If you're carrying excess weight, losing those extra pounds will do more than make you look better. It can help lower your cholesterol, too. Being overweight puts you at risk for having high LDL, "bad" cholesterol, and low HDL, "good" cholesterol. And that puts you at risk for more health problems, including heart disease. A well-balanced diet featuring a variety of healthy foods can help you shed pounds. But before you start any new diet, consult your doctor.
Identification
Cholesterol isn't all bad. You need some of this substance to keep healthy. Your liver and other cells produce about 75 percent of it, according to the Mayo Clinic. But the other 25 percent comes from food -- specifically animal products. By limiting your intake of meat and dairy products, you can minimize the amount of cholesterol you ingest. But you don't want to lose the nutritional benefits these foods offer, including protein and calcium. Instead, look for lower-fat versions, such as skim milk or lean cuts of beef, suggests the American Dietetic Association.
Function
To lose weight and, as a result, lower cholesterol, requires watching your calorie intake along with watching what you eat. No matter how balanced your diet, you won't lose weight if you're consuming more calories than you're burning. To lose a pound, you need to burn an excess of 3,500 calories, according to CaloriesPerHour.com. To lose weight in a steady, consistent manner, aim for about 1 to 2 lbs. a week. By cutting an extra 500 calories a day -- consuming fewer calories or incorporating more physical activity in your daily routine -- you can lose 1 lb. a week. By cutting 1,000 excess calories each day, you'll lose 2 lbs. a week.
Time Frame
Rather than eating three big meals a day, break the same amount of food into five or six small, healthy ones, suggests the Mayo Clinic. This helps regulate your blood sugar so you don't get ravenously hungry between meals and overeat. Your small meals, or snacks, should revolve around fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins and minerals. They, like whole-grain snacks, contain heart-healthy fiber, which keeps you feeling full and also reduces cholesterol.
Expert Insight
The National Cholesterol Education Program of the U.S. National Institutes of Health recommends The Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet. It focuses on reducing the amount of saturated fat, which elevates your cholesterol, in your daily meals. Among the diet's suggestions: Replace most of the animal fat in your diet with unsaturated fat, especially monounsaturated oils, such as olive, canola or peanut oil. Monounsaturated fat lowers LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, when substituted for saturated fat. It also boosts HDL, the "good" cholesterol.
Benefits
By losing weight and lowering your cholesterol, expect to experience many health benefits. High cholesterol puts you at risk for building up fatty deposits, called plaque, in your arteries, according to the Mayo Clinic. That causes them to narrow or become blocked, which reduces the blood flow through your body, As a result, that increases your chances of a heart attack or stroke. By losing weight, you decrease your risk of type 2 diabetes, which leads to circulatory problems. Serious circulatory issues can result in amputation and also increase your risk of cardiac disease.
References
- American Heart Association: About Cholesterol
- American Dietetic Association: It's About Eating Right
- Mayo Clinic: Snacks: How They Fit Into Your Weight-Loss Plan
- National Institutes of Health: National Cholesterol Education Program
- Mayo Clinic: Statins: Are These Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Right For You?
- CaloriesPerHour: What It Takes to Lose a Pound
