Losing weight to reduce cholesterol
Losing weight is a great way to reduce cholesterol. High cholesterol levels take a heavy toll on your body, and can lead to paralysis by stroke and even death. You cannot always tell if you have high cholesterol - the best way to know for sure is to make an appointment with your doctor. But losing weight the healthy way is a surefire method of reducing cholesterol no matter what your current situation. You will look better, feel better, and rest easier knowing that your cholesterol has been reduced.
Many people think of losing weight as a guaranteed miserable process in which they will starve, starve, starve, a do little else. Losing weight, however, doesn't have to be that way! The key to losing weight, and the key to reducing your cholesterol, is to replace the wrong foods with the right ones. Here are some tips on how to start.
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1. Eat natural foods. Natural foods are the most nutritional foods you can eat. Natural foods are unprocessed foods - they come basically straight from the earth or the vine or the tree to you. Natural foods include fruit, vegetables, legumes (dry beans and peas), and whole grains.
2. Be creative. When people refer to natural food as "rabbit food" it is because they can only think to eat it like a rabbit does. A rabbit will eat gobs of whatever you put in front of him - he'll eat a pile of lettuce or a pile of carrots and not complain. A human being, on the other hand, is a more complicated creature. A human being likes variety and change. Therefore, when it comes to vegetables, let your goal be to eat like a human and not like a rabbit. Buy cookbooks or look up recipes on line that are devoted to making vegetable dishes that are delicious and interesting.
3. When it comes to meat, think lean. Eat only the leanest cuts of red meat. Try to replace red meat whenever possible with chicken and fish. Remember, meat fats are high in calories and high in cholesterol. If your goal is to lose weight to reduce your cholesterol, discipline yourself when it comes eating meat.
4. Whole grains are a great source of energy. You can know which grains are good for you and which are not often by their color. White rice and white bread have had the outer shell of the grain removed, in other words, the healthiest part. Eat brown rice and wheat bread as often as you can.
5. Fruits are high in fiber and even include nutrients that protect the body against cancer. A simple meal of fish, salad, and bread, with fruit for desert, is a fantastic way to lose weight and reduce cholesterol. You can eat lots of natural foods without gaining weight; studies have shown that simply replacing processed foods with natural ones will result in significant weight loss. And significant weight loss, remember, means significant cholesterol reduction.
6. Try to make sure that only 30 percent of your calorie intake per day comes from fat. And then, when it comes to that 30 percent, make sure that it's the right sort of fat. Fatty meats and creams and cheeses are bad for your heart and body when taken too much of, and when beginning a weight-loss program a person must be even more careful to avoid them whenever possible. Good fats include olive oil, sunflower and corn oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds. If you want to fry your vegetables, in other words, it would be better to do it in a small amount of olive oil than butter. Nuts and seeds eaten in their raw, unsalted state are best.
7. Don't get overwhelmed. It can all seem like too much to think of at first, but losing weight to reduce cholesterol is a gift both to yourself and to your loved ones. Like any new process, it takes time to figure it out and feel natural at it. Work with your doctor on simple things at first; learn to make a few recipes, and then add on with time.
