My 1 Year Primal Results!
njdoll
Posts: 106 Member
One Year Primal results.
Weight: Down (lost 15 lbs, started out wanting to lose 10)
Activity: UP! I exercise regularly. I run when it's nice out. I walk minimum 10k steps a day. I do bootcamp, TRX, and sprint hills
Lab work: Rockstar!
It's been a great year and I've somewhat settled into an 85/15 lifestyle. I'm okay with not following Primal to the letter. I still dip my vegetables in hummus and I'm okay with eating peanuts instead of almonds sometimes. Hurricane Sandy proved to be a challenging couple of weeks as we were guests in other people's homes while we were without power for almost 2 weeks, and I slipped up with holiday desserts. Back in the saddle now.
I had hoped to locate my previous year's blood work to have a direct comparison but I was unable to find it. As memory serves my previous blood work results were perfectly fine and within normal range. Despite all my readings and documentary watching, I was still nervous that conventional wisdom would come back and bite me in the tush for eating copious amounts of meat and BACON and fats, especially fats derived from animal sources. Not so!
In summary:
I feel this was an extremely successful year. My father had a triple bypass when he was in his 50s and I have been working to avoid following in his footsteps. In addition, I want the family tradition of diabetes to end with him. My blood results indicated I have the inflammation levels of a newborn baby. My glucose levels are normal. I have amazing cholesterol ratios. My biggest goal was to hit my 40th birthday in the best shape of my life and I did it. It's the foundation I want to build upon in the years to come.
Below is for those of us who are nerdy about stats:
Total: 204 (ideal is under 200, and this number went up a little bit in the past year, probably in the 190s before)
Trigs: 36 (ideal is under 150, under 100 is considered excellent)
HDL 81 (ideal is over 40, over 60 is considered a negative risk factor for coronary heart disease. This number went up, it was in the 60s the previous year)
LDL: 116 calculated using Friedewald equation, which is inaccurate for people with trigs under 100.) self calculated at 78 using Iranian Equation (you can google for a calculator), for those of us with low low trigs on a lower carb lifestyle. (Recommended levels under 150, most doctors want it under 100)
Ratios: the true predictor of heart disease (here I am quoting some text from Griff's Cholesterol Primer, which can be found here:http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread4723.html and is an excellent and informative resource. Note I am calculating my results with the number on my lab results. Had I used the Iranian method, they would be EVEN BETTER!
Total/HDL
The ideal ratio of Total/HDL is 4.4 for women and 5 for men. According to http://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/public/523.cfm and several other sites, the ratio of your trigs to your HDL will indicate whether your LDL is small and dense (bad - Pattern
or large and fluffy (neutral - Pattern A). A larger number indicates smaller LDL particles and a smaller number indicates larger LDL particles. It's an inverse relationship.
Total/HDL: 2.51
Trig/HDL:
The ideal ratio of Trig/HDL is 2 or below. 4 is high. 6 is "danger!!" This ratio indicates the level of risk for heart disease. Additionally, a low ratio of Trig/HDL is great because it's a semi-reliable indicator of lower free insulin levels. Lower free insulin is good.
Trig/HDL: 0.44
LDL/HDL:
The ideal ratio of LDL to HDL is 4.3 or lower. 4.4 to 7.1 is average. 7.1 to 11 is moderate. 11 or more means you're at high risk for developing heart disease. The ratio of LDL to HDL is considered to be a marker of carotid plaque, or how much plaque you have built up in your arteries.
LDL/HDL: 1.43
It's a lifestyle, not a diet. Here's to all of us on the journey.
~Rachel
Weight: Down (lost 15 lbs, started out wanting to lose 10)
Activity: UP! I exercise regularly. I run when it's nice out. I walk minimum 10k steps a day. I do bootcamp, TRX, and sprint hills
Lab work: Rockstar!
It's been a great year and I've somewhat settled into an 85/15 lifestyle. I'm okay with not following Primal to the letter. I still dip my vegetables in hummus and I'm okay with eating peanuts instead of almonds sometimes. Hurricane Sandy proved to be a challenging couple of weeks as we were guests in other people's homes while we were without power for almost 2 weeks, and I slipped up with holiday desserts. Back in the saddle now.
I had hoped to locate my previous year's blood work to have a direct comparison but I was unable to find it. As memory serves my previous blood work results were perfectly fine and within normal range. Despite all my readings and documentary watching, I was still nervous that conventional wisdom would come back and bite me in the tush for eating copious amounts of meat and BACON and fats, especially fats derived from animal sources. Not so!
In summary:
I feel this was an extremely successful year. My father had a triple bypass when he was in his 50s and I have been working to avoid following in his footsteps. In addition, I want the family tradition of diabetes to end with him. My blood results indicated I have the inflammation levels of a newborn baby. My glucose levels are normal. I have amazing cholesterol ratios. My biggest goal was to hit my 40th birthday in the best shape of my life and I did it. It's the foundation I want to build upon in the years to come.
Below is for those of us who are nerdy about stats:
Total: 204 (ideal is under 200, and this number went up a little bit in the past year, probably in the 190s before)
Trigs: 36 (ideal is under 150, under 100 is considered excellent)
HDL 81 (ideal is over 40, over 60 is considered a negative risk factor for coronary heart disease. This number went up, it was in the 60s the previous year)
LDL: 116 calculated using Friedewald equation, which is inaccurate for people with trigs under 100.) self calculated at 78 using Iranian Equation (you can google for a calculator), for those of us with low low trigs on a lower carb lifestyle. (Recommended levels under 150, most doctors want it under 100)
Ratios: the true predictor of heart disease (here I am quoting some text from Griff's Cholesterol Primer, which can be found here:http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread4723.html and is an excellent and informative resource. Note I am calculating my results with the number on my lab results. Had I used the Iranian method, they would be EVEN BETTER!
Total/HDL
The ideal ratio of Total/HDL is 4.4 for women and 5 for men. According to http://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/public/523.cfm and several other sites, the ratio of your trigs to your HDL will indicate whether your LDL is small and dense (bad - Pattern
or large and fluffy (neutral - Pattern A). A larger number indicates smaller LDL particles and a smaller number indicates larger LDL particles. It's an inverse relationship.Total/HDL: 2.51
Trig/HDL:
The ideal ratio of Trig/HDL is 2 or below. 4 is high. 6 is "danger!!" This ratio indicates the level of risk for heart disease. Additionally, a low ratio of Trig/HDL is great because it's a semi-reliable indicator of lower free insulin levels. Lower free insulin is good.
Trig/HDL: 0.44
LDL/HDL:
The ideal ratio of LDL to HDL is 4.3 or lower. 4.4 to 7.1 is average. 7.1 to 11 is moderate. 11 or more means you're at high risk for developing heart disease. The ratio of LDL to HDL is considered to be a marker of carotid plaque, or how much plaque you have built up in your arteries.
LDL/HDL: 1.43
It's a lifestyle, not a diet. Here's to all of us on the journey.
~Rachel
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Replies
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That is AWESOME!! Thank you for sharing your results!0
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Awesome and congrats!0
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Absolutely beautiful lab results when it comes to cholesterol! It's amazing what committment to taking care of your health can bring.0
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Great results, Rachel! I'm curious if you had a conversation with your doctor about your fabulous ratios. I'm wondering how to broach the subject with my doctor.0
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Awesome results!!! I'm happy to here you got those results with a 85/15 plan (I myself have the 90/10 to 80/20 plan going on!)0
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super inspiring!
Thanks! 0 -
And after a year of knowing you... I now know your name
. Great work. 0 -
Thanks for the nice words all!
Mrs Ables–my doctor who has many qualities I appreciate is also a bit old school and was hung up on the total number. Maybe he isn't aware how important the ratios are or how LDL can break down or how it is even calculated. He said if I was ten years older he'd be concerned. Because it is 4 points over the desired number? Seriously? Not taking ratios into consideration or the fact that women, especially those who are not in menopause have conventionally higher totals? His recommendation was to cut out fat, especially animal fat. VERY disappointing. I smiled and nodded and am promptly ignoring that advice. Frankly I was not in the mood to get into a debate and I don't feel like I have to convince him of anything. I walk my path.
Yes Mike, I have a real name! 0 -
Ha! and you guessed mine so easily.0
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awesome!! thanks for sharing your progress!!!0
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That's awesome! Thanks for sharing.0
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Your results are so inspiring! Keep it up!0
