10k steps 3x/week didn't lower my cholesterol

[JEDI]

i've been wearing a fitbit and get at least 10k steps 3x/week.
just had my annual physical/blood work (fasting).

cholesterol actually went up.
good cholesterol (hdl) went up a little. (65)
bad cholesterol (ldl) went up alot (40pts) to 170.

so looks like i'm back to the treadmill 10min/day at 6mph (10min mile) for at least 3x/week.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Add resistance training. Any kind you want! It helps.

my cholesterol sucks, but with exercise and a statin it’s down to low 200’s, half what it can be

 

[Mai72]

i've been wearing a fitbit and get at least 10k steps 3x/week.
just had my annual physical/blood work (fasting).

cholesterol actually went up.
good cholesterol (hdl) went up a little. (65)
bad cholesterol (ldl) went up alot (40pts) to 170.

so looks like i'm back to the treadmill 10min/day at 6mph (10min mile) for at least 3x/week.

1) What does your diet look like? Try to incorporate some oatmeal with some berries. 1/2 cup a day should help.
2) What kind of steps are you taking? Are you slow walking, or are you fast walking. There is a big difference between the two you know.

 

[balloonshark]

Serious question. If you didn't fast for a cholesterol test would the results show higher or lower levels? My recent test showed my cholesterol lowered but I forgot to fast and yes I did inform them of that fact.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Serious question. If you didn't fast for a cholesterol test would the results show higher or lower levels? My recent test showed my cholesterol lowered but I forgot to fast and yes I did inform them of that fact.

No idea, they just wouldn’t do my blood draw if I didn’t fast

 

[JEDI]

1) What does your diet look like? Try to incorporate some oatmeal with some berries. 1/2 cup a day should help.
2) What kind of steps are you taking? Are you slow walking, or are you fast walking. There is a big difference between the two you know.

diet has been the same.
whatever i want + a salad for balance.

i have been eating less fruit in the past couple of months before my blood test.
I used to eat a banana everyday but i've been traveling alot the last 2 months.
when i travel, i forget to eat fruit.
guess fruit makes a BIG difference?

regular speed (slow?) walking steps. doesnt increase my heart rate.
thought it didnt matter as long as you make 10k?

 

[ch33zw1z]

diet has been the same.
whatever i want + a salad for balance.

i have been eating less fruit in the past couple of months before my blood test.
I used to eat a banana everyday but i've been traveling alot the last 2 months.
when i travel, i forget to eat fruit.
guess fruit makes a BIG difference?

regular speed (slow?) walking steps. doesnt increase my heart rate.
thought it didnt matter as long as you make 10k?

If you're traveling, it's likely you're eating more processed and unhealthy foods. That makes a difference.

 

[JEDI]

If you're traveling, it's likely you're eating more processed and unhealthy foods. That makes a difference.

probably.. more than the salad can counter act

 

[nakedfrog]

I think the 10k steps goal is supposed to be an every day thing, not thrice a week. I think that's a lot for many people living in the US, since we're so car-centric in general.
But even walking at a fast pace on gentle terrain isn't enough to get my heart rate up much, before I got further into my training I could maybe break into the low 120s sometimes that way.
Maybe you could do your treadmill thing and then on the non-treadmill days, hit 10k steps.

 

[pcgeek11]

Damn. I think you are dealing with a genetic issue.

My wife and I eat the same foods every day we are in our mid and late 60's ( 65 and 67 ). My LDL Cholesterol is about 80 and my HDL is usually about 40 or so. I don't eat a lot of bread but everything else is a free for all.

 

[Torn Mind]

Get yourself an OGTT to check for insulin resistance; I am inferring that you are doing what you are doing to avoid a heart attack. LDL alone is not necessarily an issue. The inflammation is the other part.
"Whatever I want" is so vague but given the American palate, simple carbohydrates are the most popular foods along with fried foods in vegetable oils.

Fruit is a balancing act between the sugar bomb(and resulting insulin spike) and the potentially valuable other chemicals, including trace ones.

In addition, instead of more exercise, attempt fasting for a couple days or more.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Damn. I think you are dealing with a genetic issue.

My wife and I eat the same foods every day we are in our mid and late 60's ( 65 and 67 ). My LDL Cholesterol is about 80 and my HDL is usually about 40 or so. I don't eat a lot of bread but everything else is a free for all.

genetics play a huge role in this type of stuff. My pops passed down cholesterol that is 350+ . Only rigorous exercise and statins keeps it in low 200. A healthy diet helps, but not as much as so people think. I suspect foods like cheese raise it, but healthy oils don’t seem to.

 

[pcgeek11]

At one point my wife was way up at about 400 even though we eat the same foods and excercise about the same amount. Statin drugs are helping her a lot she is about LDL 200.

 

[igor_kavinski]

The fiber in fruits helps a lot. Plus, eating fruit can make you want to eat less in general as the fiber will make you feel fuller. Try eating an apple before bed for a few days before the next test (reduce dinner calories appropriately to account for the apple).

 

[daveybrat]

My Cholesterol was up to 215 so i decided to start taking fish oil supplements every day. After about six months i had more lab work and my cholesterol dropped to 175 with no other changes in diet or exercise.

I now take it every day along with my other normal supplements.

 

[JEDI]

My Cholesterol was up to 215 so i decided to start taking fish oil supplements every day. After about six months i had more lab work and my cholesterol dropped to 175 with no other changes in diet or exercise.

I now take it every day along with my other normal supplements.

thx.
what kind of fish oil supplements are you taking?

 

[daveybrat]

As i cannot stand fish and do not eat seafood at all, i had to buy these:

https://www.meijer.com/shopping/product/nature-s-truth-natural-lemon-flavor-fish-oil-2-000-mg/84009310075.html

I tried the normal fish oil and the burpless but i still could taste a fishy flavor later in the day that made me nauseous.

I've been taking these lemon flavored ones (you can't taste it as they are coated) i have never had a fishy burp or taste at all!

 

[nakedfrog]

genetics play a huge role in this type of stuff. My pops passed down cholesterol that is 350+ . Only rigorous exercise and statins keeps it in low 200. A healthy diet helps, but not as much as so people think. I suspect foods like cheese raise it, but healthy oils don’t seem to.

Bless my Wisconsin heritage, I eat cheese every day and my numbers are great.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Bless my Wisconsin heritage, I eat cheese every day and my numbers are great.

some people be like that. My wife’s family is on one side, her as well. Red meat and ice cream everyday, bloodwork is perfect. Hope our kids get that dna!

p.s. I’ve got buckeye blood in my veins.

 

[deadken]

In my humble opinion:

Diet is where you can make bigger differences over exercise. However, genetics can make a bigger difference than both diet and exercise.

Diet:
Cut back on processed foods and limit your consumption of meats (having fish, turkey, or chicken whenever possible). Incorporate more leafy greens as often as possible. Drink water, seltzer, or unsweetened tea (with lemon is great) whenever possible. Eat lower sugar fruits whenever possible (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, kiwis, avocado, grapefruit, and watermelon). Keep your fiber intake up.

Whenever possible limit the amount of hours you eat or drink calories (in example: 10 hours of eating / drinking calories followed by 14 hours of fasting. Even better is: 8 hours of eating / drinking followed by 16 hours of fasting. If possible get down to 6 hours / 18 hours a day or 2 a week.

Exercise:
You'll need to increase your heart rate in order to really get the most benefit from exercise. If your Fitbit doesn't track your heart rate, get something that does. If you are a man, the formula for your maximum heart rate is: 220 - your age. So if you are 20, your maximum heart rate would be 200. 30 years old = 190. Forty years old, your maximum is 180 bears per minutes, etc... For a woman it is a more complicated formula, look it up online. I've attached a chart from my Garmin app that explains what each zone of your heart rate affects your cardiovascular fitness (see attached). If you are below zone 3, you aren't making any improvements. Start off slow and build up to higher zones.

Genetics:
My Girlfriend had done an Ironman a year for 9 years in a row (her mid 40's into her mid 50's). Even during that heavy training schedule, with a clean diet, her cardiologist said she should be on a statin. You can't always outmaneuver genetics. Luckily statins are a good way to control cholesterol. They are tried and true, and even available as a generic. If needed, there is no harm in taking one as prescribed by your doctor.

Lastly, the ratio of HDL to LDL (good to bad cholesterol) is know as triglycerides. If your LDL gets to a good range, but you triglycerides are still out of whack, eat more plant based fats (avocados, nuts, olives, etc) in order to improve your truckers.


Please keep writing back in this thread as things progress and let us know how you are doing!

Good luck and I hope that I was helpful, Ken

 

[VirtualLarry]

Even during that heavy training schedule, with a clean diet, her cardiologist said she should be on a statin.

Big Pharma!!!

 

[ch33zw1z]

WRT statins, they affect everyone different. There’s dosage ranges, ask your doctor to start you on lowest dose and see how it goes. You may end up in highest allowed for that statin, but maybe not. It’s a balance

 

[imported_Irse]

Serious question. If you didn't fast for a cholesterol test would the results show higher or lower levels? My recent test showed my cholesterol lowered but I forgot to fast and yes I did inform them of that fact.

I don't think it matters. My doc doesn't have me fast for my cholesterol and glucose test. Results are about the same when I used to fast for my previous doc.

 

[imported_Irse]

In my humble opinion:

Diet is where you can make bigger differences over exercise. However, genetics can make a bigger difference than both diet and exercise.

So true. Exercise never helped me at all.

 

[Muse]

regular speed (slow?) walking steps. doesnt increase my heart rate.
thought it didnt matter as long as you make 10k?

I would assume heart rate DOES make a difference. It's my most important metric when I skate (wearing heart rate monitor). The average HR is the one I care the most about.