Dieting Club: 50 - 100 Lbs Community

Thanks Barb. Last Feb. when the cholesterol thing came up with my doctor, I was determined to prove him wrong about not being able to bring it down on my own. Well, not feeling so sure about that anymore. You are right that otherwise healthy people have high cholesterol no matter what they do. Am not giving up yet, but that may be the case for me.

Thanks Judy. My triglycerides are 111 (normal is from 11-150). The calculations are complicated. HDL is 61 and LDL is 150. I go by the lab printout that they send and rely on their expertise, but it's always good to educate one's self. I appreciate your info.

Hmm seems like each doctor has their own calculations
I learned that method from DR OZs site
and it worked for mine .
How much sat fat do you get averaged? and do you eat any proccessed foods like crackers . that may have secret trans fats ?
Your HDL is awsome I think mine at last check last year was around 60 ish
You may be right some of it maybe genetic
might be harder to change ..
I have an appointment for my annual Physical next thursday
Last year it was total 180
so I will find out my current number then or a while later
takes a while to get the results /
Last year My total was 180 62 HDL 110 LDl 35 Trigs
Hugs Judy:)

Judy,

Your numbers are fantastic.

I do eat some whole wheat crackers usually with salsa for my crunch cravings - I'm sure they do have some hidden trans fats although the pkg. says 0 trans fats - I know that is not always accurate. I eat boneless skinless chicken most nights and that is low in sat. fat. I have the occasional piece of red meat, but always try to have the leanest type. Nothing fried, oatmeal, walnuts and blueberries 5 out of 7 mornings, the rest is mostly veggies, veggies, veggies and fruit. I'm much lower on my fruit than you. I use fat free salad dressings most of the time, when I don't I use some type of vinegarette. Do have some reduced fat cheese from time to time. Also, I do use a little olive oil when I roast my veggies.

I do know that if I gave up meat and cheese I could get the numbers down more - that would be very, very hard for me though. Don't know how much I'm willing to sacrifice to stay off meds. I'm still a food addict and I wonder if I could stick to it if I restrict myself even more.

gee Debbie it sure sounds like you have everything under control , You can read the ingredient label on the crackers to see if it has the hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated oils
Funny thing I reduced the fruits added in more whole grains and vegies and I accually gained some weight . so maybe I will go back to my fruit based plan .. or just maybe I added to many whole grains .. will be tweeking it some..

My numbers when I was obese were borderline just a tad over 200 my good HDL was 56 and my ldl was 140 and my triglyserides were low like 50 so genetically my cholesteral is not bad , I have skinny girl friends that have Cholesteral in the 400 range now that has to be genetic.. they appear to be healthy despite the high numbers, so I am wondering if the limits they put on those numbers are variable person to person ..
I make skinless boneless chicken a lot but also roast chicken but remove skin before I serve it
we have beef once a month but once sometimes twie a week porkchops .I just make sure I only have one chop not 2 like I used to
I use fat free dairy and seldom eat cheese, for some reason DR OZ thinks the fat in dairy is good fat I disagree . I get my fats from avacados and pistachio nuts natural peanut butter
sometimes like in fall soon the nuts in the shells will be available and I use them too for variety 1 whole cup of nuts in shells the mixed nuts is 170 cals all healthy too ,
Hugs Judy:)

Oh debbie one more thing salad dressing with reduced fats
are too heavily proccessed for me I use a regular wish bone Italian called rabusto and delute in with red wine vinager to use on salads . even with out deluteing it it only has about 65 cals per Tablespoon
Hugs Judy:)

Thanks for the tips, Judy. I'll try your way with salad dressing. I eat pork chops sometimes as well and like you just 1 now instead of 2 and I broil them not fry them like I used to do.

Debbie, I already posted about the cholesterol and wishing you well. This post is about your comment and concern about just how far can we restrict ourselves before we just say "the heck with it" and we can't live our lives in jail (self-imposed).

I think it is back to making this an individual journey. Like I wrote in an earlier post, I had a corned beef on an onion roll aand a deli pickle and cole slaw and a beer. I don't even want to know the sodium count. But, I'm 67 and feel like I enjoy going to the WILD SIDE every now and then.

DEBBIE, focus on all the good that your weightloss has done for your body. We can only control the things within our range.

Barb

Judy, I spray Basalmic vinegar on my salads and use the full fat ranch dressing (1-2 tsp.). I also used the low fat dressings. Sometimes salsa with a bit of the full fat ranch dressing.

I haven't had my cholesterol checked in yrs. It has been in the 140 range the LDL ("L" for lousy, that's the one that should be in the lower range). I hate going to drs.

Barb

Aha Barb you like the creamy dressings I find that useing avocado in my salad can add creamy texture to it ..
well I have been expanding my food choices some so when I get my cholesteral checked next week I will find out if my new choices made a difference, I am not fond of seeing the doc either but getting an annual exam is something I do.
Monday I see the eye doc that one I hope all is still good then on thursday I see the primary care doc it will be a week or so before I get results ...
I am hopeing I didn;t mess things up by adding other thngs to my plan for better nutrition..
Hugs Judy:)

Barb, I like ranch dressing too so I thin mine down to not quite half water and half dressing. Then I don't pour it on my salad, but dip the tines of my fork into the dressing then take a forkfull of salad. This "distributes" the dressing so that each and every bite has dressing without being drowned in it.
Also, I'm going to chime in on the Ruebens and the occasional pork chop and steaks and..... well, I like em. There. I've said it. And I'm going to continue to eat how I like with my "new improved attitude" toward SERVING SIZES. If I order the 6 oz steak, I'll order my potato with butter and sour cream on the side and will skip the bread basket and eat my salad with "dressed" fork tines as stated above.
AND FYI if you look up those special salads with the Homemade "house" dressings, croutons,cheeses, bacon etc that they come with in the restaurant , you will see that my steak dinner has less fat, less sodium and less calories than if the skinny girlz eat their whole salad. To each his/her own, but mine also gave me more protein than their salad ever could.
Food for thought.
huggs
k

Thanks, Barb. You are right this is an individual journey and we have to do what works for us. I DO celebrate my loss --every time I look in the mirror and think who IS that! I truly want to be healthy, um healthier, but not at the expense of not enjoying life.

Judy, I think I need to know how to do a spreadsheet for all my doctors and appts. LOL Really, I'm starting to plan my wardrobe around clothes that will go well at my dr. appt(s). I need pants or capris that slip over the knee for the knee dr., ect.

Got the names of new dermatologist and eye dr. Now I need a primary dr. The ballroom dance crowd is average age 70, so I get alot of recommendations for drs. there.

Good luck at your eye dr. Let us know outcome.

Love avocados, too.

Happy Monday!

Barb

Kim, I say "hold" the croutons, too when ordering salad. The big salads with hidden carbs and calories aren't the best choice. I think the steak is a good choice. We have gotten into the portion control habit and that is the best thing to do when eating out. Oh, and can you say please bring a box for packing!

Yaaay US!!!

Barb

Balance, balance and practice, practice!

What I am going to say next has nothing to do with any topic but I read this the other day and wrote it down and want to shar it here. It is the acronym HALT. Ask yourself BEFORE the first bite when starting a binge, are you Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. Really, for me the first bit in a binge is mindless comfort eating. I will try to remember HALT and think about why I am doing it.

Now I am going to pass on this thought about when we do indulge in that extra piece of pizza, sometimes we feel like we shot the day so let's continue eating. Just consider for example, when we get a traffic ticket, do we go about breaking all the traffic laws, or just suck it up and do better.

I need all these ideas to help me stay in the mindful eating zone.

Barb