Uh-oh, James' cholesterol

So back in the fall, I got a letter from Vanderbilt telling me I had been invited to participate in a study that measured stress. I have no idea how I got invited to be in this study. Perhaps I just looked stressed, and the Robots identified my markers, and saw that I was stressed, and figured that I could be of use to the Commodores. I don't know.

Anyhow, the hook of the study was that I'd get $50 to answer 90 minutes' worth of questions about my life stresses, and $50 to let someone from Vanderbilt take my blood pressure in our apartment. Good deal, right? I thought so, and I did it. The girl was very disappointed - during the interview part - that I don't do drugs, don't smoke, don't resent my parents, and don't cheat on Kami. So it turns out that I don't have a whole lot of stress in my life, other than general work stuff.

But I got the bloodwork results back today. And those...well, let's talk about those.

My blood pressure readings (taken three times) were all fairly consistent: 124/82 - on the low end of Normal.

My cholesterol, however, was a different story. My HDL (good cholesterol) - in the middle of November - was 34. If your HDL is 35-44, it's "A Little Too Low," and below 35 is "Not Healthy." Also, my LDL (bad cholesterol) was 148, which is smack in the middle of "A Little Too High." My Total Cholesterol was 201 in which, according to the levels Vanderbilt gave me, a healthy Total Cholesterol is 200 or below. So I'm on the edge of being Iffy (which is true in just about all aspects of my life). So some things are going to have to change.

Among them:
Eat healthier fats.
Exercise more.
Pull a Keith Richards, and get my genes swapped out.

Because seriously, I have heart disease on both sides of my family. I didn't do myself any favors, what with the overweightness, tendency towards donuts, and the little "Smoking Parliaments" phase I went through in college. It also should be noted that I'm healthier now than I was in November. So it's 8:57pm right now. By 5:30am I'll be in the gym, getting my cholesterol in order.