Whoo-hoo! The Numbers Are In!

One of the things that motivated me to want to do the Healthy Charleston Challenge was a physical I had in October that showed my weight at an all-time high and enough elevation in my cholesterol numbers to make the doctor double the dosage of my medication. I went for a follow-up visit on Friday and here's what has happened since October and starting exercising and eating better in January:

Weight loss: 25 pounds
Percentage of body fat: down 11%
Total Cholesterol: down by 22 but still higher than recommended. LDL (bad): down by 12 but still higher than recommended. 
HDL (good): high enough to be a protective influence over the other two high numbers.

And here's what has really changed things for me. I figured out that all the knee pain and leg aches were not from gaining weigh or from the exercise itself -- it was a side effect of the statin drug I've been taking forever. And I've also been taking 2 Alieve tablets a day since at least 2004 to manage leg aches -- and I never attributed it to anything other than my own failing body.

Turns out, joint pain, especially in the knees, muscle weakness, and relentless aching is a very common side effect of all the statin drugs. Co-enzyme Q-10 is supposed to replace some of what they deplete. So, the doctor has reduced the dosage of my statin by 75% (wow!) and suggested I add the Co-enzyme Q-10 -- and we'll check how I'm doing again in 3 months.

We continue to go to the gym 2 or 3 times a week. It is exercise that keeps that good cholesterol number high. The bad cholesterol is influenced by weight and diet. So, I can still eat less meat and more salads.

Working on the Beach

We are down to the last 2 weeks of this crazy fitness program that is taking up all of our time. One woman on our team has a house at Folly Beach and she invited us for a beach workout and then a brunch on Saturday. It was a perfect day on the beach and fun to be anywhere but the gym!

Here we are in the flattering "Sumo Wrestler" position. Feet wider than shoulder width apart, deep bend in the knees, drop your rear as low as you can, keeping your weight in your heels. Now press your elbows into your thighs and just stay there for 30 seconds or a minute. Small wonder I chose this moment to go get the camera. Our trainer, Ryan, is 2nd from the left in the sunglasses and red headband. He has been tremendously helpful these weeks.

Duncan is playing his weight loss pretty close to his chest, but this week, I lost another 2.2 pounds and have lost a total of 15. 6. Whoo-hoo!

Me (holding a starfish), Ryan, Julia (intern at MUSC), Julia's boyfriend, Kyle, Cyndi, Duncan, and Kari