I’ve got so many drafts from posts that I’ve started over the last several weeks and I just never finish them so let’s try once again. I’ve got several things to talk about.
First, although I’ve been bouncing around fairly close to the thirty-pound loss, this morning I officially hit it. So I can now say that I’m down thirty pounds! And, after talking with our favorite nurse, Jenny, she thinks that I may be able to adjust my final goal. Although nobody really wants to give me a nice round number, what she said is that people can still carry a bit of weight and still be very healthy. The key, of course, is not to let it get too out of hand. So, at this point, I think I could probably aim for another twenty pounds and consider it fairly good.
I’ve also reached the point where new clothes have pretty much become a necessity. It’s finally started to warm up here in Winnipeg, and sweat pants aren’t really an option for me in the heat unless I want to give myself a good case of heat stroke. So I went to put on a pair of shorts the other day and the only thing holding them up was my hip bones, and that’s still a really close thing. Although I have a belt, not all of my shorts have loops for a belt, and at this point there’s too much loose waste left over so it’s just not working well. So I went shopping over the weekend and picked up some new shorts. I’m right on the edge of the regular section and the plus size section in stores, and am finding that now I can actually find things that fit me in both. I’m also starting to fit into smaller tops too, so it’s about time for me to start going through the things that don’t fit and get them into the hands of someone who can benefit from them.
A few weeks ago now, in the same conversation I was having about the best weight for me, I asked our nurse about the different weight loss surgery options. I thought that given the effort I’ve put in on my own would show that I’m able to work toward the goal, and many diabetics who have had the surgery are able to get completely off their meds and are no longer considered diabetic. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), I don’t qualify for the surgery. The minimum qualification is a BMI (body mass index), of forty. I’m right around thirty-two. Jenny called the clinic anyway to see if they might make an exception for me, but they absolutely won’t do it with anyone with a BMI under forty. So, although it’s truly exciting that I don’t actually meet the minimum requirements, it’s also a little bit sad. But, it also just confirms to me that what I’ve been able to do over these last nine months really is paying off.
I’ve signed up to do two 5K walks. One is this month, and it’s actually been done but I need to post my picture of me with my bib on, and the other one will be happening next month. I’ve got a solid five-week stretch of exercise days at this point, and most of them are at least three miles, with many being 3.2 or more since that’s the 5K distance.
I’m continuing my search for great meals and ways to make keto more fun and enjoyable. Yes, I’m putting those words into the same sentence as keto. I’ve discovered many new brands of bars that are really good, and I’ve also branched out quite a bit on the keto recipe blogs I follow. On one blog, I was following a rabbit trail of links as I often do, and came across a recipe for cucumber chips. I was intrigued, and had to give it a try. My first attempt was done in the oven, and wasn’t too bad. I used the little baby cucumbers though, and as they dried, they shriveled. So what I was left with kind of resembled the little foil tabs you pull off of pill bottles, and Bruce claims they have a very similar texture as well.
So, for my second attempt, I chose to do it in this food dehydrator. I used my electric salad shooter to slice the cucumbers, loaded up the trays, and within about seven hours I had what resembled tissue paper. It was amazingly tasty tissue paper however, so I consider it a success even if Bruce isn’t quite sold.
The other thing I’ve used the dehydrator for though is to make my own ground beef jerky. If you click on the link for the dehydrator, you’ll see that it came with a jerky gun. This is a device that resembles a cookie press. It came with three tips, two round ones and one flat one. For my first attempt I made nice flat jerky strips. All I can say is WOW!!!!! I will never be buying jerky from the store again. It’s expensive, and you get these tiny little packages that you have to chew and chew. Mine had so much more flavor, and were more tender. I think I need to make some again, but maybe this time I’ll try ground pork.
Although there are several other things I want to include in this post, I think I’ll link to one more recipe and call it good. Last week Bruce and I were talking about what we could have for meals for the week. We were thinking of lasagna, but I was trying to come up with a way to make the recipe I normally use a bit more substantial. So, good old Google to the rescue, and I found this keto lasagna recipe. It uses homemade “noodles”, made from eggs, cream cheese, and cheese, with other seasonings. We both absolutely loved it, and I’ve got some in the freezer for another meal. So, once again, I’ve proven that we can still have amazing food that tastes good, but also, (gasp), is good for us!
So, that’s where I think I’m going to leave it for this time, but I know it’s been a while since I’ve checked in, and wanted to actually send something off this time.