Today was the yearly health screening for my place of employment. I was very interested to see if my numbers had changed from last year.

July 2005 - Last Year, 1 year eating whole foods
Blood pressure - 106/70 (desirable 120/80 and below)
Total cholesterol - 120 (desirable less than 200)
HDL (the good) cholesterol - 36 (desirable 40+ *see below)
LDL - 61 (desirable less than 100)
Triglycerides - 113 (desirable less than 150)
Glucose - 76 (desirable 60-100)
Body Fat - 25% (desirable 21-32%)
BMI - 21.9

August 2006, 2 years eating whole foods
Blood pressure - 91/63(desirable 120/80 and below)
Heart rate - 66
Total cholesterol - 140 (desirable less than 200)
HDL (the good) cholesterol - 38 (desirable 40+ *see below)
LDL - 61 (desirable less than 100)
Triglycerides - 133 (desirable less than 150)
Glucose - 72 (desirable 60-100)
Body Fat - 24% (desirable 21-32%)
BMI -19.9

I ate more meat this year (chicken/turkey) so wasn't surprised to see a slight rise in cholesterol. My HDL (the good cholesterol) is still lower than optimal, but the nurse today had a funny analogy. She said HDL are like little trucks that carry away the LDL. She said that they prefer people to have 60 "trucks" but since my LDL was so low, my 38 trucks were plenty. On a positive, the HDL is slightly higher than last year. I've been eating more salmon and had hoped to get above 40.

The nurse said my blood pressure is pretty low, she encouraged me to consume sodium and recommended gatorade.

I lost about 10 lbs from last year, BMI is down but percentage of body fat is nearly identical, which isn't great. I really need to build some muscle.

Overall, very pleased with the effect of a healthy diet, the nurse said everything looked great!

BMI is so slow to change, though, so I'd say that dropping 2 points is GOOD. And you lost 10 pounds, so that's cool.

I love numbers, so health screenings like this are meaningful to me. Yours look like picture-perfect health! WTG, Glory!!

What is a desireable heart rate?

Good question, it wasn't on the sheet, the doctor mentioned mine (and noted it in pen on my form) but while discussing my blood pressure (which she was a little concerned about). According to the internet, it's 60 beats per minute for a normal adult, 40 beats per minute for a conditioned athlete.

WebMD - scroll to the middle

I so wish I had numbers from before the big change in eating habits!

That's incredible, Glory!! How cool to get that kind of information - it really supports the idea that this is about SO much more than simply pounds lost!

I really love that "truck" analogy - helps me to get a visual on the numbers, and I can see what she means when she says your trucks are plenty Thanks for sharing!

Congratulations, Glory!

Great results! For the record, I've always had very low bp and am fine. So there doc, lol. I had a complete screening done last Oct. Now I'm anxious to see if my results change.

Good report Glory!!

I had a similar experience this summer after starting to exercise, take vitamins and eat better.

Blood Pressure 110/70 (I was 127/80 the last time)
Cholesterol 180 (dropped from 208)
Heart rate 80 (90)
My eyes and teeth were fine and I had a normal PAP which I recently had a procedure for in April for abnormal cells last summer.

Glory and Dolly, both of your numbers look GREAT! I can't wait to get there, too!

Do you guys have your numbers from your pre-SuperFood screening? If so, please post those as well. I'd be real interested in seeing that comparison as well!

Matter of fact, we should all really get a general health screening so that we can compare the numbers a year from now. (This is for those of us who are just beginning this!) What do you guys think? I'll call my doctor tomorrow for an appointment.

No, I don't, I wish I did. I never wanted to go to the doctor before, I didn't want them to say what I knew - I was unhealthy. I have my old BMI number though - 31.3.

I have a copy of last years report. When I get a new one in Oct maybe I'll post the two together. Unless of course they don't get better, LOL. I distinctly remember the part where she said "Looks good but you could really stand to lose 20 pounds!" It took me 6 months to start but I'm working on it.

Six months is nothing! My doctor told me to lose 10 pounds 2 years ago! I thought about it for a year, decided I would do it last year (August) but by December of last year, I had gained rather than lost any weight. I finally got down to business in January and here I am, very close to goal!

I can't wait to get my numbers. I have my lab orders, but plan on going on the same day as my scheduled mammo.

Allison, your stats look remarkably close to mine!

I would love to have had BP, cholesterol, glucose and body fat from pre-loss days. There's nothing like seeing it in good ol' black and white to hammer home the point that I'M SAVING MY OWN LIFE!!

WOW! I never thought of it exactly like that. For some reason that really resonates with me. Of course I would/have made changes for my family's health. What took me so long to take care of my own? Thanks!