Blood (work) for Halloween!!!!!

These readings certainly show the effects of two weeks in Maine, a week in the Adirondacks and four days in Cape May. It's all about the Triglycerides! Yikes!

Cholesterol: This time: 200, Last time I posted: 171
Triglycerides: This time: 240, Last time: 122
HDL: This time: 45, Last time: 47
LDL: This time: 107, Last time: 100

Fell off the wagon - but climbing back on!

This has been a tough spring/summer. Just couldn't get the eating thing in control, but I'm back on a healthier lifestyle again. Already dropped a few pounds, but my June numbers were not as good as I would like. In fact, my doctor put me on a stronger cholesterol med! (I'm still taking the weaker one, because I know the issue was food choices and less exercise than I'd been getting. Here are the June numbers:

• Cholesterol 187
• Triglycerides 276
• HDL 41
• LDL 91
• Glucose 98
• PSI 1.5

Not terrible news - just not great!

It's been a long, long time . . .

I haven't posted anything in a long while, but since I just got my blood work back, I thought in the interest of full disclosure, I would post the numbers.

First the confession: Since my vacation in September (Maine -- lots of Lobster and - I'm ashamed to say - Fried Clams!) I have had a tough time getting back into the swing of things. I've missed my trainer, haven't gone to the gym as often, haven't eaten as well as I should, etc. etc. etc.

However, my blood work was quite good. I guess changing bad habits, even if you slip up, still carries you over the rough spots. So, here they are:

• Cholesterol 171, Trigycerides 159, LDL 92 and HDL 47.

Amazingly, not far off from the last ones when I was "being good."

I'm headed for New Orleans tomorrow - that should be good for my diet, but I did work out with my trainer today! And then come the HOLIDAYS!

Please note that I will be teaching 3 sections of the RTC Wellness course this spring - come and change your life and help me stay in shape, too. Locations and dates are posted on the right side of this page.

(Note to David A. - sorry I haven't been posting. Join me in NJ!)

Update on my numbers - well, my age is up by one point!

I just had my blood work done again and the news is mixed. First the good news:

• Triglycerides are down from 177 to 146!

Now the OK news:

• Cholesterol is 169 (up a bit from 156, but still pretty impressive for me.)
• LDL is up only slightly from 79 to 88.

All in all, I'm pleased with those numbers. These numbers are an amazing improvement from a year ago! Diet modification and increased exercise seem to have made a difference.

Set Goals - Reach Goals - Who knew?

We all know about setting goals and reaching them, but how often do we do it?

Years ago my cholesterol was out of this world at 325 plus, my triglycerides were approaching 800 and I didn't know my LDL levels, but I'm sure they were also in the danger zone. I went on the Medifast diet (Optifast is another version) where I drank powdered meals and after losing 25 pounds had my cholesterol checked and it had not budged! I have been on medications for this ever since with moderate success at bringing it down.

After taking the RTC Wellness at School course, I set some goals to bring my weight down, my blood pressure down and my blood numbers down. As you may know from reading below, I have made some changes in my life For starters:

• I've eliminated many dairy products (soy creamer and almond milk really are not bad!
• I've cut back on most animal products
• I consiously avoid high fructose corn syrup and trans fats
• I DO eat lots of high fiber foods and snacks (Kashi makes great stuff!)
• I eat a lot of nuts - almonds, especially.
• I joined a gym and do cardio for about 30 minutes at least 3 times a week
• I got a trainer who has me doing things I never have done

At my last check-up this week, my BP was right on target for the first time evere in the office (I do have a bit of the "white coat syndrome" and it tends to be higher in the doctor's office.)

But the amazing news is this. I got the results of my blood work today.

• Cholesterol - 156! (Never, ever have a been that low -- that's down nearly 100 points in 7 months. I'm still on the same meds, but the difference is food choices (and I'm not starving myself or suffering here) and exercise.
• Triglycerides - 177. (Of course, I got the speech: "The doctor would like to see you get this down a little." from the assistant whom I talked to! They are never happy! They won't be happy until I get my age down a little!)
• LDL - 79! That's down from 105 last month.

I used to make the excuse that "my body just makes cholesterol no matter what I do." Well, I guess that's not true.

By the way, I'm already at the weight I set for a goal for the end of June! So, I'm resetting it for another 10 pounds by then.