An end to my high fat way of eating
WBB55
Posts: 4,131 Member
I've been eating much lower carb for the past year. In the past 12 months I've lost a total of 14 lbs. However, I'm unhappy with the lab results from my recent physical. I think I have to go back to not eating red meat, bacon, eggs and cheese every day.
My overall metabolic stuff is nominally the same, but after years of declines in my LDLs and increases in my HDLs, this year the numbers moved the wrong way. My readings, though not dangerously high, are back to where they were 5 years ago.
I'm bummed because I liked this way of eating. But I think I should go back the the Mediterranean-diet style I did before, including not eating meat every day. I struggled more to maintain weight and stay satiated, but I don't think my heart likes the higher saturated fats -- which is the most significant thing I've done differently for the past 12 months.
Anyone have studies or thoughts on how to balance a body/heredity that gets better lipid readings on low fat but a brain that functions better on higher fat?
My overall metabolic stuff is nominally the same, but after years of declines in my LDLs and increases in my HDLs, this year the numbers moved the wrong way. My readings, though not dangerously high, are back to where they were 5 years ago.
I'm bummed because I liked this way of eating. But I think I should go back the the Mediterranean-diet style I did before, including not eating meat every day. I struggled more to maintain weight and stay satiated, but I don't think my heart likes the higher saturated fats -- which is the most significant thing I've done differently for the past 12 months.
Anyone have studies or thoughts on how to balance a body/heredity that gets better lipid readings on low fat but a brain that functions better on higher fat?
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Replies
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Why not continue to eat high fat but eat less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat? Use olive oil for cooking, eat sunflower seeds instead of cheese for a snack, and substitute various types of fish for the red meat.0
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gaelicstorm26 wrote: »Why not continue to eat high fat but eat less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat? Use olive oil for cooking, eat sunflower seeds instead of cheese for a snack, and substitute various types of fish for the red meat.
I think this makes sense and you can do something like this within the context of a Med diet.
My father doesn't do a high fat diet, but he improved his lipid profile just by cutting way down on red meat and dairy fat, and eats lots of fatty fish and olive oil.0 -
I used to be on a low carb higher fat diet before, my cholesterol went up and my doctor threatened me with meds. I started exercising this year and in July, started a more whole foods plant-based diet (95% plant foods) and less than 10% fat, mostly from nuts and seeds. I've also reduced cooking with olive oil.
Losing weight and exercise has helped but comparing my 3 lipid panels from last year, this July and September, there's a steady decline in all my lipid tests, and now all normal for the first time in 5 years.0 -
What was your daily exercise and activity level like?0
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You've had unusual results. Usually LDL stays about the same (or goes up a bit) but vLDL goes down, HDL goes up and triglycerides drop. Huh.
I wouldn't worry too much about cholesterol as it is not a strong link to heart disease (in most people). How are your triglycerides? That is a much greater predictor of CAD. If your triglycerides went down, a LCHF diet may be working.
Best wishes in whatever you decide.0 -
You've had unusual results. Usually LDL stays about the same (or goes up a bit) but vLDL goes down, HDL goes up and triglycerides drop. Huh.
I wouldn't worry too much about cholesterol as it is not a strong link to heart disease (in most people). How are your triglycerides? That is a much greater predictor of CAD. If your triglycerides went down, a LCHF diet may be working.
Best wishes in whatever you decide.
No, my triglycerides doubled, and I drink much less alcohol than last year.RockstarWilson wrote: »What was your daily exercise and activity level like?
I added running back into the mix this year in addition to the roller skating. So, exercise ~6 days a week on top of walking every day for at least 30 minutes.0 -
I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.0
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.
I don't know that I eat an overabundance of deep fried foods and "treats" (depending on what you call a treat). When I'm traveling my eating is AWFUL, and I travel many weekends in Aug/September. But I guess I'd want more definition of what you mean by treats. True, I could always eliminate deep fried foods. For instance I think the only thing in the past week I've eaten that was deep fried was the wonton crisps my seared tuna appetizer came on last night.
If you're looking at the cookies and brownies over the weekend, well. That's true there was tons of cookies this weekend. But before that, I don't think I had any cookies or brownies since June. I could be wrong. Oct 1-4 should not be considered my regular diet. The week before is more typical, though it does look like I had fries a couple times. Travel in Aug/Sept makes things tough sometimes.
Edit: looked back. Sept 28 is much more typical of my daily intake for the past year-ish. At least 80% of the time.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.
I don't know that I eat an overabundance of deep fried foods and "treats" (depending on what you call a treat). When I'm traveling my eating is AWFUL, and I travel many weekends in Aug/September. But I guess I'd want more definition of what you mean by treats. True, I could always eliminate deep fried foods. For instance I think the only thing in the past week I've eaten that was deep fried was the wonton crisps my seared tuna appetizer came on last night.
If you're looking at the cookies and brownies over the weekend, well. That's true there was tons of cookies this weekend. But before that, I don't think I had any cookies or brownies since June. I could be wrong. Oct 1-4 should not be considered my regular diet. The week before is more typical, though it does look like I had fries a couple times. Travel in Aug/Sept makes things tough sometimes.
Edit: looked back. Sept 28 is much more typical of my daily intake for the past year-ish. At least 80% of the time.
A handful of treats shouldn't impact your overall numbers.. it's more about total diet. If you saw declining numbers while following a different type diet, it may be beneficial to do that. I know regardless of what I try, my HDL and LDL numbers barely move (thank you genetics).
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.
I don't know that I eat an overabundance of deep fried foods and "treats" (depending on what you call a treat). When I'm traveling my eating is AWFUL, and I travel many weekends in Aug/September. But I guess I'd want more definition of what you mean by treats. True, I could always eliminate deep fried foods. For instance I think the only thing in the past week I've eaten that was deep fried was the wonton crisps my seared tuna appetizer came on last night.
If you're looking at the cookies and brownies over the weekend, well. That's true there was tons of cookies this weekend. But before that, I don't think I had any cookies or brownies since June. I could be wrong. Oct 1-4 should not be considered my regular diet. The week before is more typical, though it does look like I had fries a couple times. Travel in Aug/Sept makes things tough sometimes.
Edit: looked back. Sept 28 is much more typical of my daily intake for the past year-ish. At least 80% of the time.
A handful of treats shouldn't impact your overall numbers.. it's more about total diet. If you saw declining numbers while following a different type diet, it may be beneficial to do that. I know regardless of what I try, my HDL and LDL numbers barely move (thank you genetics).
Comparing the data, lower fat was resulting in lowering HDLs and higher LDLs over time since I lost my morbid obesity weight. But, the notion someone else posted of keeping the fats higher but making sure to keep the saturated reduced (included deep fried foods, obviously) to the levels they were at before is interesting.
The major changes to my overall diet (since of course I ate about the same level of "treats" and fried foods back when my LDLs were lower, too) is the addition of things like eggs, liver, red meat, pork and full fat dairy. I suppose it's possible to keep those things in and cut out any refined sweets or deep fried foods. But given my restrictions when traveling (and I do pack quite a bit of food) I think it'd be easier to cut out these items then cut out having french fries once every two weeks.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.
I don't know that I eat an overabundance of deep fried foods and "treats" (depending on what you call a treat). When I'm traveling my eating is AWFUL, and I travel many weekends in Aug/September. But I guess I'd want more definition of what you mean by treats. True, I could always eliminate deep fried foods. For instance I think the only thing in the past week I've eaten that was deep fried was the wonton crisps my seared tuna appetizer came on last night.
If you're looking at the cookies and brownies over the weekend, well. That's true there was tons of cookies this weekend. But before that, I don't think I had any cookies or brownies since June. I could be wrong. Oct 1-4 should not be considered my regular diet. The week before is more typical, though it does look like I had fries a couple times. Travel in Aug/Sept makes things tough sometimes.
Edit: looked back. Sept 28 is much more typical of my daily intake for the past year-ish. At least 80% of the time.
A handful of treats shouldn't impact your overall numbers.. it's more about total diet. If you saw declining numbers while following a different type diet, it may be beneficial to do that. I know regardless of what I try, my HDL and LDL numbers barely move (thank you genetics).
Comparing the data, lower fat was resulting in lowering HDLs and higher LDLs over time since I lost my morbid obesity weight. But, the notion someone else posted of keeping the fats higher but making sure to keep the saturated reduced (included deep fried foods, obviously) to the levels they were at before is interesting.
The major changes to my overall diet (since of course I ate about the same level of "treats" and fried foods back when my LDLs were lower, too) is the addition of things like eggs, liver, red meat, pork and full fat dairy. I suppose it's possible to keep those things in and cut out any refined sweets or deep fried foods. But given my restrictions when traveling (and I do pack quite a bit of food) I think it'd be easier to cut out these items then cut out having french fries once every two weeks.
Maybe a 3rd style would be appropriate... an isocaloric approach? Get a large portion of your carbs from fruits, veggies/starches; proteins from fish (especially darker fishes) and lean meats (you can limit red meat to 1x per week), and get fats from foods high in mono & polyunsaturated fats.0 -
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@WBB55 google the subject. My numbers improved after a year of eat 80% of calories from fat.
Check your CRP number. From what I have read a dropping HDL number can mean your inflammation level has increased that can lead to heart disease, cancer, etc.
We are all different so eat the way that gives you the best health.0 -
You've had unusual results. Usually LDL stays about the same (or goes up a bit) but vLDL goes down, HDL goes up and triglycerides drop. Huh.
I wouldn't worry too much about cholesterol as it is not a strong link to heart disease (in most people). How are your triglycerides? That is a much greater predictor of CAD. If your triglycerides went down, a LCHF diet may be working.
Best wishes in whatever you decide.
No, my triglycerides doubled, and I drink much less alcohol than last year.
Yuck. Not great. Becareful when you add back in carbs. Triglycerides tend to go up on higher carb diets.
Good luck.
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.
I don't know that I eat an overabundance of deep fried foods and "treats" (depending on what you call a treat). When I'm traveling my eating is AWFUL, and I travel many weekends in Aug/September. But I guess I'd want more definition of what you mean by treats. True, I could always eliminate deep fried foods. For instance I think the only thing in the past week I've eaten that was deep fried was the wonton crisps my seared tuna appetizer came on last night.
If you're looking at the cookies and brownies over the weekend, well. That's true there was tons of cookies this weekend. But before that, I don't think I had any cookies or brownies since June. I could be wrong. Oct 1-4 should not be considered my regular diet. The week before is more typical, though it does look like I had fries a couple times. Travel in Aug/Sept makes things tough sometimes.
Edit: looked back. Sept 28 is much more typical of my daily intake for the past year-ish. At least 80% of the time.
A handful of treats shouldn't impact your overall numbers.. it's more about total diet. If you saw declining numbers while following a different type diet, it may be beneficial to do that. I know regardless of what I try, my HDL and LDL numbers barely move (thank you genetics).
Comparing the data, lower fat was resulting in lowering HDLs and higher LDLs over time since I lost my morbid obesity weight. But, the notion someone else posted of keeping the fats higher but making sure to keep the saturated reduced (included deep fried foods, obviously) to the levels they were at before is interesting.
The major changes to my overall diet (since of course I ate about the same level of "treats" and fried foods back when my LDLs were lower, too) is the addition of things like eggs, liver, red meat, pork and full fat dairy. I suppose it's possible to keep those things in and cut out any refined sweets or deep fried foods. But given my restrictions when traveling (and I do pack quite a bit of food) I think it'd be easier to cut out these items then cut out having french fries once every two weeks.
Maybe a 3rd style would be appropriate... an isocaloric approach? Get a large portion of your carbs from fruits, veggies/starches; proteins from fish (especially darker fishes) and lean meats (you can limit red meat to 1x per week), and get fats from foods high in mono & polyunsaturated fats.
Yeah, I've already changed to 35C/30P/35F on the MFP settings. I think my first changes (tomorrow, since I'm already packed for today's food!) will be:
-Add back in more fruit
-Keep the fats up with avocado and olive oil, but cut back on the red meat/pork/egg yolks to 3-4 total servings per week instead of 1-2 per day
-Red wine over beer
-Make steel-cut oatmeal a daily thing again
-Switch back to non-fat dairy
-Check the overall fat balance after that and add walnuts/sunflower/etc. to get the balances close
And see how my mood goes. My keto friend is gonna be sad when I tell her.0 -
Any diet that includes wine sounds good to me!0
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You've had unusual results. Usually LDL stays about the same (or goes up a bit) but vLDL goes down, HDL goes up and triglycerides drop. Huh.
I wouldn't worry too much about cholesterol as it is not a strong link to heart disease (in most people). How are your triglycerides? That is a much greater predictor of CAD. If your triglycerides went down, a LCHF diet may be working.
Best wishes in whatever you decide.
No, my triglycerides doubled, and I drink much less alcohol than last year.
Yuck. Not great. Becareful when you add back in carbs. Triglycerides tend to go up on higher carb diets.
Good luck.
The only studies I have seen that confirm that had diets that were 75-80% of the total diet in carbs. As it relates to the OP, I don't think that will be valid. At 45-50% of my diet, triglycerides have continuously reduced as my weight goes down.
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The only studies I have seen that confirm that had diets that were 75-80% of the total diet in carbs. As it relates to the OP, I don't think that will be valid. At 45-50% of my diet, triglycerides have continuously reduced as my weight goes down.
Happen to be Obese T2 diabetics, but triglycerides down 20% on low carb compared to 40% carbs http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0091027
40% carbs on left side, 50% on right end - carbs make triglycerides in http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0113605 (adults with metabolic syndrome)
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Thank goodness I don't have confounding factors like metabolic syndrome and T2! Given my family history, heart disease, stroke and colon cancer seem to be the ones remaining preventable (everything else being more of a toss of the dice risk) that I didn't basically eliminate by losing my morbid obesity weight 7 years ago. I honestly don't see myself going back to the days of 250+g of carbs per day. That was a recipe (for me) for anemia and muscle atrophy.0
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AlabasterVerve wrote: »I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.
I don't know that I eat an overabundance of deep fried foods and "treats" (depending on what you call a treat). When I'm traveling my eating is AWFUL, and I travel many weekends in Aug/September. But I guess I'd want more definition of what you mean by treats. True, I could always eliminate deep fried foods. For instance I think the only thing in the past week I've eaten that was deep fried was the wonton crisps my seared tuna appetizer came on last night.
If you're looking at the cookies and brownies over the weekend, well. That's true there was tons of cookies this weekend. But before that, I don't think I had any cookies or brownies since June. I could be wrong. Oct 1-4 should not be considered my regular diet. The week before is more typical, though it does look like I had fries a couple times. Travel in Aug/Sept makes things tough sometimes.
Edit: looked back. Sept 28 is much more typical of my daily intake for the past year-ish. At least 80% of the time.
A handful of treats shouldn't impact your overall numbers.. it's more about total diet. If you saw declining numbers while following a different type diet, it may be beneficial to do that. I know regardless of what I try, my HDL and LDL numbers barely move (thank you genetics).
Comparing the data, lower fat was resulting in lowering HDLs and higher LDLs over time since I lost my morbid obesity weight. But, the notion someone else posted of keeping the fats higher but making sure to keep the saturated reduced (included deep fried foods, obviously) to the levels they were at before is interesting.
The major changes to my overall diet (since of course I ate about the same level of "treats" and fried foods back when my LDLs were lower, too) is the addition of things like eggs, liver, red meat, pork and full fat dairy. I suppose it's possible to keep those things in and cut out any refined sweets or deep fried foods. But given my restrictions when traveling (and I do pack quite a bit of food) I think it'd be easier to cut out these items then cut out having french fries once every two weeks.
Maybe a 3rd style would be appropriate... an isocaloric approach? Get a large portion of your carbs from fruits, veggies/starches; proteins from fish (especially darker fishes) and lean meats (you can limit red meat to 1x per week), and get fats from foods high in mono & polyunsaturated fats.
Yeah, I've already changed to 35C/30P/35F on the MFP settings. I think my first changes (tomorrow, since I'm already packed for today's food!) will be:
-Add back in more fruit
-Keep the fats up with avocado and olive oil, but cut back on the red meat/pork/egg yolks to 3-4 total servings per week instead of 1-2 per day
-Red wine over beer
-Make steel-cut oatmeal a daily thing again
-Switch back to non-fat dairy
-Check the overall fat balance after that and add walnuts/sunflower/etc. to get the balances close
And see how my mood goes. My keto friend is gonna be sad when I tell her.
How often are you drinking beer? Sugar alcohols could be a part of the picture.
Not sure eliminating dairy fat is necessary. Some newer research is saying saturated fat in dairy my have different qualities than those that come from animals. Not sure about plant saturated fats, which avocados tend to have a little bit.0 -
You've had unusual results. Usually LDL stays about the same (or goes up a bit) but vLDL goes down, HDL goes up and triglycerides drop. Huh.
I wouldn't worry too much about cholesterol as it is not a strong link to heart disease (in most people). How are your triglycerides? That is a much greater predictor of CAD. If your triglycerides went down, a LCHF diet may be working.
Best wishes in whatever you decide.
No, my triglycerides doubled, and I drink much less alcohol than last year.
Yuck. Not great. Becareful when you add back in carbs. Triglycerides tend to go up on higher carb diets.
Good luck.
The only studies I have seen that confirm that had diets that were 75-80% of the total diet in carbs. As it relates to the OP, I don't think that will be valid. At 45-50% of my diet, triglycerides have continuously reduced as my weight goes down.
I always find it bizarre when anyone loses weight and goes up in triglycerides, regardless of if the diet was sticks of butter or piles of pure sugar.0 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »I would probably opt to cut back on the treats and fried foods before reducing meat, eggs and cheese and see how I made out.
I don't know that I eat an overabundance of deep fried foods and "treats" (depending on what you call a treat). When I'm traveling my eating is AWFUL, and I travel many weekends in Aug/September. But I guess I'd want more definition of what you mean by treats. True, I could always eliminate deep fried foods. For instance I think the only thing in the past week I've eaten that was deep fried was the wonton crisps my seared tuna appetizer came on last night.
If you're looking at the cookies and brownies over the weekend, well. That's true there was tons of cookies this weekend. But before that, I don't think I had any cookies or brownies since June. I could be wrong. Oct 1-4 should not be considered my regular diet. The week before is more typical, though it does look like I had fries a couple times. Travel in Aug/Sept makes things tough sometimes.
Edit: looked back. Sept 28 is much more typical of my daily intake for the past year-ish. At least 80% of the time.
A handful of treats shouldn't impact your overall numbers.. it's more about total diet. If you saw declining numbers while following a different type diet, it may be beneficial to do that. I know regardless of what I try, my HDL and LDL numbers barely move (thank you genetics).
Comparing the data, lower fat was resulting in lowering HDLs and higher LDLs over time since I lost my morbid obesity weight. But, the notion someone else posted of keeping the fats higher but making sure to keep the saturated reduced (included deep fried foods, obviously) to the levels they were at before is interesting.
The major changes to my overall diet (since of course I ate about the same level of "treats" and fried foods back when my LDLs were lower, too) is the addition of things like eggs, liver, red meat, pork and full fat dairy. I suppose it's possible to keep those things in and cut out any refined sweets or deep fried foods. But given my restrictions when traveling (and I do pack quite a bit of food) I think it'd be easier to cut out these items then cut out having french fries once every two weeks.
Maybe a 3rd style would be appropriate... an isocaloric approach? Get a large portion of your carbs from fruits, veggies/starches; proteins from fish (especially darker fishes) and lean meats (you can limit red meat to 1x per week), and get fats from foods high in mono & polyunsaturated fats.
Yeah, I've already changed to 35C/30P/35F on the MFP settings. I think my first changes (tomorrow, since I'm already packed for today's food!) will be:
-Add back in more fruit
-Keep the fats up with avocado and olive oil, but cut back on the red meat/pork/egg yolks to 3-4 total servings per week instead of 1-2 per day
-Red wine over beer
-Make steel-cut oatmeal a daily thing again
-Switch back to non-fat dairy
-Check the overall fat balance after that and add walnuts/sunflower/etc. to get the balances close
And see how my mood goes. My keto friend is gonna be sad when I tell her.
How often are you drinking beer? Sugar alcohols could be a part of the picture.
Not sure eliminating dairy fat is necessary. Some newer research is saying saturated fat in dairy my have different qualities than those that come from animals. Not sure about plant saturated fats, which avocados tend to have a little bit.
I guess I'm mainly comparing it to the period 7 to 1 years ago when I drank the same amount of beer and ate the same amounts of avocado. By far the MAIN difference between that period and this year is I've been eating moderate amounts of animal saturated fats this year instead of trying to not eat them at all and an overall higher percent of fat (like 50% now instead of 20% then).
Dear jebus, if I can keep my full fat cheese that would be wonderful. I can give up eggs, liver and hamburger if I kept cheese. But something tells me I was doing better on 0% dairy0 -
If it were me, I'd look at dietary cholesterol too. While dietary cholesterol has little affect on blood cholesterol for the majority of people, there are people for whom it has a significant affect. You could be one of those people.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »If it were me, I'd look at dietary cholesterol too. While dietary cholesterol has little affect on blood cholesterol for the majority of people, there are people for whom it has a significant affect. You could be one of those people.
good point. thanks genetics
Anyone have thoughts on dietary cholesterol affecting triglycerides? I mean, I'm sure it's not JUST ONE THING in the foods I added into my regular diet. Like, it could be the cholesterol, saturated fat, overall higher fat, proportion of saturated to unsaturated, slight decrease in fiber, decrease in fruit, significant decrease in bran/wheat...0
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