Just diagnosed with heart disease

[Julie160]

Hi, I'm new here, I have just been told I have heart disease, high cholesterol, I also have chronic sarcoidosis, degeneration of the spine, knees and ankles and kidney issues alot of my meds have the side effect of severe weight gain and I am obese, but I have 1 meal a day sometimes 2, I'm just wondering where do I start as i suffer anxiety and right now I'm really scared xx thank you for reading and for any advice given in advance xx

[Yumz199725]

Hi JulieWelcome to the forum so sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with heart disease and so many other health problems. I can understand that your scared it's very overwhelming to be given news like that your definitely in the right place plenty of advice and people to talk to who understand what your going through I was diagnosed with heart disease before I was born so I was born with congenital heart disease which meant I needed an operation on my aorta at a day old I'm under a specialist at barts been with them for bout 8 years. Have you got a cardiologist and being seen at a specialist hospital??

Take care ❤️

[Norton]

Hi Julie

You have made a start, you have joined this forum, I’m new as well and have asked a few questions which have been answered and have helped.

I would ask my Gp for a dietetic referral or join one of the National weight loss groups they are really very supportive and encouraging and you can do this online

You should be offered cardiac rehab in a few weeks and these amazing people will help with all of your dilemmas with sound advice

A daily walk is a good place to start and help boosts your mood making it a little easier to follow through on the rest

Try to change a little at a time

Take care ❤️

[Mentdent]

The first step in weight loss, for me, was to cut out snacking. Calories only at meal times. The only drink between meals was water. It worked and I’m on steroids.

[Qualipop]

Hi,

You are obviously concerned about your weight but it's not so much what you weigh or how often you eat as WHAT you eat. You need to eat food that is heart healthy. No pizzas, pies, fried food, alcohol, cakes, biscuits. Sounds awful but it's easy. use only fresh ingredients and have a look at the main BHF pages where there are hundreds of heart healthy recipes that could even reduce your cholesterol. After my heart attack I banned all the food my husband likes and was brought up on - ie pies and fries ; I cut right down on red meat and switched to chicken and fish mainly; massively increased vegetables in every meal and stopped eating crisps. 6months later my GP commented on my weight loss which I hadn't noticed until my skirts started falling off. I'd lost 2 stone without even trying and my cholesterol had gone down. That was without exercising because I too have severe spinal problems and can't stand up without dreadful pain.