I am doing all the wrong things and I know it. I am very good at gluttony and sloth. This is a subject of discussion in this house. If I can turn things around, I will share it with all.
Since I'm very pleased with the way I turned things around for myself, I'll share my results.
Back in about April, I became acquainted with Gary Taubes from a post here (thanks, HaHa!). After reading everything I could find (Taubes' books, other references by Lustig, Phinney, Westman, and many others), I decided that it all made wonderful sense and I embarked on a very low carb, high fat diet. I also stopped taking the Lipitor I had been on for a number of years.
The best predictor for coronary heart disease, according to everything I've read, is your ratio of triglycerides to HDL. A fairly safe ratio is 3 or less (triglycerides less than three times your HDL) and the lower the better.
When I began, my ratio was 2.1 so I wasn't actually in bad shape, but now it's 1.1 which is considered ideal.
Also when I began, my blood glucose had gradually crept up to 106, which is considered pre diabetic. Now it's 91 which is completely normal (my A1C is 5.2).
Additionally, my blood pressure had been borderline high but is now considered normal (134/76).
I've lost 30 pounds and am at what most charts indicate to be my ideal weight (although I still plan to drop a few more, since my BMI is 24). I feel better than I have in many years, and I'm getting stronger and have more stamina.
So, there is my purely anecdotal story of what I've done over the past six months. As HaHa points out, it will be years before we know the real story on exactly what works best and why, but following Taubes' guidelines has been "the answer" for me.