Elderberry Extract and an Allergy to Crab Meat

I'm glad I blogged about my friendship incident in my previous post because I have more clarity on it now and realize that I do not have to suffer the complete loss of a friendship with her. I just have a more accurate picture of that relationship now. I always knew I wanted more... intimacy... closer association... perhaps BFF status with this lady but I fully realize now that that is not going to happen.

That does not mean I have to eliminate what I do have with her. I still like her and pray for her and her husband and kids. Even though what she said was a little harsh, I'm sure she said it out of frustration at a combination of things -- mainly what I had said -- but perhaps it caught her at a bad time, too. Anyway, I'm no longer worried about it and I'm grateful that God also showed me that I simply am how I am. Not that I cannot improve, but that I don't have to try to transform myself into something other than what I am. I do intend to be more circumspect with my opinions, in all areas, as well as I can, though. The Lord wants us to develop self control, so this seems to be an area where I need that.  Thank you, Lord, for guiding me.

On Sunday I noticed that I seemed to be kind of extra swollen and I'm not sure what to attribute it to. It could possibly be from any one of three things:

1. Slow cooker soup that I had made for the first time on Saturday
2. Eating crab meat at the buffet on Saturday
3. Taking a dose of Elderberry extract Sunday morning

The soup: I chose a large slow cooker as one of my bank rewards and it has been sitting in a corner for months so I decided to give it a go on Saturday. This was a spur of the moment thing so I had not gone shopping with a particular recipe or dish in mind. I just pulled out four pork chops, some Italian green beans, some cut green beans, and some okra along with some left over fresh grape tomatoes and some spicy spaghetti sauce and threw everything in the pot with some water and set it on high.

When it got hot I turned it down to medium and left it for the rest of the day. I also applied all my favorite herbs including some cinnamon. It came out pretty tasty, but I think I'll leave out the cinnamon next time. It was not bad or repulsive or anything like that. It just had a little bit of oddness to it. Other than that, I loved it and really liked the slow cooker method. The pork chops fell apart with a spoon and I was able to fish nearly all of the bones out beforehand. So. I'm thinking the swelling could be from that, but it does not seem likely. I'm crossing that one off the list.

The crab meat: At the Hot/Cold Chinese Buffet that I visited on Saturday I paid attention to including more fresh raw salad and other vegetables to my plate, along with protein. I remember noting that my plate was about 50/50 so I felt I did well. I did have another smaller plate with 50/50 portions too, but did not have any dessert. I think the problem may be that I did eat more of the crab casserole that they make than I usually do. I had a serving spoonful on both plates and, since, I have, in the past, gotten swollen from eating crab meat, I can only assume that my current swelling is very likely from that. Even though I think it was made from imitation crab it is still "seafood" and is flavored with crab juices during the manufacture. So I think that may actually be the culprit and I need to lay off of it.

That is too bad because I had discovered that their cheesy crab casserole reminded me of macaroni and cheese and since there was no macaroni, I thought it was safe to consume. It may also have simply been that particular batch because I've eaten it before without noticing any additional swelling, but I also know that allergies can creep up on you. So no more crab casserole for a while.

The Elderberry extract:  I discovered through reading on the internet that elderberry extract has been scientifically proven to be a good remedy for the flu or colds. It has fewer side effects than the flu shot and works pretty fast, and well, according to research. I was going to wait until payday and order some but needed to get out of the house on Saturday so I decided to go to a health food store and buy a bottle. On the way back is when I stopped at the buffet mentioned above.

As usual, the price in the mom and pop store was pretty high (15 dollars) but I figured if I ordered it I would be paying for shipping so it probably turned out to be close in price. I made sure to get some that does not have added sugar in it. The brand is "Sambucus" (nigra) Black Elder Berry Extract which is labeled as "all natural, no artificial sweeteners," too. I did not want to get the "syrup" as the word syrup nearly always means "sugar."

I had priced some at Swanson Vitamins.com for about 10 dollars but it was labeled "syrup" and also had three active ingredients instead of one: elderberry fruit, elder flowers, both from the Sambucus nigra plant and also red raspberry leaf. It had a total carb count of 4 per teaspoon so I figured that was acceptable. They recommend taking one teaspoon once or twice a day as needed. I may still buy this one in the future but for now I went with the "Natures Answer" brand that I got at the store.

In my reading about this extract I also noticed that it is supposed to also act as a mild diuretic so that may actually be why I experienced a little excessive urination earlier in my fast than I was expecting. This, of course, would likely rule out the possibility that I was swollen because of it. It may have actually been the thing that was helping to get rid of the swelling. I noticed my blood pressure was a little lower this morning, too, so that is a good sign.

If you would like to read the first article I found here is the URL: http://saveourbones.com/researcher-discover-fruit-that-cures-flu/

Here is the confirming article that I read from Web MD: http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20031222/elderberry-fights-flu-symptoms

The article from Web MD was written in 2003 so the first article has newer research listed in it.

The thing that really attracted me to trying the elderberry extract is that it is actually being proven to work against the flu just as well as a H1N1 flu shot -- and also against influenza A and B viruses. With none of the side effects of a flu shot.

If you have ever had a flu shot, and then gotten the flu, that is probably not really what happened. When I had that happen, my doctor did not believe that was possible. Come to find out from the first article that the side effects of the flu shot mimic getting the flu, so what's the point? All of that can be sidestepped, hopefully, with the elderberry extract so I have some in my arsenal now and will be using it when the time comes.

Just out of curiosity, I took a dose on Sunday morning, to test out what it tastes like, and see how my body reacts to it when I'm not under the influence of the flu. I put one teaspoonful in about half a cup of water and drank it down. It tasted like prune juice to me and was not half bad, unsweetened and all. I don't think it needs sugar for taste. It tastes fine. 

Then, I went ahead with "going to church" preparations. Unfortunately, after I had taken my shower, as I was walking into the bedroom to get dressed my knee just gave way and I stumbled. I was able to catch myself and not fall but that put a stop to the "going to church" plans. I need to be extra careful with the knee during this healing stage so I stayed off of it by sitting in the recliner to elevate it for a while.

As I sat there wrapped in my blankets I started to nod off, but woke up a little later with some really strange dreams about a bug in my house that "my" cat (I don't have a cat) was stalking. I got into the act and tried to stop it, but it kept morfing and ended up being a tiny bird that I had stomped on and did not kill. I immediately woke up because I hate wounding animals, especially like that, and felt awful. When I took stock, I thought that maybe the extract had been a cause of the bad dream and made a note to myself that I should not take that stuff before bed time, unless absolutely, necessary.

This particular sentence from the Web MD article really caught my attention:  "A small study published five years ago showed that 93% of flu patients given Sambucol were completely symptom-free within two days; those taking a placebo recovered in about six days."

Now that research has also shown that the elderberry extract works for influenza A and B and also H1N1, I don't think we should ignore that. What the researchers are saying is that the elderberry seems to short circuit the symptoms within about 48 hours. This requires following the recommended dosage on the package, too. On the one that I purchased it recommends taking 1 teaspoonful up to 4 times a day in a small amount of water. The one that I read about at Swanson says to take 1 teaspoonful twice a day with water or juice and then to refrigerate after opening.

Today is a fasting day so I'll be eating at about 2:30. I would really like to go to the pool but am afraid of over doing. Perhaps if I'm simply very careful, I could go. Nah! I need to continue to let it heal, so I'll be home today. I lost 3.5 pounds of water over night but am still a little swollen. Fasting usually helps that, so I'll see how it goes.

Hope things are well with you,

Be back soon,

Marcia

Stuff and Friendships

Hi,

Just keeping in touch. I am still hovering around 305 on the scale. UP a little, then down a little. I am still happy to be hovering at this number because it means I am holding on to a 50-lb weight loss and I am pleased by that.

The BP is about what it has always been with some lower ones every so often.

I am not currently eating as many fresh raw vegetables. I have slipped back to my old ways of filling the freezer with protein and veggies and cooking my food. That way, nothing goes to waste. I had stopped eating the salads before I ever stopped buying the ingredients. I would buy them, and they would rot in the fridge until I threw them out. I had no actual plan to do this... I just watched it happen... and I suppose that is probably the reason.

When eating out, I tend to indulge in a few carbs, so I know I have to be careful there. It is the twice weekly fasting that is keeping me lower on the scale. I am thinking that I need to start paying attention to the portions a little better.

Often after a fast, I end up at a buffet where I stuff myself, and that is the recipe for the body of a Sumo wrestler. So that is why I've decided to be more cautious with the portions. I'm also planning on switching, gradually, to more chicken and less beef and pork in the freezer. As it goes out of my fridge I will replace it with chicken. I am hoping that change may help to lower the blood pressure, although I have nothing to base that thought on. I am just going to try it and see.

I am still dealing with the hurt knee but it is showing signs of improving. My problem is that I want to do all the stuff I used to do, whenever it shows signs of improvement and the pain is less. Overdoing it always causes a set back, so I am deciding to be more careful with it, until it actually is healed.

*** Three starts denotes the passage of time.

It is now about three, or maybe four, weeks later... and I'm now hovering around 310. I'm still dealing with the knee but it is still better than it was. I guess I will just have to accept the fact that it is not healing as quickly as it has in the past. It seems to have been a bigger injury or something. About half of the swelling has gone down, which also means that it is still swollen and I'm now getting pain in odd places.

I did not swim this week in an effort to give the knee some time to heal, and now the rest of my body is paying the price for the lack of exercise with old forgotten pains creeping back in the head and back. I'm really contemplating going swimming on Monday but I will have to be very careful and not go in the lazy river (which I usually really enjoy). I got in it too soon a couple of weeks ago and that really set the healing back.

I've been missing church, too and I really don't like the effect that missing church has on me. I want to go to bed early enough tonight that it is not a problem to go to church so I will have to hit the sack in a short time.

I've been kind of depressed lately, what with the knee, lack of exercise, not going to church, having someone stealing money from my business account (online fraud), dealing with a bank employee that suspects that I'm stealing money from myself, and a friend that told me she did not need my advice or guidance and that she had other women who provided that for her. Of all of these things, that last one has hit me the hardest.  My heart feels completely wounded and I am taking stock of what caused this and how to deal with it.

This is not the first time I've offended someone with my "advice" but I never see it coming when it hits. I never have in mind to offend someone, so when they are, and they lash out at me, I get kind of blind sided. It has happened so many times that I am getting really tired of it. I really am not exactly sure how to go about this so I've been sitting back, praying, thinking, reading my Bible and waiting for inspiration.


Last night, I realized there is nothing wrong with me. I simply am how I am, and I don't really know how to do or be something else. I don't mean that in an arrogant way, I just mean that I can't turn me into something I'm not, or fill anybody elses expectations. I can barely fill my own expectations of me. Only God can make me into a new creation and that in Christ. Praise the Lord!

There are no perfect people. Each friendship has its own parameters and if I happen to bluster my way into a problem, then I guess I just get to deal with it. If some better answer shows up, I will grab hold, but for now, I cannot withdraw from life every time someone else does not like something I've said or some mistake I've made. I tried mending things but I'm not sure it "took." On the surface we're still friends, but deep inside me, I know she has never really been the kind of friend I wanted her to be and now I realize that will never happen. At least not with her.

I think the best I can do is to take stock and realize that sometimes people don't want (or need) to hear what I have to say. Sometimes people prefer being offended and they enjoy being right about it, too. I apologized to her and she forgave me, but she did not think I needed an apology from her. I also need to realize that not everything I have to say is... important. My opinion or viewpoint is not really what makes the world go round. I suppose if it is important to me that is enough for a small place. I don't think I was intended for large places. And I'm happy with that most of the time.

Sometimes the people I want to be friends with, can't really be friends with me because of things they have going on... perhaps in their life, perhaps in their head. I really miss that childhood kind of friend who knows you and accepts you just as you are and likes spending time with you without expecting you to be something you're not. Since I am single, I don't have that life partner that the majority of people seem to have, and childhood friendships are just that, childhood friendships. If, as an adult, you have one of those, you are truly blessed. And maybe you have better people skills than I have.

Friendships can be as complicated as love relationships. I could go on about the woman I befriended at church who turned out to be a nut case, calling me all hours of the day and night wanting to argue about my religious beliefs, trying to prove to me that what I believe is wrong. Or the woman who kept asking me for money to the point of reducing my bank account so low that it never recovered. In each of these cases, the only solution was to cut the cord and end the friendship. They were both completely toxic and I am glad to be rid of them. but it also put big void spots in my life.

Don't get me wrong. I have some really good friends, too. People that I love to see and talk to. People who love me. Maybe not in a big way, but small love is good too. It is just that losing someone out of your life, no matter what kind of friendship you had, or realizing you don't really have with them, what you thought you had, or simply wanted with them, is completely disheartening... for a while.

2 Cor: 4:6-9  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

The only friend I have found who is completely faithful is Jesus. I am so glad that he can fill any void that can happen in my life. Knowing Him is what has kept me sane through these events. Knowing that He loves me is completely satisfying to my soul. It also helps to know that He loves the nut cases that I cannot deal with, too. I don't want them to be unloved, I just know it can't be me who does it. God is better at this love stuff than I am... but I'm still trying because I know He wants me to and I love Him. We love Him, because He first loved us!!

I am grateful for the love of God. I am glad He loves you, too. I'm glad He can speak the words of love and friendship that we all need to hear.

Amen!!

Be back soon,

Marcia



 

A Few Things I Discovered While Fasting

Hi,

First the good news: I hit 303.25 two days ago as a result of the fasting twice a week. I was really surprised when I saw that number before my very eyes.

I still fluctuate up and down, but today is the beginning of my first fast day for this week so I am just finishing up my first meal of the day and will fast after that. I had just skipped eating earlier today without considering that this is the preparatory fast day. I usually try to eat two meals on this day, but, the day is half over and I can't go back. Don't think I need to really.

I decided to eat a large bowl of steamed Italian green beans, broccoli, and peas plus a pork rib for the protein before I begin the fast. That is out of the way, now, so the next time I eat will be tomorrow at 4:30.

Second the bad news: I've been dealing with my left knee again. It went out a week ago last Thursday and was very excruciating. I figured I would treat it as I always do which is to wear my knee brace until I can again walk normally. It is Sunday and I am, day by day, seeing some improvement but it still feels "stiffish" right now and I have some small achy pains from time to time depending on the position I put it in.

I went to see Dr. Andy, my chiropractor on Friday and he aligned both the knee and my foot and I did see some improvement the next day. It seems to be improving each day. I'll go to see him again on Tuesday.

The thing I am worried about is collecting all the cookies for the bake sale that I am spear heading for Trinity Children's center this week. The community sale is being held at the Gwinnett Braves stadium on Saturday and I hope my knee is well enough to allow me to work the booth.

It is the loading and unloading of the cookies when they reach my house that I am kind of worried about. I'm thinking of asking my friend John if he will help me with that, but he is often incapacitated and unable to do those kinds of things. The cookies should not be heavy it is just that there will be so many of them. Our goal is 100 dozen and we have about eight people baking them. I'm supposed to be making cookies, too.

I am simply putting my trust in the Lord. He will help me to accomplish all that I must do and heal my knee in the process, too.

Now about the fasting....

I feel that I've done it enough times now that I kind of like the way I feel when I'm fasting. I know I've mentioned that before but it needs to be said again: fasting is really quite easy. As I've been doing it I've begun to notice some things that I would never have noticed without having fasted on a schedule.

For one, I think it must actually be more "normal" than I used to think. Having grown up in the US and been fed at least three meals a day for my entire life, fasting used to seem like a dangerous thing. I associated fasting with emaciation, starvation, eating disorders, sickness and disease. It just never seemed possible that there might be a healthy side to it and it might actually be a healthy thing for the overfed to do. Even though I knew Jesus fasted, many of the saints fasted, and it is a natural part of the Old Testament, too, it just seemed beyond extreme to my mind.

You know that idea that when you buy a yellow car, suddenly you see all the other yellow cars on the road? Well fasting seems to be like that for me. Now that I am fasting from time to time, I notice when someone or something points to the fact that our ancestors may have fasted as a matter of course, that I had not realized.

Granted, many of them are just "hints" but they are beginning to be seen by me. Like the idea of having a cup of some hot liquid for breakfast, be it coffee, tea, or broth. That is what I do when I'm fasting, I drink lots of water and tea. I never had a liquid meal before I started fasting. Every meal had solid food. And that was part of the problem that I could not see.

I've even blogged recently about not being able to tell the difference between hunger and thirst. I really do see now that drinking water is a valid response to the feeling of hunger. If you cannot tell the difference then they are the same feeling, aren't they? I spent most of my life eating when I may have been thirsty. I've struggled with keeping my body hydrated for as long as I remember, too. Obesity and dehydration were my two companions, but now that I'm fasting, I can see the real value in drinking water and my mind now accepts the concept that I might be thirsty when I get "that" feeling.

It seemed odd to me that when I fasted I also eliminated more water than usual -- like my kidneys were functioning better. When I first noticed it, it was a puzzle to my puny brain. I was surprised that I started peeing more often when I fasted. So much more that it was noticeable to me. But really, if you are drinking more you will be eliminating more, too. Ding. Ding. It all began to make sense. My body was no longer dehydrated because I was not responding to the "feeling" that I call "hunger" with food but with water or tea. My body liked the change. So the solution to the obesity is also the solution to the dehydration. Eat less. Drink more.

I don't resent having been fed, that is not the point. I am relieved that it is OK to not eat some times!! In fact, it is a good idea, for me to drink water and skip the food from time to time. It just seems so natural and so obvious. I wonder why I never saw it before. Don't know why. Just glad I stumbled upon that one. LOL

So this means my inner core ideas about food and eating were based on belief and not fact. My body never did seem to match my beliefs about food. It has been a struggle all my life. The fasting seems to be the best solution to my particular dilemma. It reduces my calorie intake without me having to fight and to measure and to control every morsel that goes into my mouth -- which I was never good at, anyway. It also increases my water intake and helps to make my kidneys function better. So amazing to kill those two birds with that one stone.

I wish I had something more profound to say but that is about it. The fasting is working. The fasting is easy. The fasting makes me feel good and my body function better. Praise the Lord!!

Be back soon,

Marcia

Good Results from Twice-a-Week Fasting

Hi!

I am stoked. I hit 305.75 this morning as a result of doing the twice a week fast. I don't know if it will go up again. Just hitting the number feels really good. I am getting closer and closer to the 299 mark.

My starting weight at the beginning of my weight loss journey, nearly two years ago, was 355 -- and I suspect it to have been closer to 360, or even 365, but have not changed my numbers since I don't know for sure. I simply think I recall those numbers on my doctor's scale at some point -- I had not yet started to journal, so I don't have a record.

My blood pressure also seems to be settling down in the 130/77 range, which is also very encouraging. So, no changes in the BP medication, only the change in eating patterns have brought this about.

I have to confess, I've not been eating all the fresh raw vegetables that I normally advocate. I've been eating most of them cooked. I just got tired of the salad for every meal habit and let it slip. I'm just now starting to consume a few fresh raw veggies again because they taste so incredibly good and satisfying.

I've been trying on some clothes in my closet that were a bit too small for me and all but one is now fitting me. I can button the 3 blouses all the way down and will be beginning to wear them now. I had them in my closet because I had purchased them a while back, but could not fit into the woven ones. The stretch ones were big and loose and labeled as the same size but the woven ones were too small for me. So glad I will be able to wear those blouses to church, now.

When I go swimming I can now wrap the towel around me with no gaps. That is nice! When I am sitting I can see that my stomach is farther away from my knees and closer to me, now, too. Got lots of evidence that it is working.

I started my first week of twice-a-week fasting on Sept 8. The next week I completed two more fast days and this week I've completed one of the fasts with the next one starting this evening.

Starting on September the first I had noticed I was eating too many carbs and did a 3 day carb fast -- meaning that I ate food, I just did not eat any starchy carbs. Then I did another day and in that week I lost 3.17 average pounds for the week.

The next week I fasted (no food at all) on two separate days and lost an average of 1 pound. This week which on my chart is four days I have lost an average of 2.23 pounds. The average weight is 308.38 -- my today's actual weight is 305.75. I take an average over a 7-day period to try to get a more accurate picture of where I am, but I love those days when my actual weight is lower than my average for the week.

So far, it seems, the twice a week fasting is beginning to make a difference in my weight. That is the best results I have had for a while so I am happy and will continue on with this program.

I will be going to see my doctor at 2:30 to hear about the results of my echo cardiogram and I've been praying for good results. Before she would tell me about it she had me come in and do blood work for cholesterol. They would not tell me the numbers for that either, but I was able to find out that my numbers were not outrageous (at least) -- the nurse's words were, "I've seen worse."

I'm already sure that I will refuse to take any Staten drugs and will point out my weight loss and hope she will let me continue doing what I am doing because it has helped my weight and my blood pressure and surely my blood cholesterol, too. I guess I'll find out. I've not been able to share much with her about what I am doing because she usually does all the talking.  Oh, well.

So that's about it for today. Things are looking good.

If you are interested in reading the research on fasting I recommend the PDF by Brad Pilon called "Eat Stop Eat" found at http://www.eatstopeat.com/ -- purchase price is $37 -- but well worth it.

If you want to watch a video of a guy investigating and trying out fasting, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Pfna7nV7WaM -- this one is free.

Fasting is way healthier than I had imagined. And it is working for me in the weight loss department. Finally.

One more thing: when you are fasting you cannot fudge and mess things up!! It is plain, simple, direct, and easy. You can read some of my earlier blogs (listed on the right) if you want to check out the route I took to come to this current conclusion.

Love you,

Be back soon,

Marcia

Twice Weekly Fasting to Improve Blood and Health

Hi,

This is the first week that I have accomplished a 5/2 eating schedule as stated in Michael Mosley's "BBC Horizon 2012: Eat, Fast and Live Longer" program. I watched it again to refresh my mind about the amazing health improving discoveries that were shared in the video in relation to intermittent fasting.

I had been fasting for one day per week but not really seeing much of a decline in weight until I started taking a diuretic that my doctor prescribed for high BP.

Here's is the link to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Pfna7nV7WaM

5/2 means five days of eating and two days of fasting per week and the two days do not have to be consecutive. Michael Mosley tried it for five weeks then weighed himself and checked his BMI and blood sugar, IGF-1, and blood cholesterol levels.

He said he had dropped about 1 stone (14 pounds) in five weeks which works out to nearly 3 pounds per week. He went from 27 percent body fat to 19.1 percent body fat in that time period. He also said that his blood sugar had dropped into the normal range from having been in the pre-diabetic range. His IGF-1 had reduce to the point that his risk for developing cancer was cut in half and his cholesterol levels reached normal proportions.

As one of the research scientists in the video said: If you can find a way to improve your health in a better more immediate way than with fasting he wanted to see it.

Me too. So I am trying it out.

Oddly enough my doctor's office called me on a day that I was fasting and wanted to check my cholesterol in relation to an echo cardiogram I had recently had done. They refused to tell me what the EC said until they checked my cholesterol.

The nurse on the phone started to say that when I came in for the blood draw I should fast from midnight on, at which point I interrupted her and said that I had been fasting since 4:25 the day before and could I come in that day. She scheduled me to come in at about 2:30 and I went. I have not heard the results yet, but look forward to seeing what it says.

I learned my fasting method from the PDF called "Eat Stop Eat" by Brad Pilon (which I have blogged about before -- http://www.eatstopeat.com/) and since I am accustomed to that method, I simply stuck to it but have now added one more fasting day to my schedule. Week one, done. On to week two.

What I do is arrange my fast from the later part of one day to the later part of the next day, exactly 24 hours later. This means that on, say, Sunday I eat two regular meals making sure the last meal ends somewhere between 4 and 5 p.m. Then I stop eating and don't resume eating until the exact same time on Monday, which leaves a 24 hour gap between meals. When I break the fast on Monday I have a meal and usually one more a couple of hours later, trying to space at least two and preferably three or more food-free hours before bed time.

In essence on one day I have two normal sized meals, then wait 24 hours, and have two more meals at the end of the next day with no snacks. What Mr Mosley does is eat one small meal, wait 24 hours, and then eat three normal meals and snacks or whatever else he eats on a normal day. So over the two day period, I eat about 4 meals, and he eats about 4 meals -- perhaps plus snacks. Same Difference. Normally over a two-day period a person eats 6 meals (plus snacks). It boils down to skipping two meals in a row and making sure the time period is 24 hours between eating sessions. There is a sleeping time in the middle of the 24 hours, so it really is not as bad as you might think.

A normal sized meal in my mind is equivalent to between about 2 and 3 cups of food -- and consists of veggies and protein. It is enough to fill and satisfy me without stuffing me. Occasionally I do eat a huge meal at the end of the fast which can be about twice the normal amount, but only for one meal. If I have a huge meal, I often don't eat again before going to bed, or simply have some water and gum. It varies.

What Mr Mosley did was to, on his fast days, eat one small meal at breakfast, and then not eat again until breakfast the next day. Same difference. He said he preferred that method because it was hard for him to go to work on an empty stomach. It made him feel weak and deprived. Eating his one meal at breakfast solved that problem for him.

I don't have a job since I am retired, and I often prefer to skip breakfast, so I time mine from a late afternoon meal. On the fasting day it just seems easier to me to skip the early eating and enjoy looking forward to eating at the appointed time later in the day.

During the fast I try to drink boat loads of water with a little Plantation Mint tea and some Spry (xylitol) gum (which also helps my teeth). Mr Mosley said he drank water and black tea on his fast days. I have not forgotten that men lose weight faster than women so I am not fully expecting to lose the three pounds per week as he did, but 2 or even 1 every week would be good. I shall not limit myself, if I can lose the 3 that would be excellent.

I had seen the results of a recent urine test from a day that I was actually dehydrated and realized I really needed to drink a whole lot more water than the nearly 64 ounces I had been drinking per day. I am taking a small dose diuretic which adds to the reason that I must increase my water drinking rather drastically, in my mind.

The diuretic is to help lower the blood pressure (it reached130/70 which was very pleasing to me). I also see it as a way to reduce the ankle swelling to nearly zero levels, but the process eliminates too much water for my kidneys to function well and stay clear from calcium crystals so doubling my water intake will, I hope, solve that problem for me.

Oddly enough, drinking more water works well for the kidneys but it has brought my blood pressure back to my former "normal" levels. "My normal" meaning the levels I was at before I had the BP scare a few weeks ago. When I was dehydrated my BP reached 130/70 but for someone who only takes one BP medicine plus a small diuretic 140/77 is OK. That is my opinion. This morning it was 145/77. Which bothers me a little.

If fasting will clear this up too, as some of the researchers in the video suggested it might, then I will be very happy with that, too. I shall continue on and see if it does.

I know that in my last blog post, I thought I wanted to try the three days per week fast schedule but I just don't think I am up to that, yet. I actually did try to fast again about the second day past a fasting day and I simply was too weak to do it. That was during the time I was having the health issues noted above, so I decided not to put that much pressure on myself during that time and may try that at a time when I feel more fit.

It has occurred to me that my new doctor may actually be looking for something wrong with me, simply because I am obese. I suppose that is not beyond reason, but it feels a little insulting. I know that the serapeptase that I've been taking for about 15 months now should have really cleaned out my blood veins and vessels so perhaps her checking things out will reveal whether it really has or not. I really would like to know if it has worked.

I am really interested in the fasting because it seems to be a way for me to have my cake and eat it, too. (Not actually cake -- I'm just using the expression.) It forces me to eat less. My weekly total calorie intake is highly reduce by two 24 hour fasts per week, but on the feeding or feasting days, I really can eat what I like to eat. I still remain low carb, but do include a few, usually on the breaking fast meal. I cannot allow myself to go overboard on the feast days. My body is far to sensitive to certain things to become lax in that area.

Mr Mosley did not reveal what he eats on his feed days but one of the scenes in the video shows him and a researcher having what appears to be a burger and fries at a drive in fast food restaurant. The video showed him when he was at home in England again and he appeared to be cooking in his home, but it showed him making his breakfast on a fasting day, so I don't know what he eats in between.  The researcher had said that it did not seem to matter whether it was high fat or low fat, on the feed days, the health improvements were identical.

The same researcher in the video also pointed out that people who do intermittent fasting do not tend to over eat on the feeding/feasting days. She had thought when she started her research that people would simply over compensate on the days they were allowed to eat anything they wanted, for the food they had not eaten on the fast day. This did not prove true. She found that on the feed days they only increased their eating about 10 percent and not the 50 percent she had expected.

This seems to be true for me also. On my feeding days, I am not bothered by cravings and a huge desire for food. I simply relate to it normally. If I'm hungry I eat, if I'm not, I don't. Simple easy. Healthy. I do occasionally have something that maybe I should not, but it does not seem to be a pressing issue. I am not pressed to eat junk food. I'm simply attracted to healthy food, which to me is meat and veggies -- lo carb.

One more thing:

As I was reading my bible I came across these two verses: Ecclesiastes 10:16-17

Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

I really had to stop and take a second look at what it said because it just really surprised me. It seems to be saying that a childish leader and people eat every morning, but noble leaders and people eat "in due season" or postpone their eating until they need food for strength. They are not addicted to food. Eating is not a pastime or entertainment. It is simply done to keep up strength as needed.

The noble people do not overindulge in food to the point of "drunkenness" as the childish do. Drunkenness in relation to food would seem to be those times when you eat so much food that your body feels overpowered and sick. Your belly gets uncomfortable with the excess rather like drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and becoming sick from it.

The noble people don't actually eat food as the first thing they do. They go about their business and eat when the body needs food for strength or health. Childish and addictive eating brings woe like drunkenness does. Fasting and noble living brings blessings. This seems like a validation for the idea of fasting, to me, and it was written about 3,000 years ago. There really is nothing new under the sun.

Anyway, that is where I am, today. How about you?

Be back soon,

Marcia

Interesting Fasting Documentary

Hi,

I've been watching a documentary video on Youtube that was produced by the BBC and stars Michael Mosley. It is called, "BBC Horizon 2012: Eat, Fast and Live Longer." It appears that Michael is one of those guys who makes a living trying out bizarre things and filming it for the BBC. What he had on his mind when he did this one was his own health.

Here is a link in case you would like to see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Pfna7nV7WaM

There were two approaches to weight loss and improving health that he presented that I am interested in. One of them is very similar to what I am already doing which is to fast for one day a week, but Michael is fasting for two days a week (not in a row) and eating normally the rest of the time with no actual dietary restrictions. It seems that when you start fasting in this manner your body gets used to eating smaller meals and you don't actually overeat to compensate on the days in between. Also the fast day actually includes one meal of about five hundred to six hundred calories depending on whether you are male or female, so it is not actually a total abstinence of food on the fasting days. (Right now I am actually fasting for 24 hours one day a week with no food for the duration.)

The other approach involves alternating fast and feast days. With this approach, you also eat one five to six-hundred calorie meal every other day. In between you eat what you want. I suppose if you simply did not count Sunday as one of the days, you could always fast on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Feast on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday -- leaving Sunday as simply a day off which will obviously be a feasting day for the normal human being. This then works out to be three fasting days per week on alternating days. I like the idea of managing it this way because it turns into a regular schedule that is easier to remember and manage if you always do the same thing on the same day of the week.

One of the things that attracts me to the alternating day fast is that I might be able to lose weight faster and also will not have to stress about what I eat on the feasting days. I could simply eat normally for me.

Another thing that attracts me to the fasting protocols is the idea that your health actually improves because you are eating less. Blood sugar levels normalize. Fat begins to disappear. Cholesterol gets into good ranges and IGF-1 levels reduce so your chances of getting cancer and heart disease drastically drop down to much lower levels. According to more than one of the researchers in the film there really is no better or faster way to improve your health than with fasting.

I dropped off a lot of water weight a couple of weeks ago and do not seem to be putting it back on. Yet. I did notice today that I seem to be a bit swollen. I believe it may be due to what I think is a yeast infection as a result of having taken an antibiotic. It is quite uncomfortable and I've been doubling up on probiotics to try to get past it. I'm beginning to think I might call my doctor to see if she might give me some fluconazole to speed up the process and reduce the discomfort. It not only affects me in the normal female way, but in my sinuses and my eyes, too. I have one more thing I'm going to try tonight and if that does not work, I'll definitely call my doctor tomorrow.

I am considering trying out the three days of fasting per week to see if I can (or will) comply with it, and if I do, wondering if it will take some more of this weight off at a faster pace. I'm not in a hurry, I'm just tired of wasting time. I've been at this for going onto two years and have only lost 45 pounds. I want more and I don't want to be held back any more. I see others who lose twice and three times that much in a third of the time, so surely, I should be able to move along at a better rate than what I've been doing. I'm not interested in fad diets, I want something I can maintain for the long haul -- perhaps the rest of my life.

I suppose if I cannot do the three days per week, surely I could do the two. Perhaps I could alternate weeks and do two fast days one week and three the next, making sure to eat healthy in between. That is just me thinking. I seem to get carried away some times. Since I just completed a twenty-four hour fast, perhaps this is a good time to start. I will have to give it some more thought and preparation.

I need to iron out the details like when do the fasts start and when do they finish. I have the idea that what they are talking about is

Monday: sleep/one meal/sleep (all fasting days)
Tuesday: sleep/ eat normally / sleep (all normal days including Sunday)

Right now, with the one-day fast, I time it from the last meal on one day to the same time the next day. It seems that no matter how you calculate it you never really go an entire day without actually eating something. It is just a matter of deciding when you are going to eat your one meal on the fast day because there will be a few hours between eating and sleeping that will need to be managed consciously in order to make it work.

On the fasting days you can drink water or plain tea with no sugar or milk. I suppose for those who drink coffee they could probably do coffee without much trouble, too. I'm not a coffee drinker so I'll stick to water and tea. Hot tea seems to satisfy my tummy. I also chew Xylitol gum on my fast days, too. So it boils down to water, tea, and gum for me during the hours I'm not eating. Having one meal a day seems, from this perspective of not having yet tried it, to be perhaps easier than the twenty-four hours. But on second thought, perhaps it is not, because the twenty-four hours start on a day when food was eaten and end on a day that food will be eaten so doing the sleep/one meal/sleep may actually turn into more hours of not eating. It just seems more doable because you can eat that one meal -- and you can have your one meal at any time you choose.

So how do you plan the exercise? I usually exercise on the days I've listed as fasting days, so I suppose I would want to eat my one meal after I exercise. From the reading I've been doing I find that most experts advise that it is best to exercise during a fast and then eat right after the exercise. I guess I won't know how it will go until I try it.

Another thing. There were no discussions of what kind of food to eat, except for one man who suggested moving to more of a plant based diet, but not advocating vegetarianism or veganism. Eating meat is OK -- just a little less of it, and a few more plants. I have some of my own ideas about that, as you may well know, so I will continue to eat what I believe is healthy for me.

I know what my body reacts to: starchy carbs, wheat and grains, fruit, dairy, and mixed nuts, basically, so I will continue to limit those things. This still leaves an entire array of things I can eat from salad veggies to beef, pork and eggs. I can have fish, but I don't like fish, so "fish" means tuna to me. Occasionally I have some sardines. Chicken is good. I like to make chicken/vegetable soup.

I wanted to buy some more curry powder from Sams and discovered that they don't carry it anymore. I guess I'll have to search for the Tones brand on the internet and get it shipped to my house.

Anyway. As you can see I'm still open for new diet adventures and always have the weight loss goal in mind. My next target is 299. I want to be under 300.

My blood pressure seems to be settling down at a lower level than I had been experiencing and I'm happy with that.

Check out that video. I thought it was really interesting. (see link above)

Love you,

Be back soon,

Marcia

I Hate Being Obese

Hi,

I was looking for something else when I opened up an old workbook today and started to read through the first few pages. The workbook was a free download called "Fat Brain Lies" from Carlene Jones of http://www.rawfoodbootcamp.com/ that I had printed out and put in a three-ring binder.

I had remembered that I had only done part of the workbook because it took me so long to finally get "before" pictures of me -- the instructions were strict to not go ahead in the workbook until you had your pictures. It is obviously a serious book and if you ain't ready, you ain't ready. But if you are ready, I think it could help a person get on the right track.

As I was reading, this statement from near the front of the book set me to thinking:

"Oh you may be saying, I don't deceive myself about this, I hate being obese. Well then, my question is, if you hate it so much and you know how horrible it is for you, why have you not done something about it? Hold that thought, I am sure you have many reasons, and we will talk about most of them in this workbook."

I pictured myself being the leader of a group talking about losing weight and how I might borrow the same thought but give it a different approach. I wanted to record what had occurred to me as a reminder and encouragement to myself so here is what I came up with:

You may be saying, "I don't deceive myself about hating being obese. I do hate it. My question for you is this: "If you hate it so much and you know how horrible it is for you, why have you not done something about it?" Stop. Don't answer that question. The reason I don't want you to answer that question is that what you will come up with will be the same old story you've been telling yourself forever. Your current answer to that question is simply a distraction.

Continue thinking about the question. It is called "holding the question." Again, Don't come up with all your excuses and reasons and hurt feelings. Just think about the question: If you hate being obese so much and you know it is a horrible situation for you, why have you not done something about it?

Now, let's change the question into a statement:

I hate being obese and I'm doing something about it, right now. 

Now write down all the things you are currently doing to combat obesity in your own life. If there are things that you are currently doing, write them down as a way to remember that you are already working towards your goal and you are moving right along. This is what I am doing and why:

1. Journaling every day -- I make a record of my BP, my BG, and my weight every morning. I write down what I have eaten during the day at the end of the day. I often write down what I've eaten at the time I ate it. I write down my feelings or experiences on some days as needed. I record my exercise activities (time and duration). I write down what my current weight loss goal is every morning as a reminder of where I am currently headed. Why: this keeps me focused and on track more than anything else I have ever tried. Without it, I wander around getting into trouble.

2. Exercise three times a week -- Even though last week I did not exercise due to illness, I am resuming my three-times a week aquatic routine. Why: because it helps me to strengthen my muscles and also reduces pain.

3. Fasting once a week -- Why: it helps me to have an actual calorie reduction for the week and also gives my body a rest and time to recuperate from always eating. It has also moved my weight loss into active gear. It helps me to continue to lose weight.

4. Eat sensibly the rest of the week: -- Why: I have to eat sensibly or I either start putting weight on (even though I am fasting) or, I injure my health in some way. Too many carbs not only causes weight gain, it fouls up my kidneys and my blood glucose levels.

5. Visit my doctor -- Why: I visit my doctor because having to report to someone else who is going to actually put me on a scale and check my weight, take some blood and measure my blood sugar and kidneys plus what ever else needs to be checked is a very real incentive to me. My doctor is my accountability person. If I know I will be seeing my doctor in a few weeks it forces me to actively do what I should do in order to have good results there. I don't like to not have good results in front of my doctor.

Those five things are the things that I am currently doing. Your list may be entirely different. In fact if you are only just beginning to do something about your obesity, today, you might list things such as:

1. investigate programs until I find the one that works for me or that I am willing to try.

2. Ask self: What do I already know how to do that will help me lose weight in a sensible manner?

3. What can I do today to begin going in the right direction?

4. Do number 3 until you are finished with number 1.

Even these may not be right for you. You must address the statement (I hate being obese and I'm doing something about it, now.) with what is real for you.

In the end what you must come up with is:

1. A way for you to reduce the number of calories you eat per week. 

I have the following statement in a small banner highlighted in yellow on my journaling page: TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOU HAVE TO EAT LESS. This is the simplest, most basic truth about losing weight that there is.

You must come up with a system of calorie reduction that you can live with. It can be done by eating smaller portions. It can be done by eliminating your "hot button" foods (foods that make you gorge, like junk food or candy and sweets). It probably should include eating more vegetables and protein and eliminating as much food as possible that is made of wheat and sugar or other starchy carbs. It might also include fasting one day a week. It might be easiest for you to join a weight loss company (like Jennie Craig or Weight Watchers) or group (like starting one in your living room). You decide what you are willing and able to do. Then do it.

 2. A way to get your body moving and make it a ritual or habit in your own life.

In the beginning you must start out small or slow and not overdo it. If you are not fit, then walking for one or two minutes inside the house may be all you are able to do. But if you do it every day, and embrace the goal of "improvement at your own pace," you will soon be able to go for five minutes at a time. Then you can think about moving on to longer durations -- up to about 30 minutes, or more as you are able. Begin where you are today but get going.

Exercise will not actually help you lose weight to the degree that eating less will. But you cannot leave out some form of exercise that you are able to do. Everyone always talks about walking as the simplest form of exercise because all you have to do is put on your walking shoes, open up the front door, go outside, and walk.

I agree with that statement but I hate walking in the Georgia heat so I exercise in the pool and if I have to miss the pool, and am able, I get on my Aerofit (or treadmill) at home and go.

3. A support system that actually helps you to maintain your sanity and reach your goal.

Eating less and moving more are the only ways a human can lose weight, but if you don't also set up some kind of self supporting sanity and motivational activities, too, then you will be much less likely to accomplish the first two. Notice that all three of these things are ACTIVITIES. Eating. Moving. Relating.

My best self supporting activities are my journaling and visiting my doctor. My journaling lets me record my own statistics and also share my own feelings and thoughts as the days go by. My blogging helps keep me sane and also attempt to encourage and support others who may be in a similar boat. They both keep me on track and sane. They help me make corrections where corrections are needed by letting me see when and where corrections are needed.

Seeing my doctor makes me accountable to another human being -- one with authority to make accurate judgements and statements about my health, and prescribe changes that need to be incorporated as needed. My doctor is my coach.

The support system my cousin Julianna has been successful with was to join Weight Watchers. She goes every week for her accountability weigh in. She learns tips, tricks, and strategies for eating fewer calories and losing weight. The most important thing is that she actually incorporates what she learns there into her daily life. She participates with her program on a daily basis -- she does what they tell her to do. She is now about 10 pounds from goal weight and I say, "here, here, way to go, Julianna!"

You need to support yourself and your sanity. If you are obese you will not become thin over night. Embrace the journey and simply do today what you can do, according to your own, ideas, beliefs and strategies. You are in charge of your life and body and reactions. Just like you have your own system to accomplish other chores in a timely manner, you also need to set up your own system for accomplishing the goal of conquering obesity.

Do what you are able to do, right now, and then repeat it day by day. Today is the only day you can participate in any activity. Today is the Only Day There Is. If you're not doing anything about it today, then you've succombed to your own distracting stories and emotional reasons. You can move beyond it by "holding the question" ("If you hate obesity so much and you know how horrible it is for you, why have you not done something about it?") and changing it to the statement: "I hate being obese and I'm doing something about it, now."

Your body is capable of improving. You can make your body stronger and more fit by letting go of all those old ideas and start living in your own new statement, today.

I hate being obese and I'm doing something about it, now. 

Go for it!

Be encouraged!!

Love you much,

Be back soon,

Marcia







 


 

Blood Pressure Normalizing

Hi,

I am quite amazed at how my blood pressure has actually come down to a much more normal range. I think it is because of the many prayers from friends that God has answered and helped me. Even though I have made some physical changes, I think that the only real explanation is God's healing hand. Thank you, Lord.

I have not seen BP this low for.... well, I don't actually ever remember having BP in the 130/70 range. Of course, over the years, I only had BP readings when I went to the doctor's office a couple of times a year, but now I have my own wrist cuff and it seems to report accurately. My BP fluctuates up and down a little and I am still shocked when I see one in the normal range show up -- but I am getting more and more of them.

I did make a few changes. I cast about in my brain to discover if I had made any changes that could have affected my BP. The first thing I decided to change were two supplements that I had been taking for a rather short time. One was Lutein with Zeaxanthan -- meant to help prevent further macular degeneration. I had figured it might be OK to take Zeaxanthan even though I know I must not take Astaxanthan which affects my female hormones. Come to find out they both do, on me, so I stopped taking the Z, too.

I had also switched from simple taurine and theanine by themselves to a proprietary blend that had both of them in it, plus some other herbs and such. I stopped taking that too, and went back to my simple doses of the individual amino acids with nothing else in them.

I reduced the number of holes that my salt shaker can pour through to cut down on my salt intake. I had always pooh-poohed the idea that salt holds water and causes blood pressure increases because every research article to test the mantra, that I had ever read, concluded that it was an old wives tale.  But this time, just in case, I cut the holes down from about 7 to about 2.5 which automatically reduces my salt intake. I don't eat many processed or canned and packaged foods at home so adjusting the pour on my salt shaker should do it. I do plan on reading labels for sodium content, too.

And there was one very major thing that I changed. I knew I was eating a few more carbs than normal over the space of the previous week or two, so I decided to examine my record to get an idea of what I was really doing.

It was actually hard to find a time in the last entire month when I had not eaten a carb of some kind. I even had a couple of candy binges. I was eating at least one starchy carb a day and some days two. It had gotten way out of hand without my consciousness of it. Wow. It had sneaked in again and I did not notice it. So I immediately when on a "carb fast" for three days in which I consumed no starchy carbs at all. The only carbs I had were vegetables and some xylitol sugar free gum.

So with all those changes it is very hard to say one or the other thing made the blood pressure come down. I'm just glad it did. I still feel a bit tired most of the time but I attribute that to the antibiotic I'm taking which ends with my last pill tomorrow morning. I think I shall be very disappointed if after stopping the antibiotic my BP goes back up again. I hope that does not happen. I will monitor that situation.

I also took a break from my exercise routines because I kept being distracted and interrupted. I miss them. I have about decided not to examine the Dekalb Medical Wellness Center pool to which I have a free membership (Silver Sneakers) because I checked their schedule and it is so tightly packed I don't seem to be able to fit in my one hour of time in the pool three times a week without a secretary to remind when I can go and when I can't. I like to go when I decide to go. Having to match their schedule seems nerve wracking to me.

Also my home pool seems to be closed for repairs nearly every day and I'm also taking some medicines that have "stay out of the sunshine" warnings on them. It is nearing September so I will probably just purchase a season pass for the indoor aquatic center near my home. Can't do it now because the funds are low, but maybe when September gets here I can manage it.

I had outlays for the co-pays on the two lazer eye procedures (which were both successful), plus glasses (which I'm patiently waiting for), plus car maintenance (it runs a lot better) and purchasing some help with facebook advertising of my www.bestluggagecarts.com web site (I'll be in the new facebook Mall).  All in all, the month is half over and I think I have just enough to get through without too much trouble if, Lord willing, I don't have any more large expenses.

God is so good to me. I am grateful.

I may even be starting a new women's Bible study at a friend's house -- in a few weeks. Looking forward and praying that the Lord will lead me -- I know He will -- He is so good!!

Love you,

Be back soon,

Marcia

Wipe Your Face With Your Own Dog!

Hi,

My title today is just a little funny that I thought was hilarious. It is a line from the movie "The Boys are Back" where the film is winding up and everything that went wrong during the story is now resolved and we are approaching the happy ending. In the scene the father is at the kitchen table and his two sons (from different mothers) are sitting on the couch with the dogs between them as they watch TV. Casually, the older boy takes the dogs long ear and wipes his face with it. The father, shocked, says, "Did you just wipe your face with the dog?" and the little brother looks over and orders him to "Wipe your face with your own dog!" What can I say? I'm still chuckling over the common place absurdity.

In my own life, I've been dealing with an unusual bout of very high blood pressure. I'm not going to tell you the numbers for fear that you will be in shock but the numbers were very very very high for one reading and then only very very high for most of them afterward. This began on Saturday and by the time Sunday happened I was pretty worried so I went to an urgent care facility. I really liked the PA that treated me. He talked fast and had a New Jersey accent but he was very kind, attentive, and knowledgeable. He suggested that I take one of the water pills I had in the house as a temporary stop gap and then go to see my primary care physician in the next day or two.

Problem: On Thursday I had decided not to go back to my primary care physician's office and to begin the search for a new one. I thought I had some time to complete that task, but, not so. I'm not sure what word would describe what happened or how I felt about it, except for maybe "upset" which is not really a description at all. (I shared the story in my last blog post.)

My old doctor (that does not take Medicare) had told me that the BP medicine I was taking was at the highest dose she thought was safe for me, and the NP told me that that was wrong and we could double the size of it. So my next prescription was for 100 mg instead of 50 mg, and I was afraid to take it. I took the 100 mg at night and 50 mg in the day and it seemed to be fine until I noticed that my BP was creeping up. When the BP got really high on Saturday I took the 100 mg morning and night but it made no difference. I took an additional one on Sunday morning and it did not help. I told the PA at the urgent care center and he said he thought it had been a good idea.

Then what happened? On Monday I called my insurance company to change my PCP after searching the insurance web site for someone with the criteria and hospital affiliations I wanted. I was told that since I had been to see the old doc during the month of August they could only make the change effective on September 1st and they would not budge from that position. She did suggest that I call the old PCP and get a referral to the new one. That sounded good until I called the old office and was told they do not refer people to other PCPs.

I realized I might have to go back to the hell hole after all, but, I called the new doctor's office and told them my predicament and they said that I should come in, anyway, and gave me an appointment for today (Tuesday). I also realized that I had two insurance companies and surely one of them would cover this doctor's visit.

I'm so glad! I think I found the right doctor. Her staff was not only friendly, they were kind and respectful, too. When I gave them my paper work from the urgent care facility, they actually read it. And they heard the answers I gave to their questions. I was floored that they then knew so much about me and treated me according to the information. That was completely unusual. A doctor's staff who actually heard what I was saying to them, remembered it, and took it into consideration while treating me. Praise the Lord for bringing me here!

My new doctor was exactly the same way. She took her time to try to find a medicine that I could take without harming me. I so appreciated that she was concerned about the same things I was concerned about. She finally decided to give me a very low dose of another diuretic to try over the next three weeks to see if it works. If that does not work, she will send me to a kidney doctor so they could examine me from their point of view and expertise.

They also gave me an aorta scan right there in the office. I had never had one before but it was a way to check if there were any aneurysms in my abdomen which they told me sometimes happen when BP gets to be too high. There was none, so I was good there. I'll be going back in three weeks for a BP test and in about four weeks I'll have a heart scan, also done in their office which makes it cheaper to do. I really like this doctor and feel much better about going to see her. I don't know if my insurance will cover the visit, but I needed to do it. If they don't then the other one should. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

By the way: After I took the water pill on Sunday, I discovered the next morning that I had lost five pounds over night. I did not take another one on Monday because it raises my blood sugar and causes inflammation. Tuesday morning I had severe leg cramps and had gone down another three pounds but I had also become dehydrated and shaky. I actually hit 310.5 which was nearly 5 pounds below my first goal. Since it was water, I have no idea how long it may stay off, or if it will. But since I'll be taking a very small dose diuretic for the next 30 days, perhaps some of it will. It was not my preferred method of weight loss, because it could just be temporary, but it was kind of surreal to see the drop in numbers on my scale. I had not really been expecting to see 310 so soon. It has been a long time since I saw it on the way up.

Well anyway. I'm feeling much more relaxed now and hoping my BP begins to go to a better range. If you believe in Jesus, please pray for me.

Thanks.

Be back soon,

Lord willing,

Marcia

Olive Oil Fraud?

Hi,

It seems that olive oil fraud has been around since day 0001 but it only came to my attention today in an e-mail from a guy who wants to sell me real extra virgin olive oil. I get so many e-mails from websites that are trying to sell me something that I don't often pay attention to them anymore, but this one caught my eye. I did not want to read the advertising for his expensive product so I searched out the source of information in an article that he referred to which was written in 2007 in The New Yorker magazine. (Here is a link if you are interested: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller )

After reading about all the corruption and mislabeling I am about to go off of extra virgin olive oil. There is no guarantee that what I am buying at my local grocery store, whether it be Kroger or Whole Foods, is even olive oil. It could be anything from soy bean oil to hazelnut oil. I only started using extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) because it was supposed to be so healthy for my body -- if I cannot be sure that what I am buying is actually EVOO, then why bother?

I can use extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO) instead. I tried using it in the salad dressing that I make myself and it actually tasted better than the EVOO from the plastic bottle under my counter. Plastic Bottle. That should be a dead give away that what is inside could be anything and the longer it sits (even if it actually is EVOO) the more rancid it gets. I don't need it. Out she goes.

The only problem I foresee with using EVCO for salad dressing is that in the winter time it tends to harden while sitting on the counter in my kitchen. It needs to be above about 75 degrees in order for it to be liquid form which works well in the pourable salad dressing. I've been considering placing my bottle of dressing near the pilot light on my gas stove to keep it at a liquid temperature but I have no idea what that will do to my dressing. Perhaps I should put it in a different shaped container so I can spoon it out. I really don't know and will have to wait for winter time to experiment with that.

In the mean time, it is summer and it works fine as a good replacement. So there you have it. My personal workaround for the corruption in the olive oil industry.

You know what this reminds me of? The Mormon church which I grew up in. They actually tell their people not to trust the Bible because parts of it have been changed over the years. They only read the King James Version (at least when I was a member that's what they did) and they believed that parts of it were corrupt. To me, even at the time, that meant that since I had no way of knowing which parts were supposedly corrupt and which parts were accurate I could trust none of it. What a mess.

I'm glad I found out the truth and became a Christian who can read and trust all of the Bible from cover to cover. I have found the evidence that I needed to ease and clear my mind concerning the Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls give strong evidence that the Books in the Bible we are reading now are nearly identical to the ones stored away for three thousand years and hidden in a cave. There are other proofs that I've read about too, so I don't worry about it anymore. I know the Bible is the word of God, and that is what I stand on. It is so much more "clean" to trust what I have investigated and found to be authentic. It actually eases my mind and assuages my soul.

My best source of information about the authenticity of the Bible came from a book written by Simon Greenleaf -- here is a link to Amazon.com where you can look inside http://www.amazon.com/The-Testimony-Evangelists-Examined-Evidence/dp/0825427479.

It's only about eight dollars so it won't break the bank. But I must warn you, it is probably not for the casual reader. It is quite interesting to me and very well written in my opinion, but some people don't like technical nor precise reading matter. I like it, expressly for that reason. When I was done looking through his eyes, I no longer had questions about whether the New Testament was authentic or whether I could trust the words of the Apostles which were written there.

Back to the typical fodder of this blog: I went to see my doctor on Thursday but ended up not seeing her at all. I ended up simply walking out of the office and not one person even noticed it or said a thing to me. Not even a friendly "Goodbye." I'll be choosing a new primary care physician from my insurance list, soon. It was an experience that I probably won't forget.

Before I went I knew that my only current health problem that needed to be addressed was my high blood pressure. When I measured it on the morning of the appointment it was about twenty points higher on the upper number than usual so I already knew it was going to be sky high in the office. Of course dreading that, makes it worse, but I did not want to miss the appointment, so I went. As I waited for them to call me, I tried to do deep breathing and relaxation to lower it. It is hard for me to relax in the doctor's office but I did my best.

When the perky little girl came and got me and lead me back to the room to wait for the nurse practitioner (I had never really seen the doctor there.) I tried to continue to relax myself, but she wanted to chit chat so I was polite and cheerful. She walked me into the room, sat me down, tore the paper off of the examination table and pulled the blood pressure machine over to me. It all happened so fast I had no chance to breath and the number she got was pretty outrageous. She cheerfully said she would measure it again later and left the room. I got no chance to try to get anything under control and simply sat and waited to see my NP.

As I waited I got out my journal which I always take with me and was reading some things to relax me and the door opened up and another young nurse came in. She too rushed about and wanted to take my BP by hand this time. I know that the cuffs that they have don't work on my upper arm which is really oversized. They not only won't measure me, it is often extremely painful for me to undergo their trying to get it to work over and over, again, so I asked that she take it on my forearm instead of my upper arm. She said she did not know how to do that, so I was stuck. I rolled up my sleeve and asked for an arm support knowing that if they leave my arm in the air and I have to hold it up, that raises my blood pressure, too.

She pulled out the doctor's stool and sat down so I could rest my arm on her knee and quickly put the cuff on my arm and started to pump. As she pumped the pain just got worse and worse until I said that I could not take any more pressure and she immediately stopped pumping and let it go. This begins to ease the pain but it does not stop until they take the cuff off. So she let it down and said she got the lower number but did not get the upper one and started to pump it up again. Of course my arm was already in pain and she started pumping it up again harder and harder. At a certain point, I could not take the pain any more and saw that she was oblivious to my torture so I simply reached over with my other hand and undid the cuff as I explained that it was simply way too painful for me.

She actually jumped up off of the stool, leaving it in front of me, and ran out of the room, leaving the door open. The next thing I heard was her talking about me to someone in the hallway as if I had committed a crime. She seemed very shocked. I suppose she never ran into someone before who believes that they are in charge of their own body and not the nurse or the doctor. Well, when I heard her talking about me, I realized that I needed to get out of there before they wanted to torture me some more -- but I really wanted to talk to the NP, so when I made the decision to leave, I did it slowly. I carefully put my gloves and glasses on and got out my keys and waited. I sat there a few moments waiting but no one came in to talk to me.

I slowly stood up, fully expecting to see my NP coming into the room, but when I got to the door way and looked out, all I could see was the shocked nurse still talking to some other nurse farther down the corridor. So I got my walking stick and started to move slowly down the hall, fully expecting someone to approach me. No one even noticed me. I walked past the check out desk which was empty and pushed the green button to open the door and walked out. I did it all slowly in case someone wanted to say anything to me but no one came after me, and I just left. I then knew I would need to find another doctor.

I'm not asking for agreement that I did the right thing. Perhaps it was the wrong thing. As I've been thinking about it, I've come up with reasons to justify finding another doctor. For one thing, I really have never once even seen the doctor there, I don't even know what he looks like. I'd rather go to a doctor that I can see and talk to.

Their BP equipment is faulty and even from the comments of the nurses using it, it seems that they have a hard time using it. I've also never liked having to carry my urine specimen in an open container -- my previous doctor had cups with caps that prevented spillage or contamination. And when they take blood from me, it is in the middle of the nurses station rather than in a private place.

Those things may not seem like much, but I had been putting up with all that because I liked my NP, but I really don't like being treated like I am "cattle." I really do think that, all things together, I will just find another doctor.

And about the HBP. I know how to lower my BP. It is with walking. So I shall manage it with walking. The only time in my entire life that I had normal blood pressure was after I had started walking a long time ago. I also saw how my BP came down when I did a stress test a few years ago so I know that walking will make the difference. It makes me wonder why my water arerobics has done nothing for the problem. I had been hoping it would, but my BP seems to be staying particularly high, so I will start the walking thing and see if that still helps.

In the mean time, I want to find a doctor with his eye on his patients and not on his bottom line or the elegance of his office. I really did not like the "factory" format they had so maybe I can find a more personal doctor. I'd really like to go back to my old one, but she does not take medicare, so I'll keep looking.

BTW I was surprised to see a weight loss this morning. I'm below 318 today. Still losing weight. Thank you Lord Jesus!!

Be back soon,

Marcia

 

My Clothes are Getting Looser in the Dryer

Hi,

I've been wearing my same old clothes that I used to wear but now, when I put the pants on, especially, I think about being careful or they could fall off. It must be the dryer. Ha! Isn't that what we used to tell ourselves when they were getting tighter? It's the dryer's fault. The idea of them getting looser in the dryer made me laugh so I thought I'd use as my title today.

I always weigh myself every day. It keeps me honest. It can be frustrating when you see a pound or two increase, but it also is a warning signal to look at what I ate yesterday (in my journal) and pay attention. I'm not always obedient, but I always know which direction I'm going. It is nice to be hovering around 317-320 instead of around 330 as I was before I started to do the 24-hour fasts four weeks ago.

I'm nearing the end of this week's fast, today. It is 3:02 as I write and it will end at 4:30. It may not be of unusual interest to the masses but it is interesting to me to observe the feeling of hunger inside my body -- and not only to simply observe it, but to embrace it. I actually do kind of like it. That seems odd, even to me, but along with a little bit of a feeling in my tummy which is easily satisfied with liquids like water or unsweet tea, my head feels clear and easy. My body feels lighter and I like the feelings that I experience as I fast. It makes the fasting much easier than I thought it would be.

I like to think about how my body is using this time to rid itself of toxins and burn up excess fat. It is kind of a healthy rest where processes can take place that get hampered by eating three times a day, every day. It occurred to me the other day that women feed their babies with their bodies. Once we are weaned our bodies feed themselves in a rather similar way. The stored fat is from excess food that the body keeps for future use. If we never get to the part where the body needs to feed itself, then we just keep adding more fat to it. Fasting is a way to let the body take care of itself for a change. When you fast, especially for at least 24 hours, your body is actually still taking care of itself by feeding itself from its own fat pantry. What an interesting way to look at it. I guess fasting makes you think differently.

I had the right eye procedure done and am super happy with the results. It was nearly overwhelming to see the world so differently. It is so much sharper, and shinier than I had been experiencing. The colors are more vibrant and there are edges to the trees. Isn't it funny that I did not realize I was not really seeing the individual trees clearly? They had become like walls or barriers to me. Now that I can see them, and see the individual leaves glistening and shaking in the sunshine, they are quite stunning to look at. Sometimes I get out of the car and just look around. It is so nice. I thank God that I was able to get this done. I thank God that He inspired some person to think up this procedure. I thank God that I can see well again.

I talked to my eye doctor again about the little blurry spot that moves in my left eye and she said it could be a small "bubble" that has gotten itself stuck to my retina. She offered to dilate my eyes and check it out, but I did not want to go through that again so soon. This explanation was much less scary to think about than what I had been thinking. There is a certain kind of blindness (can't think of the name) where your vision begins to get blurry right in the center and proceed from there. I had been worried that that was what I had and wondered if there is anything now-a-days that they can do about it. The news that because it moves around, indicates that it is a "bubble" (of some kind) that could just as easily get unstuck and stick somewhere else in my eye was really quite a relief. I noticed the last time I was reading my Bible that I did not see the little blurry place. It was nice. She said there is nothing they can do about the bubble but I got the impression that it is not dangerous and can improve on its own so that is a relief. 

I will still need to get glasses, but I've worn glasses since my mid-twenties so that is not a problem to me. I was really surprised to see how much the frames at the doctor's office cost. I had set aside $300 to get my glasses thinking I should be able to get a really nice pair with that amount of money. I discovered that the frames can cost as much as that without any glasses in them. That is quite outrageous to me. A couple of friends pointed out that if I have some frames I like I can reuse them and get new lenses for them and save myself quite a lot. I do have one pair, for sure, and maybe two pairs that I can "refill" so I think I shall go that route, instead. No sense wasting money when it is so easy to preserve it.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow with my regular doctor. I will be happy for them to see the weight loss, but my blood pressure is still not under control. I am not interested in taking more drugs for the problem because I'm likely to have some dangerous reaction to it. So perhaps when they can see that I'm finally losing weight again, that the blood pressure should not be far behind. I've actually had a couple of days where the reading was normal, but they are few and far between. I'm still encouraged by the fact that they have started to show up every once in a while. It's a nice change from always being too high.

Well, I've got about an hour to go to finish up my 24 hours and I've started thinking about what I'll eat to end it. It will probably be the left overs from my meal, yesterday, so nothing fancy. I often find when the fast ends that I get hungry again rather quickly after my first small meal, so I might get a lo-carb burger at Hardees later. It is a great hamburger without a bun. They wrap it in lettuce and paper to hold it all together and it is mighty tasty. My mouth is watering so I better move on. I can think about eating later.

I hope things are going well for you. Comment below and let me know how you are doing.

Be back soon,

Marcia

Hi,

I just finished my third 24-hour fast day in three weeks time and am really excited about continuing to continue. I am within two pounds of my first small goal of hitting 315. So... I've come down from 355 to 317. Took a long time, but since I started the 24-hour fasts once a week, I am really beginning to see progress. It has certainly broken the stall that I was in. Still heading for 315.

I had laser surgery on my left eye last Wednesday and will be getting the right one done tomorrow. I was completely amazed at how simple and easy it was. If you've ever had an eye examination where you placed your chin on the lip of a frame and put your forehead against the bar at the top that was exactly the apparatus that they used to do the laser procedure that I had done. All I had to do was look at the pencil-like device my doctor told me to look at and let her know when I needed to blink -- which only happened once.

It was a little overwhelming to see my field of vision suddenly go opaque white and seem to float, but I just kept my other eye on the spot and let it happen. It was only like that for a few seconds. It happened once more and the whole thing was over. Zip. Zap. Zowie and it was over.

I had had cataract surgery in 2009 where they removed the lenses in my eyes and put in plastic lens "transplants" but my vision seemed to be, once again, growing fuzzy and out of focus. The oncoming headlights at night had gotten the big flaring star-like streaks of light, back again and I had become frightened to drive on a rainy night because I could not tell where the road was. So if there was a church service on Sunday night or Wednesday night and there were predictions of rain, I would not go for fear of driving off the road that I could not see in the night-time rain. I was caught in the rain on a few rainy nights and still remember how hard it was to tell where the road was when traffic was coming towards me.

The flare from the oncoming headlights plus the reflection of light from the wet pavement simply blurred everything together so that I could not clearly see where the road was. Thank God for those painted white lines on the outside edges of many roads. If not for those I would simply have not even known where the road was and I'm sure I would probably have ended up in someone's hedges or worse.

I am now able to read a little better with the left eye (the eye with the lens that focuses up close). Before I had the laser procedure, I had been seeing a large blur in the middle of the type as I read my Bible and it would only get worse as I continued. (I had to stop doing it for a while and had gotten behind in my daily reading.) That blur is not completely gone but is much improved. I am better able to read, but the small blur is still a little distracting.

I mentioned that to my doctor and she started talking about new glasses so I'm hoping that can be corrected. Looking forward to getting the other eye done tomorrow; mainly because that is the one that focuses more for distance viewing and I'm hoping that one clears up a lot. The doctor who did the original surgery on that eye told me he was not able to completely get the cataract out and mentioned at that time that I would need to have a hole cut in the back later on. That is what I am getting done tomorrow so I'm hoping the vision in that eye clears up a lot.

I've been reading (on kindle on my computer) an excellent book written by William Davis, M.D. called "Wheat Belly." Someone referenced it and I checked it out at Amazon and purchased the kindle version. It is very good reading, although, at times it gets a little technical. I would not change it though, because it is those technical details that really reveal the reasons behind his advice which is to eliminate wheat from your diet.

I've sometimes wondered about that. I'm a Bible-believing Christian and I know that bread is something that is talked about and recommended in the Bible. Remember the loaves and the fishes? Jesus fed the people bread. This was always a puzzle to me because I know that eating wheat products raises my blood sugar fast and high so I eat it only on rare occasions. It just did not make sense.

Well, now it makes sense. Dr. Davis explains with great detail that the bread we eat is not the same as the bread that was eaten two thousand years ago. That wheat had been found in the wild and planted in a farmer's field, just as it was, but our bread has gone through multiple generations of breeding for specific traits on top of genetic engineering and in the process is hardly even similar to the wheat of our ancient ancestors. It even grows on shorter stalks now because of the interference of man.

Basically the wheat we have available has much more gluten and other things in it that are not healthy for people to eat anymore. For some people it is even deadly. It causes not only Celiac disease but many other rashes, headaches, and weight gain and gluten is not the only problem. I'm not going to list all the problems he mentions because I think folks need to read the book and find out first hand.

I'm just at the part where he begins to tell people what they should eat instead of wheat and, fortunately for me, it is exactly the same as my personal plan. When you drop out the wheat (which is not easy for many people) you add in more vegetables and protein. None of us will get a "wheat deficiency" from not eating wheat and most of us will have improved health in some way or other.

I know, for sure, that eating wheat raises my blood sugar faster than nearly anything else -- even sugar. I also know that if I go without it for six days, I suddenly have much less pain in my body. No kidding. I do eat things made with wheat on occasion. If I'm at someone's house and they offer it, I am likely to consume it. Sometimes I have it at a restaurant, but for the most part, especially when I am at home, I just don't eat it or buy anything that has it as an ingredient on the label.

When it comes to blood sugar and weight gain you cannot substitute potatoes or other starchy carbs for wheat because potatoes and other starchy carbs still raise blood sugar and cause inflammation. But I have them once in a while. I know that if I want to keep losing weight and feeling good I'm better off without it at all.

I think the hardest part of getting off wheat is for those who have an addiction to it. (Like me.) Those bread and pasta cravings are coming from the wheat that affects the brain as well as the intestines. I know from experience that if you can just get past the first three days, it gets a whole lot easier. It can be done.

I really think you should check out this book at Amazon.com and see what you think. It has a lot of answers to some health questions that are usually hard to figure out. If you have one of those hard to interpret health problems, eliminating wheat might help solve some or all of the problem.

Anyway. My fast is complete. I just had half a bowl of chicken curry with vegetables and a large salad. My belly is full and happy. My ankles are still small and I think that is wonderful.

This fasting thing really seems to be working for me. Finally.

Be back soon,

Marcia

P.S.  If you want to read about the fasting thing check these sources out:

http://www.eatstopeat.com

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting/chapter-6 (this one is free online.)


If you want to check out the "Wheat Belly" book, here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343168165&sr=1-1&keywords=wheat+belly+by+william+davis+md

You can copy and paste these into your browser. God bless!!

The Week After the First Fast

Hi,

It has been a week since I last fasted and I am preparing for another one to begin today at 5 p.m. I have been really excited about the results of that one 24-hour fast. My weight has been trending downward each day to a total lost for the week of 1.5 pounds. Not earth shattering, but, after what had been happening in the weeks leading up to it, I consider the fast a total freaking success. What a pleasure it was to wake up to a smaller number on all but one morning. I was not really expecting that!

The one major noticeable result is still the edema which did not begin to resume until about three days later. When it did come back it also remained much smaller, too. It has only been in the last two days that it appears to have begun to swell to almost (not quite) my pre-fast condition, again. I am hoping that starting at a slightly less swollen state will make my post-second-fast ankle size even smaller.

Looking at my food journal I see that I ended the first fast with a large bowl of curried chicken to which I added one nine-ounce package of angel hair Konjac shirataki noodles. I still remember the experience. I had a real feeling of true pleasure when I simply held the warm bowl of noodles in my hand and sniffed the scent of the curry and chicken. That was at about 5 p.m. At 8 p.m. I put half of a pound of hamburger in the convection oven, then ate it with spicy brown mustard. At about 8:30 I got hungry again and had 3 scrambled eggs. The next morning I had lost 1/4 of a pound!!

For the next three days I noticed I was satisfied with smaller meals and enjoyed the actual feeling of my tummy telling me, "I can't eat another bite" after having eaten much smaller amounts than usual. That was a nice change from the usual lusting for food. It was an actual eye-opener for me. I saw that my body can act in a normal way around food when the addiction is turned off. It seems that the fast turned the addiction off for a space of time.

During the week I wanted to stick to the snack/meal/snack program but was mentally a little lax since I had done the 24-hour fast and knew that the "Eat Stop Eat" program does not include extremely rigid diet rules during the rest of the time but strongly suggests being "sensible" -- and we all know what that means.

I have noticed that my snack size is now creeping to a little larger than a true snack size, but it is still smaller than a meal. To keep myself on track without getting fanatic I began to measure with the bowls I serve my snacks and meals in. The snack bowl is about a cup smaller than the meal bowl, and I use the two sizes to gauge how much food I am eating at a sitting because on about day four my "familiar" eating habits wanted to surge back, again.

Yesterday I even had an additional snack in the evening but made it purely raw vegetables. I cut up a bowl of raw broccoli, added a few grape tomatoes and put dressing and seasonings on it. Afterwards, I still felt hungry so I had an avocado after which I ate a teaspoon of coconut oil. The high oil content of the avocado and the CO seemed to quench the desire for more food.

My final observation yesterday was to realize that I am, after all, doing more of small meal/medium sized meal/small meal. So the meal is not as large as before, but the snacks are not as small. Over all I lost weight. I am happy with that so feel as though I am moving along successfully. I can see the goal ahead of me.

Be back soon,

Marcia