discouraged.... cholesterol help....

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myyovett
myyovett Posts: 51 Member
in Food and Nutrition
First of all thanks for reading my post. I have been working hard to lose weight and thanks to MFP I'm doing it! I went for a checkup at the Dr and my labs came back worse than before I started losing weight! My cholesterol is up, A1c is up, CRP is up.... I'm feeling a bit discouraged and need ideas to try to get my body back to a healty state! Anything.. recipes, foods, drinks, exercise... give me your secrets!!
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  • LATeagno
    LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
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    What macro percentages are you eating? A1C, trigs and cholesterol are almost completely driven by too many high and medium glycemic index carbohydrates. Are you eating a low fat diet?


    ETA: In re: cholesterol, HDL particle size matters more than the overall numbers. Have you had your particle size tested? That's a better indicator than plain old numbers. You want more bigger particles and fewer smaller ones.
  • hedwardsb
    hedwardsb Posts: 201 Member
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    A fish oil supplement is supposed to help. Mine is lower when I eat less meat & cheese.
  • myyovett
    myyovett Posts: 51 Member
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    MFP says 56 gr fat so I keep it below that .... usually
  • LATeagno
    LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
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    MFP says 56 gr fat so I keep it below that .... usually


    Obviously this is controversial (I can just feel someone coming below me to complain...). MFP recommends the typical high carb, low fat crud that the U.S. government recommends. How many calories are you eating? How many carb grams are you averaging? Where are you getting your carbs-- from what foods/drinks?
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
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    Go to the library and get some books. My husband has higher cholesterol, so I'm always looking into making better meals for him. He plays basketball as a workout. Now, I make him salads everyday for lunch and this oatmeal for breakfast. Hopefully, he can get off of the cholesterol pills! We've done it before!

    Oatmeal from scratch every day for 6 months and your cholesterol should go down. "overnight oats in a jar" recipe is an excellent idea.

    It's 1/2 cup of raw oats (not the quick ones), 1 cup of skim milk, some cinnamon, fruit, like bananas and strawberries or strawberries and blueberries, etc. Shake it all together, put it in the fridge at night. In the morning you have a yummy fruit healthy oatmeal! It's great!

    You can also follow this recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/06/skinny-overnight-oats-in-jar.html
    I modified it to make it easier.

    In the article, she talks about her brother eating oatmeal and lowering his cholesterol too!
  • myyovett
    myyovett Posts: 51 Member
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    do you mean steel cut oats?
  • myyovett
    myyovett Posts: 51 Member
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    MFP says 56 gr fat so I keep it below that .... usually


    Obviously this is controversial (I can just feel someone coming below me to complain...). MFP recommends the typical high carb, low fat crud that the U.S. government recommends. How many calories are you eating? How many carb grams are you averaging? Where are you getting your carbs-- from what foods/drinks?

    It really is a variety of ways. I get bored if I eat the same thing over and over...
  • rezn8
    rezn8 Posts: 263 Member
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    MFPs default macros are i think 55carbs/30fat/15protein, You really should modify it if you are working out. I shoot for 40c/20f/40p. Plus the carbs need to be more complex, stay away from alot of sugar.
    I use red yeast rice, omega 3s, and workout 6 days a week. When I started Insanity workouts last June I was at 207 cholesterol, just before I finished at the end of July I was at 173.
  • LATeagno
    LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
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    MFPs default macros are i think 55carbs/30fat/15protein, You really should modify it if you are working out. I shoot for 40c/20f/40p. Plus the carbs need to be more complex, stay away from alot of sugar.
    I use red yeast rice, omega 3s, and workout 6 days a week. When I started Insanity workouts last June I was at 207 cholesterol, just before I finished at the end of July I was at 173.


    ^ Agree-- even if you aren't working out. Personally I think fat shouldn't be less than 30%, but that's just me. Protein should take the place of some of your carbs-- and when you eat carbs, you should eat them with some type of protein. Protein should be eaten at every single meal-- protein is your friend. :)
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    Opening your food diary would be helpful. Added to what was said above, realize that cholesterol levels are both diet and genetics. It you have bad genetics diet won't help much. Frankly the A1C level is more concerning. It would seem,without seeing you food diary you are eating too many simple carbs, and likely too many carbs overall.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    What are your actual levels, and what were they at the last test?
  • myyovett
    myyovett Posts: 51 Member
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    ok.. I think my diary is open... be gentle on me LOL.... I hate cooking and I'm single so I love the microwave....
  • myyovett
    myyovett Posts: 51 Member
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    What are your actual levels, and what were they at the last test?

    Cholesterol 189
    up from 172

    A1c 6.1
    up from 5.7
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
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    No, Regular old fashioned oats, not quick ones. They do not have to be steel cut oats.
    do you mean steel cut oats?
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
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    Your diary is open. I like looking at other's diaries for ideas. Your's looks decent. Do not be ashamed! I thought I was going to see McDonald's everyday or something. You are doing great! Try the oatmeal idea if you like oatmeal. The instant stuff is so boring and taste the same daily. This is tasty and different and cheap and easy!
    ok.. I think my diary is open... be gentle on me LOL.... I hate cooking and I'm single so I love the microwave....
  • myyovett
    myyovett Posts: 51 Member
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    First of all thanks for reading my post. I have been working hard to lose weight and thanks to MFP I'm doing it! I went for a checkup at the Dr and my labs came back worse than before I started losing weight! My cholesterol is up, A1c is up, CRP is up.... I'm feeling a bit discouraged and need ideas to try to get my body back to a healty state! Anything.. recipes, foods, drinks, exercise... give me your secrets!!

    Well for one, what is important is your ratio of LDL to HDL. High cholesterol isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you have high good cholesterol that isn't bad. If you have high bad cholesterol then that's bad.

    You mentioned low fat??? that's not the way to go, make sure you're eating healthy fats. Such as olive oils, avocados, almonds, etc...

    I have started snacking on almonds, and have always used olive oil. She didn't give me the numbers to my LDL or HDL, just my cholesterol.. Told me to add metamucil 3 times a day :(
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    What are your actual levels, and what were they at the last test?

    Cholesterol 189
    up from 172

    A1c 6.1
    up from 5.7

    Is that cholesterol # your LDL level or total cholesterol?

    I actually had a conversation just today with a physician about A1c levels. Apparently the current standard A1c recommendation levels are somewhat crazy and overly aggressive, to the point where they can push people into hypoglycemic episodes. He reads a lot of research and his opinion is that anything under than 7 is completely fine. That's secondhand info, but I think you shouldn't worry too much about 6.1.

    That said, I browsed a few days of your diary and I think I see a lot of sugar. I see a lot of days with 70+ grams of sugar, and some with well over 100g. That's a LOT of sugar. All that sugary creamer and "weight loss shakes" are not doing you ANY good if you're concerned about A1c levels. There's also research linking sugar intake to serum cholesterol levels. I would strongly suggest you severely cut the sugar intake.

    Instead of sugary "creamer" use smaller amounts of actual cream. Instead of "weight loss shakes" with 20g of sugar per serving, make your own shakes with whey powder and water or milk (adding 1/2 or 1/4 cup of milk and 1/2 or 3/4 cup of water to a scoop of whey makes a delicious shake).

    You seem to have a real sweet tooth, and I think you need to get that under better control. No need to eliminate everything, but smaller portions less often will certainly help.
  • LATeagno
    LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
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    OK, here's my take (and I totally understand the microwave thing): More whole foods, fewer "diet snacks." Greek yogurt is great, but the fruit on the bottom kind is loaded with sugar-- usually 20g or so per serving, which is as much as a big serving of Froot Loops. Try a no-sugar added variety-- or do what i do and buy the plain greek yogurt and add your own fruit or no-sugar-added jam to it.

    Another thing: breakfast. Alway eat protein of some kind with your breakfast. I personally recommend 25g of protein-- minimum-- per meal. This is only my personal opinion, but studies show that protein keeps you fuller longer, slows digestion and lessens blood sugar spikes from sugars or other carbs. Eggs-- whole eggs-- do not lead to high cholesterol in most people. A boiled or scrambled egg at breakfast is fine for most people. Again-- and I mean this-- contact your doctor to have the cholesterol particle size test done. Size matters more than numbers. Big, fluffy cholesterol particles do not cause arterial plaque because they don't stick in the way that small particles do.

    A1C is an indicator of chronic blood sugar levels. Lowering sugar intake-- and some carb intake overall-- is important to lowering A1C. A bonus is that adding that protein to your meals helps what carbs you do eat to digest more slowly and have a lesser effect on blood sugar levels. It's win-win there. Sugary chewy granola bars, diet "crisps" and "low fat cookies" (and other such items) have really detrimental effects on blood sugar, which will raise your A1C-- especially if you are metabolically challenged and had/have any type of insulin resistance (a high A1C level can be indicative of this).

    Overall, focus more on whole foods-- not low fat versions of high fat foods-- just real foods. A good rule of thumb-- 95% of what goes in your mouth should have some nutritional purpose. Cakes, cookies, sugar granola bars, cereals, etc. have no nutritional purpose. Try limiting those items in favor of whole fruits with real peanut butter (added protein/fat) or string cheese, lean minimally processed cold cuts and nuts (which you seem to like-- good! :)

    I hope this helps!
  • myyovett
    myyovett Posts: 51 Member
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    Your diary is open. I like looking at other's diaries for ideas. Your's looks decent. Do not be ashamed! I thought I was going to see McDonald's everyday or something. You are doing great! Try the oatmeal idea if you like oatmeal. The instant stuff is so boring and taste the same daily. This is tasty and different and cheap and easy!
    ok.. I think my diary is open... be gentle on me LOL.... I hate cooking and I'm single so I love the microwave....

    I love oats. I have been doing steel cut oats in the crockpot... but haven't got it down to a science yet. They are usually burnt by morning. Going to try setting it on a timer. So I am definitely going to try your recipe!
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Your diary is open. I like looking at other's diaries for ideas. Your's looks decent. Do not be ashamed! I thought I was going to see McDonald's everyday or something. You are doing great! Try the oatmeal idea if you like oatmeal. The instant stuff is so boring and taste the same daily. This is tasty and different and cheap and easy!
    ok.. I think my diary is open... be gentle on me LOL.... I hate cooking and I'm single so I love the microwave....

    Honestly, McD's every day would be better than a lot of the stuff I'm seeing here. I'd be much more comfortable eating a burger or chicken sandwich from McD's twice a day than a "weight loss shake" or "lowfat yogurt" with 20g of sugar twice a day.

    Large quantities of sugar are one of the worst diet mistakes you can make. A bit of fatty beef or sodium is harmless in comparison.

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