Cholesterol is putting me in trouble

[OddTech]

Hi guys,

I have been bulking and cutting regularly (and enjoying the gains), but I realized that my cholesterol has gotten out of control (it's at 260). SH*T! It's so deceiving since I'm not even fat. Any guys have any idea how I could keep my cholesterol low and still go through bulking? Or should I just skip bulking and just concentrate on lowering my cholesterol? Please help.

 

[ESPN]

vitamin b5

 

[Shiftkey]

Telling us your diet would help. Eggs, red meat, and dairy can be high in cholesterol; not to mention fast food. 2 egg yolks alone is over your daily allowance.

 

[OddTech]

That's the problem, my food from bulking has an occassional fat from the meat, but I rarely go out to eat (like 2x a week). The key point is that I'm not visibly fat; I'm 5'7" and 145 lbs. The doctor said that my genetic is playing a big role and the only way to really reduce it is to do "high volume aerobic," and I said "NOOOOOO." I'm going to lose all my gains like this.

Here is my typical diet:

Breakfast:
Cereal with lowfat milk
1 cup protein shake (Optimum Nutri)

lunch:
Lean meat sandwich on a wheat roll (no mayo)
Juice or soda

Snack:
Anything I want, usually another lean meat sandwich

Dinner:
Homemade lasagna or pasta w/ wheat roll

Bedtime snack:
1 cup protein shake

Just to also let you know that I had a history of high cholesterol, around 220 before. But I was using aerobics to control that. Now that Diesel suggests "No cardio" for bulking, I think I'm having a hard time controlling my cholesterol. Just wanted to know if anybody had this problem. Later.

 

[Bud Fox]

Try Benecol. I know it sounds stupid but it seems to work.

 

[xyzzy]

The entire article is fairly informative, but this section might be useful.

You should also incorporate vegetables into your diet. Why? There is a calcium sulfite contained in vegetables that make them crisp. The body, in order to absorb it, actually reduces some of your stomach acid. The way the body replaces stomach acid is by removing cholesterol from your body.

Yes, you've always heard "eat your vegetables" to reduce cholesterol, but that is the reasoning behind it. Eat them raw or lightly steamed, or else youll zap the crispness out of them.

 

[Shiftkey]

Cholesterol and fat are two different things. Fat is actually very healthy in moderate amounts - cholesterol has no purpose as far as I know.

Judging by your diet your problem looks to be the result of bad genetics. Not much advice can be given other than to do cardio. Sorry man.

 

[DJ Girevik]

No cardio may make you look better, but it will turn your conditioning to crap. I'd start on some more medium-to-high intensity power cardio (I.E. fast mile runs, kettlebells (or kettlebell workouts with dumbbells), high rep olympic lifts, even Dance Dance Revolution) to go along with your lifting. You can still build muscle, and during the cutting phase you won't have to work as hard to shred the extra fat.

 

[DJ Girevik]

And with the high rep olympic lifts, they should be with heavy enough weight that you are about ready to drop dead after 5 sets of 10-15. Use good speed and as little bounce as possible if you use bumper plates.

 

[OddTech]

Originally posted by DJ Girevik
No cardio may make you look better, but it will turn your conditioning to crap. I'd start on some more medium-to-high intensity power cardio (I.E. fast mile runs, kettlebells (or kettlebell workouts with dumbbells), high rep olympic lifts, even Dance Dance Revolution) to go along with your lifting. You can still build muscle, and during the cutting phase you won't have to work as hard to shred the extra fat.

Hey DJ Girevik, thanks for your advice. Actually, thanks everybody for their advice. I have a question, how often should I do cardio? 3 times a week? everyday?

 

[DJ Girevik]

I'm not sure cuz I've never really gone on a strict fat loss/muscle maintenance regiment. I'd say 3 days though just to be safe, but if you feel like you can add more days, then do it. And keep the time limit down so that you don't eat up muscle. Are you still going to do strength building/bodybuilding routines too while doing cardio?