Too young for Cholesterol Issues - HELP

kasargent

Well, I couldn't seem to find my motivation for exercising and really restricting my diet, so I prayed about it. Thinking, "Man, there's gotta be something to light my fire," and thinking really, that should be my hunger and desire to get to healthy/weight stage for pregnancy. So far, that hasn't even seemed to work completely.

I had an appointment to see my PCP for my annual Well Woman, and to talk to him about my weight and about how I felt about my current now previous endocrinologist (don't like). Well, he said that in the past two years (since my last visit) I had gain roughly 30 pounds. I knew that. I even knew my current BMI (thanks, myfitnesspal!) I knew that I was in the "obese" section of the weight chart, based on my age and height. He told me to get my butt in gear and exercise and really, really tighten up my diet. What I did not know until today when my lab results were emailed to me was I have very bad cholesterol. :-( I looked up charts on WebMD and my numbers are very bad. I was in a little shock. I mean, heck, a doctor didn't have to tell me I was overweight, I just look in the mirror! But I never really thought about cholesterol. So not only is my weight out of control, I need to make my bad cholesterol go down in 3 months, or I'll have to be placed on meds.

Does anyone else have this problem? Can anyone suggest things or foods that can help me bring my scholesterol down? I can honestly say I have never even given it a thought, so I don't know much about it. I do know that being 26 with the numbers I have is bad news.

PS - :-( I hate oatmeal, and I read that it is the number one cholesterol fighter. How do you take your oatmeal?

kbanzhaf

Hi,
If you lose the weight, it will help with your cholesterol issues. I was on cholesterol meds (Lipitor) for several years, and when my legs started bothering me, I quit them cold turkey (not on the advice of my physician). I was to return in two months to have my blood sugar checked as it was elevated. Well, my sugar was still elevated, and my cholesterol was sky high. He sent me to a dietician, and over the course of the next 15 months, I lost 72 pounds. I've kept off over 60 of it for the most part, and both my cholesterol and blood sugar are in normal ranges now.
I do eat oatmeal for breakfast most mornings -- with some sugar and cinnamon, or some peanut butter for a healthy protein. Tried stirring yogurt in -- that was horrible! :huh:
Good luck!
Kaye

lovinglife71

Is your cholesterol high due to your diet or is it hereditary, my cholesterol is high, but it has nothing to do with my diet, I'm a health food fanatic, I exercise 9 plus hrs a week. My mom is the same way and her doctor has her on Cholesterol meds, but her is due to genetics. I will most likely as I get older have to be on the same meds and no matter what I change I will not be able to help it. Just a thought!!

cckeimig

I recommend visiting the American Heart Association's website at http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
I know they have a ton of information on how to reduce Sodium and other heart-risk factors. They even have recommended diets and such. We can all pitch in with what we know, but I think that website is a smart bet...

As was mentioned above, losing the weight will really help control your cholesterol in most cases, from what I've heard and read. I wish you the best of luck with this. You definitely need to make that change. As you said, you're too young to be facing such scary numbers!!

YogaRunner

My husband had been on Lipitor for many years. He no longer has to take it. Why? Because he began drinking Shakeology and working out (ChaLEAN Extreme, P90X). He had his physical just last week and this is what came of it

"Before I began using Beach Body products I was 47 and had been on cholesterol-lowering medication for about a decade. With my doctor's permission I was "taking a break" from statins, resulting in elevated cholesterol levels to the point that I had a 7% chance of heart attack in the following decade. After drinking Shakeology for 3 months, with no significant change in fitness level, weight, or waist size, my bad cholesterol went down 20% and my good cholesterol increased 25%, reducing my risk to 4% over the following decade. After completing ChaLEAN Extreme and the first 10 weeks of P90X, and comparing to before Beach Body, my weight is down 17 lbs, my waist size is 5" smaller, my triglyceride level is down 58% (back to the middle of normal range), my bad cholesterol is down 20% (though still slightly elevated), my good cholesterol is up 44%, and my blood pressure, which was "normal" to "high normal" has dropped to the "low normal" range. As a result of all this, my risk of heart attack in the next decade is down to 3%. Using Beach Body products for the past 15 months has reduced my risk of heart attack by more than 57%, and brought it down to only 27% of the average risk for men my age (which is 11% over a decade)."

Risk of heart attack calculator: http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/atpiii/calculator.asp
Blood pressure ranges: http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/bloodpressurechart.shtml

This is no joke. It's real. And it works
Risa

hwilliams519

I'm not an oatmeal fan either. I do like Hodgson Mill hot cereal (although I'm not sure if it has the same effects for cholesterol as oatmeal). I found it at kroger and it was cheaper than oatmeal too. It also has flaxseed in it which is good for you, but you can't taste it (I don't even know what flaxseed tastes like). I heat it up in the microwave, and then I add 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp chocolate chips, and 1 small banana. It is so good! You could add that same stuff to oatmeal too. I've also seen recipes where you add other fruits like apples or peaches, or you can add cinnamon. This will help you to take it down and you will actually like it.

llm12

Olive oil and avacado also decrease bad cholesterol. My brother has bad cholesterol due to genetics, and was able to successfully lower it by having 1tsp of olive oil and one avacado a day.

seansquared

I had an appointment to see my PCP for my annual Well Woman, and to talk to him about my weight and about how I felt about my current now previous endocrinologist (don't like). Well, he said that in the past two years (since my last visit) I had gain roughly 30 pounds. I knew that. I even knew my current BMI (thanks, myfitnesspal!) I knew that I was in the "obese" section of the weight chart, based on my age and height. He told me to get my butt in gear and exercise and really, really tighten up my diet. What I did not know until today when my lab results were emailed to me was I have very bad cholesterol. :-( I looked up charts on WebMD and my numbers are very bad. I was in a little shock. I mean, heck, a doctor didn't have to tell me I was overweight, I just look in the mirror! But I never really thought about cholesterol. So not only is my weight out of control, I need to make my bad cholesterol go down in 3 months, or I'll have to be placed on meds.

Have your doc give you a referral to a licensed nutritionist. Figure out a plan and most importantly stick to it, no matter what! This usually means having friends and family support you in which case get them on here too!

skinnyme125

Try this stuff called Bio Life SLIM. I got it from my doctor and it is supposed to help with Cholesterol and weight issues as well as other stuff. I take it and love it. If you want to go to the web site biolifeslim.com >However it is not coved by insurance and it is about 120.00 a month, but for me it is well worth it. Give it a looksy and see what you think. It is advertised for weight loss but is Great for Cholesterol and I am trying to get my husband to start taking it for the same reason.

Mindful_Trent

LOTS of exercise, in addition to a healthy diet. From Jan 2009-Jan2010 my bad cholesterol dropped from borderline high to borderline optimal. The biggest change I had that year was my exercise level - it really does help. Eating healthy fats (fish, avocado, olive oil), whole grains like oatmeal and other high fiber foods, along with nuts may also help lower cholesterol levels. I encourage you to do some googling on your own - you'll find lots of info out there.... but it all boils down to exercise and good diet.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002
http://www.bu.edu/alzresearch/care/documents/AHAHowCanILowerHighCholesterol.pdf

aliciadpo

I'm 25 with elevated cholesterol . One thing for sure is that high cholesterol is big time inherited. Both of my parents have high cholesterol and 3 grandparents with it - so I'm basically doomed. Let me give you a couple tips my doctor instructed me. I'm not high enough to get on meds quite yet but I'm sure one day I'll have to....until then:

- cut back on your dairy consumption. I am currently trying to make the transition from milk (yes, I drink skim milk too) to Silk Almond milk. Now, since I''m cutting back on dairy, I also started taking Caltrate-D plus Calcium (vitamin D deficient as well) and trying to always remember to take vitamins.

- if you like to snack on cheese (which I would often snack on mozarella cheese sticks @ only 80 calories ), switch to the Laughing Cow cheese wedges.

- I've started this habit long ago - I hardly EVER eat butter. In our house we only use "I can't believe it's not butter"

- Eggs- get in the habit of not eating egg yolk (very high in cholesterol). When I eat scrambled eggs I only put 1/2 yolk and 2 egg whites.

- I'm pretty sure high fiber aids in cutting down cholesterol so if you don't like oatmeal, try working on eating more fiber....whole grains too. Also, Quaker makes Oatmeal Squares cereal and that's a really good cereal. If you don't like it with milk, try it just dry. I like eating it dry. Try that, you may like it....I love it!!

The only good thing for my cholesterol is that my good cholesterol (HDL) is really high which is good. This aids in the prevention of stroke and heart attack. Make sure you are getting in your exercise and (if I can do it you can too....) cut back on alcohol. I used to easily drink like a 6 beers per week but I've really cut back a lot on my alcohol consumption.

Mindful_Trent

- I've started this habit long ago - I hardly EVER eat butter. In our house we only use "I can't believe it's not butter"

- Eggs- get in the habit of not eating egg yolk (very high in cholesterol). When I eat scrambled eggs I only put 1/2 yolk and 2 egg whites.

Quite a bit of recent research suggests that dietary cholesterol and blood-cholesterol are not highly related at all. There's also a bit of research that suggests that the common teachings about fat, cholesterol and blood cholesterol are shaky at best. I reccommend you look into the book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, which goes into all of this and the history of thinking on cholesterol, fat and health. It's eye-opening.

While I'm sure there are some exceptions, plenty of people (myself included) regularly exceed the recommended daily cholesterol limits, but have perfectly healthy cholesterol (I eat 2 whole eggs/day most days, plus other meat and dairy that has add'l cholesterol). The key is to get lots of exercise and eat as much unprocessed food as possible. The fat in dairy, eggs and meat is not necessarily the enemy. Egg yolks have tons of good vitamins!

Janworkingitout

LOTS of exercise, in addition to a healthy diet. From Jan 2009-Jan2010 my bad cholesterol dropped from borderline high to borderline optimal. The biggest change I had that year was my exercise level - it really does help. Eating healthy fats (fish, avocado, olive oil), whole grains like oatmeal and other high fiber foods, along with nuts may also help lower cholesterol levels. I encourage you to do some googling on your own - you'll find lots of info out there.... but it all boils down to exercise and good diet.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002
http://www.bu.edu/alzresearch/care/documents/AHAHowCanILowerHighCholesterol.pdf

This is great advice, the only thing I would add is to take this seriously! Also, you're not too young for high cholesterol. I had a stent put in my left artery at 46 years old and a another in my right artery at 52. Although my diet and exercise are excellent now, I inherited cholesterol problems and will always have to be careful in my choices.

MissKim

- I've started this habit long ago - I hardly EVER eat butter. In our house we only use "I can't believe it's not butter"

- Eggs- get in the habit of not eating egg yolk (very high in cholesterol). When I eat scrambled eggs I only put 1/2 yolk and 2 egg whites.

Quite a bit of recent research suggests that dietary cholesterol and blood-cholesterol are not highly related at all. There's also a bit of research that suggests that the common teachings about fat, cholesterol and blood cholesterol are shaky at best. I reccommend you look into the book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, which goes into all of this and the history of thinking on cholesterol, fat and health. It's eye-opening.

While I'm sure there are some exceptions, plenty of people (myself included) regularly exceed the recommended daily cholesterol limits, but have perfectly healthy cholesterol (I eat 2 whole eggs/day most days, plus other meat and dairy that has add'l cholesterol). The key is to get lots of exercise and eat as much unprocessed food as possible. The fat in dairy, eggs and meat is not necessarily the enemy. Egg yolks have tons of good vitamins!

second what he said. stay away from the bad fats (fats made from corn, trans fat, fats in processed foods), get more healthy fats, (fats found in nature/animal fats) If it's not hereditary ofcourse. Do your own research, don't just trust what people/doctors tell you.

fitzie63

Speaking from personal experience of having hyperlipidemia running in our family medical history (genetic cause plus poor lifestyle choices), I ask you to consider one very important question for yourself (but don't answer me with it... pose the question/answer to yourself):

Exactly how many times do you want the CHEST-CUTTER to cut through your chest, layers of fat, your ribs to spread them apart to fix the blockages in your coronary arteries (chest-cutter: cardio-thoracic surgeon).

Yes, you ARE young. You are young enough to retrain your obesity mindset. You are young enough to stop putting high calorie, high fat foods into your mouth. You are young enough to exercise daily and burn off that fat. I can guarantee that, if you do not change the way you are thinking while changing the way you look and in size, you WILL end up under the chest-cutters hands, if you live that long.

I did the yo-yo dieting for more than 55+ years. Been there~~done that! Never again . Since I was age 18 until now, I have lost and re-gained between 30 to 75 lbs. so many times in my life that, if I was still alive, I would weigh over 800 pounds.

Here's a serious question you must ask yourself:

How many times do you want to end up under the chest-cutter's knife (cardiothoracic surgeon) to replace the coronary arteries that you gunked up with your high-fat, high cholesterol, high sugar content way of eating? I can tell you, if you live through your first heart attack, and your first heart bypass surgery, you might be able to have a 2nd one, if you're lucky.

On the other hand, you could change your way of thinking as you change the lifestyle and your size instead. Otherwise, you are facing a life of misery with major, multiple medical issues. Yes, young people in their early 20s, have heart attacks. Yes, young people in their 20s, have DIABETES. Ask your Doctor to order a special blood test: "A 1 C".

Exactly how do you think you will fare when the chest-cutter starts slicing his scalpel to cut through your skin and layers of fat. Next, he will take a special saw to cut through your ribs at the sternum (breast bone). Next, they take the spreader to open up your cut through ribs like a big basket. Then, they connect you up to the heart-lung machine to prepare to work on cutting into your heart to get to the coronary arteries that you gunked up. If you smoke any tobacco products, the blockages will be even worse. Meanwhile, the vascular surgeon has been cutting into your left (inside) leg to remove the long saphenous vein they will need to cut pieces from to fix the blocked coronary arteries.

Not a pretty mental picture? You bet your sweet boots it isn't.

It is so much easier, less painful and less stress on your mind and your body to change your eating habits, get plenty of your favorite exercise and stop thinking negative about eating oat bran products. Try: the new QUAKER tiny oat breakfast squares with non-fat milk (comes in different flavor choices). Try: eating oat bran-flaxseed bread, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pastas (WATCH THOSE PORTIONS: 1/2 of a level cup is ONE SERVING).

Instead of using mayonnaise: buy a 16 oz. container of FAT-FREE sour cream. Mix in: one packet of LAURA SCUDDERS GREEN ONION dip mix. 2 level tablespoons = 25 calories. You could also use the Hidden Valley Ranch Fiesta dip mix (dry packet) or the Ranch dip mix (dry packet) instead. You could also use this mixture as salad dressing or mix with water-packed albacore tuna.

If I make cookies for a treat for someone or an occasion, I use NO FAT NOR OIL...I use no sugar added applesauce. I do not use whole eggs any more. I use "Egg Beater" liquid (1/4 cup = one whole egg). I do not use salt in cooking nor on the table. I use Mrs. Dash herbal seasoning mixtures.

In 175 days on MFP, I have gone down from a size 18 to a suit jacket size 4. I am NOT dieting. It's just very strict portion control and personal self-discipline. If an old lady can become heart-healthy, fit and have tons more energy, what's your excuse? Quit your whining babe!

hwilliams519

I noticed people mentioned olive oil, avacados, and nuts. You may want to check out the flat belly diet (by prevention magazine). It's a mediterranian style program that incorporates those foods plus dark chocolate and olives. I don't like olives, and didn't use to like avacados. But it's a good & easy plan that may help you. Also, dark chocolate almond milk it very good. I'm sure the regular one is good too (since you may want to reduce your dairy).

seansquared

fitzie63 is my new personal hero for writing that post

fitzie63

@ seansquared: Thanks for your kind words. I am a retired coronary care RN/educator. I do not believe in playing footsie and giving pretentious platitudes is beneficial to anyone who is definitely heading down the path to continue self-destructive behavior. Being up-front, i.e. directly honest with the reality of the consequences of inappropriate lifestyle choices is more helpful. "Hating oatmeal" is a very lame excuse. There are countless options out there. We are either committed to becoming heart-healthy or we are not.

kasargent

Thank you everyone! I enjoyed how the advice differed from one person to the next! This is really what MFP is all about... thank you community!