Good News and Bad News

Good news first: I'm under 180lbs!!! I weighed in this morning at 178.5 and I'm hoping it will stay there or go down more before Saturday when my "official" weigh in is.

Now for the bad news . . . I went to the doctor's last week for a physical and had blood work done. Well, I got called back into the office to discuss the results. So, I have low iron (normal score is 40, mine = 16!), my boss said she was surprised I wasn't fainting on a regular basis! And, I have high cholesterol - I forget the exact numbers, but I remember her saying that I needed to get from a 4 to a 2 (whatever that means). She said every point down (4-3 and 3-2) = 25% less risk for a heart attack.

My doctor gave me a few months to improve my eating and exercise before I may have to go on medication - BOO :( I REALLY don't want to be on medication). So, I have my work cut out for me. I went scouring the internet yesterday to find foods that were high and iron and/or help lower cholesterol. I will post a list later (still at work, shhh). I also got a multi-vitamin that was high in iron, vitamin C (helps the body absorb iron), and omega pills (good cholestrol).

Apparently, there is 2 different kinds of iron - heme and non-heme. Heme iron is found in meat (red meat is better) - it is easily absorbed by the body. Non-heme iron is found in plants, and is not easily absorbed by the body. Its best to eat non-heme iron foods with heme iron foods to help increase the absorption. And, guess what? My lunch is already perfect! Spinach (non-heme) with tuna (heme)! Kraft's calorie wise balsamic vinagrette dressing has 0 cholesterol, so I don't need to change that either!

For the cholesterol part, I learnt that the more "good cholesterol" you get, the lower your "bad cholesterol" affects you. So, this is where the fish oils come in. Again, I will post a good list later, but, almonds, fish, and olives for example have good cholesterol. The doctor also said that I should not have cream (or creamy sauces), butter, or mayonaise. This may be a bit of a challenge! And, to exercise at least 30 mintues - at least 5 days a week! So, time to step it up!!!

At the end of September, I'm to go and get more blood work done and we'll see where I stand then. Wish me luck! TTFN, Morgaine.