Wow. I just got my bloodwork done for my yearly physical for work, and I'm basically a solid.
Chol/HDL ratio (0.00-4.00) - 6.21
Cholesterol (<200 mg/dL) - 379
HDL (>= 40 mg/dL) - 61
LDL (<100 mg/dL) - 257
LDL/HDL ratio (0.00-3.20) - 4.21
Triglycerides (<150 mg/dL) - 304!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My cholesterol has always been high, it runs in my family, AND I'm 35 weeks pregnant, so it should be higher than "normal" by 25-50%, but that's just ridiculous.
I've been eating a lot of simple carbs/sugary foods this pregnancy, and I haven't been exercising at all because I've been tired/achy/lazy in some combination pretty much the whole time, and I'm sure both of those things contributed to the situation.
So, with an impending baby and a hugely unwieldy body, I need to get on it :)
Goals:
1) No desserts during the day, and only at night when I'm with DH. No more random Starburst from the office jar, no eating a pint of fro-yo while I read by myself in the evening, even after there's a baby.
2) Stock up on "healthy" foods for after baby. I've got frozen soup, fajitas, enchiladas, more soup, chicken pot pie, and zucchini bread so far, but I should try to find some easy lower carb options for those first few crazy weeks. Maybe even more soup, just with lots of veggies :)
3) Go for more walks. Set a timer and walk around my office for 5 minutes every hour so I'm not sitting all day every day. I don't know what this will look like post-baby, but I'll at least try to go on walks during maternity leave. Hopefully she loves baby carriers! Once I'm up to exercising again, we have a squat rack in our basement, so I need to make it a priority to go do some lifting maybe 2 days a week? I love weightlifting, but I have NOT been feeling it this pregnancy. Last time I was doing taekwondo 2 nights a week and deadlifting until like 2 weeks before delivery, so I feel super lazy right now.
4) Sleep more. This was a goal last year too, and I still have timers on my phone reminding me to "get ready for bed!" so I'll get at least 7 hours of sleep, but I ignore them :( I'm re-committing to going to bed when those go off if at all possible. Yes, I need time for myself, but I also make questionable food choices when I'm tired, and get less done during the day both at home and at work. I know that's probably going to be impossible with a newborn, but I can't fool myself that I should stay up to have some me-time after she falls asleep if I'm going to be even more sleep deprived the next day and just be mean to my 2.5 year old.
If anyone has any more ideas for how to set myself up for success with these goals even with a newborn who might only sleep for 2 hours at a time, please let me know. I won't have another blood panel until my work checkup next year, probably, but these are semi-measurable goals that will have a positive effect on my life even if they don't help my cholesterol at all.