Hi little bit of advice please, I'm 54 yrs old,female
overweight (classed as obese), and trying to lose 2 stone so a long journey, i have vit d and b12/p.a fibromyalgia recently had some bloods done, cholesterol is set dodgy I haven't spoken to anyone yet
Here are my tests
Serum cholesterol 6.6 range 0.0-5
Serum triglycerides 4.25 range .8-1.8
Serum hdl chol level 1.08 no range
Se non hdl chol level 5.5 range .0-2.5
Serum ldl chol level 3.6 normal range n/a
Serum chol/hdl ratio 6.1 1/1
Obv some are flagged abnormal, really don't want to do statins so looking for any advice at all many thanks
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shortytlc
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The ration, Total cholesterol to HDL, 6.6 / 1.08 = 6.11.
Depending up on your age, BMI, other medical condition, you need to ask your doctor for a risk analysis and full explanation before any medication.
Human body produces 80% cholesterol on demand and 20 % from what goes into our mouth. Regular exercise, watching out for free and hidden can help to control blood numbers.
On Channel 4 there was a programme this evening 9PM, loose 14 pounds in 21 days. Very interesting.
It focused on 800 calories per day to loose weight and get better blood results. I am planning to look at loosing may be 8 pounds to get a better waist and come out of over weight. Very difficult.
I've just watched that was very informative, only thing is they had proper tests, support, diet sheets etc. I've realised I was actually undereating so I'm now eating breakfast, dinner, tea. Hoping I'll lose some weight and get healthier.
My advice is forget about the blood readings, if you get your weight into shape you can then look at the new readings and make some realistic assessment. At the moment worrying about blood when you have a weight problem is putting the cart before the horse. On weight loss my perspective remains unchanged. Forget about how much you eat, forget about exercise both of th
ese are not going to make a long term difference to your weight (long term being the operative word). You need to focus on WHAT you eat. When you take care of this the how much takes care of itself. In terms of what to eat, there is more than one sensible option but start with the question is what I am eating real food. Where was it grown or reared. Anything processed is not real food and you will be surprise at how far this extends. It would be easy to think I am just saying avoid Macdonalds or Treacle Sponge but it go's way beyond those usual suspects. If its not a naturally produced food do not eat it so pasta is not a naturally produced food unless you believe in pasta trees. My own preference is to go down a whole food plant based diet with some wild fish eg salmon, mackerel. The key to this approach is that you are ruling out all addictive foods and make no mistake processed foods are designed to be addictive. take away the addiction and you will find the weight drops off. I lost 30lbs in 3 weeks eating as much as I wanted, again the key word is wanted. If you have a sweet tooth replace desserts with fruit. When your weight returns to normal and do not make the mistake like one of my friends has, of arguing that weight gain is a natural by product of ageing, it is not, you will find that a lot of your blood readings fall into line. The most worrying one from your readings is the high Trig's but this is one that is most susceptible to diet so thats good news, the solution is in your hands... go for it
I sympathise with your health concerns as I've had plenty of my own! Of course, I cannot advise you as I am not a healthcare professional, and in addition, your test numbers are only a snapshot of a 'little bit' of you. They do not represent a full MOT, if you will. But I can share with you my personal history in these matters as some of my scores were similar to yours. I hope it helps.
At the age of 56, I reached my heaviest weight ever, some 24 stones, at which time I was diagnosed with diabetes, with an HB1 score of 8.5. I already knew my LDL was bad, and my total cholesterol was over 6. I was living a sedentary lifestyle and was a comfort eater. I still am. After being frightened to death by attending a diabetes course, and being warned of the consequences (blindness, amputation, stroke, etc.), I was finally moved to action. I had known that my obesity was the major reason for my ill health, but I had not been able (or willing) to do anything about it before. I was shocked into action, and did not want to be on diabetes meds for the rest of my life. So I pleaded with my GP to allow me to try to make lifestyle changes rather than taking drugs. He agreed. I gave myself a year!
We all know how to lose weight, I believe, (well, deep down, anyway!), so I decided to cut out most of the carbs in my diet, but eat anything else I wanted to. For a whole year, I had no potatoes, pasta or rice, and only allowed myself a little wholemeal bread. I cut out sugar almost completely, so no choccy, biscuits or cake, apart from a rare slice of victoria sponge at a tea shop I visited once a fortnight.
It wasn't easy, but this was a lifestyle change I could manage. I also resolved to walk 30 minutes a day which I stuck to after a period of 'acclimatisation' as at first, I could only walk for a couple of minutes due to my bad knees.
The weight naturally came off, and after a year, I was down to 16 stones, and my HB1 had returned to normal. More than that, I felt better in myself, able to do more and live a more active life. My cholesterol scores stubbornly refused to budge, and were still over 6. I have trawled the internet (especially youtube vids) and have decided not to take statins. A personal choice, and I think I understand the risks (if any) of not taking them.
One caveat, a warning, if you will. Since achieving my health 'successes', I have put back on a few stones in weight (remember I said I was a comfort eater) and my HB1 (blood glucose test) has increased, albeit just within the higher normal range. You see, when healthcare professionals talk about physical health concerns (obesity, diabetes, alcohol consumption, smoking etc.) and what to do about them, they rarely look at mental health concerns that go alongside the physical ones, and which may even be the cause of some. I struggle with low mood and negative thoughts, and these do not help me with my health goals. I struggle with these, so there is an argument that, attending to one's physical health without 'attending' to poor mental health, is a recipe for failure, or at least struggle. I think that is where I an now.
Your triglycerides are high because you eat carbs if you were to eat lchf or keto then you will lose weight and keep it off. eat real food anything with more than 6 ingredients is bound to contain sugar and processed carbs. Low fat food has less taste so they add sugar to make it palatable
Fat is stored as a response to insulin, insulin is a response to sugar and carbohydrates. If you eat a calorie deficit your body metabolism will slow down and store fat and you will yo-yo diet loose a bit and then gain it later. If you eat lchf or keto you will repair your metabolism and will lose weight without feeling hungry. I have gone from mildly obese to normal my blood pressure is normal too with less medication
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