Good News, Good Numbers
My long-awaited cholesterol check came back today. The numbers had improved. Still not great, but better than August.
LDL 138 (was 155)
HDL 59 (was 51)
Trigs 36 (was 78)
Total Chol 204 (was 221)
No medication for now. And my Thryoid checked out fine. No need to adjust those meds.
The doctor was pleased that 1) I had followed her advice and went to see the nutritionist, and 2) followed the advice of the nutritionist.
We discussed my multi-pound weight loss. She didn't seem concerned as it seems related to my recent dietary changes. The diet is nothing spectular - just a drastic reduction in snacking, curtailing the fat I got through dairy (cheese), and watching the sugars (most notably jelly - - but also the snacking). I now eat a balanced diet: 5 servings of fruits and vegatables a day, whole wheats, no high fructose corn syrup, and I excercise more (but nowhere near my former amounts).
I figure it was the snacks that were killing me. I ate a morning snack, afternoon snack, and a "bedtime" snack. Even assuming they were "healthy" snacks, and they weren't always, I must have cut several hundred calories out of my daily intake. But in this day and age no one talks about simple calories anymore. It's all about eating the "right" fats, taking more frequent smaller meals, keeping your blood sugar levels and your moods on an even keel. As I see it - the problem with that approach is that we all eat more - since no one I know seems to curtail the caloric intake of their basic "three meals a day" to account for all this "healthy" snacking.
My advice - and it's kind of Zen-like - get acquainted with your hunger pangs again. I eat full, healthy meals, so when I get a little hungry between meals, I tell myself to "get over it" since the next meal isn't so far away. If I really can't take it, I have a piece of fruit.
I promise not to be so high-and-mighty again. I just wanted to relay what worked for me.
LDL 138 (was 155)
HDL 59 (was 51)
Trigs 36 (was 78)
Total Chol 204 (was 221)
No medication for now. And my Thryoid checked out fine. No need to adjust those meds.
The doctor was pleased that 1) I had followed her advice and went to see the nutritionist, and 2) followed the advice of the nutritionist.
We discussed my multi-pound weight loss. She didn't seem concerned as it seems related to my recent dietary changes. The diet is nothing spectular - just a drastic reduction in snacking, curtailing the fat I got through dairy (cheese), and watching the sugars (most notably jelly - - but also the snacking). I now eat a balanced diet: 5 servings of fruits and vegatables a day, whole wheats, no high fructose corn syrup, and I excercise more (but nowhere near my former amounts).
I figure it was the snacks that were killing me. I ate a morning snack, afternoon snack, and a "bedtime" snack. Even assuming they were "healthy" snacks, and they weren't always, I must have cut several hundred calories out of my daily intake. But in this day and age no one talks about simple calories anymore. It's all about eating the "right" fats, taking more frequent smaller meals, keeping your blood sugar levels and your moods on an even keel. As I see it - the problem with that approach is that we all eat more - since no one I know seems to curtail the caloric intake of their basic "three meals a day" to account for all this "healthy" snacking.
My advice - and it's kind of Zen-like - get acquainted with your hunger pangs again. I eat full, healthy meals, so when I get a little hungry between meals, I tell myself to "get over it" since the next meal isn't so far away. If I really can't take it, I have a piece of fruit.
I promise not to be so high-and-mighty again. I just wanted to relay what worked for me.
Comments
Congrats.....