I got a little reminder in my email box that I'm supposed to be blogging much, much more than I am. I guess I don't feel like I'm following the BTD/GTD/SWAMI lifestyle because of all the medications I am taking. BUT I do eat mostly according to my SWAMI. Granted, I eat more black dots than I should, but I do eat lots of beneficials every day. And I am still exercising. I have an hour of Pilates twice a week. And I do aerobic activity 2 - 3 times a week. My goal is 3 - 4 days a week. (It's always good to have goals.)

And, I look old. So many new flabby parts on my arms, and lines in my face and neck. I'm pretty sure the medications are doing that to me. It couldn't be because I'm 59 years old, could it?

So, there you have it. I'll be more dutiful about blogging. I promise.

I've been meaning to write this for about six weeks now. Having been thrilled about my SWAMI diet and settling into it, I have good things to report. I had to finish my Explorer supplements I had JUST received before taking the SWAMI, so it took an extra month to get real results. And I am happy to report that since starting with the Gatherer supplements, my body seems to be back to normal. I am at the weight I was two years ago, and my 'belly fat' isn't nearly as big. I definitely have the apple shape, and most of the weight is in my upper body (hmmm....torso longer than legs, too). In fact my pants have always been two sizes smaller than my tops.

I have to admit I haven't done the initial 60 day 'get my genes healed' part of the diet yet. I do eat black dots, though with a little pang of guilt. Now that I know what my true avoidance foods are, I have been able to eliminate them. (I even gave up my one morning cup of coffee - finally!) Well, except for avocado. Hubby practically force-feeds it to me because he is convinced it is a miracle food. I eat as little as I can get away with.

Activity-wise, I still don't do as much as I should. I still do pilates twice a week, and have been doing something aerobic 2 - 3 times a week. Didn't get nearly enough golfing in this summer. I still find it hard to get up in the mornings with all the medications I'm still taking. In fact I still sleep 10 - 11 hours at night. Obviously my body needs it for the nerves to continue to heal. And they are healing. Unfortunately, as they slowly wake up, the pain gets worse.
My blood lipids are currently under control with medication. I don't find it difficult to keep cholesterol intake low. I miss liver and egg yolks the most. I know that there is controversy whether egg yolks are good or bad for cholesterol, but at this point it's not going to hurt me NOT to eat them.

I saw my favorite Halloween candy in the grocery store today. Complete corn syrup. (Sigh). I hope hubby doesn't surprise me with any. He will be doing me a favor to keep it away from the house.

Received my SWAMI material last week, but had to wait till this weekend to do it. As it turns out, I am a GT-2 Gatherer! I am very pleased with the results. I just couldn't wrap myself around the Explorer diet. And SWEAT during exercise? Forget it!

I am also pleased with the combined BTD and GT food lists. I get to keep some of my favorite B- nonnie foods. I am surprised Ezekial bread is now an avoid. That will take some getting used to. I still haven't memorized the lists But I will probably ease myself into it. Hubby gets really weird when I try to change eating habits too drastically. I have to sneak them in.

I think I am recovering well from the heart attack. I still can't get over all the medications I have to take right now. Hopefully when the magic one year mark happens I'll be able to cut back. Sometimes I ask myself why I still try to follow the diet, when it obviously didn't work. I got what I had been trying to avoid. But, then I have to remind myself how quickly I recovered. Eating right had to have something to do with that!

Just when I had decided to get real and turn around, my body did it's own turn-around on me. Last Tuesday I had a heart attack. I woke up with a really heavy feeling in my chest. There was pain down my left arm. I was sweating, and was very short of breath. I lay there for two hours waiting for it to go away. When it didn't, I had hubby drive me to the hospital emergency room. They quickly took me into the heart cath lab and did an angiogram. My right coronary artery was completely blocked. So, they put in a couple of stents and then kept me in the hospital until Friday. They did ultrasound, and between that and the enzyme count, determined it was a small event and there is minimal damage to my heart. The cardiologist presumes a piece of plaque broke off and blocked the artery.

It's been quite a week. Hubby is making it his mission to change our diet to minimize animal fats and increase fruits and vegetables. This is Mr. 'Atkins lover' turned 'Heart Healthy' fanatic. I must admit we did love our steaks. But I'm not convinced it was all diet that caused the heart attack. My whole family is afflicted with heart disease. My father had carotid blockage in his early 60's and eventually died from heart disease. My mother had a stroke in her 60's and still takes medication for high blood pressure. My sister had angioplasties done when she was only 47. We don't know about my brother, since he won't go to a doctor. My grandfather died of a heart attack when he was 58.

So, I'm guessing that my artery problems started long before I started BTD. They started several generations before I was born. I wonder if I had known for sure what my genotype was when Dr. D's book came out last year and immediately changed my diet then, if it would have been effective enough to prevent this.

It's been a year since the neck surgery. It's time to quit wallowing in self pity and get on with life. I have been utterly stagnant, if not a little backwards, in the health improvement department.

A couple of weeks ago I had my annual bloodwork done. Cholesterol and Triglyceride levels were still high. About the same as last year. LDL's were increased. For the first time in my life my heart health risk ratio has risen above the magic 3.3 number. It's telling me WAKE UP, LINDA!!!!

I do follow the B non-secretor diet about 85%. But I have not really been rigid about how may times a week I eat a certain food. So, for now the grains are abolished (and I do love those spelt pretzels!). I'm adopting a low carb version of the diet. Also, I'm going to be more diligent about aerobic exercise. As much as it makes my right side burn, I just have to get through it. Pilates makes it burn more, but somehow I am able to drag myself there twice a week.

I think those two things will keep me busy this spring. I am taking advantage of the NAP offer to order the genotype supplements for three months to be able to get SWAMI-ed. I am pretty sure there will be some changes once that happens. I can't wait. I've been wanting to be SWAMI-ed for a long time. I just can't justify the expense of flight, hotel, car, and all that.

Thanks for visiting.