Hold Your Sugar Intake to Lose Weight Fast and Focus on Wellness

I haven't posted for a while and a lot has happened healthwise.

Increased Signs of Aging
At age 63, many signs of aging are popping up despite lifting weights and changing my diet. And frankly, the 5 pounds I added last winter was not coming off like it had in the past. I've been taking blood pressure meds for about ten years. In the past year, high cholesterol has become an issue.

Of course my GP put me on Lipitor and then Crestor. The last dosage of Lipitor worked the best, bringing down the high cholesterol but raising liver enzymes into the danger zone. In other words, statins damage my liver cells. When I questioned the cost and health value of statins, the response was that I could try adjusting my diet.


On to the Naturopathic Route
Bottom line - I was going to find a way to reduce or eliminate the cholesterol meds. I am now seeing a naturopath (as well as the GP). She pointed out that past lab results have indicated blood sugar elevation. Great! Now I'm a "prediabetic." too. I knew about the elevated blood sugar but took no steps to address it.


Nutritional Adjustments
Under the care of the naturopath, I've made two simple nutritional changes - maintain sugar intake at 15 to 25 grams per day and substitute a veggie for dinner rice, potatoes, or noodles. These two changes have increased fiber intake, minimized sugar, and brought protein, carbs, and fat composition into balance.

Added Exercise/Activity
She also encouraged increasing the exercise level (2 strength workouts and 1 night of racquetball). That's relatively easy in the summer because there's landscape to maintain. Walking the dogs occasionally also helps all of us. My Fat Boy Simon has lost 2 pounds since the beginning of the year - 6% of his body weight.

Stress Reduction
Since I live in a rather stressful environment due to factors outside of my control, the naturopath encouraged stress management techniques such as meditation and therapy. I see a therapist regularly and have rescued the meditation CDs from storage. Also, the simple act of doing yard work creates an escape mechanism.

Quick Results
Interestingly, none of these lifestyle changes are new or revolutionary. They are really small tweaks to bring wellness back into my life.

With these adjustments, I lost a pound a week in the last month. That's mainly due to dropping sugar intake. I have six more weeks to work the adjustments suggested by the naturopath. Then she will re-evaluate blood work to see what's happening to cholesterol and sugar levels.