Curious as to how strict everyone is on diet. Do you cheat occasionally or are you NO BAD FOOD EVER? Dr. said everything in “moderation”. That’s a little broad! Anyone have an occasional cheeseburger? They say diet plays a minimal part in lowering cholesterol so shouldn’t the opposite hold true? Would love feedback.
4 stents 6 months ago.
An intragrative doc I consulted with when first got AF told me I need to stick with healthy diet at least 80% of the time. Of course his version of healthy is whole foods, no processed, etc. I try to behave but not letting myself b obcessed. I limit myself to once a week I can do the fast food, soda, whatever I choose. Since Ive changed my eating habits, Ive found my stomach pays me back with indigestion if I pig out on the wrong things too much!!!
I follow a strict vegan diet and nope I don’t cheat! (But that just makes me seriously sad-as in pathetic!) no alcohol either! But I’ve lost 35kgs and don’t want to put it back. My cholesterol has also come way down as well. I feel better for it although I don’t recognise myself in the mirror anymore! Best wishes. Zena
I have moved to a fish and chicken lifestyle with lots of vegetables and salad. ( not diet... that always sounds like I am depriving myself)
I don't have processed foods ( it's all full of salt/fats and other gunk.) And making it yourself it tastes so much better.
I always buy fresh food not frozen. I enjoy 0%fat yoghurt.
I have cut out alcohol completely.. and feel great now I no longer have hangovers 😁.
I also eat raw honey that I buy from a local beekeeper ( a teaspoon a day in toast) as honey is known to protect your heart.
Do I cheat? .... I sometimes have chocolate or lemonade. But I don't see it as cheating more of giving myself a treat ( treat meaning a little bit every now and again)
My son who lives with me loves the new ( and as he says improved) foods... he thinks it's much more tasty than before.
And I have lost a stone in weight with the changes and feeling great and healthy too. 😁
Snap i do the same fish and chicken lots of fresh veg ,rice ,nothing fried and the only oil i use is extra olive ,as for alcohol thats a big no ,i also have lost over a stone .I must try that raw honey if i can find it sound lovely
Hi Kennetbarble yes I was told about the honey from one of the cardiologists at John Radcliffe. I had asked him what else I could do naturally to help my heart.
He then told me that research carried out had shown that raw honey is a protector of the heart... and in some instances had been shown to improve function. Although the honey has to be raw honey not shop bought processed honey. I then went on Google and typed in beekeepers in my area... there were lots! I called the first one and he said yes he sold his honey and so I now buy from my friendly beekeeper. You should also be able to buy from any local produce market. Always check if they heat treat their honey ( heating the honey destroys the goodness) so ideally it's raw honey not heated.
I have severe heart failure and since all my changes ( including exercise daily walks) my EF rate went up from 30% to 34%.
😁
Sorry to sound dim but is honey straight from a bee-keeper classed as raw? I get mine from a local guy who has them in his garden and it's great. Tastes much better than the shop honey. It's more expensive but worth it!
Hi Les.... yes if it's direct from the beekeeper and he hasn't proceeded the honey then that's raw honey. And as you day tastes much better than shop bought honey too. And is looking after our hearts too... you gotta love bees 😁
Fab thanks! They had some lovely honey up in the Highlands last year, heather honey from the bees on the Cairngorm mountains. Nearly £12 a jar though! Had to draw the line there 😁
He.. but ouch 're the price. Mine costs £3.50 per jar... and is lovely. My son has it on his toast too... and this year he has not been plagued by his normal hay fever xx
I no longer eat anything that has a saturated fat content of more than 2g per 100g. That's the only change I have made. Since I have made this change I have lost 3 stone (and counting) and my cholesterol has gone from high 7s to low 2s (with statins too).
I do occasionally break the rule, you have to or you will not stick to the change long term. Eventually though you crave things less and now I actually dislike things like chocolate as all I can taste is oil.
The Perfect Health Diet is written by an astrophysicist, its not his field so I would be wary. It seems more like a money making scheme to me, reselling other diets. There is a good comparison here carbsanity.blogspot.com/201...
The cardio rehab nurse told me that the occasional curry night or chinese meal is not going to hurt you and will make you feel better about the diet. I limit alchohol to the occasional cider after a hard days work in the garden and never on a school night. Have lost 1 1/2 stone but similar amount to go, so keeping it sensible
Reading all the comments does make me feel guilty! I just eat anything, mostly meat I absolutely hate veg of any kind (except carrots lol) I enjoy a vino as well oh dear,I have a love of square slice sausages and a bacon sandwich, yum 😋 pasta or rice usually to accompany my meal as I am not keen on potatoes, just shop bought mash, and I love bread/toast, but it has to be white Warburtons, in my defence I am only 8 stone and my cardiologist and heart failure nurses have never mentioned anything about the type of food I should eat, so I just have small portions of what I fancy, my cholesterol is fine and I am not on statins char x
What type of heart problem do you have? I'm 2 st overweight and my cardiologist said lose weight I took a heart attack last week and got a stent.
Hi I have dilated cardiomyopathy, heart failure and severe left ventricle systolic dysfunction, a bit of a mouthful, I have an icd fitted for insurance purposes! Apart from meds which they can't increase, its only a transplant they can do, but none of them have ever asked what I eat, or salt intake, or even exercise, which I don't really do either, I do wonder about it sometimes mabe I am a hopeless case and it dosn't really matter, I also see my cardiologist about every 10 wks, which on reading about everyone else seems very unusual! We are on first name terms lol, I don't eat big portions or sausages every just a little bit of what I fancy, I hope you are feeling a bit better now, it's such a shock to find out you have heart problems, I am still coming to terms with it after 18 months, take care char x
Well, I'm in a mess with the oily fish and honey. I'm allergic to honey and detest fish of any kind. Texture or taste, I gag if I try to eat it. My husband is a diabetic who secretly hides pounds of cake every week. His idea of a healthy meal is a huge steak or giant pies or a big fry up. What chance do i have? LOL. And before anyone says anything, no that has NOT been my diet. I may have two sausages a month and a small pie every couple of months. Everything else is fresh.
I eat reasonably healthily, but eat just what I want, and wine. And I'm still alive
Take care
C
I've been dealing with this for 12 years now plus volunteering with cardiac rehab and this is what I've learnt myself and from other patients.
Almost no-one is disciplined enough to never break out and life (work functions, travelling etc) get in the way - sometimes the choice is between no food or trying to choose the least worst option. My go to is Italian when travelling - they generally use olive oil not butter so Ill pick a penne arrabbiata - no meat, wholemeal pasta if they have it and no cheese. Add some pepper and a side of steamed veg of they have it. Steamed fish with ginger etc when going asian. I avoid Indian because lots of clarified butter (ghee) but if have to, will order rice, veggie sides etc and still have a nice meal.
I look ahead at each week and month and highlight where I know Ill have less control over my diet - birthday, work function etc and go 'ok, I have 4 of these this month, no more breakouts that month allowed. If I have nothing planned I'll allow one emergency blow-out and then plan a treat every 2 weeks. My treats though are not the full Big Mac, Fries, Shake etc - I'll have something simple that I enjoy - maybe a single scone with jam (no cream) and a nice cup of tea out with my wife.
When I was on my first rehab in Seattle USA some of the guys decided that Wednesday night would be blow-out night for pizza. I pointed out that eating pizza once a week every week is like being healthy for 6 years and then eating pizza every day for a year!
I see a dietician who has given me great professional advice on all this for my needs. Cheers
Most people cheat a bit - life would be really dull if you can’t have a little of what you fancy once in a while. The trick is to make your cheat a real treat and not an every day occurrence (a nice piece of real cheese as has been suggested already). Essentially you should adopt what is generally regarded as a healthy diet - lots of fruit and veg, nuts, pulses, whole grains, white meat, lean meat , limited red meat, oily fish etc. Or you could go vege (that still needs some thought as not all vege diets are healthy), or vegan (needs dedication and possibly supplements), if that floats your boat (but I’m guessing it won’t). In any event you need to add portion control and exercise.
Yes that sounds perfectly reasonable! Had four stents put in coming up on six months ago. I’m down 65 pounds from a year and a half ago but struggling to get the last 10 pounds off. I exercise 5 to 6 days a week hard for 45 minutes. Problem I have is there is so much conflicting advice from nutrition experts. Cardiac discharge nurse said to cook in coconut oil. Harvard medical just came out and said coconut oil is worse than lard and it’s poison to the body! I saw a documentary that said fat is what causes heart disease and heart attacks. Two nights later another documentary that said it’s not fat, it’s Carbohydrates. New nutritional information says it’s neither fat nor carbohydrates but inflammation and stress! I guess for me the bottom line is take my meds, exercise, eat a healthy diet, and treat myself on special occasions. Thanks for everyone’s Experience this is a great forum!
Cheers from Tennessee
I know exactly what you mean, especially about the coconut oil. I think we should follow. The Mediterranean diet and we'll be OK. 😊
Its not character assassination, just stating that its not his field. And it feels like a re-skinning of other diets we have seen before. Reading through a number of articles about PHD a lot is made of the fact he studied Astrophysics at MIT. Which to me is not relevant. It would make more sense to promote Jaminet's background or Kamal Patel for that matter who has a PHD in Nutrition.
What's the matter with everyone.You are only here once so enjoy it.On my ward in hospital every person was on some diet also vegans, but they were all having bypasses like me.
Eat smaller potions of what you like and move around more also enjoy your wine.Enjoy life. Xxxxx
When you look up Mediterranean diet all I see to find is lentils, quinoa soya and oily fish. How anyone can eat lentils or profess to like them beats me.
This made me laugh 😂! I am one of those seriously sad people who eat lentils!! However much yummier than lentils are raw oats dash of cold water smothered in soy yogurt. Heaven on a plate!! I guess it’s a good job we are all different. Zena
Oh well , glad someone laughed. NO one in my family can abide even the smell of lentils. Never tried raw oats or heard of them . I do love porridge but afraid oats have a seriously nasty effect on my eeerm digestive system; some what stronger than prunes (which I also love).
I was born with a narrow coronary artery but have been too strict in the past where not much food choices where alllowed so i have up and then found out it’s how food is cooked so I eat chips and burgers but cook them healthy but wen stressed give up and resort to fast food often which isn’t healthy. Onli just found out fruit juice is healthy as I have heart valve issues, keeping my teeth healthy is a must so was scared to eat fruit or drink fruit juice but since been told it’s healthy so hopefully will not need pop cos i have more choices in wat I can drink. I basically gave up fully cos it was too hard so onli a year in this time of caring about my heart health so hopefully it stays.
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