Weight Loss and Apnoea

[DocWils]

Just a quick note as to how much weight loss, even a little, can effect apnoea:

I just lost 10 kilos, and though still heavily over weight (the correct medical term is morbidly, but that sounds, well, ucky) I noticed that I no longer go all the way up to 16 ever on the pressure metre (my max is 16.5). Down to a max of 14 and even that is only for a few minutes.

The point I want to make is that weight loss, even a little, is a powerful tool in your therapeutic chest. So just because you are very heavy, don't let yourself be discouraged with the thought that just because it is unlikely you can never be slender again and the most that most morbidly obese people (say, 1.6 times their ideal body weight)) can ever hope for is a large reduction, but never down to ideal weights, does not mean that one should not try - the health benefits of even a small weight loss is enormous.

For example, the reason I dropped the 10 was because I had noticed my fasting blood sugar had started to spike up to over 6 mmol/l consistently, a sign of prediabetes. With the loss of weight it is now a clean 4.9 mmol/l. So that risk is suddenly lessened. Lowering the amounts of carbs and sugars is all it took (be aware that all carbs are sugars, ultimately, but not all are bad - cut out or lessen your starches or anything that grows under ground, eat happily from veggies that grow above ground, and you will be fine - the root vegs are massive "bad sugar" reservoirs, while the above ground types are not, except yellow corn - white corn however is fine).

Already my vision is also better, more stable, and I have more energy, and my back and knees hurt less. With my pressure demands lowered, I sleep deeper and wake up more refreshed.

So give it a go, even a bit off is good for you.

[Tez62]

Well done Doc, one step at a time, do you have a weight loss goal to lose? Keep at it

[trish6hundred]

Hi DocWils,
Thanks for the encouraging post and CONGRATULATIONS! on your weight loss.

[justMongo]

I know that is true....

Aber Doc. Ich liebe die Strudel.

[DocWils]

I do have weight loss goals, and thank you all. Really this started because I noticed my sugar spiking and my back really hurting from carrying a bowling ball in front of me all the time
(and actually, the back didn't hurt at all - the pain was in my abdomen below my right ribs - exactly where aggravated nerves from the back normally send out pain signals).

What I wanted to do here is encourage people to take some effort to lose weight, and enjoy the health benefits in the process - as I said the first step is just cutting back (not out) the "bad" carbs and of course, refined sugar - fat is less an issue, btw. The health benefits are enormous, and well worth the loss of the plate of chips (french fries to you Amis) that goes with your sandwich. And cut out the sandwich as well, as much as you can - bread is actually one the worst things for you, really. A bit here and there is all right, but really it is not a good thing to eat regularly (and this from a man who lives in a bread paradise - you may think the Swiss are known for their chocolate, but, next to the Germans, they have the best bread anywhere). Strudel auch (sorry Mongo).

Just consider how we evolved (we will not debate Evolution here, for those of you who believe the world is 6000 years old). For most of our evolution, we ate anything that was above ground - root vegetables are less that 6000 years old on our diets, and refined sugars only a few hundred (as is corn, BTW, in its modern form). We didn't even start on dairy products until relatively recently, evolutionary speaking, which is why most adults develop a mild intolerance to milk once they are out of the early years of life, and which explains why we tend naturally to gravitate to teas and coffees in our teens and twenties. I know this sounds like the Paleo diet, which I find a bit extreme. Instead I am asking you to keep in mind what our bodies have evolved to process easily, and leave the more recent stuff to little treats and occasional grazing instead of a normal part of your daily diet.

This here is all about how you can affect your apnoea and lessen your pressures, which of course, is a good thing. That is has tremendous knock on effects for the rest of your health is the cherry on the icing.

[justMongo]

There is a growing consensus that all the carbs described by DocWils are sources of inflammation. And, that inflammation is at the root of many modern disease states. Ergo, diets like the Paleo diet and variations on it are becoming popular.

There are good fats and bad fats -- the worst are the trans-fats. The only thing to keep in mind with fats are their calorie density is high at 9 Calories per gram.

Grains and farming are relatively new to the human diet. While they permitted a greater population to live on less land; and the rise of the great cities; our bodies are not adapted to these rapid sugars and odd proteins like gluten.

Corn is a "New World" food; and today it is genetically modified to increase production. Processed food uses corn and its fructose to a large degree.

The potato is also a New World food. It's failure as a crop brought many starving Irish to America.

To stay on-topic, weight loss improves OSA; and for some people it helps with hypo-ventilation during waking hours because the weight obstructs the movement of the diaphragm.

[retired_guy]

"(............. for those of you who believe the world is 6000 years old)"

It's older than that? How time flies..... I remember when dirt was new. We thought what a strange invention that was at the time.


"and for some people it helps with hypo-ventilation during waking hours because the weight obstructs the movement of the diaphragm. "

It's also true that for someone who is experiencing the joys of emphysema losing a few pounds can make the difference between having to take rest break on the way to the bathroom or not.

[sjssf]

"Corn is a "New World" food; and today it is genetically modified to increase production. Processed food uses corn and its fructose to a large degree.
The potato is also a New World food. It's failure as a crop brought many starving Irish to America."

New World was new only to the Europeans! The people who were here knew it as their world.
The Mesoamerican diet of corn, beans and chiles was pretty great. You can get heirloom corns and eat healthy potatoes.
I think it's processed foods that are the problem. Our bodies really haven't been prepared for that!

[Gabby]

Congratulations on your weight loss and it is so good you are feeling the benefits from it.
You have encouraged me to make an effort and do what I know I have to do to help me feel healthier, thank you.
I just have to do it now.

[sjssf]

There was a really interesting article in the NY Times recently about our weird obsession with being thin. It claimed that despite all we here, the statistics didn't match up with the push for weight loss and that obese people actually were living longer than people within the desired range. I know I'm bigger than I want to be but I also know there's no way I'm going to be a skinny sports model. And I don't want to be. The "desired weight range" is so unrealistic for me, I think it makes me want to give up completely.
They used to say "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" but I think that's insane. Of course it does, or we wouldn't be eating!