VI. NONDRUG TREATMENT A. Weight Reduction Effects
If you have angina and you lose 10–25 lb, you will certainly experience less pain, you will require a smaller dose of antianginal medication, and you may not require angioplasty or surgery.
Weight reduction, relief of stress, a low-saturated fat diet, and avoidance of smoking are the most important nondrug treatments for patients with angina. Weight loss depends on eating less calories and burning off more
calories during exercise. A combination of a low-calorie diet with some form of exercise program that increases caloric expenditure must be followed, otherwise the weight gain that often occurs after stopping a low-calorie diet will ensue. All diets that are proven to cause weight loss over a period of years depend on reduced intake of calories. Calories do count, do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Weight loss occurs with reduction of calorie intake to less than 1000 calories daily and exercise to burn off more calories. A meal should contain a moderate amount of protein, but a low-saturated fat content. Reduce your intake of high-calorie foods containing refined sugars or starches. A greater than 75% decrease in the usual consumption of all products derived from wheat flour, potatoes, and rice along with 40 minutes of exercise daily is guaranteed to cause significant weight loss.