So . . . I’ve been on Keto since June 2017, when I weighed 208 (I am a male 5’4", just turned 59). I have been extremely disciplined in compliance with the WOE since then, and by about 10 months ago I reached 148 or so. My goal had been 129, and despite continued close observance of the rules, I’ve kept bouncing back and forth between 155 and 145. no matter how hard I try since then (I integrated intermittent fasting, too, but the best that does is bring me closer to 145, before I rise back up into the lower 150’s).
I am focused on my accomplishments and on the facts I have sustained my weightloss. I am happy I went from a nearly size 40 to a size 30 (size 29 on a good day). But my BMI still isn’t where I need to be, I still have weight my body refuses to lose, and it seems I am very slowly starting to regain weight (it’s now getting harder and harder to drop down into those 140’s from the low 150s), despite the fact my carb consumption is very low, my fats and protein are in decent proportion, and the keto sticks all show deepest purple.
Anyhow, this post is actually not about my personal discouragement with my current progress, but rather with my Cholesterol and sugar readings. I know there is a LOT posted in this forum, which I will take time to read and absorb (there is so much stuff about it, in fact, that it will take time, and I hope the membership doesn’t mind, in the meantime, that I post this, and get feedback).
When I first started with the WOE, my Lipid panel was:
HDL: 38
Overall Chol: 199
Triglycerides: 130
LDL: 135
Chol/HDL ratio: 5.2
My sugar was around 99
About 4 months into the WOE, here were my results:
HDL: 39
Overall Chol: 173
Triglycerides: 93
LDL: 115
Chol/HDL ratio: 4.4
My glucose was 95
A year later, the results were:
HDL: 48
Overall Chol: 232
Triglycerides: 134
LDL: 157
Chol/HDL ratio: 4.8
My glucose was 76
Yesterday, my results were:
HDL: 61
Overall Chol: 245
Triglycerides: 114
LDL: 161
Chol/HDL ratio: 4.0
My glucose was 98
I know that part of the vibe of people responding to cholesterol threads is “cholesterol is meaningless” and I am absorbing that into my analysis. I do find it quite telling that cholesterol’s smoking gun remains unfound, by many accounts, and that holds a lot of weight with me. But cholesterol also remains an important tool/predictor for coronary heart disease among a significant percentage of the medical community, and for that reason, I am interested in and curious to understanding the odd trajectory of my readings during my WOE.
Did you guys see how, 4 months in, my cholesterol actually dropped dramatically? Why would it first drop, THEN rise? If adding fat and removing carbs would push my body to go into one direction, what would cause it to go in another direction when the diet did not change?
One possibility: I was put on Allopurinol some time after my first lipid panel. Does allopurinol raise cholesterol levels?
Also, considering my consumption of carbs is so very very low, how can my glucose levels still be so borderline high?
As you all might imagine, I am keeping these results to myself and not sharing them with my family. If they were to learn of them, I would be under a lot of pressure to abandon this WOE, which would result in my regaining all my lost weight.
Thanks,
David