Month: February 2020

Modern Office Visit

Modern mobile phones have changed a lot about daily life. As the medical software field gets privacy and security inline with regulatory requirements and establishes consumer trust the benefits and uses on your mobile can be truly amazing.

When I visit the doctor these days, I get a summary of the visit shortly after it concludes. It includes a written summary of the visit, items discussed and my vitals. This pops up on my phone. Not a sheet of paper that somehow gets lost between the office and the car. I now have the ability to go back in time to see test results, office visit summaries and medications prescribed.

The biggest advancement is access to your doctor, I can chat/message directly with her. No more calling into the office, waiting on availability and a call later. Now I can ask a question or get clarification on my visit or my progress and get a quick answer directly from the doctor. This level of access is game changing.

What’s exciting is that this is just the beginning. We have just scratched the surface and I can’t wait to see how this evolves.

Pretty Straight Forward

One of my research items: What’s the best way to lower triglycerides?

Thanks https://www.mayoclinic.org/

  • Exercise regularly. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most or all days of the week. Regular exercise can lower triglycerides and boost “good” cholesterol. Try to incorporate more physical activity into your daily tasks — for example, climb the stairs at work or take a walk during breaks.
  • Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and foods made with white flour or fructose, can increase triglycerides.
  • Lose weight. If you have mild to moderate hypertriglyceridemia, focus on cutting calories. Extra calories are converted to triglycerides and stored as fat. Reducing your calories will reduce triglycerides.
  • Choose healthier fats. Trade saturated fat found in meats for healthier fat found in plants, such as olive and canola oils. Instead of red meat, try fish high in omega-3 fatty acids — such as mackerel or salmon. Avoid trans fats or foods with hydrogenated oils or fats.
  • Limit how much alcohol you drink. Alcohol is high in calories and sugar and has a particularly potent effect on triglycerides. If you have severe hypertriglyceridemia, avoid drinking any alcohol.

Subconscious Trouble

I had a dream last night. Have you ever had your partner wake up mad at you? For having cheated in their dream? Yep, been there. Well, this was a little like that.

I tend to have action oriented dreams, but this popped up in the middle and made me chuckle. I was at a dinner party and there was a bunch of food available. Some of it was intended for specific people and all of the sudden, this small but tall cake was put in front of me. I proceeded to cut a sliver from it when it dawned on me that perhaps I should skip the cake. Because of the journey I was currently undertaking. As I considered my options, I ate that dang slice of cake. I basically cheated on myself and my efforts to get healthy.

Two things stand out for me. The first is that with the health focus I’ve had, it is becoming part of my subconscious. This is good as I tend to let ideas and problems percolate when sleeping. The second may be me reading more into this than was really there, but it is about the notion of the unconscious eating. For me, an example of this is when watching TV and eating directly from a bag of chips. The show is progressing and suddenly you realize that many, many chips have been consumed. Like a lot. In the dream I recall considering if I should eat the cake while eating the cake. Deep, right?

Habit: Work on not touching my face. Prevent illness.

Remembering Full

I went out to eat tonight at my favorite place. Typically, I would eat the entre along with the two sides and perhaps an app. This has not really felt like a lot in the past, but I really paid attention to what felt like “full”. I was surprised when about half-way through, I realized that I was good. That I would need a to-go box that had about half of all the elements.

It seems pretty straight forward now, but we’ll see how it goes a bit later this evening. I’m drinking some water and will have some fruit as needed.

Action: Need to find some good resources on A1C and trigs.

Decades

I seem to operate in 10-year intervals.

2000 the hike
2010 the first real focus on health
2020 this time with feeling

Well, I’m older now and have some work ahead of me. This will include updating my knowledge of nutrition, refocusing on eating well and moving. Of course. I re-read this blog today. There is some good stuff here 🙂 One thing I noticed was the high number of posts early with fewer as time went on. One of the key elements to help with a lot of things in life is to journal. It acts a bit like a contract with yourself. It is also a way to really think about how things are going, reflect and document progress / setbacks. Growth mindset.

Health Update
Weirdly, I seem to max out around 245-250 pounds. If you review the blog, you can see that the real work lasted about six months. The spell was broken as a result of the best pizza in the world. But that is another story. After that, things returned to the way they were before. Which translates to not a lot of exercise and eating as if the world was ending.
I moved about five years ago and the home owners association is pretty big. We have several pools and more importantly tennis courts. Me and my wife never played before but turned this into an excuse to get outside and have some fun. That has been the extent of my focus on health recently.
That said, I’ve done a little more on food choice over the last few months.

Apr-07Sep-09Aug-18Feb-20
Total Cholesterol216240236157
LDL Cholesterol11614516082
HDL Cholesterol29353343
Triglycerides354302262219
Blood test results

It’s worth noting that the most recent results are pretty damn good. However, there are a few things I need to zero in on: triglycerides and blood sugar.

Health is not only about weight (see most of the results of the test above), but it remains important. I am currently 17.5 Stones (245lbs). I’ll be back with posts and stats updates. Mostly for me, but if you are here – thanks!

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. And move. And journal.