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?