January Update

January has continued to be a rough month for a variety of reasons.  After recovering from Covid, I had a vertigo flare up, which has made working out rather difficult because I don't want to trigger it.  So here's the scoop of what's been happening this month:

Weight Updates

I'm going to start with the weight updates.  Here are my numbers from January, plus a bonus one from today:

January 9

weight: 211.6 lbs
fat percentage: 47.1%
hydration: 36.3%
muscle: 26.0%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2330

Jan 15

weight: 211.6 lbs
fat percentage: 46.6%
hydration: 36.7%
muscle: 26.2%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2330

Jan 29

weight: 214.8 lbs
fat percentage: 48.0%
hydration: 35.7%
muscle: 25.5%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2349

Feb 1

weight: 211.8 lbs
fat percentage: 49.5%
hydration: 34.7%
muscle: 24.8%
bone: 11.0%
cal: 2331

As you can see, things started out fairly stable, but at the end of the month everything kind of took a turn for the worse - my weight and fat percentage increases, and my muscle decreased.  Today my weight is going back down, but the fat percentage isn't.

Vertigo

As I mentioned, I had a vertigo flare up earlier this month.  I read online that vertigo can flare up in the aftermath of illnesses like the flu and Covid, so I'm guessing that was the trigger.  Thankfully, though it did flare up, it wasn't as bad as the initial time I dealt with it over the summer.  

Even though it's been a few weeks, I'm still dealing with little bouts of dizziness here and there, so I've been really cautious.  I need to focus more on sleeping so my head will properly heal.

Goals for the Year

Unfortunately, after the vertigo flare up, I completely stopped both my daily stretching and my tracking sheet for sleep.  January is a complete write-off now; I'm going to try to get back on track for February.

Cholesterol

One last thing: cholesterol.  My most recent bloodwork showed that my LDL cholesterol has gone up again, which was definitely not helped by my lack of activity after getting sick so much over the last few months.  The bloodwork was another wake-up call to get back on track with everything.  I've brought the LDL down before, so I know I can do it again!

To that effect, I'm actively trying to eat more of the good foods that bring cholesterol down, like tofu, almonds, and apples.  A friend at work gave me a list of other foods I should focus on.  And someone in my family recommended eating more chia seeds, so I've been adding them and flax seeds to my morning green smoothie.  Now all I need to do is add more activity to my week and I'm hopeful the LDL will reduce in no time!