Testament for weight loss and exercise to improve OSA

[terrydk]

My sleep doctor told me a couple of months back that any amount of weight loss would help my OSA, at the time I didn't really think it would make as much difference as it has. Since I started an exercise program on March 1st I have lost almost 30 pounds, the changes in my nightly numbers are below. At my sleep study in late November my AHI was recorded at 126 with some really terrible looking blood oxygen levels. I am now seeing many nights of 0.0 AI's and some AHI's under 2. The amount of energy I have now compared to 5 months ago is like a night and day difference

For those of you just starting out with your therapy don't give up, it's a tough transition for many but so worth it once you get used to it and feel the difference it makes in how you feel.

12/21/09 to 2/28/10
Median Pressure = 14.0
95th Percentile = 15.8
Maximum = 16.8
AI = 1.1
HI = 7.4
AHI = 8.5

3/1/10 to 4/25/10
Median Pressure = 12.4
95th Percentile = 13.8
Maximum = 14.6
AI = 0.1
HI = 3.1
AHI = 3.2

[SharkBait]

Hi, long time no post.

Just wanted to point out I had a similar improvement going from a little over 3 to under 1 AHI when I dropped from 200 to 185 lbs. It makes sense that if you have less fat tissue in/around the throat area your machine can give you more effective therapy.

OT: Hit my one year mark in Feb and still going strong. I honestly think if I was cured today I would continue to wear this mask just for the "luxury" of breathing thru my nose all night!

Good luck, all!

[terrydk]

...I honestly think if I was cured today I would continue to wear this mask just for the "luxury" of breathing thru my nose all night!

Good luck, all!

Amen to that, I don't miss the morning dry mouth and headaches one bit.

[jennmary]

I am starting a local weight loss competition today! So good to hear that weight loss can lead to some improvement. I have no hope of a "cure" My OSA was around back when I was seriously underweight and has continued till today. But a decrease in pressure and in AHI would be fantastic! I know I was at a 14psi when I started CPAP almost 3 years ago...now I am up past 16. My weight is up as well. Congrats on the weight loss.....it is certianly hard to do.

[SharkBait]

I am starting a local weight loss competition today! So good to hear that weight loss can lead to some improvement. I have no hope of a "cure" My OSA was around back when I was seriously underweight and has continued till today. But a decrease in pressure and in AHI would be fantastic! I know I was at a 14psi when I started CPAP almost 3 years ago...now I am up past 16. My weight is up as well. Congrats on the weight loss.....it is certianly hard to do.

I had never really tried to lose weight before. My approach to it...

myfitnesspal.com -- I log everything I eat. Once I started doing this I quit eating bad food. It's kind of like my Respironics Encore Pro in my 1st few months of CPAP. In the tough times I'd keep my mask on because I knew if I didn't the charts would show that I was a "quitter". Same thing with myfitnesspal. If I go eat that 1/2 of a Digiorno's 4 meat pizza, then when I enter it in myfitnesspal.com it will show that I just consumed my entire target goal of fat and calories for the day. I also use the iPhone app so that when I'm in a restaurant I can see what dishes have the least calories.

Water - Drink lots of water so your kidneys can do their job freeing the liver up to metabolize fat. Eight 8 oz glasses per day should be enough to keep you hydrated. Also, if you're carrying excess water, drinking MORE water actually lets you flush that excessive water out. If you drink lots of water and seem to be making way more trips to the bathroom than you think you should, then you're probably flushing out that excess water. The body stores the stuff if it doesn't think you're gonna give it more any time soon.

Metamucil - Love the stuff. I get the sugar free orange, smooth texture. Make sure you don't use it within 2 hours of taking medication. I like to grab a glass about an hour or two after a meal. It counts towards your water and it helps you feel full. And I actually think it tastes "okay"... I drink about 3 16 oz glasses of it a day. The website shows I'm way over in fiber (up in the 50 gram area), but from my reading I've seen it's okay and I haven't had any "problems" so it's all good.

My favorite diet conscious foods are Campbell's Chunky soups and various cereals, usually Fiber One (yeah, more fiber...) Honey Crunch. I usually eat 1/2 can of the soup at 11:00 AM and the other half some time after noon.

That's about it. Once I started entering every thing I eat, I started paying attention to the calories in various foods. The website suggests that I take in about 1700 calories per day in order to lose 1 lb per week. I'm in no hurry, so 1 lb per week is perfect for me. Sometimes I actually find myself finding a snack in the evening because I'm actually under 1200 calories which isn't good for the metabolism (body goes into "starvation" mode to conserve energy). Yeah, I miss my pizza and stuff and I allow myself a little with my kids every now and then, but for the most part it's been pretty easy.

ETA: And this whole plan is predicated on NO exercise. I work at my computer all day. Some times I go help at my son's baseball practice and usually like to get out in the field and help shag fly balls in batting practice, but for the most part I just do not exercise at all. If you do so, then of course you can do more than 1700 calories and lose 1 lb per week.

[park_ridge_dave]

I have lost about 15 pounds since I started the CPAP therapy (about 6 weeks now). I believe that it is caused by increased activity levels (since I now feel much better) and I have stopped eating so many things to get an energy boost because I was always so tired before.

The weight loss is real, the cause is merely conjecture on my part

I do recall reading somewhere that there is a link between OSA and weight gain/diabetes. I don't have a hard link to it though.

Cheers,

Dave

[silver123]

I've lost 40 pounds in the last 7-8 months just watching what I eat, particularly carbs and exercising. It really helped my OSA. I've reduced my pressure from 11-20 to 9-20 and consistently get an AHI <1.0. In particular, this has helped with aerophagia and has reduced GERD. Even if studies say there is no link between GERD and sleep apnea, that is not my experience. I'm sleeping better with the slightly lower pressure.I'm hoping over some time, I may be able to drop the pressure more but am very happy with where things are right now.

[rosacer]

Thanks SharkBait, park_ridge_dave and Silver123 for the stories of hope on losing weight.

It's so difficult to become motivated

Because of different health problems which started 4 years ago I started taking weight non stop, I think the OSA problem was still there for years before, only waiting me to gain enough weight to become bad enough to start showing up in a serious way.

Really I need to take courage and start exercising in a consistent way. Hope I will find that courage.

[JeffH]

I've dropped 50lbs since the first of the year. Was at a pressure of 13 when I started the weight loss. Saw my sleep doc a couple of weeks ago and he said I could probably drop it to 12. I did the last couple of nights and my AHI went up a little. I'm so used to 12.5 that I reset the machine to that this morning.

The biggest difference I'm noticed is the snores have pretty much gone away with the weight loss. Also AHI is lower than ever.

FWIW


JeffH

[physicsbob]

I have lost 30 lbs since March 1st due to diet, exercise and also taping my mouth shut. I have found I sleep better and have a lot more energy now. I was even discussing with my Dr. today if I should lower my cpap pressure from 9.0 to 8.0. I am going to try it out this weekend and see how I feel.

[elena88]

These are fantastic stories, a hearty congratulations to all of you for your weight loss endeavors!

My husband came home from the gym today, and invited me to be his partner in a health challenge contest at his gym.

I love competitions, so I said SIGN ME UP! I guess its a weight loss, shape up contest, I think it lasts twelve weeks.

Im excited to see how far I get. Even though my pulmonary doctor said "When you are svelte, you will go from severe to severe"

so, I know Im still stuck with the apap forever, but I just loved how she said.. "svelte"

sounded good to me!

good luck everybody!

[JeffH]

These are fantastic stories, a hearty congratulations to all of you for your weight loss endeavors!

My husband came home from the gym today, and invited me to be his partner in a health challenge contest at his gym.

I love competitions, so I said SIGN ME UP! I guess its a weight loss, shape up contest, I think it lasts twelve weeks.

Im excited to see how far I get. Even though my pulmonary doctor said "When you are svelte, you will go from severe to severe"

so, I know Im still stuck with the apap forever, but I just loved how she said.. "svelte"

sounded good to me!

good luck everybody!

What I learned in my journey is it's 80% what you eat (I'm doing low carb in that I'm diabetic) and 20% exercise. I've proven that to myself in that I walked 3 to 4 miles a day for years and gained weight doing it. Not until I changed my eating habits did my weight change...


FWIW


JeffH

[Bawstin]

Congrats to all!! WOOHOO!!
I definatly know that losing weight helps. I lost 22 LBs. last summer & felt great! BUT with these long winters in Upstate NY it's tough not to eat that comfort food I put 18 of the 22 LBs back on & feel like crap. I'm going to start back at exercising it really does help.
It gives great encourgement to read your stories~Keep up the good work all!!

[terrydk]

[/quote]


What I learned in my journey is it's 80% what you eat (I'm doing low carb in that I'm diabetic) and 20% exercise. I've proven that to myself in that I walked 3 to 4 miles a day for years and gained weight doing it. Not until I changed my eating habits did my weight change...


FWIW


JeffH[/quote]

You got that right, for a really good visual illustration on how different foods compare read this book. http://pictureperfectweightloss.com/jml ... eight-loss Fast food joints are definitely not on the menu in most cases, some do however have some lower calorie items available.

[JeffH]

What I learned in my journey is it's 80% what you eat (I'm doing low carb in that I'm diabetic) and 20% exercise. I've proven that to myself in that I walked 3 to 4 miles a day for years and gained weight doing it. Not until I changed my eating habits did my weight change...


FWIW


JeffH[/quote]

You got that right, for a really good visual illustration on how different foods compare read this book. http://pictureperfectweightloss.com/jml ... eight-loss Fast food joints are definitely not on the menu in most cases, some do however have some lower calorie items available.[/quote]


Never once counted a calorie in my weight loss....just watched out for carbs. They are the real enemy.