New health issues

Christinaelkins1978 · December 2023

Hi there! I am here with a few questions that have come up after my most recent physical. I am overweight with pre-diabetes and my cholesterol is wavering on the line of being high. The doc recommends a mediterranean style diet/lifestyle. I'd love to hear your success stories, tips, and favorite recipes.

In addition to the above, I have a big trip planned in 4 months and would love to be in a better place phisically.

AnnPT77 · December 2023

A surprising lot can be accomplished in 4 months, in my experience, with a little effort and patience. That's especially true if just starting out, and starting from a high body weight, sub-par nutrition, and/or a quite physically depleted initial point.

In my first four months of weight loss, I lost 42 pounds. That much loss - given my personal health history - normalized my high cholesterol/triglycerides and my high blood pressure. (I luckily didn't have high blood sugar, yet, at that point.) They've been normal for 8 years since.

I had started (gradually) being physically active long before that, so it's hard to remember those milestones . . . but since I was starting after full-bore cancer treatment and a diagnosis of severe hypothyroidism, plus decades of mostly inactivity, the improvements were fairly fast just from starting a little yoga and eventually some manageable strength training, then later adding more cardiovascular exercise that I thought was fun.

Honestly, my main tip would be to keep things manageable (but slightly challenging), then be persistent and patient about progress. Lots of people seem to start here with a super-aggressive plan to drop all supposedly "bad foods" and eat only supposedly "healthy foods", plus do some punitively intense, miserable daily exercise alongside. That's a lot. Too often, there's a sort of high-motivation honeymoon period, then burnout.

Honestly, I think extremes aren't necessary; and they can be counterproductive. A series of small changes, ones we can live with long term, can really add up. Sometimes a moderate, sustainable weight loss rate plus some fun added movement will add up to reaching goal weight and improved fitness in less calendar time than some extreme thing that results in deprivation-triggered overeating, breaks in the action, or maybe even giving up altogether.

Improvement is achievable. Small changes add up. Patient persistence can pay off.

I'm cheering for you to succeed, because IME the improved quality of life is more than worth the effort!

Rockymountainliving · December 2023

I lost 14 pounds my first 4 months and have lost 35 pounds in 18 months. I've been maintaining for about 7 months now. I reduced my calories to about 1400 (I'm short and older) while losing and walked 3-5 miles a day. I had to evaluate what made me full and what goodies were worth spending my precious calories on. I also drink lots of water and stopped drinking alcohol. My feet and knees don't hurt all the time and my lab tests have improved.

frhaberl · December 2023

I dropped from pre-diabetic to normal and high cholesterol/triglycerides to healthy range in about 3-4 months, so it’s definitely doable.

My recommendation is very similar to annpt77. You don’t need extreme changes to see progress, and extreme is not often sustainable. If you like the Mediterranean diet/lifestyle then that’s a great way to go, but if that’s not how you normally eat then focusing on portion control isn’t f your “normal” diet and adding elements of the Mediterranean diet might make for a mor sustainable transition. That’s what’s worked well for me this year (61 lbs down since April). I added in walking (working up to 2-4 miles most days) and more protein and fiber to my diet. I found foods I liked and kept them and foods I “normally” would eat that weren’t worth keeping in my diet.
Best wishes! You’ve got this.

cwolfman13 · December 2023

Losing weight is going to likely be the biggest factor in getting your numbers in line. Moving more and regular exercise are also going to be highly beneficial to improving those numbers. "Mediterranean Diet" is basically one that revolves around consumption of mostly whole foods. Eating mostly lean proteins, healthy fats, whole grains and legumes and veg and fruit makes losing weight a lot easier than eating a diet predominately of highly processed foods. You can also typically eat a higher volume of food for fewer calories, which for someone like me who likes to feed my face is a good thing.

As mentioned, you don't have to do anything crazy. Trying to flip a switch and changing everything overnight is likely not going to end well. When I started out, I made mini goals for myself and kind of focused on changing one or two things at a time. My first two things were aiming for more fruits and vegetables because I barely ate any at the time, and moving more as my exercise at the time was exactly ZERO.

I started out just walking a few days per week...then 5 days per week...then 7...then I started jogging a few days per week and walking the others...then I added the weight room...later on I got into cycling, etc, etc, etc. My nutrition worked in a very similar way.

kshama2001 · December 2023

Try your library system for Mediterranean Diet cookbooks. Mine has over 200.

If you get recipes online, reviews can be very helpful. I get New York Times Cooking for free through my library system. The reviews there are great. Allrecipes recipes and reviews are a little more hit or miss, but also a good place to look.

I'm not vouching for this at all, and think my first suggestions is the best, but here is a collection from AR: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/16704/healthy-recipes/mediterranean-diet/

PAV8888 · December 2023

Was this personalized or was it generic advice?

If the issues you're having are DIRECTLY caused by what you eat, changing what you eat to something more conducive to your health would be the fastest/best path to success. If you happen to be one of the *minority* of people whose blood cholesterol is *directly* related to the cholesterol you eat then, once again, changing what you eat could directly affect your results and be the fastest/best path to success.

But, if the implicit message from your doctor was "eat Mediterranean diet in order to lose weight" because the actual goal is limiting weight gain or losing weight, and/or perhaps even adding movement and exercise, then losing weight is the actual goal, and implementing a specific named diet is just a detour or potential misdirection of effort.

@AnnPT77 (who posted above) has actually written a pretty good plan on how to set out to lose weight.

That thread is now pretty much the first sticky in the MFP list of "stickies" as I just discovered when I went looking for it a few minutes ago! Have a quick read!

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

Christinaelkins1978 · December 2023

Thanks everyone! This definitely gives me a place to start. You all did not disappoint with the useful information.

zebasschick · December 2023

i got my blood sugar down from 300 to normal by losing weight, and my cholesterol followed it - it's also normal now.

part was regular but not strenuous exercise - originally it was walking for 10 minutes 3x per day. i also did food substitutions - instead of regular yogurt, i'd eat light yogurt (dannon light & fit cherry is delish, and so is the vanilla!), instead of regular or 2% milk, i had fat free or 1% milk, instead of regular ice cream, i had light ice cream, and so on. i dropped from 242 to 180 doing just the substitutions and the walking. at that point, my blood sugar dropped to 160, so i cut my carbs a bit, switched to more non-caloric sweeteners (stevia and erythitol, sometimes xylitol, which is caloric but has a lower impact on blood sugar), and started eating at a deficit. when i was able, i started riding an exercise bike - not vigorously as i found a lighter but longer ride had a better effect on my blood sugar.

it took a while, but my blood sugar was probably double or more what yours is. and trying different eating habits while checking blood sugar taught me a lot about what works for me. hint - i tested from my thighs, not my fingertips. less painful, although less blood, and a lot more surface area.

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