This week, I had my annual physical. I use a physician’s assistant (PA) in the doctor’s office, and I really like her, even though  I am not a fan of doctors, simply because it’s rare that I see one that doesn’t want to give me a shot of one type or another, and this time is no different. But more about that in a little bit. The primary take away from my physical this year is that I have to get serious about making sustainable lifestyle changes.

All in all, my physical results really aren’t that bad. Obviously, I need to lose weight. My blood pressure is a little high. My cholesterol is a little high. My B12 levels are very low. The theme for my physical was, Lose weight. Exercise. Rinse and repeat. And above all, be more aware of what is going on with my body, because I have this very bad habit of sort of ignoring warning signs.

First off, my blood pressure. They took it three times while I was in the office. The first time it was like 137/95; the second it was 142/95 and the last time it was 121/90. Clearly, it’s too high for comfort. The PA put me on a water pill, and I was ordered to start taking my blood pressure at home, so I went to Walmart and bought a blood pressure machine. My mom keeps saying, Those aren’t accurate, but this one seems pretty darn accurate to me. It’s running right in line with what the physical readings were, and the PA said it would be fine to use. I don’t know how to take my own blood pressure the “old fashioned way”, but this is working, and I’ll stick with it until I know it doesn’t. I’ve decided to take my BP first thing in the morning and then in the evening before dinner. I don’t know why; it just seems like these would be good times to take it. I’m using an Android app to keep track of the readings, and it’s pretty cool. It makes charts of your readings so you can track how your BP is trending, and you can take it to the doctor to show them how you’re doing.

Next up is the cholesterol. My HDL is high, my LDL is low. This isn’t anything new to me, but I was hoping for better results this year. I’ve started eating fish more often, and we don’t eat a lot of fried foods. We’ve agreed to cut red meat down to once or twice a week, and I’ve read conflicting reports about whether or not pork is better or about the same as beef, but we have agreed to limit it to once a week as well. The other days will be lean chicken  and fish. Last night, the guy at the seafood counter told us that tilapia has absolutely zero nutritional value, so I need to check that out, because that’s the fish we eat most often, and maybe that’s why I didn’t see a change in my LDL levels. It’s disappointing because tilapia is cheap, it’s tasty and it’s readily available in our area. But salmon is also available and it’s not terribly expensive, so I guess it’s going to become our new favorite. According to the guy we spoke with last night,  cod is better for you than tilapia, and it is cheap but I’m not as fond of the flavor. But I guess I could eat it once a week. It does make excellent fish tacos.

Finally the B12. I have been wiped out lately, and just barely able to stay awake most days. I have zero energy and I hate it, because there is often something I want to do but just can’t drag myself out of a chair to do it. The lowest end of normal for B12 is like 232 and I’m at 234. The PA wants me to get monthly B12 shots (see, I told you they always find a reason to give me a shot and you didn’t believe me, did you) as well as take 1000 mg of B12 in pill form every day. But hey, if it fixes the fatigue issue I am all for it. Ok maybe not ALL for it – I mean, come on, I HATE needles – but I’d rather get a shot once a month than feel like I can’t walk up the stairs.

And of course, I got the usual lecture about losing weight and exercising more that so many people hear at their annual physical. However, I don’t buy into the type of diet that this PA was advocating – low carb, low fat, no breads, pastas, vegetable oils, sweets, sodas, fruits (!!) blah blah blah, yada yada yada. And no, I don’t think she knows more about nutrition than I do because that was clear when she told me that the reason why I don’t feel full on Weight Watchers is because I need to stop eating fruit. Ummm … yeah. Or it could be because on WW, I was eating less than 1300 calories a day, and that just does not work for me. But what do I know; it’s only MY body.

I have to go back to get my blood checked again in three months. I’m sure they are going to check cholesterol as well as the B12 deficiency, so I want to try to make some positive progress with getting the HDL down and the LDL up.

So here’s the plan

I joined a gym last week. I want to make it a point to exercise at least four days a week, but I will shoot for six. I am going to mix in cardio and strength training, but every day I will need to do at least a little cardio because I’m taking part in a million step challenge – I need to take a million steps between April 1 and December 1, and I’m not going to be able to meet that goal is I don’t spend a little time on a treadmill most days of the week. Strength training for a multitude of reasons – to make myself stronger, obviously, but also to lose weight, tighten skin and in general make myself look better. I also have a bum shoulder that was operated on in November 2009, and I have lost almost all the strength there, so I need to work on that as well.

I will do monthly updates on inches lost, weight lost, and general progress, holding me accountable for the lifestyle change I must make.

My Three Month Goals

Cholesterol under 200 (it’s 205, so it’s not like it’s way out of reach)

Ten pounds lost

Blood pressure dropped by at least a couple points for both systolic and diastolic

End of Year Goals

50 pounds lost

Blood pressure to a normal level

Cholesterol under 190

I am certain I can do this. I just need to focus on what I’m doing, and keep track of what’s going on. It’s going to be a wild ride, but it’s going to pay off in a very big way. Now, who’s in??