Help with diet please

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Hello guys/gals!

My family have a history of high cholesterol - it is in our genes. I used to think being overweight meant you had high cholesterol and seeing as I have a six pack in my ignorance I thought I was doing great cholesterol-wise because I work out a lot....until I went for a physical. My cholesterol is 232 (174 bad vs 58 good) and it needs to come down pronto. The doctor put me on crestor to reduce the cholesterol, and I'm being sent for a nuclear stress test to ensure there's no blockages on November 9th.

Anyway - I want to eat REAL CLEAN healthy food for the next 3 months just to help with bringing down the cholesterol. I plan to cut out meat and dairy completely - so I'm thinking of going vegan for these months, and geeze if I'm having fun and feeling great I will continue with it.

I have been reading the forums and I found some recipes that I am going to try shortly. I just want to be sure I'm not missing out on some essential foods for the 3 months, or if you guys think I need certain vitamins or supplements while doing this please let me know. As I said I work out a lot so I will be taking protein so that I can continue to do so.

I bought a juicer recently and I have been jucing fruit mainly for breakfast - apples, oranges, that sort of thing. I usually have about a pint or two of it and that's my breakfast.

For lunch I usually have a salad which consists of lettuce, broccoli (raw), carrotts, chick peas, green beans, celery, tomatoes, and a vegan friendly vinaigrette.

Dinner consists of lots of fresh veg, some tofu and rice.

In between I eat some avacados and nuts as a snack.

I feel so full of energy lately it is actually amazing. I notice I'm no longer tired in the mornings.

All I'm looking for here is to ensure I am doing this right and I'm not missing anything essential. I'm not looking to be spoonfed either so if you can point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it.

Thank you.

spiralbound

You can track your intake for a few days on a website like fitday.com - this will give you an idea of what nutrients you are taking in, and if you are lacking in any.

I don't know much about the dietary link with high cholesterol, I think a lot of it can be genetic rather than related to your diet. This website: http://engine2diet.com/ talks about how people have lowered their cholesterol with vegan diets, and has some recipes, but I think they're also trying to sell a book.

The main supplements that are recommended for a vegan diet are B12 and Vit D - these are not present in any vegan foods (unless artificially fortified). You can check your intake of everything else, including protein, if you're concerned about that, on fitday.

Good luck with the veganism, your diet sounds very healthy and tasty!

If you're looking for a particular recipe or want to veganise an old favourite, post up here and we might be able to help you.

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fitday.com is fantastic. Thank you! I'll get some B12 and Vitamin D too. Thanks again.

flikflak

You could also hop over to veganfitness.net for hints and tips on how to get the most out of a vegan diet when you are training.

Maybe you can make more use of lentils and pulses for your evening meals? Making chilli, currys and casseroles just to mix it up a bit? Serve them with some green veg on the side?

bythewoods

Make sure you don't drink any grapefruit juice or eat any grapefruits. Best to avoid cranberry juice too, they'll interfere with the Crestor.

Best of luck with the diet.