Yay! It all paid off!

I finally got the results from my blood work today and there was definite improvement. My potassium level went from 3.3 (below normal) to 3.8 (lower end of normal range). Glucose went from 102 or 89. HDL went from 23 to 36. Still low, but almost at the low end of normal. The big winner, though, was triglycerides. I went from 205 in January to 114! Get out!

So even though the weight loss isn't AS dramatic (27 lbs now), those numbers show the real benefit of making the changes that I've made this year. I'm pretty excited about it. And I am happy with the weight loss too. Thank God what I'm doing is all stuff that I can keep doing. I'm already on my maintenance plan and now I know this is good enough.

So I keep doing what I'm doing. I'm delighted that the Moringa powder has done so well for my potassium level. I don't mind having a banana every now and then, but having them every day wasn't something I thought I could maintain over the long haul. Who knows what else it helped with. It's main job for me was potassium.

As for the cough. I'm still using the inhaler twice a day. I tried cutting back and I started coughing up mucous. I'm not coughing constantly or anything. I expected that I might cough a little more, but was pretty disappointed that I started coughing up mucous again. I'm hoping that it's largely because of the time of year -- pollen is really heavy around here right now. So I'll try again in a couple of months.

So, in a little over a month, I turn 58. Ugh. But I am clearly in better shape than I've been in a while, so maybe I won't notice. OK, ok, hopefully it won't bother me as much. OK, ok, I'll think about the grandchild that is due in November and try to block out the birthday. Yea. That will work.

So has all this made a difference?

Tomorrow morning I go in to have blood drawn for a follow-up workup to blood tests that were done in January. My Triglycerides were high and my potassium levels were way low. Those blood tests were taken pretty early in the process of trying to rev up my metabolism. I've been eating better and less and working out more since then. I have lost 25 pounds and am feeling better.

Though the weight loss has tapered off, I am still enjoying the fact that my old clothes are back in use. I am disappointed that working out in the morning, a 20-30 minute brisk walk at lunch and a 50 minute bike ride with my husband after work plus the change in eating habits would have kept the weight loss going, but oh well. I guess you can only push an older metabolism so far.

I have also been taking a powder made from the moringa oleifera plant for the last few weeks. Everything I've read says that this is an excellent source of potassium. I guess this will be an interesting test of that fact.

So, I've got my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

A busy weekend

It was a busy and pleasant weekend. The first order of business was to go to my daughter's house and help her with a big project that she's working on for her home business. She's making 42 table runners for someone's wedding. They are beautiful. The customer chose a lovely combination of pattern and color. You can see the project at

http://www.homesweetbyhand.com/blog

My mother-in-law (and friend), Jo, was there too. We were in charge of turning the table runners right side out and pressing them so that Jen could do the top stitching. We got them all done and left her with a stack to finish off this week. It felt good to help and it was a really pleasant day. It was like an old fashioned quilting bee where we talked about everything all day as we worked. It was really pleasant.

Then we went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Ocean City -- Adolfo's. Great food. We just ate light, but yummmmm. Their garlic bread is the bomb. And we go so often that they've become friends, and it's always good to see them.

http://www.oc-adolfos.com/

Today was my normal chores and I went to a nearby woods and dug up a load of rocks to use as borders in a new flower bed I want to get done this spring. I hate to see the weekend end. Sunday nights are always difficult because I dread the beginning of the work week. I usually take an ambien on Sunday nights to help me sleep.

The cough is doing better. So much so that I think I'm going to try to start eliminating the inhaler. I'll do it gradually. But I think it's time to start the process and see how it goes.

I'm still sticking to my new eating plan. I hadn't lost any more weight for a while, but I knocked off another pound last week. As long as I'm not gaining. I guess I'm about where I'm going to be weight-wise since the weight loss has tapered off. And that's ok. I'm back into a lot of clothes that I wasn't able to wear and I'm feeling pretty good. I think that's pretty good for 58.

Almost back to normal!

The cough has improved greatly over the past few weeks ... thank heavens! I don't think the homeopathic remedies could have done it alone any more than all the pharmaceuticals did. But the remedies definitely improved the healing process because after 6 months of miserable coughing I appear to finally be on the mend. I love homeopathy.

I'm still following my new eating routine. I seem to have plateaued on my weight loss, but I'm ok with that because I have managed to loose enough weight to get back into a lot of clothes. Yay! I was hoping for more, but I feel better having lost even this much -- 23 lbs.

We visited the kids this past weekend. Jay was helping Dan with a 198? Ninja motorcycle that he is restoring while I "helped" Jen with a big fabric order she is working on. I really just kept her company while she worked. But the fabric is turning out awesome. She'll be turning it into table runners soon. Check it out at http://www.homesweetbyhand.com/blog
I'm so proud of her.

And that's the update!