Low-Carbs?

Because my weight has been creeping up in the last year I decided, on July 10th to try to eat less carbs. I didn't make the decision lightly, I'd been researching this new "diet" for a couple of months. I know that I am a carb-oholic. The more I ate, the more I craved, which made me eat more, which made me crave more. It was getting to be a never-ending cycle, hence the weight creep.

I took a look at my present way of eating. Breakfast was usually either a couple small bowls of Cheerios with milk; or 1/2 cup of honey flavored Greek yogurt with toast, butter and a glass of milk, or oatmeal. All of those items are carb-heavy. If I ate breakfast at 7:30, by 10:00 or 10:30 I'd be hungry again.

With any meal we'd always have some kind of starch. When I was a kid, that was the meal-mantra: protein (meat or chicken), starch and a veggie. Always.

So that was the habit I'd gotten into as I got older. So with our chicken we'd always have potatoes, or with the steak, a baked potato.

And don't get me started about sweets! I loved my sweets. My husband would buy me a 1 lb. box of See's dark chocolate buttercream candies.... mmmm, my favorite. I didn't eat them quickly, I'd have one (or two) with my tea, then one in the afternoon, then one after dinner. Or ice cream, or something sweet. Bad news for me! I'm a sugar addict!

So when my weight crept up to 200 lbs (I'm 5'10") it was a very rude awakening. I'm lucky that I don't suffer from diabetes, or high blood pressure. I'm very healthy. I work out at the Y four days a week, plus active stuff around my house. So it was a shocker that the weight started piling on again. Especially since I'd done so well 4 years ago and lost 30 lbs.

*sigh*

It was now been a little over 2 weeks since I started cutting out a lot of the carbs I eat. For breakfast now I usually have a couple of scrambled eggs, a glass of milk and a slice of toast with butter. I don't get hungry mid-morning. For lunch and dinner I eat sensibly, with plenty of fat added in so I don't feel starved. I have cut out sugary drinks, no more soda, or maybe one a week at the most. I drink lots of water.

The most impressive change is that I feel so much better.

*lost 4 lbs in a little over 2 weeks
*more energy
*less bloating - which seemed to be getting worse
*I am much more "regular" - which was a problem my whole life
*I feel trimmer

While I'm not totally cutting out carbs, I've cut back to about 100g per day at the most. Losing weight was not the primary goal, though it certainly figured into my decision to change my eating habits. My goal was to feel better, as well as look better. So far so good!

Will to Live

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the will to live exhibited by some people. We all have it - it is inborn in us and very strong.

I am a respite volunteer for a hospice patient. Without divulging too much info... she is a very old lady with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). I've been seeing her once a week for a couple of house, mostly to just give her someone else to talk to.

At the age of 96, she is very spry, her hearing and vision are great and she beats me at checkers every time. When I saw her this past week it was obvious that something had changed. Her breathing was labored, she looked tired, just not her usual perky self. Her caregiver told me she'd had a bad weekend, she wasn't eating or drinking any water. They thought they were going to lose her.

So it made me think about our will to live. At some point in our life does the will do away and we just give up. Or are we always fighting to live? At 96 does she still think about that? Or will her body finally just stop working.

I know that when we are younger we fight to live. I've known a number of people diagnosed with cancer who have passed on, but before that happened they fought and fought, some for years, to live just a little longer.

Does that will to live ever stop?