I’m extremely busy. Also had a doctor’s visit yesterday. Because I have pretty serious white coat, I do home monitoring of my BP. Home BP has been good, but then when Doctor time starts creeping up, it starts to head into the high range. For me it’s like taking an exam. When I know it counts, I get nervous about it and it throws the result. I do best when it’s a reading I know I don’t have to write down.
Other than that, LDL is down to slightly elevated. HDL still good. Triglycerides were a little bit elevated, whereas they were normal last time. Since I’ve been busy, my diet has been atrocious, so considering that I’m not unhappy. Statins do work, at least at bettering your lipid profile. I have a theory that in a few years they are going to conclude the lipid theory was all wrong and the reasons statins work is through some currently unknown anti-inflammatory mechanism. I’m not just pulling that out of my butt — recently there have been drugs that have proved very effective at managing your lipid profile, but don’t show any effect on the rate of heart attack and stroke.
The big thing is I need to lose weight. Over the winter I regained everything I lost last summer. If there’s one thing I really wish I could do is go back in time, find my rail thin younger self grabbing that fourth slice of pizza, and smack the shit out of me while screaming: “Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be to work that shit off when you’re in your 40s?”
I tend to agree with your hypothesis about statins, but take it further that lipid levels are a symptom and not the root cause. Here’s an interesting analysis of some old data that was recently published….
http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i1246
I had similar BP performance anxiety issues. I got a home BP cuff with a memory. I took that in to my doctor so he could review the readings I took at home when I wasn’t stressed.
I’ve lost ~30 pounds since last November entirely by avoiding carbohydrates — which is close to impossible in our culture, which some time ago seemed to adopt pasta as a “health food.” (I have a theory that the onset of the “obesity epidemic” could be found to correlate with our national consumption of pasta.)
Seriously, give the old Adtkin’s Diet books a read.
Now, I’ve lost weight like that before, and gained it back after being slowly lulled back into thinking I could eat the way I used to, and get away with it — which I could, for a time. Now I’m trying to remain committed to thinking I’ll have to stick to a low-carb diet for the rest of my life.
I might mention that personally, a big demotivator for weight loss has been, it never resulted in the associated health benefits (e.g., lower BP and cholesterol) usually attributed to it; but that’s just me, I guess.
1. Proteins, not carbs. Eat enough for your weight and metabolism, much more than that is a waste.
2. #1 requires daily metamucil, regardless of age or other conditions. Trust me.
3. Minimize sugar.
4. Green, leafy vegetables. More is better
5. Fruit. Fresh is better, so is “more.”
6. RE: Daily BP, heart rate, weight, etc. records is why spreadsheets were invented.
6b. Home monitoring of blood sugar may not be necessary, but doing it builds a baseline record.
7. Think “lifestyle” not “diet.”
8. Include exercise in “lifestyle;” moderate level is fine, the frequency is important, and some of it should include working with weights.
Regarding #1, an associate who needed to lose weight while seeking promotion in the Navy, was put on a diet with no carbs whatsoever, but he had the benefit of having his blood monitored every day.
#2, I have never experienced the need for metamucil, but I tend to fill myself with other vegetable fiber. (See #4)
#5. Fruit like apples and bananas can be high carb. Check them out before committing.
#6. As mentioned above, diet and weight loss never had the slightest effect, for me, but that’s just me. (I recall that Dr. Adtkins wrote that different people’s bodies may react totally differently.)
#7 and #8, agree, and I started walking daily, weather permitting. To #7 I’d add, it helps to have a spouse who will support what you’re doing.
I actually lost most of the weight in the first three months or less, including a couple “plateau” periods.
Low carb works for me. The only problem is I love me some french fries. I could give up nearly everything else… but I love french fries.
“The only problem is I love me some french fries.”
You and me both. It was even a family joke at one time, how much I like french fries. Or potatoes in almost any form. . .
But you only need to give them up totally while you are in your active weight-loss phase; once you’ve arrived at an acceptable weight you can treat yourself a time or two a week. Just don’t think you can go back to not rationing yourself, at all.
I was just reminded of an old cartoon: A doctor is saying to an old guy sitting on the examining table, “Oh, it won’t be so bad; after you’ve given up wine and women, you’re not going to feel like singing. . .”
“What a drag it is, getting old. . .”