Thanks CMCM - great post. My numbers echo what you all have said. My LDL spiked with my last visit but I had been off plan for quite some time and had only been back on a couple months when I was tested. I had also been sidelined with knee issues and hadnt been doing much cardio and my HDL was down. I have noticed when I am regularly breaking a sweat my HDL rises pretty quickly. My Tirglycerides were around 60 and LDL high normal as was the total chol. I thought I would have to fight to stay off the statins but the doc said lets see what happens over the next six months. If it comes to that I will fight for the VAP testing. As I have gotten older, I have to watch calories as well as carbs, but I have found my magic combo... unprocessed low carb (under 40 gr with 90%+ from veggies) very limited dairy and under an average of 1600 calories and daily exercise. Totally agree with you, Rob on the flawed system, but I do think docs are slowly coming around. I used to have to battle every one of them and now I am finding them less certain of one way to do things and more apt to support you if what you are doing is working.