PRAISE THE LORD. My latest lab results were in the medical portal. My blood test for the A1c was very good!!! I was delighted reading the A1c was lower than April's numbers. My number in April was 7. Today's was 5.9 which is within a range that says it is very well controlled. I was truly happy and relieved. I'll continue working at this plus lose weight.
My cholesterol continued to be high. I will see about deliberately eating foods that help lower cholesterol. I'd prefer not taking meds/Statin drugs.
How to lower Cholesterol numbers? What to eat and what to do:
Eat plenty of soluble fiber. Foods high in soluble fiber help prevent your digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol. These foods include
- Whole-grain cereals such as oatmeal and oat bran
- Fruits such as apples, bananas, oranges, pears, and prunes
- Legumes such as kidney beans, lentils, chick peas, black-eyed peas, and lima beans
- Avocados.
- Choose healthier fats such as lean meat, nuts, and unsaturated oils like olive, and avocado oils.
- Limit foods with cholesterol. If you are trying to lower your cholesterol, you should have less than 200 mg a day of cholesterol. Cholesterol is in foods of animal origin, such as liver and other organ meats, egg yolks, shrimp, and whole milk dairy products.
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can increase important cholesterol-lowering compounds in your diet. These compounds, called plant stanols or sterols, work like soluble fiber.
- Eat fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. These acids won't lower your LDL level, but they may help raise your HDL level. They may also protect your heart from blood clots and inflammation and reduce your risk of heart attack. Fish that are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, tuna (canned or fresh), and mackerel. Try to eat these fish two times a week.
- Take Metamucil.
THERE IS HOPE. IT'S CALLED CHANGE.
I have changed my eating habits the last 4 months. I lost weight and lowered my A1c. I will continue watching what I eat and drink spring water. For now, I cannot do another round of the Grapefruit Diet/Mayo Clinic Diet as strict and limited as it is. I had some issues and cannot continue.
Soooooo, I will return to eating a larger selection of organic veggies and fruits documenting everything I eat through My Fitness Pal. Then I print each days foods and know the calories.
Cut back on the meats, but when I do eat meats, I will strive to eat grass-fed organic beef and organic chicken. Lean foods like turkey and fatty fish. Eat legumes, nuts, organic eggs for protein.
Avoid grains and go easy on the dairy. Seldom will I do sweets even sugar-free sweets. Use olive oil and take supplements, minerals, vitamins.
I'll drink 4 oz. of organic, unsweetened grapefruit juice after my meals if we are at HOME. Drink V8 for Breakfast. Continue with lunch time salads. Supper will be a meat selection with steamed or cooked veggies. Evening Snack will be 1 cup popcorn. Bedtime snack will be 2% Hormone Free Organic Milk or organic tomato juice. Throughout the day I will drink Spring Water and on occasion unsweetened Iced-Tea.
Here's to another round of CHANGE. I will see if the Doctor wants my Cholesterol checked again in 4 months. I will let him know that I would like to work at lowering this naturally and continue to lose weight at the same time.
I was reading about how to break a plateau with weight. I think it is challenging to say the least. I am to eat around 1200 calories each day and then a couple days a week I am to drop the calories to about 800 calories a day. I thought this was unhealthy, but the sight this came from was a medical one. I had been eating between 600 and 800 calories on some days on the Daniel Diet, The Color Wheel Diet and the Grapefruit Diet. SO I will continue to not overdue it.
Strive for 1200 calories a day and occasionally have a 600-800 calorie a day then go back on 1200 calories.
Lord, help me to lose weight in a healthy way.
TODAY WAS ANOTHER PRODUCTIVE DAY. Before I went to the COTTAGE today, I dropped my Hubby off at the Coffee Shop and went to the THRIFT Store down the block to where he could walk a block to join me after getting his coffee.
First thing in the door I spied a very pretty canister set from Cracker Barrel. Score. I am wanting the COTTAGE to have a bird theme in the Kitchen. This was perfect and the price was great. $6 for the set.
As my Husband walked into the Thrift Shop, he saw me checking out and he said, "It's a good thing I have coffee." grins. I said these will go straight to the COTTAGE.
We drove over across the river and went straight to the COTTAGE. He continued working on the flowerbeds while I went through boxes.
He dug a HUGE tree stump that was embedded in the ground out of the yard that has been there for years. This was a work-out and he did it. Also he dug out a huge chunk of concrete out of the ground that held a circular clothes line. Trimmed some overgrowth. He was successful today.
I felt like I made headway going through boxes of books and other items. Still have more boxes of books to go. They kept appearing as I worked the bedroom. How many more???
ONE TREAT was when I came across childhood artwork. Some of the pieces I do remember from my Grade School, Junior High, High School and Freshman in College days. The Elementary School ones were awful. So so bad. Fun to look at on this day where I was trying to quickly plow through boxes. This one made me slow down and look at each drawing. Regressing some.
I managed to shuffle a small buffet out of one room and scoot it over in front of the Living room bay window to hold a television set. I wished I had taken a picture to show. Had exercise equipment where the buffet would go so it had to be relocated to where the buffet once was. A switch-er-roo. I was sweating when I got done.
Friday, I hope to return to the COTTAGE and work at clearing out more stuff from the Master Bedroom. There is so much stuff in there it isn't difficult to see that hours of work will go into clearing the room out.
I have it in me to do this thing. I am well able to do this thing.
Only one box went to GOODWILL tonight. Hopefully tomorrow, I will have several boxes to donate. The more the better.
The more the better. Lord, Please help me to make QUICK work out of this clean-up. Pulling all the stops out.
There are three maybe four huge boxes that hold office things of my Husband's. I think I need to empty the boxes onto the floor in neat piles and allow him to go through these piles and say yah or nay.
We were tired when we quit today. Loaded up in the car and went to Menards in Manhattan needing Peat Moss to work into new flowerbeds, some flower containers for repotting the white Geraniums and bottled water. We grabbed Supper and ate under a shade tree. HOME looked good to me tonight as I am very tired.
The sun was a vibrant orange and the picture doesn't do it justice. It was so pretty to see.
