One of many things that I don't understand is why my LDL nearly doubled in a 9 month span when I hadn't really changed my diet all that much. In June 2014 - 5 months into my LCHF experience - my LDL was 129. It had actually improved over what it was 3 months earlier. At the time I was eating less than 30 net carbs per day and losing weight at a crazy fast rate. I lost 50 pounds the in first 3 months and I continued to lose more than 10 pounds a month for several months after that. Yes - I had a lot to lose. But I was clearly operating at a significant caloric deficit. In June 2014 I was burning loads of my own fat, but the LDL was still OK.
Fast forward 9 months to March 2015. My LDL came in at 250. That almost gave my doctor a heart attack. In the months leading into that checkup I was still losing at a nice clip, but well under 10 pounds a month at that point.
What changed in that 9 month period? Here are a few things that I can think of...
1) My carbs might have been a little higher in the early months on the diet. I wasn't tracking my food. Perhaps I was simply eating more carbs than I thought that I was.
2) My insulin resistance was resolved or at least significantly improved. Between December 2014 and February 2015 my FBG normalized (dropping from around 110 to the upper 70's low 80's)
3) I was eating less frequently. I wasn't snacking between meals or in the evening anymore. I was getting a 12 hour fast in almost daily -- with a few 18 and 23 hour fasts tossed in for good measure.
4) I was eating far fewer calories in March 2015. I was eating less than the normal BMR of a typical lean person my height and making up the rest with my own body fat. Early on in the diet I was eating more calories, but I also had a much higher BMR at the time.
5) By June 2014 I had started a regular walking routine. But I had not been doing it very long, I wasn't walking everyday, and the duration was quite short compared to the daily walking I was doing by March 2015. Walking - nothing more - was my main form of exercise for the first 2 years on this WOE.
I really have no solid explanation for why my LDL doubled. I suspect that it had something glucose availability and my energy needs. There seems to be a fine line with me and carbs. If I eat too few carbs an alternative source of energy kicks in and it is delivered on LDL particles.
I've tested my lipids after a 4 day fast. My LDL had shot up over what it had been just a few weeks earlier. I looked up studies on fasting effects on LDL. Not surprisingly, LDL rises significantly in most people during a fast, peaking at about day 3. Is high LDL from a fast unhealthy? If not, then why would it be unhealthy when I eat very low carb? I don't think that it is a problem, personally. My doctor thinks otherwise. So my dilemma is... do I aim to please my doctor. I can make my LDL do what she wants. Or do I forget about the LDL issue and eat LCHF the way that I want to. More carbs does put me at risk for gaining weight. I'm leaning towards just eating how I want to eat and letting my LDL fall wherever it may. I only see my doctor once a year.
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Originally Posted by whynot18
Thank you so much, Ken! Your reply makes me feel a lot better. I will bump up my fiber intake.
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You are welcome. This super high LDL thing does not seem to happen with everyone. I'm not sure why. But when it happens to you it is alarming. Dangerous? I still don't know for sure. But I know it was hard to find answers after it happened to me. Advice like "Don't worry about it" was insufficient. Since then I've learned a lot more. I'm more comfortable about all of this now, but I can't say that I'm totally at ease.
One tip about the fiber... ease into it. Adding loads of fiber to my diet all at once really clogged up my system for a while. After a few weeks things normalized. Still, laying that first egg was tough and a little painful. I was sort of expecting the other problem. That's not what happened though.