I am not a doctor and you are not my patient. I am a guy with high cholesterol and I am sharing with you a non-medical way that I was able to lower mine. I do suggest discussing any medical issues or dietary changes with your physician.
You all need to ask yourself if you can change your eating lifestyle....permanently!
Ask youself.... Can I live without butter, margerine, cream, whole milk, ice cream, fruit juices, pop/soda, canned fruit in syrup, and certain cheeses? Can I live without chips, pringles, and doritos? No more burgers with cheese from Beaches and Cream. No more alfredo sauce at Chef Mickey's Buffet. I found good whole food at Disney. It is there. The salads at Wilderness lodge are awesome.
Vacation is not an excuse and I bombed out about once a day. Even with all of the walking I gained about 4 pounds over the span of 8 days. I did not practice what I am preaching but we are all human and luckily I do not live at Disney.
Can you go to a restaraunt and tell them how to prepare your meal? It's tough at first but gets easier with time. After you leave the table, ask yourself, "How could I have ordered differently to make it a healthier meal but still just as satisfying?" You'll develop skills and patterns on how to best order your entre.
Do you have time to walk 30-40 minutes 5 days per week?
Can you change the way you cook? Use PAM spray on a non-stick fry pan instead of oil? It doesn't sound or look like the way they cook on TV, but hek, this is your health and your life you're talking about, not how Martha's sauce looks.
This is not a diet for an individual, it is the way a household needs to eat out or prepare meals at home. Eliminate any fat that is solid at room temperature, except maybe for benecol spread and even that can be replaced with the butter spray. " I can't beleive it's not butter"
Veggies are unlimited, fruits 3-4 per day as snacks and desserts. Meats limited to fish,poultry, soy/tofu. Three 5oz servings per day. Limit red meat to 1 per week. ( 3 egg whites = 1 meat serving) Switch your bread consumption over to whole grain. Make sure it is truly whole grain, some are misleading.. look for total soluble fiber.. Limit yourself to 2- skim milk servings per day
Acceptable fat servings 5-6 per day..1 tbsp mayo, 5 olives, 1/4 avacado, 1 tbsp of seed, 7-10 nuts.
Also, do not bank servings for a large meal. Mix the different servings with each other throughout the day.
Acceptable starches 5-6 per day, 1 small dinner roll, 1 slice of bread, 1/2 pita, 1/2 bagel, 1/2 english muffin, 3 cups popcorn(95% fat free), 1 cup pretzels.
Did I mention water. Drink 1 glass before each meal and drink another with your meal.
A spouse buying into this new lifestyle makes it a team effort for the whole family. Track what you eat down to the last crumb for about 2-3 weeks. Be honest with yourself. Spread the meals out and have small snacks in between.
This is not a calorie counting diet, however do not buy any packaged food that has more than 3-4 grams of fat per serving.
If you have a specific question I'd gladly take an uneducated stab at it.
The above plan was given to me by a clinical nutritionist, based on his findings about my current cholesterol levels, weight, age, and height.
380, 190, 37, 5'7"
Good Luck,
Yo
