I now have my reason for following my own diet and exercise goals about which I recently blogged. It came in the form of a letter from my doctor's office. Now, as badly as it hurts my pride, I'm going to be completely honest. My cholesterol level has skyrocketed to 231. Yes, that's 31 points above the high-end cutoff. I nearly laid an egg when I saw the number staring at me. The letter also stated that I'm to return in a month so that the lab can run a complete lipid panel on me. Yay. NOT the news I wanted to kick off the weekend.
Now that I'm done berating myself for letting myself get so badly out of shape, I've decided to put together a plan that, in one month's time, will have my levels lower than what they are right now. Granted, they won't fall much, but I'm hoping that I can pull them down enough that the good ol' doc won't decide I need medication to help me control the situation. Here's where I am in the process...
1) Quit smoking. Yes. I smoke. It's a filthy, nasty habit, and I've been looking for an excuse to quit anyway. Since smoking can drastically raise your cholesterol (not to mention it actually lowers the "good" type), it's time to kick the butt once and for all. It's going to have to be done cold turkey. Sounds like fun, eh? I don't do the "weaning myself off" thing very well. I need a clean break, no matter how badly it may hurt. I'll just have to figure out something else for stress control.
2) Get in the exercise groove again. I've got to quit griping about not having time to exercise and just go DO it. A gym membership, although much desired, is beyond my reach at the current moment, so I'll have to rely on the approximately 35 exercise videos in my collection (that are currently doing nothing more than collecting dust) to help make me sweat. Hey, I lost weight before working out to these videos; I can do it again.
3) Be oh so careful about the bad foods that I don't think I eat very often. Let's face it, I eat more junk than I should. I do consume fruits and veggies, but I probably don't eat them frequently enough. I already know the "good" from the "bad"...now I just need the willpower and self-discipline to put knowledge into action.
No problem, right? Right. I mean, this time it's my health on the line. So here's how it's all gonna roll. Sunday is the day. I'm cutting the smoking, I'm starting the serious exercise, and I just might be able to muster up the willpower to maybe keep a food journal. Maybe. Err...yeah. But really, I've got to start somewhere, so I may was well just rip the bandaid off all at once and get it over with. The next 30 days will be telling. Hopefully I won't lose my mind during the first week. But I'm GOING to keep record of it on here, complete with my starting numbers on Sunday. Wish me luck, pray for me...something. I'm going to need it!
I'll pray for you if you'll pray for me. The cholesterol is going to be a challenge because eggs are one of things that help me lose weight. I would recommend egg whites over the real deal. (Yeah, I know)
ReplyDeleteI was just reading the Bob Harper book, and I think it was one of the best I've ever read. I'm going to follow his approach of doing nothing but cardio for 4 weeks to establish a habit then adding the weights and extras. I'm STILL waiting for my foot to heal so I can do cardio. Ugh.
Just remember you've done it once, and you can do it again. Unlike me, you've still got the last of your baby weight. I, sadly, let myself gain weight after I lost part of my baby weight. Then I lost it and gained it right back. I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to do Weight Watchers to figure out my twisted relationship with food--I've heard it's cheaper than therapy.