Cholesterol and weight

Back in May last year, my GP found that I had excessively high cholesterol - 330 total. I was stunned. Here I was 118 pounds (5'2"), ate decently but not fanatical, and I had bad cholesterol in the 200s? Wow. And my doc proceeded to come down hard on me. I must change my diet, I must exercise, and here's a prescription for a statin. Bring that level DOWN! Oh yeah, and by the way, your thyroid is a little low, here's a new dosage level for your levothyroxine (I have Hashimoto's now after I had Grave's in my late teens and early 20s).

OK, we can work with this. I went home and did research. Research, after all, is what I am very good at. When I focus, I can do almost anything. I read articles, I ordered books, I poured over Cholesterol for Dummies (excellent book, by the way). I cleaned out my cabinets per the directions and started to eat saturated- and trans-fat-free foods. My folks called me the Food Nazi, I was so determined.

I also upped the exercise ante. I rode my bicycle 3 days a week for 7.5 miles (up and down two monster hills in the foothills of NC). I also started with plant sterols in OJ, a fake butter, and caramels. I added fiber. Folks, if you are at all constipated, I can guarantee you are not getting enough fiber. I had a diagnosis for IBS/C for years when I finally charted my fiber intake this summer to discover I was not eating enough fiber previously. (I no longer "have" IBS/C since I am now so regular it's amazing - sarcasm intended.)

Well, six weeks later, after all these changes, I went in for a blood test to see how I was doing.

I was now 99 total. My doctor was stunned. He had never had that kind of reduction in cholesterol before from any of his patients, statin or not. I told him I was going to TTC, so could he take me off of the statin? Yes, he agreed to it. He said to keep it up and he needed a new blood test (the RE could do it) in 12 weeks.

Well, at 12 weeks, I took the blood test in to him. This blood was drawn with me cheating on my diet to gain weight to TTC and no exercise (exercise causes me to lose weight). It was a nice level of 199, 1 point below worry. He was so happy about this number. My doc still can't believe the change.

Of course, my mom has always wondered if maybe the initial blood result was wrong. That would mean someone in the medical profession did something wrong and we all know THAT is not possible, right? (Flashback to the days I had Grave's when they missed the diagnosis for EIGHT BLOOMING YEARS!)

OK, so now we get to the second part of the title - "and Weight". Eating healthy, exercising, and getting the right amount of thyroid hormone will cause a person to lose weight. It's a given. The problem is that to TTC, I had to be at a BMI of 20, which at my frame size and height was 109 pounds. Here's how my weight went - May 118, July 111, August 106, September 103, October 104, November 105, December, 104, January 105. Note I am still below the 109 I need. I am cheating regularly on the cholesterol diet just to gain weight, am not exercising, and still can't get up there. I have seen 2 nutritionists. The first, Laura, did a wonderful job, but with my work, eating 6 meals a day was simply not feasible. I saw Laura in August. She had many suggestions but a voice inside my head kept screaming, "That has too much fat!" I was headed straight for anorexia with that voice, so I put in a call for a different nutritionist. And this second person was wonderful. Mary said to stop listening to the voice (easy to say, it's not screaming in YOUR head) and to eat healthy but not obsessively. She said to cut back on breakfast, eat a couple Poptarts (has your nutritionist ever advised Poptarts?) and drink sugary drinks, not no-calorie. Oh yeah, and cut back on my salads. I just like salads is all. That advice from Mary has been the difference. I still have bad days (missing lunch or dinner) but overall I have success. I only need 4 pounds and I'll be good. The low weight hasn't stopped me from TTCing but it is not good in my book. I do want to be as healthy as I can be for my child to grow properly. So, I'll keep working at it.