Cholesterol Going Up???

I went on Lipitor about 8 months before my surgery.  My surgeon said to stop taking it when I was discharged from the hospital.   Im so confused as to why my cholesterol is going up! I eat 1 egg 1-2 times a week and beef once every 2-3 weeks. My nutritionist said to eat the egg, not egg beaters.

            3 month             6 month

Chol.        199.                    207

LDL.          136.                   144

HDL.            40.                     45

at least my HDL is going up, but I'm so disappointed in the cholesterol results.  I thought they'd be going down.   I have my 6 mth appt with my surgeon next week, but was curious if anyone else had this issue.

are you eating foods that have a beneficial effect on cholesterol? Like olive oil, tree nuts, avocados, fatty fish, rolled oats/oat bran? Another thing -- I've found that cheese is the food that has the worst effect on my cholesterol levels. Much more than red meat.

I've never had high cholesterol until after my weight loss surgery.  I think the increase is due to the large amount of fat our bodies are releasing to fuel us when we are eating only 600 calories a day!  Once I was past the weight loss phase and into maintenance, the cholesterol levels began falling again.  My last appointment, they didn't even mention it, so I'm guessing they were back to normal. 

My doctor wanted to treat it, and I said I'd like to wait to see if it came down by itself, and I'm glad I did. 

Carol

Hi,

IRL, I work with cholesterol numbers quite a bit.  And, personally, my cholesterol numbers went up at the 3 month check and then back down to their usual (not very impressive) selves at 6 mo.

A few tidbits:

--hdl frequently goes down when you are in active weight loss and then typically improves once you plateau at a lower weight.  I am impressed (and a little jealous) that yours went up already.

--LDL might go down with weight loss but it frequently doesn't go down as much as most people think.  It depends on the patient's genetics.  My LDL when I weighed 140lbs is the same as it was recently when I weighed about 208 lbs.  Many people know someone whose LDL plummeted with weight loss--but they are genetic outliers.

-- Your 1 to 2 eggs a week (even with the yolk) are not problematic.

-- Your LDL at 6 mo vs 3 months are not significantly different from one another.  Yes, it trended up which is maddening but it might be natural fluctuation.  

-- While I don't know exactly what you eat, I know that you are likely eating less foods that can be helpful for LDL.  For example, nuts and soluble fiber (oatmeal, legumes, veges, fruit, etc)  

-- Your LDL usually isn't a measure of whether you are doing something wrong or right.  Genetics are at the root of it.  Some people get more of a bang out of lifestyle changes.  But, most of us get more modest results.  

~Shel

Thanks!   I'm eating very low carb so no oatmeal, no legumes, only a little fruit and I have a handful of tree nuts once a week (when my allergic husband isn't around).  I do have veggies at least twice a day.  I cook with olive oil.   I'm going to try cutting back on the cheese.  But I could be doomed genetically.   My dad went on cholesterol medicine in his early 20s.   

Cholesterol is more complicated than people actually thought. There are two types of LDL: it can come in small, sticky particles that stick to your arteries and cause heart problems, or it can come in large, fluffy particles that are not a problem (they think). So just knowing your LDL number is not all that helpful, actually. 

Triglycerides, actually, are a far better indicator of heart health and those usually go down with a low carb diet.

Also, contrary to what doctors thought for a long time, eating cholesterol doesn't really have anything to do with cholesterol in your blood. I know it's a little counter-intuitive, but increasingly we are understanding that is the case. 

Could be cheese - mine went from 285 - pre surgery to 179 currently : D  no meds

When I weighed 250 lbs. I never had cholesterol problems.  Ever since surgery two years ago by cholesterol has remained between 200-220.  I have a high HDL level and slightly elevated LDL level (that's new too since surgery).  

I eat lots of nuts and avocadoes.  I'm trying to cut back on whole eggs and cheese while eating less beef (tough in cattle country Nebraska).  We'll see if it comes down in 6 months.  

Tracy, eating fat and cholesterol does not raise the blood cholesterol. 

eating less beef, or eggs, or cheese - will not help your cholesterol. 

how they were prepared (fried, grilled, vs saute, or boiled ) have much more to do with the blood cholesterol. (trans fats, vs natural fats)

the omega 6 in vegetable oils - is real problem. 

But as long as your HDL is high - you don't need to worry about LDL if it is slightly elevated. 

Triglycerides - are the thing you need to be worry about.   

My triglycerides are super low - between 50-70. I don't use vegetable oil for anything but will keep an eye on the fried/grilled items.