What does having high cholesterol mean?

my doctors office called today and said that my cholesterol was a little high, and their putting me on a strict diet. could someone please explain this and give me a little bit of what kinds of foods i can and cannot eat? i am 5'7" and weigh 122pounds. will this diet make me lose weight, not that i need to. they are sending the new diet to me in the mail.

thanks micheal, cuz i really thought it was for people that are overweight. and yeah i did have a few fatty foods during the winter. and yes i plan on following the diet. but you didn't mention what kinds of foods?

"Cholesterol is a molecule that is found in cells. It is a type of lipid which is a fat or fat-like molecule." --Simple Wikipedia

Having a high cholesterol means that you have a high count of cholesterol in the bloodstream, which may lead to things like heart disease and stroke. I recommend that you should listen to your doctor and stay on that diet. Don't cheat, not even once until the doctor says it's okay. Cheating on diets is just as addicting as cigarettes are.

Having high cholesterol doesn't mean that you are fat, it just means that you have eaten too much "fatty" foods.

Edit: It depends on what your doctor gives you. I'd recommend fat-free foods, reduced fat foods, or fruits & vegetables if you don't mind eating like a rabbit. If you have an "urge" to eat fat foods, they normally do sell fat foods as "reduced-fat" or "baked." They taste just like the original fat foods and are healthy, too.

I agree with Michael on this....you are certainly not over weight!!! High Cholesterol has nothing to do with your weight as such....it has to do with the amount of fatty foods eaten and also your genes has something to do with it also.

I am on cholesterol and I eat very healthy, but because my dad and grand-dad had high cholesterol, I happen to have gotten it from them.

Stay on your diet that the Dr. put you on and maybe you will not have to take meds for it...

You can find some information about cholesterol in this article:
http://www.weightlossdatabase.com/Choles...
This article is on a weight loss related website but there are things you can pick from there in order to learn a bit about cholesterol even if you don't need to lose weight.
Here's an example: if you smoke, stopping can help you with your cholesterol levels.

I like this article. Read it all, it is very helpful.
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-managem...