Serious as a Heart Attack: A Starting Question

Roseygirl1

So I'm 5'6" tall, 61 years old, 200 lbs., bad family of coronary artery disease and diabetes. Just had annual physical with doc who warns me I am pre-diabetic and at high risk for heart disease. I don't doubt her---my fasting blood sugar was 104 mg%, and I have a big belly, markers for metabolic syndrome.

I believe the science of low carb, but here's my dilemma: I know that EVERYTHING will improve with weight loss, and I'm afraid that going low carb without watching total calories will be a mistake. So my question is, if I begin to move my carbs DOWN and my fats UP, should I still restrict total calories?

And given my autoimmune diseases, I'm inclined to want to move to more fish and less red meat and dairy, is this possible? MFP sets my (0.5 lb./week loss goal) at around 1650 cal. Do I just adjust my carb/fat ratios and stay within this limit? Can I best modify my cardiac risk factors by sticking to fatty fish and olive oil?

I am really beyond confused. And yes, I did look through the getting started guide and lots of links. I'm really scared about my health status. Please help!

Roseygirl

RowdysLady

I had to restrict my calories to lose weight but start off just changing your way of eating. Look at your calories later when you've adapted to this WOE. I went from 2000 to just over 1500 between March and nowand it's worked well. There are calculators in the launch pad to help.

atlathemis

Welcome to your new diet journey! I'm not a medical person or a dietician so please just take this as my own experience. To lose weight on LCHF (low carb high fat) I have needed to restrict calories. The bonus of LCHF is that it's much easier to eat lightly because I don't have intense food cravings and I don't feel crazy hungry (like, I used to with carbs). So, I can eat smaller meals and I rarely snack between meals. I don't eat red meat. I do eat fish about three times a week. It's an excellent LCHF food! To stay away from cholesterol, you could also eat avocado and healthy oils, like olive oil. I eat nuts, which have some carbs but it's working out for me.

suzqtme

I need to restrict my calories. However, I oftentimes find it difficult to eat all my calories in a day. Usually it is my fat macro that is low, so I have a fat bomb or two to get my macros in line as well as my calories.

When you set your MFP goals based on low carb, you can put in the percentages of each macros where you want it. Then you put in the calorie level you want to be at and it adjusts it so you know how many grams of each to eat.

It was a bit amazing to me as I was very confused about how to figure out the correct grams of each macro and how to figure out my calories, but it turned out to be pretty simple in the end.

RalfLott

A couple quick thoughts...

1. Don't follow the the MFP calculator for LCHF - instead, use one of the keto-calculators given in the Launch Pad. This will help with your calories question as well as macronutrients.
Here they are:
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com
http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator

2. Personally (YMMV), I would aim for 1-2.5 lbs per week.

I wish i had @Sunny_Bunny_ 's words handy, but she basically put it like this... Once you've switched over to fat as your primary fuel, your body will be just as happy to snack on the treats lining the shelves of its built-in pantry as on take-out - so there's no need to eat any more fat than you need to stave off hunger.

Carbs will have a limit (at most 50g net carbs starting out) and protein a target range (around 85-120) so that you consume enough to avoid muscle loss but not more than you need, which will turn into glucose (though much less quickly than carbs).

3. Everybody is a unique science project; by (sensible) experimenting, you'll discover what works for you! (A blood glucose monitor, if you're inclined, could be a great source of insights.)

Good luck!

KetoGirl_ZC

Roseygirl1 wrote: »

So I'm 5'6" tall, 61 years old, 200 lbs., bad family of coronary artery disease and diabetes. Just had annual physical with doc who warns me I am pre-diabetic and at high risk for heart disease. I don't doubt her---my fasting blood sugar was 104 mg%, and I have a big belly, markers for metabolic syndrome.

I believe the science of low carb, but here's my dilemma: I know that EVERYTHING will improve with weight loss, and I'm afraid that going low carb without watching total calories will be a mistake. So my question is, if I begin to move my carbs DOWN and my fats UP, should I still restrict total calories?

And given my autoimmune diseases, I'm inclined to want to move to more fish and less red meat and dairy, is this possible? MFP sets my (0.5 lb./week loss goal) at around 1650 cal. Do I just adjust my carb/fat ratios and stay within this limit? Can I best modify my cardiac risk factors by sticking to fatty fish and olive oil?

I am really beyond confused. And yes, I did look through the getting started guide and lots of links. I'm really scared about my health status. Please help!

Roseygirl

Hi @Roseygirl1, welcome!

Why don't you just cut all processed food, starches, grains and sugar for a month and then evaluate how you feel? Do not think of macros and calories. Listen to your body and eat nutritious, naturally low carb food. As much as possible, cook your own food and do not use ingredients with labels, only the kind of fresh ingredients that will easily spoil in a few days.

Nothing bad will happen just because you ate real food for a month (very much the opposite!). Fatty fish and olive oil are great foods, if you prefer fish to red meat that's perfectly ok.

Keep your carbs as low as confortable, preferably below 50 to 100 per day, ideally mostly from leafy greens. Eat to satiety, don't try to control how much food your body needs.

You'll soon feel much better, your weight will start going down and your markers for diabetes will all improve.

After a few weeks you can then slowly start making changes if you feel the need. For the transition just be kind to your body.

I have lost +100lb and reversed diabetes, as have many others here. I still have a lot to lose (I was THAT fat) but all my health markers are near perfect. Be strong, you can do this!

Good luck!

::flowerforyou::

kpk54

Welcome Rosey! I'll address this based on my opinion and my experience. I started MFP a couple of years ago with similar stats: 5'6", F, 58 yrs old, 203 pounds. No diabetes in family but family history (Mom, G'ma) of high blood pressure, stokes, heart attacks.

I lost 63 pounds in 53 weeks eating moderate 40c/30p/30f and counting calories. BP and BP med were corrected/ eliminated via weight loss and probably exercise. Big belly-see my profile pics-that is me on the boat in that white sweatshirt, pre-weight loss. Belly gone. Lucky, I know. Maintained for 2 years via calorie counting and same 40/30/30 macro balance.

Fast forward to April 3,2016: I switched to keto (5c/20p/75f) for a health reason (neurological) other than weight loss. I was scared to death that I would gain weight from "eating all this fat" and afraid I would also end up back on BP meds from "all this sodium". NEITHER HAS HAPPENED in the 5 months I have been eating high fat/high sodium.

I still count calories. My maintenance calories (without exercise) are only about 1500 (140 pounds, still 5'6", now 62). The best thing is, because of "all this fat" I no longer feel like I'm starving all the time. The fat provides satiety. I know maintenance is easier for me than before so will guess (and I've certainly heard) weight loss may be easier.

Do you HAVE to count calories when eating keto? I think so but I may be in the minority. I need to count cuz tiny portions of fatty foods versus the mountains of vegetables I previously ate. I suggest you start with the 1650 MFP suggested and adjust your macros to the % you desire. You may want to start LC versus very low carb, aka keto. Give it a few weeks and see how it goes. I really believe if you are keeping around that calorie amount, you should be ok but all bodies react differently. Adjust as needed. I do not believe keto will cause you to gain weight when eating the proper amount of calories. Some days may be higher because you're hungrier. Some days may be lower because you're "full".

macchiatto

Welcome! I'm sorry you are dealing with this.

Diabetes runs big-time in my family. A few years ago I found out I had prediabetes. I switched to low carb (at the time it was low carb/low fat/high protein ... having done more research since then, I now stick with LCHF!), lost 10% of my body weight and did manage to reverse the prediabetes, thankfully.

My husband was Dx'ed with CAD unexpectedly at age 45. I've tried to find good research on LCHF for people with existing CAD to see if it would be worth him trying, too, but had trouble finding much. If you're at risk for it but don't actually have it yet, I can see trying it for a while and keeping an eye on blood work to see how things go. What are your risk factors? (My H has fairly low cholesterol but his HDL is super low; ranges from 18-22. That's apparently genetic; our pedi checked our kids for it and one of our twins had the same cholesterol profile at age 6.)

Roseygirl1

Thank you, everybody, I appreciate the perspective and the advice. @macchiatto I am sorry you and your husband are dealing with CAD, and I hope you find good medical support and a good strategy. My risk factors are family history, waist circumference 40", fasting blood sugar 104mg%, and cholesterol 290, LCL 130, HDL 66, triglycerides 120. I intend to hang around here and benefit from all this experience ya'll have. Thank you again for the support and kindness.

anglyn1

I find that when I cut out carbs and up fats my calories naturally stay low without really thinking about it. I'm just less hungry.

There is no reason you have to eat red meat or dairy if you react badly to them. I have RA and I read that it helps a lot of people to eliminate them. I don't see a difference so I eat both. For me keeping carbs low keeps inflammation down. The particular food doesn't seem to matter. I'm already gluten free due to celiac so that made cutting other carbs easier.