| Lowering my LDL; aka, Lousy Cholesterol! |
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I promised to keep you updated on my battle to lower my LDL and the more I struggle with this, the more I like the term "lousy cholesterol". This has got to be an easier war to wage in the summer; winter is a time for snuggling in with comfort foods like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, not grilled salmon with rice pilaf, steamed veggies and salad. Fortunately my husband has been extremely supportive. Even he has joined ranks by reading nutrition labels and buying items that are high in fiber and low cholesterol. And he doesn't say a word when I switch-out the regular pasta in his favorite homemade mac 'n cheese dish for whole wheat or multi-grain or use low/no -fat products. That's where this sits right now...it's a real struggle. I suppose what makes this extra hard is that I cannot see the results; if you go on a diet to lose weight, you step on the scale to see how much you've lost or your clothes start to fit better. But with this new diet I have to wait 6 months and then have a blood test. Therein lies the struggle, to stay the course while not seeing immediate results. So how do I "stay the course"? I keep track of what I need to eat each day to boost my daily fiber and add Omega-3s: a high-fiber breakfast; morning snacks of fresh fruit and veggies, a small handful of nuts; a big veggie salad for lunch with lowfat dressing and sometimes grilled salmon or tuna; afternoon snacks of veggie chips with hummus or low-fat cheese with Triscuits; and for dinner we almost always have a salad (yes, another one!), steamed or sauteed vegetables, and we've dramatically cut back on red meats. I've also look for items that contain plant sterols, like Promise activ, which are said to lower cholesterol by 10-15% if consumed daily. It may sound like a big changes, but actually they are just little adjustments that I've made...and maybe that's the key - to remember that a war is won with small battles. Little steps forward will hopefully get me there. |