Tweet
Oh dear! A little cry for help...
Oh boy! Just when I was relaxing into maintenance and anticipating a delicious WOE for the rest of my life… a nasty little surprise: bloodwork.
About nine months before starting Atkins my bloodwork was good, apart from a very, very slightly raised cholesterol… nothing to worry about, according to the doctor, who didn’t suggest any diet changes or medications at the time. I can’t find those old results, more’s the pity, and doctors here in Italy don’t keep them. I don’t remember the exact figures of any of the cholesterol groups. Oh well…
After ten months on Atkins I thought it about time to have new bloodwork done, and was blithely convinced that my cholesterol levels would be way better. Got the new results yesterday.
Oh dear!
Well… in ways they are terrific, and in other ways just awful:
Total cholesterol: 270 (Shock! Horror! Never seen anyone on this board with a total that high.)
Trigs: 47 (Yay!)
HDL: 96 (Yay!!!!!)
LDL: 165 (Shock! Horror!)
Ratio: 2.8 (Yayy!!!!)
So… seems to me that the good is very good and the bad is pretty damn awful! But if I read Dr A correctly, the cardio risk is probably good. (I hope!)
Problem is…here in Italy no one has ever heard of Atkins, and the doctors are all firmly locked into the low fat mind bend. Can’t have the pasta industry collapsing, after all!! Tomorrow or Friday I’ll take these results to my doctor… and I anticipate a battle royal, as he’s bound to want to put me on meds to reduce the total and LDL. Groans.
Now, I’m in a quandary: I don’t want to take meds. I love Atkins because it allows me to eat things I adore: plenty of meat, veggies, eggs, cream, butter and cheese. Fish I eat (tuna) often for lunch, and other fish about twice a week, but am not really a huge fan of fish. I already cook almost exclusively with olive oil. I exercise 35 mins a day and walk the dogs (brisk up hill and down dale stuff) also 35 mins a day, making more than an hour a day (every day!). No time for more… as it is I get up at 5.30 to get that in.
I don’t mind tweaking my menu a little (emphasis on the a little)to exchange some sat fats for more healthy varieties, but I really don’t want to be scared and overly conscious of whatever I put in my mouth (apart from carbs). If I have to do without carbs and also too many of those delicious fats… I’ll be miserable.
Have to say that now, I’m a little scared. Today I didn’t have my usual two eggs for breakfast. Instead I had a measly half cup of cooked oats (11 carbs… and I only eat 40-45 a day!) and a quarter of avocado. It was miserable. Oat bran, according to my carb book is over 25 g carbs for a cup (cooked!)… and you need one cup a day, apparently to improve cholesterol. That would only leave me 15-20 carbs for the rest of the day…
Sorry to sound so whiney… but have to admit I’m very disappointed. My main fear is that if I have to make substantial changes to the way I eat, I’ll get discouraged and fall off the wagon for good.
Any thoughts or help would be enormously appreaciated!
I seem to remember Betty saying somewhere that she had some good links regarding the ‘cholesterol myth’. If you’re reading this Betty… I’d be very interested and really appreciate your passing them on.
Thanks pals
Sal
About nine months before starting Atkins my bloodwork was good, apart from a very, very slightly raised cholesterol… nothing to worry about, according to the doctor, who didn’t suggest any diet changes or medications at the time. I can’t find those old results, more’s the pity, and doctors here in Italy don’t keep them. I don’t remember the exact figures of any of the cholesterol groups. Oh well…
After ten months on Atkins I thought it about time to have new bloodwork done, and was blithely convinced that my cholesterol levels would be way better. Got the new results yesterday.
Oh dear!
Well… in ways they are terrific, and in other ways just awful:
Total cholesterol: 270 (Shock! Horror! Never seen anyone on this board with a total that high.)
Trigs: 47 (Yay!)
HDL: 96 (Yay!!!!!)
LDL: 165 (Shock! Horror!)
Ratio: 2.8 (Yayy!!!!)
So… seems to me that the good is very good and the bad is pretty damn awful! But if I read Dr A correctly, the cardio risk is probably good. (I hope!)
Problem is…here in Italy no one has ever heard of Atkins, and the doctors are all firmly locked into the low fat mind bend. Can’t have the pasta industry collapsing, after all!! Tomorrow or Friday I’ll take these results to my doctor… and I anticipate a battle royal, as he’s bound to want to put me on meds to reduce the total and LDL. Groans.
Now, I’m in a quandary: I don’t want to take meds. I love Atkins because it allows me to eat things I adore: plenty of meat, veggies, eggs, cream, butter and cheese. Fish I eat (tuna) often for lunch, and other fish about twice a week, but am not really a huge fan of fish. I already cook almost exclusively with olive oil. I exercise 35 mins a day and walk the dogs (brisk up hill and down dale stuff) also 35 mins a day, making more than an hour a day (every day!). No time for more… as it is I get up at 5.30 to get that in.
I don’t mind tweaking my menu a little (emphasis on the a little)to exchange some sat fats for more healthy varieties, but I really don’t want to be scared and overly conscious of whatever I put in my mouth (apart from carbs). If I have to do without carbs and also too many of those delicious fats… I’ll be miserable.
Have to say that now, I’m a little scared. Today I didn’t have my usual two eggs for breakfast. Instead I had a measly half cup of cooked oats (11 carbs… and I only eat 40-45 a day!) and a quarter of avocado. It was miserable. Oat bran, according to my carb book is over 25 g carbs for a cup (cooked!)… and you need one cup a day, apparently to improve cholesterol. That would only leave me 15-20 carbs for the rest of the day…
Sorry to sound so whiney… but have to admit I’m very disappointed. My main fear is that if I have to make substantial changes to the way I eat, I’ll get discouraged and fall off the wagon for good.
Any thoughts or help would be enormously appreaciated!
I seem to remember Betty saying somewhere that she had some good links regarding the ‘cholesterol myth’. If you’re reading this Betty… I’d be very interested and really appreciate your passing them on.
Thanks pals
Sal
good for your doc but do try to get more soluble fibers into your Atkins cause the less you got the less their is to make artery plaque.
[/IMG]
Comment