Registered Dietitian in TX here to answer questions.

How in the heck do you merge a low purine diet and a diet for high cholesterol? I get confused one says eat whole wheat the other says avoid whole wheat. Oats are good, oats are bad. It is confusing.

Continue to eat a low purine diet with as much nutrient dense foods as you can within your limitations.

Lower your lipid cholesterol by exercising and creating a caloric deficit to lose weight. Don't focus on avoiding foods with high cholesterol because dietary cholesterol and your blood cholesterol are two different things. Your genetics, weight, and activity level determine your blood cholesterol more than how many eggs you eat per day, or what have you.



Now remember, you should be doing whatever your doctor told you to do. But here's a link to a low-purine diet guide for patients at UPMC http://www.upmc.com/patients-visitors/education/nutrition/Pages/low-purine-diet.aspx

Thank you Tony,

Hi Tony,

I am 42 female, currently weigh 182-187 on average 5' 4".
I have been on MFP since 2010. I have lost 50lbs but gained/lost same 5lbs fish over last six months
Cannot get under 180's
My work is a real mix of active and a few days which can be relatively quiet no two days are same!
I have two young children and travel to work with one of them. I have had a fit bit since Feb and its giving average
Cals per day around 2100. I walk at least 12000 steps a day av is 15000.
I have tried upping cals for 6-8 weeks, tried lowering them again for at least 6-8 weeks.
I do a 5k run most weekends but it might be fast (for me) or a slow plod if my three year old wants to come as
Our weekends are definatly family events.
I do not have ability to go to gym, I power walk or sometimes run not very often as my walk is faster than my run.
Husbands work means I am often stuck at home with kids.
I did walking half marathon at weekend in 3 hours 13 minutes so not hanging around.
What sort of numbers should I be looking at as a base to start from do I factor in work etc or only count when I do
Go out to exercise on purpose?
I do have polycystic but doesn't give me huge problems I don't think, took over ten years to be diagnosed with it.
I still need to loose about 30lbs

Thanks for your time

Hello Tony,

I currently weigh 165-170 (varies daily), 5'5'', 22 years old & 36% body fat (that's what it was last month at MEPS at least). Last year around this time I was at my goal weight of 145 and loved it of course.(I hurt my knee & hip during a soccer game and was unable to keep up with work outs which contributed to my weight gain) I now am trying to do it the healthy way though (No diet pills- Phentermine) and I just can't seem to get the weight off! I do Kickboxing for an hour mon & weds followed by 40 mins of yoga and I do a weight lifting class for an hour tues & thurs followed by 30 mins of cardio (usually bike or elliptical), Saturdays I do a 2 mile jog & attempt a few pull ups (pull ups are my enemy) I am currently enlisting into the USMC and have to drop 15 lbs in the next month and a half for my pre-leave Physical Test and then an additional 10-15 lbs to leave for Boot camp in a few months. I really want to do this the healthy way but I have to make the deadline.

Any suggestions on work outs, foods, supplements (natural), or anything at all please!

Thank you in advance

Oh also I drink around 4-5 bottles of water a day (28 ounce bottle) is this too much? I've heard that it can actually stretch out your stomach and cause you to eat more, true or false?
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First I would like to thank you so much for doing this Tony!! I have been struggling with being heavy for the last 7 years. At first I thought it was post divorce weight, now I think it was due to not being motivated.

I am a 32 year old mother of 1 (daughter) and I am trying to teach her the right way to eat since she is at a vulnerable age (11). Along with teaching her to eat properly I have to re-teach myself to eat properly. About a year ago I was put on medication for Cholesterol. This along with family history puts me at high risk for heart disease. Can you please give me some foods that are good to eat to lower High Cholesterol? I have heard sweet potatoes are good....just looking for some help.

Thanks-Klanci

Hi Tony,

I am female, age 36, 5'0 and weigh 127 lbs. Back in 2009, I lost over 30 lbs and dropped from 138 to 106. Granted at 106, I was a bit too skinny but I was really fit and also worked briefly as a personal trainer (but it wasn't the career for me). I have gained back over 20 lbs from what I lost and no matter what I do I can't seem to lose, I just keep gaining. My goal is now to be 112-115 lbs which I believe is healthy range for my height/frame. I work out 5-6 days a week (weight training and cardio both in the gym and with at home DVDs) and track my calories and ratios. I am only eating 1200 calories per day which is the lowest I can go even if all the calculations for my height may say to eat under that.

Is there something else that could be causing me to consistently gain? I have lost before and now in a total rut!

Thanks!!

J

Bumping this up as I think Tony missed my post.

thank you so much for offering your time and expertise. that truly is very generous of you. and especially helpful to us who lack insurance so we can't consult a doctor.

My desire is to maximize my weight loss as quickly as is both possible and "safe" ie I want to push the edge but not cross it.

I have tried to learn about all this BMR and TDEE stuff but I don't think the normal stuff applies to me since I get some crazy numbers (like I need 4300 cals a day just to survive?? that makes no sense way too much)

I have JUST started. I can't even give you an accurate weight yet since I am too fat to weigh on normal scales (got one coming in the mail)

I am in very good health. (very fortunate) I have a good body and immune system but I know factually if I don't make dramatic changes that won't last. my body will eventually fail under this load.

I am 36 6'4" tall reasonable well built but very out of shape. I weigh approximately 455 pounds (guessing between 450-460)

my profile is wide open. I know I am not eating "well" but I am sticking to under 2000 cals pretty well for the last two weeks.

I also try as much as possible to ride at least 5 miles a day on my bike my heart rate tends to stay over 140 while doing this continuously for around 45-50 minutes (trying to work up to over 1 hour every ride getting their)

right now my pop is ill (gall bladder) so I am working an insane number of hours. because of the long drive (90mintues one way) I "stay" down here 3-5 days at a shot to conserve gas and save those 3 hours a day driving. I bring the bike with me to ride here.

I firmly believe I am dead serious about making this work. I hope I can stick with it. I think I have the will power to make this work.

I don't mind a little pain and suffering as long as its not permanent and as long as it won't harm my health. its why I cycle and not run. running would result in me having no knees by the time I hit 40. I am just to heavy for that. even my pops doctor said do not run. sadly my best option swimming is no option. there is no local swimming facilities that I can afford withing an hour of me. (the YMCA is around the corner but I don't have the $600 a year they want)

I finally managed to find a bike I could afford that also would not kill me. I got a semi recumbent. the full seat and back rest and semi recumbent posture means I can now ride with almost zero pain. So far the bike is holding up well. Already broke the seat but I repaired and reinforced it.

I am hoping this weekend to take a shot at pushing to 10 miles (longest ride so far is 8.8 miles) I just don't want to overdo it and harm myself (though I have a feeling I could go a lot further without harm and am being overly caution) the problem is I do't know what danger signs of pushing to hard to look for ??

at my mass getting hurt would be really bad.

so while I am not eating "well" I am eating under calories (is 2000 ok?)

suggestions? what should I do? what should I eat?

once I am home again I plan to make veggies a huge portion of my food intake (I love veggies) I am drooling right now thinking about cooking up that broccoli I have in the fridge at home. for the first time in a few weeks I will be home for 4 days straight !!

my profile is wide open. I appreciate any advice you can give.

if at all possible and safe I would like to try and lose 150 pound by next September (when I plan to take a shot at the MS150) I need to lose a total of around 200 pounds. (end goal is under 225)

I am not loaded with cash. in fact very cash strapped. I only got this bike because it was $400 and the seller was FANTASTIC in letting me make payments !!

but I will do my best to follow whatever advice you can give me.

Also, consider using alcohol as a diuretic.

Thank you. Nirvana reached.

I'm 5'8.5 and weigh about 110- 111. I'm 18, female and my life is stressful. Based on that info alone my nutritionist recommended I eat (net) 2480 calories a day to maintain my weight. I still have trouble believing that. Especially because, today, after burning about 450 cals, I've only been hungry to eat about 1850... or a net of 1370ish. Should I trust those numbers? I don't know if they're just going to make me suddenly gain ten pounds. Not that I don't need to gain weight, it's just that she said that I wouldn't start gaining until I hit a net of 27-2900 a day.

It all depends. I'm sure your nutritionist has a better insight into all the factors that made her choose those values. I have a female client right now that does bikini fitness competitions and she is maintaining her weight at 2500 calories.

You have a very low body weight for your height. If you plan on gaining weight, which it sounds like you eventually are, I would recommend taking up a good weight lifting program so that you can build some good lean muscle in the process.

Yeah, I am planning on taking up weight lifting sometime soon. Thank you so much for the response! And for answering all of these questions. It's been so helpful to all of us!

Hello!
I am from TX myself.. I just have one question. If you calorie goal is 1500 and you eat them but work out and burn 1000 calories at night is it a must to eat back all those calories even if you are full? I am asking because I usually work out at night and if anything i am able to have a snack before bed because I eat dinner before my work out. Thank you for reading