...these beautiful days!!!! and weight loss is happening!

Yesterday was a blank slate, so we filled it in nicely. Mirielle and Camille, Paul and I, and our granddaughter Lydia, went to the beach.

Paul helped Lydia dig a hole, and then a river, and he played with her in the water. He took her to the playground, too. I got her washed up and gave her some lunch, but she wasn't ready to leave yet, so she played some more and took another swim.
When we got home, we had to take a dip in the pool, and Abigail joined us!

Paul grilled some of the salmon he caught in Lake Ontario a few weeks ago (don't worry, it was frozen!), and a steak which I had put salt and pepper, and fresh squeezed limes on, an hour or so before. I made a quick pasta salad because I knew Ab was coming over, she loves it. I also made some steamed broccoli. We ate on the deck. I love summer.

The weather in Norway right now is fantastic, the kids are having a good time there. Sonja, Charlotte Claire, and Emily are doing the water sports group, and they've sent some cool pictures. (Emily is a mentor, and a medical consult if needed). By the time we get there, however, the weather will take a turn...more rainy, and highs in the sixties. But I figure that if a day has a 50% chance of rain, that means there's a 50% chance it won't rain, right? We prob won't be doing much swimming, but that's okay.

Lydia is here, she spent the night. She's sleeping with Camille, in a nice comfy nest on the floor. She is such a sweetheart. She likes me to tell her stories. I always ask her if she wants a cup of coffee, in my most serious voice, and she thinks it's so funny. Yesterday she responded, "I am NOT a big Grandma, you know!"

Anyway...weight loss is happening! I am so stinkin' superstitious, I feel like if I announce I'm losing the pounds, I'll curse myself and it'll reverse. After so many years and years of trying, I feel like I've found what works for me. I can only hope and pray it continues!!! Several years ago, when Cam was two or so, I lost 70 pounds, walking and calorie restricting. I slowly gained back 30, but not by utterly pigging out, it just came back in fits and starts, tricking me. I would work my butt off to lose a few pounds, then gain it back with a bit more, until the math just was against me.

Then the knee problem. I never totally gave up. I cheated here and there, and yes, I made homemade popcorn too often. But I always battled.

Then I decided to go Keto again, and incorporate intermittent fasting. I ate two meals a day, absolutely no snacking, not even a strawberry in between meals. If I wanted a berry, I could have it with one of the meals. I did keep the coffee with the half and half, there are some who say this is not a true fast, but I will give that up when hell freezes over, or when I stop getting results, whatever comes first.

The two meals a day was okay, but then I thought, I can wait this long to eat, I can wait a little longer. So I would do 24 hour fasts almost ever day, and the weight started coming off. I only started this at the end of June, and had a few grand cheat days in there, when we were at the cabin in the beginning of July, ice cream happened. Wine and popcorn happened.

But I just got back to it, and it's only really been a month, and I'm down 13 pounds.

From what I've read (Dr. Jason Fung!), one's metabolism doesn't slow down with fasting, so I'm hoping that's true. Here is one thing that makes me so happy, I could dance in public about: I don't get shaky anymore!!!!! I get up in the morning, have my coffee (with half and half!), and go about my day. Shopping, beaching, cleaning the house, whatever. I don't worry about having to grab a Balance bar, or swallow down an egg I don't really want, just so I don't get shaky. I used to be such a slave to Having To Eat, but now I don't get that shakiness. My tummy rumbles here and there, but I get used to it, and ignore it, then I feel fine. By the time dinner time comes, I am very glad to eat, but I try to eat good healthy foods, meat and veggies, with butter or olive oil. And if I'm going to have a square of dark chocolate or some berries, or a no sugar added fudge bar, this is when I do it. Then, I'm done for the day.

Today, I'm going to mix it up and have two meals, just because. And I haven't changed too much, because shh, I'm excited about that, ha.

And when I'm in Norway, I'll definitely have ice cream. I'm going to try to do an every other day fast there. Because seriously, chocolate.

I know if you eat sugar and carbs, it makes the fasting harder. I had to really get the sugar out of my system before I started fasting, and it was still really hard to acclimate to it. I still drink some salt water in the mornings sometimes, and make sure I take my magnesium and potassium.

I assume now that I must be burning fat for energy, because I've cut back so much on the carbs, and don't eat sugar. I have enough fat to keep me going for quite a while, ha. I could stand to lose at least fifty pounds to 70 pounds.

The theory behind the IF is to lower the insulin levels, thus change the body's fuel to burn fat.

Anyway, it hasn't killed me, and I feel mostly good. I do have to run to the bathroom more than I like to admit, having no gallbladder makes things tricky. But I feel a lot better than I did before, and it's nice to have goals, and to see hard work actually working.