Doctor's appointment yesterday. Told me blood pressure was too high and that I need to exercise. How rude. If I wanted to hear that, I'd just have to "listen" to the look my wife gives me all the time.
But the good news was the blood work. LDL - 59; HDL - 85; Total: 185. And this after eating low-carb Atkins diet for almost seven years. Kind of a myth-buster, eh? Now the triglycerides were high - 207 - and I suspect that's related to enjoying first article gifts too much and to that nasty thing the doctor said about exercise. Sigh. So I guess I need to get off the puter and go for a run. Aw, shucks, it's raining. Guess I'll have to WAIT a bit before that run! ;)
That's very odd about the triglycerides. I didn't think it was possible to lower carbs and yet have high tri's.
ReplyDeleteI've done Atkins about same length of time. My doctor likes it. And my cholesterol is 153; LDL 119; HDL 33; and last but not least my triglycerides were 65. Tri's are always low now.
Are you sure you're still eating low carbs? Do you look over Cindi's shoulder as she mixes ingredients? (Could this be Eve and Eden all over again!)
As for exercise on a rainy day, putting yourself on an elliptical machine in front of a TV with the History Channel on is not too bad.
Congratulations on the good news, I'm sorry about the bad.
ReplyDeletelazy bum.
ReplyDeletewe have a treadmill for a reason.
Follow your inner voice: I've always believed that exercise is bad for the health.
ReplyDeleteD.P.
Pastor,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the good numbers!
A practical question...how do you do Atkins without feeling tired all the time? I tried it a few years ago and lost a lot of weight, but I had absolutely no energy.
As for exercise...isn't the saying "never do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" :-)
Adam
Thanks, all. Except for that rude comment from my daughter! ;)
ReplyDeleteAdam, I feel ENERGIZED doing Atkins (well, plus I drink upwards of three pots of coffee a day and drink lots of tea too - could that have anything to do with it?). When I eat carbs, I feel sluggish and awful. AND when I eat carbs I get nasty migraines at pretty nearly weekly occurrence.
Philip, what's your experience with the energy level?
Are the kind of Atkins follower who will eat bacon before strawberries?
ReplyDeleteJenn,
ReplyDeleteI love both bacon and strawberries. But I've found out that the best way to work fruit into the diet is just to eat it seasonally. So strawberries are eaten when fresh, never frozen. Same with peaches, which I also love.
I never thought what a strawberry wrapped in bacon would taste like. Hmm. Maybe I'll have to give it a try..... NOT.
William asked: "Philip, what's your experience with the energy level?"
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Eating lots of carbs makes me ill, and I have attacks of appetite. Eating low carbs keeps my blood-sugar level steady so I don't get really hungry, and it keeps my energy steady.
By the way, Atkins said when it comes to fruit to concentrate on berries. Berries have not been fiddled with over the centuries and have normal amounts of carbs. Peaches, however, convert to high sugar. (Maybe you ate a peach before your blood test and that raised your triglcerides. My wifey (medical pro) feels sure something like that happened, or else you've not been entirely faithful to St. Atkins. . . . Are we allowed to invoke him? Does he still care?)
you must have the HDL and LDL numbers reversed.....
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteEntirely possible! I can never keep straight which is which, except the nurse said they were both good.
You drink THREE POTS OF COFFEE A DAY???
ReplyDeleteOK, please put the Lutheran crack down for a bit. This might have to do with your BP readings.
I walk the hills of my area every few days. You may live in flat-land USA, though.
Truthfully, Germans live forever anyway. Seriously, they all go to 90's or 100's. I don't get it.
Welcome to the middle ages, brother! Interesting how health is reduced to numbers these days. And how we think in terms of "good" and "bad." HDL (good) / LDL (bad). Good carbs, bad carbs.
ReplyDeleteYou all need to read Robert Capon's "Health, Money, and Love and Why We Don't Enjoy Them." Short answer: we turn them all into religions.
Embrace the death; enjoy the life. La'chayim! Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Boomer angst.
ReplyDeleteI've told you about the little Boomer Catechism I have with the kids, right?
Fr: What do Boomers do, kids?
Kids: Boom.
Fr: Anything else?
Kids: No, just boom.
But do keep yourself healthy, we like having you around.
+HRC
Ah, Gen X cynicism. Very nice. Kind of like wine uncorked before its time.
ReplyDeleteFr: Who are Gen Xers, kids?
Kids: They don't know.
Fr: What do they know?
Kids: They know they aren't Boomers.