Thank you to everybody for your responses. And thanks for the welcome.
We're happy to have you here, and glad you feel welcome!
I'm concerned about increasing fats (well, the bad ones) because my cholesterol levels are through the roof right now.
The only really 'bad' fats are trans-fats and anything that's 'processed' in order to become what it is - IE: Corn Oil, etc.
As for cholesterol - eating healthy fats and lowering carbohydrate, especially refined/processed carbs have been shown the surest way of reducing bad cholesterol and increasing good. There is NO evidence that reducing dietary fat intake reduces cholesterol - all research has shown the OPPOSITE.
And I need the energy from the carbs to sustain my exercise. I'm at the gym 6-7 days a week, for 1-3 hours.
Actually, you don't. You
think you do and you've
been told you do.
But you don't.
As a 240lb man I was able to get all the energy I needed eating about 100g of carb daily during 4 and 5 hour
INTENSE bike rides. For months my minimum daily ride was still over an hour - and those would be averaging close to 30km/h (19mph) in hilly terrain. Some days I would eat 150g of carb
(on a 4,200 calorie diet that's still low-carb...) but these were during weeks with 15-20hrs of very-intense bike riding, sometimes through mountains at 7,000 feet, always at a fairly quick pace.
Now I still do an hour or more of exercise daily on as little as 30g (sometimes as much as 90g) of carb a day - and I'm never tired, burnt-out, dizzy, confused, unable to workout, etc.
The truth is, although carbohydrate is the body's preferred source of energy - that only means it metabolizes it FIRST, not that it's the most efficient.
Fat, in fact, is the most-efficient fuel for the body - we generate much more ATP (the fuel used on a cellular level) from fat, using less energy than from carbohydrate.
Let the body respond to the fat instead - it works wonders. The idea of carb-loading for energy/exercise is very-outdated.
Here's a typical day (1200-1500 cals):
Breakfast - 1/2 cup granola-type cereal (or 2 scrambled eggs w/ sauted mushrooms, peppers), 1/2 cup low fat milk, 1/2 banana, bottled light Frappucino
Lunch - 1/2 small can of tuna w/ small amt of mayo on 1 slice whole grain bread, 1/2 apple, small yogurt
Snack - granola bar before gym
Dinner - 1/2 chicken breast, cup of broccoli, 1 slice whole wheat bread w/ small amt butter, 1/2 cup low fat milk
Snack - 100 calorie popcorn
My thoughts - take it or leave it ...
Breakfast - Skip the granola unless you've made it yourself out of low-carb ingredients. Check our recipes section for low-carb granola... The scrambled eggs are way better for you, and provide more nutrients and energy.
Lunch - change to sprouted-grain bread instead of the whole-grain. Whole-grain isn't near as healthy for diabetics as some would have you believe. Sprouted grain will really help your BG control. The half-apple is OK, but do NOT eat a small yogurt if it's like yoplait or something - those are NOT health food. You might as well drink a coke as eat a small yoplait-type low-fat yogurt... Find some flavored greek yogurt, or have something like almonds, etc.
Snack - check the ingredients on that granola bar. Actually, nevermind. Unless you made it yourself, it's sugary-crap. If you feel you need a snack before the gym, do your best to have it be healthy fats instead of carbs. Eating carbs and going to the gym is one reason why people's weight-loss is slow...
(ie: 2lbs in 2 weeks... ) remember, you have to burn all that dietary sugar before you can switch to fat burning...
Dinner - Feel free to have skin on that chicken breast. We even have some great low-carb batter recipes if you want to deep fry it in peanut oil
(my choice for fried chicken) or something similar. Broccoli or salad is great.
(Watch carbs in salad dressings.) You'd do better without the bread, of course - if you really need bread you can try 1/2 slice of sprouted-grain instead - or check out '
oopsie' rolls ... they're awesome. As for milk - try instead a small glass of full-fat/whole milk.
(I don't drink milk, myself.)
Snack - I'd also substitute something with some fat content instead of the popcorn - I'm not happy with the ingredients in those little snack bags... they're kind-of scary. I may have some pepperoni slices and cheese, or some broccoli in a cream-cheese dip, almonds, etc. Or, if you really like popcorn - pop your own in coconut oil and add a tablespoon of melted butter. Mmm...
I've lost 2 lbs since I started leveling carbs two weeks ago. And I feel really good. My doctor told me to stick with this since it's working right now, and started me on Lipitor for my cholesterol. I see her again in 1 month to see how this is all panning out.
I'm going to stress something here:
In your case there is NO evidence that statins do anything to protect you from heart attack or stroke. Period.
Will they lower your cholesterol? Likely... You may also have
serious complications/side-effects from it.
For a woman in your situation, all lipitor will really help is Pfizer. (Unless you've had a previous heart attack - even then the evidence is scant and very slim.)
Stats about myself (if it makes any difference):
55 yr old female
5'5"
136 lbs
total cholesterol 280 -- my good is 75, bad is 185

(need to get it under 100)
triglycerides 99
chol/hdl ratio 3.7
very active
Sounds like you don't have much weight to lose - so 2lbs in 2 weeks isn't bad.
But again, you do NOT need the statin. Lowering your carb and eating healthy natural fats will improve your cholesterol profile tremendously. It's been proven. Multiple times.
Even the drug companies can't prove statins benefit people, btw. Their own tests show you'd need to give about 250 men statin drugs for 10 years to
possibly prevent ONE heart attack. And the stats are even LOWER for women.
And you don't need to take my word for it. Please feel free to PM me if you'd like any links to research articles, papers, expert blogs, etc.
EDIT: I should add - all that being said - YOU'RE DOING GREAT! Please don't think I'm being pushy (I often come across that way) - if you need time to make adjustments, take the time - just don't take to much - health is important and research shows most Type 2's do deteriorate in certain function, etc., without really good control. Remember, you're CARB-INTOLERANT. If you had a gluten allergy, you wouldn't eat gluten ... yet people with diabetes often eat too many carbs ...