I have been doing Atkins for a few weeks now, and I decided to take a moment to analyze what I have been eating lately... I have added lots more fish to my menu, which is good. That being said, I figure I eat about a dozen eggs per week and I'll have bacon about 3 times per week as well.

Do you think I should be concerned about my cholesterol? Should I cut down on eggs? I should be getting blood work done in about 1.5 month and I'd rather not change anything (to really see), unless I know its harmfull. What's your opinion and/or experience wrt cholesterol?

Thanks, bigb

Dietary Cholesterol has very little to do with your body's cholesterol levels. You already have cholesterol in your blood stream, regardless of how much you ingest. The best way to control your levels is by staying away from Trans Fats (Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated vegetable oils--read labels, they're everywhere) and exercise.
Here's an interesting factoid: Human breast milk is very high in cholesterol, yet babies who are breastfed have lower levels of cholesterol for the rest of their lives than babies who are bottle fed formulas with lower levels of dietary cholesterol!
For myself, I don't worry about the amount of saturated fats I take in. I have found that I do have to watch my portion sizes. Fitday.com is a place where you can journal your food intake, and get a read-out of the percentage of fat, carbs, and protien in your diet. It will also tell you how many calories you ingested, and also aproximately how much you have burned. It might help you know if you are eating according to Atkins recommendations for your weight-loss phase.

Peach

I wouldn't change anything.What really goofs up cholesterol is not the foods that contain cholesterol. If your carbohydrates causes any insulin imbalance, that will affect your cholesterol. When your insulin is balanced, your pancreas will produce the secondary hormone called glucagon. This acts as a "cleanser" and whooshes away cholesterol and fats. It also maintains the health of veins and arteries. A high amount of insulin, which is produced when glucose is too high, prohibits the release of glucagon. This is what will shoot up high blood lipid levels.

Be aware that some people tend to experience high lipid levels after beginning Atkins, however, these should improve after a few months. Please keep us posted.

Thanks for the explanation Peach.

I guess most of us are / were a bit septic at first... I'm still positive that I'll be happily suprised when I get my blood tests done.

You're welcome, and if you're really "septic" you really do need to see a doc! Just kidding you--didn't you feel the punch in the arm, and see my wink?!

Peach