Help, please. Need some advice!

[tlawson]

Hello all,

I thought I would appeal to those of you who are more experienced than I am at this WOE. My husband, who doesn't need to lose any weight, recently had bloodwork done and his cholesterol is "slightly" elevated. Of course, his GP told him low fat, no red meat, etc. However, he believes (as I do) that low carb would be a much better plan.

My problem is that my experience is with trying to lose weight and improve bloodwork, rather than just improving bloodwork. Should he do Phase I for a week or two, then go to 3? How many carbs should he be eating, as he doesn't have weight loss as part of his goals? Maybe the answer to this is staring me right in the face, but I'd sure appreciate any advice!!!!

Thanks a lot,

[razzle]

good questions! And I don't know if there's an official answer, but I believe people without weight to lose are supposed to do Phase II until they get the numbers they want in the blood work, then switch to maintenance. Getting down to 30 grams a day would not hurt him, but he'd probably suffer headaches and tiredness that he could avoid by not dropping that low.

In fact, I bet he could get by with 100 carb grams per day or even more. The more important issues, I think, are to not eat the carbs alone...and to choose vegetables, fruit, and legumes over other sorts. That way the insulin response is minimized and the cholesterol numbers should come around.

Best of luck to you both!

[tlawson]

Thanks Razzle,

I wasn't sure how low to go with the carbs. He is actually very physically active - jogs & works out almost every day. He is one of those people with a "high metabolism" and we always thought he could eat whatever - he doesn't gain weight, but obviously not so good otherwise. He typically could eat 4 potatoes, or 3 cups of rice per meal. For breakfast it's not unusual that he eats 4 pieces of toast with his eggs. He likes to eat meat, but growing up the carbs were the more prominent part, so he is finding it difficult to not have so much of them. Perhaps if he was up at around 100 grams, he might not feel so sad :rolleyes:

Thanks a lot,

[ShaneiceL]

hey tlawson,

I'm so glad you asked that question because i've wondered the same thing about my hubby. He has irritable bowel problems and his weight is very low and while he doesn't need to lose weight all information point to him being better off with my WOE but probably modified. We're working on it right now, slowly but shirley, as he can be quite stubborn about not wanting to give up his favorite foods (we know how he feels ;) )

So, anyways, thanks for the question and best of luck to you both!