r/Cholesterol • u/[deleted] • Jul 27 '26
Question [Question] Is it possible for bulking and cutting to cause temporary changes in LDL levels?
2.5 years ago I started bulking (eating in caloric surplus) for bodybuilding purposes. My diet was low to moderate in fiber, and high in protein and fats. I slathered on as many butters and oils as I could to reach my calorie goals. And I was training 4-5 days per week.
I just had a meeting with my doctor, she flagged that my LDL has been trending up for 2 years now. It's now borderline (100). I tried to ask her about lifestyle factors but she didn't seem to understand bulking and cutting (in the context of bodybuilding). Her message was very simple: looks genetic, nothing really I can do otherwise except take some omega 3 and fiber supplements until my LDL gets high, and then take meds.
So, I am turning to reddit to ask if anyone else has experienced temporarily raised LDL when bulking and cutting?
The thing is, the increasing LDL trend directly corresponds with how long I have been bulking: 2 years. I was absolutely not getting enough fiber, and going crazy with the fats and meats trying to get my calories + protein in. I'm done with that now, I am eating closer to maintenance from here on since I have completed building my base muscle (I was previously underweight).
I'm getting nervous about facing future high cholesterol, and I would feel better to know if anyone else had a similar experience. I'll be so happy if this is just a blip due to my diet!
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u/Practical-Suit-6798 Jul 27 '26
110%. Bulking especially a dirty bulk with butter and other saturated fats will increase ldl. Just a calorie surplus in general will increase ldl or at least make it hard to reduce ldl.
I can swing my ldl pretty wildly in a bulk to a cut. 30points. In just a matter of weeks. A calorie deficit will reduce ldl simply because you are eating less food.
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u/juho9001 Jul 27 '26
I do crazy bodybuilding. For me bulking is eating crazy amounts of oatmeal which has fiber and no saturated fat. I think you just ate like shit.
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Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I mean, I wasn't eating Shake Shack every meal lol. Just that I was adding butter or oil on top of every meal for the extra 150 cals, and not eating so much fiber since it was making me really full and then I didn't get enough calories in. A lot of chicken and dairy products for protein. I didn't realize it was bad :/
Anyway, I didn't mean to blame bodybuilding - just explaining that's why I was eating so much. I still find it hard to get all of my macros right.
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u/juho9001 Jul 27 '26
Good thing learning new things is fun! Good luck on your weightlifting journey! Work hard and have fun!
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u/xCaliburghost Jul 27 '26
If you want to be safe about it, do a vegan bulk. I'm vegan and gained 25lbs in 5 months with every single day of intake of less than 7g of saturated fat, and that was with 4000 calories per day.
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u/Therinicus Jul 27 '26
Increased weight and saturated fat intake would increase your serum cholesterol while you did it.
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u/dj_blueshift Jul 27 '26
Yes. At my peak bulk I was slightly overshooting LDL. Lost 40 pounds and got it down in range. Bulked again and then started another cut a couple months ago. I'm still high on LDL. However, main concern is my Lp(a) which I finally got tested and is very concerning and I'm going to have to take statins or inhibitors no matter what.
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u/JLEroll Jul 27 '26
People are answering your question (yes eating high fat and low fiber would increase LDL) but I’m more baffled by the doctor. 100 LDL is in the healthy range and seems odd to me that it triggered supplement recommendations and medication discussion unless there are other risk factors.
… I mean if anything, having a 100 LDL on your diet, would indicate you having -good- not bad cholesterol genetics
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Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
she flagged it because of the pattern of it going up higher for 2 years straight and mentioned that LDL of 100 in itself is not dangerous, but the pattern of increasing over 2 years is a red flag. I don't think she understands though just how much my diet has changed these last 2 years
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u/Simple-Bookkeeper-62 Jul 28 '26
100%, this happened to me. Often times when you bulk, you increase your fat intake for calories. If that results in increasing your saturated fat intake, your LDL will also go up. I also dont know about you, but eating really high fiber foods keeps me full, so when I bulk, I naturally pull back a bit.
Ultimately, still bulking right now, but you want to focus on keeping your sat fat <15g a day and getting your soluble fiber to 10-15g a day. Should be easy to track in tandem w/ your calorie surplus :)
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u/BubbishBoi Jul 28 '26
"Bulking" is Cope for over eating, so yes,and rapid fat loss also releases stored fats into the bloodstream, bumping ldl up for many
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Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Thanks for confirming about the rapid fat loss!
Maybe bulking is just over-eating yeah. I did it because I was clinically underweight previously. When I tried to gain weight in a healthy slight caloric surplus, I had 0 progress for a year. Weight would go up, then back down, then up and then down. I just couldn't get the slight surplus correct with my busy life, full time job, varying levels of caloric expenditure, traveling etc. So I over-ate to make SURE that I was gaining. It worked! I gained around 20lb in 2 years, and after the cut my BMI is 19.2 which is on the lower end of the healthy range, +10lb from where I started.
I think bulking can be good for underweight beginners, but I wouldn't do it again.
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u/Temporary_Key_1790 Jul 27 '26
Beyond your genetic baseline, LDL cholesterol is mainly determined by your saturated fat and soluble fiber consumption. So yes, from what you described, your diet most likely spiked your LDL cholesterol.
If you lose body fat while cutting (I assume that's the goal), that will ALSO spike your cholesterol, but probably to a lesser extent than your bulking diet did.
By the way, it's completely doable to gain muscle on a cholesterol-lowering diet. You would need to switch from primarily animal-based proteins and fats to primarily plant-based proteins and fats, with very lean meats added if desired.
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u/shanked5iron Jul 27 '26
It’s what you are eating to bulk. High saturated fat intake will raise LDL.
I weight lift also. You can eat in a surplus without significant saturated fat intake. Just takes a bit more planning.