Life is a combination of magic and pasta.

Time seems to have stopped since 2020 but though I'll still be exercising plenty of caution, maybe 2023 will get moving a bit more. Already crossing my fingers that my back cooperates through another week for a short trip to NYC.

Some stats for the start. Weight...uh oh...back over 200 at 204.2. While I'm not going to track or count calories and I won't weigh myself any more than once a week, I'll be making more effort to eat better and try my best to move more. I'll be 53 this year yet my body acts like it's 20 to 30 years older than that. Being only 5'1", while I do have things that aren't due to my weight, taking some of the extra pressure off my joints in a healthy way will help.

Not that lasagna is particularly healthy, it is full of spinach and is vegan so it's a start. I put it in the oven right before 8am since the heat is still on in the apartment but there was a breeze cooling things down some.

I ate a tiny bowl and it was delicious and I split up the rest, putting most in the fridge for the next few days and one portion in the freezer.

Going to try the writing prompts for 2023 from lj user emaciatedwords, today's is this

What was the first vacation you went on as an adult? (IE – without parents, etc)
Honestly, my memory is swiss cheese. I think I'll count the first significant trip that I can remember which was the French Club high school trip to Montreal and Quebec City. I think I was a junior at the time. I was the only one that was brave enough to order their food in the restaurant in Montreal and as a result, I got the best service. lol. Montreal was pretty but I found the people there somewhat rude. Quebec City, however, was incredible. Super friendly people, beautiful place. I felt like I was visiting some place in Europe even though the only time before this that I traveled outside the country was to Toronto or Niagara Falls with family.

Well I know you'll be digging this, veganhothead . With the new doctor I have, I can log into an app on my iPad or go on a website and send non-urgent messages. This morning I decided to let him know that I'm going to be participating in Veganuary. One is I wanted to make sure he didn't want to test anything additional before I do this and secondly, as a litmus test to see how he would react. Some doctors seem to dismiss a plant-based diet as unhealthy. The fact that on my recent test results that he recommended lowering my carb intake made me wonder.

I mentioned that if the month went well that perhaps I'd continue it. I mentioned that I was doing research on ways to transition healthily as well as I said that I have done "vegan for a week" in the past with success. His response was quick and positive. He thinks it's a good idea and wants to retest my level in May. Wait...May? So I guess I'm committing to this longer term! Oh my! Well, guess I'd better continue prepping, eh?

I'm on three medications to lower my blood pressure. My A1C is slightly higher than it's usual 5.8 at now 6.0. My total cholesterol is slightly high at over 200 - my LDL is a little high and HDL is low. I also have all these structural issues which could use some weight loss and lowering of inflammation. So as long as I don't eat a bunch of crappy processed-but-still-vegan food, I should see some improvements in all of these things.