I officially finished my 20/20 program today—although I've been practically done with everything since before the wedding. The only reason my final physician consultation was delayed this long was a big scheduling conflict.
I got my final bloodwork numbers today, and I'm pleased (and admittedly surprised) to note that my HDL has come up from 36 mg/dL all the way up to 55 mg/dL. This is a huge improvement, and is likely attributed somewhat to my change in diet, but mostly to my increase in exercise.
Now, the next part is a bit sketchy (I haven't verified it myself) but my physician reports that every point increase in HDL corresponds to an approximate 4% decrease in risk for cardiac arrest. Clearly, this relationship is linear in only a small region of HDL counts—and I'm pretty obviously outside of that region, as my increase of 19 points of HDL would equate to a 76% decrease in risk (as the graph details).
Nevertheless, if the assertion is qualitatively accurate, I don't find it at all unreasonable to see my risk cut in half, which is pretty stinkin' sweet.
This reminds me - would either yourself or Z-German be interested in running the Hood to Coast relay? Check it out on the intertubes. Quick summary, it's in Portland (or there-abouts), is happening in a few weeks, and will cost you about $100. I'm part of a much larger team, and we've had a couple of people drop out. You'll probably be doing two 6 mile runs in a 24-36 hr period. Anyway. Let me know!
So, your good cholesterol is up, how is your bad cholesterol (LDL)?
Rob-
I think I'm going to duck this one out—after not exercising for a month (wedding, honeymoon, ...) I'm having difficulty making it past 2 miles without getting the heart rate up too high. Plus, I think it's the same weekend as the annual LeMay Car Show and Auction.
Justin-
I've already forgotten the exact numbers, but I think I went up slightly from 58 mg/dL to around 66 mg/dL. In either case, it's really low. My ratio of bad:good was 1.1:1.
--D
So how much weight did you end up taking off? I'm signed up to start 2/8
John-
In all, I pulled about 40 pounds off. 8 months after I finished, I've put 25 of those back on--although 10 alone were from the last three week, which have been hellishly stressful.
--D