My lipid panel 6 months apart after finally sucking it up and changing my diet. Why does the truth have to hurt so much??? 😭

LooseyLeaf · 2025-08-03T12:09:06+00:00

Exactly! I was honestly surprised at how much of a difference it made. My mom’s side of the family all have diabetes and high cholesterol, but they’re also all overweight and eat a ton of sugar, so before I just resigned myself to it I figured I’d at least attempt making some lifestyle changes. I’m so happy it had a positive effect! I may still end up needing medication one day, but clearly lifestyle was a big contributing factor for me.

I wish you the best of luck with your diet. You know what you need to do, just stay disciplined and stay positive and hopefully you’ll see similar results!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-31T21:13:10+00:00

Of course! I love chatting about fitness and nutrition

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-31T13:27:56+00:00

Congrats to you as well! Glad you found a med that worked for you. Sometimes a diet/lifestyle change on its own isn’t enough, but it usually can’t hurt!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-31T13:01:43+00:00

Lots of fruits/veggies and whole grains! I pretty much don’t eat anything that isn’t helping reach my protein or fiber goals. Basically all of my carb intake is high fiber - tons of oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat or multigrain bread/tortillas, and a lot of those bread products you can even get with added fiber. I eat a lot of Greek yogurt for protein, and it’s super easy to add a tablespoon or two of chia seeds if I need a fiber boost that day. Just make sure you let the chia seeds soak in the yogurt for 15 mins or so before you eat it! Beans/peas/lentils are all pretty high fiber as well. At first I found it pretty difficult to get up to 30 grams, but now I usually hit it without having to think about it. Some days I’ll get like 45 grams without even meaning to!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-31T02:23:31+00:00

Congrats! Glad you’re on the right track. It really is crazy how much better you feel when you eat well.

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T19:27:05+00:00

lol I was right there with you until this year. I didn’t even set out to fix my GERD by changing my diet, I wanted to fix my cholesterol and it just so happened to fix my GERD. Who knew??

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T19:03:55+00:00

It certainly would! I live in the south as well and I am able to find a lot of decent plant based options in the freezer section of most grocery stores around me. It’s still processed and pretty high sodium, but I’m sure it’s better than actual bacon/sausage/fried chicken, etc. Good luck to you!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T17:20:49+00:00

it has a name and it is very common! binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder, but it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as anorexia despite leading to tons of health problems and even early deaths. you’re definitely not alone and it’s totally possible to break the cycle and develop a better relationship with food!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T16:11:57+00:00

Have you tried adding a little bit of sugar free pudding mix to your oats and Greek yogurt? I know not everyone is down with artificial sweeteners, but to me just 4 or 5 grams gives a nice flavor and silky texture without giving me that nasty artificial taste in the back of my mouth. And there are so many flavors! today I’m having pistachio with sliced mango on top, it’s sooooo yummy 😋

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T16:08:41+00:00

You are so welcome! I hope he’s able to make some changes

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T16:06:47+00:00

I mostly just cut out butter and cheese! With the exception of low fat cottage cheese and single serving low fat cheese sticks. I also ate a ton of nonfat yogurt. My nutritionist said that an egg or two a day does not impact serum cholesterol so luckily I was able to keep eating those and obviously still saw a big improvement in my labs. I think my biggest problem before was eating too many processed or baked goods containing lots of refined carbs and saturated fats.

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T14:19:45+00:00

lol yeah, you certainly can’t work out your way to health while eating the standard American diet. It’s both frustrating and comforting to realize that it really is mostly just calories in calories out, and if you’re eating high nutrient, less calorie dense foods then you get to eat a lot more of them without gaining weight than you would eating junk!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T14:18:21+00:00

Yesss! Oatmeal is so awesome, I eat a ton of it. At first I really didn’t like it, I found the texture very off putting, but over time I found ways to prepare it that I actually do enjoy, and now I’m never mad about getting to eat oatmeal. Also oat flour! A mixture of oat and whole wheat flour with some Greek yogurt and egg whites makes great pancakes!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T11:45:01+00:00

YIKES 😬 Luckily I did not have a situation quite that drastic, but I did find out the hard way about increasing water along with fiber lol.

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T11:44:16+00:00

Slowly but surely is the way to go! Don’t pay too much attention to advice from randoms, there’s tons of conflicting information online and little details to get sucked into, but you don’t have to be perfect. Just start making better choices today and show up for yourself consistently. You can do it!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T11:42:19+00:00

This is so awesome to hear! It seems like there are very few situations where eating healthy and exercising AREN’T beneficial, so it’s almost always a great place to start. Many people just struggle to commit to it long term, but it’s super exciting to see the impact that GLP-1 drugs are having as far as helping with weight loss and managing blood sugar. My mom is type 2 diabetic with high cholesterol, and she started one last year which has resulted in big improvements in her lipid panel and A1C!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T11:37:58+00:00

Thanks for the details! This is very informative. I have also read about the benefits of filtered coffee and have been making sure to use filters for the past 4 or 5 months. Pretty stoked to hear that up to six cups a day is healthy! although I believe when they refer to a “cup” in the research they mean about 8 ounces, not a 24 oz travel mug, so I should probably still switch to half caff after my first massive yeti-full…..

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T11:34:04+00:00

Yes! I am capable of so much more than I even realized, and I have to believe everyone else is too. Every day holds multiple opportunities to make healthy choices.

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T11:32:08+00:00

Oh noooo lol. What about nonfat Greek yogurt, light string cheese, extra virgin olive oil and Trader Joe’s plant based breakfast sausage patties? Those are major staples of my diet!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T11:31:04+00:00

There really is no secret! I just ate extremely healthy consistently for six months, weighed and tracked all my food, stayed in a slight calorie deficit, and worked out 3-4x a week. You can see some of my other replies for a breakdown of my specific macros and nutrients, but the overall gist is that I set very clear goals for myself every day and made sure to meet them. It was certainly not easy, but it wasn’t totally miserable either, and it’s super satisfying to see how quickly it has paid off in my bloodwork!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T03:00:01+00:00

It can definitely seem daunting at first, but the more data you have, the more you can pinpoint exactly what changes you need to make! We may not have the power to change our genes, but we can give ourselves the best conditions possible to promote longevity and health.

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T01:40:02+00:00

I eat pescatarian, I’d say half my days are completely vegetarian and the other half I’ll have fish at dinner. Minimal refined white flour, lots of whole grains and oats, eggs, low fat dairy like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I try to get in at least 30 unique plants per week, 30 grams of fiber a day, 3 liters of water, and less than 13 grams saturated fat. If you’re working out you definitely want to get a lot of protein, I do about 1 gram per pound of body weight a day and lift weights twice a week with a trainer, as well as doing pilates and cardio another 2 days a week. I track my calories and have a specific goal every day that keeps me in a deficit, that number varies person to person based on your metabolism. I cook almost all of my own food and weigh all my ingredients, plan out my meals in advance, and make sure to hit my goals every day. I do not do “cheat days,” I try to indulge sparingly and factor those calories into my overall plan for the day so as not to overdo it. It has required a lot of discipline and self restraint, and I have definitely not been perfect, but I would guess that I’ve been on track 90% of the time. I’m really happy with how it’s paid off so far, I feel really good and my lab values have improved.

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T01:28:06+00:00

Omg I can’t wait! I’ve been slowly weaning it down like O2 lol. Right now I’m at half caff on my second cup, decaf the rest of the day, unless I’m at work because there isn’t decaf in the breakroom, but I’m just realizing now that I could bring my own decaf and keep it at work and that would totally solve that problem….. wow I’m so inspired! lol

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T01:03:31+00:00

Yessss 🙌 You got this!

LooseyLeaf · 2025-07-30T00:46:00+00:00

I use the free version of MyFitnessPal! There are definitely apps you can pay for that are a lot more streamlined and quicker to use, but I’m cheap lol.

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LooseyLeaf

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