[HelenMay]

Hi Ladies,

I`m 58, post menopausal, hypothyroid. I was always pretty thin my entire life till I met my still thin DH. I deliberately gained a ton of weight during pregnancy because I was 42 when I had DS and I read that "older mothers have lower birth weight babies". It was the first time I ate with utter abandon. I lost the weight doing first WW and then switched to Atkins. I did really well on Atkins and had a ton of energy. I was 114 on DS 2nd birthday.

Since then, cooking for the family, menopause and a low throid function, and justifying eating unhealthy stuff and too much alcohol (cosmos and red wine) have caused me to get up to my present weight of 152. I`m only 5`1 and it really is too much on me. In addition we moved to Europe and I gave up eating steaks because I can`t bear to eat a steak that isn`t USDA. Believe me grass fed cattle just don`t have the same taste as grain fed. Anyway, I began cooking lots of pork (Bratwurst and Loin). I miss US comfort foods so when I am "home I bring back stuff I like". I love Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter so much that I can just spoon it into my mouth.

Anyway to make a long story short, this past year I ate a ton of Skippy and discovered that I can get little dixie cups of Ben and Jerry`s here so you do the math: Pork + Bratwurst+ Ben and Jerry= not being able to lose weight.

In addition, I went for my yearly checkup and learned that my cholesterol is 300!!! It turns out that I was also eating a product here that I thought was Benecol (slopping it on my bread everday to reduce my cholesterol) - it turns out the stuff was margarine and is loaded with transfats. They don`t do the nutrition table the same way as the US and I didn`t bother to translate it because I just said, It`s ok because it`s Benecol.

Arrrgghhhhhhh.

I`ve been travelling with my family the last 2 months - mostly in Asia. I didn`t gain any weight.

I have heart disease and stroke in my family although neither of my parents had high cholesterol.

I just got back on Wednesday and have decided that I am going to cut out all Beef and Pork, sweets, fried stuff and white sugar and flour. I searched the forums to see about a diet low in cholesterol.

I want to eat fruits, veggies and a protein at night.

I went on the Zone diet once, lost 15lbs and my cholesterol went up . isn`t that insane? So I am going to try and do my own thing.

I have been surfing the web and have found some interesting sites that I will share. I searched the forum but didn`t really find any threads dedicated to high cholesterol so I though I would begin one because somebody may be looking or look in the future.

If you have any experiences or comments, I`d love to hear them.

Thanks for reading this far,
HelenMay

[WebRover]

Take a look at the Mediterrean diet. Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, limited whole grains & legumes, healthy fats, small amounts of nuts. It's also about eating on the low end of the glycemic scale, small meals, portion control and planned snacks.

[Jane]

WebRover gave you some excellent advice! But don't forget exercise! It's been proven to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol.

For support, please join in us in our daily threads here. You will find encouragement and friendship, too!

[HelenMay]

Thanks ladies, I will check out Mediteranean diet and I will join in on the daily threads here. I definitely need some new ideas about how to do this and it`s so hard to do it alone.

Yesterday I wanted to eat only 20 calories of pistacchio nuts.....which quickly turned into 200.

[AuntBea]

Does anyone here have experience with flaxseed having a good impact on cholesterol?

[emaline29]

Aunt Bea - Have you Googled it to find the facts? It's always interesting to do some investigations online.

Helen May - I too have an underactive thyroid and have found it very difficult to lose weight although being as I am also now disabled as my back has given up, that makes things more difficult.

And, about margarines. I used Flora from the day it was brought out and was very pleased with myself as they had said then that it was good for the heart as it did not build up cholestrol. Now they bring out this new Proactive stuff which makes all the same claims! You really can't beleive what these manufacturers say at all!

[AuntBea]

Emaline,
I'm aware of being able to go on Google for facts. It was anecdotal stories from members here that I was interested in.

[maryea]

Originally Posted by HelenMay

Yesterday I wanted to eat only 20 calories of pistacchio nuts.....which quickly turned into 200.

Helenmaye - I can SO relate!!

[HelenMay]

AuntBea, I don`t know anything about flaxseed oil other than "hearing" that it was beneficial but I`ve never taken it as a prophylactic. I first remember hearing about it back in the `80s when I was reading information for my dad
who was a heart patient.

I also remember reading that Vitamin E was good for the heart, then they came out and said that it wasn`t.........arrgghhhh "they" can make you downright crazy!!

emaline, I have a fantasy about being hyper rather than hypo thyroid then I could eat all my favorite foods and not gain a lb!!

maryea, sometimes I get real physical cravings for certain foods that contain fat like nuts. I could also easily spoon peanut butter into my mouth right out of the jar! I`ve learned that it (probably) means that my body needs fat. Now I satisfy that with a thin piece of bread with some Benecol. Benecol has plant sterols in it and that is supposed to be the latest thing that you can buy over the counter to reduce cholesterol. There are other brands - sorry I`ve forgotten the name because it`s been 2 years since I bought that in the US.

When I was in the US last summer, I bought some Vitamins made by Centrum called Centrum Cardio. It also has "Phytosterols". They are designed to be taken twice daily. I take it with breakfast and dinner.

I am going to the MD in about 6 weeks to have the cholesterol checked again. I will report back and let you know how I did. It was up at 300 in May! If it turns out to be significantly lower, I`ll list the foods that I ate.

[emaline29]

Aunt Bea - Sorry didn't mean to offend.

[AuntBea]

Emaline, I'm so sorry I sounded so curt.

[emaline29]

Aunt Bea, Thanks for your reply, made me feel much happier.
Just to clarify I was just saying what I found interesting and didn't get the gist of what you were asking anyway.
Take care. Regards