South Beach Diet, One Year Later

Last May, after we got medical insurance, Al went in for a physical.  His doctor gave him a goal that required him to lose more than 50 pounds.  He recommended the South Beach Diet, so we bought the paperback, began reading, and studied the sample menus.

We decided that when I returned from a trip to Minnesota for a family reunion and sendoff of my sister and her husband to Germany for three years, we would dive into the diet.

During that week I was gone, Al had a surprise removal of his appendix, and he had a head start on the weight loss.

The weight began to fall off, quickly!  I forget exactly when we hit our lows, but it was only 2 or 3 months after beginning.

Well, it's been a year now, and how are we doing?

I am a pound or two above my lowest weight, and manage to stay within a three-pound range, seemingly whatever I eat, and have stayed in Size 8 jeans.  When I began, I had 'hoped' to lose 10 pounds, and one pant size.  Well, it was 2 pant sizes, and I have bumped up from a 30-pound loss to hold at 27-29 pounds less than my high.

Though Al lost more weight, faster, he has also gained back a little more than me.  He is also down 2 pant sizes, and has been able to stay in that size.  December was tough for him.  We were in town, with so many food delights to indulge in, AND the holidays, AND visiting family.  Depending on how the waves are rolling (it's hard to get a reliable scale reading on a boat), he is 6-10 pounds over his lowest reading.

We are presently docked on a rather remote island, and still the indulgences seem to find us.  We brought nuts to munch on and our 'two-week supply' is nearly gone after a week.  A few beers found their way to the boat from our pirate friends.  And today, an apple/berry pie arrived!

Al is presently on a boat trip to Orcas Island to pick up the solar panels.  He has a short list for the grocery store -- eggs, salad, and broccoli.  See?  We are TRYING to be good.  And we are HOPING to take a long hike some day during our time here at Sucia.  We have not yet been to Ewing Cove, which is the furthest point from where we are, maybe as much as 6-8 miles round trip.

Sights today:

These two and their entourage came to the boat this morning.  Are these the two leaders we saw two weeks ago?

Reposting the photo from two weeks ago for comparison...

On a short stroll this morning, this plant life caught my eye:

Gooseberries?

TINY starflowers....

Most have six petals,

But occasionally only five.