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Original poster

My cholesterol is REALLY high - can i fix this?

135 replies

CholesterolHelp · 23/04/2026 19:47

I just got blood work results & my cholesterol is 11.2. 🙁

My GP wrote in the report that i need to really critically look at my diet & then retest in 4 to 6 weeks.

I am 56, 5ft 9" & currently weigh 12 13. I was 14 5 last year & i have worked v hard to lose the weight. Target weight is 11 13.

My typical day of eating looks like:

Porridge (made 2 thirds water, 1 third low fat milk). In the past week i've added chia seeds & 3 chopped walnuts as they're supposed to help cholesterol

A coffee & glass of water (i used to have fresh orange juice but have cut it out)

Midmorning - a coffee with low fat milk

Lunch: homemade vegetable soup - this varies - spiced moroccan tomato & chickpea, roast root veg, carrott & ginger, minestrone (beans no pasta), veg & red lentil etc
I usually have a slice of organic seeded sourdough with real butter (cut that out now)

Dinner - salmon with veg & new potatoes, chicken salad etc

I drink 1.5 ltrs water & cut out all the crap & 90% less alcohol. That's how i've lost 20lbs so far.

Now i have had the odd fuck it day where i've had a takeaway / wine but truthfully my diet is the best its been ever

I have added a daily benecol drink, ditched the red meat (rarely eat anyway) & the butter. Cheese was long gone to aid weight loss

Can i turn this around with diet? Has anyone here managed?

I'm worried now

OP posts:
GreenCandleWax · 23/04/2026 20:03

CholesterolHelp · 23/04/2026 19:53

Would you cut out fish? And chicken?

I love beetroot & eat the steamed vacuum pack ones regularly in salads. I will look for juice

Thanks!

No need to cut out fish or chicken - both low fat high grade protein. You can avoid the chicken skin maybe.

Original poster
CholesterolHelp · 23/04/2026 20:02

She did say if no change as a result of diet in 4 - 6 weeks then we're looking at statins.

I eat as outlined the majority of the time for approx a year (that's how i lost 20lbs)

I have had the odd thursday night 'i'm exhausted, lets have a takeaway' but not so often as to impact weight loss signifcantly

My last reading, admittedly a few years ago was 6.5 or thereabouts

So i am now feeling terrified since that email came in

OP posts:
BridgetJonesV2 · 23/04/2026 20:00

High cholesterol can be genetic as well as diet related. Get on a statin before you have a heart attack, seriously.

I'm type 2 diabetic with higher cholesterol than the diabetic nurse was happy with - mine went from 4.9 to 3.1 in a month.

ItsEitherAMasterpieceOrADisasterpiece · 23/04/2026 19:59

Google qrisk3 and input your details (ignore standard deviation of two BP readings). If your risk is above 10% you should be offered statins to reduce the risk of CVD.

How much alcohol do you. Currently drink? That, along with weight, hugely affects cholesterol levels. It’s great you’ve lost so much weight already, and have reduced alcohol and now cut out butter, but it can take 3 months for real changes to show so, if butter was a recent thing to cut out and you used to eat a fair bit, that may not show until your next blood test.

Do you know what your triglycerides and ratio are?

shamalidacdak · 23/04/2026 19:58

Honestly, you should get your thyroid tested, cholesterol levels can be elevated with untreated thyroid issues and sometimes it’s not related to food at all

mantez · 23/04/2026 19:57

Statins seem to be for you. Your diet is very reasonable from what I can see. There's doesn't seem to be all that much you can change really. Did GP give any diet advice? I'd imagine you are one of those people whose cholesterol is high and nothing will prevent it (familial, hereditary etc.). Did you have OK readings up to recently? If so, then it's not that! So back to the drawing board....

You must be puzzled as to how it's so high, unless you're not telling us about everything in your daily/weekly food intake 😊

Ohpleeeease · 23/04/2026 19:57

That diet does not sound like a high cholesterol diet. You may just be someone with naturally high cholesterol which needs managing with medication.

Beachwalker66 · 23/04/2026 19:57

Has doctor not talked about statins?

Original poster
CholesterolHelp · 23/04/2026 19:53

Would you cut out fish? And chicken?

I love beetroot & eat the steamed vacuum pack ones regularly in salads. I will look for juice

Thanks!

OP posts:
VestPantsandSocks · 23/04/2026 19:50

I think your choloesterol is coming from the animal based fats. Trying switching to a low fat, veggie diet.

I believe beetroot juice helps reduce cholesterol.