Hi All,

I just found this site while doing research on LowCard diets. I am planning to start with dr. atkins for life. Just ordered the book and am waiting arrival. Was contemplating this for some time as I was not sure this would work or if it was good. I have done a lot of reading good and bad and have decided to take it up on myself to find out. From what I have read I think it should work. My question is the following. I have high chol. and am on heart meds (Indral 20mg/day). I read one of the articles at the dr.atkins.com site that taking heart meds. like Indral slow or stops fat loss. Is anybody on this board taking heart meds similar to mine and what have they experienced. What can one do to help the fat burn while taking meds and is there something I should remember/be aware of. I would appreciate all help/advise. I am 38 yrs old female and need to loose 33 pounds.

Thanking you all in advance

Hi Serenhaz and welcome to the forum!

I can't help you with the medication question, but I can point you in the direction of some more qualified members Try having a look through the
Cholesterol / Heart Disease forum - and perhaps post your question there (it has more of a chance of being seen by those with a medical background, or those with similar experiences). I can tell you that this Way of Eating (WOE) usually has a positive effect on cholesterol levels, often resulting in a discontinuation of cholesterol lowering meds.

There are a few things you can do to help burn fat better and more effectively:

• stick to whole, natural foods on the 'acceptable foods list'
• eat enough calories daily - eating too little will not speed up fat loss, it will do the exact opposite!
• drink your water - eight 8oz glasses daily, minimum
• eat more frequent, smaller meals, instead of 3 big ones. Eating more often raises metabolism - digesting food takes energy. Eating more often, and eating smaller meals helps to regulate blood sugar levels
• exercise - "If you're not exercising, you're not doing Atkins" - cardiovasuclar and weight training will help speed fat loss and keep you healthy!

HTH
Nat

hi serenhaz,

Yes, good advice from Natrushka

Inderal is a beta-blocker, and this class of drugs can raise insulin levels, which may work against your low-carbing efforts. You may find that you lose weight more slowly, but it won't be impossible ... 20mg isn't a large dose. Do not stop taking your meds. Talk to your dr. and discuss weaning off it slowly and switching to an alternative. Stopping beta-blockers cold turkey can cause a rebound high blood pressure.

The other thing to consider is that the Inderal may be for something other than blood pressure ... it also helps to stabilize an irregular heart rhythm and low doses are used to help prevent heart attacks in patients with history of angina or who have previously had a heart attack. Beta blockers are also used to treat migraine headaches.

Low- carbing is known to help reduce high blood pressure and relieve migraine headaches just though the diet alone and/or with supplements which Dr. Atkins lists in his books. If you're taking the meds for these problems, it may well be that you won't need them after a few months anyway. Talk with your dr. and follow her/his guidance for stopping.

good luck to you

Doreen

as well as Norvasq. The weight is not "Flying" off my body, but it's going nicely...
Besides, if I never lost another lb. or inch... I'd still do LC.
I feel TOO GOOD to quit!

Until Dec. I took Inderal; 160 mg. AM and another 160 PM, quite a bit. After low carbing I no longer need any as my BP is normal. I had been on them for 12 years . Alto the weight loss is good, when I first started on the blood pressure meds I weighed what I do now, So it has to be what we eat, or rather don't, on Atkins that does the trick. I plan to eat this way forever and hopefully never needs the meds again. My blood pressure now is way lower than it was on all that Inderal, incidentally! About weight loss: I lost 30 lbs. in 3 months, and I'd consider that pretty decent!

Hi,

I am sooo glad I found this site. Thanks for all the advise and help. I am on Indral b'cos of my irregular heart beat and angina pain on too much exertion. I have around 30 35 pounds to loose which I plan to on Atkins. I won't stop taking the meds. I just hope the fat will melt slow or fast. I will keep you all posted. I am also nuts about exercise. I have always loved exercise and I weight train as well. I used to kick box but not anymore due to my problem. I miss not doing that. I weight train using the Joyce Vedral video (joycevedral.com). She is excellent. She is around 58 yrs. old but looks like a 40 year old lean mean fighting machine. Excellent advise she provides to build bones and sculpt body. the no nonsense type lady. I do 30 mins (2 mile walk) walking with Lesley Sansome and 30 - 40 mins of weight training with Joyce 4 - 5 day/week. But still could not loose the weight I had put on. Have to admit although I take care of my eating during the week, during weekends it wasn't so good. So now with atkins I will be successful. Take care all of you and good luck and God Bless.