Merry Christmas!

 

Hopefully, no ice storms in Eugene this year!

Happy Birthday to Me

 

Funny how so many of my posts are accompanied by photos of flowers! This is not a particularly good photo but it's the best of several efforts on my part this morning.

Yesterday, probably against many odds, I reached yet another birthday. Number 78, this time. Who'd've thought? Certainly not me! For years, I thought I probably wouldn't live past 50, yet here I am. I don't remember my reasoning or rationale for any of that, if there even was any. Probably because of my crazy lifestyle and my penchant for doing things that had a bit -- or a lot -- of risk involved. Driving fast cars on snaky mountain roads; offshore sailing in heavy winds and an occasional storm; bicycling thousands of miles hugging the shoulder of busy roads (those could also be snaky mountain roads, or flatland roads, or once even on an Interstate when there was no option) or, if there was no shoulder, claiming my bit of the traffic lane. The list goes on, but you get the idea.

These lovely flowers came from my daughter and granddaughters, which made them more special than the ordinary flower, by far. Between them, they changed what is usually a low-key, even depressing, day into a day filled with love and caring. I'm glad I lived to experience this, and hope for many more years to come.

This and that

Hello out there. Is anybody still there? Hello to all that are.

It's been a quiet few months for me on Blogger, probably because I've been distracted with my 'new found' family. So much goodness! All of our health has been good, thankfully.

I donated blood for the first time in my long life a couple of days ago, and have been knocked into a weak puppy as a result. Normal reactions, I'm told. So far this morning, I'm feeling fairly normal. A good, long night of solid sleep probably helped. Today will be quiet, too.

Perhaps the most consequential thing in my personal life this past year, aside from losing my dearest friend and gaining a daughter and granddaughters, is that I have finally managed to defeat the weight gain that started with a vengeance back in early summer of 2009, when I first 'retired' to the sweet southern Oregon town of Brookings. Despite daily walking -- lots of it -- and hikes exploring beach trails, inland trails, redwood trails, and any trail I could find, my waistline began expanding at a shocking rate. No medical reason. Over the intervening years I've tried all kinds of things. Severe calorie cuts (those happened in Brookings, but were ill-advised and didn't last too long) to more reasonable calorie cuts, combined with lots of walking or other exercise, including a local gym. Did that both in Georgia and then continued it here. 1200 calories per day for about a year here in Eugene, while walking the serious hills around the condo I shared for that year. Lost some weight during that, I must admit, but once I left there and was in a few temporary places for a few months before this apartment opened up, much of it came back, and over time all of it came back, despite continuous exercise, always with a local gym membership that I made almost daily use of.

During those years I wanted to try the Keto diet, but quickly realized that doing all the calculations and percentages of that diet was beyond what I would or could do, so it didn't last long. You try to calculate the carbs, fat, and protein of everything you eat in the course of the day, as a percentage of the total calories you eat every day! So about a year ago when I got serious about trying it because nothing else had worked, I knew I was going to have to spend some $$ to get an app. The app was free, but I needed something to run it on, and I didn't have that (or, I thought I didn't. Turns out it works just fine on my computer). So I bought an iPad (I'd been wanting one anyway, but couldn't justify the cost as a mere toy). And I got the app. Started the diet as of Jan 2 (no way I'm going to do that on a day when our Oregon Ducks are playing in a Bowl Game, so the diet had to be postponed!).

Fast forward a year, and I've lost over 30 pounds! The app does all the calculations, and I plan my days food intake every morning, adjusting as needed to meet the requirements. My calorie intake is based on my activity level, which is still fairly high most of the time, so I'm certainly not starving and I can eat anything I want as long as the total meets the requirements. Mostly, I pay attention to the carb maximum and don't go over that, as it's the key point. Occasionally, as at the moment, I raise my settings from 'weight loss' to 'maintenance' so I can eat more of everything for awhile. That's good for the soul, and I've never gained weight during one, usually even lose some. Right now I'm not so active because of weather and having no desire to go to a crowded gym even if it were open, so I may not lose any this time.

I committed for a year, which is not quite up, but I've reached my first goal and could happily stay here, but since it's been so easy I've reset that goal for the next 5 pounds, which shouldn't be all that difficult or take all that long. After that, we'll see. The diet approximates the way I like to eat anyway, so it hasn't been too difficult for me. Although in 'real life' I'd eat more carbs than currently allowed, and my body has never liked carbs. Once I reach a point where I'm willing to stop, I'll go on maintenance for a good long while and eventually, probably onto a less restrictive diet of some kind. The app offers all kinds of them, so I'll never have to do all those calculations again.

I hope this awful year of 2020 has kept all of you safe.