Fatty Liver.....how do you know if you've got it?

Bovril is so full of salt though, isn't it?

I am always told by the consultant that my liver and kidney function is fine, then the GP said ', it is down' - I queried that and she said 'It's fine for someone your age'.

So there are variables.

lizzypop You're right, I did kind of skim-read it but I am confused about the kind of oats I have got and whether it's suitable. I was trying to get the jist of the diet really and see if it was do-able. I'm trying to include different foods from our'norm' to substitute for the carbs we're advised to avoid.
As to exercise....all through my teens I hated PE and exercise and my mother was complicit in helping me 'skive off' PE because it made my life a misery (the PE teacher was a sadistic bully). My mother's belief that PE isn't necessary for girls was, I later realised, completely misguided, but it took me decades to begin to pull myself out of that mindset and minimal walking was my aim for some time, I am ashamed to say, compounded by family problems, depression and anxiety for several years.

I made several attempts to overcome this and become fitter. Decades ago I joined an independent slimming group with a friend and lost loads of weight. It stayed off till my DD2 went into hospital for major surgery; in the aftermath, caring for her, I comfort-ate and re-established bad habits.

Over the years I've matched my appetite to my DH's - though he can eat loads and remain lean and fit - and indulged my sweet tooth, but our day to day meals have been healthy and we almost always cook from scratch. In recent years our diet's become even better, but my weight's increased still further, partly due to meds I'm on but mostly by my failure to believe I could do much about it.

Now I am exercising more, trying to bring my cholesterol down (last reading was definitely lower :-) ) and for my heart health and general fitness. I try to go to the gym twice a week but I know that is not enough - however, it's loads better than what I was doing before (nothing!). We go out during the week so I get more walking done, but I'm aware it still isn't enough and I'm trying to build this up further and planning some longer walks in the countryside. I am nervous about this: my negative inner voice says 'You'll never do it!' and I worry about stupid things like needing the loo/being taken short whilst in the middle of the countryside, or feeling breathless and not being able to carry on walking. I know the only way is to just DO it and I can see that to many already active, fit Gransnetters, I am merely making excuses for inactivity, but I have already made some changes and I am psyching myself up to make more. I feel in awe of those who walk miles a day and think nothing of it. Tonight we watched one of the Julia Bradbury walks we'd recorded and I really wanted to be able to do what she does, but 6 miles over hills and fields to me sounds like the top of Everest! (and it would be another 6 back again).
We've got out local map out and looked at some local walks we can do, so I'm hoping we can start to do some of those regularly soon (and hopefully factor in routes near pubs for comfort stops!)
Sorry for the over-long, boring post - sometimes I feel that there is too much about me that I need to change, and I can't do it all at once

lizzypop You're right, I did kind of skim-read it but I am confused about the kind of oats I have got and whether it's suitable. I was trying to get the jist of the diet really and see if it was do-able. I'm trying to include different foods from our'norm' to substitute for the carbs we're advised to avoid.
As to exercise....all through my teens I hated PE and exercise and my mother was complicit in helping me 'skive off' PE because it made my life a misery (the PE teacher was a sadistic bully). My mother's belief that PE isn't necessary for girls was, I later realised, completely misguided, but it took me decades to begin to pull myself out of that mindset and minimal walking was my aim for some time, I am ashamed to say, compounded by family problems, depression and anxiety for several years.

I made several attempts to overcome this and become fitter. Decades ago I joined an independent slimming group with a friend and lost loads of weight. It stayed off till my DD2 went into hospital for major surgery; in the aftermath, caring for her, I comfort-ate and re-established bad habits.

Over the years I've matched my appetite to my DH's - though he can eat loads and remain lean and fit - and indulged my sweet tooth, but our day to day meals have been healthy and we almost always cook from scratch. In recent years our diet's become even better, but my weight's increased still further, partly due to meds I'm on but mostly by my failure to believe I could do much about it.

Now I am exercising more, trying to bring my cholesterol down (last reading was definitely lower :-) ) and for my heart health and general fitness. I try to go to the gym twice a week but I know that is not enough - however, it's loads better than what I was doing before (nothing!). We go out during the week so I get more walking done, but I'm aware it still isn't enough and I'm trying to build this up further and planning some longer walks in the countryside. I am nervous about this: my negative inner voice says 'You'll never do it!' and I worry about stupid things like needing the loo/being taken short whilst in the middle of the countryside, or feeling breathless and not being able to carry on walking. I know the only way is to just DO it and I can see that to many already active, fit Gransnetters, I am merely making excuses for inactivity, but I have already made some changes and I am psyching myself up to make more. I feel in awe of those who walk miles a day and think nothing of it. Tonight we watched one of the Julia Bradbury walks we'd recorded and I really wanted to be able to do what she does, but 6 miles over hills and fields to me sounds like the top of Everest! (and it would be another 6 back again).
We've got out local map out and looked at some local walks we can do, so I'm hoping we can start to do some of those regularly soon (and hopefully factor in routes near pubs for comfort stops!)
Sorry for the over-long, boring post - sometimes I feel that there is too much about me that I need to change, and I can't do it all at once

I started WW last November and quickly lost 5 kgs....but since they changed their program to the 'Smartpoint' system, I just seem to have lost interest! I had a real problem with their new computerized tracking program - just couldn't seem to find anything on their site. I'm still going to WW meetings but my weight just seems to have stayed the same for over 3 months....losing a few 100 grams, but then gaining a few 100 the next week. Is there such a thing as the 'right' weight for certain people? I am not a big eater and have cut out all chocolate, cakes and biscuits, try to eat healthily, but just can't seem to lose any more weight. Walking is a problem for me as I have had a knee replacement - worst thing I ever did - and suffer from lower back pain if I try walk too far. The woman at WW reckons I don't eat enough!!

Rowantree good for you, I can tell you really want to get this exercise and eating 'thing' sorted. If you can build walking into your daily routine and then do a nice, country walk once a week that sounds about right.

When I say build walking into your daily routine can you, for instance, walk to your nearest shops? If I do this the round trip is 3,500-4,000 depending on my route.

Is that a possible starting place for you?

Our nearest shops are not that far, but yes, it'd be a start. OH generally does that to get HIS exercise in, but there is no reason why I shouldn't do it too/instead. It's just not the prettiest place in the world, but.....

yattypung That sounds very frustrating indeed - despite all your efforts, the weight isn't shifting. No wonder you get demoralised. Have you asked your GP for a blood test to check there isn't any other reason why things aren't moving faster? (possibly thyroid?)
The lower back pain could be the extra weight: I get that too if I'm on my feet for a while, but with me I know it's all that additional blubber throwing my body into awkward postures as I walk.
I did try Slimming World a couple of years back but tbh I was so bored by it and almost all the women were into slimming products and in any case a lot younger than I. I know what I need to do; it's the willpower and confidence to stick to it. It's pounds (lbs) I need to lose rather than pounds sterling!

One prob is that I'm not a creature of habit so routines are alien. OH loves his routines, but I'm more spontaneous. Maybe I should blindfold myself before I walk so it's a mystery tour ;-)

Re Bovril/marmite: I occasionally use low-salt stock powder as a hot drink on fast days for a flavour hit. It's a Swiss one - can't recall the name offhand.

Meeting friends today near Richmond and hoping for a walk by the river if possible.

Oh yes J - salt! Always something isn't there? Better stick to rice cakes and little apples. At least the weekend's over. That's when I usually "come off the wagon".

If I walked 10,000 steps a day I wouldn't be able to do anything else. The garden would go to pot. And the house. But I'm sure it's very good for people who can.

Rowantree any oats are excellent for you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

jing 10000 a day is everything you do so reading how you walk to shops etc and including all activity from the time you get out of bed I bet you would easily do it.

And I really don't think substituting wholewheat bread with high fat stuff can possibly help with fatty liver disease. It flies in the face of commonsns. Fat always will be calorie dense, and it's too many calories that make you fat.

And too much fat will clog your arteries.

I walk into town and back. Fitbit stays in the drawer I'm afraid (hate the wretched thing) but that must be the 10,000 miles. And I crawl the last bit of the homeward journey. And sink into the nearest chair. And probably doze over a book. And feel miserable next day through tiredness.

No sense to it.

The 10,000 miles thing is a menace. As is faddy diets.

this is good, reliable information

(About diet)

Walk as briskly as you can for half an hour day. That's enough. And then add in a bit of kitchen dancing if you enjoy it. And a bit of hoovering and/or gardening.

I will have to stick with the dancing round the kitchen, changing beds etc today - it's chucking it down with rain

Not everybody who eats well needs a big breakfast. if I had a large breakfast I would be eating all day. It fires up my system. i eat one piece of toast and then have a milky coffee an hour or two later and then my blood sugar settles.

Then its veg and meat and rice or potatoes and no cake or chocolate.

Oh dear, I just found a leftover Millionaire's shortbread in a packet.
It was gf, it was very tiny and I was trying to tidy up the kitchen.
So I tidied it up and ate it with my coffee.

Perhaps if I put on a dance tape .....

I blame the weather

This is good, reliable information

But backed up by 10 scientific studies and contradicts the somewhat out-of-date advice being offered by the establishment.

Anya, it's good to see the research in a table like that, thanks. For seven years I taught PSHE and each year we looked at the 'eatwell plate' for dietary advice, so this was always my default position. I would have said that my knowledge of nutrition was above average and that I had a good understanding of how foods are metabolised.

I struggle with a variety of health problems and during a routine blood test discovered that I was pre-diabetic and it was recommended that I lose weight.

I spent 6 months solidly researching various diets and their effectiveness - and felt, like Alice, as though I'd fallen down the rabbit hole!!! Things I thought I really knew turned out to have foundations of straw once I'd examined the 'research' that led to various conclusions that I had been teaching as 'facts'. As seen in your link, (and the link put up by *bags*) the solid research that underpins the benefits of a low carb diet demonstrate that governmental advice is flawed and out of date.

In January 2015 armed with a new understanding I began a LC-HF diet and it has been nothing short of revolutionary. The health benefits are irrefutable - weight loss of 3 stone, lower blood pressure, low blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, healthier hair and nails, increased energy levels - and have my GP bemused and interested.

Rowantree - The back pain is actually caused by scoliosis which I have had for years and unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about it but take pain killers....I am off to the doctors tomorrow to get results of some recent blood tests, so I will mention this non-weight loss to him as you have suggested. I agree these slimming clubs can be very boring, and you always get one member that seems to take over the meeting and go on and on about their 'journey'!! I'll try and stick with it for a bit longer, but its getting harder and harder to keep motivated.

Same for us GA. Significant weight loss to BMI of 21 and no problem sustaining the LCHF way of eating for over two years now. I am off BP tablets and my cholesterol levels are low. OH is completely out of pre-diabetes and off statins because of the drop in cholesterol levels. Feel great and have loads of energy.
Our doctor is also a bit bemused but very happy.

Nothing wrong with cutting down on carbs. It's the high fat bit that is downright dangerous. The weight you are losing is because you are eating fewer calories overall. Probably smaller portions. The fat in the cream and the butter will still quite probably be clogging up your arteries. And encouraging fat round your liver.

Thin with clogged arteries? No thank you.

Anya I avoid that website. The ridiculous name puts me off.

No idea about calories because I don't count them. Portion sizes are smaller because the plate isn't full of bread, potatoes, rice, pasta etc. Fats mostly olive oil, some butter, cream about once a month, no puddings, cakes or biscuits. Moderate amounts of cheese. All food home cooked from fresh ingredients. No need to read labels because there aren't any.
Cholesterol very healthy and blood tests show excellent liver functions.

Enjoy.

I hope Rowantree and others seeking good health can follow your obviously excellent example.

Got yer spiraliser at the ready Rt?