December 14th - Doctor's Appointment

It came as no surprise today to learn that it has been 6 years since my last physical. Here's my specifics: I'm 43 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weigh 220 pounds. My blood pressure is 122/80 and I have a resting pulse of 64 beats/minute. I rarely work out other than the exercise associated with deer or pheasant hunting or walks taken in the woods or trails near my home.

Six years ago my total cholesterol was high (266). My LDL level (the bad cholesterol) was high at 171 though this was somewhat off-set as my HDL level (the good cholesterol) was also high at 67. Dr. Lokken said that, while I could only benefit from taking steps to lower my total cholesterol level, my high level of good cholesterol somewhat offset my high level of bad cholesterol. I have an appointment on 12/18 for lab work to check my cholsterol, glucose and triglyceride levels. I'm anticipating there will be little to no change from six years ago but you never know.

I learned from Dr. Lokken that there are a number of risk factors associated with heart disease. High blood pressure, smoking, being 45 years or older, high cholesterol, and if someone in your immediate family (parent, brother or sister) has diabetes or suffered a heart attack. If you have two or more of these risk factors your risk for having heart disease increases. My blood pressure is good, I don't smoke, I am less than 45 years old, and no one in my immediate family has diabetes or has had a heart attack. He said my one risk factor (high cholesterol) was somwhat negated due to my high level of HDL.

Basically, I came away from this appointment with two goals in mind - losing some weight and lowering my total and LDL cholesterol levels. My personal goal is to eventually drop my weight to 200 pounds. I was 210 pounds as recently as nine months ago and feel pretty good that I can lose 10 pounds during the next two months. The second 10 pounds will be harder though, with increased activity and a more healthy diet, I'm hopeful I can reach this goal. As for my cholesterol, I've been told increased activity and a healthier diet is a step in the right direction towards lowering these levels. Future posts will speak to changes I hope to make related to exercise and diet.