Results Are In!

Remember one of my goals is to increase my HDL, decrease my LDL and decrease my Triglycerides? Well I just received the results of my annual labs and I thought I would share them here, compare them to years past, and use this as a place to return to when I want to reflect on 2014 labs.

2010
Cholesterol: 172 [<200 desirable]
Triglyceride: 235 [<150 normal; 200-499 HIGH]
HDL: 39 [>40 desirable; <50 (female) is major risk factor for CHD]
LDL: 86 [<100 optimal]

2011
Cholesterol: 156
Triglyceride: 150
HDL: 41
LDL: 85

2012
Cholesterol: 161
Triglyceride: 157
HDL: 43
LDL: 87

2013
Cholesterol: 147
Triglyceride: 98
HDL: 41
LDL: 90

I have to say, I am very very thrilled to see my triglyceride level so low! Diet is one of the greatest modifications you can make to see a difference in triglyceride level. I'm not sure why my level was so high in 2010, but it was frightening when I received that result. Birth control (hormone therapy) can increase triglyceride, and I was on birth control at the time (and actually had only been on it for a few months). However, in 2011 I was still on birth control and you can see there is a huge difference; maybe I was eating better? Or maybe my body had self-regulated w/ the extra hormones each day? Who knows. I'm disappointed to see my LDL creeping up, and I really wish my HDL were higher. Overall, I am pumped to see these numbers and hope to meet my goals for next year. Every time I have labs drawn I get a little anxious because I think the results will be terrible, but aside from the Triglyceride Scare of 2010, things have been pretty good. When I was donating blood regularly in FL, it was nice because you got a free cholesterol reading. The lowest mine was was 130. We'll see if I can get that low! For full disclosure sake, I do take fish oil and niacin, which are known to decrease cholesterol levels.

In other news, while running today and crying during an emotionally gripping part of Definitely Maybe, a woman crept up behind me to ask if I had seen her water bottle. She's lucky I didn't fall off the treadmill and knock her knees out. It's dark in there! Don't be scaring people! Especially if they are in the middle of a full-on tearfest!

-A