Lurker finally posting: HDL fell mid-cut

Welcome. A 12-point HDL drop in 8 weeks is a lot, but a cut plus poor sleep can do it. What did your diet look like before vs now?

I saw the same thing during an aggressive deficit. HDL dropped 10, then bounced back after maintenance. How big is your deficit?

Diet matters, but I'd check sleep first. 6.5h average plus high stress can hit lipids. Any apnea symptoms or waking up at night?

Sleep is a good call, and the deficit size question matters too. Fasting glucose 96 isn't alarming by itself. Was it fasted 8+ hours and no coffee?

My HDL fell from 50 to 38 on a keto-ish cut. It came back when I added carbs and slept more. Not saying that's your case.

Not a doctor, but ALT 22 looks fine. The HDL swing is the head-scratcher. Did you lose weight fast or change training volume?

I agree the deficit size matters. If you're losing about 1.1 lb/week at 205, that's a solid clip. Maybe your body is just stressed.

Seasonal could explain a few points, but not 12. The fats question matters more. I'm 41 and had a similar cut panel: HDL 52 to 39, LDL down, trigs down. I added olive oil and eggs back, slept 7.5h, retested at week 12, HDL was 46. Not a fix, just n=1. What was your HDL a year ago? Trend beats one draw. Also, if you were sick before the bloodwork, that can skew things. If you had a hard training week or low carbs, I'd retest after 2 weeks at maintenance before changing anything drastic.

The seasonal idea is interesting, but my HDL always dips in winter too. Did you change fats or carbs?

Welcome. I'm 7 weeks into a cut, 8 lb down. My HDL only fell 4, but my waist dropped 3 inches. Maybe track that too, not just scale.