Tag Archives: health

November 19, 2020 – quarterly test results (going forward, biannual tests)

Posted on by
Reply

My quarterly blood test results are in, and they continue to be great. 

My blood sugar remains normal, without medication. It even dropped some more. My cholesterol is fantastic, blood pressure is great, and I continue to (very very very slowly) lose weight.

The doctor said I shouldn’t worry about losing any more weight. Also, from now on instead of quarterly blood tests he said I only need biannual blood tests. 

The rest of this post are details, if people are interested in numbers and more!

What I eat and don’t eat

I follow WFPB (whole food plant based) eating: mostly vegan, no oil, very limited nuts, and limited sugar and salt. No intermittent fasting, no keto, lots of carbs including potatoes and fruits. I stick to low calorie density foods to help with weight loss. For example potatoes are surprisingly low calorie and bread is very high calorie. 

For lots more details on the things I eat and the people in the field I follow take a look at my post from last November: November 28, 2019 – quarterly test results | Doug Reports

Basically I eat lots of veggies, including starches, and have fruit every day. In other words, I eat lots of carbs. Carbs do not impact negatively on blood sugar or weight. 

Logging with MyFitnessPal

I log my food and exercise calories in MyFitnessPal, and keep within 1500 net calories per day (food calories minus exercise calories). 

Today is my MyFitnessPal Streak Day 3,105. Daily logging in MFP has been a great sanity check and prevented me from having a complete rebound when I fell off the wagon in the past. 

My weight has fluctuated the past month between 72 kg and 73 kg. At 72 kg = 158.7 lb my total weight loss is 57 kg = 125.7 lb. This means I have lost 44% of my original weight, and am at a normal BMI of 23.8. I’m at the lowest weight I’ve been in my entire adult life. My weight loss has slowed to a crawl, but losing slowly is better than a rebound. I’d sort of like to get into the 60s just for the fun of it. But at this rate it could take 6 months or more.

As I mentioned last time, my stomach still sticks out a bit (less than last time), and in Japan my shirt size is LL (maybe M or L in the U.S.). So I will continue healthy eating and doing as much exercise as I can.  I’ll continue eating this way for life. It’s healthy, and I enjoy what I eat. There is no feeling of deprivation at all.

More on the “E” Word

Exercise… 

I have also been taking my puppy, Pao, who will be one year old in a week, for walks along the river, so that helps. He’s gotten quite large. Last December his weight was 1.3 kg = 2.8 lb and I could weigh him on my food scale. Now he’s 23.65 kg = 52 lb! So the Doug/Pao ratio is currently 3.04. His weight is steady. More on that next week when I announce the winner of the “Pao One Year Weight Contest.”

Except for sit-ups I haven’t added any exercise to the walks.  I really do want to start more upper body exercises, but keep putting it off.  Or maybe do swimming. There is a public sports center near here. I even walk over there with Pao on dog walks. I’m not sure what they are doing during the pandemic though.

Blood test results

Here are the latest and previous results. Normal ranges are in parentheses. 

Total cholesterol (120-219)

2020: Nov 19 – 123; Aug 20 – 108; May 21 – 124; Feb 20 – 120

2019: Nov 28 – 118; Aug 29 – 116; Jun 8 – 136; Mar 19 – 133

Holding steady in the low-but-normal range. Low is supposed to be heart healthy. 

HDL good cholesterol (35-80)

2020: Nov 19 – 53; Aug 20 – 39; May 21 – 43; Feb 20 – 40

2019: Nov 28 – 46; Aug 29 – 40; Jun 8 – 34; Mar 19 – 38

Normal range. 

LDL bad cholesterol (70-139)

2020: Nov 19 – 47; Aug 20 – 46; May 21 – 56; Feb 20 – 54

2019: Nov 28 – 55; Aug 29 – 56; Jun 8 – 73; Mar 19 – 72

This remains very low.  Almost the lowest for me ever. And lower than normal range.  But, again, that’s supposed to be great for your heart. 

Triglycerides (30-150)  

2020: Nov 19 – 56; Aug 20 – 69; May 21 – 93; Feb 20 – 107

2019: Nov 28 – 62; Aug 29 – 79; Jun 8 – 129; Mar 19 – 114

This went down even more – my lowest ever – but well within normal range. 

Blood Sugar HbA1c (4.7-6.2)

2020: Nov 19 – 5.5; Aug 20 – 5.6; May 21 – 5.8; Feb 20 – 6.1

2019: Nov 28 – 5.9; Aug 29 – 6.1; Jun 8 – 5.5; Mar 19 – 5.9

2018: Dec 20 – 6.5; Sep – 8.2; June – 10.8

This dropped some more again. The doctor said I have my blood sugar under control and there was nothing more to do about it. Remember, he finally decided to drop all blood sugar medication last November.

This value does not fluctuate much over the short term. It’s a 2-3 month average. It’s a great improvement over time (it had been dangerously high), and has been in the normal range since March, 2019. 

In fact he said all my blood values were fine and I just should concentrate on being active and moving about. 

My blood pressure was a great 108/60. 

The nutritionist was also very pleased, as long as I promised her I was eating tofu and using soy milk to get enough protein. Honestly though, there is protein in everything I eat. I don’t know why people worry about vegans not getting enough protein. Anyway, I mention soy and she’s happy. She will check in on my exercise next time.

And onward…

Milestone – in the 150s!

Posted on by
Reply

My milestones are coming at an agonizingly slow pace these days, but I’m not in a hurry. This morning, after being in the 160s (in lb) for over 6 months I’m finally in the 150s for the first time in my adult life.

This morning’s weight was 72.4 kg = 159.6 lb. That’s a total weight loss of 56.6 kg = 124.8 lb (almost 125 lb!).

Also, my BMI went under 24 for the first time, to 23.9.

This is MyFitnessPal logging streak day 3,072.

As you know from previous posts, I eat whole food plant based, my HbA1c blood sugar came down slowly from a dangerously high level to a completely normal 5.6 and I’ve been off blood sugar meds since last year. My cholesterol is fantastic. Blood pressure is completely normal. Everything’s fine.

Yet, even at this weight, my stomach still sticks out a bit. In the U.S. I might be a size M or L, but in Japan I’m an LL these days. And I still haven’t gotten into a resistance training routine for building upper body muscles, which my doctor recommends. I really need to stop putting that off. I get sufficient cardio with puppy walks every day though.

One day at a time.

Great quarterly whole food plant based test results for 8/20/2020

Posted on by
2

My blood sugar remains normal (even went down some more), cholesterol is fantastic, blood pressure is great, and I continue to (very slowly) lose weight.

The rest of this post are details, if people are interested in numbers and more!

What I eat and don’t eat

I follow WFPB (whole food plant based) eating: mostly vegan, no oil, very limited nuts, and limited sugar and salt. No intermittent fasting, no keto, lots of carbs including potatoes and fruits. I stick to low calorie density foods to help with weight loss. For example potatoes are surprisingly low calorie and bread is very high calorie. 

For lots more details on the things I eat and the people in the field I follow take a look at my post from last November: November 28, 2019 – quarterly test results | Doug Reports

Basically I eat lots of veggies, including starches, and have fruits every day. In other words, I eat lots of carbs. Carbs do not impact negatively on blood sugar or weight. 

Logging with MyFitnessPal

I log my food and exercise calories in MyFitnessPal, and keep within 1500 net calories per day (food calories minus exercise calories). 

Today is my MyFitnessPal Streak Day 3,014. Daily logging in MFP has been a great sanity check and prevented me from having a complete rebound when I fell off the wagon in the past. 

I’ve lost a total of 54.6 kg = 120 lb, currently weigh 74.4 kg = 164 lb, have lost 42.3% of my original weight, and am at a normal BMI. I’m at the lowest weight I’ve been in my entire adult life. I’ve only lost 1 kg = 2.2 lb since my last checkup though. But slowly losing is better than a rebound!

My stomach still sticks out a bit, and in Japan my shirt size is LL (maybe M or L in the U.S.), so I will continue healthy eating and doing as much exercise as I can. Actually, I’ll continue healthy eating and exercise even after my weight is perfect. This is for life. 

My doctor said I really don’t need to lose any more weight though. He was pretty emphatic about that. He did think I could add more upper body muscles and should generally move more. I know I reported the same thing last time, but I really do have to start those upper body exercises! Or maybe do swimming. He was enthusiastic about that idea. And there is a public sports center near here. Not sure what they are doing during the pandemic though.

Blood test results

Here are the latest and previous results. Normal ranges are in parentheses. 

Total cholesterol (120-219)

2020: Aug 20 – 108; May 21 – 124; Feb 20 – 120

2019: Nov 28 – 118; Aug 29 – 116; Jun 8 – 136; Mar 19 – 133

108 is very low. Below normal range. But it’s supposed to be heart healthy this way. 

HDL good cholesterol (35-80)

2020: Aug 20 – 39; May 21 – 43; Feb 20 – 40

2019: Nov 28 – 46; Aug 29 – 40; Jun 8 – 34; Mar 19 – 38

Normal range. 

LDL bad cholesterol (70-139)

2020: Aug 20 – 46; May 21 – 56; Feb 20 – 54

2019: Nov 28 – 55; Aug 29 – 56; Jun 8 – 73; Mar 19 – 72

Quite low! The lowest for me ever. Also lower than normal range.  But, again, that’s supposed to be great for your heart. 

Triglycerides (30-150)  

2020: Aug 20 – 69; May 21 – 93; Feb 20 – 107

2019: Nov 28 – 62; Aug 29 – 79; Jun 8 – 129; Mar 19 – 114

Went down even more, and well within normal range. 

Blood Sugar HbA1c (4.7-6.2)

2020: Aug 20 – 5.6; May 21 – 5.8; Feb 20 – 6.1

2019: Nov 28 – 5.9; Aug 29 – 6.1; Jun 8 – 5.5; Mar 19 – 5.9

2018: Dec 20 – 6.5; Sep – 8.2; June – 10.8

This dropped some more again. The doctor said I have my blood sugar under control and there was nothing more to do about it. Remember, he finally decided to drop all blood sugar medication last November.

This value does not fluctuate much over the short term. It’s a 2-3 month average. It’s a great improvement over time (it had been dangerously high), and has been in the normal range since March, 2019. 

In fact he said all my blood values were fine and I just should concentrate on being active and moving about. 

My blood pressure was a great 113/66. 

The nutritionist was also very pleased, as long as I promised her I was eating tofu and using soy milk to get enough protein. Honestly though, there is protein in everything I eat. I don’t know why people worry about vegans not getting enough protein. Anyway, I mention soy and she’s happy. She also suggested lifting PET bottles of water at home for exercises and laughed when I said I guess I have no excuses not to work out.

More on the “E” Word

Exercise… 

I have also been taking my puppy, Pao, who will be 9 months old in a week, for walks along the river, so that helps. He’s gotten quite large. Last December his weight was 1.3 kg = 2.87 lb and I could weigh him on my food scale. Now he’s 23.35 kg = 51.5 lb! So the Doug/Pao ratio is currently 3.19, close to pi. 

And onward…

Weight Milestone: Goal Reached

Posted on by
2

It’s been a while since I posted a milestone update; I’ve been stuck at the same weight for over two months.

I know I need more resistance training to add upper body muscles, and I am still behind on that (though I’ve been doing some crunches). But I still think most of weight loss is based on what you eat. I think dieticians will largely agree with that. Ultimately it’s calories in vs calories out.

So I gave some thought to what I’ve been eating and decided I’ve been underestimating the impact of my homemade “Doug’s Healthy Salad Dressing” and have been abusing it, since it tastes so good! It’s made from soy milk, grated ginger, grated “yuzu kosho” (a Japanese condiment made from a citrus fruit), nutritional yeast, and balsamic vinegar. In addition to pouring it over my regular large salads, I’ve started pouring it over carrots that I snack on. I did some calculating and decided to restrict my use of the dressing to just meal-time salads.

All of a sudden my weight started coming down again and today I finally broke through the 75 kg barrier for the first time in my adult life. As soon as I entered 74.8 kg (164.9 lb) into MyFitnessPal (streak day 2988) it popped up with the congratulations banner you see in this post. I had forgotten that I had set this as my “dream goal weight” 8 years ago!

So my milestones today are (1) reaching “goal”, (2) getting under 75 kg, and also getting under 165 lb. I’ve now lost a total of 54.2 kg = 119.5 lb (another milestone is on the horizon). I’ve lost 42% of my total body weight, and my BMI is 24.7, in the normal range.

Yet… my stomach still sticks out some. And while in the U.S. I know I can fit into M size jackets (I got two recently from my friend, Dave, who passed away in April), here in Japan I’m still an LL size. So I think for my next goal I would like to get under 70 kg. I’m not in any hurry. Time is passing whether I’m dieting or not, and I actually like eating this way. My blood sugar and all other blood values are in the normal range now, I’m off of blood sugar medication completely since last November, my cholesterol level is fantastic, my blood pressure is excellent, and I have no food cravings.

Here’s an older picture of me, and one from a few weeks ago trying on the M-size jacket from Dave.

Just to remind people what I eat, it’s whole food plant based, essentially vegan, no added oils, minimal added sugars, minimal added salt, and for weight loss I restrict very high calorie density foods like breads and nuts. For example, for breakfast just now I had a big salad and a large amount of baked potatoes. Very filling.

And onward…