Down, cholesterol! Down! Good girl!

Ok, so let's talk about what you actually should be doing to lower your cholesterol. Well let's 1st talk about what I have been doing. For just over a week, I have been fasting from meat. Now this is primarily for spiritual reasons, but I feel good about the added benefit of living just a bit healthier. I don't plan to give up all meats permanently (as a matter of fact...I MIGHT be on my way to Subway in about an hour). However, I do think that I can crop red meat out of my life, and whittle my overall meat eating down to about once per week. This has been a goal of mine for a while, so maybe this whole cholesterol thing is just the kick in the pants that I need.

Now, according to the 'experts' the best way to lower cholesterol is by maintaining a healthy weight, dieting, and exercising regularly. I'm going to focus primarily on diet, since I really have the other two on lock. I think that I spend the majority of my time talking about exercising, so there isn't a major need to touch on that in this post. But if you're looking for tips/tricks, then browse through some of the archives, and of course, I'll be touching on that going forward, as well.

This website gives a pretty decent breakdown of what you should and shouldn't be eating, and the gist of it all is the following:

- Minimize overall dietary fat (esp. Saturated fats...those found in meats and whole milk dairy products)
- Minimize the amount of actual cholesterol consumed (stick to the recommended daily amounts)
- Limit the amount of sodium you consume (guess, I'll have to back off of my frozen lunches)
- Increase the amount of fiber and complex carbs that you consume
- Decrease your daily calories (if you need to reach a healthy weight)

Sounds pretty easy right? Not...well actually it is easy. You want to be packing your plate w/fruits, veggies, and whole grains...and then consume meats, dairy products, and sugars sparingly. The hard part is that most of the foods that we 'love' fall into that latter category. Don't worry, though. You/We can do it!

I'm off to grab myself some lunch right now, and I will be making sure to follow the rules listed above. I head back to the doctor for another checkup in 6 months, so we'll see just how far these tips have gotten me. Don't forget to check the link above to meal plans and recommended foods!