what is this? watching my cholesterol?

My days of the week have all blended together lately since I've been kind of slacking off and takin' it easy. Since I'm not currently working, the only thing that really distinguishes this as a Sunday is the happy fact I get free weekend minutes on my cell phone. This weekend I am not parked out at the cabin - Instead, I am house sitting for someone else, taking care of a cute little kitty cat, and currently sitting here in front of a full-sized computer screen, enjoying the taste of my breakfast: vanilla yogurt (cream-on-top) mixed with oatmeal and rice protein powder.

This past week, Dan and I had a slighly untraditional date, but we learned quite a bit from it - We decided to take a little trip to the local Hospital together and participate in their once-a-month wellness program. Neither of us have health insurance, so we like to take advantage of health screening programs when they are offered at a good price - We paid 12.00 for a finger-prick which tested our blood glucose level & cholesterol levels, and we also had our blood pressure and BMI tested. Then they gave us a blood pressure log and a pedometer to count our steps, which is a neat little bonus, but I probably won't ever actually clip mine on and use it. Shh. Nice idea, though, and I think the average person is supposed to take at least 10,000-12,000 steps per day. Any steps above and beyond that will help to encourage weight loss, and 2,000 steps = 1 mile (roughly).

The results of my wellness screening left me slightly confused... My blood pressure and blood sugar levels are both really good, and my HDL cholesterol (good Omega 3 fats - like avocados, nuts, fish...) is also really good. They said my HDL cholesterol is supposed to be above 40, and mine is 56. Yippee! Also, my overall cholesterol RATIO (good:bad) is alright, BUT my overall cholesterol is HIGH. I have a 209, and it is supposed to be under 200. Hmm. I had it checked 2 years ago and it was 188, so it has gone up! That means I must be eating too many bad saturated fats or not getting enough exercise, or both! I was also told that sugar does not affect your LDL (bad) cholesterol - only saturated fat, trans fat, and physical activity....

A larger lady in the hospital walked by and heard me talking about how my results paper said I had high cholesterol. She looked shocked and commented, "YOU have high cholesterol?" She shook her head and said "It doesn't look like you eat any fat at all!"

That was my thought, too, since I try to eat really healthy, only occasionally splurging for something greasy or containing saturated fat. Maybe I've been eating too many eggs lately or splurging too much on everyone else's girl-scout cookies. I have no idea though how long it takes (days, weeks, months?) to lower or higher your cholesterol levels. Could one bad week of eating junk food affect the results that much?

I don't really know how to watch what I eat much better than I already am, but I guess I am going to try a test. I am going to try to cut ALL saturated fats out of my diet for one month, and then go back to the $12 wellness screening to see what effect that has on my total cholesterol. TRY is the key word here, although I love egg yolks mixed in with my egg whites, and now that I think about it, there is probably saturated fat in my favorite Brown Cow Natural Cream-Top yogurt that I just ate! Yup, I went and checked, 6 grams of saturated. Hmm. This is going to take some real conscious decision making. Maybe I do eat more saturated fat than I am aware of? I don't really want to lose weight, though, since the lady said my BMI is right where it should be. I weigh 116 and was told that I would be underweight if I got under 110. So. I guess if I cut out saturated fat and try to do lots of push-ups to bulk up a little (muscle weighs more than fat...) then perhaps I can maintain my current weight and lower my cholesterol. Sounds tricky.

So I guess I am currently watching my LDL cholesterol, which is saturated fats and trans fat. Saturated fats that we consume are supposed to be a MAX of 7% of our total daily calories, and trans fats are even worse for us. The American Heart Association recommends that we only consume a MAX of 2 grams of trans fat per day. Luckily I don't think anything I normally eat contains trans fat, but that is definitely good to know.

One month of wellness, here I come. I am determined to try and lower my total cholesterol under 200!! I probably won't start for a few days, though, I guess, since I've got some of my favorite saturated-fat filled yogurt that I want to eat up first. I am not throwing it away, it is so good! After I finish the yogurt, then I am starting. Eventually we will see if it even makes a difference. And then I will let you know.