I've lost 30 pounds following a low carb diet but need some advice.

Kbrown488

I've had great success with a low carb diet. I'm 36 M 5'11". I started after a cruise last October. I weighed 236. Still trying to hit my goal weight of about 185.

Unfortunately I'm needing to make some modifications due to high cholesterol. I really don't want to jeopardize my weight loss but I want to try and get my cholesterol numbers down some because my doctor wants to put me on a statin but I told him, "no!". He's happy for my weight loss but not happy about my increased cholesterol levels.

I've been having a very difficult time finding some reasonable low-carb low fat menu plans. I'm thinking about trying to incorporate oats in the morning.

I would like to keep my daily net carb count around 65, I may consider going higher if I can manage my weight with a larger increase. I'm considering adding some oats, possibly cheerios with low-fat milk, and cut back on red meats and try to eat more fish, particular salmon. I used to put heavy whipping cream in my coffee but I'm probably going to try eliminating coffee all-together.

Can anyone offer any suggestions on some modifications that may help?

T0M_K

try logging your food intake and keeping at a calorie deficit. cico.

GaleHawkins

@Kbrown488 I have gone through the same things as you are I. I went Low Carb High Fat Oct 2014. My cholesterol shot up too for the first 6 months but started down. While MD's now know high cholesterol is not a heart health risk my clinic had not gotten the memo it seems and I think you already seem to know what can happen when you once start on statins with your long term health.

If your HDL is going up and your triglyceride number is going down then your health markers are improving in the right direction.

If you start eating low carb and low fat it may get ugly down the road healthwise. Fats help lower your cholesterol. Carbs are what raise our LDL and triglyceride levels into the danger zone. Remember to gain weight eat more carbs. Too lose more weight eat more Fat to make up for the calorie lost from cutting out carbs.

You need to google the subject. It is very confusing based on the incorrect medical advice that has been promoted the last 30-40 years.

Best if success and welcome to MFP. A year ago I was in the same boat and almost let a nurse talk me into making a major health mistake before I did my own research .

GaleHawkins

Tomk652015 wrote: »

try logging your food intake and keeping at a calorie deficit. cico.

@Tomk652015 that is good advice for someone who is not losing weight which is not the issue in this case.

LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) which I do for pain management is also a good way to increase the 'good' HDL and to lower the LDL and triglyceride numbers.

What some medical staff who have not kept current on new research do not understand that this way of eating may cause cholesterol numbers to jump up so total cholesterol numbers are without meaning as to start an Rx.

As long as the HDL number is rising and the triglyceride number is declining one can just wait for the total cholesterol number to come back down into a normal range because that shows a declining risk of heart disease.

LuckyNumbers

Tomk is right. It's not the carbs (or sugar, or HFCS, or whatever) that causes weight gain. What causes weight gain is eating more calories than you burn, whether those calories come from protein, fat, or carbs.

If you haven't already, start tracking your calories here on MFP. Cutting carbs didn't cause your 30 pound loss (congrats, by the way!), being in a calorie deficit caused your weight loss.

eeejer

dietary cholesterol affects blood cholesterol levels only in some people, most it has almost no effect. Get a second opinion, hopefully from someone up on current nutrition research.

kommodevaran

Don't try to go low carb and low fat at the same time. That would be starvation (or even worse, "rabbit starvation", if you try to replace fat and carb with protein). I would also suggest getting a second opinion, and maybe look into the details of your diet, there may be some tweaks you can get there, if necessary (get second opinion first).

ogmomma2012

Ask for the particle size of your cholesterol to be checked. You can also cut back on meats and get more fat from nuts, seeds, fish, avocado, coconut and other healthy oils.

ElviraMarieCerri

A statin is not the worst thing in the world. You may have to have your doctor try different ones to get the one that works best with your metabolism. I went through 3 or 4 with side effects from leg pain (worse than my usual fibro and arthritis) to digestive issues until we hit on Crestor, which I've been taking for almost as long as it's been on the market. You have to watch your drug formularies, though, because until this coming May, there has been no generic for Crestor. It costs an arm and a leg if your plan doesn't cover it, and an arm if it covers it as a non-preferred brand (and a hand if it is a preferred brand!)

I have very low HDL, and nothing seems to work to raise it. I have been doing low carb (50 target/day) for about 2 years, and with the statin, my LDL is low-normal, and my triglycerides are beautiful. Good luck - I have had good results with my plan, and continue to stick with it.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

lower carb(150 or less) worked for my cholesterol. it went way down and my HDL improved. going to have to go back to that again because its back up again. I refuse to take statins after the health issues they caused me,I also took more than one brand(not at the same time).

kshama2001

Kbrown488 wrote: »

I've had great success with a low carb diet. I'm 36 M 5'11". I started after a cruise last October. I weighed 236. Still trying to hit my goal weight of about 185.

Unfortunately I'm needing to make some modifications due to high cholesterol. I really don't want to jeopardize my weight loss but I want to try and get my cholesterol numbers down some because my doctor wants to put me on a statin but I told him, "no!". He's happy for my weight loss but not happy about my increased cholesterol levels.

I've been having a very difficult time finding some reasonable low-carb low fat menu plans. I'm thinking about trying to incorporate oats in the morning.

I would like to keep my daily net carb count around 65, I may consider going higher if I can manage my weight with a larger increase. I'm considering adding some oats, possibly cheerios with low-fat milk, and cut back on red meats and try to eat more fish, particular salmon. I used to put heavy whipping cream in my coffee but I'm probably going to try eliminating coffee all-together.

Can anyone offer any suggestions on some modifications that may help?

Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

mrhenson2u

Low carb / low fat doesn't work in the long term. Consider reading one of the newer generation low carb diet guides such as Keto Clarity to clear up some misconceptions. I'd done "Atkins" for 12 years but had allowed some misinformation to creep into my diet and had regained about 30 of the 80 I'd lost in the beginning. On top of the weight gain all my 'numbers' were crazy & dr was pushing statins hard. 6 weeks into a "Keto" diet & numbers are headed back to where they should be. Good luck

fastfoodietofitcutie

I'm following a moderate carb diet. Low carb (keto) scares me because of some studies I've read. Of course for every negative study there is a positive one.

ilex70

Yeah, I would at least try another doctor. From what I've read of statins I'll take my chances with the cholesterol...maybe do aspirin therapy even though once you start that it is best to never stop.

OP weight loss is down to a calorie deficit. Most people can eat a moderate amount of each macro and be just fine, with exceptions for some medical things.

Some carbs can cause problems for some people (sugars and simple carbs without fiber that might as well be sugars) who have glucose regulation issues. Non-starchy veggies, legumes, low sugar fruit - shouldn't be a problem. Grains and starchy veggies may need moderation.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

ilex70 wrote: »

Yeah, I would at least try another doctor. From what I've read of statins I'll take my chances with the cholesterol...maybe do aspirin therapy even though once you start that it is best to never stop.

OP weight loss is down to a calorie deficit. Most people can eat a moderate amount of each macro and be just fine, with exceptions for some medical things.

Some carbs can cause problems for some people (sugars and simple carbs without fiber that might as well be sugars) who have glucose regulation issues. Non-starchy veggies, legumes, low sugar fruit - shouldn't be a problem. Grains and starchy veggies may need moderation.

I dont have glucose issues. for me the higher the carbs the worse my cholesterol numbers get. the lower I go(like I said around 150 for me) the better they get. there are many legit studies that prove that lower carb diets can help with cholesterol

tlflag1620

I would wait until about six months after you hit goal weight to allow cholesterol levels to stabilize, then get retested. And go from there. LCHF can make your cholesterol jump up initially, but it will, over time, improve your HDL/triglyceride ratio and reduce the amount of VLDL, so while your total cholesterol may remain high (which really doesn't matter anyway, total cholesterol is meaningless), your cholesterol profile will be much healthier. But it can take time for your body to sort things out. Don't try to do low fat and low carb at the same time. You may want to look for a doc more current on nutrition science, as others have pointed out. The lipid hypothesis is dead, but it takes practice time to catch up with the research!

youngmomtaz

Some super high fibre(I assume that is what you are aiming for wig the addition of oats) items to add to your diet are flax seeds you can grind flax and make it into a low carb bread/biscuit, and chia seeds. Both high fibre, low carb and may help you with some of your goals.

RodaRose

Instead of carbs/oats in the morning, eat protein like cottage cheese or yogurt or 4 oz chicken.

kuranda10

I do LCHF and my cholesterol dropped lower than the range. Over the course of a year I had started eating a lot of dairy for some reason and my cholesterol went up a bit. Doctor told nme to cut back on the dairy.

Maybe replace some dairy with almonds or Olive Oil?

MammaC66

Check out the Mediterranean diet. Both my husband's cardiologist and my doctor recommended it. It is not really a diet, but a way of eating. It is very healthy and easy to follow and great for lowering cholesterol and for heart health. It is also great for losing weight. Also, I would like to give you a word of advice from my personal experience. If you are going to eat low carb to lose weight, you had better be prepared to eat that way for the rest of your life. I lost a significant amount of weight a few years back eating low carb, and as soon as I started eating carbs again, I started gaining it all back. I personally believe eating a healthy mix of foods in moderate amounts and getting enough exercise daily is the only way to lose weight and not gain it back.

TribeHokie

Low carb works well for a lot of people in the short term but as others have said it is difficult to keep up for a long time and doesn't necessarily teach you a sustainable way of eating for maintenance, so people end up gaining that weight back. You might want to re-evaluate your proteins and fats and transition to "healthier" versions, ex. flank steak instead of strip, avacado/guac instead of sour cream, olive oil instead of butter, etc. You don't necessarily need low fat foods, and in fact you certainly need some fats in your diet in order to properly absorb fat-soluble nutrients, but get your fat from sources that have other redeeming qualities like Omega 3s.

amusedmonkey

Adding oatmeal is a good idea. Would it affect your appetite too much if you increase your carbs up to 100 grams (which is still considered low carb)? This would give you more leeway with food and allow the introduction of polyunsaturated fats, which some find useful for cholesterol but sometimes come bundled with some carbs like in nuts and seeds. Don't go low fat. It's not sustainable. You may also want to consider increasing your physical activity, if at all possible.

trjjoy

Your stats should improve once you start losing weight.

yarwell

Are you still losing weight ? If you aren't using body fat you can see an elevation in cholesterol.

Statins have no evidence base for use in women, and don't improve outcomes in men, they just change the lab numbers.

See http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog/category/cardiovascular disease and http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog/lipid-changes-on-a-very-low-carb-ketogenic-diet-my-own-experience for some n=1

Shifting the fat balance towards unsaturated will probably help.

Kbrown488

When I was about a month into my low carb diet on October 15, 2015 I had a biometric screening and here were my numbers then:
My total cholesterol was 262.
HDL 60 Tri 87 LDL 185 Cholesterol/HDL ratio 4.4 Glucose 88 Waist 43 Bmi 32.5 Bp 121/81

On Friday 3/4/16 my office had an on-site biometric screening and my results were:

Total Cholesterol 346 HDL 72 Triglycerides 72 LDL 260 Cholesterol/HDL Ratio 4.8 Glucose 87 Waist 37 Bmi 28.7 Bp 120/70

However, I've lost 6 inches on my waist size from October to now.

Day one on my modification.

I had 1 cup of coffee, 2 pieces of bacon, 1 egg cooked in a tsp of olive oil and I added in a piece of sara lee whole wheat toast. I will focus on a daily calorie intake of 1,700 and my carbs around 130, fats 75, protein 128. I also do 30 minutes a day on the eliptical machine.

tlflag1620

Question - when was the last time you had your cholesterol checked, prior to this most recent blood work? How much did you weigh and what was your diet like at that time? I ask because it is entirely possible that your most recent blood work represents an *improvement*.

If your cholesterol truley has gone up since starting low carb and losing 30 lbs (congrats, btw!), it is possible that your cholesterol looks elevated because you are still actively losing weight (this happens for some people) - that's why I suggested sticking with what you are doing (it's clearly working) until you get to goal, maintaining the loss for a few months, then getting blood work redone. By that time your cholesterol may be normalized.

And don't worry about those who say LCHF isn't sustainable. If you like it and stick with it, it absolutely is sustainable; its at least as sustainable as any other way of eating, including the Mediterranean diet or simple calorie counting. I've been eating LCHF for nearly three years and I still consider myself a "newbie" - there's a lot of people who have been doing this for decades! If you enjoy it, are getting the results you want, and can see yourself continuing long term, no need to change anything just yet. If, after your weight has stabilized, your cholesterol still comes back high, at that point you can look into LDL particle size, HDL/triglyceride ratio, and, if need be, modify your diet to try to improve your cholesterol profile.

You are a young man, only twenty lbs away from goal. Statins seem like an overreaction - they've really only proven themselves modestly beneficial for reducing the risk of a heart attack for older men (over 50) who have already had at least one cardiac event. They've not been proven to benefit any other group. If, after you've lost the weight, your numbers are still elevated, then you can play with your diet to try to improve numbers; just remember that high carb, low fat diets lower both LDL and HDL, and *raise* triglycerides... LCHF might (might) result in higher LDL, but they increase HDL, drop triglycerides, and tend to shift the particle size of your LDL to the larger, less dense pattern (not nearly as dangerous as the small, more dense LDL). So even if you cholesterol is still "high" on a LC diet, your cholesterol profile should be better. Good luck!