Hi,

About the high blood pressure... I had run out of the Hawthorn Berry supplement and had not replaced it. I am thinking that may be a big part of the problem. I ordered some more and have been taking two tablets, twice a day, for about a week, now. The BP does seem to have dropped a little. (They were recommended by my doctor for BP control.)

In an effort to make real changes and reduce my BP into a more normal range I have stopped eating the Shirataki noodles, except on rare occasions. I have resumed eating the fresh raw salads and the home made salad dressing with vinegar. A dear friend of mine told me that if I put 2 Tbs of vinegar in a glass of water and drank it, my BP would go down. I tried it and it did seem to help. I don't do that every day, because I know vinegar can cause me problems, ... but ... who knew? Right now they are still running an average of about 160 over 85 -- but that is down from 175 over 90, so that is progress.

I don't know if the Shirataki noodles are the culprit in my case. All I know is that my blood pressure went up after I started eating them. It could be a coincidence or the cause.... I guess I will find out. I hope it does not take long. I have even limited my protein intake to eggs, tuna, and feta cheese, in case the meat was the problem. I'm also eating my veggies raw, again.

During all of this, for the past few weeks, my blood sugars have been staying low for the most part. I did have one morning when I woke up to a reading of 140 (they usually range from 104 to 115 in the morning), and another one that was 130, but they seemed to be flukes. I checked my journal to find out what I had eaten the days before and it was restaurant food on both occasions (one was a "sit down" and the other was a "drive through"). Home made is better for my health. I can't control everything, but I can support myself better when I eat at home.

Speaking of which, I had lunch with a dear and long-time friend today that I had not seen for a very long time -- perhaps a year or more. We chatted and ate, laughed, and shared for about three hours at a buffet. It was great and we are planning on doing it again. She has moved to another part of the State of Georgia, so we drove to the "middle point" and visited together. I really enjoyed seeing her again.

I am still exercising in the pool and enjoying it. If I have to miss I do the stretchy bands and try to keep things on track. My friend said that I looked like I had lost more than the 25 pounds I owned up to. That was nice to hear. The exercise must be working. I've noticed my sweater fits me better now. I can easily button it and there are no gapes. Nice!!

So... I am working hard to get back on track with the BP and stay on track with the exercise.

Be back soon...

Marcia