Good cholesterol/bad cholesterol. I'm sure your doctor has covered some of this, but...
Oatmeal in the morning is good for lowering the bad on top of being good for general weight loss. I know its fiber that doesn't fit well into a lot of diet plans, but it'll help out on the lowering front. On the good front, flax seed oil pills. You can find them anywhere they sell vitamens. last_bastion, who has heart failure, takes three a day.
There are a number of books out there with herbal medicine in them if you're interested in things like teas to help bring down cholesteral and deal with hardening arteries. I'm working on several ideas for last_bastion, but, as we both understand... cross reference, cross reference, cross reference... and since we're talking about your heart, ask your doctor. A lot of them don't know a whole lot about herbal medicine (stupid pharmacutical companies teaching us that herbs suck and only drugs work), but its a shot anyway.
On the exercise, sounds like you have a good start to a plan. I know what worked for me was working on a recumbant bike. I like to read. A recumbant bike is like putting me in a chair with pedals and telling me, "Okay... you get alone time to read now..." Its fantastic. Before I knew it, I was cycling on a stationary for an hour five times a week.
I am eating oatmeal for breakfast, as I've found low sugar versions that don't take long to cook up. They just don't last very long in my tummy, so I get hungry earlier. So I usually go for eggs if I have the time to cook them.
I am taking Omega 3 pills, high strength versions twice a day, which is what flax-seed is good for providing. I also take a combo niacin/statin drug at very high doses, which is annoying for the hot flashes I am getting more often. Both are working well to control my levels, but I don't want to be on these higher doses the rest of my life. Exercise is the one thing my doctor agrees I need to do more of, as well as the healthy food that I am pretty much on autopilot eating (tho' I still need more vegies). Once I get the exercise to autopilot levels, we can work on weaning me from the high dose meds.
And yeah, my doctor is one of those that does meds. Tho at least he also prescribes healthy eating as the base plan.
As to the recumbent bike; now that's a plan I can get behind. I just have to find room for one around here, which means cleaning up a space by my bookshelves.
You can find recumbant bikes on Craig's List. If you can afford it, I personally recommend buying one new from some place like Sears. Try them all out and get what feels comfortable under your tush. I love riding on the recumbant bike, but I do occasionally run into a machine that sits against my lumbar wrong or my ass fall asleep in the seat.
And yes... they do rock. :) Nothing like being comfortably supported enough to read or watch TV while working off calories and making your heart work.
Even better for me... after a few monhts on one of those, I was able to start using a treadmill _and_ jog. I can't tell you how good that felt.
Oatmeal in the morning is good for lowering the bad on top of being good for general weight loss. I know its fiber that doesn't fit well into a lot of diet plans, but it'll help out on the lowering front. On the good front, flax seed oil pills. You can find them anywhere they sell vitamens. last_bastion, who has heart failure, takes three a day.
There are a number of books out there with herbal medicine in them if you're interested in things like teas to help bring down cholesteral and deal with hardening arteries. I'm working on several ideas for last_bastion, but, as we both understand... cross reference, cross reference, cross reference... and since we're talking about your heart, ask your doctor. A lot of them don't know a whole lot about herbal medicine (stupid pharmacutical companies teaching us that herbs suck and only drugs work), but its a shot anyway.
On the exercise, sounds like you have a good start to a plan. I know what worked for me was working on a recumbant bike. I like to read. A recumbant bike is like putting me in a chair with pedals and telling me, "Okay... you get alone time to read now..." Its fantastic. Before I knew it, I was cycling on a stationary for an hour five times a week.
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Thank you for your suggestions.
I am eating oatmeal for breakfast, as I've found low sugar versions that don't take long to cook up. They just don't last very long in my tummy, so I get hungry earlier. So I usually go for eggs if I have the time to cook them.
I am taking Omega 3 pills, high strength versions twice a day, which is what flax-seed is good for providing. I also take a combo niacin/statin drug at very high doses, which is annoying for the hot flashes I am getting more often. Both are working well to control my levels, but I don't want to be on these higher doses the rest of my life. Exercise is the one thing my doctor agrees I need to do more of, as well as the healthy food that I am pretty much on autopilot eating (tho' I still need more vegies). Once I get the exercise to autopilot levels, we can work on weaning me from the high dose meds.
And yeah, my doctor is one of those that does meds. Tho at least he also prescribes healthy eating as the base plan.
As to the recumbent bike; now that's a plan I can get behind. I just have to find room for one around here, which means cleaning up a space by my bookshelves.
Reply
And yes... they do rock. :) Nothing like being comfortably supported enough to read or watch TV while working off calories and making your heart work.
Even better for me... after a few monhts on one of those, I was able to start using a treadmill _and_ jog. I can't tell you how good that felt.
Reply
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