246

You know the ladies who contribute to this blog fall into the "20-something" category. We are on our way to great things. We have the whole world at our fingertips. We are working together to help ourselves financially. And now, one of us needs to start taking care of herself physically. 246 is my cholesterol number.

Normal cholesterol falls under 200, so mine is on the verge of being out of control. My triglycerides are also amazingly high, 80 points higher than normal. I like eating healthy. I like working out. Yet, I haven't done either. Because I'm young and invincible...right?

Wrong. When I got these tests back, I was dumbfounded. I didn't think it would be great; in fact I figured there may be some things that I could work on just like anyone else. What I didn't expect was getting a letter with "ABNORMAL - SEE DOCTOR" in bright red ink. No one hopes for that. But, it happened. So now what?

It's time to get real. I eat out more than I think I do. I order the fun and fried. I order the fruity, sugary, alcoholic bevs. What does this equal? A liver that is too tired to do anything else with the extra calories, so it turns them into goo for my arteries.

The moral of the story is that no one is immune to early signs of heart disease. If this 20-something has the potential to be on Lipitor, anyone can. I'm taking the steps to be smart with my money, so why shouldn't I be taking the steps to make sure I can live long enough to enjoy the wealth I acquire?

Over the next few months, I'll be limiting all fried, sugared, and alcoholic fun. Wait, not fun: bad habits. I'll also be working out daily because 1. I actually enjoy it, and 2. it's something that could save my life. I'll be posting updates periodically about my progress (with some more fun things in between, of course). In the meantime, please think about what you're doing to your own body.

{M}