Unlike a lot with PD, I have had major issues losing weight. Pre-PD I was at 190lbs and maxed out at 230lbs before I started making some major changes in my lifestyle.
I am not on any prescription drugs and have been very lucky to control most of my issues with supplementation.
In the past, exercise has been very difficult, as my stamina and heart rate couldn't handle it very much (HR@ 200bpm). It was so bad that my doctor did many tests to ensure my heart was healthy.
So this leads to the current state: 6 weeks ago I started this journey at 230lbs, and am now at 204lbs! What changed? Eating habits were #1, then exercise.
I cut out all bread I can (excluding breading on boneless wings etc.), potatoes and pasta. I am not on a protein-only diet but just reduced my carb intake. I still eat a lot of vegetables, lean meats, and protein shakes when I'm not very hungry. I also fast from dinner to lunch every day, which sometimes is difficult, but the results are proof.
I do strength training every other day, and in-between use a VR set doing Les Mills Bodycombat (Like virtual kickboxing). I chose these as I travel 65% of the time for work, and wanted to do something sustainable while I am away.
I can't tell you how much this has had an impact on my life, as I don't even use my CPAP now, as my breathing has returned to normal during sleep.
Hopefully, this may also help someone that is having trouble losing weight, just thought I would share it with the group. 😀
Written by
SAGoodman
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Congrats. No prescription meds and able to function. Well done.
The weight is a bit of a prob I am in a similar place. No flour, no sugar, no dairy. I eat at around 11.30 and then sometimes a alight snack around 1800.
The Dr are in a slight panic about it but at the moment I have plenty of spare parts to be able to loose so don’t need a solution urgently.
The Chinese Dr is encouraging me to go on a Keto diet She seems to think that I have purposefully lost weight whereas in reality I can go for a whole day and not feel hungry. I have to apply logic with myself.
She also wants me to drink 3 litres of liquid a day to detox. Let me say that I am not meeting my target
I have started going to see her to treat hip pain it feels like there is sandpaper in the joint until I get moving
Bad advice. If the liquid is in the form of plain water it could kill you. This sort of disaster arises most frequently when athletes are advised to drink as much plain water as they can:
"The tragic deaths of two female charity marathon runners in 2003 fully exposed this fatal complication of exercise to sports medicine personnel as well as the lay public...Over the past decade, EAH deaths have been confirmed in the lay press in high school football players following practice, a soldier on the first day of Ranger training, a policeman participating in a 19 km bike ride, a college student performing calisthenics for a fraternity, a bushwalker, an ironman triathlete, and a canoeist during an ultradistance race. Additionally, a highly fit solider died during a 50 km training march with both hyponatremic encephalopathy and exertional heat stroke. The literature also reports symptomatic cases of EAH after long distance swimming, mountain cycling, yoga, 2 h of weightlifting plus tennis...
Overconsumption of Hypotonic Fluids
The majority of athletes who develop hyponatremia demonstrate an increase in total body water (TBW) relative to that of total body exchangeable sodium ... This develops from by the ingestion of hypotonic fluids (water or sports drinks)"
Generally speaking a person should drink according to thirst. For thirst impaired elderly such as myself, I make up for it by paying attention to subtle signs I need to drink something.
When first diagnosed I checked Dr Google. He said weight loss is a common sign. I thought, "Cool!" but in the four years since I've put on 40#. I grew up a chubby kid and decided to live with it. My profession is mixed-animal veterinarian.
In my 4th year of med-vet school I decided to lose weight to look better when I get married. I jogged every day at lunch hour. This was August in Baton Rouge, LA. Every day it was 100 degrees and 90% humidity during my midday run. I managed to get down to 165#
20 years later I was treating a horse with colic. He kicked me in my face, shattering my jaw into a dozen fragments. Treatment was wiring my jaw shut for three months. I lived on orange juice stirred into yogurt, carrying a half-gallon container and sipping constantly all day.
One day I visited the local library and saw they were tossing out several year's worth of periodicals. I grabbed a 3-ft high stack of Runners World Magazines. I read them all and learned how the world's best trained. And how the Tarajumara survived the conquistadors by outrunning their horses. In sandals made from discarded tires.
Eventually the wires came off. Every client commented on how thin I was. Then every client told me not to buy new cloths because I would not stay that thin for long. That caused me to re-read all 95 issues of Runners World. This was about September and I weighed about 200# I ran every day. Once Wyoming's Winter arrived I used a treadmill.
Once I felt ready I looked for a marathon. I found the Arbor Day race in Denver. You never forget your first. I finished the marathon in 4 hours and 6 minutes. 165#.
I continued to run. I lost count of how many marathons. I changed to ultras. An ultra is any race longer than a marathon. My favorite was the double marathon in Laramie Wy. I've done that one a dozen times. I tried the Leadville 100 mile trail race in Colorado. I tried it five times and got beat five times.
I guess I'll never get back to Leadville. Or maybe I can. First step is losing 40#. Anyone got a colicky horse?
I got up at 6 am every day, take my supplements and do VR kickboxing or weight training, both every other day. I do this every day of the week.I eat at lunch for the first meal of day, sometimes i have protien drink, same attitude as dinner the night before, and have some form of meat and vegetables. Take supplements.
Then I eat dinner with same mind set as lunch, do not eat until noon the next day, repeat.
thanks! I need to lose weight, too, but some of the exercising, I used to do, I cannot do now! I used to do heavy weights, when I was in my 50’s. In my 60’s I did some of my modifying to lighter weights! Now, in my late 70’s, with advancing PD, my situational awareness problems, along with poor balance, and tremor, make only light range of motion exercises best for myself, without taking any chances of dropping of weights, or falling etc. I’ve changed my diet a lot, with fasting, salads, no bread etc., so am slowly going down from 235 lbs! My genetics are going against me, which is quite aggravating!
Hi, I started a similar diet and intermittent fasting regimen over a year ago. I believe this has had the most impact on how I feel in addition to my exercise. I am glad you feel better with this regimen as well! Cheers
Right on! I did much the same thing and at age 71 I’m in the best shape of my life and not on meds yet. Diet and exercise matter. So does meditation, sleep, hydration, avoiding stress…….
congratulations! Glad to hear that you found a combination of exercise, diet and supplements that work for you. It is encouraging to hear that there are solutions out there, just need to be patient seeing as this condition affects each of us differently
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
persistent weight loss..
Maybe something else?
Silly, a sad way to end 
things I've learned in 25 years with PD
