Cholesterol and other "poisons"

To my previous post, vaysha suggested elevated blood cholesterol can come as a symptom of hypothyroidism. I quickly made an appointment (Aug. 16) to look into it, and it has been on my mind all week. My father has experienced thyroid problems over the years, so it would make sense. It might explain my persistent problem with mental and physical fatigue. Here's hoping for another clue to help get through more of the days.

One thing I forgot to mention about the recent blood tests actually came as a relief: I have a vitamin B deficiency. pippasporch told me last year that it often accompanies gluten-intolerance and/or gluten-free diets, so I started taking a B complex. I thought it gave me more energy, but as with many things that cost money without the certainty of benefit, I neglected taking the vitamin after a few weeks. Not knowing doesn't help. I should have gone for a diagnostic test in the first place. Now I have. Now I know. I'm supposed to take 500 mg of vitamin B every day. I started this week.

To address the cholesterol problem, I have chosen three goals to work on over the next three months:

1. eat five servings of vegetables and three of fruits daily
2. supplement my intake of Omega 3s (need to do more research about whether to achieve this through fish oil, or actual foods such as fish, flax seed, chia seed and nuts, or a combination)
3. daily exercise alternating between vigorous walks and semi-aerobic workouts with light weights

I considered including the goal to cut down on foods containing saturated fats (such as beef and cheese, which I love), but three goals is enough to keep me busy. For now I will concentrate on including healthier foods I also love (salmon, all fruits) and see how that works. Psychologically it is easier to work with a positive than a negative. Hopefully eating more of the good stuff will make it easier to replace the things I should be eating less (which suggests real food will work better than a simple fish oil approach). So maybe it's still a goal, but maybe the best way is to trick myself without thinking about it much.

Tomorrow is moving day. I will start to address one of these goals next week.

Cloud of birches

Ashley brought some photographs of awesome Magnetic Poetry she had created to a recent Writers' Circle. It inspired me. I never even unpacked my set after the move two years ago, but now I determined to do so.

Today is the final packing day. It hasn't turned out to be as much of a panic as anticipated; slow but persistent preparation over the past six weeks has paid off. So I worked for a couple hours this morning. Then I took a break, went to The Bookshelf, and bought several expansions of Magnetic Poetry as a housewarming present to myself: Haiku, The Artist, and Book Lover. We have a really big fridge here. Now it's time for a snack and back to the boxes.