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6 Months of Healthier Eating: The Good and Bad


It's been six months since I went to the doctor to talk about my high cholesterol.  I went back to the doctor after two months and we talked more about trying to lower my cholesterol levels with healtheir eating before we talk about cholesterol medication (statins).
I just made a "my cholesterol journey" page ↑ with links to all my posts and a run-down of my story.  
It's been an interesting and kind of stressful six months as I've made a few changes, given up a few of my favorite foods, discovered new favorite food, etc.  I've defintely improved on several things and still have a few downfalls, which I feel guilty about when I indulge in them.

Here are a few good changes that I've made.
  1. Very little cow's milk.  (I've been using almond or soy milk for breakfast and water at other meals.)
  2. No eggs (except in baked goods).
  3. Very little cheese.
  4. Less butter, more oils.
  5. Very little meat, especially red meat.  (I either make my portion without meat, pick it out or eat just a little.)
  6. Less processed foods (less handfuls of my kiddos goldfish and pretzels).
  7. Less pasta and more squash.
  8. Less white starches, more whole grains.
  9. No white rice, quinoa instead.
  10. More veggies at each meal.
Things I could still improve on.
  1. Less salty foods, like chips.
  2. Less sugar.
  3. Better portion control with nuts and nut butter.
  4. Less pizza.  Darn the convenience of Little Caesar's. :)
  5. Drink more water.  
I am by far a perfect "healthy" eater.  Four months ago I skimmed/read the book "The China Study" about managing and curing heart disease with diet.  It basically said that you can't eat anything that has a face or a mother.  Also, no oils of any kind.  No nuts.  No avocado.  I basically felt like throwing the book when I was done ready it.  :)  The perks of that diet is that you never, ever have to worry about losing weight or counting calories again.  No wonder!

Anyway...I had my blood taken recently in preparation for my next doctor appointment next week.  I conveniently had my blood drawn right before Halloween, just in case Halloween candy isn't good for your cholesterol.  Haha.  

I'm very interested to see if my cholesterol levels have gone down at all with almost cutting out dairy, etc.  I think it could improve if I reduced sugar more.  Baby steps.  

Tomorrow I'll post some of my favorite meals that I've been eating for the past six months.  They are much yummier than a piece of pepperoni pizza any day.

I've been posting lots of pictures of my meals, etc. on Instagram.  Feel free to follow along!

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