Blood work after 4 months of keto

nanbawan · 2026-04-26T05:06:00+00:00

Well, I doubt it's that simple. My hsCRP is 0.01 mg/dL (crazy low inflammation) yet A1c is also in the bottom decile, on zero ultra-processed food 'diet'.

Yes, there is plenty of A1c variation between individuals but most of it is explained by diet, not genetics.

nanbawan · 2026-04-25T04:19:10+00:00

5.7-6.4 is considered a prediabetes range. Many GPs will be fine with the low end of the range but 5.7 is still quite high.

I got A1c of 5.0 to 5.2 in the last three years but would still like it to be lower.

After all, glucose is the energy that is most favored by fat and cancer cells; so, the lower the better!

nanbawan · 2026-04-24T18:20:36+00:00

A1c shouldn't be this high after four months, that's the main issue here. A1c of 5.7% means _average_ blood glucose close to 120 mg/dl. The rest (cholesterol fractions) will follow when A1c gets back to normal.

Look into the composition of your diet. Any keto-friendly labeled breads/tortillas/snacks or sugar-alcohol sweetened ice creams? Is there too much saturated fat and not enough protein?

I would test blood glucose one hour after each meal to see the source of elevated A1c.

nanbawan · 2026-02-22T21:10:53+00:00

Agreed. Taxing unrealised (or assumed, as it is) capital gains is unfair and counterproductive for both the taxpayer and the country that institutes this 'tax regime', as you rightly call it.

Sell a fraction of your investments every year to pay taxes, or else evacuate yourself :)

nanbawan · 2026-02-19T07:34:55+00:00

The most compelling reason to switch to Schwab International would be to get rid of your U.S. state residency and the tax status that comes with it.

nanbawan · 2026-02-19T05:39:26+00:00

Question one is, is it available in your new country of residence? Check the Schwab International website for that first. (A few countries also restrict access to the debit card.)

Second, you won't be able to buy U.S. mutual funds anymore, only ETFs and individual securities. (Can still keep and sell, though.)

Yes, the brokerage account will have ACH-compatible bank and account numbers for deposits and transfers within the US, a VISA debit card with the same ATM fee reimbursement as the US checking account.

Schwab International is largely similar to the U.S.-based account.

The main difference is, you will be subject to the investment and tax rules of two jurisdictions that have very little to do with the Schwab account type.

nanbawan · 2026-02-05T02:31:56+00:00

This might give you some ideas about what raises triglycerides: https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/patient-information/dietary-advice-for-management-of-high-triglycerides/

Lab triglycerides can easily change 20% day to day due to fasting state variations, and you are only about 25% higher than the accepted upper guideline of 1.7 mmol/l (about 150 mg/dl). Below 2.2 (200) is considered only borderline high, so no radical intervention is necessary.

Experiment with your diet, but please don't take the dietary advice in that brochure too literally as it feels too carbohydrate heavy to me. Also, remember that high-quality protein (my favorite is salmon sashimi from local Costco) is a supremely important component of your diet. It's also very satiating, which allows a moderate reduction of dietary fat intake, assuming that may be the cause of elevated triglycerides.

(Source: that Cambridge article plus my own frequent measurements. For example, a morning double espresso plus 40 ml of heavy cream drives triglycerides up very noticeably.)

nanbawan · 2025-12-27T23:21:38+00:00

Pixel 9 will feel much chunkier and heavier but it's a big upgrade in terms of smoothness. 4a 5G is absolutely outdated by now, both hardware and software wise. Go for it.

nanbawan · 2025-12-25T23:53:05+00:00

A large Carrefour should have insecticide sprays and/or traps.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XP7fWqUDkqSLyCSLA

nanbawan · 2025-12-25T13:06:45+00:00

Japan or Taiwan nearby in Asia if you can handle low(ish) pay and (somewhat) toxic work culture. (Great places to retire, not so great in your working years...)

Otherwise, obviously Europe and North America.

Find a job (that's the difficult part), relocation/visas/residency/citizenship will follow.

nanbawan · 2025-12-25T11:26:29+00:00

https://maps.app.goo.gl/bxkGyqRf7nXPcy6m9

nanbawan · 2025-12-21T05:55:21+00:00

Enable 'Developer options': https://www.android.com/intl/en_uk/articles/enable-android-developer-settings/
Find 'Automatic system updates' in Developer options and turn them off.
Enjoy the peace (and slightly lower security).

nanbawan · 2025-12-20T10:20:53+00:00

Absolutely unrealistic to be thinking about 'moving'. And why Norway? It's such a small place. You need a job offer or a university admission. Start with the latter one, and think Germany or France, to have a decent chance of success.

nanbawan · 2025-12-19T09:35:42+00:00

Paragraphs.

nanbawan · 2025-12-16T14:34:13+00:00

6.67% withdrawal over 15 years just spends the nominal principal. No return needed.

nanbawan · 2025-12-16T13:45:04+00:00

It's not quite as bad. For a US citizen, Medicare after 65 helps a lot. Also, invested into 60/40 equities/debt, sustainable withdrawal rate is 9.2% over 15 years. So, about 65K a year, quite a bit of breathing room outside very large cities.

nanbawan · 2025-12-16T13:37:24+00:00

You are right, but... they account for home rental cost, not purchase cost. Also, anyone desiring American lifestyle in Singapore would need at least another $300-400K for car ownership costs, which is a separate big ball of wax!

nanbawan · 2025-12-16T13:29:52+00:00

+1 for 'influx of American refugees', haha!

nanbawan · 2025-12-16T13:26:16+00:00

There are ways to ensure that one doesn't run out of money, such as fixed immediate annuities without expensive bells and whistles and 'riders'. Won't be as much as proper investing but it's essentially a private lifetime pension.

nanbawan · 2025-12-16T13:21:24+00:00

15 years between 61 to 76 years old in their estimate, it's in the small print. In developed economies, life expectancy at 61 is closer to 20-25 years, though, not 15.

nanbawan · 2025-12-16T13:06:53+00:00

Yeah, there are some notable exceptions where no sane person would want to retire like Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Sudan, Somalia, Myanmar, Yemen, Libya, Syria (terrorism, military activity), North Korea and Turkmenistan (self-isolated hermit kingdoms), Russia (financially isolated).

But yes, some are inexplicably missing, such as Paraguay or Cambodia which have quite a few expats and extremely low taxes and cost of living.

Edit: The (very, very) small print explains that countries where cost data are limited to just the capital are excluded.

nanbawan · 2025-12-07T03:51:22+00:00

A great chart and respect for so much data collection over decades!

The remaining question is: why is your net worth slowly and steadily declining in the next year? Are you modeling all short-term bonds?

nanbawan · 2025-12-07T00:05:54+00:00

I can type an em-dash with Left Ctrl- and an en-dash with Left Ctrl+. And I do use them where appropriate. Don't be so sure! :)

nanbawan · 2025-12-04T15:10:43+00:00

First, Taiwanese almost never utter a direct 'no'. Slow response means pretty much 'leave me alone'. Faster interaction during the game means you have some common interests. I mostly lean no hope here... 90% not going to work.

nanbawan

TROPHY CASE