I am gutted
I have lost weight – since January
my blood sugars (not diabetic) are apparently great

and my cholesterol
has gone up

I just sat and cried

I don’t know what to do
I don’t know if I should ditch the ff yog and cheese
I don’t know If I should eat less eggs
or start eating oat cereal again

dr says if it is genetic there is little I can do

I feel so knocked by this and my head is spinning again because I had sort of settled right down to eating certain things and now I just don’t know

Hey KeepTrying — that is hard news when you have been doing a great job — but don’t despair — first of all, your blood sugars are good, so that is victory number 1. Second of all, you’ve lost a lot of weight, victory number 2. If the higher cholesterol is genetic, nothing you do diet-wise (as your doctor stated) will make a difference so stick with the plan — it is keeping your sugar levels in check and resulting in weight loss — both really important in the cholesterol/weight/sugar connection. There is some new research that cholesterol might not be the biggest bogey-man in the room anyway. I recommend Dr. Perlmutter’s book “Grain Brain” which explores the VALUE of cholesterol in protecting your brain cells — especially as you age. At least you will be less panicked and it is good reading about carbs (he focuses a lot on gluten but his suggestions follow the BSD). Don’t quit!! Let us know how you are doing going forward.

Hi

I have high cholesterol despite eating relatively healthily. My brother who is obese and eats badly has high cholesterol.

My tutor at college has been a middle distance runner since she was 8 and eats very healthily but her cholesterol is highe than mine. New research I understand is showing the link between cholesterol and heart problems etc is not there. (My father had a heart attack and his cholesterol was 3).

It could also be your good cholesterol that’s gone up xx

Sorry that should say my brother had low cholesterol – 3.4

hi
thank you for the support
and tips

lowenna – I agree it must be genetic as my dad who was never over weight – ever – and always very active
had high chol. and a triple heart bypass
my father-I-law was much bigger, nowhere near as active, ate far far more fats
and had much lower chol.

I need to decide how to go forward with the eating now
just not sure

Hey Keeptrying — I was interested in your issue so I did a bit of reading. There IS a condition called “transient hypercholesterolemia” — it is the elevation of cholesterol that occurs with fat loss. When fatty acids are mobilized (ie you are burning fat), cholesterol is released as well and serum levels of cholesterol can spike. The evidence suggests that the effect will vanish with further successful weight loss, regardless of the fat-content of the diet. So, before changing your diet, ask your physician about this and try losing more weight FIRST to see if that affects your cholesterol numbers. If losing more weight and getting closer to your appropriate BMI does not result in lower cholesterol then you can address it as necessary.