Day 103 Numbers To Live By and I Have A Sternum!

Day 103

Numbers To Live By and I Have A Sternum!

I was fasting overnight in preparation for my blood work today. By the time I arrived at the doctors office it was nearly noon. Lucky for me they got what they needed on the first stick. The other day they stuck me several times to no avail. While they were at it they decided to give me an EKG. My heart rate was 59. They said between 60 and 80 is perfect. They also said it wasn't a big deal that mine was 59, in fact the EKG looked great. The blood work was going to take a couple of hours to get back from their lab. That gave me a little time to think. “What if my numbers are bad?” I thought. I don't know how they could be, since they were pretty good to begin with. I seem to never pass up an opportunity to worry about something, even if there's no immediate reason for concern. When I made the call for the results I was very happy at what I heard. My cholesterol was in the 180's before I started losing weight, and that was good. Now my cholesterol has dropped nearly 40 points to a super nice level of 147. It's nothing more than a genetics blessing. Like I've said before, except for the last 103 days, I've done everything in my power to give me horrible cholesterol. I'm just real fortunate to have a 147. My triglycerides were 102, anything below 150 is good. My blood sugar was 99, well below the 119 limit of normal. My LDL was 96, under 130 is great. And my Vldl was 20, which is in range. I guess “in range” is good. They said everything was in range, just perfect. How crazy is that? I told you, I've been hiding an athlete under all this fat! I had to lay down and pull my shirt up for the EKG. It gave me a perfect opportunity to ask a question I'd been real concerned about. A month or so ago I was laying down on my bed feeling my ribs. I'd never done that before. I came across a hard bump at the base of my rib cage where the two sides meet. It was very hard, a bone no doubt, but it was sticking up a little. I immediately wondered if this was normal. So there with my shirt up laying on the table at the doctors office, I had my chance to find out. “Is this normal?” “Uh, yes, that's your sternum.” OK, wow, silly me, of course. I was hiding a sternum in there all this time, I just never could feel it, or bothered to notice. I wonder what else I'll notice as the weight continues to melt? I might end up having a tail bone, that would be cool. By the way, the doctor I mentioned on day 2 of this blog, you know the one that brought me to tears while describing how easily I could die at over 500 pounds? She was there today. When I saw her I proclaimed, “there's the doctor that scared the heck out of me not too long ago.” She smiled and said “It worked didn't it?” Yes, it did, and it's continuing to work everyday. She was just brutally honest, and I'm thankful for that honesty and thorough description of what my insides were going through at over 500 pounds. I'll never forget her. She really made a difference in me.

I didn't have as much trouble with temptation today like I did with all of the leftovers from Thanksgiving. If I remember right, I was spending 200 calories left and right on pumpkin pie in the days after that holiday. Tonight, leftover pie is still in the fridge untouched. I didn't even break into the leftover cheese from Christmas Eve. That's amazing, because you know all about cheese and me. I've always had an unhealthy relationship with cheese. But for some reason I've left it alone. Getting the good blood results was a nice boost to my confidence and strength. I feel really good about myself right now. I can see and feel my results, and now I can see results from a medical perspective. My insides are very relieved I'm sure! I bought some more Dream Bars today. I still can't believe they're only 70 calories. The same dream bars I use to chase down the ice cream man for, these things are awesome. I don't have to chase down the ice cream man anymore, although if I did, I'd probably burn off the 70 calories before the first bite!

I've postponed working out until tomorrow. I put myself on the DL with a small, but painful blister on my heel. It happened during our 5K walk yesterday. My socks were rubbing real good against my heal, and it wasn't until my feet started sweating that the socks stayed in place and stopped rubbing. I tried to prevent this by stopping along the trail yesterday, taking off my shoe, and readjusting the sock, but it still wore off some skin. I need to pick up some band-aids for padding and get into the YMCA tomorrow afternoon for a real nice workout.

Tomorrow I have another 9 to 1pm Wal-Mart broadcast. Since that “inappropriate talker” guy, I'm always concerned about what I'll have to eat during my broadcast. I think I'll actually get up early enough to have breakfast before I go. Maybe some pumpkin pie! Good night and...

Good Choices,
Sean