Back from my wedding hiatus!

Hello friends,

No, I did not disappear off the face of the earth. I merely took some time off to go to Maine and get married. If you've been following this blog, you can safely assume that I did NOT reach my goal weight for my nuptials. Mainly because I was enjoying summer a little too much and was not able to remain focused. When it became clear that I was not going to succeed in time for the July 25th ceremony, I sort of totally threw in the towel and tried to focus on the happiness and excitement of going away and getting married. I'm happy to say, that I DID succeed at that!

The trip was fantastic and our wedding was exactly what Rich and I had dreamed of. We took a ton of pictures (some of which are on my Facebook page), and still need to get them printed for an album, frames, etc. Anyway, in looking at the pics, I can't help but cringe at how heavy I look. Which is EXACTLY why I was trying to slim down in the first place. Obviously, I can't do a thing about that now, however, I am still determined to get back in shape for some very definite and important reasons.

Recently, I had my yearly check up at my OB/GYN for Pap test, mammogram, etc. My doctor ordered some routine blood work which I had done at my lab. Because I work there, I added some "extra" tests on to see how I'm doing. My doctor ordered a CBC (blood count, check for anemia), Thyroid test, fasting glucose, and Vitamin D level. Except for my Vit D being a little low, the others were normal. I ran a Lipid profile to check my cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides and HDL. Now, I have always prided myself in the fact that my cholesterol level and other lipids have always been well within normal. I was somewhat distraught and concerned when I compared my results with those I had done 2 yrs ago. My cholesterol went from 193 to 225. Anything over 200 is considered elevated. My triglycerides went from 138 to 186 and my LDL ("bad" cholesterol) went from 113 to 135. All my lipids are now in the "Borderline High" range. Wow. If I keep up at the rate I'm going, I'll be at risk for heart disease, the number 1 killer of women, and have a good chance at becoming a statistic. Obviously, I want to do whatever I can to prevent this from happening. Namely, healthy diet and EXERCISE!!!!

The other thing I've noticed (besides feeling really fat and sluggish), is that my joints and muscles get sore after activities that were previously non-issues. For example, last night, we were out celebrating Labor Day with some friends on their boat/marina and listening to a couple bands and I was doing a lot of dancing. I used to be able to dance all night long and not feel a thing the next day. This morning, it hurt to go down stairs. Holy crap! I'm in bad shape. Well, I suppose if you consider round a shape....that's a joke!

I am 43 years old. My plan is to live much longer and to stay healthy. I work in a hospital and am surrounded by illness all day. I do not want to go down that road. I want to be around to see my kids grow up, graduate, get married, etc. Not to mention looking good and feeling healthy in general. If those aren't compelling reasons to eat right and exercise I don't know what are!

I am going to rededicate myself to getting in shape. Starting with getting enough sleep. I will keep you posted on my progress and I urge all of you to be healthy so you can live a good long life also!

In good health,

Mary Lou