Heart Disease - Ways to lose weight?

mccormack090305

mccormack090305

New member
I'm new to the forums, but I hope someone here may have had experience with this before. I'm a 26 year old Male, and I have a "terminal" heart disease. It's hereditary, so I was born with it, but we didn't find it until I was 12. I had open heart surgery when I was 14 to correct the problem, and it helped, but it is by no means a cure all. Basically, my heart muscle is completely enlarged or thickened, and there is damage to some of the valves in my heart as a result making it harder for blood to flow through. I take medication for this. I was told when I was first diagnosed that I could not do anything more stressful than "leisurely walking". After I had my heart surgery, however, I was told that I can do whatever I feel is within my limits, but I will always be at risk for sudden death.

As it stands now, it's very hard for me to do anything without becoming very short of breath. If I am late for something and I walk briskly to my car, it severely winds me, and I get chest pains from time to time.

Now, I believe that the biggest problem I am having with this is my weight. I'm 6'4" tall and weigh over 400lbs. I feel as if I get bigger everyday, and it feels like it is getting harder and harder for me to function. I'm not a rich man, I can barely pay my bills, and I don't have any insurance, so I don't know who to go to for help. I need to find ways that I can get this weight off that will be safe for me to do. I've tried dieting, but it always plateaus and ends up coming back on. I could sit down and eat and entire large pizza to myself, and drink at least a case of soda everyday. Portion control is something I have been working on, but it has not helped. I might eat 2-3 pieces of a medium pizza now, and I have all but completely cut soda from my diet. I might have a can of soda once a week. I'm trying desperatley to eat helthier and control my intake, but nothing seems to help, and I don't know what kind of excercises I can safely do. My hope is that if I can lose some of the weight through what I eat, or don't eat, that it will be easier for me to get into a light excersise routine.

If there is anyone out there who has any experience with anything like this, or if anyone can point me in the right direction, I could really use the help. I feel like I'm just killing myself, and I can't live like this anymore. I love my life and my family, and I want to live as long as I can, but nothing I am doing seems to be right...
 
What do you mean portion control doesn't work? How many calories are you eating? You need to get a free account with an online diet journal like Fitday.com and start counting your calories.

In your situation, pizza and soda should not be a regular part of your diet.
 
As Harold said, you need to do a food diary, join fitday.com and daily track your calories and cut your calories by say 1000 cals a day, very easy to do without going hungry if you eat satiating foods and cut out the junk food (pizza, pop)-- switch to eating high quality foods, like meat, fowl, seafood, vegetables, fruit; but out sugar, pop, sweets, deserts, high glycemic load foods (most of what is in a grocery store). Sounds to me like you are eating yourself into a grave, I know that sounds cruel but start eating nutrient dense foods and stop eating trash food, or you will pay the price. I too am 6'4", so I know you are way way overweight, but you can lose that fat and get do normal, something like 250lbs. You can do it, you are at a good place among people that understand.
 
The bottom line is that controlling your diet (and I mean "diet" in the definition of "what you eat" not "go on a") is the only thing that controls weight.

Exercise is good and it can help, but if you don't control what you eat, then you won't lose weight. And that holds true for people who are perfectly healthy as well as people in your condition.

The first thing I'd suggest is registering for a free account on or and starting to log your food. This will let you see how many calories you're eating and how your nutrition levels are breaking down. Once you know that, you'll be able to see more clearly where you can make adjustments, cut back, change your nutrition, etc.

At your weight, you should aim for about 3500 calories a day or so. That should allow you to lose a couple of pounds a week.

But it's not just calories, it's what you eat. You need to make sure you're eating protein, veggies and fruits, healthy carbs (whole grains), and healthy fats. Pizza and soda should not be a part of your diet right now.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. I registered at fitday.com, I just have to figure it all out and stick to it, maybe I'll just get the program for my PC, it would be much easier.

At the moment, I'm working very hard to both cut back on portions and change the way I eat. I went through my kitchen today and either threw away, or buried in the cupboards, everything I don't want to eat. Out of sight, out of mind as they say. We always have candy and junk laying around, and I usually just grab a piece of something in passing, a brownie here, a handful of m&m's there, it's just got to stop. I want to help my wife, too. She's not really overweight, but she needs to reign in the junkfood thing before it gets too out of hand.

Pizza and pop are staples in my diet only because they are convenient. No effort goes into grabbing a can of pop when I'm thirsty, and I can just order a pizza when I'm hungry, I don't have to make it. These are things that I have been working on stopping. Like I said, I've almost completely "weened" myself from all types of soda. I only drink iced tea and water now, with the occasional can of soda.

Now, as far as diet goes, I was thinking about working off a type of "fad" diet. I don't really get into all the hype of fad diets, and I think a lot of them are actually bad for you, but my mom started one a year or so ago, and I was thinking about using it as a basis for starting to eat right. Basically, it limits your portions and introduces tons of fruits and vegetables, something I lack greatly. I think it is 5-6 meals a day, 4oz. of protein per meal (either chicken, 93% lean ground beef, lean steak, scallops, shrimp, fish, etc...) and you also get a cup of either fruits or veggies at each meal, and a bit of carbs. Can't remember the exact formulas, but right now, I'm more worried about cutting out oils and fatty foods and adding vegetables to my diet, while also keeping portion sizes in check. I'll have to ask her about getting a copy of her list of what she can have and post it for "approval", lol. I think you guys would be the best ones to ask if a particular diet is good or bad.

Anyways, thank you guys for the help. I'm going to weigh myself in the morning to see exactly where I am starting, and I'm going to stop all junk as of today and start trying to eat right. Is it a good idea to keep a journal? If so, what should I try to keep track of? Should I write down everything I eat or just use fitday to keep it all straight?
 
To the OP, check out coconut oil, coconut flour (alternative to wheat flour for making pancakes), and coconut milk. I just ordered all that off amazon. Coconut oil is a healthy oil (fat), and good for cooking at high temps, has a high flash point. Olive oil is a healthy oil (fat), but should not be used at high heat.

EDIT: Just in case it is not obvious, I am speaking of coconut oil, pure coconut oil, for cooking. Not suntan lotion (that sometimes is advertised as containing coconut oil!)


KaraCooks said:
...But it's not just calories, it's what you eat. You need to make sure you're eating protein, veggies and fruits, healthy carbs (whole grains), and healthy fats. Pizza and soda should not be a part of your diet right now.
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Dude it sounds like your shack is literally filled with trash food. So put it in the trash, it is just poison killing you slowly, or maybe fast. You said you are strapped economically, so maybe you could barter and sell the food to a friend? Or check out the local food shelf and see what you could get, healthy food. But as you will be cutting back on portions and healthy nutrient dense food now, you won't be needed so much food. All that trash food is usually expensive anyhow, and always makes you hungry, never satisfied. I am eating nutrient dense foods now (meat, fowl, seafood, veggies, fruit) and can get through a day with a negative calorie balance without too much hunger at all when evening comes.

Throw out that s*&^ in your cupboards! Go buy some meat, fish, vegetables, lettuce, coconut oil, berries. No more sugar, learn to taste grapefruit and berries without sugar!
 
...and my point about the pizza and pop was just to say that I am trying. I may not have cut it out completely yet, but I'm really trying to get out of the habit, and I feel that a little at a time is better than cold turkey, lol. As of tomorrow, I'm going to try to cut out all the junk completely.

Randall, I've never heard of coconut oil, I'll have to look into that. You say you can cook with it?
 
I never sugar or salt anything. I sometimes put a dash of salt on potatoes, but I love grapefruit just as it comes, and I found that if I freeze fresh berries in ziploc bags, I can pour some in a bowl and just eat them like that. Nice alternative to sweet junk foods and ice cream, beacuse it's cold and refreshing, and it's hard, so you have to eat it slow, which makes me feel more satisfied in the end.

Believe me, if you could see the difference in my kitchen between today and yesterday, you'd be proud, lol. I made the decision today that I was tired of killing myself and it's going to stop. I got rid of almost everything I could. Remember, I'm not the only one in my house, so I can't just throw everything out, but I can get rid of everything that is mine. The stuff I couldn't throw out, I put away or covered with towels so I didn't see any of it. Not having to look at it is a huge help.
 
I recently discovered coconut oil. It is a HEALTHY oil/fat, including cardiovascular / heart issues:


Smells good, tastes good, and is healthy. Some people eat a tablespoon or two a day right out of the jar, because it keeps on satiated and has health benefits. Do some googling on it to learn more; there are entire books on coconut oil on amazon too. I use it now for much of my cooking-- meat and fish in a skillet, and it has a great taste and odor; sometimes I take a spoon of it just as a health snack and to curb appetite. Can't wait for my coconut flour to arrive to I can make pancakes, because I am avoiding grains and wheat flour, the scourge of cardiovascular disease according to many (in the least, carbs like that raise blood sugar to cause vasculitis and hypertension, a proven fact; meat and fish have glycemic indexes of zero).

ps: Glad to see you got a ticker for your weight loss! Remember, the tortoise beat the rabbit!
 
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You won't even want that junk after eating healthy for a couple of weeks. I went to the theater a couple of days ago :lurk5: and my friend had popcorn and nachoes and cheese and pop and I just looked at it with disgust, as I munched on my cauliflower, sliced apple, a few nuts, and some bottled water, and I felt good; my friend felt nauseous after the movie-- duh. He also had chinese food at my home a couple of days ago, and I had NO interest in any of that food, my dinner was so much more satisfying.

mccormack090305 said:
...Believe me, if you could see the difference in my kitchen between today and yesterday, you'd be proud, lol. I made the decision today that I was tired of killing myself and it's going to stop. I got rid of almost everything I could. Remember, I'm not the only one in my house, so I can't just throw everything out, but I can get rid of everything that is mine. The stuff I couldn't throw out, I put away or covered with towels so I didn't see any of it. Not having to look at it is a huge help.
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You are making some great changes! I am proud of you, we all are here! Create a new life for yourself, it is starting now! Like a new birthday!

mccormack090305 said:
I never sugar or salt anything. I sometimes put a dash of salt on potatoes, but I love grapefruit just as it comes, and I found that if I freeze fresh berries in ziploc bags, I can pour some in a bowl and just eat them like that. Nice alternative to sweet junk foods and ice cream, beacuse it's cold and refreshing, and it's hard, so you have to eat it slow, which makes me feel more satisfied in the end.

Believe me, if you could see the difference in my kitchen between today and yesterday, you'd be proud, lol. I made the decision today that I was tired of killing myself and it's going to stop. I got rid of almost everything I could. Remember, I'm not the only one in my house, so I can't just throw everything out, but I can get rid of everything that is mine. The stuff I couldn't throw out, I put away or covered with towels so I didn't see any of it. Not having to look at it is a huge help.
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I suggest that you keep on walking and do not try to push yourself into walking too briskly. I was pretty big when I started out and couldnt have walked briskly back then - but I did find that my walking was beneficial towards weight loss.

We all know that the junky food is unhealthy - but it is tempting. The trick is to try to be stronger than that - and to try to deny yourself. Some people will say that nothing is off limits and to have a tiny amount - but I firmly believe that this approach does not work for me. I find it easier to have something totally off limits. If I have a little bit of something - I want more of it...

There is however no need to go hungry. You can actually have really quite large portions of the very healthy stuff. The stuff like fruit and vegetables - especially veg... You also want a decent amount of lean protein in your diet - so that is basically stuff like lean meat, poultry, fish, low fat dairy, pulses and legumes... Protein tends to be quite good at satisfying your appetite. If you stick to the really healthy stuff - cooked in a healthy way - you can actually eat from a very full plate. Use this as a basis for your eating and you will not go too far wrong.

You may want to try eating pretty much solely from the following list of healthy food. If you stick to the list you should be able to eat until you feel full and not worry about counting calories. Eating from a list such as this does take discipline - but when I was in my main weight loss phase I was eating pretty much solely from these foods.



Good luck. :)
 
I would also suggest to anybody, get a book or website that can give info on glycemic loads of various foods. Learn to eat low glycemic index foods so as to lose weight and also reverse type II diabetes. For example, some fruits (banana) and potatoes have a pretty high glycemic index or load, those I would tend to avoid. Meat has a glycemic index of zero, sugar (the standard for the glycemic index scale) has a glycemic index of 100, Malt-o-Meal about 85 which is almost like eating a bowl of sugar. Keep the foods one eats as low in the glycemic index as possible and one's body will tend to burn fat for fuel, insulin levels will not swing so wildly.
 
If you are serious about losing weight and improving your health, you can drop me a message at estellejoy@gmail.com.

I'll be glad to help you(:)

If you are really, really serious that is.

Humans are made up of cells. Cells = tissues = organs. In order for our body to function well, our cells need to be fed with good nutrients. Thus, first of all is to change your eating habit. Next is to drink lots and lots of water. For every 1KG of your weight, you will need to drink 75ml of water. Water is essential, and that DOES NOT include juice, coffee etc. It should be PURELY water.

As the organs in our body need different amount of water to function well, if one of the organs does not receive sufficient water to function, their job will be shared with the other organ, which will affect your body's overall performance. For example, when the kidney lacks of water, it is unable to function fully. Thus, the kidney's workload will be shared with the liver. As one of the jobs of the liver is to convert stored fats and provide energy to the body, it is unable to do so now that it has to do kidney's jobs too. And this cause the liver to be unable to burn off the fats completely. When this happens, fat increases, causing the weight to increase too.

Appropriate amount of Nitric Oxide is good for the heart as it helps to improve blood flow regulation, cell growth and smooth muscle relaxation.
 
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