Heart Health
I started the South Beach Diet last week after buying a couple of books on it over the weekend. Reading the explanations of the interactions between high glycemic carbs, insulin resistance and effects on the blood chemistry are sobering. So I've been getting stricter as the days go by. I had fries at Niko, Niko last Thursday night to celebrate my birthday but no breads except for a few (5 maybe) whole grain "chips" with salsa. We've spent nearly $300 on the right kind of food over the past few days so I have lots of stuff to select from to make my meals.
I'm feeling good and clothes are already starting to feel loose.
The reason for this sudden interest is that my annual physical showed that I'm on the borderline of adult onset diabetes with triglycerides the highest they've ever been, HDL the lowest it's ever been and LDL the highest it's ever been PLUS the first time I've ever had high blood pressure.
Ironically, my treadmill stress test shows that my heart is reasonably fit. The technician asked me if I worked out. Ha! But that's one silver lining in all of this.
So it's not a matter of just chalking it up to getting older. If I don't do something right now, it will get much worse. All I have to do is look at my mom as a depiction of what my life will be like in 20 years time if I don't do something to change things now. Her quality of life is suffering because of diabetes, consequent loss of sight (and inability to read, drive very far and so forth). I love her but I don't want to be her.
I'm feeling good and clothes are already starting to feel loose.
The reason for this sudden interest is that my annual physical showed that I'm on the borderline of adult onset diabetes with triglycerides the highest they've ever been, HDL the lowest it's ever been and LDL the highest it's ever been PLUS the first time I've ever had high blood pressure.
Ironically, my treadmill stress test shows that my heart is reasonably fit. The technician asked me if I worked out. Ha! But that's one silver lining in all of this.
So it's not a matter of just chalking it up to getting older. If I don't do something right now, it will get much worse. All I have to do is look at my mom as a depiction of what my life will be like in 20 years time if I don't do something to change things now. Her quality of life is suffering because of diabetes, consequent loss of sight (and inability to read, drive very far and so forth). I love her but I don't want to be her.