The Results Are In!

I finally took the time out to get my blood pulled and tested again. I had it done two years ago, back when I weighed 260lbs, ate whatever I wanted, and never exercised. The original test showed very high triglycerides and cholesterol. My doctor reviewed the results and decided to give me a shot at fixing the problem, instead of just throwing medicine my way. I hate taking pills, so I really appreciated the diagnosis.

The first change I made was my diet. I starting eating around 1600 calories a day and did my best to make sure it was good food, so not 1600 calories worth of candy bars :). My buddy Matt had lost a lot of weight counting calories, so I followed his process and it worked really well. I also started walking/lumbering down the track at night. I say lumbering, because I still smoked, I was way overweight, and I could only run 200 meters at a time. After about a year, I could run two miles at a time and I weighted 42 lbs less. It was a big improvement, but I wanted to run further and I felt the smoking was holding me back, so on January 1st of this year, I quit smoking.

Now that my lungs have some capacity and the cancer sticks don't have their hold on me, I can run faster and longer. My daily run is usually 3 miles and I try to do a long run of 6-8 miles once a week. I have put 10 pounds or so back on since I quite smoking, putting me at 220, but I have also increased my muscle mass and I DON'T SMOKE ANYMORE, so a few pounds is a small sacrifice.

Now the results.
Triglycerides went from 210 to 80.
Cholesterol went from 279 to 245
HDL went from 41 to 58
LDL went from 196 to 171

The numbers aren't perfect and may never be, but the changes I made definitely made an impact. My doctor still did not prescribe medicine, but suggested I try and get down to 12% body fat, or around 205 lbs. My doctor was pretty impressed with my results and so was I.

By the way, I also no longer have heartburn issues and I get sick much less often, now that I live a healthier lifestyle. Just food for thought!