Slim ≠ Healthy

Hey gang,

Just a short drive-by while I am working on the next exciting installment of my “WTF is wrong with me? Series”.  With any luck that’ll  be ready tomorrow.

I couldn’t wait to share this little bit of insight though.  It’s something that has always secretly irked me because I couldn’t fully get behind it.  I wanted to, and I kinda knew it to be true, but there was always this annoying little voice in the back of my head whispering, “Really?  Is that really true or is that something we make up to make us feel better about ourselves when we are chunkier than we would like to be?”

And then yesterday happened and I had evidence that made it clear.  I do like a bit of evidence.  And by evidence I mean real, live, actual stuff.

3 months ago my blood looked like this:

Hemoglobin A1c: 5.8 %  *** this is pre-diabetic ***

Cholesterol LDL: 208 mg/dL

Cholesterol: 290 mg/dL

Cholesterol/HDL Ratio: 5.47

Cholesterol HDL: 53 mg/dL

Triglyceride: 146 mg/dL

Now my blood looks like this:

Hemoglobin A1c: 4.6 %  ***this is lower end of normal***

Cholesterol LDL: 181 mg/dL

Cholesterol: 249 mg/dL

Cholesterol/HDL Ratio: 4.37

Cholesterol HDL: 57 mg/dL

Triglyceride: 57 mg/dL

Notes from my Doc:  “A1c (three-month glucose average) looks MUCH better! Was 5.8% which is ‘Pre-diabetic’, now 4.6 which is EXCELLENT!! Lipid panel looks much better! Cholesterol/HDL ratio lower (average is 4.5, lower is better and yours is 4.37).  Triglyceride/HDL ratio is ***EXCELLENT*** at exactly 1.0 — this is phenomenal!!!!”

Now, regardless of what I did that caused such a dramatic positive change – the point of this little postette was to say – there was no visible change in my body composition after the 3 months.  My weight was EXACTLY to the pound the same on both days that I had blood drawn.

I am no fatter and no slimmer than when the first draw was taken but my health markers are significantly better now.

And that’s how it’s true that slim ≠ healthy.