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Clinical Services (Cardiovascular Program):
Michael's Story: Elevated cholesterol and blood pressure readings
A time for change
Image My mother brought me to Children's to get my blood work done. We found out that I had a high cholesterol reading and high blood pressure. My cholesterol was 216 and my blood pressure was 131/65. My family also has a history of heart disease. I knew that if I did not get my act together soon, I would have to go on some medication.

So the night after all this was found out, I realized that I needed to do something. I was an overweight teen at the height of 5 feet, 11 inches and the weight of 215 lbs; I thought that losing weight could substantially lower my cholesterol readings.

Coming up with goals

I started to write down all of my measurements to include the size of my chest and how much I weighed. Then I wrote down some goals I thought might be impossible but I had to do for my health. I wanted to weigh 185 lbs.

After all my goals were specified, I started to think how I would reach them. I came up with a plan that consisted of running everyday for at least 30 minutes, and I would not go back for second helpings of food. One of the most important rules, I think, was staying away from pasta, cheese and bread. Another important thing I did was check my weight three times a day: morning, afternoon and before I went to bed.

To make sure I would keep to this schedule, I made a promise that if I didn't reach this goal in three months at 11:59 pm, December 31, 2005, I wouldn't be able to do the thing I love to do most in the coming summer: wakeboarding.

Surprising results
So, the first day I worked out was tough, I hadn't ever run for that long. But as the days went on and running started to get easier, I even started to enjoy it and ran longer than 30 minutes. Eventually, I was running 10 miles a day.

The half-way mark of my journey to losing weight was finally here. I was stunned to see that I had reached my goal a month and a half before the ending date. So, I set another goal: I wanted to get down to 167 pounds and I had to do it by my original target date. I realized there was plenty of work for me to do and there was no patting myself on the back yet, I wasn't done. I continued to exercise and eat healthy until New Year's Eve 2005. I weighed myself and, miraculously, I had done it! I had met my goals.

Healthy and happy
I have gone from two hundred fifteen to one hundred sixty five pounds. I was so proud of myself that I had actually achieved this accomplishment, I felt like I was dreaming. I finally went to the doctor in December 2005 and, when I got my blood work back, all the cholesterol numbers were now in the normal area. I felt great and so did my family. My cholesterol is now 149 and my blood pressure is normal.
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