Day 3 of Mission to lower cholesterol

I started writing about my mission to lower my LDL cholesterol just over a year ago. My second update covered the progress after the first 5 months. In this update, I am sharing the progress since then.

Let me start by summarizing what I covered in the previous updates, though not in detail. I’ve been on a mission to reduce LDL cholesterol, starting from a high of 184 a year ago. The primary changes that have had an impact in the first five months was the change in diet — especially cutting back on saturated fat in any form. LDL dropped to 134, just above the normal range in 5 months, lower than what had been for several years. I was being very strict in managing saturated fat, and was also taking the Cholestoff supplement. Once my LDL dropped, over the last few months I wanted to change my lifestyle so that is more sustainable in the long term. I didn’t want to keep taking the Cholestoff, and I wanted to be able to give myself a cheat meal every so often.

In this update, I will share the result of the next phase of my experiment.

So, what changes did I implement since the last test? First, I stopped taking Cholestoff. I didn’t want to have to take pills — I wasn’t keen on statins, and I am not keen on Cholestoff either. However, I didn’t know if I could keep the LDL low if I wasn’t taking these pills.

Second, I let myself enjoy some snacks and meals that assuredly have high saturated fat. My goal here was to get to a point where I adapt my habits to reduce saturated fat, but still make the lifestyle sustainable for the long term. So, I’d let myself indulge in a snack every so often, and let myself enjoy a meal that I otherwise wouldn’t have. I didn’t go overboard either. For example, when we ordered pizza, I’d take a slice rather than eat just salads. These meals were still an exception. My breakfast remained consistently devoid of saturated fat: muesli, granola, blueberries, and non fat greek yoghurt.

I have also continued with a regular exercise schedule. Since I started on this path, I’ve dropped 18lbs, primarily in body fat.

What was the outcome after 6 months? My LDL more or less stayed flat, though my HDL cholesterol has gone up significantly, reducing the cholesterol to HDL ratio.

This level of LDL is something I am much less worried about, especially since the lifestyle is sustainable for me.

It has left me wondering though, what the impact will be if I did add Cholestoff without making any other changes. Will that reduce my cholesterol further? I’m curious enough to try it though lazy enough to not. So far, laziness is winning, but if it changes, I will provide an update from the results of the experiment.

My motivation for writing this is to document the impact of making lifestyle changes to reduce cholesterol, without resorting to statins, in the hope that it can provide some data to others looking to make similar changes.