[Blog] - My doctor is mad, I've got to make some changes

[Chaotic42]

I think I've posted health things here before, but it has to stick this time. I'm in my mid-30s, 6'2" and 235lbs. I've lived a life of high stress, low exercise, and poor diet. I started a new job in August and I think this is the longest streak of 40-hour weeks I've ever worked. For all of my professional life, I've killed myself working lots of hours, but now I might legitimately kill myself with my poor habits. My current doctor is pretty unhappy and I've decided that since I don't need to worry about getting laid off on any given day, I can settle down and try to focus on myself. To that end, he put me on a plan eating 1,800 calories per day and getting 30 minutes of cardio in five days per week. I go back for bloodwork in four weeks.

Right now, here's where I stand (yes, I know the numbers are bad):

• A1c - 11.1
• Calcium - 11
• Triglycerides - 932
• HDL - 36
• LDL - 197

My hope is that by updating this fairly regularly and using a phone app the doctor recommended, I can get these numbers somewhat less terrible. I've got a plan going with the doctor, but I think that committing to keeping track of this stuff will help me actually make changes. It should also make all of your feel better about your health

Anyone have worse numbers?

 

[K1052]

Sweet mother of god man. What are (were) you eating?

 

[killster1]

glazed fried chicken? what does this mean? "this is the longest streak of 40-hour weeks I've ever worked. "

I dont think its your work to blame its your diet and activity levels. i work 100 hours a week sometimes but meal prep or have a personal chef to make my meals for me so i dont have to worry about cooking so much on a 16 hour work day.

Fasting exercise of 30 mins 5 days a week sounds good for ya, just put something on the bigscreen and enjoy it while sweating off the pounds.

 

[whm1974]

How is it that you are still alive? So what are you planning on eating now?

 

[Chaotic42]

Sweet mother of god man. What are (were) you eating?

Fast food and cafeteria stuff mostly. I ate quite a bit of fresh fruit as well. It's not just diet and exercise, he thinks I have some sort of underlying condition. The HDL number was nice though, it used to be 6.

 

[whm1974]

Fast food and cafeteria stuff mostly. I ate quite a bit of fresh fruit as well. It's not just diet and exercise, he thinks I have some sort of underlying condition. The HDL number was nice though, it used to be 6.

I would be avoiding fast food completely if I was in your shoes. So are you preparing your own food now?

 

[killster1]

I would be avoiding fast food completely if I was in your shoes. So are you preparing your own food now?

give them a break im sure they know not to eat fast food or anything packaged etc etc, its out of conveniences and comfort. Maybe you are trying to motivate? I think the DR already motivated him, unless you are a hot girl and want to share some pics with him, not sure that you are helping.

 

[whm1974]

give them a break im sure they know not to eat fast food or anything packaged etc etc, its out of conveniences and comfort. Maybe you are trying to motivate? I think the DR already motivated him, unless you are a hot girl and want to share some pics with him, not sure that you are helping.

Sorry. I didn't mean to be judgemental. I went through the same thing after discovering that I have diabetes, high blood pressure, and that took me a while to adjust.

 

[tortoise]

• A1c - 11.1

test . . target ranges . . research

If doctor prescribes Metformin (for type 2 diabetes) . . when starting, DO NOT get too far from a toilet!

Restaurant suggestion . . patty melt with a vegetable or salad, steak & eggs. Avoid breads, potatoes, anything sweet.

Snack suggestion . . cheese sticks, Vienna sausages, pork rinds.

 

[Chaotic42]

Thanks. I've been diabetic for a couple of years, so I'm familiar with the kit, but I appreciate the links. As for foods, I'm violent allergic to eggs and lactose intolerant. Yay!

I'm going to be eating a lot of oats, nuts, and pork along with veggies.

 

[killster1]

Thanks. I've been diabetic for a couple of years, so I'm familiar with the kit, but I appreciate the links. As for foods, I'm violent allergic to eggs and lactose intolerant. Yay!

I'm going to be eating a lot of oats, nuts, and pork along with veggies.

what about hatched eggs instead of pork? i love the taste of pork but i think there are few good reasons not to eat much of it.

 

[mikeymikec]

@Chaotic42

IIRC you're the person who was trying to kick a soft drink addiction a few times. You're saying the doctor is mad, but I'm wondering if you're sufficiently convinced yet, and if not, what it would take to convince you. If I'm correct, have a good think about what it would take to convince you.

I'm not trying to be an ass about this, but change only comes from within with a) sufficient willpower - ie. being convinced that you must do what you're thinking about doing and b) a decent plan - in this case meal planning and exercise.

 

[TheVrolok]

Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.

Also insulin and a statin

 

[K1052]

Fast food and cafeteria stuff mostly. I ate quite a bit of fresh fruit as well. It's not just diet and exercise, he thinks I have some sort of underlying condition. The HDL number was nice though, it used to be 6.

I'm sure your doctor already gave you this advice but examining everything that's going into your body is now imperative. Did they refer you to a nutritionist?

 

[Chaotic42]

what about hatched eggs instead of pork? i love the taste of pork but i think there are few good reasons not to eat much of it.

I can eat a moderate amount of chicken. Whatever makes me sick from eggs is present in much lower quantities in chicken and turkey. I'd have to eat a lot several days in a row to feel any effects.

@Chaotic42

IIRC you're the person who was trying to kick a soft drink addiction a few times. You're saying the doctor is mad, but I'm wondering if you're sufficiently convinced yet, and if not, what it would take to convince you. If I'm correct, have a good think about what it would take to convince you.

I'm not trying to be an ass about this, but change only comes from within with a) sufficient willpower - ie. being convinced that you must do what you're thinking about doing and b) a decent plan - in this case meal planning and exercise.

I was and I finally got off of sugary sodas about a year ago. I drink diet now and I'm trying to trim them back.

Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.

Also insulin and a statin

I'm on both, and the doctor thinks if I lose enough weight I might be able to get off of the insulin

I'm sure your doctor already gave you this advice but examining everything that's going into your body is now imperative. Did they refer you to a nutritionist?

I went to a nutritionist around here voluntarily a few years ago. She literally just kept pushing the same old food pyramid with no hint of wanting to tailor the diet to my likes or needs. I was unimpressed.

I appreciate the responses, and no, they're not too harsh. Unfortunately for whatever reason, I find food tastier than I do other activities enjoyable. Nothing stimulates the reward center like tasty food - I'd give up virtually every other fun activity to be able to eat what I wanted with no consequences.

 

[K1052]

I went to a nutritionist around here voluntarily a few years ago. She literally just kept pushing the same old food pyramid with no hint of wanting to tailor the diet to my likes or needs. I was unimpressed.

A lot of them aren't worth a damn but a good one can be pretty helpful IMO, finding a good one is the hard part.

As to the diet soda thing I used to drink a shitload of it about 10 years ago. Oddly cutting back was way harder than going cold turkey. I replaced the lost caffeine with coffee which I steadily reduced. I know the science about it jacking with insulin levels is inconclusive but it seems like something to avoid if possible.

 

[Chaotic42]

Well, I can say that I've been good so far, I haven't gone over 2,000 calories yet (if I'm really craving food at the end of 1800 calories, I'll eat some blackberries which I refuse to feel bad about). This sucks, but it's better than death.

The MyFitnessPal app is pretty great, but the entries vary widely in their calorie count, so be careful. Lunch is hard, I'll have to pack some up this week.

 

[mike8675309]

Assuming you are normal sized male that calorie number seems pretty damn low. I assume you are working a program with your doctor and will be checking in regularly with them to make sure you are not low on important vitamins. When an adult eats around 1800 calories you really need to make sure sure plan it well so you can get all the micro-nutrients your body wants. People eating 3600 kcal a day may not get all their micro-nutrients in which is why at 1800 kcal you really need to plan things well.

 

[Chaotic42]

Yeah, eating a balanced diet seems a lot harder down here on the crappy end of the scale. I take multivitamins, but those are just insurance at best. I need to find a way to scrape the FDA's nutrition information database and then do some linear programming on it to min-max nutrition and calories. Could be fun.

First day of the gym today after last week's hidden eggs incident. Just some ~120-140 BPM cardio for 30 minutes. I'll ramp it up to 45 and then 60 in the next two weeks. Good to know that the wanna-be-alpha guy who screams as he cleans and jerks 30 pounds and then slams it on the ground is alive and well here in Nellyville.

 

[mike8675309]

Cromometer.com and you can skip the scraping.

 

[Chaotic42]

Thanks, I'll check it out. Down to 1500 calories per day until the weight loss gets kicked off.

 

[Chaotic42]

Still going strong. I've lost 12 pounds or so. I'm eating a lot less refined food and a lot fewer animal products. We'll see what the numbers say in a couple of months. I miss cheeseburgers.

 

[whm1974]

Still going strong. I've lost 12 pounds or so. I'm eating a lot less refined food and a lot fewer animal products. We'll see what the numbers say in a couple of months. I miss cheeseburgers.

Yeah doing major changes to one's diet isn't that easy at the beginning, good luck.

 

[skull]

Thanks, I'll check it out. Down to 1500 calories per day until the weight loss gets kicked off.

1500 is too low. Check out a TDEE calculator, you should be doing 1000 calories less than your TDEE at the most, that will net you roughly 2 lbs/week fat loss.

 

[TheVrolok]

Still going strong. I've lost 12 pounds or so. I'm eating a lot less refined food and a lot fewer animal products. We'll see what the numbers say in a couple of months. I miss cheeseburgers.

Nice work. Congrats!