Super Bowl Sunday

Weight: 251 (no change)

On Thursday I had one of my semi-regular doctor appointments to discuss my most recent blood work. I have been on cholesterol medication for some time now. I know that the best thing you can do for elevated cholesterol is to watch your diet and exercise, and while I have been more attentive to my exercise lately, I have not been such in monitoring my diet. It almost seems as if I use the meds that I'm on as an excuse or allowance to eat what I want to eat, with the thinking that the meds will cancel out the bad choices. That is a mistake, and a battle that I must face and I must get better at. My results were as they always are: my total cholesterol is very good , my bad cholesterol is good, and my good cholesterol is bad. My doctor is changing my Tricor medication of 145 mg to Phenofibrate (200 mg). We'll see how it goes. I need to get my next blood work done in mid-March.

Another ongoing concern that I have is slightly elevated blood pressure (140/80). Unfortunately it has remained around this level for my last few visits. Since I have been more committed to exercise lately we are hopeful that it will bring my blood pressure down. We'll measure that again in March. I really don't want to go on any additional medication. I think I need to increase the intensity of my workouts as well to really see the benefits. All in all, I feel pretty good these days. I'm more energetic (thanks to the exercise), but like I said, I need to watch what I'm eating and get more rest too. I don't get enough sleep.

My eating has actually been okay this week. I have an app to count my calories, but I'm not using it as often as I should. I've been entering every 3 days or so, but I need to commit to recording it daily. My exercise was good this week. I had two good runs, both with a friend. I found that helpful in that since he is in better shape than I am, he was able to push me a little bit. I felt like I had to keep up and keep going in order to run with him. I wasn't as eager to just quit or slow down. It also resulted in me adding in some extra sprints which was great. I know I've been spoiled by the weather, but as long as it's sunny and warm enough, I'm going to try to keep getting him to go with me.

I am also planning to meet with a personal trainer either this week or next. While I certainly can't afford to hire a personal trainer, I can meet with one and come up with a plan. A friend of mine was kind enough to put me in touch with a trainer. I'm looking forward to meeting with him.

Lastly, I'm looking to try some new foods. What are you skinny people eating? What kind of snacks are you enjoying? I'm looking for some changes. I'm a little tired of all the regular things I've been eating and need to branch out. I'd love some suggestions.

As for today? Hopefully we won't go too overboard with the snacks. It is a special occasion though, so I'll likely cut myself some slack. I did go to the gym and burned almost 500 calories on the elliptical. I also did some short sprints while trying to teach Ryan how to ride his bike. I ate a small breakfast and lunch, so I'm okay for the Super Bowl. We have a pizza, some chips and dips, and a plan to make a small plate of nachos for all of us to share. As usual, I'll just drink a lot of water. It shouldn't be too horrible.

And just for the hell of it, here's my Super Bowl pick: Giants 24 Pats 23

Talk to you all on Wednesday. Goals until Wed: enter all my calories; run Monday, elliptical Tuesday, run Wednesday; get in touch with trainer and set up appointment.