Lisa Anderson

I Lost 25 Pounds. Then Lisa Asked Me One Question About My Cholesterol.

I lost 25 pounds… and somehow my cholesterol got WORSE. The worst part? My friend Lisa was sitting across from me eating cheesecake when I told her. I wanted to throw my fork at her. Let me explain. Last November, three of us made one of those promises women make after seeing a horrible photo of themselves. “This year we're actually getting healthy.” Except this time, I took it seriously. Lisa lasted approximately eleven days. Karen bought a treadmill that eventually became an expensive clothes hanger. I became obsessed. Every morning before work, I walked. At first I could barely finish 20 minutes without checking the time. Then 30 became easy. Then 45. I stopped buying the foods I knew I'd demolish at 9 PM. Started cooking dinner again. Stopped treating every stressful Tuesday like it deserved dessert. And slowly... my clothes started changing. First my favorite black pants became loose. Then I had to tighten my belt another hole. Then another. One Saturday, Lisa came over while I was cleaning my closet. I pulled out a pair of jeans I hadn't worn in years. They buttoned. Not barely. They actually fit. Lisa screamed louder than I did. She made me take a mirror picture. Then she started grabbing my old clothes and throwing them into a donation box. “Twenty-five pounds. These are NEVER going back in your closet.” For the first time in years, I believed her. We went out that evening to celebrate. And I remember telling them: “Wait until my doctor sees my bloodwork.” That's how confident I was. My appointment was four days later. The nurse weighed me. Down 25 pounds. My doctor noticed immediately. “You've been working hard.” I was ridiculously proud. Then we opened my bloodwork. And there it was. My cholesterol. Higher than before. I actually laughed. Not because it was funny. Because I thought I was misunderstanding the screen. “Wait...that's the new result?” Yes. I remember driving home thinking: Then what the hell were the last six months for? Two days later, Lisa and Karen came over. They expected me to be celebrating. Instead, they found me standing in my kitchen reading the nutrition label on a carton of yogurt. I told them what happened. Karen immediately started suggesting foods I should stop eating. Lisa didn't say anything. She just watched me. Then she finally asked: “Why are you acting like losing 25 pounds was a failure?” “Because my cholesterol went UP.” And then she said something that annoyed me: “Maybe you're treating your cholesterol like it's just another version of your weight.” I rolled my eyes. Of course weight matters. Food matters. Exercise matters. Everybody knows that. But Lisa kept pushing. “What about your dad?” That shut me up. My father had dealt with cholesterol for years. So had his sister. And suddenly I realized something uncomfortable. I'd spent six months believing that if I became the “healthy one,” my bloodwork had to reward me. Lose weight = better cholesterol. Exercise = better cholesterol. Smaller jeans = healthier inside. And when that didn't happen exactly as expected... I assumed I'd failed. That night I started reading. Not TikTok. Not somebody screaming about a miracle cure. Actual information about why two people can eat similarly, weigh the same, and still have very different cholesterol profiles. Genetics. Age. Hormonal changes. Diet. Activity. And broader metabolic health can all be part of the picture. My 25-pound weight loss still mattered. It just wasn't the entire story. A few weeks later, Lisa and I were walking when she asked: “So what are you doing now?” I laughed. “Trying NOT to eliminate another twelve foods.” That's when she told me about something she'd incorporated into her own routine. Ceylon cinnamon. I'd obviously heard of cinnamon. I had three jars of it in my kitchen. But I didn't realize Ceylon cinnamon was a particular variety traditionally associated with Sri Lanka. And when I started looking into it, I found research examining cinnamon in relation to markers of glucose and lipid metabolism. That interested me. Not because I suddenly believed cinnamon was going to “fix” my cholesterol. It isn't a replacement for cholesterol treatment or medical care. But I'd finally stopped searching for one dramatic solution. I wanted small supportive habits I could actually maintain. That's eventually how I found Primal Remedies Ceylon Cinnamon. What made it practical for me was the formulation. Ceylon cinnamon paired with organic MCT oil in an oil-based softgel. No spoonfuls of powder. No weird drinks. No complicated ritual I'd abandon after two weeks. So I made myself a deal. I'd treat it exactly like I treated those morning walks. Give it 60 days of consistency before deciding whether it belonged in my routine. Every morning: Coffee. Breakfast. Primal Remedies. Done. About three weeks into it, Lisa called me before our Saturday walk. “You coming?” I told her yes. Then she laughed: “Bring the skinny jeans.” I knew exactly which ones she meant. The pair she'd helped me fit into months earlier. I still have them. But they mean something completely different to me now. They used to be proof that I'd finally become “healthy.” Now they're a reminder that you can't see cholesterol by looking at someone's waistline. I still exercise. I still watch what I eat. I still get my bloodwork done. And anything involving my cholesterol gets discussed with my doctor. But I don't punish myself anymore every time one number isn't what I expected. I focus on building a routine I can still imagine doing five years from now. And for me, Primal Remedies Ceylon Cinnamon + organic MCT oil became one of those ridiculously easy habits. Funny enough, Lisa still takes credit for the whole thing. Not the 25 pounds. She knows better than to try that. But every time we walk past my old donation box in the garage, she says: “Remember when you thought smaller jeans meant you had your whole body figured out?” Unfortunately... she's right.