Saturday, April 12, 2008

The Weight Loss Episode


One thing everyone should do, building up to about a half-hour every day, six days a week, is exercise. If you haven’t done anything in years, then of course work up slowly and incrementally to this level. At least do twenty minutes three times a week of something lightly aerobic. See your doctor. I’m seeing mine, this Thursday, to see if I can resume my workouts, after a two-year layoff.

During the two years since I developed atrial fibrillation, I haven’t really consistently worked out. A short weightlifting workout here and there, some cardio on the exercise bike on occasion, a couple of yoga sessions once in a while. But nothing consistent. Consistency is absolutely the key. Twenty years of working out has convinced me of that. It’s not what you do, per se, but how regularly you do it.

Another key factor is diet. My wife and I discovered this last May. We did about a month on Dr. Ian Smith's Fat Smash Diet. Though we were restricted in what we could eat, the pounds melted off. I lost twelve pounds during the month we stuck with it. The problem was that it was messing with my INR levels; this was directly at cross-purpose with the blood thinners I was taking.

I expect my doctor to tell me that I can slowly resume working out. Which is fine by me. I’m completely in tune with the concept of progressive exercise. I’ll probably start off alternating some twenty-minute light weight workouts with ten minutes of cardio, first thing in the morning before everyone wakes. As the weeks go on, I’ll increase weight and duration slowly but consistently. I’d like to work in some regular yoga sessions, but I don’t now how with such a tight schedule. You don’t need me to tell you how exercise not only makes you feel good physically, but mentally as well. And its been two years since I felt really good about myself.

Diet is tricky, though. My doctors have always told me to keep my diet regular; that is, don’t make drastic changes. It’ll affect the blood. The problem is, since I’m on the wagon due to my heart, I tend to eat poorly to deal with stress. But there are a few things I can do that won’t skew my INR. I can eliminate sodas and sugar drinks, for one. I can also cut back on my cookie and candy intake. I can replace pasta, which I am a fiend for, with brown rice. But I need to make these changes gradually, one at a time, otherwise, they won’t stick.

I’ve read that, for a man, you should weigh 106 pounds for the first five feet of height, then 6 pounds for every inch over that. You then have a 10 percent leeway higher or lower to provide an ideal weight range. (For women, its 100 points and 5 pounds for every inch over five feet.) So for me, my ideal weight at 5’9” is 160 pounds plus ten percent which puts me at about 176. Right now I’m tipping the scales at 198. 22 pounds overweight. I don’t like thinking about how that’s taxing my poor heart.

So, I need to resume working out, not just to feel better, but to be better to my heart. I’ll have a lot of questions for my cardiologist on Thursday. And if he gives me the okay to exercise, maybe I’ll post some weekly stats on this blog to keep myself honest.

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