Weight Update and Measurements for Nov 11

It's been a little while since I looked at my numbers:

weight: 230.6
fat percentage: 53.6
hydration: 31.9
muscle: 22.8
bone: 10.5
cal: 2414

I'm not going to lie, I was hoping the weight would be down a bit because I had 4 good walks last week (Wednesday to Saturday). But that's okay - I also battled vertigo (thankfully that seems to have cleared up for now) and had a few days where I didn't get enough sleep.

Yesterday I also started keeping that exercise/health journal I mentioned in my last post. It's a bit odd - it has tons of room for measurements (there's space for 12 entries every week, but only 7 days of the week. I'm not sure why it was designed like that). I wasn't planning on doing measurements, but decided to keep track of my hips and waist (there's space to track measurements for a lot of different areas like calves and thighs, too), since those are good indications of health (excess belly fat I believe is associated with heart disease risk). It looks like I used to keep track of my measurements from time to time here as well, so I'll add them onto a weight update whenever I take them (I wasn't planning on taking them every week; maybe I'll try to remember to take them monthly to see how things are going? I know that your body can get stronger but you might not see it reflected in your weight because muscle weighs more than fat).

Currently, my waist is 37.5 inches, and my hips are 46.5 inches. They're a little bigger than the last time I measured (at least from what I can find on this blog), but that's to be expected. Honestly, I'm glad to see that the numbers aren't hugely different. :)

A (Health) Update

The last few months have been hard. On top of the vertigo flare ups, it was the one year anniversary of losing someone really close to me. That was a very difficult time, realizing they have been gone for a year already. What makes it worse is knowing that, even though I made it through the year, they're still gone. :(

On top of that, I've had a few very difficult months at work. I don't think I have ever been as angry at anything as I've been over these last few months. I've reached out for counselling help, which has helped me through some of this (though time has helped as well).

So that's the background of what has been going on. It's been rough mentally, physically (I haven't been able to do as much as I wanted due to the vertigo), and emotionally. :(

This week, I had my bloodwork done. And I was unprepared for the results: both my cholesterol and my A1C were quite elevated. My cholesterol is the highest I have ever seen it by a large margin. And my A1C is the highest I have seen it in years. :(

So this is a definite wake-up call that I need to do better. But it's overwhelming because there's so much that I need to fix. I need to get through this vertigo flare-up (it is getting a bit better, but it hasn't gone away yet). I need to eat better. I need to be more active. I need to heal my back. I need to heal my calves (they've been tight for quite some time on and off - I never used to struggle with them, but have been for quite some time now). Plus I need to get and keep my anger and stress levels down so nothing else happens.

I'm going to need a better plan of attack for all of this. And I might need some help, too. I think the best way to start is to work on ending this vertigo flare-up, and to start walking more (since walking is not triggering my vertigo right now). Once the vertigo is gone for now, I'll be able to add in more stretching and yoga to hopefully help strengthen my back and help with my calves.

In an effort to help heal the vertigo flare-up, I've been drinking more water. I measured a bunch of cups and glasses around my house to see how much water they all hold in an attempt to get closer to drinking about 64 oz of water a day (8 8oz glasses).

And on Monday, I'm going to start using an exercise/health journal I got awhile ago from the dollar store. I'm hoping that keeping track of things like water and the food that I eat will help.

Weight Updates for the End of Sept and Oct

I'm really behind on my weight updates!

Sept 23:

weight: 230.8
fat percentage: 56.7
hydration: 29.7
muscle: 21.2
bone: 10.5
cal: 2415

Oct 7:

weight: 228.4
fat percentage: 53.3
hydration: 32.1
muscle: 22.9
bone: 10.5
cal: 2401

Oct 21

weight: 228.6
fat percentage: 52.6
hydration: 32.5
muscle: 23.2
bone: 10.5
cal: 2403

Considering how I've been dealing with a lot of stress (and now vertigo again), I'm glad to see these numbers have overall been holding steady. :)

I haven't done a weight update yet for November because my period just ended. So I'll have a better feel for how I'm currently doing next week.

Vertigo Returns! :(

Well, this fall officially sucks. I'm working my way through a second, worse vertigo flare-up. :( I'm not sure what triggered this one at all (but if it is weather related, that does make sense; the weather has become more seasonal in the last week). 

I spoke to my doctor yesterday, and am going to do a full week of betahistine to hopefully clear it up. I'm also trying to stay hydrated and get plenty of sleep. Hopefully my head will be back to feeling better in no time!