Bodybuilding Forums

History:
25 weeks of modified Atkins diet
protein and saturated fat and 40-80 grs of net carbs
breakfast: 2 eggs, 3 egg whites, piece of high fiber toast, 2 teaspoons of MCT
lunch: 3.3 oz baked chicken, 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil
dinner: 3.3 oz baked chicken, 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil
(sometimes substitute half can of red salmon and wasabi mayonnaise)
In between these 4 hours I eat a bag of brocolli and cauliflower and 2000 mg of BCAA's.
30 gr protein shake for post workout at 5am.

and crazy oinker pig outs on a carb up day (too much)

Did a major physical to see where I am at because of this:
blood sugar is 75
Total cholestrol 196
LDL 112
HDL 74

triglycerides 52

Blood pressure:
114/60

Anyway, these are considered inside normal limits by my doctor. But I'm interested in any insights from you guys.

JohnOregon wrote:History:
25 weeks of modified Atkins diet
protein and saturated fat and 40-80 grs of net carbs
breakfast: 2 eggs, 3 egg whites, piece of high fiber toast, 2 teaspoons of MCT
lunch: 3.3 oz baked chicken, 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil
dinner: 3.3 oz baked chicken, 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil
(sometimes substitute half can of red salmon and wasabi mayonnaise)
In between these 4 hours I eat a bag of brocolli and cauliflower and 2000 mg of BCAA's.
30 gr protein shake for post workout at 5am.

and crazy oinker pig outs on a carb up day (too much)

Did a major physical to see where I am at because of this:
blood sugar is 75
Total cholestrol 196
LDL 112
HDL 74

triglycerides 52

Blood pressure:
114/60

Anyway, these are considered inside normal limits by my doctor. But I'm interested in any insights from you guys.

Blood sugar is on the low end of normal, which is to be expected with the diet. LDL is a sneeze high but not enough that I'd give a tenth of a damn. Below 100 is considered ideal, over 130 is borderline and not until over 160 is there an actual problem). HDL and trig's are bloody awesome - HDL should be over 60 which you've knocked out of the park. Triglycerides should be under 150, which you're a third of, which is good since trigs can cause athersclerosis (like in the good vs bad lipids, trigs get to be supervillains). Your blood pressure is a little on the low side, which in a healthy adult is a sign of excellent cardiovascular health.

Basically, we get to add you to the mountain of evidence that low carb is the way to go for weight loss, weight maintenance, muscle growth, overall health, and cardiovascular health.

Thanks JoH. I was hoping you would look at this.

Your HDL is great. Your Trigs are super low. This combo means that it's likely that your LDL is fine, almost regardless of the number (additional empahsis on almost).

Personally, I don't see how you can go much lower than 112 LDL on a healthy diet of sat fats and adequate protein. Mine is much higher than that, and I'm not concerned about it.

It matters what kind of LDL you have. LDL being 'bad' is a big mistake. It's true that many times "high LDL" has been associated with CVD, but that can be (in some circumstances) an unfair association to LDL. In other words, it's not LDL's "fault" per se.

If you get a VAP test, and it reveals that you have predominantly large, buoyant type A particles, you are likely in good shape. And what is the strongest correlation marker for Pattern A LDL? High HDL, Low Trigs. It's not 100% fool proof, but pretty close.

If it reveals that you have predominantly small, dense LDL particles (pattern B), you will need to take a serious look at your diet, as something is causing your LDL particles to become much more prone to oxidative damage and therefore you would be at a higher risk for heart disease.

What are the best ways to raise HDL safely? Coconut Oil, Egg Yolks, Butter, Ghee.

What's the best way to ensure low Trigs? Don't overindulge on the carbs, especially fructose and grains. But it is unlikely that starch options like potato or rice will cause high trigs, since that break down as almost pure glucose, which does not go through your liver. If you are eating well, with plenty of healthy sat fats and quality protein, then some dietary glucose will be correctly metabolized and you can continue to pack on muscle and lose fat. I know, because I have done it now for 10 months and continue to do it.

Be careful with the "high LDL" mish mash. The numbers that we have come to believe are 'normal' and 'high' are based on very faulty ideas. This is a scorching hot topic right now in the nutrition world. Some super intelligent people are digging in deep to find the real deal truth about LDL's role in cholesterol health. It's quite complicated, and we still don't have all the pieces to the puzzle yet.

Thanks Vega.
I'm basically not eating any fruit or fructose and only recently I've replaced the piece of toast with breakfast (eggs and whites and mct oil stuff) with black beans.

It's good to be alive!