Dieting question Copa or others...Keto with fasting

[Copabanana]

Well. I found something very interesting. This is a quote: They found that statin drugs, which are highly effective in reducing heart disease risk, actually not only lowered cholesterol, but also calmed inflammation.

It seems that researchers are coming to the belief (thank you Elsi) that inflammation is what is behind heart attacks and cardiovascular disease in general.

I am still going to look to see if high cholesterol is related to inflammation.

 

[BusynMember]

I will look it up. Thanks.

The hereditary type of high cholestral does not go down like regular cholestral can and I have no side effects or problems with the low dose of medication and moreover my cholestral shot down to normal so i am going with that. I have had tests to determine if I have any vitamin deficiencies and I dont, except D (which had been a problem for years, way before this one pill). I take a supplement for D.

In general, I have been blessed with good health so far... No high blood pressure or diabetes or heart issues....I feel very good. So Im going to stick with what works unless something happens. If things go south I will reevaluate

Thank you for caring.

 

[Copabanana]

I have so much more to do but I am out of control. High cholesterol is related to diet. We know that. But not in the way we think. It is not eggs, meat and fat that cause it. Carbohydrates and sugar do. Because the liver converts them to fats. Cholesterol is actually good. It is sent off by the liver to the arteries to repair them. But what happens is there comes to be too much.

This is a quote.

Cholesterol production increases when the body is under stress: emotional stress can cause elevated cholesterol because the stress hormone cortisol is made out of cholesterol. Physical stress on the body can also elevate cholesterol. Because cholesterol helps to repair and heal your body, you will produce more if there is a great deal of inflammation occurring in your body. So all those factors above that raise inflammation, can raise your cholesterol too.

Therefore the cure for elevated cholesterol can be quite simple – lower the inflammation and you’ll also lower the cholesterol.

What this article is focusing upon is STRESS. Stress elevates cholesterol. Stress elevates inflammation.

I do not want this stress for me to fade into the background. Because when I begin to lose myself, due to my despair about my son, I lose every single self-care practice that I have. I do not eat chips or cookies. That is good. But I stop my exercise. I stop my supplements. And I become a wreck.

I have wondered if this forum for me has become problematic, because as I stay here I focus upon my son, and my investment in him. This thread represents something different. Thank you SWOT and Elsi. This is very important learning for me.

 

[Copabanana]

high cholestral does not go down like regular cholestral

I have it too, SWOT. And the Red Yeast Rice I take is just a natural form of the medicine you take. No better. Maybe worse. But the Krill oil, the Cholesteroff, the Psillium fiber cannot hurt me. They can only help me. It is funny. I have very low Vitamin D, too. I think it is related to the cholesterol.

 

[BusynMember]

Copa...look up hereditary cholestral. Its different. I eat well and work out. I believe that my cholestral is not the normal type as I was told.

I am tired now.

Again, thank you a lot for caring, but I got this

 

[Copabanana]

coenzyme Q10. That is the supplement that helps with side effects of statin drugs for high cholesterol. I take it because I take the Red Yeast Rice. They sell it at Costco and Walmart.

 

[Copabanana]

hereditary cholestral

SWOT. Go to bed. I have the same thing as YOU. No different.

 

[BusynMember]

Yes. I know you do. You are very knowledgeable.

You have a wonderful night of peace!!

 

[Tired out]

Now they changed WW from points to 200 zero value foods.

I still do WW (I'm lifetime) they still have points. I have 23/day. there are quite a few zero point foods (chicken breast, fruit, veggies, fish)

Whaattt? I lose on average ONE POUND PER MONTH. And that is with walking 4 miles (it takes me 75 minutes) and doing 3 hours of resistance each week. Plus walking around all day.

I just followed WW for the weight loss. back then (I think) it was 28 points/day. I went from 164 to 137 - I journaled and counted everything I put in my mouth.I put myself on a scheduled and followed it, I was dedicated. out of bed at 6am, hard boiled egg, 1/2 cup of fruit - got son to school at 8:30 then and out the door. I ran 1 hour, 4.3 miles every morning, (that is our reservoir track, you can't stop in the middle, no way to get back except to complete the circle reservoir, so after you are half way your might as well keep going) back home by 10am, weights and housework. 12:00- lunch chicken breast, cottage cheese, unsweetened ice tea and an apple, 1:00- 30-40 minute walk , 3:00 kids home, make dinner then walk from 5:30-6/6:30. fruit, nothing else after 7pm. When I was in weight loss mode I was never under 22,000 steps.
That's probably more info than you wanted, but that's how I did it. I didn't want to pay for WW any longer than I absolutely HAD to.
Now that I am just maintenance to keep weight off I don't stress about step but under 15,000 would be a rarity. I LOVE to walk, it is my alone time.
I am a firm believer that if someone writes down everything they are going to eat BEFORE they eat it, it is much easier to loose weight because it make them really consider it first..is it worth it? is there a better choice?
We do have free weights, a universal gym/machine, elliptical , weight bench etc.

 

[Copabanana]

Tired out. That is remarkable. I appreciate absolutely the detail. And I love the dedication to self-care. I think I eat way more than I want to be aware of.

I remember I was going to a nutritionist to lose weight. I was about the weight I am now. I was whining. (Kind of like I do here.)

I told her about my lunch. I was taking college classes in San Francisco and loved my life. I went to a Taqueria every day for lunch after class. I had a burrito with a beer. Happily. The nutritionist said I consumed in that lunch all the calories I required for the day. So there it is.

I am going to begin to do just as you did. Measure and write down everything. I did weightwatchers and was not in love but I did it on the computer. I will go to a meeting, and see.

We have no weight equipment but I have a free membership to a gym with a pool that is 5 minutes away.

Final question. How do you do so many steps everyday?

What I am really getting from this thread is that all of this has to come first before everything else. For me, it always falls away the minute I have stress or sadness or obligation. But I am seeing that I require a set of core self-care commitments that must come first for the rest of the life. And if I feel that I am unable to sustain them, something else in my life has to change. But not the commitments. The commitments I need to sustain like breathing. They may be nearly as important.

Thank you. I feel such gratitude to all of you.

 

[Elsi]

I also want to know how to get 15000 steps in! I do my morning workouts, but then I work from home so I don’t really have to take more than a few steps the whole rest of the day. I know they say all day sitting is still bad even if you do a morning workout first.

Copa, if you’re interested in food tracking/journaling, there are some great apps that make it easy. I use the Lose It app. It keeps me honest when I find myself slipping. I dont do the deluxe - just the basic free version.

What I am really getting from this thread is that all of this has to come first before everything else. For me, it always falls away the minute I have stress or sadness or obligation. But I am seeing that I require a set of core self-care commitments that must come first for the rest of the life. And if I feel that I am unable to sustain them, something else in my life has to change. But not the commitments. The commitments I need to sustain like breathing. They may be nearly as important.

They are! We have to take care of ourselves first. This is not selfishness, this is practical truth. Remember why they tell you on an airplane to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping a small child? Because if you pass out, you cannot help yourself or the child, and the child cannot help you. This is the situation we are in every day here. If we do not take care of ourselves, we will not be to help anyone, and chances are they will not be in a position to help us. And it is a positive lesson we are modeling for them. We are all responsible for taking care of our own health and material needs, for now and for our futures. Look, this is how we do that. I see every workout and every healthy meal as an investment for my future, so I can stay healthy and independent as long as possible.

 

[bluebell]

I wish I could do yoga again Elsi! I have glaucoma that is at present uncontrolled and Dr. put a stop to it. I am so bummed about that whole thing. It's probably related to inflammation/carbs too. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I went full Keto and a lot of these things got better (probably not the perimenopause tho)? Well it's a day/meal at a time.

I agree about the modeling for our Difficult Child. Every time my son comes over I show him my Fitbit, or my fancy new scale or something. This last time I told him I no longer drink alcohol - he had gotten drunk and puked in our kitchen the week before so I was trying to make a point. I've never really discussed anything about my self care with him because when he was younger he hated that I was sick all the time. My job lets me work from home if it's bad and he hated that I was home - I can only guess. He was so brutal about it. But I'm rising above and showing him that I do love myself and I am trying - and hopefully he gets the message someday that he can too.

My husband and I have ailing elderly parents as well so self-care becomes more poignant as we get older as well. And we are sandwiched with responsibilities. I hate to say this - but our parents expect so much of us sometimes it is draining. I cannot imagine either of mine really able to handle that kind of thing with us. Hopefully they will grow up. In the meantime we are saving money for our eventual care.

 

[Elsi]

I wish I could do yoga again Elsi! I have glaucoma that is at present uncontrolled and Dr. put a stop to it. I am so bummed about that whole thing.

No yoga at all? Is it because physical activity will increase the pressure in your eyes? Could you do some of the gentle stretches at least, without all the getting up and down off the mat? I hope you get that under control soon!

I know the elder care is very draining. My family seems to be long-lived - my materials grandparents made it to 98 and 99, and I was very involved in their care. Even between mom, my aunt and me, it was a lot of work over their last five years! Physically, emotionally, administratively. I know I'll be the primary caretaker for mom. I KNOW my difficult ones will never be in a position where I could count on them for that kind of care and support when I get there. I just hope they are taking care of themselves. My youngest, E, is very together and very supportive, but it seems so unfair to leave her with the whole burden just because she's got her life together! Thinking about all this, and witnessing my grandparents' final days, is a huge incentive for me to take care of my own health.

OK - on the clock for a client today. Time to get to work!

 

[bluebell]

Elsi,
Yes, a lot of the poses increase your eye pressure. I think instead of wanting to learn about yoga, she just said best not to until we find something that works or refer me for surgery to get the pressure down. I have a swimming pool and bought a scuba mask so that pressure would be better on the eyes, but swimming season is over. I have to watch the weights too and just do dumbbells, wimpy weights, more reps. I've seen some interesting studies about glaucoma being related to blood sugar/diabetes. Still hopeful.

Sorry SWOT about this thread getting hijacked and going viral. You have hit a nerve!

 

[BusynMember]

I love this thread!

I got 15000 steps easily when I worked at Applebees. You never stopped RUNNING! But I am in my 60s and can not comfortably exercise as much or hard as I once did or try to do (I do get too sore) and I dont want to overdo it. 10k for me often includes jogging.

I wake up early to have time to work out tne way I want. Since we are retired now, we are busier than ever and run chores for our kids who work full time. And it seems like we always on the go plus I make time to volunteer and see my good friends at the mental health social center....it is like an unpaid job. But I love it and the other volunteers and the kids! But not much exercise there

Anything important to us we can make time for. I believe that.

I never had to do it but I would think tjat caring for elderly parents would take much exercise???

My father kept moving a lot like IItry to do. He died at 93. A few months before hois death he danced very briskly at a relatives wedding!! It seemed to be a big hit although I was not there, I saw a video. In that way I try hard to be like him. He never fell ( i recently read something that said if you want to live a long life dont fall!) and he traveled a lot in his either late 60s or 70s or both and never got in the rocking chair! He lived! He lived until he died. He was always in amazing health fpr his age

We all need tolive well as an ongoing goal, i think. It helps even more in my opinion than how you eat. Mind exercises are good too and he did them even at 93. Taking care of yourself is very all around in my opinion. Thats why we also need to stop stressing about our kids at least to the extent that we are able. Stress kills. Most of our difficult kids who bring on stress are not going to be tth ones who worry about us as we age. Why let them get us there?

Yoga, meditation and exercise have all been proven to assist good health. I am looking for a yoga class for people my age 50s and 60s. I am a klutz with no talent but I like working on my balance and am thinking of a dance class with others.

Socializing also helps you stay healthy happy and fit and I am doing that a lot already.

Elsi on the Ww I remember tracking all I ate.i recently dug out an.old notebook and am going to do that again. It is very helpful. Sparks People, I believe, has a way to track online and also shows food calories. Of course WW includes an ap with points. I dont however like rhe new system. I will stick to Keto. But will track.

I do think that if one chooses WW, going to meetings in person is fun, motivating and helpful. There is no putting anyone down there! I tend to be shy with people I dont know well but it was okay


I wish us all good health! Lets do it even better!

 

[Copabanana]

I've seen some interesting studies about glaucoma being related to blood sugar/diabetes. Still hopeful.

Dear Bluebell:

Jason Fung MD (who I referenced in a post to SWOT) is a nephrologist (kidney specialist) who is in Toronto but his work is all over the internet in articles and youtube videos. He became interested in intermittent fasting and diet as a way to help his patients with diabetes a disease which compromises the kidneys. His work (also seen on dietdoctor.com, I think) is very accessible and he is warm and human in his manner. His clinic actually takes distance patients by coordinating with their physicians.

As I research the things that have affected me in my life I am finding core things that may be responsible. Like for example I was born 3 months prematurely at a time this was a huge deal and they did not know how to respond to these infants that survived. I am seeing now that aspects of my personality and response to stress, and my temperament and the way my brain works....good and bad....are likely related to the circumstances of my birth and the lack of response by professionals who did not know how to help me or my parents.

Likewise I think that Elsi has given us a great gift by sharing her focus on inflammation and how it can affect everything about our bodies and minds. I KNEW about this but I refused to keep it front and center. Why? Who knows?

This Dr. Fung by putting his patients on an intermittent fasting, low carb diet protocol is able to wean them off of cholesterol medicine and by my understanding positively affect heart conditions. This occurs even with very ill individuals. Blood sugar drops precipitously.

While I myself would not involve myself as his patient, I very much rely upon his work to guide me to make personal choices about my diet and behavioral choices.

I was able to lower my blood sugar--by accident. My doctor got alarmed by my high blood sugar. While he did not tell me, I saw I was pre-diabetic. By the dietary supplements I used to lower cholesterol my blood sugar dropped a waaaay lot below anything that would even be concerning. (My cholesterol dropped too.) Unfortunately, I stopped doing all of these good things, when I became despondent about my son. But I started again.

While nobody here can speak to anything medical with any authority, there are people here who have done a lot of online and book research in order to deal with themselves and their lives. I trust the people here.

 

[BusynMember]

Copa I like Dr. Fung and totally hope I can get off the medications. Thanks for telling us about him.

 

[Copabanana]

Copa I like Dr. Fung and totally hope I can get off the medications. Thanks for telling us about him.

Hi SWOT.

When you have time and if you want take a look at the supplements I take to lower cholesterol by googling: Krill Oil. (it is just fish). Psillium Husk Fiber (it is just fiber.) Cholestoff is extracts from plants. The only pill I take with any controversy is Red Yeast Rice, which I buy at Costco. This is a plant-based version of the medication you already probably take. I talked to my own doctor about it and he had no problem whatsoever with it. Honestly. I took my overall cholesterol from like 315 to 205. I forgot how much the bad LDL dropped but it was a whole lot. My hope is to try to get my cholesterol to the level that I only have to use the fiber, the cholestoff and the Krill oil, if possible. It is important with the cholestoff to take a good vitamin because I read that it can affect the absorption of vitamins.



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[Elsi]

Krill Oil. (it is just fish). Psillium Husk Fiber (it is just fiber.)

I take both of these as well! Plus vitamin D (I'm dangerously low here) and a magnesium/potassium supplement that helps my migraines.

 

[Elsi]

As I research the things that have affected me in my life I am finding core things that may be responsible.

Next discussion - gut bacteria!