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-   -   weight down, cholesterol up (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=483347)

Jessica F Tue, Dec-31-19 07:04

weight down, cholesterol up
 
I had my routine check up yesterday and was excited that my weight is down over 15 pounds since my last check up in June. Unfortunately, my LDL cholesterol is up over 20 points and my HDL is down since then. I was so disappointed in those numbers...I really thought losing the weight would improve the cholesterol numbers, not make them worse!! :(

I've been eating 3 eggs a day, 3 tablespoons of fat (like mayo or olive oil) and beef, pork, etc. since I started the low carb approach about 2 weeks ago. Any chance that is contributing to the rise in cholesterol?

thud123 Tue, Dec-31-19 09:51

It's interesting that you HDL is down.

LDL in some folks goes up, some folks stays the same and others goes down.

One theory here is that as you've begun to mobilize fat for fuel that there's a lot of "good LDL" (small particle) that's free in your system to do it's job of providing energy or whatever.

There's a more complete blood test called - can't remember the name now - but it differentiates the different "types" to a finer degree.

Lot's of discussion on this board about it. you'll get some ideas. If you can work with your physician you might want to re-check when you get out of "weight-loss mode" and into what might be called "maintenance" - see where you numbers land then.

Relax and continue your approach is my recommendation, but I'm not a doctor ;)

Greengeeny Tue, Dec-31-19 11:40

I have not begun my journey yet, so this may be a wrong solution, but maybe try getting your fats from the mayo/oils/etc and choose leaner cuts of meat, maybe less red meat? I know red meat in general causes higher cholesterol, so if you aren't already doing it, choose leaner red meats.

Grav Tue, Dec-31-19 12:33

Quote:
Originally Posted by thud123
There's a more complete blood test called - can't remember the name now - but it differentiates the different "types" to a finer degree.

The NMR lipoprofile? It's supposed to give a deeper breakdown of the various subtypes of LDL particles, of which I understand there to be seven, and the two largest are considered healthy/benign. I say "supposed to" because unfortunately it's not available in my part of the world (New Zealand).

Dr Paul Mason - who I met last year, really cool guy - has given a few talks on the subject of interpreting some of the complexities of blood cholesterol tests: here's one in which not only does he break things down with LDL, but he also shows that for those like me for whom more advanced testing is unavailable, there are other proxy measures such as the triglyceride/HDL ratio which can give you a pretty good idea of the underlying quality of your LDL. Maybe your HDL is down slightly, but if your trigs are down even more, then it could be argued that you're possibly still better off overall?

A couple of other points around getting your blood tested: firstly, make sure you're getting it done while fasted for at least 12 hours. This is because triglycerides can fluctuate wildly in the hours immediately following a meal, and it's useful to get a measure of your resting trig levels if possible. Secondly, you might be interested in looking up Dave Feldman's protocol for manipulating LDL cholesterol levels, if your doctor is one of those who is easily concerned by high LDL in isolation.

JEY100 Tue, Dec-31-19 13:25

You have lost 15 pounds...the fat has to go somewhere :lol:
Understand the timeline of weight loss. The suggestion is not to test blood markers until you are at goal and weight stable for a month.

https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015...nfuses-doctors/

Jessica F Tue, Dec-31-19 15:30

Quote:
Originally Posted by JEY100
You have lost 15 pounds...the fat has to go somewhere :lol:
Understand the timeline of weight loss. The suggestion is not to test blood markers until you are at goal and weight stable for a month.

https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015...nfuses-doctors/


It was a routine physical with a lipid test.

s93uv3h Tue, Dec-31-19 23:39

Run your numbers through a ratio calculator. My total was up, HDL up, LDL up, and triglycerides down. Wasn't worried about my total as high cholesterol for older people (moi) has shown to be better.

WereBear Wed, Jan-01-20 03:51

OR, you can take my view, which is that the average doctor/average test tells us NOTHING.

Anything still based on Ancel Keys cherry-picked data is DANGEROUS to my weight and health, so why should I care what such a view thinks of cholesterol?

It's NOT about cholesterol, it's about inflammation. My autoimmune issues are a very clear indicator of how I am doing there :) My rosacea has gone away, my immune system has perked up, and my serious autoimmune becomes symptom-free when I eat this way.

I'm just not going to worry about eating this way.

So I simply go by triglycerides. DH's dropped by the hundreds when all previous efforts did not budge them.

GRB5111 Wed, Jan-01-20 09:40

Quote:
Originally Posted by WereBear
So I simply go by triglycerides. DH's dropped by the hundreds when all previous efforts did not budge them.

I like this as a benchmark. Since you mention inflammation can have such an important role, I like to get an hsCRP reading as well. My TGs (46) are significantly low directly due to my VLCKD approach. My hsCRP when last tested was 0.4, and considering that 1.0 or below is beneficial, I have the numbers that validate my WOE is sound. Did that awareness come from a doctor? Hardly.

BawdyWench Fri, Jan-17-20 13:41

Quote:
Originally Posted by JEY100
You have lost 15 pounds...the fat has to go somewhere :lol:
Understand the timeline of weight loss. The suggestion is not to test blood markers until you are at goal and weight stable for a month.

https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015...nfuses-doctors/


I read just recently that when you're actively losing weight, your LDL will be higher because, as Janet said, the fat has to go somewhere (it goes into the blood first). That's what she meant. Until you're at your goal weight, or maybe (possibly) staying around the same weight for a good length of time, your test results will not be accurate.

WereBear Sat, Jan-18-20 05:36

And since the Lipid Theory itself has been exposed as not nearly as scientifically supported as we once thought, the whole Cholesterol Con is on shaky ground, too.

Total cholesterol is a scam to kill you with statins. If your triglycerides are low, you are lowering inflammation, and that's the health bonus.

pennyhd Mon, Mar-16-20 03:14

Interesting post, great information provided.

Mayflowers Sat, Mar-21-20 06:52

Red wine has been shown to increase HDL. This is why the French have so little heart disease.

gzgirl Tue, Apr-14-20 18:43

A lot of folks see an initial rise in cholesterol numbers for about the first three to four months. I remember reading that the body's insulin triggers also affect cholesterol production in your body. WHen you are on Atkins, you initially are eating more cholesterol, but your body has not yet stopped producing cholesterol. Once you are 3-4 months into the WOE, your body's insulin response becomes more normal and your body realizes it does not need to produce cholesterol. By 6 months the numbers have come down. ALso I found my HDL soared with regular exercise. Hang in there, exercise and get retested in a couple of months. :)

LiterateGr Wed, Apr-15-20 06:24

While you are actively losing body-fat -- especially early in that process -- your lipid-panels are going to be all off.

Give it a couple months, and check again. In 3 months, there should be improvement (ie: Numbers starting to move in the correct direction)

For me, my LDL came down quickly, but it took a long time for my HDL to go up.

But it will happen.

The real key (as I think other folks have mentioned) was that my triglycerides came quickly into line. This (along with my steady weight-loss) is what convinced my doctor that things were going to stabalize properly, even if they hadn't *yet*.

Give your body some time.


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