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In short: After six years of eating mostly pescatarian, I added meat, eggs, and more cheese back into my diet — and over the last year, my cholesterol, especially my LDL, climbed significantly. I believe the change in how I was eating played a part. I'm going back to vegetables-first eating, with red meat no more than 2-3 times a month, and I'm learning new ways to cook from Jamie Oliver's Eat Yourself Healthy — starting with his lemon tahini chicken with charred broccoli (the video is at the bottom of this post). This is my personal story, not medical advice.

I want to tell you something personal, because I think some of you may be in the same place.

In the last year, my cholesterol has gone up pretty significantly — particularly my LDL, the "bad" cholesterol. That's not a word I use lightly. I take my health seriously, and seeing those numbers climb got my attention.

What I think happened

For six years, I ate mostly pescatarian — fish, vegetables, grains, no red meat. It suited me, and my numbers were better for it. Then, gradually, I started adding things back: red meat, eggs, a bit more cheese. Nothing dramatic, meal by meal. Just a little more of everything I'd stepped away from.

I believe, in part, that's what moved my numbers. I can't prove it like a study — I'm one person, not a trial — but the timing lines up, and I know my own habits. When I look honestly at how I've been eating this past year, I see the difference.

Why food first — not medication

While I'm not at the point of needing medication yet, if my LDL levels increase at the same rate they did this year, I will be soon — and I don't want to get there. The side effects that come with cholesterol medication are more than I'm comfortable with. I don't want to trade one worry for a list of new ones if I can help it.

And this runs in my family. High cholesterol and high blood pressure run in my family, and my mother had two strokes — one at 45 and one at 50. That's part of why I'm not waiting until the choice is made for me.

So I'm choosing to act now, while the choice is still mine. Food is the lever I can pull today: what's on my plate, how I cook, what I reach for. If eating differently can keep me on this side of that line, that's the trade I'll gladly make. This is my decision for me — I know it isn't everyone's — but it's mine, and I'm at peace with it.

What I'm doing about it: I'm going back to the way of eating that worked for me — with a few things I've learned since.

That means vegetables at the center of the plate, not on the side. Red meat 2-3 times a month. Chicken and fish still very much in my life. And a lot of learning: I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Eat Yourself Healthy (and was recently given his cookbook-thanks Catherine C.) and other shows that encourage minimal red meat and maximum vegetables, grains, and legumes.

I'm picking up so many new ways of preparing meals. Roasting, sheet pans, big salads that are actually satisfying, grains I hadn't cooked with before. It's not a punishment. Honestly, it's been fun — I'm enjoying my kitchen again.

I'm not calling it a diet. Diets end. This is me choosing, again, the way of eating that makes me feel my best — and this time I'm bringing you along.

And yes — my skin notices too.

I'd be less than honest if I didn't say it: when I eat well, my skin looks better. That's real, and it matters to me — it's my life's work, after all. But I want to be clear about something. The way my skin looks is not the reason I'm doing this. I'm doing it because my numbers told me to, and because I want to feel good in my body for a long time yet. The glow is a lovely side effect, not the goal.

So you'll see fewer posts from me about food as a skincare strategy, and more about food as a life strategy — with the skincare notes woven in where they honestly belong.

What I'm cooking first

This is where I'm starting: Jamie Oliver's lemon tahini chicken with charred broccoli, from his book Eat Yourself Healthy. Tenderstem broccoli, charred; chicken with a lemon-tahini dressing; grains alongside. Vegetables at the center, just the way I'm eating now.

The video at the bottom of this post is Jamie cooking it himself — watch how simple it is. And if you want the recipe to cook along, it's on his site: https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken/lemon-tahini-chicken-grains

I'm learning from the book and the video rather than reprinting someone else's recipe here — but I'll tell you honestly what I think once I've cooked it, and I'll keep sharing what I'm actually making as I go.

What I'll share from here

Over the next six months, I'll be sharing this journey as I live it — the recipes I find and love, what I'm learning, and honest updates along the way. A new recipe about every six weeks, sometimes more often if I find something too good to wait on. If your numbers have crept up too, or if you're simply trying to eat a little better, I hope you'll come along with me. We're in good company.

Frequently asked questions

Are you giving up meat entirely?

No. I'm keeping red meat to 2-3 times a month, and putting vegetables at the center. Fish and chicken are still very much part of how I eat. This is a shift in balance, not a ban.

Is this medical advice?

Absolutely not. I'm sharing my own experience, not medical advice. If your numbers have crept up too, please talk with your doctor — and then come cook with me.