My 2021 health plan

My health is very poor. My last physical checkup was in December 2019, and the results were depressing:

My levels of uric acid, LDL (bad cholesterol), and blood sugar were all high - the first two dangerously so. It’s been 20 months and I don’t know if things have gotten better. Since I haven’t focused on my health at all these past two years, I’m reasonably sure that they haven’t.

It’s time to turn things around.

Goal setting

Saying “I want to be healthier” is accurate, but far too general. “I want to reduce my cholesterol level and improve my level of fitness” is better, but still missing precision and a timeline. After some consideration, I’ve come up with the following two goals, to be completed by the end of this year (2021):

1. Lower my LDL to under 3.4 mmol/L (130 mg/dL)
2. Run 10km in under 70 minutes

Achieving the first goal would mean that my cholesterol level is back in the normal range. Achieving the second would be a first step towards good cardiovascular health (a friend of mine who runs often suggested the 70 minute 10km goal for a beginner such as me).

Dietary changes

I haven’t yet figured out what I need to change in my diet to see positive results. For the time being, I’ll take pictures of everything I put in my mouth, using a food diary app called See How You Eat (SHYE). Once I have data that presents a consistent picture of what I'm eating, I can more easily make adjustments.

Establishing a baseline

I’m doing the following tonight:

1. Take frontal and side photos of my current physique (also known as the “before” pictures)
2. Measure the circumferences of my waist, hips, both upper arms, and both thighs, and add everything together (my total cm/inches)

I’ll do the following this month (August 2021):

1. Physical checkup
2. Design a weekly food schedule that I’ll repeat to minimize hassle
3. Run my first full 10km (I'm starting tomorrow with a 3km run, and will move up to 5km and then 8km before trying 10km)

Friendly competition

I’ve found a friend (the aforementioned runner) who’s willing to make a pact with me to achieve our respective health goals before the end of 2021.

• His goal: lose weight, from his current ~75kg to 70kg
• My goal: run 10km in 70 minutes

If we both achieve our goals, we just celebrate. If either of us fails, the one who fails will buy Disneyland annual passes for the other’s family. We designed it this way because the fear of loss is about twice as effective as a motivator than the prospect of gain.

I’ve also set up a separate page on this site where I will update regularly with my progress and any additional relevant information.

For any readers who are also interested in becoming healthier, I encourage you to do the same four things I described above: set specific and time-bound goals; start a food diary; get your baseline; and find a friendly competitor. The key is to get the ball rolling with a set of minimum effective changes. We can figure out everything else later.