Healthier Boy Evidenced By Blood Test

Well, I've been on Atkins for 2 months now, and have lost 26 pounds. My clothes fit better, and I have lots more energy.  I'm doing 20+ miles on the treadmill each week. I still have about 18 pounds to go to move into the BMI "normal" category, and I can see it is all around my gut. So I still have some work to do!

But here's the good news. My blood tests came back and I have the best lipid profile I've ever had. And that's on Atkins, eating eggs, cheese, meat and lots of fats. I do eat a lot of vegetables, and still have wine, but gone from my diet are bread, sugar, pasta, rice, potatoes and basically anything with a lot of carbs. I'm convinced through my research that carbs are the key to Triglycerides, at least with me.

So let's rewind.  Here are my March 2010 values (first ones after the heart attack):

cholesterol, total 173 mg/dl <200 (GOOD!)
HDL cholesterol 37 mg/dl >39 (CLOSE!)
cholesterol/hdl ratio 4.68 <5.00 (GOOD!)
LDL cholesterol, calculated (can not be calculated when the triglyceride exceeds 400 mg/dl).
triglyceride 712 mg/dl <150 (BAD!)

Here are my September 2011 Values (after over a year of drugs, but at 200+ lbs):
cholesterol, total 143 mg/dl <200 (10 pts improvement)
HDL cholesterol 47 mg/dl >39 (3 pts drop)
cholesterol/hdl ratio 3.04 <5.00 (good)
LDL cholesterol, calculated 49 <100 (good)
triglyceride 234 mg/dl <150 (creeping up!)

And here are my March 2012 Values:
cholesterol, total 143 mg/dl <200 (10 pts improvement)
HDL cholesterol 56 mg/dl >39 (9 pts raise, good)
cholesterol/hdl ratio 2.55 <5.00 (good)
LDL cholesterol, calculated 69 <100 (good)
triglyceride 90 mg/dl <150 (great!)

This is a fasting lipid profile. But here's what I had the day before:

- A 3-egg and cheese omelet for lunch

- Shrimp salad for supper

- And red wine

I'm still on a Statin for LDL, and a Fenofibrate for the Triglycerides, and you can see they are working quite well in combination with my weight and diet and exercise plan.

The LDL went up a bit, which was predicted with my diet. But HDL also went up and Triglycerides went way down, also predicted with someone on Atkins.

Can I do better? You bet. I am shifting more of my meat/cheese to lower saturated fats, and using more of the "good" fats. And as I continue to lose weight, I assume that my cholesterol and BP will improve.

My message to you all is the same: Check your Lipids at least one a year. And make sure you understand what they tell you and how to change your lifestyle or medical treatment to address them.

Healthily,

John