discouraged.... cholesterol help....

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...

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.

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!