My Cholesterol Numbers Since Starting Atkins

[timco]

I just found a couple of old blood tests and was really shocked to see how my cholesterol numbers have changed since starting Atkins. Here goes:

7/26/02 - Blood Test #1
Weight: 210lbs
Total Cholesterol: 167
LDL: (can't find on page)
HDL: 28
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio: 6.0
Triglycerides: 428

9/7/02 - Started Atkins
Weight: 215lbs

9/25/02 - Blood Test #2
Weight: 203lbs
Total Cholesterol: 191
LDL: 141
HDL: 38
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio: 5.0
Triglycerides: 58

4/4/03 - Blood Test #3
Weight: 175lbs
Total Cholesterol: 177
LDL: 110
HDL: 59
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio: 3.0
Triglycerides: 40

7/15/03 - Current
Weight: 154lbs

Will go for another blood test after I hit my goal weight (150lbs). Pretty friggin' dramatic results though, right? Man, it sent chills down my spine looking back and seeing an HDL of 28!

[tagcaver]

Wow!:dazzle: Those are really fantastic results! That gives me something to look forward to in Sept. when I get my blood work done.

Joan

[yellowman]

Holy crap, that's awesome! Here's my sorry results:

5/14/03: Total: 222
HDL: 34
LDL: 150
Triglycerides: 191
Cholesterol/HDL ratio: 6.5

Started Atkins 5/23/03

07/02/03: Total: 236
HDL: 34
LDL: 178
Triglycerides: 122
Cholesterol/HDL ratio: 6.9

Doc is dying to put me Lipitor. Actually, he was a real jerk about it so I fired him=)

Seeing your numbers gives me hope. I was taken a ton of supplements, but dumped a lot of them. New plan is just to do Atkins and see what kind of ratio I can work out by the time I get to maintenance (maybe 40% fat 30% carbs 30%protein?). Just started a running program as well. I'm not rechecking my lipids until I've been on maintenance for 3 to 6 months though.

Out of curiosity, what ratio of food do you eat now (percentage of carbs/protein/fat) and how much do you exercise? Do you still consume a moderate amount of saturated fat, or did you trend toward mono's and poly's?

[timco]

yellowman,

One important aspect to the improvement in my numbers has no doubt been exercise. I lift weights for an hour 3x/week and do cardio for an hour 3-4x/week.

Since starting Atkins, I have really kept my diet well within the Induction limit of 20g of carbs/day (besides the occasional - once every several weeks - that I'll just go nuts and load up on carbs), and even now as I approach my goal weight, I am in no rush to raise that carb number. The remainder of what I eat is a variety of meats and a lot of eggs. Given the fact I eat the egg with the yolk and do often have beef, I think my diet would be considered pretty high in cholesterol and saturated fat.

From what I have read, I think it is good that you have resisted your doctors urges to put you on statins (ie. Lipitor). Sounds like you have read enough to know why that was a good decision.

If you care to share, I would love to hear what you have been eating and perhaps I might have some advice to give. Also, tell me some other stats like male/female, approximate age, how much exercise you currently get as well as your height.

Tim

[yellowman]

Tim,
Thanks for the response. In my sig, you'll find the link to my fitday diary. I was up to 50 carbs two weeks ago, but had a weekend cheat, back to 20 carbs for a week, then another weekend cheat. So, this week I am on 20 carbs, but will increase to 50 by this weekend as I have lost all the weight that I gained.

I'm 26 male (got the young male metabolic thing on my side)and 6' 2.5". Been on Atkins since 5/23. Probably will be about 180 by Friday, which is why I am rapidly transitioning back into pre maintenance. Goal weight is 175, which would put me at a BMI of 22.5 .

I just started a 10 week running program that Frederick posted a while back. My plan is to be able to run 45 to 60 min 4x week, then start lifting, not necessarily to get huge but more toned and stronger.

Basically, since I am on 20 carbs this week (until Friday anyway) I've been eating:

Breakfast: 2-3 boiled eggs and 1/2 avocado, or bacon/ham instead

Lunch: Salad + meat (tuna, ham or whatever is in the fridge) and olive oil or blue cheese dressing. Sometimes I have shredded cheese as well.

Snack: 1/2 cup of almonds, macadamias or a combination of both.

Dinner: Since I've been working 60 hour weeks, I've been eating a La Tortilla tort with meat +cheese, and celery with cream cheese.

Dessert: Michelob Ultra when I get home :doah: Alcohol doesn't stall me, and could give me up to a 10 percent increase in HDL as well. I enjoy 1 to 2 drinks, but beyond that I do not care to drink. Probably will do some red wine once carbs are upped a little more as well.

Once I'm back on higher carbs, I'll add back in yogurt (there's a long discussion on that in the general forum)

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=81871&highlight=yogurt

, some berries and more veggies. I eat some frankenfoods from time to time, as they do not seem to stall me (keto spaghetti, carbsense pizza crust. I also will so some more creative cooking when I can add in more carbs as well.

Thanks for all the advice!

[timco]

yellowman,

So, I just had a disturbingly intimate look at your life over the past couple of months in your fitday journal. You don't seem to be having any problem w/weight loss, so all my advice is going to be directed towards improving your cholesterol numbers. Here is my take on things:

It seems like you started out pretty well food wise, but then you started adding a lot of those "frankenfoods" into your diet. Interestingly enough, you seemed to have phased these things out a few days after your blood test. Coincidence?

Anyway, I think that your diet has gotten a lot better since your bloodtest and my guess would be that if you were to take it again today, you would notice some improvement in your numbers. What I think you've been doing right is

1) getting rid of the frankenfoods (not sure if there is anything inherently bad about them, they are just taking the place of some much healthier things that you could be eating)

2) Eating eggs. I would continue eating 2-3 eggs/day as they are one of the few foods that have been shown to raise HDL levels (they raise LDL too, but the increase in HDL is far greater). Also, look for eggs with omega-3s in them (more on omega-3s in a bit), which you should be able to find in a supermarket or healthfood store.

3) Eating Almonds. Another great nutrition choice. At least 2oz/day. Only downside is the calories.

So that is all great and should be kept up. Here are some improvements that I think will help:

1) Unless you are taking a fish oil/essential oils supplement, you are getting little to no omega-3s in your diet. I know you eat tuna, but that isn't really an abundant source of the stuff. So I would advise taking an essential oils omega-3 supplement AND adding salmon AND adding omega-3 eggs to your diet.

2) Check what kind of oil is used in the salad dressings that you use. If it is anything but olive or canola oil I would consider ditching it.

3) Sacrifice elsewhere, but start drinking red wine right away. Great for your heart, great for your cholesterol. If it is a dry red, you really don't have to worry about carb count. Cut back on the Michelob Ultra if you have to, though I don't have a problem with the beer, it's just not going to help your cholesterol like the wine will.

4) Start exercising NOW! Your running plans are great, but only if you follow them. That sounds like a fairly rigorous regimen considering your current activity level. Yes, that is a great goal to work up to. But the fact is that 30 minutes/day of brisk walking will have a very positive impact on your choleterol as well, and that is something you can do each and every day.

So that is a start. I think if you really focus on improving your lipid profile that you will be able to do so fairly dramatically. Don't let that first blood test bum you out. Just look at it as a good motivator to keep things in line.

Hope that helps. Good luck,

Tim