Stepping it Up - Getting Heart Healthy and Working Out at Home!
The Dr. did some wellness blood work. Overall, the results were very good! I need to work on my cholesterol (208), LDL (127) triglycerides (159) and raising my good fat number as well. Her recommendations were all vegan diet, using the American Heart Association's site for suggested grocery lists, their cookbook, and of course, lose twenty pounds. In a way, it was nice to hear some feedback on my health because it has given me renewed vigor to take care of myself.
Since time is short as a new Mom I've been beefing up my home workout DVD's. Currently, I have the following in rotation:
Denise Austin - Shrink Your Female Fat Zones
Denise Austin - Power Zone
Denise Austin - Body, Mind, and Soul
I seem to gravitate to the sculpting/stretchy videos since I workout at night after the baby goes to sleep. I also like short workouts! I try to get my cardio in during the day walking Ephram.
For variety and inspiration, I ordered the WAVE by the Firm and Power Fit by Stephanie Huckabee.
On the nutrition front, I've been eating oat bran in the morning with fresh berries. YUMMO! I add cinammin and a little brown sugar too. Turns out oat bran is a super hero in terms of dragging the cholesterol out. I've also been trying to new bean dishes:
- Zatarain's red beans & rice and black beans and rice mixes
- This Chili mix is FANTASTIC and only 180 calories in a cup!
- Bear Creek Navy Bean Soup
- Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans (yummo)
- hummus and I squeeze fresh lemon on mine. I love Sabra Hummus!
My Doctor also suggested a daily supplement of purified fish oil and flax oil for Omega 3. But, I still bought some cereal with flax. The Omega 3 supplements were also recommended in the AHA book.
Does anyone else here have a goal of lowering cholesterol?