Whaaaa....

So in one of my earlier posts about my weight loss progress, I mentioned that maybe my thyroid or something was out of whack. I had been thinking that maybe I should get some of my hormone levels checked out just to make sure everything was okay. I felt like maybe my thyroid levels were abnormal (that can cause weight loss issues) and maybe that some other things were not right because I was feeling extra hormonal, especially around my period. Also, I'd never had my cholesterol or anything like that checked, so I thought it would be a good time to get a baseline. The results came back a few days later & everything that I thought might be abnormal were normal and the one thing I thought for sure would be fine wasn't: my cholesterol. I was frankly shocked when the nurse called me back and told me that my cholesterol was high. I'm 28, not (very) overweight, I exercise several times a week and eat fairly healthy. I was very, very surprised. These were my numbers (mostly I'm putting them here so I don't forget):
~Total: 254
~My triglycerides were 247; the recommended level is below 149 (so almost 100 point over!)
~My HDL's (the "good" cholesterol) were 49; the recommended level is above 39
~My LDL's (the "bad" cholesterol) were 156; the recommended level is below 99

So...yeah. I was not expecting that at all. The nurse practitioner that I saw said she wanted me to come back in, but I knew that was just to go over what to do to improve those numbers and since I already knew the basics, I didn't want to waste the copay. I just said I'd like to try lowering it through diet and exercise and come back in a few months to get it re-checked. I did some more research on ways to lower it as well. I read an article on the Mayo Clinic's website about the top 5 foods to eat to help lower your cholesterol. They were oatmeal (or other high fiber foods); fish & Omega-3 fatty acids; walnuts, almonds, and other nuts;   olive oil; and foods with added plant stanols or sterols (substances found in plants that help block the absorption of cholesterol). I already eat oatmeal, omega-3's (I get my omega-3's from chia seed. Chia is a "super food" and a great source of a lot of important nutrients. This is an article that summarizes the top 10 benefits of Chia. If you've never heard of it, you should research it. I think it's a great thing to have in your diet.), and olive oil on a regular (daily except for olive oil) basis. Cholesterol only comes from animal protein and I actually don't eat much of it on a regular basis. I also don't really have any family history of high cholesterol (unless it was related to poor diet and lack of enough exercise). It just didn't make sense. Then I did some more research on what can cause you to have high triglycerides (because this was my highest number), and certain medications can cause your triglyceride level to increase in some people. Two of those medications are birth control (I don't know if it's brand- or type-specific) and progesterone. Well, I've certainly taken a lot of both medications in the past several years. For seven years (since I've been married), I've been on oral birth control for nearly all of the time in between pregnancies, and since April of 2011, I've taken large amounts of progesterone twice (for both of my surrogate pregnancies). To me, it would make sense that those things could have caused my higher triglycerides. I have never had my cholesterol checked before now, so I don't know if my cholesterol was normal (or at least lower) before I started birth control or before my two surrogacy journeys. And honestly, usually during my pregnancies, my diet is not what you would call "extremely healthy", and I don't work out as much. It actually hasn't been that long (only since July or August) that I've been working out regularly again and eating better. Who knows, maybe my cholesterol was even higher during my pregnancy, and it is actually lower now? It takes time for cholesterol to build up and I think it takes time for it to improve as well. 
I really do not want to start taking any medications for high cholesterol. That is a last resort for me. So for now I am trying to limit the amount of cholesterol I eat, eat foods that are more "heart healthy", and continue to work out regularly. I will go back in around March to get it checked again and hopefully there will be a significant improvement. Always in the past, I have worked out and tried to eat better/less to lose weight. I  would say it was about "becoming more healthy", but really, it was mostly about the weight and how I felt about the way I looked. This has really made me realize that it can't just be about that anymore. I really need to eat better and work out to actually become more healthy.  I don't want to be on medications and I certainly don't want to develop some sort of heart disease. It's still hard to always remember that, but I'm trying. Here's hoping for better numbers soon!