My doctor gave me A cursory explanation so I can’t vouch for my limited understanding.

That said, cholesterol is essential for the production of bile which breaks down foods. Late night foods probably equates to excess cholesterol released to break down said foods and higher cholesterol levels.

We probably want to have periods of fasting in order to not produce excess cholesterol.

I probably implied more causation than I meant. I know nothing about fasting causing my high cholesterol directly. What I do know is I thought my weight not going up liberated me into eating whatever my heart desired in my 4-5 hour feeding window. This feast/famine mentality did me no good given my personality type and I probably ended up eating a lot more food and snacks than I would of otherwise.