Paying the Piper

I love food. I have been eating like a maniac for decades. If food is my drug then I am Keith Richards. Oh sure, there were years here and there where I made an effort to eat healthy but that never lasted. I'm approaching 35 at my highest weight ever. Sadly, that knowledge doesn't make ice cream taste less sweet or chocolate less tantalizing...

Maybe fear can get me into food rehab? I had to change PCP doctors because my old one is retiring (pun intended). So, my first appointment with Dr. New Guy was a physical. I like him. He's a good listener and explains things well. Plus, he has a dry sense of humor. So, the fear kicked in Tuesday morning when I was told 3 things:

1) My cholesterol is screwed up. Bad cholesterol (LDL) too high and good cholesterol (HDL) too low.
2) My blood sugar is too high
and
3) My blood pressure is skirting hypertensive.

Basically, my body is giving out from neglect. Dr. New Guy told me that I'm at a crossroads where I can pull myself back from a lot of medical mess. Cholesterol is food and exercise dependent. Blood sugar is food and my awful genetics (parent and grandparents who are diabetic). The doctor ran a new blood test that looks at my sugar levels over time. Blood pressure can be helped with weight loss and exercise. In the interim, he has me monitoring my bp at home to make sure mine isn't spiking due to being at the doctors office. My blood pressure used to be down around 120/80. At home, it hasn't reached that low yet but it is definitely not as high as the doctor's office.

I also decided to track my sugar, salt and cholesterol intake on random days. So far, both salt and cholesterol are within reason (1200mg and 300 mg respectively). But sugar is horribly out of whack. My doctor also mentioned that I lost 3 lbs between our initial meeting and the follow-up appointment. He asked me if I had noticed the weight loss. I snorted and explained that I am so disconnected to my body the only loss I would notice would be 100 lbs.

You know what is the most idiotic part of the shambles of my health? All of this is under my control and all the out of whack readings are stroke risk factors! Diabetes, high blood pressure, and bad cholesterol is a recipe for a cerebral vascular accident. This shit has to get under control. The gate is coming down now! I'm reading up on the DASH diet and food exchanges. I love oatmeal but unfortunately, the instant kind has a ton of salt. I'll have to research alternatives...