What It's All About

I have never been more excited to get stuck by a needle.

Last year, a month before I began Weight Watchers, I participated in my employer’s annual wellness screening. I had my stats, measurements, and bloodwork taken, and in several weeks I saw on paper how my eating and activity habits were affecting my body chemistry.

Today, 40 lbs lighter and with considerably better eating habits, I was able to do the screening again. I was especially pleased to see that we would recieve our results immediately!

I’m definitely happy with the differences my healthy changes have caused! Check ‘em out!

                                                  2009                             2010
Total Cholesterol:                      189                                  137
LDL (bad cholesterol):             129+             (N/A. Triglycerides too low for LDL reading)
HDL (good cholesterol):           51                                      56
LDL/HDL Ratio:                         3.7                                    2.5
Triglycerides:                              79                                   <45
Blood Glucose:                           75                                       83

Haha, my blood glucose went up, but that may be because I completely forgot about the screening this morning until I was already 8 minutes late for my appointment, and therefore had forgotten not to eat after 7pm last night. And my dinner last night consisted of pizza, candy, an overripe banana, and half a piece of pie. Hah!

But look at all the other numbers! Yep, this is what it’s really all about. Not the number on the scale or the number on the tag of your pants. Those numbers don’t tell you anything about your future or your quality of life. And while the results of bloodwork aren’t the end all and be all of life and health, they can be very, very telling.

Oh, and as an interesting note, it appears I’ve grown taller! I’ve been 5’6″ since I was 14, but apparently now I’m 5′ 6-3/4″. Imagine that!