How can I be 50 pounds overweight, yet my blood tests are excellent?

Question

I am a 40-year-old white female, basically with a normal medical history other than an myocardial infarction (due to a weight loss medication which was prescribed caused) but my catheterization was 100% clean with no blockage with an ejection fraction of 65%. My labs this week, 1 year status post myocardial infarction are: Cholesterol 144, triglycerides 66, FBS 95. I work out 4 times a week and my blood pressure is 110/64. How is it possible to look so good on "paper", but yet I weigh 222 pounds, 5'6? You would think my weight would go hand-in-hand with my labs... Just curious.

I realize that the myocardial infarction seems "pretty significant", but my cardiologist told me not to "sweat it, because basically, my heart had a freak vasospasm with very very minimal damage". Just an FYI

I do work out 3-4 times a week at least 60 minutes of weight lifting, and walk 3 miles a day, 4-5 times a week. It is only after the myocardial infarction that I have "packed" on the weight. This is why I went in for blood work to see if something was wrong, which I wholeheartedly expected some bad labs to come back. I try to eat complex carbs, eat protein, limit fatty foods almost all together. I honestly am trying to lose this weight. I will account this gain to screwing up my metabolism with the weight loss medication and simply getting older. I guess I will have to limit my calories to 1,000 a day and workout like a fanatic to lose it, even harder than I have been, which I didn' t think was possible. Thanks very much for your input!

Answer 1

It takes ten years of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day before it shows up on paper - notheless, I doubt anyone would argue that inhaling the smoke, tars, and nicotines of 60,000 cigarettes is a good thing.

Our bodies have an amazing ability to adapt especially when we are relatively young. Once we start to age that compensation is less pronounced. So the question you have to ask yourself, is how many morbidly obese 80 year olds do you see wondering the streets? Yeah, they either lost weight or they passed before they got to be 80 - of something.

Your lab work is not the end-all be-all of health. Neither are other studies like a head to foot CT exam. On the other hand obesity is not even in the top five of cardiac risk factors. It does however strain the heart to profuse more tissue than normal. Obesity does predispose you to hypertension and to diabetes. I suspect if we have this discussion in twenty years, both of those conditions (DM and HTN) would be affecting you - and they ARE among the top five risk factors for cardiac disease.

Finally while I support your efforts to loose weight, I certainly do not support weight loss at any cost, including dangerous medications or procedures that put you at unnecessary risk.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 2

Don t eat more junk food

Answer 3

strap a parachute to your back and spend 30 minutes skydiving over the volcanoes in tongariro national park new zealand

Answer 4

read the labels read the labels read the labels

Answer 5

Choose best sleep position Your back is the best position

Answer 6

drink green tea

Answer 7

fly a kite for 20 minutes

Answer 8

opt for self checkout wait in line for 7 minutes ring yourself up for another 10 bag your own grub and load up the car

Answer 9

get familiar with quinoa a wonderful grain thats easy to cook and goes great with sauteed vegetables or mushrooms

Answer 10

create emergency packs filled with healthy foods such as nuts fruits or sliced vegetables to help you avoid unhealthy temptations