Hi, I'm new. Just hit the big 50 & want to lose some weight & reduce my cholesterol!

I was.

Then I lost weight, and now my cholesterol is solidly normal (and has been for nearly 8 years since). Actually, it got into the normal range for me after about the first 25 or so pounds of loss, around half of what I needed to lose to be at an appropriate weight. I'm substantially older, though: 59-60 when losing, 67 now.

If you're not active, adding exercise can also help with blood lipid levels. If you don't get many fruits/vegetables - most people don't - that may also help.

If you have genetic factors for high cholesterol - i.e., if you have older people in your line who have high cholesterol even if not overweight/inactive - some of those things may be less effective. I am lucky: I don't have major genetic factors.

I'd suggest you wait and see about a good weight for you until you get closer. It's hard to tell from farther away, and what's right changes over time (not so much age, as body composition - how much muscle we have relative to fat . . . most people lose muscle mass as they age, but that's within our individual control, so I won't make assumptions about you).