Dear Sister Mary Ann: 1999-07-09
Hi Mary Ann.
Thought I’d send my reply to your note, to Diane and Christine also. They might enjoy reading it and may find it informative.
Anyway, been back in Philly a few days now. I’m glad I came home for the 4th because it was very hot here last weekend, getting up to 100 degrees on Monday, and 98 degrees on Tuesday. It’s supposed to be cooler and less humid over the weekend.
The Microsoft studies are progressing, although not as quickly as I had hoped at the beginning of the year. My additional responsibilities at work keep me from studying as many hours each day as I had been. But I hope to take the next exam in August or September.
I will be home on July 28th, after camp and will stay until August 1st.
Just let me know when you want to come to visit. I’ll probably be here.
What did you decide about working every other weekend at Chambersburg?
I’m glad I don’t have to work the night shift. That would be particularly difficult since I do not consume caffeine these days. And since I was around 25, I’ve been a day person all the way around, although as hot as it has been, I wish I could stay up late. Ah well.
Now that I know Philly a bit better, I know which areas are good and bad for walking. When I first started this, I ended up in a few seedy looking places. But where I live now, near Roosevelt Boulevard (route 1) is pretty good for walking. Working to middle-class families live here, and have all been very friendly.
On the weight goal: No, I don’t think that is too thin for me, although my doctor did advise me not to go much below 130. His advice was to monitor how I am feeling and if I start feeling weak, then I’ve lost too much weight and should stop. So far though, that has not happened. I feel better than I have in a very long time. In fact, the Met Life weight tables suggest that, for maximum longevity, a male who is 5’ 7’’ tall (like me), dressed in normal street clothes and shoes, with a medium bone frame size (7’’ wrist circumference) , should weigh somewhere between 129 and 143 Lbs. I, however, am a small framed person with a 6.5 ‘’ wrist circumference. And they say that us mini-people should weigh 5 to 10% less than medium framed folks, or roughly 122 to 134 Lbs. So, based on that, 135 may still be a bit heavy. When I get into the low 130s, I’ll have my blood tested again, as well as determine how much fat I’m still carrying around my middle (very dangerous for males to carry any sort of “spare tire”).
And, the 13 Lbs. I’ve lost since my last physical exam in 1998, seem to have favorably affected numerous blood values.
Value Affected Last Year This Year Doctor’s Interpretation
Total Cholesterol 241 H 210 H Improvement but keep trying.
HDL (good) Cholesterol 39 46 Great improvement
LDL (bad) Cholesterol 141 H 148 Problems here. Eat less Sat. fat
Bad /Good Cholestoral 6.18 H 4.5 Great improvement
Triglycerides 304 H 78 Vast improvement
Red Blood Cell Count 4.61 4.36 L No comment
Where the letters beside some of the numbers mean the following:
H = “Above healthful range”
L = “Below healthful range”
No marking = “Within healthful range”
So, the weight loss (and the diet associated with it), seem to be benefiting me so far. Heck, I haven’t had a common cold in almost two years. Ah but I sure do miss those Reese’s peanut butter cups. Perhaps if I drop 10 more pounds, my total cholesterol will fall below 200. Stay tuned for updates.
Are you having anymore copy-paste problems in your email reader?
Well, I’d better get going. I’ve got to finish up some work here this afternoon. And then I want to make a trip to the health food store later on. Take it easy and will probably see you at the end of July. Have Jesse say BA BA BA BA BA BA.