My recent blood work...cholesterol rose significantly
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Gingergal12
Posts: 64 Member
Five years ago when I went through menopause my fasting blood glucose level, weight and cholesterol rose since the previous year. We’ve monitored it and I’ve been successful in losing weight and getting reading back in line. Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment and my cholesterol level was 277 up from 203 in October yet my weight was down 6 pounds and my A1C was 5.4 from 5.8. I was shocked at the cholesterol level.
Has anyone else have the cholesterol number significantly up while losing weight and fixing insulin resistance?
Has anyone else have the cholesterol number significantly up while losing weight and fixing insulin resistance?
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Replies
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Yes I’ve heard that during fat loss your cholesterol can increase but I don’t remember the reason. Mine has been increasing over the last 3 years as I have lost 97 lbs (although not that drastically). Maybe others can give us more information?3
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During my weight loss and before, I had very high cholesterol as well. I lost 20-30 lbs and my ldls were still too high and my hdls were too low. However, once my journey was finished and switched to maintaining weight, my cholesterol dropped 100 points! It might be the same for you, I don't have insulin resistance issues, but I have a family history of high cholesterol levels.
Has your doctor recommended a meal plan to sort this out? I mean, I still ate cholesterol dense foods like meats and protein powders and my levels still dropped, and have stayed down to this day.7 -
It is a result of metabolizing your body's fat and is usually only temporary; that is, it generally comes down again once tour weight stabilizes.5
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I've had a high cholesterol reading during weight loss and when I went to get retested a couple months later while maintaining my weight by reading came out a lot better. First reading was 205+ and the next one was 125. Im type 2 diabetic, controlled by diet (LCHF) and exercise.3
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Thank you for the responses. My doctor prescribed a low dose of Crestor 5mg, twice a weekbut otherwise approved of my diet. We will recheck it at my physical at the end of November.0
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I eat 0 (literally) cholesterol on a plant -based diet. I think you should be able to get that down quickly and stay off meds with a few small changes. Meat (including chicken and fish), dairy and eggs are highest.32
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No. When I was a vegan I had the highest cholesterol levels in my life. When I return to eating meat my cholesterol went down significantly.15
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Dietary cholesterol has very little effect on blood cholesterol levels, which may be why your doctor didn’t recommend any dietary changes. Weight loss and exercise have a much greater effect. Are you exercising regularly?23
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Sometimes high cholesterol is genetic too10
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concordancia wrote: »It is a result of metabolizing your body's fat and is usually only temporary; that is, it generally comes down again once tour weight stabilizes.
That makes sense - the saturated fat you get from meat is one of the biggest causes of rising cholesterol. I would guess out fat is largely saturated fat also.13 -
When I was losing >50lbs my bloodwork didn't show a magnificent improvement as I had hoped. I thought perhaps that as your body is consuming its fat stores it made sense that your bloodstream would be off loading stuff (fat by products) too. Of course menopause puts another complex variable into the mix.0
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My cholesterol also increased from borderline high to high after I lost 50 lbs, going from a BMI of 30 to a BMI of under 23. I feel that’s very unfair! I’m about to see a specialist about it, so I don’t yet have recommendations on how to manage it.1
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Total cholesterol indicates almost nothing. How were your triglycerides and HDL? You want a high HDL, which helps raise total cholesterol, and a lowish triglycerides. If you do include LDL, you need to look at particle size, otherwise it is fairly meaningless.... So many doctors don't seem to know this!
One of the easiest ways to reduce triglycerides and raise HDL, is to exercise, and cut refined carbs and sugars, as well as other grains and sugary fruit. Diets high in meats, eggs, dairy, seafood, veggies and some fruit almost always result in better cholesterol and tri's, and improved blood glucose too - low carb intake results in low blood glucose. The only people who should not eat that way to correct cholesterol and BG are those with familial hypercholesterolemia, and that is a small minority.
This is an interesting video on how to improve cholesterol within days.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZu52duIqno 9 -
I eat 0 (literally) cholesterol on a plant -based diet. I think you should be able to get that down quickly and stay off meds with a few small changes. Meat (including chicken and fish), dairy and eggs are highest.
I have a genetic cholesterol disorder and had it even when thin, I eat meat and dairy and was able to bring it down eating low fat,low cholesterol,high fiber and I have to take meds.so for some staying off meds is not always going to happen. mine was high even when taking other meds in the past and eating less meat and dairy.its going to vary per person,and it depends on if their high cholesterol is due to diet,meds, or certain health issues.thyroid issues can also cause high cholesterol and yes when losing weight it can go up. if it keeps going up then you need to be tested to see if its genetic or not. genetic cholesterol is nothing to fool with either and can cause severe health risks if not treated.3 -
Dietary cholesterol has very little effect on blood cholesterol levels, which may be why your doctor didn’t recommend any dietary changes. Weight loss and exercise have a much greater effect. Are you exercising regularly?
depends on if its genetic or not. even with the above changes sometimes it doesnt make a difference and continues to raise.0 -
Total cholesterol indicates almost nothing. How were your triglycerides and HDL? You want a high HDL, which helps raise total cholesterol, and a lowish triglycerides. If you do include LDL, you need to look at particle size, otherwise it is fairly meaningless.... So many doctors don't seem to know this!
One of the easiest ways to reduce triglycerides and raise HDL, is to exercise, and cut refined carbs and sugars, as well as other grains and sugary fruit. Diets high in meats, eggs, dairy, seafood, veggies and some fruit almost always result in better cholesterol and tri's, and improved blood glucose too - low carb intake results in low blood glucose. The only people who should not eat that way to correct cholesterol and BG are those with familial hypercholesterolemia, and that is a small minority.
This is an interesting video on how to improve cholesterol within days.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZu52duIqno
Weight loss results in lower triglycerides alone and improved metabolic markers. And the only universally acknowledged nutrition thing is the fact that fruits and veggies improve metabolic markers and health. Suggesting to cut it out is a bit short sighted.6 -
You were shocked at the cholesterol level and are asking the opinions of others, but what did your doctor say? Were they shocked? Have they ever seen this before? What recommendations did they give you?6
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Cholesterol issues don't have one size fits all answers except to maintain a healthy weight, exercise, and eat plenty of veggies and fruits.
Your situation with recent weight loss, your genetics, and other factors might have affected your results. What did your doctor say?3 -
Don't eat processed crap. Eggs and other animal based fats aren't bad. Saturated fat isnt bad and neithe is dietary cholesterol12
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I found with me, that my overall cholesterol levels were best determined by whether I was exercising or not, if I'm exercising my levels were low, when I wasn't, they were high, with no change at all to my diet.2
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