Do you have type 2 diabetes or are you pre diabetic? Or maybe just overweight?

[Wombat of Doom]

I thankfully am just fat. I have severe peripheral neuropathy of the legs that requires meds which cause weight gain to be able to walk. I am not in fine shape. I am late 30s and having trouble with the diet. (I have tried numerous diets with no success and occasional side issues that have to be addressed.) I am trying to figure out a cardio regimen that is arm based as running and too much leg exercise causes me to lose control of my ankles. I already, just feel a vague burning sensation below the knees. I am trying to figure out how to do it and leaning towards an arm bike. In a true SHTF scenario, I would need to be a support person. (And I have a ton of useful skills) I am quite strong with the upper body as I need to be for work. (I never know when I will have to physically restrain a psychotic patient.) But my cardio and endurance suck.

 

[Joe13]

I thankfully am just fat. I have severe peripheral neuropathy of the legs that requires meds which cause weight gain to be able to walk. I am not in fine shape. I am late 30s and having trouble with the diet. (I have tried numerous diets with no success and occasional side issues that have to be addressed.) I am trying to figure out a cardio regimen that is arm based as running and too much leg exercise causes me to lose control of my ankles. I already, just feel a vague burning sensation below the knees. I am trying to figure out how to do it and leaning towards an arm bike. In a true SHTF scenario, I would need to be a support person. (And I have a ton of useful skills) I am quite strong with the upper body as I need to be for work. (I never know when I will have to physically restrain a psychotic patient.) But my cardio and endurance suck.

The hand bikes are called ergometers and are great for cardio.

Cardio is great and great for you but remember that diet is supposedly 80-85% of weight loss and excersise certainly has many benifits but won't drop all the weight alone.


Swimming is another great option for full body cardio that is very low impact if you have access to a pool or can join a gym that has one.

 

[bbbass]

I saw that today and didn't stop but I will have to.

I can only eat about a handful a day cuz of carbs and such but I love them and apricots.

My cardiologist wants me to eat two pieces of fruit a day... helps the digestion too. I've found that blueberries and apples don't spike my blood glucose. That's a good thing.

I thankfully am just fat. I have severe peripheral neuropathy of the legs that requires meds which cause weight gain to be able to walk. I am not in fine shape. I am late 30s and having trouble with the diet. (I have tried numerous diets with no success and occasional side issues that have to be addressed.) I am trying to figure out a cardio regimen that is arm based as running and too much leg exercise causes me to lose control of my ankles. I already, just feel a vague burning sensation below the knees. I am trying to figure out how to do it and leaning towards an arm bike. In a true SHTF scenario, I would need to be a support person. (And I have a ton of useful skills) I am quite strong with the upper body as I need to be for work. (I never know when I will have to physically restrain a psychotic patient.) But my cardio and endurance suck.

Yup, I have peripheral neuropathy of the lower legs from diabetes. I can tolerate it well enough during the day, but I have to take GabaPentin at night to sleep. That stuff makes me a zombie in the morning, have to drink lots of wakeup juice! I don't run or walk due to arthritis, although they tell me walking is the best for arthritis... yeah anything that hurts that much is not going to happen! I've found that a recumbent cycle or a recumbent stepper is something I can tolerate tho. I hope you find something that works for you!!

Cardio is great and great for you but remember that diet is supposedly 80-85% of weight loss and excersise certainly has many benifits but won't drop all the weight alone.


Swimming is another great option for full body cardio that is very low impact if you have access to a pool or can join a gym that has one.

^^^THIS^^^

I certainly would swim, but pool membership is beyond my low fixed income. I tried to get my cardiologist to prescribe it so it would be paid by VA, but he wouldn't. Sigh. Right now I'm in pool therapy once a week as part of my physio for overstrained back muscles. Low impact exercising in 92deg water... it's wonderful!!!

 

[Certaindeaf]

The hand bikes are called ergometers and are great for cardio.

Cardio is great and great for you but remember that diet is supposedly 80-85% of weight loss and excersise certainly has many benifits but won't drop all the weight alone.


Swimming is another great option for full body cardio that is very low impact if you have access to a pool or can join a gym that has one.

In my gym I see a steady stream of younger ladies that have the body shape of a coconut hitting the aerobic machines hard af. I never had the heart to tell them they are just wasting their time and to just stop eating for a goodly while.

 

[The Heretic]

 

[The Heretic]

In my gym I see a steady stream of younger ladies that have the body shape of a coconut hitting the aerobic machines hard af. I never had the heart to tell them they are just wasting their time and to just stop eating for a goodly while.

Or they could do what my ex did to finally and permanently loose weight (and her teeth); get hooked on meth.

 

[Joe13]

Stepped on the scale this morning and I'm down to an even 265. I haven't been below 267 in a very long time it feels like. 245 is my goal right now and I'll adjust it when I get there.

Had a 4 day weekend and only eat twice a day when I'm at home and not working out.

Looking forward to hitting the upper body hard tomorrow - nothing like a good surge of endorphins and a swollen chest, back and arms.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

In my gym I see a steady stream of younger ladies that have the body shape of a coconut hitting the aerobic machines hard af. I never had the heart to tell them they are just wasting their time and to just stop eating for a goodly while.

I am experimenting with diet. But frankly with more stamina and better cardio conditioning I would be okay with my size. My doc is not worried about my weight and I am not worried about brute strength as I have enough. Being smaller would be nice, but cardiovascular health is what I need.

 

[HB of CJ]

Weighed 242 honest. Stripped in the early AM. Blood proteins 7.1 Now down to 210 and losing. Blood proteins now 5.9. Still on the oral meds. High protein low carbo diet with all the veges wanted. No sugar or salt. Five small meals a day. Exercise. Physical rehab has greatly helped also.

 

[Joe13]

Weighed 242 honest. Stripped in the early AM. Blood proteins 7.1 Now down to 210 and losing. Blood proteins now 5.9. Still on the oral meds. High protein low carbo diet with all the veges wanted. No sugar or salt. Five small meals a day. Exercise. Physical rehab has greatly helped also.

Blood protien is linked to kidneys?

My doc keeps testing me and my number shows up as too low to test so I guess that's good.

Doc wants me on some sort of preventative med but I'm pretty against adding anything unless I absolutely have to.

I take cranberry extract in pill form every day to prevent kidney stones from the amount of protien I eat.

 

[bbbass]

Blood protien is linked to kidneys?

My doc keeps testing me and my number shows up as too low to test so I guess that's good.

Doc wants me on some sort of preventative med but I'm pretty against adding anything unless I absolutely have to.

I take cranberry extract in pill form every day to prevent kidney stones from the amount of protien I eat.

I think he meant A1c????

I have kidney disease and AFAIK they don't measure blood proteins (I'd have to look at my extended tests), they measure excreted protein in the urine. Another measure of kidney disease is Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), which they compute by measuring two other blood factors.

 

[bbbass]

View attachment 597386

 

[Siglvr]

Good job all! Hang in there, the result will be worth it! Also, the Zone Diet books makes sense and is easy to initiate. We fall into these little traps (mmmm, Hostess, mmmmm) and long term it goes to crap (I'm more guilty than many but have my health still). It's worth it to keep it together and keep healthy. Luck to all.

 

[arakboss]

Sort of off topic comment: When I was in Curt's (Milwaukie gun store) yesterday the issue of keto came up. One of the older guys working there, possibly Curt himself was talking about his weight when he was driving truck for a living. He got up to 270 lbs and he is an average height guy. With a keto diet he is now down to around 180lbs and is on keto for life. First time keto ever came up for me in a LGS.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I need to get back onto doing cardio on bicycles.. blood work came in, all numbers are good except cholesterol and weight. Dr was surprised that even with high-normal/pre hypertension and being overweight, blood numbers and lung/pulse/heart sounds were good for my age

 

[dcfranzen]

blood work came in, all numbers are good except cholesterol and weight. Dr was surprised that even with high-normal/pre hypertension and being overweight, blood numbers and lung/pulse/heart sounds were good for my age

This reminds me of what the ER Doc told me after a 6-hour visit/exams because of angina I was experiencing two months after my 59th birthday. For years, I followed a "healthy low-fat" diet and got plenty of cardio, hadn't smoked in 15 years, or drank in 25 years. Nevertheless, I had all the other risk factors for heart disease and others but was clueless or in denial.

Two weeks after my ER visit, I had a heart attack which felt like someone punched me between the shoulder blades. Two weeks after the attack, I had to have 3 stents placed in my heart - a large and medium down the left anterior descending artery (widow maker-99% blockage) and a small in the central (68% blockage).

Thinking back on those days, I wish someone had clued me about maintaining a healthy waistline measurement and the LCHF dietary strategy.

 

[TeacherSmurf]

@Joe13 I just want to say congratulations to you on your progress on getting healthy and fighting diabetes. I'm glad to hear you and others are taking steps to keep your blood sugars under control. I truly know how difficult this can be. I'm a Type I diabetic and I always find it strange how many Type II people I run into that don't take it seriously or have an "oh well" attitude.

Keep up the good work and know the effort is worth it.

 

[Baseacegoku]

I started doing intermittent fasting with occasional periods of water fasting and cutting out carbs and sugars. So far, after four months, I'm down 62 pounds and just chugging along.

The evils of carbs and sugars are tough to overstate. I'm glad to hear of the success of so many others on this forum. Some of my coworkers are having great success too. How long before bread will have a surgeon general's warning? Candy bars and ice cream too.

And congrats Joe on your outstanding progress!

Tell me more about this intermittent fasting and water fasting?

 

[Baseacegoku]

I'm willing to bet there are more then a few of you that are most likely in the same boat - If not then this may be redundant reading.

Hey, I resemble that remark.

 

[s1xty7]

Tell me more about this intermittent fasting and water fasting?

Let me start by saying that I am not a medical doctor or any sort of medical expert or nutritionist. My advice is terrible and should be followed by no one ever. Consult with your doctor before making any changes and do plenty of your own research.

Now that we got that out of the way, I'm actually doing three things at once. First, intermittent fasting (IF) is where you only eat during certain hours of the day or only certain meals. For me, that's been typically dinner time. Second, I've been avoiding carbs (breads, pastas, etc) and sugars (including sugar substitutes as they cause a similar reaction in your body). Basically, meats, veggies, and fats. You can find out more about becoming "fat adapted". Third, is water fasting. Every so often, there are periods of time where I don't consume anything but water and electrolytes (look up "snake juice", which absolutely tastes terrible). I'll typically go 3 or 4 days at a time water fasting every few weeks. Most of my weight loss occurs after day 2 of a water fast. Losses will slow down over time, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. Losing only a couple of pounds a week is more sustainable long term and you're more likely to keep it off.

During the process, there will be times that you fall off the wagon. Reassert yourself and get back at it. Pitter patter. Don't beat yourself up over it. Your choice to change your lifestyle is the important thing to focus on. This path, as with any long term commitment, can be trying and difficult but rewarding. Good luck, whatever you decide to do.