Trying to lose weight and lower cholesterol

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  • mactaffy84
    mactaffy84 Posts: 398 Member
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    This maybe a cop-out in your eyes mactaffy, but in my case a cop out provided by a medical practitioner. I sure as hell dont want to rely on drugs for control and given my diet and fitness regime there actually is nothing else I can do, but I havent given up trying.


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    Me thinks that you are closed minded about this. And you have no idea what my qualifications are, or aren't, to say anything on this. Ask your doctor if he has given statins to women and, if so, at what cholesterol level, and why? Maybe you'd be surprised to find that there are almost NO STUDIES out there that have evaluated cholesterol levels and statin efficacy in women. I know you aren't in that category, but some are.

    VERY few people have "high cholesterol" simply due to genetics. And these are VERY specific genetic disorders for which genetic tests are available. Have you had these tests? If not, then I'm just saying you may be kidding yourself. And if you wNt to do that, fine. More power to you.

    It has been my experience that people want to sell themselves goods that "it is in my genes" because they don't want to do the hard work of changing diet, adding exercise, using discipline, and actually taking some accountability and responsibility for their own health. If you want to do that, hey, who am I to say anything? But someone else may have the desire to help themselves. I am only saying that 99.9999999% of the time! they can (if they want).
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
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    Op -total cholesterol isn't the biggest issue when it comes to figuring out if it may present a problem. You want to look at LDL and HDL cholesterol separately. E.g. Recommendations are that overall cholesterol does not exceed 5.2mmol/L but the recommendations for each type of cholesterol make this a deceiving way to determine cholesterol health. LDL should be between 2.6 and 3.3mmol/L and HDL above 1.6mmol/L - the higher the better. Now I'm a good example of why total cholesterol is not a good indicator of good cholesterol health. My total cholesterol is 5.9mmol/L, but my LDL is 2.7mmol/L (in ideal range) and my HDL is 2.2mmol/L (above ideal). But you add them together and you get a high cholesterol score when my HDL (good cholesterol) is excellent. LDL particle number is another factor but doctors rarely give you these numbers unless you ask for them. The thing that increases particle number is too many triglycerides in the blood which causes your body to have to create more LDL particles to carry them. Elevated triglycerides are caused by diets high in refined carbohydrates - many studies have shown this. Saturated fat does NOT increase bad cholesterol and in fact has shown to improve cholesterol levels. I have been eating a diet high in saturated fat for years and yet I have perfect cholesterol levels and perfect triglyceride levels.

    Also, despite what many people think, not all animal products are made up of mostly saturated fat. Skin from chicken and duck (where most of the fat is) is actually mostly monounsaturated fat. But saturated fat isn't the enemy and never was. There are studies coming out regularly showing the common belief that sat fat causes high cholesterol and heart disease is not true.

    Cutting out sugar is a really good step. Lowering refined carbohydrate overall will not only make weight loss easier for many people, but will also help to improve cholesterol and reduce cravings. I saw some good suggestions of protein sources above, but you want to make sure you get levels that aren't too high and aren't too low. Protein also has a higher thermogenic effect than carbs and fats so it will help increase your energy output slightly by increasing consumption. There's also the benefit of lowered hunger and preservation of lean body mass. If you're a picky eater it's hard to give suggestions without knowing what sort of things you like to eat, but you want to be getting good amounts of oily fish for omega 3s, avocadoes, plenty of non-starchy veg, low sugar fruits, small amounts of nuts, high quality meats, healthy fats (avoid highly processed vegetable oils and trans fats).

    You've done really well so far but it's hard to give much more advice without knowing exactly what and how much you're eating. I am studying to be a Nutritionist so if you want some more specific advice you're more than welcome to send me a PM and I'll try help you out :)
    A good take of the situation.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    Nope! What you eat most certainly DOES have the ability to jack up your cholesterol (and not only eating saturated fats. Eating processed carbohydrates, notably refined flour, can do this as well. This "it is just my genes" attitude is a cop-out for 99% of the people out there. It is defeatist attitude and only for the people who would rather go on statins than try to control their diet.

    Interesting opinion. I eat a very healthy diet, exercise 6 days a week, have lost lots of weight and I still have high cholesterol. My husband on the other hand eats everything I don't: fried foods, ice cream, cookies, candy and all manner of junk and he could be the poster boy for perfect cholesterol levels. Something other than diet is at play here.

    While I do not doubt that what you eat plays a role, I think the effect of food on cholesterol levels is overstated. If your opinion was correct, my cholesterol would be low and his would be high. Individual body chemistry and/or genetics clearly play a BIG role.

    You may have some good points there. I'm sure there are many factors and high cholesterol doesn't always lead to heart disease either, it's just a risk factor. Plus it's possible that your "good" cholesterol is high, thereby raising your total cholesterol whilst your husband's "good" cholesterol could be very low, decreasing his total cholesterol.

    No such luck. My "good" cholesterol is low and his "good" cholesterol is high. My mother (who has always been thin and active) has the same high cholesterol issues I do. Coincidence? I think not.

    yep, me too. The last cholesterol crusader on here suggested it'll get better if I just lose some weight, cause clearly 110 lbs isn't thin enough.
  • funkim55
    funkim55 Posts: 216 Member
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    Try eating oatmeal!!! It works!! Watch out for foods high in cholestoral; enjoy the journey!!! We are all trying to improve!!!
  • snowwhitemeow
    snowwhitemeow Posts: 7
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    i did not eat cheese or egg yolks for five years and for those 5 years I had low cholesterol. but i have extremely high cholesterol again because I began eating cheese again
  • carolhempsteadslute
    carolhempsteadslute Posts: 2
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    Thank you all for your advice! There are a lot of good points here that I will definitely take into consideration! I currently eat oatmeal every day for breakfast, I have cut back considerably on the red meat and cheese that I eat. i also eat greek yogurt with fresh raspberries and blackberries with a bit of honey as a morning snack and try to eat veggies for an afternoon snack. I also cut back on potatoes and try to eat sweet potatoes instead. I have significantly cut back on butter (I personally refuse to eat margarine as I feel it is too unnatural..my own personal belief) and when I cook I use olive oil. Like a lot of you have said, it can differ for each person but I do appreciate the suggestions you have all give me..
    Thank you for taking the time to reply!
  • CassandraEldridge
    CassandraEldridge Posts: 56 Member
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    My cholesterol decreased by 21 points in one year by switching to a vegetarian diet.
    I never had high cholesterol the decrease was just a happy health effect of my lifestyle choice. :flowerforyou:
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    Try to figure out whats rising your cholesterol levels and causing you gain weight. I lost around 42 lbs of fat and lowered cholesterol by 25 % in last 4 months. My problem was not so much fats I was eating but my blood glucose levels would go up and down after a meal. I cut refined carbs and foods with high sugar content. I eat ton of fat, veggies, moderate protein. I can't say it will work for you but be open minded about what your problem might be.
  • peter56765
    peter56765 Posts: 352 Member
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    Saturated fat does NOT increase bad cholesterol and in fact has shown to improve cholesterol levels.
    After looking over the various studies on the subject, Harvard University disagrees: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/

    Also, despite what many people think, not all animal products are made up of mostly saturated fat. Skin from chicken and duck (where most of the fat is) is actually mostly monounsaturated fat.
    This is misleading. Recommended saturated fat intake is supposed to be no more than 25% of your total fat intake, meaning anything above that percentage is a food high in saturated fat. A piece of pizza typically has about 5g sat fat + 7g non-sat fat. Technically, it is "mostly" not-saturated fat but it's still 40% sat fat meaning it is on the high side.

    But saturated fat isn't the enemy and never was. There are studies coming out regularly showing the common belief that sat fat causes high cholesterol and heart disease is not true. Cutting out sugar is a really good step
    It's not an either/or type situation. Saturated fat is only one risk factor in high cholesterol and heart disease. Eating refined carbohydrates, diabetes, family history, smoking, obesity, and exercise all contribute as well. Having only one risk factor means you are not all that likely to get heart disease. The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to have high cholestero and heart disease.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
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    Saturated fat does NOT increase bad cholesterol and in fact has shown to improve cholesterol levels.
    After looking over the various studies on the subject, Harvard University disagrees: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/

    Also, despite what many people think, not all animal products are made up of mostly saturated fat. Skin from chicken and duck (where most of the fat is) is actually mostly monounsaturated fat.
    This is misleading. Recommended saturated fat intake is supposed to be no more than 25% of your total fat intake, meaning anything above that percentage is a food high in saturated fat. A piece of pizza typically has about 5g sat fat + 7g non-sat fat. Technically, it is "mostly" not-saturated fat but it's still 40% sat fat meaning it is on the high side.

    But saturated fat isn't the enemy and never was. There are studies coming out regularly showing the common belief that sat fat causes high cholesterol and heart disease is not true. Cutting out sugar is a really good step
    It's not an either/or type situation. Saturated fat is only one risk factor in high cholesterol and heart disease. Eating refined carbohydrates, diabetes, family history, smoking, obesity, and exercise all contribute as well. Having only one risk factor means you are not all that likely to get heart disease. The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to have high cholestero and heart disease.

    http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)62710-9/abstract

    Effect of a High Saturated Fat and No-Starch Diet on Serum Lipid Subfractions in Patients With Documented Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

    From your Harvard link:

    More recently, several studies seemed to suggest that eating diets high in saturated fat did not raise the risk of heart disease—a finding that ran counter to decades of dietary advice. (21,22) One highly-publicized report analyzed the findings of 21 studies that followed 350,000 people for up to 23 years. Investigators looked at the relationship between saturated fat intake and coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Their controversial conclusion: “There is insufficient evidence from prospective epidemiologic studies to conclude that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD.”(21)

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