Let’s talk about cholesterol

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 5144

I enjoy giving blood just about as much as a home inspection or being audited, it is a sneak peek under the covers and like a trip to the mechanic where he finds 20 things wrong with your car – this is giving blood for me. In my 5144 days of working from home and my 15,000+ days of living I never thought I would talk about cholesterol. I’ve been mostly active my entire life with some sedentary habits such as video games and watching tv, but as I’ve gotten older I find that it’s really not my thing to sit around after hours. However, when the stressful or depressing times hit that’s when my true colors really shine – eating. In my 15,000+ days of life I have never had to watch what I eat – I just eat! I am by no means overweight and been blessed with good metabolism that allows me to eat what I want and still maintaining that coveted 34-inch waist. There’s my past – a skinny dude who is semi-active and eats whatever he wants without gaining much weight and being like this for so many years I just assumed not getting fat was healthy and I didn’t have words in my vocabulary such as cholesterol or triglycerides.
 
As the world as aged around me while I continue to sit at the same desk looking out the same window everyday something has happened to my cholesterol. Look at those numbers! What isn’t shown was my life insurance bloodwork in 2015 where it was 175…..ah those were the good old days!
 
How does the number rise this high in 4 years?
 
I’m glad you asked, for one thing our local office had closed and even though I rarely went in, I did go in for happy hours or boss visits – having that escape helped me get those steps in. Also, in the past 4 years I’ve taken on a management role which is much more stressful and gives me great uninterrupted sitting time. Please don’t envy the Mr. Manager!
 
The first piece to this diet & fitness discipline puzzle is an escape. You can’t be home all the time and you need to get out. Go for a walk, take a bike ride or run errands at lunch. Simple stuff, just get moving! Let me say it again, “Go for a walk.”
 
The first response I tend to get after giving out these tidbits of knowledge is why don’t you get a standing desk. I’m not anti-standing desk, but for everyone’s sake you need an escape from work – if construction workers can take a union mandated 1-hour lunch, you can walk your neighborhood or pace your house for 15 minutes to get up and moving (away from a screen) and not feel guilty. Oh, that pesky guilt! I’ll save that discipline topic for another day.
 
Working from home sounds glamorous and I am the envy of some of my friends, but this getting older and dealing with more adult-like stress does absolutely require discipline in many areas such as time management, fitness, cleanliness (did you brush your teeth today!) and suppressing guilt…. did I mention guilt yet? I’m dedicating my September to the diet & fitness disciple, which as the numbers above attest too -- I need help in this area.