Hi All,

I have a friend that is on Atkins. He did 14 weeks of Atkins with very little if any cheats. His weight before Atkins was 436.7lbs His weight after 14 weeks of Atkins is 441.7lbs. He is on a lot of medication and I am thinking that is what is holding him back. Here is the list of his meds:

1 blood pressure pill – Metoprolol 50 mg 1x daily

1 diuretic for blood pressure – Indapamide 2.5 mg 1 x daily

1 allergy pill – Allegra 60 mg 1x daily

1 allergy nasal spray - NasacortAQ 3 spray each nostril 1x daily

Norvasc 5 mg 1x daily

Accupril 10 mg 1x daily

Isosorbide mn 60 mg 1x daily

Aspirin treatment – Ecotrin 325 mg 1x daily

Cholesterol pill – Lipitor 10 mg 1x daily

I am looking for any kind of information. Are any of these meds known to stall weight loss? Does anyone have any experience with stopping the meds to allow the body to lose weight?

He works out three times a week with muscle training and he has good water intake. My only complaint with his plan is that he occaisionally doesn't eat enough.

Thanks

Tom

First thing I would look at is his calorie intake. One of the reasons that low carbing is working for me is that I have replaced calorie dense simple carbs with lower calorie fiber rich carbs and lean proteins. Second, I would take a look at his fluid intake. Conventional thinking is that the average person needs 48 to 64 oz of water per day. Heavy people need even more. I suspect that the meds are causing havoc with his fluids and additional fluid may help. Third, I would recommend that your friend get check for insulin resistance and thyroid (T-3 and T-4 hormones). Since thyroid is often thought of as a women only disease men are often not tested and not diagnosed. At 400 plus I am going to assume that your friend is not physically active. You might want to persuade your friend to get into a cardiac rehab program. With this type of program your pal can start getting some exercise in a medically monitored one on one setting. This is a pricy approach but sure beats the alternative.

DEFINITELY those meds can interfere, but he shouldn't even attempt to quit taking them without really strict guidance by a doctor.
There are great explanations in DANDR about meds and their effects, might help your friend to really read that part.
Best of luck to him.

Has he had his thyroid levels checked?

What is Dandr?

I don't know if he has had his Thyroid Checked but I will find out.

Dandr is the book: Dr Atkin's New Diet Revolution.
Good luck to your friend.

I asked him about the Thyroid and he says that it has been tested 15 times in the last 5 years and always comes back normal.

I would say that in general he is fairly in active but he does make it to the gym two to three times a week.

Any additional info is appreciated.

Personal accounts is what I am really after.

Tom

He really does need to get monitored by the doctor. Many following Atkins or another Low carb plan will have a decrese in blood pressure. If he is taking the blood pressure pills on top of that his pressure could dive too low causing alot of problems. He may have to be weaned off both the blood pressure medicine and the cholesterol medicine if his numbers improve.

Atkins is also a duretic diet. On it we have to drink quite a bit more and suppliment some electrolytes. The duretic he takes could be over dehydrating him on top of the plan.

You say little cheats, how little and how often? Also how close is he following the book, does he make sure to have the required veggies and so on? Do you know what he typically eats in a day? If he has access to a computer (local libraries often have them) then you might have him come here himself. Or at least get an account at www.fitday.com to see what he is eating. Also is he avoiding the low carb products that are flooding the market, and sticking to whole foods? Is he having way to much processed foods (the sodium in those could also agrivate his health conditions)

He is sticking to the plan very closely. In 14 weeks he cheated 3 times and I wouldn't call it overboard. He only eats whole foods. I don't know what to say to him because I know that he is crushed. He worked his a$$ off to gain 5 lbs. His wife watches his every move so I am reasonably sure that he is following the plan.

I was looking for the section for Triple Digits and was unable to find it. I was hoping that some folks in there would have some 1st person accounts.

Thanks

Tom

P.S. Of course after I say I can't find it I do.

I cannot speak for the other drugs but I am taking the same dosage of Lipitor and it has made no difference at all to my weight loss.

Do hope your friend can find an answer to all this - he must be so despondent.