Wooooo. So I recently had my cholesterol checked ’cause … well, my entire family has high cholesterol, and I do too. I was just lazy/dumb to wait three years to have it checked again.

What’s kinda scary this time is that my triglycerides were pretty high; and when you’ve got a family history of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes … yeah, I’m a little freaked. On top of that, I also thought I was doing quite well as far having a healthy diet. I haven’t eaten red meat or poultry in about a year and a half (though I get the occasional sushi), I eat a lot more salads and fruits, and I rarely eat any bread or pasta that’s not whole wheat or whole grain.

Is it the cheese? I love cheese, and usually every day, I have one lite cheddar cheese stick. On my salads I sprinkle a little shaved Parmesan (dressing is usually low-fat ranch or balsamic vinaigrette). I hardly think that’s overboard. Dairy? I tried drinking a cup of 2% milk to get the calcium, but I’m really not much of a milk drinker. For the past week or so, I’ve switched to unsweetened soy milk (half a cup) for my morning cereal (fiber rich).

So what gives?? Granted, I’ve stopped working out since the winter began, so there’s that. This week I’ve started again, having done a 1-mile power walk on Monday with 3lb hand weights (ouch), and a 3-mile power walk today with 1lb weights. I suppose I need to keep this up for a while and cut down on the cheese and breads more.

Filed by Maria in health