The figures I was wondering about were the cholesterol and triglyceride numbers because when eating keto-centered meals you are allowed to have fats and since Weight Watchers and Hungry Girl are all about low fat foods I was concerned that those figures would be higher.  Interestingly, this is what I saw:

 

This tells me that my cholesterols (good and bad) were normal when I started "Keto" and around September when I had lost almost 40 pounds, the levels were still normal but higher.  At that time I decided to try and modify the plan to limit the fat intake, my weight reduction speed has been slower but my blood levels have gotten better.  I'm okay with that. 


Speaking of figures, mine has changed a bit since last March:

March 2019 to March 2020

 Looks like I cleaned the mirror since last year too - LOL.

March 2019 to March 2020

I still have some hips and arms to deal with, but I have another 20 pounds to lose so I figure while I'm doing that I'll do some strengthening exercises.  My son is letting me borrow some 5 pound weights that I'm using at night for the arms and I'm doing some leg lifts too.  Maybe I'll get some ankle weights for when I walk Benny.  Do you figure that will help? 

This post was not exactly "stream of consciousness" because I did some research and planning but at least I used the prompt, right?  Have a most wonderful weekend all.  Gearing up for the A to Z - sign ups are happening - I'm #22 on the list which was over 100 the last time I checked.  Come play along this year!

 

September Silliness - 2019 - Weigh/Way/Whey and Spicy

The #SoCS prompt is Weigh/way/whey and the #SeeYouInSeptember is Spicy.  The way I am going to connect these things is like this:

I have been on many different "diets" as a way to lower the amount I weigh.  Some have been successful for a while.  At one point around the early 2000's I lost 44 pounds and was down to 169 pounds.  That was using the Weight Watchers way.  Of course things happened - don't ask me what because I don't remember anything specific - but I do know that I got all the way back up to 238 pounds! 

Far cry from this girl who, admittedly is quite a bit younger!

The next thing I tried was Hungry Girl program.  Again I lost about 40 pounds.  Why is it that I didn't keep going?  Who knows.  I am an Italian and I love pasta?  I am a wife and need to feed my husband who doesn't like low fat/sugar free foods?  Busy working so I call for take out?  All of the above! 

Then my son worked the Keto lifestyle and lost about 30 pounds.  He suggested several times that I try it too but I was resistant.  It's not a healthy way of eating...too much fat...I have diabetes I can't have too many ketones in my urine...all excuses.  Finally, around my birthday in March this year, I decided that I'd had enough and it was time to get my act together so I investigated the Keto plan more thoroughly and found that it was actually not that bad and it might even help with my diabetes.  I had a basic set of lab tests done and checked with my doctor who said that each "diet" be it vegan, keto, WW or whatever, have their own proponents but in the end it really is just an individual thing and every body reacts differently.  She said that I should get repeat lab work in September to see where things stood.

I can say that so far I've lost 38 pounds since March and 54 pounds since my all time high of 238 (you do the math).  The last time I was at this weight was April of 2006.  I keep setting mini goals for myself and while I know that if I was even stricter with intermittent fasting I could lose it more rapidly, as long as I keep going in the downward direction I'm okay with it.  This is me today.  Excuse the messy hair and the glare from the light.  A bit different than the first picture, no?

My daughter and I have tried many different recipes from the books we've gotten and online and most of them have been very good.  I am still not a fan of really spicy foods but I am using more spices in meals than I did before.  Mostly I like garlic and pesto but on fish I use dill.  We do also add some whey protein occasionally.
   

Well, I think I've put myself out there enough for now and gotten both prompts in so here's the Pick One question:

Spicy or mild?  

  

Fancy-Free February - 2017

February 7 - Picture time:

#35 - Cookie Monster motivates me:

I was walking through the mall the other day and I happened to see this on a pajama top.  I'm using it to remind me to control meself!

#36 -  The hubs wanted donuts after the Super Bowl game on Sunday so we stopped at our local donut shop on the way home.

It was a rainy night and I guess everyone needed some "feel good" after the strange outcome of the football game.  Kind of like another strange outcome we've had recently.  Thank goodness I've got Cookie Monster (see above).

#37 - Made a few new cards for the Etsy site in time for Valentine's Day.

They don't actually say Valentine's Day though so maybe you could use them for an anniversary or just any time you want to tell someone you love them!

#38 - February Selfie

Decided to take a full shot instead of just my face this time.  Maybe in a few months we'll be able to see some changes.  I'm hoping so.  I see a little bit already. 

Caught up for now.  How about you?  Keeping up with any projects you started this year?