I had to do blood work for an insurance. Today I called the doctor to check results and she told me that my total cholesterol - 6.1 mmol/L and LDL levels are - 4.25 mmol/L are both on higher side. I have been on IF pretty much everyday for past 4-5 months (16-8 or 20-4) eat mostly healthy food, cut alcohol, and do 2-3 day long fasts once a month. I have lost close to 16kgs from my starting weight( M, 185 Cm, SW ~90 kg, CW 74 KG). I am confused coz I thought my blood work would be good. I am overthinking or does fasting genuinely lead to higher cholesterol/LDL levels ? As I don’t have a blood work before beginning fasting, I am not sure if I getting better or getting worse ( from cardiovascular perspective) Thank You!
Pay more attention to your HDL to triglyceride ratio. Total cholesterol and LDL aren’t actually the best predictors of cardiovascular health. Basing this recommendation off of Talks by Dr. Pradip Jamnadas where he reviews research on cholesterol in regards to risks of heart disease.
If you are burning a lot of fat very quickly, your cholesterol will spike due to what cholesterol does in the body. However, stop fasting a few days before your blood work to ensure you are within the ranges recommended.
>I am confused coz I thought my blood work would be good.
Eating ONLY vegetables, salad and fat meat while taking fish oil on a daily basis (1.5g of EPA and 1g DHA) has raised my HDL from 45 to 80 and dropped my LDL from 142 to 98, my triglycerides got crushed from 188 to 41, I lost 10kg by cutting my body fat in half (21% to 11%) while raising muscle to 44%, all in less than 8 months.
I don’t know what you or other people are doing, but coming here arguing you’ve done everything right but it doesn’t work sounds just ridiculous to me.
Maybe your eating window is indeed a cheating window, and I can’t blame you considering soda is cheaper than water and pizza counts as a vegetable in the US. However if you stick to a simple game plan (admittedly not so simple to pull off..) and keep going just long enough the results are definitely there, it’s like a sledgehammer to all your health problems.