NWGuy99

Interesting post.
My Triglycerides have always been low, even before taking a little Simvastatin. Present ones are 30, but my other numbers are not as good (Total is 233).
I think my ratios are still good.

CHOL/HDL RATIO 3.3 0.0 - 6.7
TRIG/HDL (CALC) 0.4
NON-HDL (CALC) 162 mg/dL
Re-testing in a month or so. Will be test period without Simvastatin.

Jarrett2

I lost 125 lbs about 3 years ago. Before that, I never really watched my numbers. My doctor told me my triglycerides were high. Not sure what the number was, I guess it was over 150 at that time.

In 2015, I did a 20 mile ride before my blood test and it came back at 52.
In 2016, I didn't ride before my blood test and it came back at 74.

Not sure what that has to do with health, but that's what it is now. I'm about to be 46 and don't take any meds.

C_Heath

eyeheartny

This makes me sad. Cooking is easy, fun, 1,000,000% healthier than prepared food, tastes infinitely better, and can be a lot cheaper. Do you not have the equipment, the space, or the skills? You don't need to spend a lot of money to have basic good cooking gear. If you don't have a good kitchen, you should consider joining a community space that has a good kitchen. You can do meal prep for the week in one day and eat vastly better than buying prepared food. And if it's the skills, you just have to follow recipes: it's unbelievably easy. I'd venture to say that if you can ride a bike, you can cook.

Ridelots24

shouldn't the correct answer be 41...... ?

mrodgers

No stove, no fridge, no freezer, no kitchen, no home.... No where to cook. Just me and my bike and a bed to sleep.

eyeheartny

Sounds like a rough divorce, unless you're choosing to live with no home for other reasons. I get that van/car life can be appealing for some but it sounds tough. Good luck to you.

icyclist 

Buy a piece of salmon once or twice a week. Throw it in the fry pan, add some seasoning (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder). Simmer it in beer. Drink the beer you don't use on the fish. Buy a pre-made salad. Have a banana for dessert. You can't buy fast food or food in a regular restaurant quicker than you could make the above.

Baked potato: wash it, poke some holes in it with a fork, cook it for four minutes in your microwave on one side, two minutes on the other. Put it in your toaster over on "broil" for five minutes or so to crisp the skin. Cut it open, throw on some preheated black beans for protein. Add some sour cream or shredded cheese of your choice. Have an apple for dessert.

Buy some chicken, a little or in bulk. Cook in your microwave with some seasonings (see above for potential seasonings). It's not fancy but it'll taste good. Freeze what you're not going to use. Slice up vegetables you like to eat for a side dish, add some seasonings, cook in your frypan (with beer, of course). If you don't like such a basic recipe, throw some pasta sauce or salsa over the chicken and/or veggies.

Pasta. After cooking pasta, add some oil and parmesan cheese. Or throw on some pasta sauce you can heat up in your micro wave for 30 seconds before adding it to the pasta. Slice some tomatoes and add them to the pasta or have them on the side. Add a pre-made salad. Fruit for dessert - if you're tired of apples and bananas, look for melons or peaches or strawberries or whatever is in season. Have ice cream for dessert, you deserve it once in a while. Yes, it might take you longer to boil a small pot of water than to drive to a fast food outlet, but sometimes life sucks.

Slice up some vegetables, a lot of vegetables, and cook them in a wok. That's still faster than buying fast food.

Those are all simpler, faster and cheaper than going out and buying your dinner, and way better than buying packaged, prepared foods you could, but shouldn't, cook at home.

Add some complexity to any of the above over time, invite someone new to dinner, and you might not find yourself divorced for long. ;-)

mrodgers

Not rough divorce, rough child support on a regular income. Not much left at 35%. Save up, wipe it out to give to lawyer. Save up, wipe it out when my junker car is finally done. Save up, wipe it out to pay the credit card I am responsible for. Now finally after a year I get to save up to hopefully have a place next summer. It's just extremely depressing dealing with the family and living situation I have at this age. It'll all be good in another year. At least I've been able to get out and ride each and every month this year. Rode yesterday so all I have is to get out in December to get a ride in every month.

eyeheartny

Sounds really difficult. Hope you are getting support/help from everywhere you can-- religious affiliation if that's your thing, community resources (food banks, housing, counseling, etc), finding connection with other folks who're going through a similar struggle (there must be a meetup group or other place to find some fellowship around being financially hit by child support).

I hope you aren't of the "too proud to ask for help" phenotype. More people than you'd expect go through hard times financially and personally, and those community resources are there to help folks like you get through these times.

Even getting some no-cost counseling could be good. I know it can be tough for some people, especially men of what I'm assuming your generation is, to seek out counseling, but it can be deeply impactful if you find a good therapist. You're dealing with major shifts/profound life-altering experiences and it sounds like it's taken an understandable toll ("extremely depressing"). I had two parents who worked in mental health and social work and have an unusually large number of social workers, mental health professionals, etc in my network of friends. I can tell you that people who choose those careers are in it for the right reasons, and you may benefit from any number of programs that could be really important to helping you get through this time.

It may be hard, but please be sure to use some or all of the potential avenues I mentioned to get some support, fellowship, and assistance. Hang in there. This too shall pass.

Nachoman

My triglyceride level is 169, which sounds high compared to a lot of you guys, but my doctor says it's still totally normal.

Yendor72

I just got my results back, 211 this time. Last year it was 327! Progress? All of my Cholesterol numbers are normal or just slightly above normal, for example non-LDL is is 133 and they want to see it below 130. WTH!

jtaylor996

I just got results. Last year before I started cycling my Tri was 240, this year it's 149. My HDL has gone up from 40.4 to 57, too which is good.

Unfortunately, my cholesterol total went up a little, and so did the LDL. My doc doesn't seem to care, though. I have more pressing heart problems to worry about.

02Giant 

Recent blood test result is a 48.