Wakeup Call--OT

On 19 Feb 2005 05:46:56 GMT, CATherine
wrote:

The upshot is I need to quit smoking again for good, this time. (my
oxy level was 88) And I have to eat heart-healthy. But I LIKE salt,
fat and cholesterol! (whining) Three of the nurses cornered me and I
got a discussion (with my mouth hanging open) from all three about
low-fat & low-salt food and what foods you wouldn't believe have so
much salt. Do you know cheese has salt? Do you know the prohibitions
cover just about everything I eat? (crying copious tears) Tuesday I go
to my physician for follow-up. Maybe he will give me pills for the BP.
What I would really like is pills for the cholesterol! ;-)

Catherine,

BTDT. My BP was 170/120. What I found helped me most is to quit smoking
and walking 30-50 minutes 5 days a week. Doing those two things made
salt a non-issue. As far as diet, an Atkins style low-carb lowered my
BP even further. It also lowered my LDL and triglycerides. I'm not
alone in getting those results either. I'm not telling you to ignore
what your doctor tells you, but do keep it in the back of your mind
should you not be happy with the traditional low-fat diet. It's not for
everyone.

Of course, none of it is really easy. It would be great if we could
take a little pill and have it all go away. In reality, the pills are
best thought of as a temporary fix. The problem is one pill often leads
to another to counteract the side effects from the first, which leads to
another, and another.... Lifestyle changes pay off better and safer.
They're hard work, but things worthwhile normally are.

There are USENET support groups there that might help you.
Alt.support.stop-smoking and also the alt.support.diet hierarchy that
covers most popular diets. Keep in mind though, while they are all very
helpful, they are not even as close to as friendly as this one. They
can be downright nasty at times, but take what you can use, and leave
the rest.

I wish you the best. I know how frightened you must be. Like you, the
thought of a stroke was definitely a wakeup call. I wasn't afraid of
dying near as much as I was afraid of surviving and dealing with the
results. You may not think you have the will power, but try to take it
a day at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself with thoughts of forever.

Hang in there,
Lorraine

364 weeks, 5 days, 12 hours, 52 minutes, 27 seconds
since my last cigarette. That's a few days short of 7 years, BTW.
Cigarettes not smoked 102,141
Money saved* $15,321.15

*Ha! I wish. That should read money spent elsewhere. Even at that,
it's an inflated amount figured at $3.00 a pack. I wasn't spending that
much per pack 7 years ago.

"CATherine" wrote in message
news
I could use encouragement. I need to change my lifestyle but don't
have enough will power. The problem is, I spent a few hours in the ER
today. My blood pressure soared (178/100) and I was dizzy. I also had
a bloody nose; but the doctor said that was from the dry air.
Fortunately, I was at the office and surrounded by nurses when my nose
bled and i felt wobbly. They took care of me and transported me to and
from the ER.

The upshot is I need to quit smoking again for good, this time. (my
oxy level was 88) And I have to eat heart-healthy. But I LIKE salt,
fat and cholesterol! (whining) Three of the nurses cornered me and I
got a discussion (with my mouth hanging open) from all three about
low-fat & low-salt food and what foods you wouldn't believe have so
much salt. Do you know cheese has salt? Do you know the prohibitions
cover just about everything I eat? (crying copious tears) Tuesday I go
to my physician for follow-up. Maybe he will give me pills for the BP.
What I would really like is pills for the cholesterol! ;-)

During the time at the office with the nurses checking my BP and
advising me, i was terrified I was about to have a stroke. I had seen
the ER episode on TV last night about a woman brought in with a stroke
and it was shown from her viewpoint. It made a powerful impact on me.
I was thinking of that show while the nurses were caring for me. I was
crying; but the nurses were very supportive. My blessings and thanks
to Beth, Shirley and MaryKay.

--
CATherine

CATherine - think about going to Weigh****chers and learning to eat a
healthy low-fat, low-salt diet. You can get lots of cookbooks and recipes
from them which are filled with good healthy stuff for you to make that
looks good and is tasty. I recommend them.

I haven't added salt to *anything* for years and yes, you get used to it -
so much so, I now find many foods too salty. Learn to use herbs & spices as
flavourings instead of salt. After a while you really do taste the food and
not the salt. Use skimmed milk instead of normal full-fat milk - I've used
this for years - and I now honestly prefer it to full-fat milk. Cheese is my
weakness - but it's a killer - I simply have to avoid it if I want to lose
weight, which I currently do. Standard cheeses are about 40% fat (and
saturated fat to boot) and are incredibly salty - many are cured in brine.
Reduce the amount of red meat you eat, increase the amount of white meat &
eat fish, especially oily fish. Have oily fish at least once a week - the
oils in it are high in Omega 3 which are seriously good for your heart. All
meats - cut all fat off before cooking. Don't have fried food - grill, do
not fry and do not add oil to stuff. Avoid as much processed foods as
possible - make your own homecooked foods using fresh ingredients, little
oil, avoid adding salt & use lots of herbs & spices for flavour. Also -
there's a lot of salt in many breads - so check those ingredient labels - or
make your own bread. For spreading on bread, instead of butter or
margarines, use a spread that has plant sterols which actively reduce
cholesterol levels - especially when eaten in conjunction with a healthy
diet.

Here's a recipe for a flavoursome vegetable soup I make & eat copious
quantities of as a snack - instead of reaching for the cheese or the
chocolate :-)

2 x tins chopped tomatoes (make sure no salt added to them)
1 x large carrot
half-a-head of celery
2 x medium courgettes
1 x large onion
handful of chives
garlic to taste
mixed herbs to taste (oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary... whatever you
like)
2 x *low-salt* organic vegetable stock cubes
Water

Chop all the veggies up - place everything in a pan - bring to boil & simmer
until veggies soft. Blitz until smooth with a blender. Now had lots of fresh
basil (basil goes brilliantly with tomatoes).

Have with a fresh-baked crusty roll (no butter - taste the bread!)

Remember - the *only* person who can change your lifestyle is you - no-one
else can. It isn't easy, but when it's your life at stake - you *have* to be
serious about it. Take it a day at a time - having something naughty is okay
if it's an *occasional* treat - but absolutely not everyday. You have to
retrain your palate and you lifestyle to a healthy living/eating way of
life. Exercise is good for helping to get cholesterol levels down too. Find
an exercise you enjoy - that way you'll stick to it. It doesn't have to be
something that requires a huges expense in equipment - regular daily walks
are as good a place to start as any. For me - my exercise of choice is
cycling - I loathe going to the gym with a passion, but I can cycle all day
long :-)

Learn diversion tactics for when you get food & nicotine cravings - can you
get nicotine patches over there? People wanting to quit smoking over here
can get nicotine patches on the National Health Service - to help reduce the
cravings.

Best of luck - helen s

jmcquown wrote:
Here it's called Benecol (and there is another brand touted by Regis
Philbun, I forget the name) - my mom uses Benecol spread and it made a
measurable (by her doctor) difference.

That's the one. It's actually produced by a Finnish company, and the
colesterol-reducing qualities were discovered by a team of Finnish
scientists. ) We also have other stuff in the series, like Benecol
yoghurt and milk. If you click on the Benecol logo at the bottom left of
this page:

http://www.raisiogroup.com/asp/system/empty.asp?P=38&VID=default&SID=820152145347044&S=0 &C=27193

you'll get heaps more info on the Benecol products, and there seem to be
some recipes, too.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

On 19 Feb 2005 05:46:56 GMT, CATherine
yodeled:

I could use encouragement. I need to change my lifestyle but don't
have enough will power. The problem is, I spent a few hours in the ER
today. My blood pressure soared (178/100) and I was dizzy. I also had
a bloody nose; but the doctor said that was from the dry air.
Fortunately, I was at the office and surrounded by nurses when my nose
bled and i felt wobbly. They took care of me and transported me to and
from the ER.

The upshot is I need to quit smoking again for good, this time. (my
oxy level was 88) And I have to eat heart-healthy. But I LIKE salt,
fat and cholesterol! (whining) Three of the nurses cornered me and I
got a discussion (with my mouth hanging open) from all three about
low-fat & low-salt food and what foods you wouldn't believe have so
much salt. Do you know cheese has salt? Do you know the prohibitions
cover just about everything I eat? (crying copious tears) Tuesday I go
to my physician for follow-up. Maybe he will give me pills for the BP.
What I would really like is pills for the cholesterol! ;-)

During the time at the office with the nurses checking my BP and
advising me, i was terrified I was about to have a stroke. I had seen
the ER episode on TV last night about a woman brought in with a stroke
and it was shown from her viewpoint. It made a powerful impact on me.
I was thinking of that show while the nurses were caring for me. I was
crying; but the nurses were very supportive. My blessings and thanks
to Beth, Shirley and MaryKay.

Purrs for your health, and also for strength as you take on the
changes you will need to make.



Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

Purrs and purr-ayers are on the way for your blood pressure to get
regulated ASAP! Ditto for the ability to quit smoking and get your
cholesterol numbers to a healthy level.

Check online for low-fat, low-salt, etc recipes. There are support groups
out there and they're sure to have plenty of recipes that are not only
healthy to eat, but APPEALING to the taste buds. Because as we all know,
it doesn't matter how healthy a food is; if it tastes like cardboard we're
not going to want to eat it regularly.

There are sure to be cookbooks available with recipes geared toward
reducing things like salt and fat in the diet.

I'm sure that once you actually get to try some of the recipes that are
out there, eating healthy won't seem like a burden at all.

Take care and hang in there.

Oh, and fuss over a cat every chance you get. Petting cats helps lower
blood pressure. )

Donna and the blood-pressure-lowering kitties, Captain and Stanley

In article ,
Debbie Wilson wrote:

On 2005-02-19 09:13:13 +0000, Howard Berkowitz said:

(snip)

Don't assume drying is the only way to preserve. Take fresh herbs, home
grown or from a farmer's market, mix with just enough water to form a
pourable mixture, and chop it up in a blender (a food processor usually
is too big). Pour it into plastic ice cube trays, freeze and pop the
cubes into freezer bags. It will take a little experimenting to learn
how much fresh equivalent is in each cube, but for many herbs, the
quality is very, very close to fresh.

I can definitely second this - freezing works very well for many fresh
herbs in the way Howard describes. Don't be tempted to just 'dry'
freeze the whole herbs instead of making cubes, they will suffer
freezer burn and be inedible. The ice cubes method also works extremely
well for fresh cillies and fresh root ginger. You can also freeze them
in the correct portions for recipes, e.g. one-inch portions of root
ginger per cube, and one chili per cube.

Deb,

That's great! I never thought of using it for chilies and ginger,
although with the number of Asian groceries in the DC suburbs, it's easy
to get them fresh. Nevertheless, there are times when it's late at
night and I'm out.

Another way to keep ginger is to slice it, and put the slices in sherry
wine and keep it in the refrigerator. After several batches, the wine
itself is a great condiment.

Even though it uses lots of salt, I'll have to find and post a slightly
more measured recipe for Moroccan Preserved Lemons. Take a batch of
lemons and split them into two batches, about 2/3 and 1/3. Cut the
larger batch into roughly eighths of a lemon, put a layer into a clean
(boiled is better) jar, and sprinkle with pickling salt. Squeeze the
rest of the lemons. Pour lemon juice over the layer in the jar, so it
covers it. Repeat the layering until you are out of lemons --
invariably, you will wind up with either too much juice or too many cut
lemons. You'll find something to do with them.

Close the jar tightly and put in the sun for 10-14 days. Every day or
so, shake the jar. Add lemon juice if needed to that the lemons are
always coverd -- that tends to be a need only at the beginning.

When they are ready, the lemon peel turns to a wonderful silky texture,
and the juice has an incredible concentrated lemon flavor. I also buy
pure lemon oil, and the Moroccan juice has a different sort of
intensity. It's a wonderful relish, not noticeably salty, and not
bitingly sour.

I've had excellent results with the fruit oils from Boyajian:
http://www.boyajianinc.com/Top.html The 5-ounce bottle of lemon oil
lasts me about 6 months, and I use a lot. I also find I use lime,
tangerine, and grapefruit in general cooking, but not as much the
orange. Orange would probably be best in desserts.

Some of the flavored vinegars, especially plum, are very very good, but
pricey for the quantity. When plums are in season again, I may try
making my own. Their oils are also pricey, and the only one I've found
that really is unique is the flavored peanut. Again, I may try to make
a substitute, or use peanut butter with ordinary peanut cooking oil. A
dash of flavored sesame oil goes well with peanut oil.

Boyajian has stopped carrying caviar, but it's probably just as well
that the furkids do not develop a taste for caviar.

"CATherine" wrote in message
news snip very scary wake-up call story

BTDT. Reference http://www.possibleplaces.com/changes/

Granted, I had gastric bypass surgery to help me lose weight, but the
surgery isn't magic - it did take some effort on my part - and the surgery
didn't help me quit smoking. Email me offlist lcrews (at) houston (dot) rr
(dot (com) and I'll be happy to be part of your "support team" to help you
through this. I have *lots* of tips that can help you quit smoking, eat
right, and make exercise less tedious.

Hugs,

CatNipped

On 2005-02-19 15:19:09 +0000, Howard Berkowitz said:
Deb,

That's great! I never thought of using it for chilies and ginger,
although with the number of Asian groceries in the DC suburbs, it's
easy to get them fresh. Nevertheless, there are times when it's late
at night and I'm out.

Also handy if you want to avoid 'chilli fingers' every time you use it
in cooking. :-) And quick, too, to just pop a cube in the pan instead
of chopping every time.


Another way to keep ginger is to slice it, and put the slices in sherry
wine and keep it in the refrigerator. After several batches, the wine
itself is a great condiment.

Oooh - sounds delicious. How long would you say it keeps for, stored like that?

Love the oil descriptions too. I'll see if there's anywhere here that
does similar things...

Deb.

--
http://www.scientific-art.com

"He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would;
He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield

CATherine, very sorry to hear of your scare -- please know you'll always
have support and encouragement from our household. Re the salty foods -- I
think of salt in the same way I do of sugar -- eating too much of either
starts cravings for them. My mom was the world's worst regarding salt and
would salt everything before she ate; I finally managed to convince her to
try a product called "light salt" and she was able to moderate her intake;
you can also get a product called a "salt substitute," which I've used
before, too. I use the Morton's Light Salt in our own household because I
know how salty everything is.

Also, I'd suggest going to your doctor and asking about using a nicotine
patch and there also is an antidepressant called "Wellbutrin" (bupropion)
which is supposed to be useful in helping people stop smoking -- I believe
for the stop smoking aspect it is marketed as "Zyban."

hugs and purrs, hope this helps,
Christine
"CATherine" wrote in message
news
I could use encouragement. I need to change my lifestyle but don't
have enough will power. The problem is, I spent a few hours in the ER
today. My blood pressure soared (178/100) and I was dizzy. I also had
a bloody nose; but the doctor said that was from the dry air.
Fortunately, I was at the office and surrounded by nurses when my nose
bled and i felt wobbly. They took care of me and transported me to and
from the ER.

The upshot is I need to quit smoking again for good, this time. (my
oxy level was 88) And I have to eat heart-healthy. But I LIKE salt,
fat and cholesterol! (whining) Three of the nurses cornered me and I
got a discussion (with my mouth hanging open) from all three about
low-fat & low-salt food and what foods you wouldn't believe have so
much salt. Do you know cheese has salt? Do you know the prohibitions
cover just about everything I eat? (crying copious tears) Tuesday I go
to my physician for follow-up. Maybe he will give me pills for the BP.
What I would really like is pills for the cholesterol! ;-)

During the time at the office with the nurses checking my BP and
advising me, i was terrified I was about to have a stroke. I had seen
the ER episode on TV last night about a woman brought in with a stroke
and it was shown from her viewpoint. It made a powerful impact on me.
I was thinking of that show while the nurses were caring for me. I was
crying; but the nurses were very supportive. My blessings and thanks
to Beth, Shirley and MaryKay.

--
CATherine

in article , CATherine at
wrote on 2/18/05 11:46 PM:

I could use encouragement. I need to change my lifestyle but don't
have enough will power. The problem is, I spent a few hours in the ER
today. My blood pressure soared (178/100) and I was dizzy. I also had
a bloody nose; but the doctor said that was from the dry air.
Fortunately, I was at the office and surrounded by nurses when my nose
bled and i felt wobbly. They took care of me and transported me to and
from the ER.

The upshot is I need to quit smoking again for good, this time. (my
oxy level was 88) And I have to eat heart-healthy. But I LIKE salt,
fat and cholesterol! (whining) Three of the nurses cornered me and I
got a discussion (with my mouth hanging open) from all three about
low-fat & low-salt food and what foods you wouldn't believe have so
much salt. Do you know cheese has salt? Do you know the prohibitions
cover just about everything I eat? (crying copious tears) Tuesday I go
to my physician for follow-up. Maybe he will give me pills for the BP.
What I would really like is pills for the cholesterol! ;-)

During the time at the office with the nurses checking my BP and
advising me, i was terrified I was about to have a stroke. I had seen
the ER episode on TV last night about a woman brought in with a stroke
and it was shown from her viewpoint. It made a powerful impact on me.
I was thinking of that show while the nurses were caring for me. I was
crying; but the nurses were very supportive. My blessings and thanks
to Beth, Shirley and MaryKay.

--
CATherine

Catherine, there is one very interesting fact that people still neglect. It
isn't just the amount of fat one consumes nearly as much as the TYPE of fat
one consumes that is a problem. You may find this artcile exceptionally
interesting;

http://www.prevention.com/article/0,...835-1,00.html?

"Are these foods really healthy?" which talks about the effects of high
fructose corn syrup and trans fat in our diet.

I also HIGHLY recommend a book called "The Good Fat Cookbook"by Fran
McCullough. The recipes are really just part of the book and not kinds we
would probably make ourselves, but the worth of the book is totally in the
front half. Eye opening.

You could probably do yourself a world of good by simply starting by
eliminating trans fat. It's hard because if you read labels at the store,
almost everything convienced, packaged or ready made has "partially
hydrogenated oil" in the list. That is trans fat and that is probably the
NUMBER ONE enemy of your heart and blood cells. You really can find a lot of
products that aren't processed in the "health mart" section of your grocery
store (well, we have them in some stores in Lincoln, so I am assuming larger
towns are also follwoing that) or at a local health or organic store.

Also, throw out your sugar and get splenda. I am picky and can taste
chemically things in foods (the first packaged "Grandma's Cookie" I ever ate
was my last. I didn't know WHAT was in it, but to me it tasted like someone
had dumped something awful in it. Can't do nutrasweet or aspartame, but
splenda seems to work great) but splenda does not give me a headache or
taste badly at all. Honest, if it is WHITE (bread, pasta, sugar, rice) don't
eat it. Get the brown kind. I think the first thing to try is replacing
these things. Yes, some of it is more expensive (shameful but true it's more
expensive to eat healthy) but it is a first step toward changing your blood
chemistry.

So rather than trying at first to completely eliminate things you love, try
finding the healthy alternative. Start reading labels. Fortuneately, it is
going to become much easier to see transfat content as in January of this
year it is mandatory to list it on the nutrition info.

Heck, if you only do TWO things, don't by anything that says "hydrogenated
oil" or high fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list you will probably
make an improvement. And of course, the other thing (which is definitely
hard for me anyway) use portion control. Measure out what a portion really
is and eat it. I even use small bowls to put things in that I know are 1/2
cup. It helps me realize that a serving of veggies or fruit is truly less
than I think it is (even though I like those things, it seems monumental to
eat 5 to 9 servings until you actually see what a real serving is) and keeps
anything starchy I am having down to a reasonable amount. A "real" serving.

I bet if you read the front half of the Good Fat Cookbook, you will feel, as
I do, completely flabbergasted by what companies and the governments role in
the current American health problem. We've been lied to and given some very
wrong products over the years. But I am finding it much easier these days to
find the RIGHT things to put in my recipes and they are none the worse for
it. And of course the other thing (which as you are so remote is probably
not difficult for you) DON'T EAT OUT unless you know the restaurant is
serving meals made from scratch and without trans fat type oils. That is of
course, the pricey restaurants which are small and usually family owned or
else run by middle eastern folk.

Hope some of this helps you out. Honestly, after I started doing reading
between Dr. Agaston's South Beach Diet book (and honestly, following his
reccomendations of just not eating processed things, my mom's cholesterol
went down 40 points.), the Good Fat Cookbook and articles like the above, I
can hardly buy anything packaged anymore. As much as my mouth wants it my
brain screams "run away".