Rowing / Diet for high cholesterol

[forestlaw]

New to the forums here, but have gathered a lot of great info over the past few days! I appreciate all the tips on form and seeing how I stack up against others with my weight/height profile.

So to give some background, after waking up one morning and feeling like total garbage and seeing my gut was way bigger than I remembered, I thought, okay no more added sugar and better start exercising. I think I'd fall under the classic "skinny fat" profile.

Since that day, about a month ago, I've rowed every day on the concept2 for 20 minutes, sometimes doing intervals, sometimes just rowing, with gradual improvement on my distance. With my diet and this exercise, I've lost about 4 pounds and feel a million times better -- my mood and ability to focus have both greatly improved.

I started on a somewhat lenient keto diet (cutting out grain-based carbs, no sugar), but I just learned I have high LDL levels -- about 270 -- heart disease runs in my family-- I'm a 39 year old male. My doctor said a healthy vegan diet done right is probably the most effective to lower cholesterol, but somewhat hard to stick to. Making these changes in my diet/fitness has certainly given me the confidence to make further adjustments as needed. I'm also interested in strength training, but that takes a back seat trying to prevent heart disease

I know I'm a prime candidate for statins, but i'd like to see what i can do with diet/exercise over the next four months or so before i go that route.

Anyone have tips or been through similar challenges? To think I yelled at my wife when she bought our concept2 years ago...now it's a lifesaver!

[pagomichaelh]

Genetics makes a huge difference. All of my father's family (and it was a large extended one) died of coronary heart disease, starting at age 41.

My body refuses to respond to dietary cholesterol changes. Started on a relatively low dose statin, I'm now in the 'good to go' range.

Most people are somewhat in the middle.

[forestlaw]

Genetics makes a huge difference. All of my father's family (and it was a large extended one) died of coronary heart disease, starting at age 41.

My body refuses to respond to dietary cholesterol changes. Started on a relatively low dose statin, I'm now in the 'good to go' range.

Most people are somewhat in the middle.

yeah, good point -- i'm thinking i might have to go the statin route given my family history

[Joebasscat]

I'm certainly not a doctor and maybe someone comes along here who is. But having said that, I personally would seek out a Coronary Calcium Scan prior to starting any statin drugs. My cholesteral screenngs are showing a tad elevated (not significant) but when I had the scan performed my results where pretty low and suggested only minimal narrowing of the atreries. Were it not for the scan, my GP would be ordering up the drugs. Scan was cheap too! I'll likely go that route every 4-5 years.

Sounds like you are on the right track and good for you. Diet and exercise may very well produce a good outcome for you. As always pay attention to your Doc, but use your head as well.

[GreenStratMan]

You could do a lot worse than reading Plant Paradox by Dr Stephen Gundry. He was a cardiac surgeon. I was shocked at some of what he shared. Eating good fats would be worth considering. Olive and coconut oil, he talks about that.The main focus of the book is plant lectins, which are proteins which get into our systems and play havoc and create all kinds of health issues.

You might like to build up your rowing to do long steady distance. Although, I remember seeing something too about aerobic non responders, they are typically thin on the outside and fat on the inside.From what I remember they will not use fat as fuel during aerobic exercise, high intensity work enables those type of people to metabolise fat in some way and increases their sensitivity to insulin.

Best wishes

[jamesg]

Anyone have tips or been through similar challenges?

Everyone who lives on a modern diet and takes no exercise. So fruit, vegetables and exercise.

The erg can provide fitness in a very short time, if we know how and are ready to sweat. We can then use that fitness for the rest of the day too. Otherwise as we get older, energy demand drops.

It's important to get satisfaction from what we do as well as from what we eat.

[Carl Watts]

Sometimes just small changes are all that's needed. I quit eating all the meat pies and started eating Weetbix (Fiber in it) and my cholesterol numbers crashed. Diet is going to be a major player.

[matthew92]

Hope you've managed to see more of a change since you originally posted. Strength training would be great if you ever got the chance, but I'm sure you can get very far with just an erg!