metoprolol

Diagnosed with AFIB last year. Accumulated fat in the abdomen area and have been unable to reduce it. I cycle and row five times a week. Anyone know to solve this, anyone have any ideas?

Extended fasting periods (4/5 days) but with medical supervision. Or look at Dr Longo's fasting mimicking diet.
While i've had permanent AF for about 4 months 5/6 years ago i don't think i have a visceral fat problem @ 5%? but i've done a few extended fasts (without supervision) and experienced no problems - not meant as a recommendation.

Joe is right....anyone trying to lose weight and does not have fasting in their routine is like having a gun collector museum without hand guns in it.
There are many ways to fast...joe has 1 that is effective but very difficult to adhere to but all fasts are because 95% min. of the pop have this attitude don't F. with my food or eating habits. I prefer 2 types....#1 intermit fast EVERYDAY of 16-18 hours and 1 day a week of about a 44 hour fast. Sounds worse then it is because there are 2 sleeps in between......EG. finish eating on tuesday at 4pm..... nothing wed. then eat again at noon thursday. It gets easier the more you do it but they are all hard because we all LOVE FOOD right.
Super healthy for you overall away from the benefit of losing weight....i could go on for an hour....anyway good luck because it does take high will power to do my EG. or esp. Joes because the vast maj. of people cannot do it and i understand why...ITS HARD.

Frank,

Are on in persistent afib or are you paroxysmal? Any other meds or conditions?

Fasting, low carb or keto will lower your insulin significantly. This is good and can allow you to effectively lose weight, as Joe and Vanlith suggested. The insulin reduction can signal the kidneys to excrete sodium in the urine. This can cause electrolyte shifts. If you are paroxysmal, these shifts, which can also cause potassium excretion can be a trigger for afib. Many times this can be dealt with through supplementation if you are aware. The lower insulin can also cause generally beneficial side effects, such as lowering blood pressure. However if you are on BP meds (and metoprolol is one), your BP might drop lower than you'd want. So telling more about your situation could hep us make better suggestions.

Many recreational athletes spend too much time working out too hard. This can be catabolic. Zone 2 is a sweet spot for endurance exercise. It can help lower glucose levels as well as increasing mitochondrial density 4x. It also is the fat burning zone. When you exercise harder you burn more glucose instead of fat. See my post and links on Zone 2 here: [www.afibbers.org]

George

Great heads up George I do have salt and potassium, Mg as well as some trace mineral in my distilled water.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2021 10:01AM by Joe.

While intermittent fasting may be good for fat loss, I remain a bit skeptical because of the potential muscle loss too. I bust my butt to maintain muscle mass to do the things I like to do (skiing, windsurfing, hiking, golf, scuba), but I still have a bit more mid section fat than I would like. But I am am 76 and in good shape. Anything that would reduce the mid section fat at the cost of muscle is a no/no for me. I am 6' and weigh 166 = pretty lean and wear 32" pants. I eat three small to moderate meals a day with no snacking.

"Intermittent fasting, also known as time restricted eating, is the “in” diet right now, but a new study revealed surprising results. Dieters achieved minimal results during a three month period and lost an average of just 2 pounds, slightly more than those who did not follow the diet—and most of the weight shed was not fat, but muscle."

From: [www.hawaii.edu]

I also realize that one study does not equal a final conclusion, but after looking at many of the intermittent fasting articles, possible muscle loss is almost never mentioned.

George,I have the paroxysmal type.In addition to the metoprolol,I take flecainide 100 mgs 2x a day.It seems to be working. Its sustained my heart rate between 70 to 80 bpm.I turn 68 this month and have always been thin.Even now. I am going to look into fasting.Thanks!

An ER doctor saw it enough times to comment to me it’s a strain one’s heart.

I fast and IF fast and can do it because I still have body and visceral fat to lose. I like a 19/5 schedule where I have one meal at 7:01 AM and have another that finished before 11:59 AM. This is easy to do. I also sometimes skip breakfast and have OMAD at noon. My record fast is 13 days ended by one meal and another 7 day fast. I don't end these from hunger but boredom. Prepping and eating food is time consuming and it's hard to fill the day other wise.

A couple of thoughts.

In my opinion, fasting is one of the most powerful and effective health interventions there is. However, like any tool, used improperly, can have negative consequences. When I reflect on pre-agricultural life, there likely was not food availability 24x7x365, hence our ancestral survival and the reason we are here today is humans' ability to go long times without food. It does need to be used thoughtfully for the best benefit. In my post above, I listed some potential issues for afibbers.

On the study Ken linked, if you read the detail, they compared people who ate 3 "structured" meals a day plus snacks, without specifying when these meals occurred with people who ate between noon and 8PM, as much as they wanted. Not sure this tells us much. In my opinion, having a window that ends long before bedtime is optimal. NLAMA's approach follows this very well.

On Ken's concern of muscle catabolism, the studies I've seen all start with people who are not keto adapted and test them. Nitrogen excretion peaks around day 2 or 3 of the fast and continues to drop till around 3 weeks into the fast, when homeostasis is reestablished. The optimal way to fast, in my opinion, is to be well keto-adapted prior to starting. This means that the enzyme systems to make ketones out of fat are upregulated and well established. Likely this would minimize protein catabolism.

My experience. Personally, I've been keto adapted since 2009. This does not mean I only eat 20 g carbs/day, though I did that to initially adapt (currently, I'm around 100-200g carbs/day). It means I almost always test small amounts (>= 0.5 mmol/L) of BHB (beta hydroxybutyrate) on a morning fingerstick test. Also, when extend fasting for longer than a day, my glucose just drops and BHB increases without any negative or uncomfortable side effects. In 2017,at age 62, I did 19 cycles of water fasting 5 consecutive days out of every 14 over about 8 months. I was weight stable when looking at day 1 of one cycle to day 1 of the next. I did a DEXA during this time and I was in the 1st percentile for body fat in each limb and my torso for my age (meaning 99% had more body fat). As my BMI then as now is 23.7 (5'11", 170#'s), I'm not a stick. The other day, I measured my skinfold thickness 1" above my right hip bone at 2mm. Corresponding with a personal trainer afibber who contacted me through this site, I sent him a photo of myself, shirtless and wearing shorts as we were discussing protein intake. His comment, 'Definitely “ripped' and holding a lot of muscle" I've eaten one or two meals/day and done extended fasting for 12 years. I also always exercise fasted, at least 14 hours. If I do an all day activity, like skiing or rock climbing, I've always eaten the day before. Sometimes I'll do an all day activity 5 or more days fasted.

I'm in one FB group where they use very heavy duty bands in a specific strength protocol. They also recommend eating every 48 hours only carnivore. While this is not what I do, I can tell you some of these guys can reduce their body fat and gain serious muscle on this protocol. I'm not suggesting this, only an example.

For those who are genetically thin with belly fat, there is a risk of being TOFI. This means there can be material visceral fat (fat around organs). The subcutaneous fat, while people don't like it cosmetically, is not a health issue. The visceral fat is the bad actor, metabolically. People of South Asian descent are at great risk for being TOFI. I have a doc friend in NZ who treats them and can describe the issues.

There are references on how to fast safely. Here are several:

[www.amazon.com]
[www.amazon.com]
[www.amazon.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2021 11:56PM by GeorgeN.

I would recommend the intermittent fasting. Very easy to do.