I recently had routine labwork done. Mine and my hubby's number's aren't great. My total cholesterol is at 213 and should be below 200. My good cholesterol is low. My bad cholesterol is high. My sugar levels are borderline again. And, I'm at my highest weight ever.

So, I want to go back on-plan and I feel so overwhelmed! I want to count calories and I have this long list of do's and don'ts for improving my cholesterol numbers....to include exercising, not consuming saturated or trans fats, and eating tons of fiber, eat no more than 200mg of cholesterol a day and only 25% of my daily calorie total from fat. I know that my ideal starting calorie level is around 1600-1800. But, I'm overwhelmed by the thought of trying to eat as clean and healthy as possible....and, trying to reach 1800 calories. I'm also starting to think that I'm sensitive to some foods....like almonds. My throat gets irritated and I get stuffy around the time I start eating almonds. How do you reach 1800 calories a day without eating too much fat and without eating a bunch of nuts or cheese? I know this sounds crazy, but I really have no idea. Do I eat a truckload of vegetables each day? LOL! I don't think I can eat that much! I need meal and snack suggestions. Please! (And, it would be nice if they were tasty, too. )

Some calories boosters would be beans and whole grains (I can gain weight off just those 2 things). Another calorie booster would be dried fruit. My suggestion would be to check out fatfreevegan.com for some good recipes. They have some great recipes that I use even though I am not vegan.

I tend to use the "plate" method. I take a plate (or visualize one) and divide it in half. Then take one half and divide it in half again. That gives me one "big" area and two "smaller" areas. I fill the big area with veggies, and each of the smaller areas with protein and carb.

It gives me a very easy visual, without having to remember a whole lot of rules. Then I use MyPlate to record what it is that I ate, so I get a feel for how many calories it was and how much fat, etc. When you begin recording your calories, you'll begin learning what fills you up, what takes you over, what you eat that doesn't satisfy you until the next meal, and you can use that information to gradually tweak and update your plan to fit you perfectly.

I find it all very overwhelming at first, too. So I focus on the plate method and calorie counting first, because they're easy and I think of them as "overarching" tools (which fit with almost any food plan choice). Then when I've done that for a week or so, I begin making the smaller food choice changes that will fine-tune my plan.

So for me, my "carb" section is much smaller than my "protein" section of the plate. And I choose not to use trans fats, but don't worry about saturated. You will make other choices, based on your health goals. But no matter which food choices we go with, having a plate visualization and recording the calories you eat and learning from those records will stand you in good stead.

You CAN do this. Every little change will make a difference in the long run. So make them a few at a time, until they become second nature. If you try to do them all at once you can indeed become overwhelmed.

Heart healthy oils like grapeseed and olive. AVOCADO! Peanut butter or other nut butters. Whole grains (like brown pasta and rice) these can add up the calories. Crackers (whole grain) and laughing cow wedges. Smoothies with skim milk, yogurt, flax, nut butter etc.

Oh my dear I could spend your 1800 calories a million different ways Why don't you do up a sample menu plan and we can help you tweak it?

I eat around 1800 calories a day. Here's a sample (would have been easier with nuts, but eh, I can work it).

B - Fat free greek yogurt, fresh berries, drizzle of honey, sprinkle of grape nuts for crunch (grape nuts are surprisingly calorie-iffic) - 300 calories

L - Whole wheat wrap, spread with sun dried tomato spread or something yummy like hummus or chipotle/mayo, turkey, tons of veggies, side of sweet potato fries - 500 calories

S - Celery sticks spread with low fat cream cheese, studded with raisins (yummy childhood ants on a log) - 200 calories (dried fruit - surprisingly high in calories)

S - pita chips with pico de gallo for a dip - 200 calories

D - Whatever you want, 200 calories for carb, 100 calories for protein, 100 calories for veggies, drizzle of healthy fat (500 total)
Tonight I had home made pasta sauce with ground turkey, fresh basil and sun dried tomato over crispy polenta. Or, you could have a stir fry with tons of veggies and some lean protein (lean beef, shrimp, etc etc) over brown rice. Or an omelette stuffed with veggies, topped with salsa with 2 pieces of whole grain toast. Quesadillas stuffed with chicken, spinach and a little low fat cheese, scoop of refried beans on the side.

S - after dinner snack - baked apple with blueberries (100 calories) (I usually chop the apple up, put it in a bowl, nuke for 5 minutes (stirring). Then, I add 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries, cover with saran wrap (OR IT'S MESSY) and nuke for another minute). Alittle cinnamon and granola on top (if you have the calories for the day) makes a nice crumble-type dessert.

Voila 1800 healthy calories. No nuts.

Losing weight will help your cholesterol--but increasing exercise, IMO, is the main factor. I just wanted to add that.

Jay

I'm in the same boat. Except finally my blood sugar is good! But I got you beat on cholesterol! My number came back 246. This after losing almost 50 pounds! And my husband needs to bring down both cholesterol and blood sugar. So we too are to trying to eat as you describe.

We're learning new ways to cook beans. I didn't know I liked beans, but thank goodness I do! This week I've tried my hand at lentil/bean soup and bean (meatless) chili. Both were awesome.

Other supposed cholesterol lowering foods: Legumes, blueberries, avocados, nuts, garlic (I've heard 3-4 cloves a day ), omega-3 (fish...I've started taking 2000 mg fish oil pills)

Your reaction to almonds sounds allergyish to me. My girlfriend is so allergic to trees that she reacts to all tree nuts and even some tree fruits sometimes because tree particles are on the fruit. In other words, she doesn't react to an apple when given an allergy test, but the doctor said she's so allergic to trees that if the apples have tree particles on them, she'll react.

Good luck!

I find that if I keep yellow split peas and other "dal" beans on hand, I can easily throw a quarter cup into almost any vegetable soup I make (and I eat soup a lot). Curried carrot with lentils, cauliflower with yellow peas, broccoli with mung dal (split mung beans), squash with dal. Once it's all pureed, you can hardly tell it's in there, but the fiber really helps fill you up and keep you going. I just find it hard to track it on MyPlate -- I end up adding both the base soup and a tablespoon or so of lentils to my daily record so I can track the carbs.

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions!

that was true for me. last spring I had my blood work done and even at my weight had good cholestorol numbers. I'm not a dietician, but I try to make my fats be good ones: olive oil, peanut butter and less often avocado (love it, but have trouble keeping the consumption low). I still eat butter, not very often or very much. I try to eat lean meats, not much red, and keep the eggs down to about 2 per week. apples and yams have great fiber too.

sometimes diet takes a little while to tweak to get it where you want it, don't let it overwhelm you. the good changes add up.

Sorry to hear you've been struggling a bit.

As far as ideas go: you can eat the Good fats. I LOVE avocado... some goody fatty fish would be beneficial also. Otherwise, protein is a good calorie choice. It's higher calorie and very satisfying.

Rhonda - it's those lab numbers that can kick us in the hiney - they did for me. I just didn't want to go on more medications. It can be helpful to check out the Heart Association Website & Diabetes Association websites. Once you get the hang of the better foods to eat - it will be kind of mix and match.

Also - perhaps a visit to a registered dietician or nutritionist and can head you in the right direction.

When I first had to watch those numbers, I used a pretty spiral notebook where I put columns each day for : calories, fats, sat. fats, carbs, protein, carbs. At first it was kind of a pain - but, I learned alot. (and I thought I already knew alot). Sometimes, folks like to keep track at sites like sparkpeople or fitday, etc. I prefered the spiral.

Today, I still keep track of the calories in my spiral along with everything I eat and all the things I am working on.

You will figure it out. We are here to help!!!