Well, much better news this time. First of all, my use of coconut oil seems to be paying off, as I've dropped another 3 lbs since last Saturday. That puts me at 173 lbs, for a total weight loss (so far) of 60 lbs! So, if my goal is 170 lbs, I'm perhaps a week away from it. I say "if" because there is still some stubborn fat around my waist I want to get rid of, and that may indicate, as I speculated last weekend, that my target weight is actually below 170 lbs, perhaps as low as 160 to 165 lbs. I guess I won't really know until I'm there. Once I am, though, it will feel great to start eating more - though it may not be so great for my wallet, with food prices as high as they are! If I'm right about my guesstimate, I will soon be back to the same weight I was at when I was in the Air Force, in my late teens/early twenties - at the age of 55! How many Boomers can say that?
Of course, my BMI (Body Mass Index) has also changed for the better. It is now at 23.5, solidly in the middle of the "normal weight" range. But for the persistence of a little unwanted flab, I could call it "done" at this point.
My blood sugar's been normal all week, basically, spiking a few times to just above normal. But, the after-meal rises are becoming fewer and the spread between "before" and "after" is becoming less. On Wednesday, in fact, my blood sugar actually decreased after dinner, falling 13 points, from 102 down to 89. I credit the coconut oil, a couple of spoons of cinnamon and a little exercise for that. Yesterday, the point spread was rather low, going from 97 to 102 after dinner; an increase of only 5 mg/dcl, and still remained normal. So, everything's headed in the right direction, as far as my blood sugar is concerned. This morning, after staying up until after 3:00am, munching on pecans, my blood sugar is at 116, just three mg/dcl above the high end of "normal." By the time of my next test, after brunch, it could even fall below that, if I add a little cinnamon and coconut oil to the mix.
Where my blood pressure is concerned, I've made a marked improvement over last week's unexpected rise, which I now believe must have been an anomaly. Then, it was 131/87, which was a real shocker, especially after heading steadily downward into normal territory for weeks. But, this morning, my blood pressure is at a more or less normal 128/78. A little on the high side on the systolic, but the diastolic is normal. As for the systolic being 8 points above normal, considering it's comparatively moving in the right direction now, I'm not concerned about that. It would be nice, though, if I could achieve these numbers without medication. Eventually, I think that will be possible. Maybe by the time I've been at it a year or so.
By the way, did I mention that the paleo diet has completely cured my allergies? I was taking Claritin, and then the Equate brand of Claritin, for about seven years and I quit taking it completely about a month ago. My sinuses have been mostly clear and I no longer have the dry mouth side effect of the drug to bother me, either. Aside from the fact my left nostril seems to be a bit runny, sometimes (like this morning, which is probably what reminded me of this), I'm fine.
