I went to the doctor and my cholesterol is off the roof.
To be clear, this is my fault and in no way is IF in itself responsible for my cholesterol levels, but because I’ve lost more weight than I need to and my diet is overall healthy otherwise, I decided it would be ok if I ate half a pint of Ben and Jerry’s every night.
Just a reminder, I guess. Even if you can eat ice cream every night and still lose weight, it doesn’t mean you should.
I give going sugar free the credit for making IF a success for me when I did not do too well on it three years ago.
Many members of r/sugarfree report their cholesterol numbers coming rapidly down when they cut out foods or drinks containing added sugar.
Edit to add: For example, my total cholesterol in July ‘21 was 197, but went down to 184 in October while my LDL (bad) cholesterol went from 140 to 127. I’m getting new labs this week and can’t wait to see the results of another 4 months sugar free!
That’s interesting. My insanely high cholesterol is what kickstarted my weight loss journey. I assumed that would be enough. Will definitely do some research about the quality of food to get it low and keep it that way.
Disclaimer, ask your doctor etc. also, I know you’re not asking for advice. anyway, consider Psyllium husks (the capsules, not the drink), take with 8+ ounces of water every meal or take 2 or 3 at end of your eating window through your fasting close. 1) doing IF, lots of people don’t get enough fiber. 2) fiber is rarely bad 3) can help mitigate high cholesterol.
Yes, I know it can interact with some meds. That’s why I suggested he talk to his doctor.
Krill oil is great for lowering cholesterol by raising the good cholesterol. Physicians look at the ratio of good (HDL) to bad cholesterol (LDL) when considering your risk for strokes and MIs. So if you have a good amount of the “less sticky” cholesterol particles, your health outcomes are better :) Krill is a once a day instead of the 4 a day fish oil capsules. Confirm with your PCP of course though.
IF and CICO aren’t automatically synonymous with nutrition. Do I believe that certain genetic factors make it easier to develop high BP, cholesterol, etc? Yes! But ultimately nutrition can make or break you. Even at your lowest weight, you could still be skinny-fat. Add fiber into your diet. I prefer glucomannan as my supplemental fiber in addition to increasing veggies. Get rid of overly processed foods and added sugar completely for a month and see if that helps.
Do you exercise?