Earlier, I wrote about my goal of lowering my LDL cholesterol levels. For those who don’t know, LDL is the bad cholesterol, and mine was higher than it should be.
My LDL was 150mg/dL when I was tested in January 2022. It should be at or below 100mg/dL.
Yes, there’s also good cholesterol which is known as HDL. However, I’ve seen recent studies saying that good cholesterol doesn’t actually provide any benefits. I’m not even going down that rabbit hole right now.
How Was the Process?
In this article, I want to cover the results of following the plan I implemented. My goal was to change the way that I eat and begin exercising.
The Diet
Regarding eating, the goal was to cut back on red meat, fried foods, processed meat, baked goods, and full-fat dairy. All the good stuff. Limiting as much trans-fat and saturated fat from my diet as possible. I also cut back on bread or at least white bread.
At first, I went way too hard. I had no cheat days, which drove me a bit crazy. I ended up easing off a little and added some cheat days.
I was able to get to the point where it was manageable for my family and me. It took a little bit more, scratch that, a lot more planning, but I made it happen.
I would generally have toasted harvest bread with avocado and everything bagel spice on top for breakfast. Sometimes I would add a slice of tomato.
My favorite lunch was a tuna salad prepared without mayonnaise. I could eat this every day, honestly. The problem is I make it with albacore tuna, which is high in mercury. So I have to limit that dish.
Lunch is a struggle because I want something simple and easy.
Dinner was on a steady rotation of fish, chicken, and tacos for the most part. More tacos than I’d care to admit but, well, I love tacos..
The hardest part was changing my snacking habits. However, that made the most impact. Instead of grabbing a cookie or three, I’d eat overnight oats or raisins. I also stopped drinking alcohol during the week.
The Workout
The goal of the work was to raise my HDL levels. And to feel good. I was inactive for so long and out of shape that I felt worthless.
I started off light. Push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. Not in high quantities, but just enough to be active. The more I went into it, the more reps I did for each exercise.
As I got stronger, I started incorporating more exercises into my workouts and added more repetitions. I played around with different CrossFit workouts. I didn’t always do them to the full extent, but I cut them to the point where I would be consistent with them.
Cindy
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats
20 minutes for as many reps as possible.
I did this one to the full extent.
1-mile run
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 squats
1-mile run
You’re also supposed to have a weighted vest on.
This one, I cut back. I didn’t wear a weighted vest and only did about 75 pull-ups and 200 squats. But I enjoyed this workout and did it a couple times a week.
Honestly, after doing this for just a few months, I felt better than I had in years.
The Results
I didn’t ask for my blood pressure or pulse at the second appointment and they don’t come with the blood results so I don’t have those numbers.
Not perfect but it’s progress.
