Brief Answer:
Welcome to HCM, I have reviewed your queries

Detailed Answer:
Congratulations on the weight loss! You may be experiencing a typical profile where the body fat is centralized around the middle. This is the most metabolically active type of fat as far as being metabolically detrimental to the heart and the overall health of the body. I say it is in the middle only because you have such thin legs. Perhaps the centralized weight is not an issue with you.

Your inquiry is an excellent one. If you were my patient, I would try a combination of interventions. I am sure you have considered exercise. In order for exercise to work, you want to emphasize cardiovascular exercises for the waist (if waist is an issue) and weight training for the legs. I would work on the waist exercises one day and leg the next. An example of weight lifting and muscle building for the legs would be to add weights to the ankles and perform exercises or to go to the gym and use the equipment to build muscle rather than work the heart.

You may want to consult an exercise therapist for a specific program to accomplish these objectives.

Other interventions include using such safe nutrition manipulations such as adding green tea to your diet (clear, no milk or sugar) to aide in the breakdown of waist fat, aid in stimulating the metabolism without amphetamine like effects. I would also assure that my B vitamin intake is adequate, particularly B12. Individuals with diabetes are frequently low in B12 which may lead to fatigue and the lack of energy to exercise.

Unfortunately, this is more than a cosmetic issue. Individuals with thin legs are showing an independent risk factor for heart disease. All the more reason for putting muscle on those legs and building up, toning up your lower half.

Building muscle requires a slightly higher protein intake, not much, but instead of .8/g/kg you will need more like 1.2 g/kg body weight per day. Emphasize low glycemic proteins to keep control of your blood sugar, drink 1 cc per calorie to maintain and rehydrate after working out.

I hope these recommendations make sense to you. At 68, what you can do is limited. But, everything is adaptable. Many exercises have been recorded on videos like Sit Fit, you may do in your own home. You may want to see how exercise affects your blood sugar and test more frequently. What do you do now and what do you think you are able to do?

I hope I have given you some ideas. Please feel free to write back if you need more information or direction. Sincerely, Kathy Shattler, MS,RDN

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