It’s been a while, I know. That’s the thing about being an unpaid Slacker Blogger; there are no rules, no money, no deadlines, and no mid-level boss man wearing short sleeves with a tie to give me the hairy eyeball or question why I am looking at NSFW photos on the web whilst sitting in my “fat pants,” burping up the morning’s breakfast, and listening to the thunderstorm beat against my office window, instead of writing a blog post that no one, not even me, will likely read.
With that said, here is a post.
Last week brought enough rain and warm(er) temps to melt 99.5% of the snow in the woods and groomed trails, and that meant that I was finally able to reach my self-imposed 25-mile a-week goal again, as well as complete my first 6+ mile hikes since starting the 2022 Not Dead Yet Comeback Special and 2023 Soil The Woods Tour with no issues except an unusual smile on my face.
I also finally saw Doctor Bob last week and got some numbers and a clue if all my hiking is doing anything for my weight and cholesterol. The short answer is YES! The long answer is yes, but I’m not thrilled.
As I mentioned before, I hadn’t weighed myself since starting the 2022NDYCS last September, and while I know some pants are now roomier, my face no longer looks like it’s ready to split open like a baked ham, and I am most definitely moving better in the woods, I had no idea if I actually lost any weight. Well, it turns out that I lost a nugget of hair over 20 pounds (clothed in office). And while that is a good and safe way to lose 20 pounds, I kind of wanted more, especially knowing how many more I need to lose to get back to normalcy.
One of three recent 6-mile hikes.
While a desired outcome from all the hiking I do, weight is not the only reason I hike; being outside, shooting photos, seeing nature, clearing my head, pushing myself, improving my fitness, and lowering my cholesterol numbers are also integral reasons.
Oh yes, my cholesterol numbers. Damn, I thought you would forget!
This was another thing that I expected to see a drastic improvement in, and I was disappointed that in six months of hiking and improving my diet, I only dropped my overall cholesterol by 10 fucking points! SHIT!!
Having said that, I am only 22 points from safety and in no need of medications yet, and actually comparing the numbers to the last blood test made me feel like I am on the right track. My overall cholesterol is down 10 points, my LDL (bad cholesterol) is down 19 points, my triglycerides are down 25 points, VLDL is down 5, and my HDL (good cholesterol) is up 14 points. So I’m going in the right direction, and I know there are still more lifestyle changes I can make, more weight to shed, miles to lumber, and vitamins to try. We’ll see in June!
Photo-taking has been shit, as everything is muddy and brown right now, and the river is overflowing its banks. But the critters are starting to come out now, and I saw my first turtle of the spring on Tuesday and could hear the cacophony of frogs waking up in trailside swamps. Spring is the best, but not yet, so you get a bunch of random shitty photos today.
Post-hike triglyceride re-stock. Do you know how hard it is to yell obscenities at the footy with an afghan on your lap and sound tough??
I’m skipping my Wednesday hike to recover from yesterday’s 6-miler (my third in a week) and to avoid the heavy thunderstorms. I also have a mid-morning meeting with the doctor doing my colonoscopy later this spring and a mid-afternoon appointment with the O.G. Mindbender. Sure hope I don’t get the two appointments mixed up.
A neighborhood visitor.
Later.