And The Results Are In…

My blood pressure is 116/74

According to this very detailed but easy to understand blood pressure chart I am as close to “optimal” as I can likely get.  To quote my doctor “It’s much easier to keep it where it needs to be than get it back on track”. He was bemoaning the fact that he has to treat high blood pressure in people who (historcally) would not even be at risk. A sad commentary on American diet and health.

My cholesterol is 183 LDL and 51 HDL for a total of 234

According to the American Heart Association a total cholesterol level of:

Less than 200 mg/dL: Desirable
200–239 mg/dL: Borderline-High Risk
240 mg/dL and over: High Risk

So that puts me, basically, in the high risk category (see I told you). So I will be going on 5mg of Zocor (simvastatin).

Side note: Walmart has 2 cholesterol drugs on their $4 prescription program. Lovastatin and Provastatin. I wonder if they are comparable. I’ll see how much Zocor costs.

Turn Around and Bend Over

D-day has come and gone. Worst part? My appointment was at 3:15 and I couldn’t eat all day in preparation for my blood work. Did I mention that when I don’t eat I get a headache?

All looks good pending blood work results. 6’0″ and 170. My giblets are ok and whatever the doctor was looking for “back there” he did not find and that is good news. My blood pressure was super but I forgot what it was exactly. (I need to document that).

So assuming my cholesterol is back in the danger range as I suspect, it should be a matter of going back on Lipitor and starting my healthier eating plan. Of course I am holding off on that until the blood work comes back. No sense rushing into this whole healthy-eating thing.

As for documenting my daily food intake.It is basically the same thing every day as noted in my earlier post. I am a man of simple tastes and I like routine – what can I say.

My BMI (Body Mass Index) – Not Too Shabby

My BMI stands at 23.1 which, for a middle age guy, ain’t too shabby. But then again having your weight under control does not necessarily equal being healthy.

BMI Categories:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
• Overweight = 25-29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Check your BMI here. (How’s it looking?)

Turn Your head and Cough

June 19th is D-Day. A full physical, and I think you know what that means.

In addition to “that” I will need to fast for 24 hours so I can get a read on my cholesterol level. I know from my previous over-40 physical that my cholesterol was somewhere in the 260 range – Yikes!. At that time I went on Lipitor and dropped it in a month or so to 150. Of course since that time I have changed jobs and insurance and along the way stopped taking my meds. I know – STUPID.

But am I going to beat myself up about it? No. I am just going to fix it. On June 19th. So there!