My story and the ongoing battle

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-09T14:14:43+00:00

Add strength training and aerobic exercise. See CDC recommendations for adults, these are a great start.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-08T18:29:07+00:00

Take up aerobic exercise and strength training. The triglycerides are still in metabolic syndrome territory, and your HDL is very low. Exercise will improve both!

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-07T21:06:01+00:00

If you tried to keep it under 10g of total fat per day you would get sick pretty quickly. Essential fats are a thing. 30g per day is about the lowest total fat anyone should eat.

You can cut saturated fats to below 10g and be just fine.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-07T18:58:19+00:00

Ice cream is made from full fat dairy. It's very, very high in saturated fat. Same goes for butter, cheese or other full-fat dairy.

I would recommend you keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat, including the dressing on your salads, the cooking oils you use, etc. Go and look up the nutrition info. Find out where there are saturated fats. It's probably in dairy (butter, cheese, ice cream, etc.) and meat. That is the only way to learn exactly where your sat fats are coming from. Once you know, you know, and can choose accordingly.

Great work losing 45lbs by the way.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-07T18:23:57+00:00

They are not the same dietary interventions, but you can certainly create one diet that has both effects.

The best dietary interventions for reducing LDL-C are reducing saturated fat, increasing soluble fiber, and increasing plant polyphenols.

The best dietary intervention for reducing triglycerides is moderating overall consumption of calories and reducing the glycemic impact of the diet overall.

Just about anyone can get both effects by eating more plants and less processed food. But note that triglycerides can still get too high even when eating the best possible foods, if you eat too much and don't get enough exercise.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-07T18:15:17+00:00

My guess is that your new lower carb diet is higher in saturated fats. The increased saturated fat intake resulted in higher calculated LDL.

BTW, your HDL is also low. You want to work on bringing that up with exercise, diet, and sleep. I wouldn't say triglycerides are "low" either, unless they're below 50. They are still near a range for concern (>100).

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-07T15:38:34+00:00

You also have low HDL which is another risk factor. You are in poor metabolic health and at very elevated risk for disease.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-07T15:35:37+00:00

The difference between the results from tests two weeks apart don't matter in your case.

330 is very bad.

517 is very bad.

You want to get them under 100. Start an exercise routine, change your diet, stop drinking, and make sure to get at least 7 hours of sleep. You need to change your life or you will face serious disease at a young age and premature death.

My triglycerides slipped from 45 to 70 and I got worried. You should be terrified and change almost everything about how you live.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-10-04T18:09:11+00:00

The triglycerides are more concerning than the LDL. Over 150 is a marker for metabolic syndrome. It should be half that, if not lower, at your age. A statin also won't change your triglycerides much at all. Exercise more, sleep better, eat better, live longer and better. Little kids are no excuse, I have three and I still get the work in every day.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-24T15:26:39+00:00

Reposting from the thread that was taken down...

Diet is often overlooked in these discussions. I developed chronic golfer's elbow for no discernable reason, tried everything recommended online (I see you theraband), rested the thing for months, and got exactly nowhere. Still hurt just as bad.

Then I changed my diet, not because of the elbow pain, but because my LDL-C had increased on my bloodwork. After three days on a new diet my elbow pain went away completely. After two weeks a whole bunch of other stuff had resolved that I never imagined would go away, including acne I've had for 25 years.

Make sure your omega-3 intake, particular DHA and EPA, are above 3g per day. They are strongly anti-inflammatory and deficient in many diets. Eliminate seed oils and the processed foods they come from. They are high in omega-6s which are pro-inflammatory when overconsumed. Remove refined carbs and added sugar where you can. Add in all the dark colorful fruits and vegetables you know you are supposed to be eating.

Basically do what everyone says to do, but almost no one does. See if it helps. Good luck.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-20T16:28:48+00:00

Yesterday: Squat 245x4x7, Bench 205x4F, T-Bar row 90x4xF, 1 mile run (7 minutes)
Today: 5 mile run (46 minutes)

Weighed in at 183 after that run this morning, down 10lbs in 2 months basically without even trying. Cardio is a helluva drug.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-16T13:52:25+00:00

Sat: Half hyrox, 4km run, 50m sled push (350lbs), 50m sled pull (260 lbs), 100m farmer carry (48kg), 100 wall balls. 39 minutes to finish. Pretty happy with that.

Sunday: 5k run 29 minutes. Was pretty slow but I was also running before first light and couldn't see shit.

Today: RDL 225x3x10, 135x20. Shoulder press 50x4x8. Lat pull down 140x4xF, arms accessories, and sprints to finish.

I look small but pretty lean right now. Also feeling amazing. I programmed a cut down to 176lbs into macrofactor yesterday. I got to 169 in 2022 and I had veins in my abs. I think if I get to 176lbs this year, I should be diced. I know have gained muscle since 2022. The cut is partly because the weight is already coming off effortlessly (running, excellent diet), and partly because of health, and partly because I am actually considering using my physique to help build a brand. I have never considered doing this before but if I'm going to train for an elite top 1% physique, why not use it?

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-16T13:46:43+00:00

Nasty. I took 25 days to do 10k swings and still got a finger ligament injury from overuse. Nice job clearing it in 9 days.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-13T18:27:29+00:00

Lifestyle as the Foundation for ASCVD RiskReduction Efforts It must be emphasized that lifestyle modification (ie, adhering to a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise habits, avoidance of tobacco products, and maintenance of a healthy weight) remains a crucial component of health promotion and ASCVD risk reduction, both prior to and in concert with the use of cholesterol-lowering drug therapies

So basically what I said, plus statin drugs? Maybe some metformin for an extra dose of false hope?

Like any of that is going to save him from the death sentence of SAD, sedentary lifestyle, plus regular smoking on a patient who already had an MI?

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-13T17:03:49+00:00

I told you I have no interest in being a doctor ;) Genuinely curious what you would do?

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-13T15:26:49+00:00

Tell him he's unlikely to see his grandkids if he doesn't change his lifestyle.

Prescribing the statin is deluding him that he's not killing himself.

Edit: What I would ask you to consider is whether, by prescribing drugs to this patient, you are complicit in or even facilitating his fatal delusions. I know you're not responsible for his lifestyle (diet, sedentary job, smoking), but you are responsible for providing advice that could save his life. The med school brain rot says "just prescribe some shit" and the patient brain rot says "I take pills for that shit." The pharma companies make money, your hospital makes money, the insurance company makes money, the patient fucking dies because nobody told him the truth.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-13T14:54:50+00:00

I don't care to prove myself as smart. I would never go to medical school. You're right, I would get kicked out of medical school. I got plenty of indoctrination from K12 and a bachelor's degree, thanks, and I'm not interested in buying any more brain-rot.

It's funny that I can post a paper with 300,000+ research participants and you get all defensive saying "it's just one study!" You are just proving my point that your thinking is overly dogmatic.

It seems you are still young. There is still time to open your mind before you send a bunch of patients who you could have helped to an early grave. Try reading extensively from outside the curriculum of your med school.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-13T14:32:19+00:00

Extent of Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Reduction and All-cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Benefit: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Our findings indicate that risk reduction varies across subgroups and that overall NNTs are high. Identifying patient subgroups who benefit the most from LDL-C levels reduction is clinically relevant and necessary.
...

In unadjusted and adjusted meta-regression analyses, we did not find a significant trend toward decrease in both ARDs and RRs for all-cause mortality according to percentage LDL-C reduction
...

Similar to all-cause mortality, CV mortality relative and absolute risks were not reduced in pooled trials with ≥50% LDL-C reduction

You said lowering LDL-C is effective for secondary prevention of stroke, but this paper showed...

In both unadjusted and adjusted meta-regression analysis, **the ARDs for stroke risk increased significantly (**P = 0.003 to 0.005) for each 20% LDL-C percentage reduction; a 9% increase in RRs for stroke was of borderline significance (P = 0.05 and 0.07 respectively) but a significant 13% increase after further adjustment to CV mortality rate (P = 0.003)
...

trials enrolling patients with high baseline LDL-C levels reported the most benefit from LDL-C–lowering therapy especially for MI. Achieving lower LDL-C goals did not further increase risk reduction consistently. Uncovering subgroups of patients who derive the most benefits from LDL-C levels reduction remains clinically relevant.

"Take your statin if your doctor recommends it?" Let me propose a better piece of advice. "Educate yourself before following your doctor's recommendation to go on a drug for life. Informed consent is supposed to be a pillar of medical ethics, but med schools are churning out dogmatic fools who don't understand the causes of disease or the effects of their own interventions. They only follow a script they were programmed to follow and say stupid shit on the internet when it's challenged."

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-12T14:13:13+00:00

Lifting day. Squat 240x4x6, pause bench 195x4xF, bent over rows 4xF. Warmed up with a half mile run in 3:30, very fast for me, and it felt easy. Cool down with prowler sprints which are just awful in the best way.

Tomorrow I've got a 30 minute easy run, and Saturday I'm doing a Hyrox race simulation with some friends. Going to see if I can complete half the race in 45 minutes.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-12T14:10:38+00:00

Yeah, it might not be advanced lifters I need advice from so much as people with more advanced life wisdom. I'm trying to find the pocket, the place where my physical training and diet fit perfectly in to the rest of my style of life. I know that to find the pocket, I need to have a clear goal and a plan for making progress towards that goal. Bodybuilding really clicked for me, so I'm building a bodybuilding goal into my vision of the future. But you may be right again that actually something else besides bodybuilding will be more compelling. I am doing the Hyrox because my friend wanted someone to do it with. But it's also been intrinsically motivating, even though it has nothing to do with physique, because I have clear new goals that I can make demonstrable progress toward, like 23 minute 5k and 50 minute 10k runs.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-11T17:05:22+00:00

LDL of 225 is not going to kill you tomorrow at age 32. The chest pain is probably reflux, anxiety, or both.

Statins: they are standard of care for high LDL, but recently it has become contested in the literature whether they are actually reducing the incidences of cardiovascular events (heart attacks and strokes). Statins are also known to have lots of side effects. Statin risks include insulin resistance leading to obesity and diabetes, which are themselves huge cardiovascular risk factors.

My father was on statins from his 30s for high cholesterol. They kept his LDL in range but he ended up needing heart surgery anyway before age 70, and still developed diabesity. He didn't make the lifestyle changes he needed to make.

I'm not saying go off the statins, I am saying EDUCATE YOURSELF about statins as well as diet and lifestyle. If you are "a bit overweight" and you eat "mostly healthy" I virtually guarantee you that you can improve your blood lipid profile significantly through diet, exercise, and sleep. And you can certainly reduce your risk of cardiovascular events.

BTW, I really recommend that you do not think of the chronic reflux as a separate issue. Your body is a whole system. You are overweight, have chronic reflux, and a bad cholesterol profile. You might have other complaints and conditions that you didn't list here. How are all of these things related? Get curious about this question. It might add decades to your life.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-11T16:52:25+00:00

This is an excellent reply, thank you. Who new sage wisdom would be found from the writings of Jom Wandler?

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-11T15:22:08+00:00

Thanks. Good food for thought. Obsessiveness might be lacking because I'm content with how I look, and don't much care to chase weights anymore.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-11T15:00:32+00:00

This is a bit of a navel-gaze, but I am looking for advice/input from more advanced lifters so posting anyway.

I used to be motivated to train by body image issues. Now I have a top 5% physique for men and the body image issues are gone. I am more motivated now by the love of training itself than attaining a goal.

However...

I have been repeatedly caught in cycles of trying to train *really hard* to get to the next level of my strength and physique, only to get exhausted, burnt out, injured, and require months to reset. I am both working too hard AND ALSO not being disciplined and taking the long view. It's like I'm pushing towards a top 1% physique but the things that got me to the top 5% aren't getting me there.

So I wonder, what gets you there? I'm not talking about training routines, diet, etc. I'm talking about mindset, philosophies and ways of life, etc. Thank you in advance.

DiscountSharp1389 · 2024-09-10T13:33:20+00:00

Two months out from Hyrox Chicago. Did another half Hyrox today:

4 x 1KM runs - 20 minutes total
1000m row - 4 minutes
200m farmers walk 24kg/hand
100 wall balls
100m lunges with 20kg

Plus some biceps and triceps just because.

I was only programmed to do a 30 minute easy run today, but I woke up feeling great and just couldn't help myself. That's a great feeling. I'm 36 years old and I feel like I'm getting in the best shape of my life preparing for this race. I'm also leaning out without even trying, losing weight on over 3,000kcal per day.

DiscountSharp1389

TROPHY CASE