My Health Report

I got the lab results back from my physical a few weeks ago. Apparantly I am "healthy". Here was my breakdown:

Cholesterol was 141
LDL (Bad Cholesterol) was 83
HDL (Good Cholesterol) was 43
Tryglycerides 77
Blood Sugar 93

Good was checked next to cholesterol overall, I guess because my number was less than 200. Technically speaking,though, my good cholesterol is on the low side (less than 50 mg/dL for women is considered low according to the American Heart Association and to be considered "protective against heart disease" it should really be above 60).

The ratio between overall cholesterol to HDL is even more important than the overall number alone. The smaller the difference the better according to The Harvard Medical School Family Guide. My ratio is 3.3 so I am at about half the average risk going by just my numbers alone. Which is good, I am happy to see that.

Still I am not content to sit back, kick my feet up and think I don't have to work at my health. Emotional health (I believe) has a profound impact on your physical health. So even if my weight did nothing more than make me depressed, it's reason enough to do something about it.

However, I do realize that there is more going on with my weight than the fact that it makes me sad. I am winded by small amounts of normal behavior, I'm tired a LOT, playing with my children totally wipes me out to the point that I feel I hold them back from the proper amount of activity they should be having, my knees hurt...all due to my weight. That to me isn't the sign of a healthy person. And I'm not so naieve to believe that all because my genetics may be on my side as far as my cholesterol goes, that my weight does not pose an additional risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes. One risk does not get nullified by another. Weight is still a risk factor.

So yes, I've got a clean bill of health. But health is not something that just happens to us. My blood sugar and cholesterol may be okay now, but if I take that as a free pass to neglect watching myself it might not be that way next year (or however long it takes to catch up). We have the power to improve or degrade our health by how we live our lives, and so I will continue to work on mine even though my numbers came back as "normal". I have enough excuses to keep me from taking care of myself, I'm not going to use good test scores as another one.

My Doctor's Visit

I so wish Zach Braff was my doctor!

My yearly physical was yesterday. Everything seems to be in good order (pending my bloodwork comes back alright). Of course the doctor had to pull out those wonderful weight charts. I felt like a kid who was about to get scolded for eating candy before dinner.

The kicker of the whole thing was that I found out that I am indeed NOT 5 foot 2 inches. No, I am only 5 foot 1 inch which makes my BMI even higher than I thought and just enough to push me into the obese category. Freaking WONDERFUL!

I have to say that this doctor was very gentle in how she brought up and discussed the topic with me. That's one reason I prefer to see a woman doctor. They kind of get it a little more. She was probably a few years older than me and has kids herself. Even though she is thin, she still kind of knows what it's like. Not like some male doctors who have no idea what my day to day life is all about or what it feels like to be a hormonal, hungry woman. She spoke to me gently and respectfully and so I will keep her as my primary care physician even though she is no Dr. JD Dorian!

She would like for me to aim to get back down to the low 140's to start, which is where I was before I got pregnant. I almost made it back down to that point last year when I was doing Weight Watchers (WW). I know she's right, I need to really watch myself now as I get older and already am at an increased risk for certain illnesses. I guess it was good too, kind of gave me some motivation to keep going (even though I really just started!)

She talked to me about binge eating a little bit. Something I am very guitly of when I am dieting. When I watch what I eat I can do well for certain periods of time, but then fall off the wagon and fall HARD. She suggested instead of denying myself certain foods to allow myself smaller portions of things I want so I don't feel deprived. I've tried that though. When I do it that way, the food addict in me comes out and that small portion is not enough. I start to crave more of whatever I had. I think I'm better off completely cutting some things out. So I don't know, I'll have to find the right balance on my own.

I do need to get on top of the exercise though. So far I've gotten my walking in everyday, but I know I am going to have to do more soon if I really want to get in shape.