Today's Weight: 223.6 lbs.
First official weigh-in. Down three pounds from the last time I hopped on a scale, dropping carb intake will do that. I'm still going strong, got another workout in this morning, hit my calories/macros yesterday, and am on track to do so again today.
I wanted to talk about some of the reasons I'm doing this now. I just took a blood test (from WellnessFX.com) to track my health markers (blood lipids, vitamin levels, electrolytes, glucose, etc.), and while most of my numbers were good (high Vitamin D, triglycerides/HDL/Lp(a) in the low-risk range) a few of them were disconcerting. One of them is Apolipoprotein-B, which is now thought to be a better predictor of cardiac risk than just total cholesterol or LDL-C. Under 60 is low risk; above 80 is high. Mine is 160. Not good. Combine that with a too-high LDL and total cholesterol, and I'm a bit worried. Also, my HbA1C (which tracks average blood sugars) is 5.7, which is borderline, and my fasting glucose is 103, again borderline. I'd like the former to be < 5.4 and the latter under 80). And my triglycerides and HDL, while in the low-risk range, are not quite where I want them to be.
So that brings us here. I figure if I can drop 25+ pounds by eating healthy and exercising intensely over the summer (and then maintain a healthy weight), I can bring these numbers back to where I want them to be, and hopefully not die of an infarction at a young age. My mom's side of the family has a history of heart disease and resultant early death, but they also didn't take good care of themselves (smoked, drank too much, ate poorly), so I'm hoping that by being aggressive about my health and wellness I can overcome the genetic odds and avoid having to go on any medications now or in the future.
I plan on redoing the blood test again in 6 months or so, when I'm at my goal weight, so we can see just how big an effect food and exercise can have on someone who has the genetic cards stacked against him. A little biohacking, if you will. Being an analytical person by nature, I love the idea of experimenting on myself, so I'm excited (and it's a good motivator anyway).
1 comment:
interesting post... I to have the genetics and markers indicating I need to get back at being more healthy. I know I will most likely never look like I want to with my shirt off but I also know I can prolong my life much further given I exercise and eat some what responsible. Thanks for writing this post as it was thought provoking and a good reminder for me.
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