What Happened After I Changed My Diet for 3 Months Following a High Cholesterol Diagnosis
At last year’s health checkup, my LDL came back at 178, and I got a text saying I needed to get retested. I just let it go back then, and this year it was 175 again. Eventually, I decided to try sticking to diet alone for 3 months before starting medication, so I started.
I made three main changes.
1. Stopped buying breakfast (I used to have a convenience store sandwich + coffee)
2. Limited fried food/pork belly to once a week or less
3. Walked 30 minutes a day (got off one stop early on my commute)
I didn’t start a new workout routine—I just changed my route—so I think it helped a lot that it didn’t feel like a burden.
The result was LDL 142 after 3 months. It’s still not in the normal range, but it definitely went down. My doctor also said to keep monitoring it without medication for now.
That said, the first month was really hard. Especially late-night snacks. I couldn’t sleep because I was hungry, and resisting that was the toughest part. I’ve adjusted a bit now.
If any of you are managing similar numbers, please share some diet tips. I’m especially curious about what you choose when eating out.
3 answers
Whoa, dropping over 30 in 3 months means you did great lol. Not buying breakfast really seems to make a huge difference. I stopped getting convenience store sandwiches too, and it definitely helped.
Well, that’s a bit… An LDL of 175 is already pretty high, and bringing it down to 142 with a 3-month diet is good, but honestly, when genetics are a major factor, there are plenty of cases where sticking to diet alone just wastes time. If you miss the window to start medication, damage may already have accumulated in your blood vessels. It’s true the doctor said to monitor it, but if it doesn’t come in under 130 at the next checkup, it might be better to start medication without hesitation. Personally, I think changing your exercise route was a really smart approach.
Resisting late-night snacks is the hardest part ㅠㅠ For me, replacing them with boiled eggs or soy milk made it at least bearable. When eating out, I always go for grilled dishes and ask for the sauce on the side so I can dip just a little.