ooops, this is not good
I recently had my "fasting" blood test check up, as part of the recommended Heart Health routine, the good news is my cholesterol is well under control and even a bit less than the recommended numbers.
The bad news is my blood pressure is up again, although not as high as it was two years ago. I've been sitting on my bum far too much, reading blogs, reading books, watching dvds, instead of walking. Time to turn that around.
The worst news is my triglycerides, whatever they are, have been having themselves some parties and leaving their waste in my liver. Well, there goes all the fun in my life. No more ice-cream, no more chocolate, no more pizza, definitely no more Pepsi, the sugariest thing in the house. Doc says "fatty liver", and diabetes is just around the corner unless I make the necessary changes.
Will I? Of course I will. I'm going to walk my 20kg butt off. And the spare tyre around my hips and the one hugging my ribs.
In the last three days I've had only two cups of coffee, because I add too much sugar and fewer coffees is better than coffee without sugar. I haven't missed it all that much, so I'll try doing without coffee altogether.
Water is the substitute, I haven't been drinking enough.
There'll be more veggies and fruit, although the time for summer fruits is almost over, so it will be apples and apples and more apples, maybe an occasional banana. Good thing I love apples.
And soup. I love soup.
once the soup has simmered until all veggies are soft, part cook about a half cup of small shell pasta, drain and add to the soup. Simmer until you get hungry, then have one serve for dinner and divide the rest into single serve portions and freeze. Don't forget to label and date the containers.
The bad news is my blood pressure is up again, although not as high as it was two years ago. I've been sitting on my bum far too much, reading blogs, reading books, watching dvds, instead of walking. Time to turn that around.
The worst news is my triglycerides, whatever they are, have been having themselves some parties and leaving their waste in my liver. Well, there goes all the fun in my life. No more ice-cream, no more chocolate, no more pizza, definitely no more Pepsi, the sugariest thing in the house. Doc says "fatty liver", and diabetes is just around the corner unless I make the necessary changes.
Will I? Of course I will. I'm going to walk my 20kg butt off. And the spare tyre around my hips and the one hugging my ribs.
In the last three days I've had only two cups of coffee, because I add too much sugar and fewer coffees is better than coffee without sugar. I haven't missed it all that much, so I'll try doing without coffee altogether.
Water is the substitute, I haven't been drinking enough.
There'll be more veggies and fruit, although the time for summer fruits is almost over, so it will be apples and apples and more apples, maybe an occasional banana. Good thing I love apples.
And soup. I love soup.
Carrots, onions, celery, garlic and a can of four bean mix, drained
add a can of condensed tomato soup, a can of water, maybe a can and a half, and a sachet of tomato paste which holds about two tablespoons
chop the cabbage which you forgot to add when the beans went in
toss it into the pot
along with a handful of dried parsley, which looks like a lot, but once you stir it in it's just enough.
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Oh boy the wakeup call.But you are taking charge of the situation quite well. Those soups look delicious and healthy too. I need to make more nutritious meals too. So I'll take a page out of your recipes.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
WWW; after a slothful summer hiding inside away from the heat and pollens, I'm almost not surprised, but didn't expect to be in such bad shape. That soup pictured today is one of my favourites.
DeleteSugar is the main enemy, it is an addiction, so cutting way back is difficult initially. Fortunately unlike cigarettes which take weeks to get over withdrawals, sugar withdrawal only lasts a few days. I find if I skip coffee I get a headache as it is also addictive, once again this lasts only a few days, so I am told, because I am not quitting that addiction.
ReplyDeleteI'm pouring a glass of water and toasting you, "Here's to your health!"
joeh; sugar is the problem here too, and I think it's because I've been drinking Pepsi on the really hot days, because before this summer I was okay. I've had no sugar now since Wednesday, not even a single coffee, which is the only place I use sugar and I had a mild headache, but nothing I couldn't handle and it passed pretty quickly. No chocolate since Wednesday either and no ice-cream for almost a fortnight now. I'm not missing any of it at all. "clinks glasses" cheers!
DeleteSoup is tasty and filling. Yours looks delicious. I agree with joeh. Once a few days pass without sugar, I really don't miss it or crave it. I had to give it up both times I was pregnant, and it wasn't all that bad. That's why I get frustrated with Hick sneaking his donuts and blatantly eating candy bars, even though he's diabetic.
ReplyDeleteI know you have the self control to make these changes!
Val; I've never had to give up sugar before, even when pregnant and as a child I ate a lot of sweet things whenever they were available, which probably wasn't all that often, but we poured sugar over our cereal and sweetened our Milo drinks quite a lot.
DeleteIt's a shame Hick can't take better control, I know he wouldn't let you control his food intake either.
That soup looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI gotta tell ya...low carb is the answer to all your health issues. I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but look here... thelowcarbdiabetic dot blogspot dot com...😊 most bloggers don't like links in comments, so I wrote it all weird. It is not my blog, just a site I ❤️.
It will lower your triglycerides.
DeleteSandi; thank you. I know about the lowcarb website and used to visit there quite often. I should go back and have a look again. On the other hand I know all the foods I should be eating instead of mountains of mashed potatoes, so I think I'll be okay.
DeleteNot good at all. I am so glad to hear that you are up for the changes, and the soup looks good. If I am adding pasta to soup I don't bother to cook it first. I wonder whether I am wrong. Sandi is right about the blog she mentions. Eddie was diagnosed with diabetes and turned the numbers around with their low carb diet.
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child, not precooking the pasta is okay if the soup is going to simmer long enough to cook it. I usually half cook it then add it within the last few minutes so the shells don't lose their shape. After the soup has been frozen and thawed, then reheated the pasta loses shape, but that can't be helped. I've been to the lowcarb site, but not for about a year. They have some good recipes.
DeleteTake good care of yourself. It seems to me you know what to do and have the staying power to do it. I'll raise a very small cup of coffee with cream and sugar to you - as that is one thing I have had to lay off recently as well.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte; thanks for the virtual coffee, although I have mine with milk, not cream. I'm a stubborn sort, so I'll manage without the sweet things in order to stay alive and well for longer.
DeleteYou make us all happy, going for the good, making changes, ditching sugar. Especially sugar.
ReplyDeleteJoanne; I'd already cut down my sugar intake to the point where I wasn't even buying sugar at every grocery shop. What used to last a week, now lasts about five weeks and now that I've stopped it altogether, that's one thing I can cross off the "permanent" shopping list. My mistake this summer was the soft drinks, I don't like the taste of the diet options and didn't think one can of Pepsi a day would hurt me.
DeleteThat looks like excellent soup. (Watch the salt in the canned soup though; it's usually high in sodium and will not do your blood pressure any good.)
ReplyDeleteI need to cut back on some things and increase other things, too. You know the things I'm talking about!
jenny_o; I used a reduced salt soup and don't add salt to any other cooking either.
DeleteGo ahead and cut back, you know you can do it!
I have blood pressure trouble. I sit way to much.
ReplyDeletepeppylady (Dora); I also sit too much, the doctor has told me to get walking again like I used to. Starting over is tiring, I walk for twenty minutes and need a rest, but today I managed to walk for an hour, that's thirty minutes away from home, turn around and come back.
DeleteProud of your determination. We do have the power over a lot of our health problems. Me too on too much sitting. Also on too much sugar. I check ingredients carefully for salt due to heart problems and was very successful but I totally ignored sugar. I was stunned to see how much sugar was in some of my old faithfuls. As for the sweet coffee, I use to drink it with enough sugar to make a pretty good glue. Finally learned to drink it just black and really don't miss it. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteArkansas Patti; I was being careful about the salt and the fats, ignoring the sugar. I don't often eat things like cakes or biscuits (cookies), but I did eat a lot of chocolate and put too much sugar in my coffee. I've mostly given up the coffee, just one per day and yesterday didn't have any, but I made the mistake of drinking Pepsi this summer on the hot days and that stuff is loaded with sugar.
DeleteHow much easier and simpler it would be if we could survive on air alone!! Take care, River.
ReplyDeleteLee; it would certainly be cheaper, at least for those who don't have asthma.
DeleteHi, I saw you at Elephant's Child's blog. That soup looks delicious. I, too, must fast and not consume so much sugar.
ReplyDeletegigi-Hawaii; welcome to drifting. Cutting back on sugar isn't so hard, but the headache on about day three hit me hard. I gave in and had one cup of coffee. With sugar.
DeleteI´m sorry, Sister, but "the spare tyre around my hips" made me laugh, and yes, I have this, also.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is the boost I needed to get going again!
Wait! Aren´t you still in late summer and you eat soup?!
I need soup, our heating is gone :-(
After I had the man here to "repair" a part that worked well!
Good luck getting this under control. Your soup is a great start, as is cutting out the Pepsi and coffee with sugar.
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