Way Off Topic: Sleep Apnea and Obesity

[Reddinr]

My advice is to see your doctor again to specifically discuss your desire to lose weight and not feel so tired. Be sure they run the tests needed to rule out common, easily treatable, ailments that don't help with weight or may lead to a tired feeling. Vitamin D and (quick Google results below...)

Combined with a good diet/exercise, you will have covered the bases. Probably a good multivitamin targeted for your circumstance too may help.
For me, a problem was Thyroid and Vit. D. Everybody is different though. I find exercise kind of boring. Thank goodness for my wife who insists on us getting out for a daily 45 minute or longer walk with our dogs.

Weight

• Thyroid hormone deficiency.
• Estrogen dominance.
• Androgen imbalance.
• Insulin resistance.
• Metabolic syndrome.
• PCOS.
• Growth hormone deficiency.
• Cortisol excess.

Lethargy

• Melatonin.
• Serotonin.
• Oestrogen.
• Progesterone.
• Testosterone.

 

[rwdenney]

On diets: for weight loss, they all work if outgoing calories exceed incoming calories. In the 90’s, I lost 75 pounds, from 270 to 195, with a low-fat “Mediterranean” diet, which was certainly not ketogenic. Once I’d lost the weight, I kept it off with endurance sports, culminating in an Ironman triathlon in 2000.

But that was too much. I got married (I was about 20 years behind schedule on that) and the time spent working out was too much to sustain. But I didn’t just dial it back—I stopped. The weight came back gradually at first, but accelerated when I took my current job with its 35 weeks of travel a year. By 2018, I was back up to 270.

In 2018, my wife started a doctor-supervised ketogenic diet and I joined her. I told them 50 pounds or 3 months, whichever came first. The diet was highly restrictive and I’m no fan of being ketogenic forever, though people hold religious beliefs in that topic and I don’t want to argue about it. But at 1000-1100 calories a day, it worked.

Once I got down to 220, I transitioned to a generally healthy and sustainable diet. After a few weeks I discovered I could move again, and started regular cycling and running again. That and lack of travel during Covid got me down to 190. My running has suffered a couple of months-long hiatuses because of running injuries, and I generally back off during winter. But during those periods I just become a detailed calorie counter. I’ve just started regular running, cycling, and weights again for this year and I’m still in the 190’s—any lighter than that and my friends think I’m unhealthy.

All of that has been orthogonal to OSA, and I’ve been using a CPAP machine for the last dozen years. Losing the weight improved every aspect of my life, but did not get rid of the OSA.

My sleep is not consistent, but I’m a night owl and don’t exercise enough discipline about bed time, particularly when on the road. That’s what I really need to improve.

When I have a cheat meal, I don’t try to compensate the next day. I just add a couple of workouts and then get back on my 2000-calorie discipline the next day. If I notice I’m allowing more that a cheat meal every couple of weeks, I trigger my own awareness and get back to a daily routine of specific low-calories meals. The workouts are key—they make me feel like an athlete and that makes good earring habits much easier to sustain.

Everyone really must chart their own course on diets. The one common element I’ve seen among those who succeeded long-term is 1.) the initial committed decision, and 2.) an exercise lifestyle (at least after the initial weight loss).

Rick “for whom ‘diet’ is not a temporary or isolated concept” Denney

 

[extropic]

One exercise idea that interests me is walking my standard poodle named Daisy. Any time spent with her makes me very happy. She would like walks, as well!

About 3 hours before I went to the ER a week ago, I was having yet another argument with my wife. We just don’t like how the other one is. I went to bed profoundly angry & disappointed, & then woke up suffocating, either from a dream or a malfunctioning CPAP machine.

I need to find some way to stop the disagreements with her. We have been battling for over 25 years. We are very incompatible, but I would not go off by myself because I would lose half my pension + much of my social security.

I need to become a man who cannot be argued with. In other words, I might have to present to her what she wants to see (somebody who likes her), & say what she wants to hear (“You are great!”). I never had any interest in acting, but being myself has been a bust.

Yipes!

Free opinions follow, and worth every penny.

Don't worry about the weight and/or the CPAP.

Your home situation is the GIANT Gorilla that you need to get under control.

By 'under control' I mean achieve a common understanding satisfactory to both of you.

You need to get some professional help regarding improving your relationship situation/mental health.

The pressures from the home front are constant and unrelenting. Sleeping like a baby will not relieve them.

If you drop dead, she gets it all, right? Giving away 1/2 is better than dying young. Thank you very much.

Don't squander your resources protecting yourself from the misery. Spend your resources seeking the Joy.

Please get professional help and work it through to a satisfactory resolution.

Wishing you the best of happieness and health.

 

[savarin]

I'm type 2 diabetic, I went keto way before it became a fad diet against all the advice from my doctor and dietician.
Its difficult, we have been brainwashed from birth on eating a "balanced" diet full of sugar and breads and other starchy foods.
I really miss bread and potatoes but I have proved it is doable.
When I first started I had to reduce all my meds and eventually stop all of them but I also lost 35 Kg (77lbs) from 135kg ( 297lbs) to 100 kg (220lbs), I'm now sitting on 90kg (198lbs). 6'00" tall.
I religiously kept to less than 20 grams of carbs a day.
I had more energy, felt better all round and seemed to be able to think more clearly.
I would suggest you research this heavily, more medical professionals are coming around to its all round benefits.
Also as its a total eating change look for the menu planners with full menus, recipes and shopping lists, I cannot emphasize how much easier it makes it.
Read ALL the ingredient amounts to check on carbs and sweeteners. I found all the artificial sweeteners triggered my sugar cravings.
I stayed on keto the first time for 4 months, stopped the meds, dropped the weight felt brilliant. Went back slowly to eating the old stuff and within 2 years had to re start the meds but the weight only went up 5kg.
Re started keto which dropped me to 90 kg, meds all off, felt great, stopped full keto but stayed low carb, in other words wasnt in keytosis.
Weight is stable at 90kg but back on meds.
I am now trying to fully restart keto again as the all round benefits far outweigh any of the downsides (for me bread and sugar cravings)
Give it a go there is nothing to loose except excess weight

 

[twhite]

Stay away from meds to solve your problem. I am not over weight so take this with a grain of salt. To me it’s simple you must exert more calories than you consume period. Now that could mean starve yourself and do little exercise or eat 3-4 thousand calories and work it off. And I mean no disrespect just a observation in life.

In late 2021 I saw a picture of myself. I was shocked as to how heavy I looked. I was very upset with myself. So starting that night I decided to loose some weight. I simply stopped eating at the very first sign of feeling full. I also stopped my snack when I got home from work.

The first few weeks I had a mental block about having to eat everything. I got over that. Just by stopping when I felt the slightest bit full. I lost 35 lbs over 6 months. From 250 to 215. It has stayed off. I do fluctuate plus or minus 5 lbs from the 215.

Now if I would just do a bit of exercise I could drop a few more. FYI I am 60 and am 6’4” medium frame at best. Would love to get to 200. Also off my BP meds now.


Cutting oil is my blood.

 

[erikmannie]

A lot of success stories above!

Being on vacation gets me out of my routine. I have had the same job for 28 years, & UPS always gets 100% out of their employees. After a work day or a work week, there isn’t much discretionary time to get myself into trouble (e.g. spend too much time bickering with the wife or going off somewhere & getting into trouble).

I have overeaten due to stress, & about 95% of that stress is due to marital challenges. I can avoid that stress if I am not around her (usually practiced as “at work” or “out in the shop”). If I am at work, I am fine & making money. If I am out in the shop, it is very fulfilling.

I claim that I can maintain almost any **routine** that I come up with. After Easter Sunday, I don’t have any paid days off until Spring 2024. I plan to work a lot of hours to pay off the whopping $45K in tool & equipment debt (all at very low interest rates now!) and follow the calorie-controlled healthy eating meal plan.

At work, I can pick up extra hours anytime I want, & the work is easy for me to do (only because I have been doing it for so long).

The more hours I work, the less stress & less temptation to cheat on the diet I will have. Seeing as how I have this scary huge debt, choosing to work long hours seems appropriate.

I will have to choose walking the dog(s) as a form of exercise because I can’t think of anything else that appeals to me.

The overeating is triggered by domestic stress. This occurs at home. As with most homes, there is a lot of food in the house. This gluttony generally provides me with instant relief, & now it has caught up with me!

—Erik “you can’t argue with her if you’re not around her” Mannie

 

[twhite]

Slow and steady on the weight loss. It takes time to change your habits. Sounds like you have a plan. I wish you the best on it. Our health is the most important thing. If we don’t have that nothing else matters. That goes for our mental health too. Maybe the most important IMO.


Cutting oil is my blood.

 

[savarin]

Calorie controlled diets are not really the answer, they usually reduce fats to almost zero.
Fat alone is perfectly fine, fat with sugar/carbs is the elephant in the room.
I eat butter like its going out of fashion, I eat every scrap of pat from pork, steak, lamb, chicken skin etc, my last blood test (4weeks ago) had my cholesterol numbers as good - up in the high range, bad - way below the worry mark. My doc says not to tell him what I'm eating just carry on as its working.
There is a lot of research going on at the moment regarding how the calorific value of foods was derived (ie, faulty research at the time) in an effort to better understand their true values.
Good luck and take care.

 

[Inferno]

Calorie controlled diets are not really the answer, they usually reduce fats to almost zero.
Fat alone is perfectly fine, fat with sugar/carbs is the elephant in the room.
I eat butter like its going out of fashion, I eat every scrap of pat from pork, steak, lamb, chicken skin etc, my last blood test (4weeks ago) had my cholesterol numbers as good - up in the high range, bad - way below the worry mark. My doc says not to tell him what I'm eating just carry on as its working.
There is a lot of research going on at the moment regarding how the calorific value of foods was derived (ie, faulty research at the time) in an effort to better understand their true values.
Good luck and take care.

Everyone is different.
I know a couple people who eat really really well. Both are pretty thin. Both have high cholesterol. One, without medication, is over 400.
I've never had much of a "good" diet but my cholesterol is just barely above the high threshold. And, yeah, I need to lose weight.
Will be getting an apnea test sometime this year. I don't know how it would be treated because I can't wear a mask.

 

[Aaron_W]

Diet will help with weight loss, but people are different, what works for one does not work so well for another. Find something that works for you.

At the end of 2021 I had my gallbladder removed and was horrified to see my weight. Once the gyms opened again I got back into a routine of swimming several times a week. I also started scaling back the worst foods, 2 sodas a day, then one, then just on occasion. I think Ive only had 3 or 4 sodas in the past year. I like food, but I've been better about not eating unless I'm actually hungry. Luckily I do like vegetables but I've been eating a lot more salads, and occasionally just have a big bowl of vegetables, they are filling and good for you with fairly low calories. I have not totally eliminated anything I like, I just consume far less of the things I should eat less of. I'll still have a cookie or ice cream, just not all the time.

The best part is since I'm just being more careful about what I eat, rather than eliminating things I don't feel deprived. I don't have cravings so it has been easy to stick with it. So far I'm down about 30lbs.

Walking is good exercise. Just moving on a regular basis is important. You don't have to lift weights, or train for an Ironman competition, just get out for 30 or 40 minutes a couple times a week and do something active.
My dad and his girlfriend go for walks several times a week, he is in his mid 80s and she is 90, they are both very active. My dad and a friend (also in his 80s) go backpacking in the Sierras every summer.


The other side is stress. I have a lot of experience with that. Stress will kill you. Stress can make you sick. Stress can cause panic attacks. Stress can make you gain or lose weight (usually whichever you don't want). Stress and depression can definately make you feel tired all the time.

Exercise is also good for stress.

Kaiser has some good stress reduction programs. You should look into them along with the weight loss and sleep study.


I don't really have any advice about your wife, but that has to be a major part of your stress. Maybe you two can come to some agreement, just agree to disagree and see if there is a middle ground where you don't beat each other up emotionally. Maybe some councilling could help. Maybe just agree to stay out of each other's hair.