About 90 days after beginning my PD journey it was time for another round of blood tests. By this time I’d lost another 30 lbs. or so, and I was not taking BP meds. My total cholesterol had dropped to 132, and I was no longer “pre-diabetic.” The nurse had taken my blood pressure (it was something like 124/72) and when the doctor came into the office and looked at my chart he commented on how things were looking really good. He commented on my blood pressure so I asked him “are those numbers satisfactory?” He said “absolutely”. I said “Awesome…because I’VE NOT TAKEN ANY BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE IN THE PAST 3 MONTHS”. I even showed him the app I’d been using to track my readings. He scrolled back through the days and kept shaking his head…”I’ll take these readings all day long.” I reminded him…”IT’S THE FOOD!” There are two thoughts I’ve held very close during this journey. One is a play on what Weight Watchers uses. My version is NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS HEALTHY FEELS (they say skinny…I think that’s the wrong message!). And the other is “WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY, THE TEACHER WILL APPEAR.” I was so ready! Thankfully, Julie appeared!

So, here I am 6 months later, 4 dress sizes smaller, 21 BMI, 125/70 blood pressure, 62 heart rate, feeling amazing, young (quite a feat at 57!) and loving life!! This chick who once rarely cooked anything outside of pasta now has a Blendtec which reads that I have used it 220 times! I assure you, that’s 10 times more than I have used a blender in the 56 ½ years prior!! I love PD food, I love cooking, I love my life, and I most certainly love Robinlee, Julie Marie, Jerry, and all of the amazing people I have met along my PD path to health and happiness.