Any Young Moms with High Cholesterol...???

Dear A.,

Remember that exercise is an important part of weight loss. It doesn't have to be at a gym. You can plan your day so that you walk early in the a.m. before your husband goes to work, and in the evening. You don't have to walk far the at first, but as you get stronger and leaner, you will want to walk further.

Get that book written by Bob - I forget his last name. He is Oprah's trainer. Go on her website maybe there is a notice there about his new book, it is very good and talks about exercise and diet both. Good Luck, C. N.

Hi!

I just had to take the time to write and tell you that contrary to what everyone has conventionally believed, cholesterol is not primarily caused by fat intake. It is actually the sugar and refined carbohydrates like white flour, etc. Or more correctly, it is the out of control blood sugar that makes you insulin resistant, as well as heavier. I strongly recommend you learn how to regulate your blood sugar by eating protein first at every meal and snack (it slows down the release of insulin - fiber and fat does too, a good thing!!). Eat frequently. If you cut way back on sugar 90% of the time (I have a sweet tooth too!), you will lose weight and lower your cholesterol. Fiber is great - fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes. Also look inot glucomannan fiber - it's awesome. There are so many good books out about this. Any of the Zone books could explain it(Dr. Barry Sears)- I love the Omega Rx Zone. It will explain also how pharmaceutical grade fish oil can help you lower your cholesterol. Ultrametabolism by Dr. Hyman. You on a Diet is really great too. I also have learned so much from Dr. Nicolas Perricone's books.

Do check out your thyroid, but it's hard to find a doctor that will listen to you sometimes (most of the time) - I know from experience. Before even bothering, first get a basal thermometer that measures in tenths of a degree. First thing in the morning before getting out of bed or doing anything, take your temperature UNDER YOUR ARM. Do it for several days - the first few days of your menstrual cycle are the most accurate. It should be 97.5-98 degrees. If it is lower than 97.5, you are likely hypothyroid. See, it is a really accurate measure of your metabolism, and that is controlled by thyroid. If you do have a low waking basal temp, check out the book "Thyroid Power" - I got it from the library.

I finally found a good doctor that listened to me. He said the tests were worthless and gave me a thyroid prescription just based on my basal temp. He is the doctor at the Ageless Zone medical spa. Anyway, good luck!

I'm so sorry you are going through this, but I have to say that it makes me feel better that I'm not alone! I am 27 and I just found out I have high cholesterol too. My husband and I had to have physicals in order to get life insurance, and my results came back that my levels were high. So far I haven't seen my regular doctor yet, but I have an appointment soon. At first I didn't believe that I could have high cholesterol since I'm so young, but I guess it happens. Like you, I'm heavier than I have ever been. I have been blaming it on the fact that I had a baby, but my baby is 2 now, so I can't use that excuse much longer!
Anyways, I just wanted to say that you are not alone. Good luck with the healthier diet - I am determined to eat better and exercise too!

Hi A.,

Well it sounds like you've done the first step by admitting that you need to make changes for your family, but just remember that you gotta want to do it for yourself also, YOU are a very important person in YOUR life. Sometimes we get so caught up in our family lives that we forget about our own happiness, and I'm sure once you start losing weight for you, your family will start to notice that you are happy and they will be happy also. So really dig deep inside you to get that self-motivation for yourself. You really have to want it that bad. So here are some ideas for you,

1. Start out by cutting simple calories and saturated fats out of your normal meals. If you drink Soda, drink water instead, you'll find that you have more energy this way. Try to stay away from juice as much as you can also, but juice is better than soda (Orange Juice or Prune Juice would be best).

2. Try eating oatmeal or oat bran for breakfast. Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol. Soluble fiber is also found in kidney beans, brussels sprouts, apples, pears, barley and prunes.

3. Walnuts and almonds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids so they keep your blood vessels healthy and elastic, but remember they are high in calories so don't overconsume them. So instead replace foods that you normally eat like cheese, lunch meat, or croutons in your salad (these are high in saturated fats)with nuts instead.

4. I'm not sure if you like fish, but fish have Omega-3 fatty acids which will lower your cholesterol. Here are some fish with really high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, mackerel, salmon, albacore tuna, sardines, lake trout, herring and of course you should only bake or grill them in order for them to do you any good. If you don't like fish, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola oil are also high in Omega-3 fatty acids. Costco carries a flaxseed bread that is delicious.

5. Of course daily exercise is just as important for you as eating all those great things. You don't have to do really strenous excercise, try taking your son and your husband if possible for a walk at LEAST 1/2 hour a day. I know when I take my daughter for a walk she loves it. I don't know where you live, but taking a walk in the late afternoon to catch a sunset is one of my favorite things to do.

I really wish you well and luck with everything. I hope I have given you some great ideas to start with. Let me know how you are doing in the future. Just remember your health is the key to living a happy and long life.

GOOD LUCK AND I WISH THE BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
M.

Hi! I'm 33 and have always tested high in the cholesterol area (even in high school). For me, it's the genetic thing MOSTLY. I'm sure the chocolate here and there doesn't help! :-) Don't be scared, though. If a major change in diet and lifestyle is scary or hard to think about, do it slowly. Read up and know what is high in cholesterol and slowly cut things out. For me, it was hard to give up shrimp, but I know they are BAD. Exercise is supposed to help, too, so your motivation is good!

As for me, they finally put me on Zocor. I just did the blood test Friday so I don't know how well it's working. Nothing I did really lowered it which is why they resorted to medicine. I was exercising and eating well. Sometimes it's just genetics. All you can do is do what you can and leave the rest in God's hands. You'll be fine! Good luck!

Hi A.. I don't have high Cholesterol, but my husband does. We started a new diet in February. Since that time he has droped his bad Cholesterol by 50 pts and has doubled his good Cholesterol. We follow the "You on a Diet" by Dr's Roizen and Oz. You can get the book almost everywhere (Costco is where I purchased mine). It is a very easy to read book and really goes into detail on everything! My husband doesn't have much time to work out....he's lost 20 pounds. I do walk every day for an hour and i have lost close to 40. (I've tried every diet imaginable and this is the only one that has worked). My husbands Dr's are very pleased w/his Cholesterol numbers. He has even had to lower his blood pressure medication. Please feel free to e-mail me personally. Good Luck!

~S. ____@____.com

Hi A.,

My doc. has been trying to get me to take cholosterol meds. for a while now, but I've refused-because I didn't want to deal with side effects & because my husband believes they (docs) assume the worst in people in that they won't change.

I did the research and there's a lot you can do to change or improve your cholesterol. For one thing, cut back on the foods that are high in fat & cholesterol. Another is to up your exercise. It helps increase our LDL (good cholesterol) and can decrease our HDL (bad cholesterol) I hope I didn't get those two mixed up! :) And doing some exercise 4-5x a week will help, like walking. I also read that taking garlic pills (Costco has some that you only have to take 1x a day) will help and eating flax meal-flax meal is full of Omega-3s, lignans, and fiber. Changes like these are going to help. Even eating oatmeal for the next month or so should do something. I've eaten flax meal and up'd my exercise and I saw some improvement on my cholesterol.

Try to stay away from red meats, but eat turkey & chicken. Also try eating fish 2-3x a week. Small changes like these should help your cholesterol. I wouldn't start taking the meds. until you've tried other alternatives. Of course I'm not a doc. so do what you believe is best for you. Hope this helps!

My doctor was concerned about my cholesterol levels and I did a little research and found that I had multiple symptoms for hypothyroidism (high cholesterol being one of them.) Other symptoms are weight gain with difficulty losing, dry skin and hair, swollen fingers and puffy eyes, decreased libido, chronic fatigue, respiratory infections (among others.) Just Google "hypothyroidism symptoms" and do a little reading.

Your doctor may give you a little grief about being tested for hypothyroidism. Other people have told me this. I don't know why, other than the fact that the test and the meds are very cheap compared to meds for lowering cholesterol and depression, which my doctor insisted on. I knew I wasn't depressed, I was tired!

Since being on thyroid hormone replacement meds my weight is coming off, my cholesterol level have dropped, I have more energy and my libido has gone through the roof. It's just a simple blood test and may be worth it to check out, at the very least financially. Like I said, the meds are cheap.

Hi..i actually just got the same news however i had a biopsy done at the same time so when the biopsy was negative the cholestrol problem didn't seem so bad....at the time...
Although I am not as young as you , both my husband & I have too high cholestrol. I have been doing some reading etc on the subject. One thing I found was "Flax Seed"...it is supposed to be one of the best things you can eat for better cholestrol...it has higher anti-occidents than broccoli!! You can use the seed "milled" to make bread and it can be added to smoothies if you like...try it.. I actually purchased flax seeds at of all places the wonder bread store..But i'm sure any health food store would have it.. You need to eat items high in anti occidents,such as cherries,cranberries,blueberries fresh are better but frozen is still good!!!! hope this helps...good luck & god bless....

Try weight watchers. I know it can be a little bit expensive, $14 a week, but it was SO worth it for me. I lost almost 40 pounds while on it for 3 months and it really taught me about how I needed to change my eating habits and portions. There is no restriction on what you eat, just how much you are eating at every meal. It really made me aware of what a portion was and how I needed to control myself. I wish you much luck in your weight loss, I am right there with you, I still need to lose all of my baby wieght, and I have a long way to go. Good luck to you.

First off, try joining Weight Watchers. I had high blood pressure because I was too heavy & just couldn't get motivated by myself. I didn't generally stay for the meetings but just the weigh-ins were very motivating. Simple changes like eating oatmeal porridge for breakfast (very quick to make in the microwave, but make sure it is not the instant oatmeal) & avoiding foods with transfats/partially hydrogenated oils can help. (Also, the usual things - fresh fruit, exercise, whole grains etc...)
Good luck - I know how scary it is to get bad results like that. The good news is that you are young & your body should respond quickly to positive changes.

Wow, A. you have had some great responses with good info and advice. Michelle H. had some very good suggestions and someone wrote about thyroid. There are more extensive tests than the basic that give the best readings for this. I do think it is a good idea to be tested. After my son was born(he will be 4 next month) I too had thyroid issues. It would vascilate between the low and high. I also had high cholesterol. Ultimately I tried a nutritional system in which I went down 2 sizes in a relatively short time but most of all it enabled me to have more energy, lose the cravings for unhealthy carbs and sugar by balancing my blood sugar, and I actually felt like exercising which for me had been so difficult to follow through on. I would be happy to send you more info through the mail if you want. I have been helping friends and family ever since with this. The program emphasizes whole foods in your diet and eliminating processed refined foods. Also choosing more organic foods when you can. In addition cutting the caffeine and refined sugars. All the stuff we hear about on the Ophrah show with Dr. Oz (if you watch that). It is very empowering to take charge of your own health and avoid meds if possible. Some people despite what they do may be genetically predisposed and need them regardless but most of us can alter our health with positive steps. This is also what we model to our kids. I would love to talk with you and give support if you'd like. Good luck, D. ###-###-####