Kelly Stafford recently learned some unexpected health news — and shared how she plans to make improvements moving forward.
The 35-year-old completed an at-home blood test that showed her cholesterol levels were “extremely high,” she revealed on the Thursday, April 17 episode of her podcast, The Morning After. The results indicated that Stafford “needs to seek medical attention.”
The NFL star’s wife mentioned that her condition could partly be linked to “genetics,” but also said it likely stems from “sugar in your diet and processed foods.”
Stafford, who is married to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, admitted that her family has a history of high cholesterol — yet her personal eating habits aren’t helping the situation.
“If you know me, I go to bed with about 10 Swedish Fish in my hand every night, or a mug of hot chocolate, or something sweet,” Kelly said.
She continued, “Compared to my dad, mom, or anyone else in my family who has high cholesterol, I probably consume more sugar. Everything I eat tends to have sugar in it. And if it doesn’t — like if I have chicken and rice for lunch — I’ll add Yum Yum sauce on top, which is packed with sugar.”
Instead of getting discouraged, Kelly decided to treat the results as motivation to do better.
“I needed that wake-up call,” she admitted. “I needed that kick in the ass.”
Kelly added, “From the outside, I look fit. I feel like I’m in some of the best shape of my life. But inside, those numbers tell a different story.”
Still, she confessed she’s not ready to give up her favorite indulgence just yet.
“I told Matthew, ‘Once we’re back from Spring Break,’” Kelly said. “I can’t start now because honestly, Spring Break means I’m going to have my sugar. That’s my happy place — which is exactly the problem.”
Kelly and Matthew share four daughters together: twins Sawyer and Chandler, 8, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4.
“I’m going to take about a month to cut out all the nighttime sugar and then retest my levels,” she said. “If it improves, great — but if it doesn’t, then it’s probably genetic, and I’ll have to find another way to handle it.”
