Saw my surgeon again this morning for my 3-month check-up, and he said things are looking pretty good! My weight loss isn't as drastic as it was before, but I'm still steadily losing (down 119 now! Not too shabby!). He encouraged me to increase my exercise so I can maximize that weight loss--now that the weather is (somewhat) nicer, maybe I'll start going on walks or something.
I asked him about my hair loss, which has been pretty significant of late--seriously, I have to clean the brush out twice when I brush my hair after a shower. For those who know me in real life, you know I have very thick hair, so I guess I can afford to lose a little bit. However, this is more than just a little bit...I mean, at least I don't have bald patches or anything yet, but my ponytail feels quite a bit thinner. It's weird. It should get better with time, and in the meantime, I need to eat foods high in zinc and copper. Apparently kiwi fruit has high copper levels, so maybe I'll get me some o' that. Yum.
He also wrote me a prescription for my headaches. Tylenol just isn't cutting it. My go-to before surgery was generally Excedrin, but I can't have that now because aspirin can cause ulcers in someone with such a tiny stomach like me. I guess this new prescription has caffeine in it, which should help. I certainly hope so, because I don't like headaches.
That's pretty much it. I don't really have any abdominal pain, and my lab results have looked pretty good (as we saw in my last post). I go back in another six months. I've only got about 20 pounds before I cross the threshold from being "morbidly obese" to just plain "obese," according to the BMI scale. Is it weird that I'm excited to be labeled just plain old "obese"? :) I hope I can reach that within another couple of months.
Thank you all for your words of support and encouragement! They mean more to me than you know!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Personal Health Assessment
I participated in a free health screening at my place of employment recently, and I just got the results back today. Of course, there are still things I need to improve, but I think I'm on my way. Here are my findings:
My BP was 136/88. That's slightly elevated, but hey, it's low enough that I don't need medication anymore, and the more weight I lose, the lower it should be. Woot woot!
Glucose level: 90. Lower than 100 is good. Sugar makes me slightly sick anyway, thanks to my surgery. Thankfully, I found some tasty no-sugar-added ice cream that I eat to give myself a treat every now and then :)
Cholesterol: 187. That's great! Desired range is lower than 200, so yay :)
Triglycerides: 225. These are high. I'm not sure what I can do to lower them, as I've learned that high levels can be caused by hypothyroidism, which I have regardless of my weight. I'll just have to watch this.
HDL: 34 (desired range is 40-60). These are low. Apparently I can raise them by losing weight, increasing my physical activity, and eating healthier fats--all of which I am currently doing, so I should see this increase with time.
LDL: 108 (ideal is below 130). This is perfect, I think :)
Oh, and something else cool that I figured out has to do with BMI (Body Mass Index). I have always hated BMI, because it doesn't take into account how much muscle you have or anything like that. Anyway, I realized today that I started out with a BMI of 59. That is HIGH. And as of my last weigh-in, my BMI is 43. I think that's pretty darn good. I'm shooting to get under 30 someday (ideal would be under 25, since that's the threshold between normal BMI and overweight), so we'll see how soon I can get there.
It's so good to know that I'm on my way to a healthier me--not just that I look better, but I'm adding years to my life. And that's awesome.
My BP was 136/88. That's slightly elevated, but hey, it's low enough that I don't need medication anymore, and the more weight I lose, the lower it should be. Woot woot!
Glucose level: 90. Lower than 100 is good. Sugar makes me slightly sick anyway, thanks to my surgery. Thankfully, I found some tasty no-sugar-added ice cream that I eat to give myself a treat every now and then :)
Cholesterol: 187. That's great! Desired range is lower than 200, so yay :)
Triglycerides: 225. These are high. I'm not sure what I can do to lower them, as I've learned that high levels can be caused by hypothyroidism, which I have regardless of my weight. I'll just have to watch this.
HDL: 34 (desired range is 40-60). These are low. Apparently I can raise them by losing weight, increasing my physical activity, and eating healthier fats--all of which I am currently doing, so I should see this increase with time.
LDL: 108 (ideal is below 130). This is perfect, I think :)
Oh, and something else cool that I figured out has to do with BMI (Body Mass Index). I have always hated BMI, because it doesn't take into account how much muscle you have or anything like that. Anyway, I realized today that I started out with a BMI of 59. That is HIGH. And as of my last weigh-in, my BMI is 43. I think that's pretty darn good. I'm shooting to get under 30 someday (ideal would be under 25, since that's the threshold between normal BMI and overweight), so we'll see how soon I can get there.
It's so good to know that I'm on my way to a healthier me--not just that I look better, but I'm adding years to my life. And that's awesome.
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