Ummmm....what you posted above as an average days' menu doesn't come close to 60-80 grams of carb. Just to give you some idea...1 1/2 cups of romaine lettuce has 1 gram of carb (raw spinach is less). So even a large mixed salad (with the onions, peppers, and mushrooms) would be less than 10 grams of carb. 1 cup of cooked broccoli has 3 grams of carb. Brussels sprouts are about 1 gram of carb each. Even carrots are only 6 grams of carb for a cup cooked. Onions are 5.5 grams for a 1/2 cup chopped.
So unless you were having a 10 cup salad for lunch and about 10 cups of cooked broccoli and 30 brussels sprouts for dinner, it would be pretty hard to get to between 60 and 80 grams of carb with the types of foods you posted above.
Also...60 to 80 grams of carb would be enough in some people to provoke an insulin response and give you the blood test results you posted. Since you say you don't do well on less than 60 grams of carb per day, you probably will need to cut the fat down, but from what you posted above again...unless you are putting a lot of butter on your veggies you are probably already at 30% of your daily calories or less from fat.
Have you ever used Fitday (www.fitday.com) to track your daily totals? It's a great tool and many members find it quite useful.

I use fitday.

I know some will find it difficult, but I do eat enough carbs to make my balance. Even fitday agreed

Are you aware that Fitday doesn't subtract grams of fiber for you and that fiber doesn't count in your daily carb allowance since your body cannot digest it? I can see how you might get to 60 grams of carb before fiber is subtracted, but not after with what you posted above unless you can be more specific with amounts.

I do subtact fiber. I don't know why you're worried about my totals. I assure this is a SAMPLE of my menus and I did and do maintain a 60-80 gram total, daily. With fiber I was often around 100 grams according to fitday.

Big Red...

I can't say I'm worried about your carb levels, but the numbers aren't adding up using the types of veggies you said you were eating. I eat very much the same types of veggies along with some cheese and an occasional spoonful of peanut butter too and have a hard time getting to 30 grams of carb before I'm too full to eat any more. 60-80 grams of carb's worth of those types of veggies is a LOT of veggies (more than most people would be able to physically eat), especially if you subtract out the fiber too. Many people add in fruits and some whole grains to get that level of carb consumption.
But as I said before, if you are eating 60-80 grams worth of carb per day, it could provoke an insulin response in some people that would explain the lab readings that you got and you would either have to lower your carb intake farther or lower your fat intake, although it's doubtful that just lowering your fat intake will produce the types of numbers that you are after since it's been shown that dietary fat has very little effect on total serum cholesterol. Have you had a chance to read through the Reasearch/Media watch forum as well as the Cholesterol/Heart Disease forum? You might get some good ideas to help you there.
Something else, too....do you ever consume alcohol?

don't consume alcohol at all

hi there Big Red, a.k.a. Dec.Angel,

I understand your worry about the high blood lipid readings, but it's not helpful to give us information that's inaccurate if you want us to help you. According to posts under the previous name, there have been episodes of going out of control with carbs, junk food binges, and losing your resolve. I think we can see where the high triglyceridese are coming from. Carbs = sugar = the "glyceride" part of triglycerides.

Have a look at this article from the Mayo Clinic about high triglycerides. You'll see the very first recommendation for lowering triglyceride levels is to * Cut out sugary foods, such as cookies and pop. In some people, this leads to a large decrease in triglyceride levels.

As for the cholesterol levels, I'd like to suggest to you that they're not as bad as you think. Here's a quote from the article What Causes Heart Disease? by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD It would be desirable to raise the HDL to over 40 mg/dl. Over 60 mg/dl is protective against heart disease. To raise your HDL, you need to eat more monounsaturated fat, in the form of olives and olive oil, avocadoes, raw nuts and seeds. Also, consume fatty cold water fish at least 3 times a week, or take fish oil supplements.

To lower the triglycerides, as mentioned above, NIX THE HIGH-CARBS; also eating more fatty fish or fish oil will be helpful, as well as flax oil. You might also consider taking a soluble fiber supplement, such as psyllium/ metamucil (make sure it's sugar-free) or bene-fiber. Consuming plenty of fiber from green and cruciferous vegetables is also helpful.

If you're interested in supplements that could be helpful, check out the recommendations from Supplementwatch.com.

Doreen

Gosh - everyone don't pile on Big Red - this is getting unreasonable and the reactions are quite frankly the first thing to really turn me off to this forum.

I am interested in how Big Red feels and are you planning to continue this WOL?

2 points:

1. In the Atkins book (which I loaned to a friend, so I can't look up the exact page), the doctor says that cholesterol levels OFTEN rise within the first month after beginning the diet. It is AFTER the first month that benefits begin to be seen.

2. My husband and I use the same computers on a regular basis. My son, also. We have extremely similar cholesterol break-downs. According to one specialist I saw several years ago (not a low-carb fan, though), it is normal for families who eat the same foods to have similar readings.

Chancyrose, if you see this and are wondering where your post is, I moved here to the Cholesterol, Heart Disease forum.

Rosebud

Hi everyone

News for you

I am a lab technician and deal exclusively with blood work

Please do not tell me that blood work takes 7-10 days
It at most takes approx 24 hours
It is your own doctor or courier who has the problem with getting the results "in you file"
The only lab work that can take more time is anything we have to culture and test for streptococci or other growing organisms

The doctor could order these STAT but until it grows we don't know
But blood work is completely different

Maybe ya all might want to change doctors!!!

Hi there Smiley,

As an ICU nurse, I know very well that urgent blood work can be completed in half an hour, while routine tests are usually completed within 24 hours, as you say.

However, not all labs then finish the paper work and send the results on to the various doctors' offices immediately. The last time I had my cholesterol levels checked, it took over a week and several phone calls from my doctor before the results were forthcoming.

Rosebud