Yams and Yucks #62

Today's workout session was pretty disappointing.  I could not do 6 segments of my normal routine due to this continuing lower back pain.   Some of the exercises I could have done simply by enduring the back pain.   But I knew aggravating the lower back by doing those exercises was only going to make getting over this that much longer.  I suspect I need to take at least 2 weeks of reduced workouts to keep from stressing or aggravating my lower back any further.  Tomorrow I go to my cardiologist for my check up exam and blood test.   We will go prepared with daily blood pressure readings from the last 6 months.   Hopefully, my test results will lead to a reduction in the amount and frequency in medication I am taking.  We'll see what the results show, and if all of this eating healthy and exercising is continuing to improve my cholesterol and cardiovascular function.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about yams and health benefits, well that information surprised my daughter Michelle.   She had always thought yams were baby Rams, you know like the ones that live up in the Rockies.  I guess she thinks a baby buck is a yuck. And to think I have been going to her for medical advice.

Yesterday I had my cardiologist check up.  It will be a few days before I get my cholesterol results.   But my heart rate was 48 and from checking the daily records Cindy maintains, the cardiologist found several more heart rates that he said were too low.   In the 40's.  So next week I go back for a treadmill stress test.   He also now has me wearing a nitroglycerin transdermal patch.  I will wear one about 12 hours a day until after I have the stress test.  The patch is to reduce the risk of chest pains, increase the flow of blood, allows the heart not to work as hard to pump blood. Do you remember me telling you about my getting tired and exhausted rather easily.  Discussing that and the low heart rate lead to this concern and a nuclear stress test next week.

You know, for as good as I had been feeling and my exercises going so well, the last 10 days has been a bummer for my being active and feeling well.   My back is hurting and has brought my deer hunting to a stop.  It has all but stopped my exercise routine.  I should stop my daily work outs, but I refuse not to try and make the partial effort.  I am doing the treadmill and some simple ab exercises and that is it.  Today I could only do one set of something I normally do 3 sets of.  That shows you how important routine and being consistent in exercising is.  I am really disturbed that my workouts and exercise routine is screwed up.  I have spent 2 years working to get physically to this point, and it can all slid backwards in a couple of weeks.  Plus, I have had a head cold to go along with the back ache, and then yesterday not getting good news at the cardiologist office.  I really expected to leave there being told I was making great strides.  I had a heart echo done and expected that to show my heart was stronger than ever.  I was dumb enough to think my low heart rate would be a good thing, to be proud of. The result of a lot of hard exercise and  kind of like, hey he is physically fit, calm, and under control.   Well, just goes to show, heart recovery  is exactly what we have been talking about....getting and staying healthy is a never ending process.  We didn't need a medical degree to figure that out did we.

I have done something differently with this posting.  It has been more of a daily, as it happened , rather than reviewing and summarizing the last week.   With that in mind, I had my daily workout this morning and still not much progress in the area of back pain...still doing the limited workout routine to not aggravate my lower back.  I had told you I am down to my last weight lifting exercise and decided today to drop it.  The actual movement of lifting the weights did not stress or strain my back, the bending over to pick up and bending to put back on the floor or rack when finished was a back problem.  So I dropped one more exercise today.  I basically am not doing any exercise that requires me to bend at the waist while standing, or sitting.  

This is my second day of wearing the nitroglycerin patch and one of the side effects I am having is drowsiness.  I feel as if I have been drugged.  Hopefully, by my next post, I will have had my stress test and can tell you more.

Baked Potatoes, Bananas, and Twinkies #61

A while back we touched on ingredients in the processed foods we eat and how they may effect your body. And do you want to be consuming additives with absolutely no nutritional value which are no more than industrial chemicals?  Someone has written a book on the 39 ingredients in a Twinkie and their other uses.  One is polysorbate 60.  It is an ingredient in Twinkies and other foods we eat.  mmmm sounds good, right.  Well it is also used in antifreeze, coolwhip, cosmetics, and personal lubricants.  And yes, it is consumed by millions daily in Twinkies alone.   And what good thing does it do for your body....nothing, if you don't count keeps you from freezing up in the winter.  Of course, you would have to eat a bunch of Twinkies to absorb enough to be freeze proof.   I still wonder about the chemicals fed to animals and used in preserving, that you consume through eating red meat.  By the way a Twinkie contains 150 calories which surprises me, I thought it would be more.  And what does it say about additives and preservers, and emulsifiers when the calories are the least harmful thing you would get from eating a Twinkie.  You know, Twinkies are really good tasting, and some professor lost 27 pounds in 7 weeks by eating a Twinkie every 3 hours.  He also ate other snack foods.  He did not eat anything with nutrition value, his point was to prove you can lose weight by cutting calories, period.  So he ate Twinkies, Oreo cookies, Little Debbie snacks and sugary cereal for 7 weeks and lost 27 pounds.    

I have had to alter my exercise routine and frequency for the last week or so, and I don't see it getting back to normal very quickly.  I did something, not sure what, that stressed my lower back.  My fitness center has made many improvements and upgrades to those strength training machines needing it.  Some needed no more than normal maintenance.  One I use daily, the total abdominal strength machine,  is one of my favorites.  As part of it's maintenance, the movement had been adjusted back to original.  Not knowing this, I set my normal weight and went to the first motion lifting the weight and unexpectedly came to a sudden stop as I met an unusual amount of resistance.  This sudden stop, stressed my lower back.  I continued to follow my complete routine, which was a mistake, and for the next 2 days my lower back continued to worsen. Today I could not do four strength exercises, which was a disappointment to me.  I am concerned that it may be a few weeks before I can get back to my normal routine, and by then it will be like starting all over again, as far as regaining my strength.  For those of you new, or just beginning to exercise, I have found when getting away for you daily routine, you very quickly regress and lose the progress you have made. 

Since beginning to change to a healthier lifestyle and eating healthy foods, baked potatoes have been a regular part of my diet.  I have always preferred baked potatoes plain with no dressing, or some unusual healthy dressings.  I may put broccoli, vegetable soup, or worcestershire sauce on my potato.   I have never  used sour cream, butter or some of the more common dressings on my baked potatoes.   If you will try a baked potato plain, you will taste the natural sweetness and flavor of the potato.   They are a healthy food, low in calories and full of vitamins and nutrients.  Potatoes are not often thought of as a health food because they are mostly eaten as french fries, or potato chips.   But when baked and eaten plain they are a healthy choice for your new healthy foods lifestyle..

Bananas are another good choice for healthy eaters.  I absolutely eat at least one a day.  They have a great taste, go well with other foods and are high in vitamins B6 and C.   Medical studies have found bananas to be effective in reducing blood pressure and heart disease risk.  Bananas also contain compounds that reduce stomach acids and reduce those disorders.  I enjoy having a banana as a sweet treat.

Next time exercise and doctor's office for check up.

Little Piggies Need Exercise #60

To follow up some on the last post about working out.  Yes, there is a point you reach where you feel comfortable with your exercises and your ability.  You have a sense of accomplishment and feel proud of yourself.  You are now part of a few select who are different from the majority of those working out along with you.  Most are much younger.  They were in good health when they started and their goals were probably for the most part different than ours.   Sure they work out to remain healthy, but most are also concerned about looking young and physically fit.  They want muscle growth, a toned sleek body, and to grow older as a healthy individual.  And that is good.   We on the other hand are members of the few who have overcome a heart attack. We had heart surgery and work out to become healthy.   I can say I started exercising to strengthen my heart.  I knew a little at a time I could regain my strength, improve my heart function, and not have to live afraid of another heart attack because I wasn't doing what I needed to do to get and stay healthy.   And where does this lead us...?  to the same reoccurring theme, it is a never ending process for recovering heart patients.

An exercise program is much like beginning new eating habits to lose weight over an extended period of time.  It takes a dedicated commitment, and even more important, you have to want to do it.  Perhaps I was lucky on both, but I was ready.  Those who know me were probably as surprised that I became as dedicated to the exercising as the weight lost and healthy eating.  Much like losing weight over a long period of time, a diet is more difficult to stay with than completely changing your eating habits.   That same theory applied for me to an exercise program.  I needed something with structure, (routine and fitness center) and basic goals, (one and half hours daily).  Short term goals are easier to reach for me and lead to long term success.  If I started skipping work outs and got sloppy about what days and how often I went, it would all be over for me.  I believe most people are like me, they need routine and repetitiveness in some areas of their life.   I didn't have a pattern to follow when I started all of this. I made my mind up that I was going to lose weight, eat healthy, and get physically fit.  I relied on my personality of being a routine guy, that I could make that part work to my benefit, meaning I could make exercise and healthy eating part of my daily life.  The final ingredient was dedication and determination to be healthier than before, not just get well.

I can handle the exercise part of recuperation, I like it.  The healthy eating change of lifestyle to me takes a lot more commitment.   If you have enjoyed food and eating all of your life with few limitations, and to just shut it off on one particular day is a major deal.  Okay, no more soft drinks, red meat, pastry, twinkies, doughnuts, on, and on, and on, and on.  A bunch of you out there have gone through this and know exactly what I am going to say next.  Do you ever get over being hungry for some particular food?  I don't think so.  It's the curse of the "use to be over weight little piggies"....

Holiday Treats or Exercise? #59

This is the holiday time of year when it is difficult to maintain your weight and to eat as healthy as possible.  I don't normally have many cravings or problems staying within my eating habits.  But for the last 3 weeks I have had a sweet tooth and wanted to eat chocolate and sweet treats.  There is so much candy, chocolate, and baked treats this time of the year.  I have been able to stay on course but it can be difficult.  I told you about Thanksgiving and having the pie and cake, which I feel is okay.   I had a half of a Milky Way candy bar which really made me feel guilty, but I justified it because of not straying otherwise from my daily diet.   What I didn't do was eat the dark chocolate variety which was a mistake.   I still got all the calories but not the health benefits.

What are some of the health benefits of eating dark chocolate?   A recent study by the University of Cologne in Germany found dark chocolate contains potent antioxidants and helps lower blood pressure in older patients.  Dark chocolate contains flavoniods which restrict cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels causing blockage or clots.
I was surprised to find that dark chocolate contains 8 times as many antioxidants as strawberries.   You know I think strawberries and oatmeal have been some of the healthiest foods I eat.  The down side of eating dark chocolate, calories.  A 3.5 ounce bar contains 400 calories.  That is not much chocolate versus the amount of hard work you will spend working out to shed 400 calories.  To clarify,  although I have written a lot about craving chocolate and sweets, I do not eat or advocate dark or milk chocolate as part of my regular diet.  Milk chocolate should be avoided as it does not contain a high proportion of the cocoa bean and the associated health benefits.  Dark chocolate, unlike milk chocolate, contains 50%-70% cocoa and that flavoniods are abundant in the bean.  That is the basic reason dark chocolate is considered to have heart health benefits.  Again, it must be eaten in small amounts, due to the fat and calorie content.

From time to time you are entitled to treat yourself for staying healthy and eating correctly.   That is when I may have pie, cake, chocolate or whatever.  And in a small reasonable portion.

 I have told Cindy that I do not have the will power, which she thinks I have, to resist good foods.   I over come those food cravings by being dedicated and motivated to stay healthy for her and my family.   Unfortunately, that is one of the issues you will have to deal with in your recovery process.  And it is not a short term issue but part of being dedicated to a new healthy lifestyle.   You will know you are making progress when you walk in your fitness center among all of those much younger, healthier, physically fit folks and not feel out of place.   You feel like you are one of them, just a little bit older, well maybe 30 or 40 years older, which makes it that much the better.  So think about that the next time you want that food that you know you should not eat, considering your heart health.  If you are a heart patient and are not exercising, you are making a mistake, unless your doctor or cardiologist has told you not too.  Actually your cardiologist needs or must approve of you exercising before you start.  How long, how much exertion, how often,  should all be discussed before you start.  Then it would be best to make a small investment and get a trainer for just one or two sessions, to get you a basic routine to build from.

Make Exercise a Habit #58

Sometimes I try to think of a way to put into written words the message that this blog must keep recycling itself to be meaningful about heart attack and surgery recovery.  It, the recovery, is an on going lifetime commitment if you are going to be successful.  There is only one end to it that I can see and and I don't believe any of us want to discuss that....For most, not all, but most, our life should go on in much better health than before in many ways.  If you work on improving your health,  you should be able to do things that before may have been too strenuous, or unknown to you at that time, were very bad for you.    I certainly have a much better appreciation of my family and tend to take one day and try to enjoy it as much as I can.   I use to live for tomorrow, not be satisfied with where I was, but more concerned about where I wanted to be.   I don't think that way anymore.   So to me, your mental approach to your lifestyle and health, is an important part of your heart health.  Today Cindy is out of town.  I woke up this morning, took my time, enjoyed coffee, oatmeal, and the newspaper.  I was very much not wanting to go workout.  Felt like I should take a Sunday off, no exercise, or fitness center today.  Then after finishing breakfast, that nagging little voice kept telling me how I would later regret not working out.  Well, off I went, had a great work out and felt great afterwards. Exercise and workouts have become a normal activity in my new lifestyle.

For those who are just beginning recovery from heart problems, the first couple of weeks home from the hospital are a real adjustment and probably the start of a new way of life for you.  Depending on your heart condition of course, but speaking for most of us coming home from the hospital, it was a day to day event of a new beginning. Having family help was critical to me.  My children were all involved to some extent in seeing that those, my first few weeks home, were devoted to recovery and nothing else.  Of course, my wife put aside her normal daily life and put me first.  She was there each moment to see I made daily progress and followed doctors orders. There were prescriptions, doctor office visits, medication to take and much more that you can do on your own. You are going to need family support, encouragement, and help. Diet, and exercise will come later. The first week or two is just about healing, and getting enough strength to do the basic daily activities on your own.  Shower, shave, sitting at the table at meal time, walking from room to room.   Don't laugh, it will be a real challenge at first.  It is important, in my opinion, that you do all you can on your own, within the limits given you by your cardiologist.  Don't settle for staying in bed and relying completely on someone else.  As soon as possible, you should try to walk more. For me going outside and being in the sunlight, even though it was cool fall weather, made me feel better.  And I walked very short distances each day.  You'll get the idea of what you can and can not do.  If you are new to this blog go back and read the first 10 posts, they will give you a good picture of life after a heart attack and beginning a new lifestyle.

I just heard on the TV Food channel that sweet potatoes and yams are the same thing.  I didn't know that,  did you?  A yam is canned processed sweet potatoes.   I thought yams were a another vegetable, different from the sweet potato.  However, what I have researched is true yams are rarely found in the U.S.  Most canned yams sold here are actually processed sweet potatoes.  Sweet potatoes with orange, moist flesh are marketed as jewel yams.  Each is a healthy food choice.  From what I have read, heard, and seen on the Food channel, there is some difference in declaring the yam and sweet potato as being the same.  I find that all sources are in agreement in that sweet potatoes are a heart healthy food.   If you have never eaten one try it pureed or mashed well. Heat in the micro-wave, add a little honey, and chopped pecans on top.

We are getting close to Christmas.  Go back and read post #38 about our holiday breakfast tradition.

p.s.
my editor, proof reader, and chief medical advisor took a weekend off and post #57 was sloppier than most.....sorry...I'll try to do better, but no promises.

Olive Oil and Sweet Potatoes #57

From our last post we will clear up some information that came up when discussing the Mediterranean diet.   Cartenoids, what are they?  Pigments found in fruits and vegetables that when eaten provide us with vitamin A.   Lycopenes are powerful antioxidants which help protect our bodies from some chronic diseases.   Phytochemicals are plant chemical compounds found in vegetables which are beneficial in preventing some cancers and heart disease.  And some examples of unrefined cereals are oatmeal, beans, lentils, barley, couscous, nuts, and seeds.

Extra virgin olive oil contains less than 0.8% acidity while virgin can contain up to 2.0%..  Olive oil contains antioxidants not found in other oils.  It reduces inflammation in your body's blood, and protects the cells that line the blood vessels.  Olive oil is considered a major contributor in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

We do not fry or eat any fried foods where we would use olive oil in that manner.  However used over salads and vegetables, or brushed over fish before grilling or baking would be a good way to use and consume olive oil.

This is the holiday time of year when many of us eat sweet potatoes and then mostly don't have them again until next holiday season.   Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene, a cartenoid, high in vitamin A.  Sweet potatoes contain antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties.  They contain dietary fiber which help stabilize blood sugar levels.  Cindy will laugh if she gets the idea that I am trying to give you some recipes, or tell you how to cook something.  I do a great job of cooking my oatmeal every morning,  pass that and my cooking skills are pretty low.  The best I can tell from reading up on sweet potatoes is that they can be used in about any manner as any other potato.  Mashed, baked, roasted, in stews, or salads.   I subscribe to a fitness magazine and this month they have an article on sweet potatoes being a very healthy food.  We do eat sweet potatoes, as a matter of fact Cindy is down in the kitchen now making a sweet potato casserole.   We occasionally  eat them baked. Well I do, she doesn't care for them baked.  They are sweet in taste and I especially like them prepared as a casserole.

So there are many healthy foods you can change to that will hopefully do two things for you, help you begin to make the transition to heart healthy foods, and with your weight loss or weight control.  To me if you are a heart patient, have had heart disease, heart surgery, heart attack, bypass, stints, from here on everything should be changing in your lifestyle in you want to live as normal a life as possible.  Exercise, diet, and weight control will be the key to you living a better health quality of life.  

I go to my cardiologist in a couple of weeks.  I am always nervous about it, concerned about test results, is everything okay? I will give you a full report as soon as I know which probably will be around Christmas.

Eat and exercise well.

Mediterranean Diet for Heart Patients #56

We all know tomatoes are a fruit not a vegetable.   Okay, now we have that basic piece of knowledge out of the way, how many know that tomatoes are one of the healthiest foods you can eat?  That it is even healthier when it is cooked, or processed such as ketchup.  Do you eat tomatoes?  I have eaten tomatoes even when I was eating unhealthy.  I have always eaten and enjoyed tomatoes.   What makes them so healthy?  Well they contain all 4 cartenoids.  They are very high in lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant.  Tomatoes are a terrific cancer fighter and contain 3 major antioxidants.  Eating tomatoes with healthy fats such as olive oil or avocados and your body's absorption rate of the phytochemicals found in tomatoes increases dramatically.  I eat tomatoes in all salads, as a snack sliced with ground pepper, or just plain on bread as a sandwich.  Bread, tomato,with mustard.  I eat so many tomatoes and strawberries that I am sure I  must have some resistance to cancer. 

Here are some of the most heart healthy foods. Salmon, oatmeal, kidney beans, almonds, walnuts, red wine, tuna, tofu, soy milk, blueberries, carrots.  Spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, oranges, and tea.  I proudly can say that I now eat most of these foods.  How about you?   I wrote earlier about the soy milk which I really liked.  I even tried it cold poured over crushed ice which gave me a little bit of the taste of having a vanilla milkshake.

I would like to begin to eat and follow the basic Mediterranean diet, or at least parts of it.  What is the Mediterranean diet?  For more than 50 years it has been cited by many medical sources as being beneficial in health effects that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.  It is low in saturated fats and high in monounsaturated fat, and dietary fiber.  The basic foods in the diet are consuming high amounts of legumes (peas, beans, lentils), unrefined cereals, high consumption of fruits, vegetables, and high amounts of olive oil.  Moderate consumption of cheese, yogurt, fish, and wine. Low consumption of meat.   What I read indicates their meat consumption is mostly lamb and some pork.  Not much poultry or beef.  Now for clarification, most of you know the Mediterranean diet is not one based on a fad diet derived from a best selling diet book.  It is the healthy eating and lifestyle habits of a large population of people living in the Mediterranean Sea area.  I,  like most of you, need to know more, but my belief is fish, salads, and vegetables prepared in olive oil and eating fruits represent the foundation of the diet that I could make work for me.  Wine as a beverage I am sure is optional, and is healthy in low to moderate amounts.   Their are some of us, I won't mention the 2 names, but unofficially practice medicine and pharmacy,  who might opt out of the diet, but embrace the wine for the health benefits........

If anyone out there knows more, or is practicing this diet as it relates to our heart health I would like to hear from you.

More heart healthy foods next time.

Workout Changes #55

I have made one change to my exercise program, well actually more than that, but first I changed using the chin up or pull up assist strength machine.  I had used it only a few times, and felt it would help my upper body strength.  My problem was the last time I used it my chest area strained.  I could feel the pressure it put on the chest bone.  I immediately stopped, got down from the machine, and have not been back on it, nor will I use it again.  I tell you this so if you are using one or considering it be aware of what I encountered.

The rest of my exercise workout routine remains intact.  I still feel good after each workout and my blood pressure indicates I benefit well form the exercise.  I have changed a portion of working out.  And that is the time of day I go.  I have always been a creature of habit, and resist even the smallest of changes.  My two medical procrastinators have long erroneously accused me of being consumed by obsessive and compulsive habits.  I have done my workout early morning hours.  It work very well with my schedule (that's a family joke), fitness center is less crowded, and I had become accustomed to my fellow workout folks...I guess they are all compulsive behavior people too.  Well anyway, as well as I liked starting my day working out, and I really enjoy the early hours, I seemed to be getting a little draggy and tired later on in the day. So I decided I would workout later in the day and see what effect that would have on getting tired.   As you know, if you have been following this blog, my main health concern is my getting tired too easily.  I want to see if this change will improve that.   Maybe the getting tired is just part of getting a little older.   I now have gone in to workout mid morning, late afternoon, and late evening, maybe 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.   I really think I best liked going in around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m.   New people, saw a couple of friends I hadn't seen in quite a while.  It was somewhat crowded and had to wait on some machines to be available.  Patience is an attribute that I have none of.  My patience level (excluding grandchildren) is just a little bit less than zero. Other than the waiting and being somewhat crowded, I probably will split working out between the mid morning and late afternoon before before deciding if I want to change workout times.

I can tell that exercising is making a noticeable change in my strength.  As an example, I have told you I like to hunt and I can tell a big difference in not getting tired from the walking with extra heavy cold weather clothing, heavy boots, hunting rifle, backpack and all.  Walking up hill, down hill, I pace myself and do not get out of breath or start breathing heavily from the extra load I am carrying.  I take a lot of pride in this as insignificant as it may seem to you.  There is one particular hill that prior to having a heart attack, when I walked up it I was doing some serious huffing and puffing when I got to the crest, and would happily swing that backpack off and let it drop to the ground.  So there are many small and large benefits exercising and weight loss contribute to in improving your lifestyle.  You can take care of yourself or become a big clump of inactivity.

Very briefly we will begin to learn more about saturated animal fats and are they healthy, or unhealthy?  Saturated fat consist of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acids.  Some foods that contain high amounts of saturated fats are cream, cheese, butter, lard, fatty meats, coconut oil, and chocolate.

If you google a website called natural health information centre.com, it  has some pro- eat meat to be healthy propaganda supporting saturated fat being healthy for you.  It starts off by stating red meat has been part of the human diet since mankind was first put on earth.  That immediately lost all credibility in their argument as far as I am concerned.   You can go to that site and decide for yourself, but I don't want to waste anymore of our time on it.  I don't believe there is anyway you can think eating red meat is good for your heart health.  I am pretty sure I am a living example of how eating too much red meat over a lifetime can pretty well almost kill you.  I will gladly become the poster boy for "look what eating unhealthy foods almost did to him".  So we will continue on our goal to improve our health and lifestyle by practicing what we feel is good for our heart and overall health, when it comes to food and exercise.

Cindy made the best pecan pie and sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving.  I had been looking forward to that and Michelle's coconut cake all year.  I had one large desert plate, split between pecan pie and coconut cake.  I have been eating soups and oatmeal since Thanksgiving.

Next time we will talk about healthy tomatoes and some other great foods.
Have you had your oatmeal today?

Fat is Back ??? #54

To start I am a lot more faithful to my exercise routine, and eating healthy than I am at writing a blog.   Believe it or not it takes a lot of time to conjure up something that I feel will benefit someone out there who has experienced what I have, or is still doing all the unhealthy things to themselves as I was doing.  I do not get much in the way of comments, or feedback that indicates how many of you are getting some health benefits from reading this.

I was watching  a Sunday morning news magazine style TV program and they had a segment on about saturated fat is not unhealthy for you.  Animal fat to be specific.   That prior to the 1970's eating fat use to be considered part of a healthy diet.  I didn't give much thought to this program being correct about fat and then they said something that got my attention.  A congressional panel and hearing in the mid 1970's was appointed to determine if Americans were eating healthy foods and they determined through hearing, and testimony from experts, (I am sure without any vested interest)  that animal fat was bad for us.  And guess what.....   a new food industry started growing almost immediately.... Fat free food, No fat, Low fat, Lean Cuisine, etc. etc. etc..... Well according to this segment I watched the testimony given that did not support the bad for you fat folks was ignored and swept aside.   Now I am not jumping on board with the eat more fat folks, but when my government starts in telling me what is good and not good for me to eat, there are limitations on their credibility and motivations.   I mean they do need to use the FDA to safeguard what we eat as being safe and edible, but when elected politicians with financial supporters with interest to protect get involved, we need to be cautious and not totally trusting.  I am going to try and research this more.  Stay tuned in, I'll get back to you.   I really don't want to start eating pork skins, and spam again.

For various reasons I missed working out 3 consecutive days last week, which is the first time that has happened since I started my exercise routine almost 2 years ago.  Anyway to make up I came back and exercised Saturday and Sunday to make up 2 of the missed days.  I was actually muscle sore after the first exercise make up day.  I would not have thought 3 days of not exercising had that much effect.  Again it makes the point of the importance of exercise and being consistent....I think even the time of day should be consistent.

Why all of this exercise and the sometimes inconvenience of taking the time to do it.  While working in our yard out back recently I heard a fire truck and emergency medical vehicles go down our street.  The next day I read in the paper where a 54 year old neighbor had passed away from a heart attack.  I did not know him. He was a well known ex-major league baseball player who apparently (local news reports) had not previously experienced heart problems.  I thought of how sad for his family, and how lucky I was that I am to still be here to enjoy my family and especially our grandchildren.  My thinking is for you and me there is a lot of motivation to take advantage of the second chance, and do the things we can control to keep our self healthy.

Next time maybe more on good food

Begin Eating Healthy Foods #53

I wrote a while ago about President Clinton changing to a vegan diet.   I am not sure if he had a heart attack or not, but he did have heart problems and I believe stints used to open some blockage in his arteries.  The vegan diet, vegetarian, and pescetarian diet all offer some things attractive to me.  And each has it's own unique appeal to those who practice or follow it in their eating habits.  From my view, as maintaining a heart healthy lifestyle and being qualified to offer my own opinion, all three should appeal to us.  All promote eating vegetables, fruits, and nuts.  Consuming eggs and dairy products are acceptable, but not necessary to vegetarians, and pescetarians.  None of the three diet practitioners eat red meat.   Pescetarians eat fish but no other animal meat products.  Vegetarians may or may not eat dairy and eggs, but do not eat animal products.   Vegans strictly do not eat dairy, egg, cheese or any animal products.

So what does all of this mean to you and me?  Well, needing and desiring to eat healthy, I am taking the approach of eating what I find is the healthiest for me and not depending on a belief or diet book as my one and only guide.  I want to keep my focus on my goal. To live a good healthy lifestyle in my later years, by practicing weight control and my overall heart health, through the foods I eat.  I have to be truthful here.  The reason I don't eat red meat is because I believe it is bad for my overall health, not because I have any deep beliefs that would guide me to any particular diet.  I am going to continue to eat seafood.  Cooked in a healthy manner (I really like boiled shrimp.)    I am putting my health first.  What is good for my health I will eat.  If you are needing to change to a healthy lifestyle, and most of us have, what you eat or eating healthy should be the first change you consider.  Exercise, and weight loss and control really don't fit or serve your best purposes and recovery if you are not eating healthy.  If you have read some of my earliest postings, you know that I consider a key to being successful in changing is finding healthy foods that work for you.  Gather as much information as you can from your cardiologist concerning heart health diets. Read and research healthy foods,  and from that information find something that fits you and will work for you.  Exactly what do I mean?  Well, I did not put a lot of emphasis on fish and or seafood.  My wife does all of our meal cooking and she doesn't care for or prepare much of any seafood dishes or meals.  So I knew I could work around seafood.  I did add eating canned tuna several times a week for the protein and helping with my weight loss.  I do eat a wide variety of fruits but stay away from what I consider to be exotic or hard to obtain fruits.  Again I wanted something that fitted our lifestyle.  Cindy doesn't shop at health food stores, so I eat fruit that is available year round at our local supermarket. Mango, papaya, kiwi fruits are some I eat, that I consider exotic, and do not eat often.  Again find foods that work for you, make the transition as easy as possible for yourself.
Remember your goal is eating healthy foods and finding foods that work for you.   I am sure if I dug deep enough I could find some reason based on the weather, soil erosion, photosynthesise, or some other reason that I should not be eating oatmeal.  You know, sorry, but it is great for your heart health and is part of my diet.  The point, eat what is healthy and will work for you....It may be great for me, but taste awful for you, find something you like.  Use a diet book as a reference not as your life guide.   Remember, it is your health you are concerned about and you should know and practice what is best for you, and your heart....

We have discussed exercise a lot the last couple of months and how important it is to your heart health and recovery.  Diet is equally important, maybe more so.   What you eat can immediately effect your heart health.   Eating healthy improves cholesterol, and your cardiovascular system.  Eating unhealthy foods has the reverse effect and works against the time and effort you spend on exercise.  

It is still amazing to me to think that I can say I eat healthy foods and exercise vigorously on a regular basis.  Three years ago I would have laughed at that thought.  My immediate response would have been, "what for," eating right and exercising at my age?  Of course I didn't think I would have a heart attack, or heart surgery, or heart health problems.  And there are many folks out there thinking the same thing.   And to lose over 70 pounds, never imagined that.  Never thought I could do or would do any of the three.  Eat healthy, lose weight, exercise daily and benefit from it.   So I guess all three are equally important when considering avoiding heart health problems or recovering from the same. My point is to encourage you out there who are getting over a heart attack and heart surgery that if I did it,  anyone,  and I do mean anyone can.  Don't rush into it.  Don't expect quick easy results, just little short obtainable daily steps.  Walk, don't run, don't stop eating meat in one day, eat less red meat, try to lose just a few pounds.  A little bit at a time, just be consistent.  And you know the best part.  Not only as you go along does it all become easier, you will enjoy exercising, eating healthy and different foods.  And you will feel good and proud of yourself.  And your family will too.

This week is Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to it.  Our family will all gather for a traditional dinner with lots of good food.  I am looking forward to Michelle's  coconut cake and Cindy's pumpkin and pecan pies.  There is a rumor we will also have strawberry cake.  Wow I am excited and can't wait.

More On Healthy Foods #52

I have had some things happen which have hampered my working out daily.  One being Cindy has been sick for a couple of days, along with other unexpected things coming up.  Put it all together and I have not been in my exercise routine for a couple of weeks.   Which brings me to the point of how important a regular exercise routine is to our heart health.   I no longer have a lingering feeling of being weak or having to watch myself for fear of over exerting my heart.  More plainly, my original plan when I started recovery was to return to normal activity.  To take control of my health destiny.  To not be sickly, weak, always tired, not doing anything, kind of person.  But rather being able to enjoy my family and day to day life.  

I know there are some who follow this blog who are young (35-45), healthy, active, exercise daily, do the right things to take care of themselves.  Why read this?  Some pick up ideas about healthy foods and what we eat to stay healthy.  Some have family or friends in our age range, who may need to be leading a healthier lifestyle to avoid heart health problems.  Still regardless of age, or current health, the basic formula is  the same for all of us. What you eat, being active, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight?   So those in the 60-70 plus age range, who remain heart healthy, may have reasons to eat healthier, or be exercising more.  One reason is as you get older, more exercise and the less weight you carry will have a lot to do with how active you can be .  Enjoy doing things with family and friends.  Being able to continue to do what you enjoy, not being confined and stuck inside.

Foods you eat are so important, and it is not too late in your later years to change to healthier foods to enjoy the benefits.   I have discussed before that my belief was that the chemicals absorbed through consuming red meat contributes to heart disease and forms of cancer.  I also did not think that meat was a natural food to be consumed and digested by our bodies.  That we are by nature designed to consume vegetables, fruits, and nuts.  Now for my first 60 some odd years, I did not practice that.  I was too much of a meat eater.    You know something else about red meat to be considered is how it is cooked.  Fried, grilled over gas or charcoal.  Not necessarily healthy.  And yes, we had two grills for outside cooking,  charcoal and gas.

I would like to eliminate chicken and fish from my diet but I am not sure how to make up the protein. Let me back up here, chicken is probably not much better for you than red meat.  Maybe the best way to say that is chicken is not as bad for you only because it has less fat and cholesterol.  I have reduced the amount of chicken and fish I eat.   I am almost at zero on the fish. and have chicken once or twice a week.   Eating healthier has been a major contributor to my success in improving my total cardiovascular health.   I don't know of much I can do to improve my cholesterol levels.   You know, my cardiologist has told me my triglycerides and LDL don't need to go any lower.  But I do need to increase my HDL.  There are so many choices in food to make eating a more healthy diet easy and enjoyable.  You will quickly begin to feel better about yourself.   Soups, salads, vegetable variations, the many varieties of fruit.   You will not have any problems with finding healthy foods that fit your personal taste buds. As an example, with salads I very often add avocados, apple slices, sunflower kernels, and walnuts.  Whenever I eat nuts it is always the unsalted varieties.

Doing New Exercises #51

My last couple of days of exercising represent  the reason for heart patients to do so on a regular basis.  I have made some minor changes to my routine by adding two new elements.   One of those are leg lifts which I told you about earlier, and the other is the assisted chin-ups strength machine.   I really feel energized after going through my routine.  And I prefer going early a.m. to do my exercises.  I normally wake up early, shower, shave and go directly to the fitness center.  I enjoy starting my day this way.  I am not one of those people who have a hard time waking up in the mornings, need to sit around quietly, and slowly clear the cobwebs to get myself going...When I wake up I am ready to go.  Absolutely must have a hot shower within minutes of getting out of bed.  I think the immediate shower helps invigorate and get me going.  Plus I am a lot more energized and ready to work  out.  As the the day moves on I have less energy.   I have tried working out mid-morning, mid-day, afternoons, and I just don't feel as good during or after working out as I do going in early morning.  If you are reading this because you are a heart patient, or you know someone who is, exercise has been a key ingredient in my recovery and health improvement.  It is amazing the healthy effect exercise has had on my blood pressure.  It will make a 20 point difference in mine for hours after exercising.   Are you monitoring your blood pressure daily and keeping a record of it?  You need to do that and provide it to your doctor at least twice a year.  

I am really excited about this upcoming weekend.  I am a hunter and enjoy being in the out of doors during the fall and winter.  This weekend is a once a year statewide  youth hunt only.  An opportunity for parent or grandparent to take a young person deer hunting, to experience the outdoors, watch the sunrise and observe wildlife and nature wake up in the mornings.  I am taking one of my grandchildren Saturday morning and have been looking forward to them doing this with me for a while.  We are not using or taking a gun, but rather a camera, to take pictures of wildlife and record that first day going hunting together.

 Being with family and doing things you enjoy,  you appreciate having and living a healthy lifestyle.

Heart Patients Stamina, Energy and Exercise #50

Today is Sunday, a day I almost never have gone to my fitness center for a workout. It is normally the busiest day of the week if you go during normal hours, which I did not.  I went in very early, on purpose. First, I have been waking up early and wanted to go in early today to avoid the crowd.  You can believe there was no crowd when I went in.  Just a few yawning exercise enthusiast, or insominacs who exercise at weird hours for therapy.  I not sure which group I fall into.  I am pretty sure it is both.  I have not worked out for the last two days, and did not want to make it three consectutive days of no exercise routine.  It really felt good to be going through my routine, and tried a new exercise on an assisted chin up strength machine.  I have been wanting to use this but was not sure I could do it.  Was not sure if it would be beneficial to me, and was hesitant to use it in front of a lot of people for the first time.   It went well and after some adjustments to suit my strength level, I did pretty good on it.

The more I exercise, the more convinced I am about a regular exercise routine of some sort being critical to heart patients recovery and return to some sort of normal activity.  It has positively reduced my blood pressure.   It has firmed up muscles, contributed to weight loss, and increased my strength.  My one nagging concern is my stamina, or lack thereof.  I wonder where I would be if I had not been exercising regularly.   I need to talk to my cariologist about it when I have my next check up and exam.  I am going to give you an example of what I am experiencing.  Let's say I can easily lift 100 pounds without straining myself.  And that after doing that I can continue with doing normal stuff, like yard work, things around the house, going to Home Depot, whatever.  All of a sudden, very quickly my energy level goes to almost zero.  I have to sit and rest.  Normally I go up to my office, sit at my desk and fool around on the computer.  It becomes difficult for me to focus my thoughts, I continue to get tired and become sleepy enough to take a nap. As I have told you before, my energy level does not return to full strenght after a few hours.  Normally I need several hours of quite and rest.  You can imagine how much fun I am for Cindy to be around.  After an hour or so I begin to get some energy back, but it is not like I could go workout, or walk around the block.   I suspect this is not necessarily the same for all who have had heart problems.  I am guessing the loss of stamina has a lot to do with how much blood your coronary arteries and heart can pump through out your circulation system.

We will talk more about exercise and healthy food next posting.

Heart Patient, Exercise, #49

Cindy and I have been in Florida, so I have gotten behind in my postings.  My daughter and her family went down for fall break and to compete in a triathlon.  Michelle did very well in her division finishing 2nd.  There were over 350  participants.  Her husband did not place which is unusual for him.  I am pretty sure Michelle and he enjoy competing with each other as much as with others in their  divisions.  I think bragging rights means a lot to them both, and it motivates Michelle to train as hard as he does.   He is a natural athlete and thrives on competition.

Cindy and I spent a lot of time with our grandchildren, and really enjoyed doing that. I got to go along on a fishing trip with my grandson and watched him take over 30 minutes to land a 40 pound redfish.  It was great and really made his dad  proud to be there and watch him fight and land a fish almost as big as he.

I could not stay in my workout routine while I was gone, and I really missed that.  I was able to do some walking and weightlifting each day.  There is a small fitness center I was using that had a very limited amount of strength training equipment.  The equipment was old,  I was not sure how to use it, and didn't fell comfortable with it. As a result I opted to do more weightlifting exercises that usual.  We are back home and I am going in early tomorrow to get in a good workout session, I look forward to it.

Next Day.

My first morning back workout was great.  Being gone for a week did not goof up my routine as much as I thought it would.  I am sure my doing a lot of fast paced walking while I was gone helped.  Eating healthy was a bigger problem than exercise while gone.  It is difficult when you are going out each night in a resort area to not eat what we consider to be unhealthy.  The approach I took was try to stay close to eating vegetables and fruits, avoiding meat.  The first night was terrible.  I had a oriental salad which tasted like hot grease and sugar had been poured over it for the dressing.  Second night a pasta dish with a meatless tomato sauce and a basic salad.  Not too bad.  I won't bore you any further but these two meals pretty much represented the best of the week.   I ate a lot of oatmeal for breakfast and lunch..  Anyway my first morning back I took an extra 15 to 20 minutes to do my complete routine.  I was somewhat surprised that I didn't have any soreness or stiffness.

I continue to monitor and record by blood pressure daily.  You should be doing the same. It gives you insight in how you're doing and takes all the guess work out of it for your cardiologist.  He can accurately see how your medication is working, or not, without having to depend on the one reading his nurse just took of your blood pressure.

Breakfast, Weight Loss, And New Management #48

For a while I have been complaining about some things at our fitness center.  I felt at the time that management was weak at supervision, organization, and strong at selling trial memberships.  This is a large facility with a large membership.  It is not what I consider to be a typical fitness center facility.  It is more like an upscale resort with Italian marble floors, walls, counters, indoor pools and spas, and more.  You go into the lockers, showers, changing areas and it is like the Ritz-Carlton.  There are two basketball courts and a large indoor rockwall climbing area. An entire second story dedicated to workout equipment galore. I like it, I enjoy it, and I look forward to going there daily.  But... there just always has to be a but..., the cleanliness makes all of those nice amenities less glamorous.  I mean it had gotten nasty.  And the employees would walk past things that needed to be done, or congregate at the front desk with a fresh cup of coffee and visit with coming and going members.  After talking to the general manager, yes, my past management hard headiness wouldn't let it pass. I had a personal responsibility to go talk directly to the GM and tell him what needed to be done.  When Cindy and Michelle found out they were mortified. Michelle concerned about her social status quo, and Cindy said we would have to drop the membership and leave town for a couple of months.  As you can see my two principal advocates have limitations on how far they will endorse me.  Well ,without taking up further space and time here,  I will just say I decided the GM was the problem.  Well guess who is no longer general manager, or employed there?   See, I told you so.  The new GM has been there a couple of months and what a difference.  Employees better not be found hanging at the front desk and any dirty towels, or trash in their work area.  No more letting non-member friends in on the side or you're gone.  Hey, I saw the new guy in the parking lot giving a personal talk to one of his folks about why all the trash containers were not emptied.  He has certainly gotten things organized and headed in the right direction.  With a large facility, once people and responsibilities get out of control, you have problems quickly, and they multiply.  I think that is what had happened.  The new GM is having to micro manage to get things back to where they need to be and that is the way I like it.

I never completely finish telling you about oatmeal.   I credit oatmeal with helping me lose weight.  I have eaten and liked oatmeal since I was a kid.  But it was something I might eat once or twice a month.  When I started out to lose weight and change eating habits, I knew I would need to eat breakfast daily.  Something I had not done in the previous 40 years.  Eat breakfast daily that is.  Never ever did I do that in my adult life.  Breakfast was a Saturday or Sunday thing for us when our kids were growing up.  During the week I was never at home during breakfast.  If I were traveling, it was coffee and cereal or a honey bun for me.  Now oatmeal has become my breakfast of choice.  And it has been each morning for the last two years.  Why oatmeal?  I liked the taste, it is healthy, helps lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, and is very filling.   Eat a big bowl, don't skimp on it. No milk, butter, or sugar added.  just plain oatmeal, and hot.  Yum, yum.   As I have said many times, I eat it for lunch too for the same reasons.  If you are serious about losing weight, keeping it off, improving your health, and good heart condition you should make oatmeal a fundamental part of your eating healthy.  Don't laugh it off, try it.  You will be e-mailing me telling me I was right.  I am sure there are some other breakfast foods out there just as healthy, I don't know of any similar to oatmeal in benefits.  It is not easy to find a simple food that fits low calories, and all the health benefits of oatmeal.  Looking for those food traits, lead me to fruits after oatmeal when I was deciding foods to focus on when I made my changes. 

Next maybe we need to talk about exercise.

Rendezvous Ribs and Chocolate #47

I added Ad-Sense to my blog after giving it a lot of thought and researching to feel comfortable that the advertisements would be compatible with this blog.  I had no dreams of generating a lot of revenue through payments to me from ad-sense.   What I did think was the advertisements would be compatible with my content and blog purpose.  That I would be ranked higher in google search, and that my readers base would be more widespread.    I have been very disappointed in the advertisments' content they have attached to my blog.  As an example I am familiar with Schwan's foods.  We use to be a customer, they deliver to your door via a delivery driver who is usually a very good salesman.  The sales/delivery guy fills your order right from the truck. We thought their products and quality was very good, but I considered their prices high.    Now Schwans is one of the companies that ad-sense displays at times on my heart health blog.  And in fairness to Schwan's, I thought perhaps they do offer heart healthy foods.  So I followed the ad-sense Schwan's ad directly from this blog to their web-site.  Did nothing special, expecting to be in the healthy section.  Pizza, doughnuts, desserts, ice cream sandwiches, peanut butter ice cream, loaded waffle cone ice cream, pancake and sausage on a stick, just to name a few. Okay, that is what I found, so I realize I made a mistake and I am going to get rid of ad-sense.  It doesn't fit me or this blog.

I now have my workout routine working pretty, pretty, pretty good.   I'm trying to write it the way Larry David says it.  Didn't work did it.   The pretty should stretch out like prettttttteeeeee good.  Anyway, when I am doing all the different exercises in my routine I feel good, invigorated, anyway you want to say pretty good, that is the way I feel. Plus I feel good about myself after working out. Even the treadmill doesn't seem boring anymore.  My shoulders use to brother me  being sore and I think it had something to do with my posture not being very good.   Now the shoulder problem has gone away and the posture has really improved.

I have been craving certain foods recently.  Not what I would have thought 2 years ago when I began to change my eating habits, and going over to healthy foods.  I would have thought the fast food burgers, fries, barbecue were the foods I would miss.  You know, Memphis is world famous for the barbecue pork shoulder sandwiches and ribs.  Dry style and wet ribs. You don't go very far around here without finding several small and large places that specialize in barbecued pork of some sort.  There are people reading this from Russia and Germany and I wonder if they have heard of the Memphis barbecue, especially the ribs.  The Rendezvous ribs are still our favorite.  We just don't eat there anymore.  However, I am not craving or wanting any of that kind of food.  No, I don't want barbecue, porterhouse steak, prime rib king cut,  mash potatoes, fried potatoes, double cheeseburger, or a bucket of good ole greasy fried chicken.  No not any of that, I want chocolate.  Candy bars, chocolate milk, brownies, chocolate cake, a big hunk of fudge, a giant Snickers bar, a Baby Ruth as big as my arm, give me some chocolate. Sad isn't it.  Ever seen the TV commercial of the little chubby boy selling chocolate candy bars door to door.  He starts out so nice and neat and he gets to the first house, rings the door bell, it opens and he is standing there with chocolate smeared all around his mouth.  That's the way Cindy would find me if she left a big chocolate cake laying around the kitchen.  No chocolate left in the house, just me standing there with a big chocolate smile on my face.  You know the cake Cindy......... the cake with that super gooey chocolate pecan icing.........

Back when I didn't care what or how much I ate, I didn't eat that much chocolate that  I now crave. Chocolate just was not a favorite of mine.

Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas I may invite Cindy down to the Rendezvous for some of those ribs.  We have been going down there for almost 46 years, going back to when we were still in college, and surely to goodness one more time wouldn't hurt anything.

Next time we will talk about Chocolate. Or maybe something healthy that probably would be more suitable.  If I get that cake I'll let you know.....

Oatmeal, Nuts, and Exercise #46

My diet, food I eat, weight control, healthy eating, whatever you want to label it, continues to change and evolve.  Some things I have changed because  I felt nutrition wise I needed a change.  My basics remain the same.  Oatmeal for breakfast, and on occasion for lunch.  I consider oatmeal at breakfast as a necessity. Good for me, gives me energy, and is filling and a good way to start the day.  Sometimes at lunch for weight control, and it is filling and tasty to me.   Enough on oatmeal.  Other mainstay foods for me.   Bake potato with some sort of topping. Could be left over soup, chili, or as last nights broccoli and sliced or cubed chicken breast.   I don't know of much you could not use on a baked potato that suits your taste.  Try it.   It is a dinner item for me.  Usually with a salad and you have a complete meal.  Vegetable soup or about any other soup Cindy prepares for us is my other favorite.  Some things I have changed are I am not eating as much fruit as previously. Again this is personal not a recommendation to you.  I felt like I was eating too much fruit daily.  At least 3 or 4 whole fruits daily, oranges, apples, bananas, melon, not counting several strawberries.  I think I was taking in more sugar than I should have been.   I am also not eating as many walnuts and sunflower kernels daily.  I was  eating them for protein and good health. I had become addicted to them and was eating them by the handful, plus adding to my salads.  Which adding to the salads is  tasty,  and another way to eat nuts, while adding a healthy protein to your daily diet. 

For those of you wanting to lose another 5 or 10 pounds before going to your next check up at your cardiologist here is an idea.  A few weeks ago I was scheduled for  an exam.  I had to go on a restricted diet for 4 days, day four was restricted to liquids. Broth, coffee, jello, all you want......, yeah. Well I lost 9 pounds.  I also discovered I had a taste for jello, which I do not recall eating for years.  Cindy says it contains a lot of sugars, too much to be good for you.

Since adding  a few new exercises to my regular workout routine I am going to have to add time or rotate days on doing all of them.  One reason is there are two more I want to add and I need to decide about going longer or rotating.  I really thought at some time I would be able to jog or run.   But I am pretty sure I will not be able nor should do that.  I don't think my back and joints are young enough to take the pounding of running or jogging.  Nor do I think it would be very smart to see how hard I could push my heart considering I have one coronary artery out of commission.  Like you, I have come a long way in my recovery.  But I still have a limit on my stamina.  And my energy can run out quickly.  Not like before. when I would gradually get tired, then have to take a break and rest for a while, and it would not be too long before I would be ready to go again.  Now it is like all of a sudden I just run out of energy, and there is no energizing myself with an hour or so of rest.  It is like done for the day.

Dedicated and Determined to Change #45

I would like to know how many of you reading this are having problems losing weight.  And I don't want our daughter Ann e-mailing me that she has a lot of trouble losing weight.  She has never had one once of fat or been even close to needing to lose any weight.  Ann is in her middle 30's and still gets carded when she and her husband go out.  About a year ago she and I went to a movie and she had to provide ID to get into the theatre.  She is small, fit, and looks a lot younger than her actual age.   The reason I asked about the weight is it being such an important factor in regaining your heart health, and recovery.  To me if you have a lot of weight you need to lose it is the most challenging of all the lifestyle changes you will need to make.  You know I have talked about how fortunate I was in that regard.  I had already began to lose weight when I had the heart attack, so my mindset was in that mode when I returned home from the hospital.  I just continued on with eating healthy.   It is a lot different when someone tells you to lose weight, or you have to stop eating so and so because it is bad for your health. It is not as difficult  when you've already changed because you wanted too.   Every one's condition and health circumstance are unique to them after a heart attack.  Like how much weight to lose, or how high is their cholesterol.  I think in most cases it comes down to diet, elevated cholesterol, and too little exercise being contributing factors in having heart disease, or heart attack.  Obviously heart defects, and other cardiovascular problems are completely different.  But if you are like the rest of us, losing weight is going to require a lot of determination, and is important in getting healthy again.

I decided the best way for me to lose weight was not to diet, but to change my eating habits and what I ate.  I gave a lot of thought to what type foods I had eaten and how eating habits I had developed over the years had contributed to my being unhealthy.   I was snacking a lot, I ate way too much red meat, and I would eat until I was over filled at every meal.  I snacked from after finishing dinner until bedtime.   So if I changed those habits and reduced red meats that would be a good start.  Next, stop all snacking, and be satisfied but not full at every meal.  Leave food on my plate.  Don't pick out the biggest serving and leave the smaller for Cindy.   You get the idea.  I really believe when you're ready to lose weight permanently this is the best approach to take. Decide what factors you need to change.   It obviously is not as easy as this, as a matter of fact it is not easy at all. The point I am trying to make without discouraging you is you have to make your mind up that you are going to do this.  Don't even think about starting until you are dedicated to stick with it.  The worst thing you can do is start a diet that you can't stay with.  I think you have to be ready to make a major lifestyle change and dedicated to it.  When you've done that you're ready to start improving your lifestyle and health. 

We can discuss diet and healthy foods later.  But a heads up here.   Oatmeal is at the top of my list.....I would tell you the brand, recipe I use, and show you a picture of the box but they are being obstinate.

Workout, Fitness, and Heart Health #44

My workout this morning went very well.  I am still doing the same basic routine as I have for the last couple of months.  I have added doing some leg lifts.  The exercise is performed on somewhat of a standing platform with padded arm rests.  You stand putting your arms on padded rests and firmly grip two handles.  You adjust your position to straight vertical so that your feet are elevated about 3 or 4 inches above the floor while you are holding the grips on the arm rests.  You then briskly lift both legs holding them together, turning slightly to the left as high as you can.  Return your legs to a standing position, feet remaining elevated and not touching the floor. Quickly repeat this movement, without resting your legs, this time turning to the right. I generally do 10 of this movement alternating left to right.  In addition to exercising your circulation, abdomen and lower back muscles are worked.  I just started this exercise recently.  I do 2 or 3 sets of 10 rep's daily.  I'm still working on tightening up muscles, and the results of weight loss.

I have good news for me, Michelle's husband checked out my computer and the problems I was having.  He got things worked out for me and I am now back to normal meaning I don't have to use Cindy's.  As I told you, I was quickly wearing out my computer sharing welcome with her.   Not only was I using hers but it meant I was using her desk and office space.  Mine is upstairs away from hers so normally we can have our privacy when working on whatever.  But this sharing was a major conflict of each others time and I felt lost, because my routine of going to my office and doing what I do on my computer was out the window. It goofed up my entire routine for me beginning when I got home from the fitness center. 

I don't go back to my cardiologist until December, which I take as a good indicator of my recovery going well.  That first 6 months after surgery and all of that seemed to be doctor visits every couple of weeks.  I am glad that is all well behind me.  Some of you are just now getting through that early stage and are close to next working on issues like exercise, and beginning to rebuild your strength.

My cardiologist also very recently had me stop taking Plavix.  If you have had a heart attack you are probably taking Plavix, or are familiar with it.  Plavix is a blood thinner given to reduce the possibility of blood clots in heart attack patients.  Hopefully for all of us,  one of the overall goals of recovery is becoming healthy enough to reduce the amount of medication we need to take.  I had taken Plavix for almost 2 years so I felt good about being able to stop using it.  Now if I can continue to improve and reduce even more medication.

Next time maybe some about weight loss.

Exercise and Losing Weight #43

I went back and read some of my earliest posts about having a heart attack and starting recovery.  I have decided, for a while anyway, I am going to return to writing more as I did earlier and spend less time being technical about food.  That is the best way I know how to explain it.  I feel like I have been writing more like a text book to students than telling a story.  I would rather tell my story past and present as it goes along.  I know if it got boring to me, it had to be to you.  Now, if you don't think I should change, just email me.  I still plan on spending a lot of time talking about diet, weight loss, healthy food, and exercise, but I will try not to sound too much like an exam will be following this.  I'm not planning on not discussing foods in general, just change the way I approach it.  Food, healthy and unhealthy, and our eating habits, are a crucial part of heart patient recovery.  Also, I haven't heard from anyone out there in a while about successes in recovery.  I got an email from someone a few weeks ago discussing their exercise program.  I enjoy hearing how others are doing in their recovery.

At lunch today, Cindy was asking me about someone I saw working out this morning. If they had lost weight?  And I told her, no, they haven't even though they work out as often and strenuously as I do.  So  what does that tell you?   Well, they probably are not eating as healthy and wisely as they should. You know, that is not unusual, meaning I see a lot of people working out who obviously like to eat according to the size of their bellys.  Most are guys, and most are 50 plus years of age.  Now I certainly don't know if they are recovering heart patients.  The point is, I work out often enough to see these people regularly.  Most of you who exercise regularly see where I am headed with this.  Exercising is not the magic pill that guarantees you're going to lose weight.   Remember something I said way back in the beginning.  If you're going to lose any substsantial amount of weight, I can guarantee you will have to suffer through being hungry.  I don't care how much you exercise, if you are over weight, you are going to feel hunger pains to lose it.  Why?  Changing to good eating habits is only part of it.  Eating less and exercise go hand and hand with healthy eating in weight loss.

I am still having problems with my computer's internet connection among other things. Cindy has not revoked my using her computer priveledges, so far that is.  She uses hers quite a lot and has not complained about me being on it when she could be working.

I lost 9 pounds recently and I will tell you about it in the next post or so.  I hope my computer gets back to normal operation.

Staying Active and Two Anniversaries Tonight #42

Some readers and followers of this blog are not recovering heart patients.  Many, or maybe I should say some I know of,  are people who for various reasons are at the age where they are just beginning retirement or for whatever reasons are no longer working, and have free time.  Many of the things we discuss concerning recovery would also apply to avoiding heart problems.  Speaking for myself, you know if I had eaten healthy, exercised on a regular basis and gotten my weight under control, I surely would have reduced the likelihood of a heart attack.  There are several guys at my fitness center who I know that are recent retirees, and working out is now a regular part of their daily routine.   I'm thinking exercise becomes part of a daily routine and fills out some of their free time.  It is one way to stay active and maintain health fitness.   When I was working, not only did I have a strict self imposed  schedule I followed, I enjoyed working and looked forward to it daily.  Being around and interacting with people. Your responsibilities, it all gives you something away from your normal family life, meaning work and those surroundings become as much a part of your life from 8 till 5 daily as family is.  And when that goes away, you have a large void to fill in several ways.  The part that can effect your health is staying active. When I first stopped working daily, I stayed active, not by exercising and working out, but by doing things around the house, yard duty summer and winter, and always trying to have a project going on.   I put in a lot of effort staying away from the TV, computer, couch, and kitchen table from 8 till 5.   But it didn't save me from the heart attack.  A lifetime of unhealthy eating, and lack of regular exercise were my undoing.  So there is a lot we have discussed since the beginning of this blog that would be very helpful to some people out there in how to reduce the factors that can cause heart attacks.

I'm not writing as often right now because of some ongoing computer problems I am having.  At this moment I am sitting at Cindy's desk using hers.  Neither of us enjoy sharing our computers with the other.  For the next several days if any little setting, or pop up, or glitch comes about on hers, it will be my fault.  And the thing is what little she knows about computers makes her an I.T. expert.   Not at all like her doctoring, and pharmaceutical expertise, she knows what she is doing there. But computers, well let's just say take away facebook, email, google, and photoshop and it is a done deal.   Can't let her see this or she will revoke my using her system privileges.

Today is our 44th wedding anniversary.  And two years ago today I had heart surgery.  We will be going to Houston's restaurant tonight.  It has been one of our favorite places to go for dinner, especially to celebrate special occasions. For at least 25 years we have been going there for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, you name it, we have celebrated it there.  One of my favorite memories of there is several years ago on Christmas Eve, when our children had first reached age to go their own ways. I think I had worked that day and rather than us coming home late to an empty house on Christmas Eve, we went to Houston's for dinner.  I think maybe one or two of our children met us there.  Of course, in the past we went to Houston's for the prime rib, NY strip, filet mignon.  None of that will be on our menu tonight, we will have a great salad and plain bake potato. 

That is enough of thinking about the old days, we've gotta get healthy and get on down the road for more anniversaries and birthdays to come.......
Good health and exercise next time.

Nitrates, Nitrites....No Way #41

I am going all the way back to my first two posts. For at least 2 years prior to that, I had been considering changing my eating habits.  Based on some reading and personal thoughts, I wasn't convinced our physical make up was such that we were  meant to consume meat.  I  believe we were natural vegetarians in the sense we ate what nature provided us. Be it fruits, vegetation, wild vegetables, nuts, and over time we evolved ourselves into becoming meat eaters.  I knew I was eating too much meat.  Processed meats, chicken, beef, pork, I really was out of control when it came to eating meat.  And then for some sudden reason, unknown to me,  I lost my desire to eat meat. I found that  eating meat had become more of an addiction and stopping was not going to be easy.  I think what pushed me to the point of making the change was I knew the chemicals in meat, in particular processed meat, were not good for me.  You can argue how wrong I am in my thinking our digestive system was not meant for us to consume meat.  I could be wrong there.  But I do know I am not wrong about the chemicals we take in from our eating meat. We might as well sit down and munch on a bag of fertilizer at Home Depot as to eat  hot dogs, bologna, bacon, and so forth.  And I am not criticizing anyone for eating what they want to eat.  I still to this day would like a couple of hot dogs, and a ham sandwich stacked 3 inches high garnished with bacon.  But I can't do it.  Why am I going over this, because I read an article about nitrates.

Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrites.  Each is used as a meat preservative, and in the making of processed meats.  They are closely related and used in curing or preserving meats.  Nitrates are used in bologna, bacon, hot dogs, sausages, as examples, to preserve the color.  Pink or red rather than gray. They inhibit botulism, and retard the development of rancidity.  They are thought to cause certain cancers, and damage your blood vessels, making them more likely to harden.  Anybody for a little ammonia nitrate sprinkled over those spam and vienna sausage appetizers?

Very briefly, doing some research on this I came across "Aspartame."  It is a chemical used in artificial sweeteners brands such as Equal, and NutraSweet. It is used in over 6,000 consumer foods and diet sodas.  There is a lot of conflicting medical research and dangers associated with it's use.  If interested, I suggest you look it up on the internet.  Also in fairness, go to aspartame.net to get their side of it.

I continue to look forward to and exercise 5 or 6 days per week.  I have made a couple of minor changes to my workout routine.  I found a book with 100 different workouts with detailed instructions, and illustrations.  Something else I like about it is that each exercise describes what muscles or muscle groups your working on.  And if it involves a strength machine you're not familiar with, you now feel more comfortable about using it the first time.

Next post we will talk more about staying active and exercising.

More on Food Health and Exercise #40

Determining which fats are healthy or unhealthy can be confusing and demands much reading to make a decision for yourself.  I hope you have been researching the new USDA healthy food guidelines.   Fats, saturated and unsaturated, health factors, seem to be a matter of disagreement among some nutritionists.  Saturated fats, being mostly those derived from animal products, meat, dairy, and eggs as example.  Coconut and palm oil is also a saturated fat. Most saturated fats are thought to raise your total and LDL cholesterol levels.   Unsaturated fats are from plant, vegetable, and fish products. Most reduce total and LDL cholesterol and lower the risk of coronary heart disease.  Okay this is in general categories, specific fats in specific foods can do more or less than others.  An unsaturated fat example would be omega 3 fatty acids which come from walnuts, cold water fish, and soy.  This essential fatty acid is critical for your health and cannot be produced by your body.  The point, that should relate to you and me as far as federal guidelines interpreting health for us, is that there are good fats and bad fats.  According to the program of Cardiovascular Epidemiology at Harvard "total fat content of a given food or diet is a useless metric" "because there are healthy and unhealthy fats".  So as a heart patient desiring to not eat foods bad for my cardiovascular system, I need to avoid unsaturated fats, and not be as concerned about total fat content if it is fat from good natural plant, vegetable, or fish.  Dr. Mozaffarian of Harvard also says concerning fatty acids, "eat more whole foods, and avoid processed ones."  Dr. Mozaffarian is among those who do not entirely support the new health guidelines, thinking they are overly fussy and based on outdated science.  So I think these new federal standards speak for themselves, and from this point on I will go back to focusing on what we determine works best for us.  As heart patients, the best gauge of success of our efforts to become healthy, will be measured by our cardiologist examinations and test results.

Some things I want to reference from Experience Life Magazine for the benefit of those who have not been following us from the beginning, or in the early stages of heart patient rehab and  recovery. "Avoid trans fats, and excess sugars."  "Avoid over salted processed snacks and fast foods. Don't assume low-sodium foods are healthy".

Some of you realize I am spending  time covering some issues we discussed quite a while back.  The reason I am doing this is we have some readers who have not been with us since the beginning.  Exercising is a critical part of a successful recovery.  Being in a formal exercise program, or routine, is very beneficial, in my opinion.  Another benefit,  is exposure to people like yourself.  Maybe not heart patients, but most all are exercising for health reasons, young and old.  Now, if your are recovering from heart attack and heart surgery, you are probably not around a lot of people.  Being with people when exercising helped my morale when I began going to a fitness center.  You know in the first few weeks home from the hospital, it can be discouraging or depressing.  It's was good for me being around other people when I started working out.

Remember exercise, eating healthy, and weight control, are all critical in successful recovery from heart attack, and heart surgery.

I will attempt to spend more time talking about exercising in the next post.

Circulation Exercise, Nutritution News, MyPlate #39

The new USDA dietary guidelines have been released by the federal government.  The once well known and accepted food pyramid has been replaced with the MyPlate symbol.  Yes, the federal government has decided the food pyramid wasn't that healthy for us.  The new symbol represents a dinner plate divided into four sections.  Fruits, grains, vegetables, and protein.   There is also a side dish of dairy. These are the new federal nutrition policies.  As example, the federal government "will dictate what food is made available to school children through the National School Lunch  Program."   This also will go further including programs as Women, Infants, and Child and Adult Federal Food Care Programs.   Obviously, there is much disagreement among nutritionist concerning what has now been determined to be unhealthy for you, or what was considered unhealthy 3 months ago is now healthy to eat.  There is an excellent article in Experience Life magazine, September issue, or on line at experiencelife.com. One of my concerns with this is a committee of well renowned nutritionist was formed to make these determinations.  The problem I have is, they were selected to support the vocal views of a select few in the administration.   My conclusion is that I will continue to research as much as possible and eat what I consider to be good heart health foods, regardless of federal guidelines.  You know, if I were a lot younger, I believe I would pursue an education and career in nutrition and good health as it relates to heart patients and exercise.   If you have had heart disease, or concerned about your cardiovascular health, you really should begin reading more about it to form your own ideas about maintaining your health.

For those of you beginning to exercise, or looking for something good for your cardiovascular system, here is something I did when I first started rehabbing.  In addition to my treadmill and other workout routine, I walked one mile holding a 5 pound exercise ball in one hand with my arm fully extended over my head.  I would shift it between left and right as needed.  It is important to keep your arm held high over your head holding the ball.  The other arm can obviously be relaxed and rested at your side or as you wish.  This was done at an early stage in beginning my recovery and with apporval of my cardiologist.  It strengthens and exercises your circulation.  If you're concerned about how you will look walking around holding a ball over your head, don't be.  I was the only person doing it at my fitness center. After around 3 weeks there were at least a dozen more who picked up on the same routine.  When I felt stronger I moved up to a 8 pound ball.  Well it could have been 10 pound, I'm not sure now.  That doesn't sound like much weight, but when you're rehabbing from heart problems it feels like a lot more.  Depending on your situation you probably should refer to your cardiologist for approval before you begin this routine.

Honey, Sorghum, Christmas #38

Since I presented agave as an alternative sweetener to table sugars, I should go over the health benefits of honey.   I wrote that I did not care for the taste of agave.  Honey was my taste preference.

Honey possesses many photonutrients produced by bees during the natural process of making honey from the nectar of flowers.  According to Worlds Healthiest Foods, some honey nutrients are known to have cancer preventing and anti tumor properties.  Many of the benefits of these nutrients are lost when honey is heated to high temperatures during processing.  Honey contains 10 different friendly bacteria, and properties to help lower bad cholesterol.   It is high in calories, 1 oz. having 128.
Honey is probably a lifetime favorite of most of us. I certainly like and plan to continue to eat it.  Then there is also sorghum molasses, which is also a natural sweetener similar to honey in health benefits and a little bit higher in calories.  One tablespoon being 61 calories.  I really like the taste of sorghum, especially over pancakes or biscuits.

We have a family holiday tradition at our home each Christmas morning. We all gather for a once a year holiday breakfast.  We have ham, country ham, red eye gravy, milk gravy, sausage, eggs, biscuits, and loads of crispy bacon.  Michelle and Brent have a contest on who can eat the most bacon before Cindy can get it to the table.   My personal favorite use to be sorghum molasses poured over a biscuit with butter.  2 or 3 of those.  Throw in some country ham smothered in gravy and you would have to walk 2 days on a treadmill to get rid of those calories. There is more meat eaten in our home that day than the combined year. Our son's eating habits are a lot like the previous me, he enjoys eating, especially red meat. Our daughter Ann eats a healthy diet.  Her husband is like Brent when it comes to food, he enjoys eating.  Michelle and her husband also eat a very healthy diet.  Since Michelle and her husband begin working out and training seriously for triathlon competition earlier this  year they have really become slim and fit.  I've been wondering how much weight she has lost, but Cindy told me you never ever ask a woman that question.......I mean like what's the deal, when I lost all that weight, I would try to maneuver the conversation to where somebody would have to ask me how much I had lost......I don't think I would even be tempted by the Christmas ham, bacon, or gravy.  You know a couple of those biscuits and molasses might be worth the extra treadmill work....

My workouts are not boring, but they are basically the same repetitive daily exercises.  I not bored with them and do not dread working out daily.  However, I am concerned that because I am not writing daily about exercising I am not reaching out to everyone.   My wife and two daughters encouraged me to begin writing this, I think, mostly because they were glad for me that I overcame the set backs of a heart attack. But also because I should let others know how I did it.  Well I'm just letting you know if you are not exercising, or working out, you are not truly going to recover to the extent you are probably capable of achieving.

Michelle and her husband competed  this weekend in a triathlon in Nashville.  She finished 2nd and he finished 1st in their groups.  I am really proud of them and for them in their competing at such a high level.  I think being passed by an old codger (her words, not mine) a couple of weeks ago motivated Michelle to take it to another level.

Fooducate App, Exercises, Churrasco #37

There is a new app out for your smart phones. Cindy has a droid and she found an app that she has used and I think is great.  If you have not heard about it the name of the app is Fooducate.  It allows you to take your smart phone and scan the bar code on food products and it will then provide you with information to let you decide if this product is or is not a healthy food item for you.  Depending on the food item you will get information on that specific product and brand.  So when grocery shopping you take your phone and scan the package and you will get calories, yes or no 100% grain, contains any undesirable additives, sugar contents.  It will apply a health rating based on a system of D being low, through A being high.  If you're not using it, you might want to check it out, if it is available to you.

Worked out this morning and I am beginning to feel really good after doing some of those exercises.  The pull ups I do are my favorite.  Meaning I feel strong after doing those and it really works well on my posture and helps my lower back.  A guy who is a member of the Memphis Grizzlies radio broadcast team does the same exercise using the equipment next to mine.  He is an former Memphis State basketball player and is 6' 9".  I guess guys that tall, when they begin to get older and aren't as active, are also subject to back and posture problems.  Anyway, I do enjoy doing that particular exercise and doing abdominal crunches on the AB-X.  I have not used the elliptical in a while.  I just could not get use to the elliptical and decided I would rather take the time spent on the elliptical and add it to my treadmill.  I think I may add some more weight lift exercises.  I really like using the weights and think they are good for improving your circulation.

What I should do is find a book on different free weight exercises and techniques.  When weight lifting, you can really be specific to certain muscles, depending on the exercise.  Another advantage to lifting weights is you can do a lot of exercises that do not require the use of strength training machines.  Sometimes when the center is busy, some of the equipment you want to use may not be available.   Knowing more about weight lifting exercises could free me from depending on certain equipment.

My daughter Ann and her husband just returned from Brazil.  He was down there for a couple of weeks on business.  Ann went down for vacation time.  She is a healthy eater, enjoys food, travel, and dining.  She thought the fruit in Brazil was varied, fresh, and very good as was the seafood. I don't think she cares much for the Churrascaria style restaurants.  Beef, chicken, sausage, and pork is popular in Brazil cooked in the churrasco style which is much the same as roasted or barbecued.  I'm not sure she likes how it is served, brought to the table on skewers and sliced off.  Anyway, they enjoyed  the Brazilian food, people, and scenery. They said the beaches and ocean were great and the people were very friendly. There is a Brazilian churrascaria style restaurant in Memphis which also has a huge varied salad bar, and it is delicious. Full of fruits, and vegetables for those more apt to lean  to eating salads than the meats.  Ann is much like Cindy, thinking when meat is brought, sliced and served that style at your table it is not appetising. I have eaten once at the restaurant in Memphis and the salad bar was all I needed to eat.  There was so much selection in vegetables, salad fixings, fruit and such, eating meat was not necessary.

I think I'll put on my sunglasses, lean back, listen to "Girl from Ipanema," and dream of being on a beach in Brazil.

For Those Just Starting To Rehab #36

How many out there are just beginning recovery from a heart attack and surgery?  Wondering how you're going to get back to where ever it is you want to get to.  It all starts with your first few steps, and you just build from there.  A lot of us have been there and are continuing to build on and take more steps every day.  You've got 3 basic challenges you have to meet.  Diet, weight control, exercise.  Diet, not in the  common sense of eating more of some foods and less of others in order to lose weight. No, we are talking about in the sense of diet being the kinds of food you eat and what they do for your health.  That's the way the new you has to think now.  You can't stay with the old eating habits just because doctors cleared out those arteries, or went around them with some good strong clean new ones. You can't go on from here business as usual.  Nope that won't work.  You've just got lucky and beat the odds of surviving what most don't.  Surely you do not want to risk going through that again? Or worse putting your family through it again, or maybe you won't be as lucky next time.  Well, let's don't dwell on that any further, let's get on with the new you.

Your cardiologist will offer, or steer you in the right direction when you talk to him about diet, lowering your cholesterol, and exercising to get stronger.  That's part of his responsibility to you.  Now he is not going to do all the homework for you, but he will give you enough information to get you started. That is now your responsibility. From here on, where your health goes is in your hands, no one else.  Others can guide, but you're in control.  That's what this blog is about, sharing how to get and stay healthy.  Most of us are at an age where it is a challenge to do the healthy things we must do.  Look at Bill Clinton.  He had to change life style and deal with the same three challenges you must, to become and remain healthy.

You know, I heard from a business friend recently, and talking to him, I remembered a trade show he and I attended in Las Vegas a few years ago.  We had a dinner together in the Steakhouse dining room of the Las Vegas Hilton, which was the best steak dinner I have ever eaten.  I feel certain my friend would agree it was also one of his best.  I say this because as great as the food was, it is not something I am willing to go back to.   I feel too good about myself and my recovery.  You will feel the same way.  Most of us, like you, had a pretty good amount of weight to lose and we were not exercise and workout people. We lost the weight over time.  Consistently losing a little bit at a time, and you can too.  Eat the right foods, and begin a smart exercise program. Something as simple as walking, or maybe something your cardiologist knows of.  You'll be surprised at how quickly as weight goes down and exercise continues to grow, you will see benefits in lower blood pressure, cholesterol improving, and feeling a little stronger.  Working out and exercising has helped lower my blood pressure.   

Next time we will talk some more about exercise.  If there are any questions about my rehab and recovery, e-mail me and I will post something regarding your question.