Yesterday evening I got that phone call that I knew was coming and I was dreading it. It was a call from the doctor’s office with the results of my blood tests that they took last Thursday after that “chest pain” incident. Sigh…
My Anemia was fine, oddly enough. But I was told that my Cholesterol was 220 and it should be under 200. I have had it checked twice before over the years. The first time it was 142 the next time it was 164. My father has high Cholesterol so it was just a matter of time before it started to creep up on me too. Being overweight does not help matters any.
When I was in my late teens – early 20′s I developed weight related type II Diabetes. I was on medication (pills) to help control it. After I lost a significant amount of weight it went away but the Endocrinologist told me (which I never forgot) that by the time I hit my 40′s it would most likely come back. Guess what… the blood tests showed elevated sugar levels in my blood too. And I’ll be 41 in May. The nurse didn’t seem overly concerned, per say. She said to watch my carb intake (rice, pasta, bread…). I LOVE PASTA! This is NOT what I wanted to hear.
The doctor has recommended that I see a nutritionist. They are searching for one that accepts our insurance and will call me when they have the information.
I am about 150 pounds overweight for my height by the “chart standards”. Personally I feel I’m about 100 pound overweight. I was 178 about 13 years ago. I was “technically” about 48 pounds overweight for my height but I felt great, looked great, and I was very happy at that weight. If I can get to that weight again I’d be happy.
My husband is about 20 pounds overweight for his height (don’t you just love that about men? Ugh!). For him it’s all in his belly. The rest of him is fine, he just has that “pouch” in his tummy region. He whines and complains about it all the time but when I tell him to take the dog for a long walk he has excuses and he will still sit and eat a huge bowl of ice cream at night.
Meanwhile we feed our kids healthy. It’s like “Do as I say…not as I do”. For lunch today both of my children have turkey sandwiches, salad (lettuce, peppers, cucumbers and carrots – no dressing), bananas, water, some small cookies and a snack size package of chips. As for me I’ll probably eat the left over Chicken Alfredo I made last night…NOT GOOD!
I know there is a cereal (or is it oatmeal?) that they claim if you eat it every day for a month you can lower your Cholesterol a few points. Does anyone remember what that is?
I’m open to suggestions and advice for anyone who knows how to lower Cholesterol and lower the blood sugar levels, aside from the obvious (loose weight). If you know of any great resources, web sites, books, cookbooks, recipes, natural remedies… ANYTHING… I would love to hear from you.
I know a lot of this has to do with getting older too. Being obese and getting older is NOT a fun thing and I really need to do MORE to change it.
Thanks for reading my little rambling rant.