I have been busting my butt at the gym for a year... eating my veggies... chosing whole grains... pairing my protiens with my carbs... limiting my alcohol (except for last week)... AND MY CHOLESTEROL WENT UP!! It was 210 last year - 225 this morning. That is TOTAL CR@P!!
I mean really... what am I doing all this for? Yes - to lose weight - to look good... but MAINLY to be healthy. If I had the choice between looking good and being healthy... I DEFINITELY chose health.
THANKS A LOT MOM AND DAD! Darn genetics.
But I guess I am still lowering my risk for diabetes, heart disease, etc.
Anyways... The test this morning was very discouraging and I just need to move past it and keep moving forward.
Maybe your total cholesterol went up because you increased your good (HDL) cholesterol, which is not such a bad thing. There are things you can do to lower the LDL before resorting to statins. Good luck!
Just imagine what those numbers would have been WITHOUT all of your hard effort!?!?!?!?
You are doing the right thing AND you definitely are healthier overall. I am sorry the cholesterol test didn't go the right way. Did you talk to the doctor about it? Maybe there is some additional tweaks to your diet that can help change those numbers?
Thank you all for the support! It makes me feel better!!
I emailed the nutritionist at work to make an appointment to go over my food. My sister is getting married in three weeks... I am thinking about making it a goal to see how "perfect" I can be with my eating for the next three weeks?
I also was annoyed that my husband's total cholesterol number was lower than mine, as he wasn't trying to be healthy at all. The current best predictor of risk still appears to be the ratios within that number - As in: high HDLs and low LDLs. (if you end up needing treatment, the ratio isn't as important, they go by the actual numbers).
My total is something around 211, which seems a little high but the HDLs are really high and my Total/HDL ratio was so good (less than 3) that my doctor said she was jealous. My husband, on the other hand, has high LDLs and low HDLs, so even though his total number is lower, he has a much higher risk of cardiovascular problems.
Anyway, you might be just fine if you look at the breakdown of your total. Here is a chart of some of the general guidelines about risk related to cholesterol levels.
From what I've been reading, and I'm sorry I don't have any sources to cite, it seems that total cholesterol really doesn't mean much because there is not a strong correlation between total cholesterol and heart disease.
What is more important is HDL, which I understand should be higher than 60 for women; triglycerides, which should be lower than 150; and the Total/HDL ratio. Your HDL looks great, as does your Total/HDL ratio. Congrats on lowering your triglycerides. Keep up the good work and they'll be below 150 soon!
Please don't freak out about it - your numbers sound really good! We're getting inundated by pharm advertising that wants us to believe that this "magical" 200 number is right for everybody. It's not! There are so many more contributors to the risk for heart disease - 16 other ones, actually, but only that total cholesterol number represents the massive profit for the drug industry. Life Extension Foundation (lef.org) is a non-profit that picks apart these studies. Look up "the 17 Daggers of Heart Disease".
Don't forget also that the machines just aren't always that repeatable, and they aren't always calibrated like they should be. "Trust, but Verify".
Stupid Cholesterol
Good luck!
