Metabolic Syndrome

tfleischer · November 2013

So I have metabolic syndrome, which is a bad *kitten* disease for fat people that leads to heart disease (check, already have it), diabetes (not there but pre-diabetic) and stroke among other things.
After a heart attack at 39, I have been on blood pressure meds (lisinopril and metoprolol), aspirin 81 mg, fish oil, garlic and cholesterol medications. Doctors have also had me on niacin to control my triglycerides. I hate niacin, so I don't take it. It makes me break out in heebie-jeebies.
The answer is not medication, but lifestyle, I am learning. So I am here to address it. Dedicated to losing 120 lbs. (or more) in two years and then keep it off and improve my muscle mass (working on the fat first). Because of the impact of having 300+ lbs. on skinny ankles and bad knees, I can't run or jog, so my wife and I are walking four or more times a week. I am looking at joining the local health club which is in the same shopping center as my office.
In the long run, I want to have a healthy, happier outlook on life, because this is the only real answer to the deadly, multi-faceted disease of Metabolic Syndrome.
I don't want to crash diet. I have done that numerous times and lost at least 300 lbs. and gained it all back plus more. I want to change.
For me, it will mean a very critical look at why I gorge and why I drink too often and too much. The booze is a real killer because it also lowers my willpower to late night binge eating.

Who has been successful in addressing their Metabolic Syndrome and going off the myriad medications that address the symptoms without addressing the disease?

Helpful hints and good friends would be appreciated.
Tim

SlimJanette · November 2013

I can't add anything to this, I am in for the support. Good Luck!

ncahill77 · November 2013

I also have metabolic syndrome and am full blown diabetic. Not sure how much help I am but my advice is to just keep working, build up muscle as much as you can and work on losing weight but don't get fixated on a pound goal. I still struggle to keep my blood sugar where the doctors want it but working out makes me feel much better and has improved all my other markers significantly. Feel free to add me for support.

andibenoit · November 2013

Welcome to the crazy/exciting/exasperating/frustrating/happy journey! When I started a year ago, I was in a similar position to your own. I'd just been put on insulin, had high cholesterol with triglycerides through the roof, and myriad other problems that the medications were only masking. As I've exercised more, eaten better, my numbers have all been stabilizing slowly but surely. No more cholesterol medications or lisinopril for me. I've lowered my insulin usage from 90 to 22 and expect to be able to get off it completely by the end of December. I never thought I'd be able to get off all of the medications.

My few hints are:
Don't completely cut out carbs unless you have a serious intolerance, there are lots of good carb-y things that are very healthy (like sweet potato).
Research your basal metabolic rate (http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/) and start figuring out what works for you from there. A lot of people start at the bottom with ultra low calorie and then have nowhere to go from a plateau. Just for an example, I eat 1500-2500 calories a day (depending on my exercise that day) to lose weight, but I did not lose when I was at 1300 a day.

Best of luck to you!

betsybear52 · November 2013

I want to join you so we can encourage each other. I just started seeing a weight loss doctor where I live. He has his Ph.D in Biochemistry/Nutrition and maintains that we were all fed a lie regarding fats being bad for you. He lost a lot of weight eating a high fat, high protein, low carb & low sugar diet. He is a bundle of energy and looks great! I got started on this new lifestyle yesterday and am feeling great with it. I'm just barely getting started, so I don't know all the details, but I know that fat & protein consumption & are unlimited. We are to limit our carbs to 50 grams or less per day. We are supposed to consume 50 grams or more of Fiber daily, eat 6 times a day (this includes any time you put something in your mouth. He said to keep boiled eggs on hand, avocados, peanut butter and almond butter on hand. Sugar is very limited. Since we are so limited with our carbs, we are supposed to drink a cup of chicken or beef bouillon per day (with the salt) so our electrolytes are not lowered.

I know this sounds crazy, but he's really done his research, and this lifestyle is tailored for those of us with Insulin Resistance/Metabolic Syndrome.

AlongCame_Molly · November 2013

Metabolic syndrome is no fun.

I'm a nutrition student, and am learning about this right now. My best advice to you is first clean up the diet. Start eating healthier, and everything else will just fall into place afterwards, and it's even possible to reverse metabolic syndrome. Avoid the "cheap carbs" that will spike your blood sugar, instead go for wild/brown rice,quinoa, sweet potatoes, whole wheat flour, etc. Fill your diet with LOTS of lean protein and good fats (mono and polyunsaturated fats--basically the fats that are liquid at room temperature, not solid) stay away from trans and saturated fats. Learn to read labels on food packages, if you don't already know how, and understand what it's saying.

Learn your TDEE, the amount of calories you burn throughout the day, and eat at about 20% fewer than that. The weight will drop off and you could get to the point where you don't need meds anymore. Also look into heavy weight lifting; start small until your ankles and other weak areas get stronger, and build from there.

Good luck!

dianneharris980 · November 2013

You can get no-flush niacin.

dianneharris980 · November 2013

So I have metabolic syndrome, which is a bad *kitten* disease for fat people that leads to heart disease (check, already have it), diabetes (not there but pre-diabetic) and stroke among other things.
After a heart attack at 39, I have been on blood pressure meds (lisinopril and metoprolol), aspirin 81 mg, fish oil, garlic and cholesterol medications. Doctors have also had me on niacin to control my triglycerides. I hate niacin, so I don't take it. It makes me break out in heebie-jeebies.
The answer is not medication, but lifestyle, I am learning. So I am here to address it. Dedicated to losing 120 lbs. (or more) in two years and then keep it off and improve my muscle mass (working on the fat first). Because of the impact of having 300+ lbs. on skinny ankles and bad knees, I can't run or jog, so my wife and I are walking four or more times a week. I am looking at joining the local health club which is in the same shopping center as my office.
In the long run, I want to have a healthy, happier outlook on life, because this is the only real answer to the deadly, multi-faceted disease of Metabolic Syndrome.
I don't want to crash diet. I have done that numerous times and lost at least 300 lbs. and gained it all back plus more. I want to change.
For me, it will mean a very critical look at why I gorge and why I drink too often and too much. The booze is a real killer because it also lowers my willpower to late night binge eating.

Who has been successful in addressing their Metabolic Syndrome and going off the myriad medications that address the symptoms without addressing the disease?

Helpful hints and good friends would be appreciated.
Tim

dianneharris980 · November 2013

Hi Tim, Sorry, I am still trying to figure out this quote and reply thing. Not sure I am doing it right. The picture of me in my icon is when I weighed 212 lbs. I chose that picture because I want to always be reminded of how bad I let myself get. I now weigh about 170 and I am trying to get the last 30 pounds off. Anyway, 8 years ago, I had a heart attack. I sat on the couch feeling sorry for my self for about 4 years. Yep! I was afraid to do anything. Then one day, I decided to get off that couch and reclaim my life. I started by walking. Then I found a work out partner and started doing the elliptical for one hour a day. I can tell you that when I started with the elliptical, I could not do 3 minutes on it. I had to keep at it, but I did get to one hour a day. I also started mild weight training and cleaned up my diet.

All medical professionals who look at my chart when I had my heart attack tell me that I am lucky that I survived it. It could have easily been fatal. Now, my doctor tells me that except for a tiny little scar where the heart attach happened, there is no evidence that I ever had a heart attack.

My advice to you is. Avoid sugar and starchy foods. Yes, that means give up all your drinking (except for, maybe one glass of red wine at night, preferably Merlot. You can add club soda and stevia to it if you would like more volume and more sweet taste. You also want to avoid all trans fats. Trans fats creates heart attacks. Trans fats are mostly in processed foods. As for the alcohol, you just have to decide what you want the most - getting healthy or getting sicker - because that is exactly what the alcohol will do for you (and me). Eat as closely to nature as you can. If man made it - do not eat it. Eat all the fresh vegetables and greens that you want. However, if you do not know about the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar - research it. It is like a rotor rooter for the arteries. If you do not like the taste - add it to a sweet drink such as fresh squeezed carrot juice. I love the sweet/sour taste. Add a little at first then gradually add as much as you can tolerate. You can not get too much.

You are doing the right thing with walking. Stay with that until you feel strong enough to try other things. You may want to get a heart monitor. Have to go for now, my hunny is calling for dinner, but I will be glad to help- you in any way that I can.

Dianne

gigglesinthesun · November 2013

I want to join you so we can encourage each other. I just started seeing a weight loss doctor where I live. He has his Ph.D in Biochemistry/Nutrition and maintains that we were all fed a lie regarding fats being bad for you. He lost a lot of weight eating a high fat, high protein, low carb & low sugar diet. He is a bundle of energy and looks great! I got started on this new lifestyle yesterday and am feeling great with it. I'm just barely getting started, so I don't know all the details, but I know that fat & protein consumption & are unlimited. We are to limit our carbs to 50 grams or less per day. We are supposed to consume 50 grams or more of Fiber daily, eat 6 times a day (this includes any time you put something in your mouth. He said to keep boiled eggs on hand, avocados, peanut butter and almond butter on hand. Sugar is very limited. Since we are so limited with our carbs, we are supposed to drink a cup of chicken or beef bouillon per day (with the salt) so our electrolytes are not lowered.

I know this sounds crazy, but he's really done his research, and this lifestyle is tailored for those of us with Insulin Resistance/Metabolic Syndrome.

So that's basically the Atkins diet with a couple of extras.

AbsoluteNG · November 2013

I see lots of bad advice in this thread that can be harmful and damage your body even more. If there is anything you need to take away from this thread it's what I'm about to say. Listen to our doctor, not what anyone here has to say.

I'm assuming your doctor told you to do a low fat diet? Is that right? I see a suggestion for a high fat diet that can harm your body and possibly put you in the hospital. Take me for example. My doctor told me to do a low fat diet but i went against her wishes because of something i read here on MFP. I ended up with 338 total cholesterol and horrible ratios. My LDL was 260. Most people who preach high fat diets are misquoting the research around high fat on cholesterol serum levels. The research says that for 80% of the population, a high fat diet does not increase cholesterol but for the other 20% it will continue to rise as long as you continue to eat the fat. It does not say for every single person in the entire world, every single man, every single women, and child can eat a high fat diet without getting high cholesterol levels. If you want to do a high fat diet, you need to figure out if you follow in the 20% of the population that will continue to see a rise in cholesterol. You figure this out by getting a lipid panel test at your doctor's office after changing to a high fat diet but do you really want to spend your life going in and out the clinic getting repeated tests to see if you can eat so much fats? I've been there, done that. Keep it simple and just do a low fat diet.

As for diabeties. You can reverse your condition by losing the weight as fast as possible and crash diets are key. Can you reverse your condition by losing weight at the slowest possible weightless goal? I haven't seen any research to suggest that is the case and it makes more sense that losing weight fast helps your body more as it takes you out of the fatty toxic state you've put it in faster. The longer your body stays in the same high fat toxic concentration that you've created, the higher the chance that you will be a diabetic for the rest of your life. Lose weight fast. Link to research below if you want to get serious about reversing your condition.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/4/1047.full

Lastly, don't take my advice or anyone else's advice here. Listen only to your doctor.

SLLRunner · November 2013

I don't have any advice, but I offer my moral support. Carry on, you are on your way.

acpgee · November 2013

For your insulin resistance google Glycemic Index, and avoid high GI carbs. By reducing my body weight by about 10% (I lost mostly visceral fat) my diabetes has improved quite a lot. Down from 2000mg of metformin daily to 500g and my glucose levels are normal. Hoping that if I lose some more weight I can get off the meds completely.

Best of luck to you.

1longroad · November 2013

I am type 2 diabetic, have high cholesterol and even though my cholesterol numbers look better, I am still on medication. As far as my diabetes, since I started losing weight last March, I have lowered my HgbA1C to 5.9m taking only 10 units of Lantus insulin a day. I hope to be off of it soon and lower my HgbA1C to 5 or below.

I watch my carb intake, which helps me control my blood glucose. The exercise I do is walking. You can do this and you are on the right path!! I wish you the best, to regain your health and prevent any further complications!!

Metabolic Syndrome

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