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.