to HDL we go!

I have to make a new goal since preparing breakfast to avoid drive thru mornings has been achieved. I've liked making breakfast very much, too. It's pretty cool to come up with different things to keep from growing bored. I can sometimes eat the same thing day in, day out, but there are times when variety is the only thing to get me through.

I meet with Ivana tomorrow to first celebrate my 40 pound weight loss to date (since August 2011) and then to make new goals now that I'm doing the two I made a few weeks ago:

Go to the gym Mondays and Wednesdays.
Fix breakfast at home every day.


I've learned to make a number of quick breakfasts that are in accordance with the diet plan from Yourishment and I'm ready to tackle something that will improve my heart health: boosting HDL.

I've read and I've read and I've read about doing so and while exercise is a no-brainer, I want to do more to help my HDL levels go up. If I can get them up and more balanced with my lowered LDL levels, my heart (and arteries!) will be plenty happy.

Did you know that a lot of the reason why HDL is so important is so that our bodies aren't inflamed? Did you know that sugar (aka carbs aka "grains") and trans fats cause inflammation AND that inflammation is why we get an increase of your LDL - the bad cholesterol - level? I had no idea...but there you have it.

So we are walking around swollen and on fire from all the processed foods we consume. No wonder that feeling of being bloated never leaves!

My fitness goal is going to be to add a few more exercises to my Monday schedule because I mostly just hop on the treadmill and go.

My food goal is going to be to increase the amt of veggies I put away in a day. Very fit folks doing the same diet I am are eating up to 9 servings of veggies a day. I am at a shy 3 or 4. 9 seems hard to do, so I may start a little lower. I thought about breaking it in half and getting 4.5 in regularly...but I just realized I am already at 3 or 4. So maybe I will go for 6 a day.

The toughest part about this diet is that I can't just reach for a fruit to fill in my fiber needs - at least not yet. Once my body is more fit and I'm at a size that is good for my frame, I can reintroduce fruits very slowly. For now, though, I've got to make those 6 servings just, plain veggies.

Would you even believe I was someone who couldn't stand most vegetables? I had no idea I'd like as many as I do. It's really cool. :)

I feel like I'm up to the challenge...and we'll see how true that is.

Other ways to boost HDL are to increase Omega 3 in the diet - so I'll be poking around at eating fish - and a handful of nuts here or there can be good. So can alcohol. I am so so tempted to do that small glass of wine each day thing. I love wine. So many carbs, though.

Whatever, I'll figure it out with Ivana in the morning.