Hi community, long-time, first-time. 39/M here.
Back in the first half of March, my annual lipid panels started showing some increasingly alarming patterns that I could no longer ignore: HDL was at 59, LDL was 195 and total Cholesterol over 260. My doctor in his notes mentioned 'statin' and my cholesterol ratio being around 4.5 (with 5 being the point of getting on meds) and I kicked my ass in gear.
I had already been in the gym 3-4 days a week, still relatively light on lifts, and was routinely running 5k on the treadmill. I ate well, imbibed little with wine and brown liquor, drank only water and coffee otherwise. I was using a food scale and counting calories, but could not figure out where all that cholesterol was coming from, as it inched higher, year-over-year. Until I finally saw it and had to make a painful cut: heavy cream in coffee. Some days 3 tbsps or more.
I traded it for half-and-half and at a much lower amount, and started eating that gross Fiber One cereal, making sure my veggies were up, much fewer saturated fats (< 20g a day target), increased almond, blueberry, and apple intake, etc.
While I haven't lost significant weight (I still have terrible portion control), I got my panels back this last week: LDL was down to 156, HDL was holding at 60, and my overall cholesterol ratio was 3.9, which, all things considered, was not bad and took a huge weight off my shoulders. My levels are back down to where I was at 9 years ago, and I'm hopeful it keeps sliding with these changes.
This is just a reminder that not every bit of progress is visible on a scale, in a mirror, on your fork, number of plates, or reps in your set. Not everything is immediate or easily measured, but it's just as important to stick with it anyway (and to make sure you're accounting for all your calories when you're not seeing changes).
Back in the first half of March, my annual lipid panels started showing some increasingly alarming patterns that I could no longer ignore: HDL was at 59, LDL was 195 and total Cholesterol over 260. My doctor in his notes mentioned 'statin' and my cholesterol ratio being around 4.5 (with 5 being the point of getting on meds) and I kicked my ass in gear.
I had already been in the gym 3-4 days a week, still relatively light on lifts, and was routinely running 5k on the treadmill. I ate well, imbibed little with wine and brown liquor, drank only water and coffee otherwise. I was using a food scale and counting calories, but could not figure out where all that cholesterol was coming from, as it inched higher, year-over-year. Until I finally saw it and had to make a painful cut: heavy cream in coffee. Some days 3 tbsps or more.
I traded it for half-and-half and at a much lower amount, and started eating that gross Fiber One cereal, making sure my veggies were up, much fewer saturated fats (< 20g a day target), increased almond, blueberry, and apple intake, etc.
While I haven't lost significant weight (I still have terrible portion control), I got my panels back this last week: LDL was down to 156, HDL was holding at 60, and my overall cholesterol ratio was 3.9, which, all things considered, was not bad and took a huge weight off my shoulders. My levels are back down to where I was at 9 years ago, and I'm hopeful it keeps sliding with these changes.
This is just a reminder that not every bit of progress is visible on a scale, in a mirror, on your fork, number of plates, or reps in your set. Not everything is immediate or easily measured, but it's just as important to stick with it anyway (and to make sure you're accounting for all your calories when you're not seeing changes).
