Lowering my cholesterol. Sloooowly.

Warning Will Robinson: This post is long. And it’s personal. Thanks in advance to those to get to the end. 

My cholesterol story started nearly 45 years ago. When I was born to a mother, aunts and grandmother who all have a tendency to high cholesterol. And a grandfather who died far too young from a heart attack. Lucky me.

About thirty years later I too had high-ish cholesterol. It wasn’t too bad in my early 30s – my GP was happy to keep an eye on it, with the promise that I watch what I eat, do exercise and don’t gain too much weight.

A few years after that, I had broken each third of the promise trinity. My cholesterol was in the mid-6s. By now I was fairly regularly arguing with my GP about whether I should be on statins. She said yes, I said HELL NO.

This all changed when I turned 40 and my mother died. Primarily due to having arteries so incredibly blocked the cardiologist didn’t actually know how she was walking around when she presented herself to him.

A lengthy chat with him shortly after her death had me rethinking my stance on statins.

However I still wasn’t convinced.

My cholesterol at this time (September 2010) was 5.9. Too high given my family history. And my high blood pressure (that’s another story).

My GP and I agreed to give it two months of me religiously watching what I ate, then we would discuss again.

So for two months I tortured myself. I ate lots of oats (yuk), lots of veg (yum), lean white meat (I loathe chicken breast), low fat dairy (ugh), no butter, no cheese (torture), virtually no red meat. I also lost 3-4 kilos (grief is good for that). I did drink a fair bit of alcohol (again, grieving). Two months later my cholesterol was 6.7. Sigh.

I agreed to a low dose of statins. Begrudgingly. This was four years ago.

The improvement on my cholesterol was immediate, as it dropped by a point. However not enough to keep my GP happy, so a year or so later, up went the dose (marginally).

In October 2013 I had it checked again and it was 5.6. ARGH! I told my doc I’d monitor my diet etc etc, then didn’t get it checked again for nearly a year. Luckily it was down to 5 (Aug 2014). Around this time I decided to get serious with food and exercise. I really want to come off these drugs.

For the past five months I’ve been making a concerted effort with food. Lots of fruit and veg, more fish and chicken, many more meat-free meals, less red meat (less frequently and smaller portions).

For the last month I’ve cut alcohol back from 6-7 days a week (1-2 drinks most days, a few more on the more-than-occasional day) to 1 day a week if that. I’ve also upped the exercise and am walking for at least 30-60 minutes 5-6 days a week (it would be seven days a week, but there have been A LOT of days when it has been 30c at 7am). I’m about to get back into strength training.

So, the exciting news is my cholesterol is now 4.7. I did a little happy dance when I saw my GP today. She was proud of me too.

My goal is to get it below 4 by the end of the year without upping the meds. These things take a long time.

Yeah, I know this is a pretty long and mostly boring post for most people. Thanks to those of you who have persevered.

However, it is going to continue.

I’ve been asked to share my typical day of food. So here goes:

Breakfast – usually an egg or two, some sautéed mushrooms (in 1 tsp of ghee), sometimes some avocado, sometimes bacon, sometimes leftover roast veg (sweet potato is really good with eggs). Far less often with the bacon these days (once a week instead of 3-4 times). Sometimes with a piece of sourdough toast. I’m also trying to have plain yogurt with fruit and macadamias 2-3 times a week for breakfast, but I’m not yet convinced.

Lunch – a big salad with whatever leftover meat is from dinner or a bowl of soup (winter), sometimes a toasted wrap with a bit of meat and as many veggies as I can fit in, or an open sandwich on sourdough (this isn’t often as the veggie count isn’t very high). Something with chips when I go out. Yum!

Dinner – at the moment it’s mostly BBQ meat with salad. Home made pizza every couple of weeks, spag bol or something else with pasta every couple of weeks. Stirfrys and curries make an appearance a bit too. Casserole-type meals in winter (loads of veg, small portions of meat). I’m trying to cook vegetarian meals more often, but find this a bit more difficult for dinner (harder to sneak past The Accountant).

Snacks – I’m not a big snacker, but usually have one snack a day, generally in the afternoon so I don’t get hangry. It’s not a good look. I try and have nuts or fruit, sometimes a home baked muffin or piece of cake or biscuit. My fave snack is cheese and crackers – I try not to have this more than once a week (I used to have it five times a week. If not more).

Basically I’ve upped the F&V, lowered the meat, trying to up the fish, I only eat real dairy (whoever invented “lite cheese” ought to be shot) and I drink milk with the cream on top (which I spoon off and lovingly savour at least every second day).

I’m eating out a lot less – maybe 2-3 times a week instead of the 8-10 times of the past. Lunch meetings are now usually coffee meetings. And in the afternoon they are herbal tea meetings. I rarely order cake.

I’m trying to limit my cheese intake to once a day. Three times is probably a bit excessive.

I have 1-3 cups of tea with milk a day, 3-4 coffees a week (flat white, real milk), loads of water, probably a bit too much wine, I love a G&T.

I hate soft drink and always have. I love my soda stream.

I’m trying to cut back on bread but I love sourdough, especially fresh with The Butter Factory butter. Or Pepe Saya butter. Pepe once told me you should spread butter thick enough so you can see your teeth marks when you bite into the bread. I love that.

I don’t eat a lot of grains (via bread or otherwise) – probably no more than 2-3 serves most days, if that. Mostly they make me feel bloaty. Most rice repeats on me.

I eat a fair bit of fat – olive oil, butter, nuts, avocado, a bit more cheese than I should.

I don’t believe in fake low fat foods.

I do believe in naturally low fat foods – hello fruit and veggies.

I’ve started eating more fermented foods (at least once a day) and making chicken bone broth. This is easier to eat when it’s cooler!

I haven’t and I won’t ever be quitting sugar (luckily I don’t have a sweet tooth). However I have been concerned by my growing craving for chocolate. I don’t really like chocolate all that much. Blaming peri-menopause.

Anyway, that’s my cholesterol story. To date. Hopefully it will save me from a premature death due to cardiovascular disease.

If you have had a similar challenge I would love to hear about it!