I'm b-a-a-a-c-k!
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I'm b-a-a-a-c-k!
| Wed, 12-10-2008 - 2:11am |
Just completed my semi-annual blood work-up and have continued good news to report:
BP 126/64
Pulse 92
weight 158
total cholesterol 190 (My GP is ecstatic)
hdl 67 (My GP is ecstatic)
LDL 101 (this is the one problematic area as it has been creeping up 10 pts every six months for the last two years...)
she told me triglycerides and was happy but I've forgotten what they were
A1C - 6.4!
So metformin, diet and exercise (even though I've been somewhat lazy about the latter) seem to be working!

Co-CL for "The Stitcher's Niche" and CL for "Remodel & Renovate"
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Which room in your house most needs remodeling??
Who do you craft with?Â


Hi Carol,
What a nice Christmas present that you got!! Your HDL was wonderful!
Can you add some more fiber and veggies to your meal plan? It might get your cholesterol and LDL down. Of course if they come down so might your HDL which works in tandom unfortunately. Also olive oil and similar fats are better for this.
Have a great day and see you on your board!
I am almost vegetarian with the amount of fruits and veggies I am eating, and I really try to boost my fiber. We've even cut out more fish, use olive oil for most things (I still have a weakness for margarine for some things though) and have dropped fat in dairy to skim (I HATE skim)! Still it crees up...
My GP thinks it has a lot to do with both my age and my genetics: one brother, for example, whose totals were MUCH higher than mine (--- in fact BOTH brothers, both younger than me, were higher ---), his total cholesterol skyrocketed in six months even while on meds and they had to up his meds.
SO I may be looking at an increased dose of crestor (at least I can take refuge in the fact that my dose is currently the minimum).
Co-CL for "The Stitcher's Niche" and CL for "Remodel & Renovate"
Visit me at That Yank In... and Traveling with That Yank
Avatar made with Portrait Illustrator Maker
Which room in your house most needs remodeling??
Who do you craft with?
Switch to Smart Balance margarine if you're going to use margarine anyhow - it uses plant sterols which are cholesterol lowering compounds and uses soy lecithin and such instead of hydrogenating the fat. If you're not already, try including oats in the whole grains/fiber you are adding. DH cut his cholesterol and triglycerides hugely by just having oatmeal for breakfast for 6 months (winter in New England is great for that). We eat almost no meat at all - fish maybe once a week, Smart Balance instead of butter or regular margarine. We do eat regular cheese, and I have YoCalcium low fat yogurt several times per week (to keep up with calcium needs without supplements since they can mess with my thyroid medication). Also, I make sure to exercise (raises HDL levels in addition to moderating insulin resistance). I was able to cut my LDL to between 90 and 110ish (one test was just under 100 and one was just over in the last 6 months or so) without ANY medication while keeping my HDL hovering between 60 and 75 (women should have HDL >50)
--Deb
Smart Balance is our margarine of choice and we are eating mostly fish (other meats are less than half our diet now, and when we do eat meat it's skinless chicken breast, lean pork and beef, etc.).
I haven't tried upping oats in my whole grains... To be honest, I don't LIKE whole grains, and I dislike cereals even more, so it's difficult for me to eat them at all. It's more a hold my nose and swallow kind of thing...
Exercise is what I really really need to do --- I hate it but I force myself...
Co-CL for "The Stitcher's Niche" and CL for "Remodel & Renovate"
Visit me at That Yank In... and Traveling with That Yank
Avatar made with Portrait Illustrator Maker
Which room in your house most needs remodeling??
Who do you craft with?
We haven't had red meat in ever so long. If we have anything besides fish, it's occasional boneless skinless chicken breast meat or ground turkey.
For both diabetes control and cholesterol control, whole grains are a better choice than processed carbs like white flour (even the "enriched" white flour). Whole grains are also an okay non-animal protein source. Oh, if you can eat beans, that's another good protein AND good for cholesterol food - fiber, protein, etc. As with everything, test test test to see if and how much beans works for you. And, go for either low sodium canned beans or start from dry beans and cook them up yourself to avoid the hefty sodium price tag on most canned beans.
What kinds of things do you like to do? There's probably some sort of movement that would be good and not hateful that can be incorporated. I think we're all a little trained to think that "exercise" is something that has to be painful and nasty, like a yucky medicine. But, a spoonful of sugar substitute makes the medicine go down and there are lots of ways to make getting more movement more pleasant. My hubby needs to exercise (cholesterol, blood pressure, weight issues) but he had a hard time on the treadmill (he has osteoarthritis in his left hip and that leg is 2some inches shorter than the other, makes walking in general difficult) even with the TV available. He has to be able to hold on with at least one hand because he's off balance to start with and he doesn't have the mobility in his leg for the recumbent exercise bike. Then he found that if he lays the removable canoe seat across the arms of the treadmill, he can lean on that AND play videogames on the TV. Much better. I don't mind the treadmill but for a change of pace, I signed up for a beginner tai chi class starting in January. Even something gentle like yoga "counts". Park a couple spaces farther from the store and walk the extra few yards. It's all good. Some people do better if they have someone to talk to while they walk or have a headphone to listen to music. Some folks enjoy mall-walking; most large shopping malls open their doors an hour or more before the stores open specifically for folks who want a climate controlled, measured, level surface to walk laps. Walking and biking are just two forms of exercising - swimming, dancing, bowling, vacuuming are all exercise too (oh and don't forget that the horizontal rhumba with your partner counts too!). Anything that gets you moving and gets your heart pumping good and strong "counts".
--Deb
Co-CL for "The Stitcher's Niche" and CL for "Remodel & Renovate"
Visit me at That Yank In... and Traveling with That Yank
Avatar made with Portrait Illustrator Maker
Do you have a home workshop?
You know that bridesmaid dress...?
Lean red meat needs moisture-filled cooking - you can't just throw it on a pan in the oven and expect it to be moist. The fat in red meat is what makes it moist and flavorful. So, tenderize it (pound the daylights out of it), marinate it (lots of nice low carb/no carb options there), stew it low and slow (like in a slow cooker; great easy warm filling winter meal), chop it into little bits (so you can cook it a shorter time and still be fully cooked without drying out), braise it in flavorful liquid.
We just basically don't bother with red meat at all - it's not worth the effort to us and now we're so not used to it that it causes digestive nasties. Poultry is usually for when we're eating outside the house (restaurants and such). Fish is bought fresh the day we use it, maybe two or three times per month or we get it when we're eating out.
--Deb