Damnit, I have high cholesterol. What to do?

[IceWindius]

Well, not the news I wanted today. I just got my blood test results in and my LDL cholesterol levels are high, around 240 and my LDL's are low and im 28 years old.

Yeah, im well aware of I need to start excercising more and really watching the cholest and sat fat intake of my foods, which I THOUGHT I was doing, but apparently, not enough.

My new doctor said to also start taking Omega 3 fish oils and something called Niacin, both over the counter stuff to help lower my bad levels, and raise my good levels.

I'm depressed and actually a bit scared, what else can I do so I don't end up another dead statistic?

[Sleepy]

I that as well and I was told about it 2 years ago. I am not suppose to eat anything fatty, no fat dairy and what not. I get yelled at every year by the dr cause it is always high when they test me.

[drnknbndr]

Let's all go running together! I'm not the fittest either. :[

[effNsi]

six weeks of cheerios?

[bizzybearfigiblue]

eat some Cheerios...

[lovecheese]

Lol, first thing I thought of was cheerios.

[Whocares05050]

Running helps ALOT. Mine is 132 last time i checked. I currently run 2 1/2 miles daily.

[PEPE81YOON]

Originally Posted by IceWindius

Well, not the news I wanted today. I just got my blood test results in and my LDL cholesterol levels are high, around 240 and my LDL's are low and im 28 years old.

Yeah, im well aware of I need to start excercising more and really watching the cholest and sat fat intake of my foods, which I THOUGHT I was doing, but apparently, not enough.

My new doctor said to also start taking Omega 3 fish oils and something called Niacin, both over the counter stuff to help lower my bad levels, and raise my good levels.

I'm depressed and actually a bit scared, what else can I do so I don't end up another dead statistic?

Ice Windius,

First off, familiarize yourself with your illness. LDL is basically fat accumulated in your arteries. High LDL is obviously not good. Please don't procrastinate or think this will magically disappear. 240 is high and you must realize you are putting yourself in danger. No one here wants you to die. I'm sure there are people that hate you and would be pissed if they found out you died of natural causes. <--- joke!

Now... to fight cholesterol. As you probably already know... exercise & diet.

Exercise - You must do some cardio... it's good for you whether you have high cholesterol or not. If you've never exercised just start by taking a walk around your neighborhood.

Diet - Watch what you eat. Avoid things like eggs, liver or other organs, dairy products that have fat in them. Try implementing a lot of fiber into your diet like whole grains, whole fruits & vegetables. This will lower LDL and raise HDL. There is an over-the-counter pill but I forget the name. Also there is a powder which you mix with water called Benefiber I think.

If you smoke... drop the cancer stick. Seriously you are too young to be taking prescription meds for cholesterol. Do it the old fashion way with sweat and tears.

Good luck to you friend.

[IceWindius]

Originally Posted by Whocares05050

Running helps ALOT. Mine is 132 last time i checked. I currently run 2 1/2 miles daily.

Originally Posted by PEPE81YOON

Ice Windius,

First off, familiarize yourself with your illness. LDL is basically fat accumulated in your arteries. High LDL is obviously not good. Please don't procrastinate or think this will magically disappear. 240 is high and you must realize you are putting yourself in danger. No one here wants you to die. I'm sure there are people that hate you and would be pissed if they found out you died of natural causes. <--- joke!

Now... to fight cholesterol. As you probably already know... exercise & diet.

Exercise - You must do some cardio... it's good for you whether you have high cholesterol or not. If you've never exercised just start by taking a walk around your neighborhood.

Diet - Watch what you eat. Avoid things like eggs, liver or other organs, dairy products that have fat in them. Try implementing a lot of fiber into your diet like whole grains, whole fruits & vegetables. This will lower LDL and raise HDL. There is an over-the-counter pill but I forget the name. Also there is a powder which you mix with water called Benefiber I think.

If you smoke... drop the cancer stick. Seriously you are too young to be taking prescription meds for cholesterol. Do it the old fashion way with sweat and tears.

Good luck to you friend.

I hate running, can't stand it. I'm gonna start talking walks and playing DDR on my Xbox every night and alternate for starters. I may go renew my subscription to the YMCA for swimming, but im not sure yet.

I rarely eat eggs at home, I only drink skim milk and I don't buy red meat often. If it do, its the lowest fat possible, and I try to wipe it up with paper towels when I cook it.

I've been trying to drink more water to help me fill fuller. I do not smoke or chew, and I only drink socially and mostly wine, hardly beer or hard alchohol.

I guess i'll start buying more premade salad mixes with very light spray on dressings and i'll just be REALLY anal about the fat ratings on the food I buy. I"ll start eating more oatmal in the morning.

Thanks for suggestions guys, keep em coming. I"m printing out Web MD stuff like crazy over here

[lovecheese]

Ice, is it heridatory? Or however that is spelt?

[GeezerSi]

Maybe your dr. will need to prescribe Lipitor?

[vit0]

^ you mean hereditary lol its time for a lifestyle change my friend

[lovecheese]

yeah that's what I mean lol. I wish I had firefox over here.... Sweet auto spellcheck is gold.

[vit0]

no more fast food runs and do lots of cardio

[I Vtec, do you?]

I lost like 15 lbs these past two weeks. I was never really in bad shape, but not really in good shape either.. obviously having the metabolism of a 19 year old guy helped me, but what I did was really quite simple.

I started eating kashi (great, great brand for healthy foods) oatmeal for breakfast. This stuff would keep me full for hours. THen I'd snack on like a bananna/apple and go for a jog, usually for about 20-30 mins. Then after that, I'd come back and drink a glass of skim milk (I try and squeeze in a few a day) and maybe something else small and healthy to eat (like a thing of yogurt or w/e). I'd have a light dinner after that and I was done eating for the day. In the end, you're really only consuming ~1000-1500 calories, so it's not very much. Obviously each person has their own caloric needs so you can't do exactly what everyone else does. I'm only 5'7 or so and small framed so I think 2000 calories is a bit overkill for me.

Anyways, jogging and eating more healthily and less often made me lose a good amount of weight quiteee fast. And this is coming from a guy who has been working out for the past 2 years and still hovered around the same weight (I was about 150-155 for the past two years) without losing any. Now I'm down to about 140 or so in a week.

[nayilsi]

******* whatever u do

dont run

lol

I have been running for the past 1.5 months (everyday for 20 - 30 mins).......and saw no loss of weight
I have also controlled my eating habits.....

Running just takes all ur breathe away, and gives you a hard time.....

[I Vtec, do you?]

Well you're either doing something wrong or there's something wrong with you lol.

You can't just run and and expect to lose weight. Push yourself while you're running, eat right..

[schenck]

Live it up and eat watever u want u only live once so u might as well enjoy it

[nayilsi]

Originally Posted by I Vtec, do you?

Well you're either doing something wrong or there's something wrong with you lol.

You can't just run and and expect to lose weight. Push yourself while you're running, eat right..

People say I lost weight, but when I stand up on a weight machine, it tells me otherwise


WTF

However, I do smoke, right before and immediately after working out......

lol

[vit0]

^here's a thought quit smoking? god i hear so many doctors at work bitch at patients to quit smoking