Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, this is the meaning of the acronym TLC, which can be translated as “Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes”. The TLC diet has been created to lower cholesterol, prevent strokes, and lower blood pressure. But at the same time, it is a diet that allows you to lose weight in a simple and healthy way. How?

What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a lipid, that is, a fat that forms the membranes of cells and, among its functions, is to facilitate the digestion of fatty foods. The body generates cholesterol through the liver and we also ingest it through food. This, once absorbed, travels through the blood in the form of two specialized proteins:

• HDL or high-density, which removes excess cholesterol from arteries and cells, and therefore is known as good cholesterol.
• LDL, or low density, which is what carries cholesterol to the tissues. Its excess is what accumulates in the arteries and generates cardiovascular problems. That is why it is what is known as bad cholesterol.

The main objective of the TLC diet is to reduce LDL levels through a diet that is characterized, above all, by reducing the ingestion of fats, especially saturated ones, which are what enhance it. The TLC diet is a diet designed by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCP) of the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. This program was born in 1985, and in 2001 it launched the TLC food program or the TLC diet.

What do you eat on the TLC diet?
The TLC diet implies, as its name suggests, an eating style and a lifestyle centered on three essential axes:

• Reducing your intake of foods that are high in cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fat and trans fat.
• Increased intake of soluble fiber.
• Get moderate exercise on a regular basis (see table of exercises to do at home here).
  From there, the TLC diet recommends a number of foods:

• Lean meat (chicken, turkey, rabbit, etc.), fish or legumes, recommended that they do not exceed 200g per day.
• Fruits: 2 to 4 pieces daily
• Vegetables: between 3 and 5 servings a day (see here how much is a serving of each food)
• Eggs. He recommends not consuming more than two yolks a week.
• Cereals and derivatives such as bread or pasta. The TLC diet recommends that they be whole, due to their higher fiber content, and you can consume about 6 servings a day.
• Dairy or low-fat milk, in a maximum of two or 3 servings daily.
• Ingestion of unsaturated fats through foods such as olive oil, avocado, nuts, oily fish, etc.

To lose weight with the TLC diet
To the extent that it reduces saturated fat and involves an exercise program, the TLC diet leads to weight loss. But if the goal is cholesterol reduction, the TLC diet can allow the consumption of 2,500 calories a day for men, and 1,800 for women.

However, if you also want to lose weight with this diet, the nutritional program itself recommends reducing calories, reducing your intake to 1,600 for men, and 1,200 for women, which would leave the TLC diet within the orbit of the low-calorie diets (see here).