Heather's Milestone

Well, I guess I really need to do some set up on this onefor those who aren't aware. As some of you may know, about 3 months ago I had a cholesterol test come back rather high (especially considering my age). The doctor sent me to a nutritionist, the idea being that we would try to alter my diet first and only consider medicine if diet doesn't work (don't you love how doctors always say "WE need to diet" or "WE need to exercise").

The nutritionist started our meeting by calculating my BMI. Ha! OK, I never thought I had a skewed body image. I admit I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I always thought my weight was just the high end of normal. Well, the nutritionist quickly dispelled that myth! According to my BMI at the time, I was right smack-dab in the middle of overweight. That was quite startling.

She spent the rest of the time in the meeting telling me how to improve my cholesterol by eating a balanced diet that is high in fiber and low in saturated fat. I was overwhelmed, but my mind kept going back to that BMI. Was I really that overweight? Well, the nutritionist concluded our meeting by looking me in the eye and saying, "You have two months to try this diet, increase your exercise, and get your weight into the normal range. We will recheck your cholesterol then and decide whether you need to start medication." That was the really funny part. She had just given me two months to lose close to 20 pounds! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Before I left her office, I asked how much my age should factor into this. I feel that I am too young to have cholesterol that high. She told me not to worry too much unless I had other risk factors, in which case I needed to work extra hard. That cheered me up a good bit because I didn't have any other risk factors...that I knew of.

I went home and called my mom (nurse Wanda) to tell her about my meeting. I told her I was going to change my diet some, but I wasn't too worried about it because I don't have other risk factors. That was when she informed me about my dad's side of the family. Since my parents divorced when I was young and my dad chose not to be a part of my life, I really know very little about him or his family. It turns out that every male and most of the females in his family have died of heart disease due to high cholesterol and/or high blood pressure. WOW! Talk about a wake up call! I immediately cleaned out the cabinets and went to the grocery store. I spent the next 2 1/2 months carefully monitoring my food intake and trying to increase my exercise.

Now it's time for my milestone - to date, I have lost close to 20 pounds and I am now considered "normal" weight for my height. YAY! I really never thought I could do it, and I never really had the motivation to. I am not happy to know that I have inherited my dad's familial high cholesterol, but I feel blessed to have found out when I did, when I am able to change the things I need to in order to avoid the common fate of his family members. This has also shown me that I have such an amazing support system, especially my wonderful husband and mom who have been my biggest cheerleaders.

I still struggle with the exercise part, but I actually enjoy the diet. I feel so much better, have a lot more energy, and feel like I'm in a better mood. I also don't mind wearing a smaller size in clothes! I still have more weight to lose. I'd like to go down one more size, but I am not pushing myself. As long as I don't gain back the weight I have lost thus far, I will be happy. I also haven't had my follow up cholestrol test. I go next Thursday for that (prayers appreciated). Hopefully, I will have made enough progress that they won't feel it necessary to medicate me.