I'm helping my adult son, Kyle, organize his life better and one of the things he wanted to do was change his diet to a healthier one. He has decided to start a modified Atkins and is on day 3.
He is 31 and not overweight, in fact he is quite lean, though he has an ever so slightly thickening midsection. He does not have a scale and will only weigh occasionally when at my house.
He is not diabetic, and really has no health complaints at all, but diabeties runs in the family so he fears being predisposed.
Mostly he just believes me and all of my ramblings and successes with low carbing! Plus he sees it as a more convienient way of eating and has a lot of trouble organizing meals, no time in the morning for breakfast, has to bring meals to work, and is soon to be in frequent and lengthy rehearsals for a theatre production (Rocky Horror - he is Frank'n'Furter!). So he will need to rush home from work, shower and eat and rush off again.

That is the background - I have offered to support him by organizing his kitchen, I've put printouts of acceptable foods and induction rules on his fridge, we did a big initial shopping trip for meats, vegetables,oils, condiments, snack foods etc. Got a crock pot so he can throw stuff in at night and have it ready in the morning.

I advised a modified induction by allowing nuts and seeds right away, and using the 2-3 cups salad greens + one cup of other non starchy veg as a loose guideline rather than counting carbs. Since he doesn't need to loose weight, his most important goal is to not be hungry and to have utmost convenience.

I would be happy to hear ideas and advice from people here on the forum for Kyle's situation. My main question is what can we be looking for in the way of progress? I'm sure he will lose some weight, and we will take a waist measurement to track. He might get quite a bit thinner, which concerns him, but we'll worry about that if it happens. So, is there anything else to notice - something that will be an encouragement that the diet is "working"? Some sort of health marker? Something measurable to keep motivation high?

Thanks for reading...
Cheers,
Ci

If he doesn't really want to lose weight, but get healthier instead, how about suggesting he eat paleo sources of carbs like yams, squash, etc.

Good health markers would be fasting blood glucose -- monitors are cheap. The Walmart Relion is about 8 dollars and strips are about the cheapest.

Another marker is A1C. You can buy a test kit at Walmart. I'd do that right away so in 3-4 months you can repeat the test. Cost was $12 when I did it a few years back.

Fish. People overlook fish other than tuna. See if you can coax him into eating some tinned smoked herring. It has a lot of omega-3 and tastes really good! I like the "Polar Kipper Snacks".

Has he had a physical lately? He could start with having one, and getting baseline fasting labs done.

When he goes back in a year, the changes in the labs would be definitely signs of progress.

That, and measuring before he starts. If he's beginning to get a tummy, the shrinking of the waistline will be excellent news for him.

I'll do some research - not sure what the differences are between those two tests you mentioned, Nancy.
And I'll check about the physical - he will balk at that, since it requires organizing, time commitment and taking time off work.

Just measured this morning as he drops his dog off here for the day - weight = 156; waist = 36". I think he is around 5' 7.

A1C is a measure of your blood glucose over the last 3 months. A high A1C can show you've got a blood glucose issue (diabetes). FBG is just a quicky blood glucose test that shows you how your blood sugar is doing right now. You can test it at home with a blood glucose monitor.

Congrats to your son for being prevention focused at a young age!

My DH is similar in stats- he is 5'6, 165, and 36 yrs old- but he has HUGE frame- i swear his shoulders are as wide as he is tall
He is VERY active and very muscular- so he enjoys things like sweet potatoes, fruit, oatmeal, and occasional garbage. I would say he is reduced carb, not low.
I think the suggestion to include foods like fruit and sweet potato or squash is a good one. Even with diabetes in family, i would think such a diet would not effect his blood sugar.

Getting tons of blood sugar readings won't really show much at his age.....it takes a long time to damage the metabolic system enough for that to happen.....yes, it is possible, but it is fairly unusual (there was massive concern regarding pediatric cases of type II around 2008. as it turns out, it is very, very rare- BUT we are seeing a huge increase in relatively young, obese adults developing it....basically, it takes awhile to really destroy your body in that capacity).
I would think borrowing a meter from a relative a couple times a year for a fasting glucose would be sufficient to keep an eye on things.
I would also urge him to keep on BP- it is another part of metabolic syndrome, and causes many diabetic comlications like kidney disease and damage to retina. It is easy to have it checked at gym or grocery store

Great job providing lists for him! Don't forget to include which drinks are low carb, foods to order at a sushi place/pub/whatever types of restaurants he normally goes to with friends. I'm guessing he is single from your post? Young guys aren't going to order a salad on a date or when out with friends

You might want to suggest easy things to throw in his bag, if rehearsals go long-- low sugar jerky, nuts, fruit, prepackaged cheese like those cracker barrel to go ones.......

Wow, what a great idea to be proactive with his health.

I think the paleo idea is also a good one -- it's popular with younger people and would include food that he probably has the metabolism to handle, as long as the carbs stay relatively low.

Congratulations on having such a forward-thinking son (I'm sure you had a lot to do with it).

Thank you all for your opinions! I think I may buy a BG monitor myself, and he can test intermittently whenever he's here. He may get inspired to bring it home and take fasting levels, but I don't want to pile that on him as one more thing he has to worry about ...
I will tell him that some of you were recommending squashes and fruits, but I know he wanted to do a fairly clean induction for at least two weeks for a few reasons - to get in the right mindset, to have the feeling of control over cravings, and most important to him is to start losing hunger as quickly as possible by eating high fat. He really wants to be able to skip meals and do some IF, as I do.

He is struggling to get rid of an addiction to marijuana, and also suffers from depression and anxiety and is on medication for that. He and I both feel that taking control of his diet will be a huge physical and psychological boost - plus everytime I read something that connects diet to anxiety, I mention it to him. He is hoping for some relief from those feelings as a health benefit, but we're not sure how to recognize it if he stays on meds.

We have had talks about restaurant eating, but I think more would be helpful, as well as lists. Luckily, he drinks mostly water and coffee, unsweetened, and does not use artificial sweeteners so he is ahead of the game, there.

I told him I started this thread, and we both thank you very much for your kind words, support and advice.
Cheers,
Ci