Earlier this year my husband’s health took a turn – luckily not because something terrible happened, but because something finally got his attention. I quit drinking on February 2nd. He followed 21 days later. He had always been a big drinker with a very solid track record of “no off switch,” and he worked in an industry where going out was basically part of the job description.
Right around that time, he decided to go for a full blood panel. What we discovered was: Lipoprotein(a) – Lp(a) – was literally sky-high.
I had never even heard of Lp(a), so I put my full Metabolic Health Coach hat on and started to research. The summary:
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Lp(a) is genetic
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It raises your cardiovascular risk
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You can’t lower it with lifestyle
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You can’t lower it with medication
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You basically get what you get
Looking at the way he had lived, it’s a small miracle he got to his 50s without an incident. My theory here is that exercise probably saved him because even during the craziest years of going out he always trained. Maybe that is the reason he stayed in one piece.
Either way, once you see that lab result, you can’t unsee it.
He then went to see a functional medicine doctor who confirmed an action plan I had put together for him, which was: “Because you can’t change your Lp(a), optimise everything else.”
So that’s what he did.
Today, his body fat is down by 10%, his waist is the smallest it’s been since his twenties, and for the first time, he’s kept his habits up (well, most of the time at least).
Here’s exactly what changed:
1. Eating Enough Protein (Which is A Lot)
At 6’3 and about 100 kg, he needs at least 160 g protein per day.
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personalised office meal delivery service
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our high-protein family dinners
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a protein-first mindset
…has made it doable.
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2. Mostly in Ketosis on Weekdays
Weekdays are very low-carb, weekends more flexible.
3. A 24-Hour Fast Every Monday
Longer fasts occasionally (he’s even done a 5-day one), but the Monday 24 h fast is the one he does regularly.
4. Daily Movement
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10,000+ steps
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Padel a couple times a week
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Strength training about three times a week
It’s easier to be consistent without hangovers!
5. Cold Plunges
He’s hooked, this is his format of meditation. Indirect affect on fat loss: lower stress → better decisions → better results.
6. The Real Game-Changer: No Alcohol
For 17 years I watched him attempt to lose body fat many times…. sometimes he’d be quite successful but in the end he would always return to his old habits and old body composition. This is now the first time that he has managed to do what he’s set out to do and it’s no coincidence it finally happened when he stopped drinking.
He had had breaks from drinking before but they were always through a lens of a “diet”. Something temporary, with an end date. And as diets are pretty pointless, so were his dry spells because as soon as he was “finally allowed” to drink again he did it with both hands.
This time the decision to stop drinking is coming from a very different place. There is no end date… and he is throughly enjoying it as he’s able to appreciate all the benefits it’s bringing him. On his quest to better body composition drinking was basically the missing piece he hadn’t been willing to remove before.
You Have a Belly, You Have A Problem
One more thing is keeping him in action: a recent study showing that if your waist-to-hip ratio is excellent, it can meaningfully reduce the added cardiovascular risk of high Lp(a).
Obviously, an optimal waist-to-hip ratio is something everyone should aim for because it lowers your risk for basically every metabolic disease we know of. It’s not “cute” to have a belly.
Cardiologist Pradip Jamnadas puts it perfectly: “If you have a belly, you have a problem.” And he’s right. Among middle-aged men, the protruding belly has somehow become the norm – which means high risk has become the norm. When you think about it, that’s completely insane.
I’ve also realised something lately: 50 is clearly the age where you stop getting away with poor lifestyle choices.
You can bluff your way through your thirties and maybe most of your forties, but eventually the bill arrives. And suddenly I keep hearing story after story about men and heart issues – not in their seventies, but in their fifties.
So ladies: if your husband has a belly… it’s not “cute.” Even if you don’t care about aesthetics, health-wise we all should care. A belly on a middle-aged man is not harmless, and pretending it is doesn’t do anyone any favours.
Minna