Weight loss to reduce apnea

[chrate]

My doctor told me that I need to lose about 20 pounds in order to help reduce apnea events. I have already lost 70+ pounds but he wants another 20. I do know that this is a good idea. In fact, I want to lose about 50 more. My problem is that I can't seem to lose any more. I have been stuck for about 4 months. I work 2 jobs totaling about 60 hours a week and I am very active in both jobs. I have reduced my calorie intake to about 1000 calories a day. I really don't eat much at all in a day. If I have time after work, I walk about 2 miles just for exercise even though, according to my pedometer, I walk about 6 miles each day at work. Any suggestions would be nice.

[caffeinatedcfo]

First, good for you that you do not let your busy lifestyle get in the way of your wellness goals.

Reducing caloric intake is not just the answer. Just wondering ... have you consulted a licensed nutritionist to determine the proper caloric intake and composition? Simply reducing calories beyond what you need will actually put your body in self-defense mode and cause it to eat muscle and other good tissue to make up it's needs.The timing of meals can produce different results as well.

At times we all will hit plateaus in our wellness goals. It just means you're doing well but need to change things up a bit, which it sounds like you've recognized already.

[RestedRebel]

My doctor told me that I need to lose about 20 pounds in order to help reduce apnea events. I have already lost 70+ pounds but he wants another 20. I do know that this is a good idea. In fact, I want to lose about 50 more. My problem is that I can't seem to lose any more. I have been stuck for about 4 months. I work 2 jobs totaling about 60 hours a week and I am very active in both jobs. I have reduced my calorie intake to about 1000 calories a day. I really don't eat much at all in a day. If I have time after work, I walk about 2 miles just for exercise even though, according to my pedometer, I walk about 6 miles each day at work. Any suggestions would be nice.

The first thought that occurs to me is that your weight loss caused your metabolism to slow down, and 1000 calories a day isn't that much. You also have probably lost muscle mass and it is muscle that burns more calories. You might be better off increasing muscles mass, but that will increase your weight, not lose it.

I think the above poster who recommended that you see a nutritionist gave you excellent advice. I've lost 61.4 pounds since February 11, including time off for gall bladder surgery, and I work with three nutritionists, a behavioral therapist, and a doctor. We do monthly lab work and make sure that everything is going as it should. A nutritionist can tell you how and what to eat as well. For example, on my current diet, I must eat four meals a day and they should be as evenly spaced out as possible. Water intake is another component, as is regular exercise. One of the dieticians told me that she's had patients not lose weight for six weeks, and then suddenly the weight starts to come off. Another one told me that she knew someone who lost 75 lbs. and then couldn't lose more. So, the woman maintained her weight for a certain amount of time and then began the diet anew after a certain amount of time off the diet and in maintenance. In other words, there are tons of factors involved, and every body is different.

As far as exercise is concerned, is it possible to get in an hour of walking in the morning and then an hour after you return home? Sometimes dividing up the exercise between a.m. and p.m. works better, not just on you, but on your metabolism. Try exercising in the morning, eating 4 small meals, and exercising at night. If you've hit a plateau, you may need to consult with a weight loss professional and/or dietician to see what you can do to jumpstart things again. I'm sure you also realize that it was a lot easier to burn off calories when you were 70 lbs. heavier than it is now because the more you weigh, the more calories you burn through exercise. Also, sometimes it helps to change up the exercise. Perhaps on every other day you can do some form of exercise other than walking.

Congrats on the 70+ pounds lost. That's a feat in itself.

[RandyJ]

Walking is great but sometimes we need more strenuous exercise to jump start metabolism. Assuming that you are physically capable and cleared by your physician, 20-30 mins of cardio exercise 4-5 times a week is ideal. If you have a treadmill, interval training (alternate walking with short periods of running/jogging, I do 90 secs walking alternated with 75 secs running for 20 mins or more). Weight training is also good, since increasing muscle mass will burn fat. My personal exercise gauge is how soaked my tshirt is when I'm done; if it's too dry, I probably took it too easy.

Whatever you do, keep switching it up; if the body gets used to something, it will adapt. If you do low calorie, it doesn't hurt in my opinion to do a higher calorie day every 4 or 5 days to trick the body from going into starvation mode. A nutritionist (as said above) is a great idea. I don't count calories but I have eliminated almost all grains and extra sugars, just some quinoa and a gluten free treat once in a while. Foodwise I try not to buy anything that needs a label or list of ingredients on the package: some label free food examples are fresh fruits, vegetables, meats. Anything with more than 2 ingredients is probably not something I eat.

One constant should be water consumption. My nutritionist recommends drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily (if you weigh 200 lbs drink 100 oz of water). This will get your body to ideal levels of water both inside and between your cells, and will keep your body flushing out toxins (not to mention that you won't have to worry about kidney stones!).

Good luck!

[Todzo]

My doctor told me that I need to lose about 20 pounds in order to help reduce apnea events. I have already lost 70+ pounds but he wants another 20. I do know that this is a good idea. In fact, I want to lose about 50 more. My problem is that I can't seem to lose any more. I have been stuck for about 4 months. I work 2 jobs totaling about 60 hours a week and I am very active in both jobs. I have reduced my calorie intake to about 1000 calories a day. I really don't eat much at all in a day. If I have time after work, I walk about 2 miles just for exercise even though, according to my pedometer, I walk about 6 miles each day at work. Any suggestions would be nice.

Dietitian

Personal trainer

Learn to feed your microbiome

If you have not already learn to use your nightly CPAP data to carefully watch how your therapy is going

[ellen1159]

First of all, congratulations on losing 70 lbs. I just lost 11 myself over the past month but it comes off fast for me because I'm so fat. I weighed 265 on a 5' 4" frame, I'm post-menopausal and can't walk more than 15 minutes without my back hurting or getting a pain in my jaw that means my heart is working too hard.

If you are eating 1000 calories per day on a standard American diet I and the weight isn't coming off, you may have slowed down your metabolism. I'm assuming your thyroid is normal. Have you had it checked? I would do that as well.

It's not a good idea to get into recommending one eating plan over another, because it's like discussing religion or politics: everyone thinks they are right. I don't think you mentioned your current weight, so I don't know how close you are to your ideal weight.

I think the recommendations to drink plenty of water is excellent. And to check the effectiveness of your sleep therapy, since there is a correlation between being sleep deprived and obesity. Some people have claimed to do well on a "paleo" or "caveman" style diet where you eat meat and dairy, fruit and vegetables, but avoid refined sugar and flour products. some people avoid all grains and starches (not easy to do, in my opinion, and just as restrictive as the low fat, vegan plan I started out on three weeks ago).

Best of luck with your continued road to good health. I'm trying to lose weight as efficiently as possible to lower my pressure needs and hopefully, one day not need a CPAP machine.

[BlackSpinner]

If you have plateaued and you are on a low fat diet, try switching to to a high fat/low carb diet. Some times our bodies go into famine mode on low fat and refuse to shed more calories. Also for many people high fat is more satisfying and filling for the same number of calories.

[chunkyfrog]

It's amazing how much more satisfying those low carb veggies and lean chicken are with a nice gob of butter.

[FattyMagoo]

"Starvation mode" by itself does not cause plateuas and does not prevent you from losing any further weight. It may reduce the rate at which you're losing weight, but it can't stop it.

You say you have stopped losing weight completely, so there's something else going on here.

You're already a rock star for what you've accomplished, great to hear that part.

[SleepingUgly]

I agree with the low carb approach. From everything I've read, experienced, and witnessed, it's going to yield the most weight loss AND without making you hungry all the time.

That said, I am no longer recommending it cart blanche to everyone. In people who are fairly overweight, I do think it's probably the best approach. In those who are not very overweight, I recommend getting an LDL (ideally PARTICLE) tested pre-low carb/high fat diet and one after doing it for a few months. The approach seems to work well for me; however, my husband got leaner on the diet, but his desirable LDL #s became undesirable. Another friend who was thin to start with also had her LDL worsen on a LCHF diet.

[Janknitz]

That said, I am no longer recommending it cart blanche to everyone. In people who are fairly overweight, I do think it's probably the best approach. In those who are not very overweight, I recommend getting an LDL (ideally PARTICLE) tested pre-low carb/high fat diet and one after doing it for a few months. The approach seems to work well for me; however, my husband got leaner on the diet, but his desirable LDL #s became undesirable. Another friend who was thin to start with also had her LDL worsen on a LCHF diet.

I think there's a lot more to it than just the LDL number, so whether an increase in LDL means your health "worsens" or not on a low carb diet is the $64K question.

1. When you are in the process of weight loss, LDL may be mobilized in your blood stream. It's impossible to differentiate whether it's on its way out or truly an issue. William Davis, MD, recommends waiting until weight has stabilized for at least 6 months before worrying about LDL numbers.
2. The jury is still out on how bad an increase in LDL is IF:
A. HDL increases
B. Triglycerides decrease
C. Particle size is mostly large and "fluffy"
D. Particle number doesn't rise too high
3. There is some evidence that LDL is protective to a degree. Postmenopausal women with lower LDL cholesterol are more susceptible to cancer and infection.

Until we know more, I would take modest gains in LDL on a low carb diet with a grain of salt. Look at the overall trend--mine, BTW, is coming down significantly--better than could be expected on a statin.

[DreamDiver]

If you have plateaued and you are on a low fat diet, try switching to to a high fat/low carb diet. Some times our bodies go into famine mode on low fat and refuse to shed more calories. Also for many people high fat is more satisfying and filling for the same number of calories.

This really does work for some people.

Since you can stick to 1000 calories per day, why not try weight watchers, but without the weekly meetings? There are apps that track your points with a user-defined food database, and you might find yourself eating more, even eating healthier and still losing weight. If you can't afford weekly meetings, buy a few books and learn about it from online forums. No, I don't work for WW, but I have found their method to be sound -- so long as you actually eat how much you're supposed to... in measured portions... no more, and no less.

It also tracks your exercise goals too.

I like that some foods are 0 points and filling, like string beans.

This is one of the best:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Food-Val ... racker+app
You can scan in new items if they're not already in the database. There's an 'extra boost' setting for those who find their points rating is not aggressively low enough to lose weight. Foods highlighted in green in the database are usually 0 points -- usually healthy stuff with roughage.

This one is pretty good too, but not as well-designed as the first:
http://www.amazon.com/Frippware-Pts-Plu ... _sim_mas_2

[jdm2857]

I like that some foods are 0 points and filling, like string beans.

Call them haricot vert. Much more exotic.

[loopylooloo]

My doctor told me that I need to lose about 20 pounds in order to help reduce apnea events. I have already lost 70+ pounds but he wants another 20. I do know that this is a good idea. In fact, I want to lose about 50 more. My problem is that I can't seem to lose any more. I have been stuck for about 4 months. I work 2 jobs totaling about 60 hours a week and I am very active in both jobs. I have reduced my calorie intake to about 1000 calories a day. I really don't eat much at all in a day. If I have time after work, I walk about 2 miles just for exercise even though, according to my pedometer, I walk about 6 miles each day at work. Any suggestions would be nice.

Please check out Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. Cutting out wheat, sugar and processed foods did it for me. 35 lbs in three months...I didn't mean to do that actually. I just wanted to feel better. and I'm not selling anything. You don't have to do wheat belly, because I didn't really...I just got some ideas from it. I also developed a severe corn allergy so I had to cut out the processed foods. I would just suggest a Paleo-like diet...you might not think you can do it, but you'd really be surprised how much you still have to eat...especially if you like to cook and whip up recipes.

[DreamStalker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4W8hpbSFP0