Weight Loss Tips: 5 Tests That Can Save Your Life

If you’re overweight or obese, it is very important to get these five tests done regularly. Even if you’re of normal weight, these tests can potentially detect a major health risk. It’s always better to take precaution and get checked up regularly by your doctor, even if you don’t have any symptoms at all.

Blood Pressure
Your blood pressure will be taken annually by your doctor, but it is also a good idea to check your own blood pressure monthly at a station at the mall, supermarket, or drugstore. The target blood pressure range is below 120/80 mmHg (below 115/75 mmHG if you’re over 40). If you’re above this rate, you are at risk for hypertension, which more than triples your risk for heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure makes your heart work harder to pump blood throughout your body and hardens arteries prematurely.

Cholesterol/Triglycerides
Your doctor should check your cholesterol/triglyceride levels in your blood every five years and more often if you have high cholesterol or are already using medication to lower it. The target range for LDL cholesterol is below 100 mg/dl; HDL cholesterol above 50 mg/dl; triglycerides below 150 mg/dl. High LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, along with low HDL cholesterol can lead to artery plaque. Elevated cholesterol levels are also linked to about 50 percent of heart attacks and 20 percent of strokes.

Fasting Blood Glucose
If you are overweight and have at least one other risk factor for diabetes (family history; hypertension; elevated triglycerides and low HDL levels; or you developed gestational diabetes or had a baby weighing more than nine pounds) get this test done now. If you have no risk factors, get this test every three years, starting at age 45. The target range is below 100 mg/dl. 100 mg/dl to 125 mg/dl is considered pre-diabetes and over 126 mg/dl is considered diabetes. Excess sugar in your blood damages blood vessels and leads to diabetes, which doubles women’s risk for a first heart attack.

Ankle-Brachial Index
Ask your doctor to do this test once a year to compare blood pressure in your feet with the one in your arms to make sure you’re getting good blood flow throughout your body. Blood pressure in your foot should be at least 90 percent what it is in your arm. If the blood pressure in your foot is much lower than in your arm, it’s an indication that plaque is collecting in the arteries in your legs, a condition known as peripheral artery disease. If there is plaque in your legs, it is likely in your coronary arteries as well.

Waist Circumference
Every month, use a tape measure to measure around your middle at your belly button. Divide your height in inches by 2 to get your ideal waist measurements. Belly fat produces hormones that cause inflammation, damage organs and promote insulin resistance. New studies show that when a woman of normal weight has a waist larger than 34.6 inches, her chance of stroke quadruples.

To jump start your healthy lifestyle and help to prevent health-related risks, consider joining a weight loss program, such as Shane Diet Resorts. A weight loss program teaches the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle: healthy diet and exercise and how to continue at home. The above tests are necessary to get at any weight, but being healthy cuts down on the potential health risks.