December 26, 2017

One of the things I didn't blog about last year was the effort Wife and I made to change my diet and lower my cholesterol.


Last year, Valentine's Day, I had my 1st physical exam since we moved down here to southern Arizona and my blood test came back with a total cholesterol number of 250, which is very high and I was given instructions to avoid the following foods:

  • Fat
  • Sugar
  • Carbs
  • Take a Vitamin D supplement (which I've done sporadically...)
I was also told to get 1hr of exercise, 5x per week.

So Wife and I developed the following plan:

  1. Wife said she would do all of the cooking and that I was only to eat her food. If she found me cheating, she would stop. 
  2. Using our tax refund, we purchased a second-hand gym quality spin bike and I worked out on that bike at least 1 hour per day, 4-5 times per week. 
  3. I was to come back in 3 months for a re-test. 
Well, I complied with those conditions and 3 months later when I went back for a re-check, my total cholesterol had dropped 20 points. I had also lost 40lbs. I was told to continue the diet and exercise program for another 6 months and return for a re-check. Over the the past six months, the strict diet I was on was relaxed...significantly, though never a return to the "old ways".

Well, I never went back for the 6 month re-check last month and a lot of that had to do with the fact that despite a promise to the contrary, I backslid while Wife was visiting her home country for months this fall & regained about 10lbs. When Wife returned to the U.S. in mid-December, she'd been given a directive from a Japanese doctor to be gluten-free & dairy free, & to take Vitamin B supplements.

So here we are, it's the middle of January and I think we're both going to finally commit (& recommit) to a healthy lifestyle. This morning our breakfast was scrambled eggs, 1/2 of an avocado, and some pieces of sliced celery. I scaled my weight the other day & it was 297.7. My goal is to lose 60lbs this year (5lbs per month) and have a total weight at the end of this year of 235lbs.

Follow our yearly progress on this blog.

August 5, 2018

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