Diet/Exercise/Health/Wellness Support Thread

Parent Cafe
37861

<p>sabaray:</p>

<p>Thanks for the EXOS link. The first photo in the article shows the players doing side planks while rowing a cable pulley. One of my favorite core exercises.</p>

<p>It’s crazy, but the really top places like EXOS and Mike Boyle’s use pretty much the same workouts for world class professional athletes and for 50 year old geezers. The one big difference is that pro athletes can use Olympic power lifts – very fast explosive weight lifting. These lifts are too technically demanding for most of us regular joes – although there are easier version (DB snatches, KB swings) that work for us. The common thread is that the workouts are designed to improve movement and prevent injury. A coach who injures a multi-million dollar pro athlete in a workout is going to get fired. </p>

<p>Interesting discussion by Mike Boyle during the World Cup. As a whole, professional soccer has been extremely resistant to strength training. He compares it to professional ice hockey several decades ago. Then, the few teams that started strength training got bigger and faster and demonstrably winning as a result and the whole sport quickly adapted modern training. The EXOS work with the German and American teams (and the results) will probably change soccer very, very quickly.</p>

37862

<p>H went in to review his lab results today. In good news, no liver problems; blood pressure relatively low (122/87?). Bad news - his lipid panel. Triglycerides 300. Total cholesterol - 267. LDL - 171. HDL - 36(!). Ratio - 7.4. Fasting glucose - 98. I asked if the doc mentioned the phrase metabolic syndrome and what a coincidence! He did! Vitamin D .2 lower than mine - 13.2. So. </p>

<p>Fish oil in mega doses. Vitamin D in a horse pill to be taken once a week. I need @CountingDown to come back and tell me what to feed H. The joke in our house has long been that if one of us has a heart attack or stroke, we need to have the good graces to just die because we can’t afford what it would cost to recover from one! Not so funny right now. </p>

37863

<p>Kmc … You are funny. My runs and walks are very productive for all kinds of things, I’ll have to figure out what to plan for revenge walks.</p>

37864

That is textbook insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome. He almost certainly has a very high LDL particle count – lots of small, dense LDL particles that are left over after they’ve dumped their triglyceride loads.

The triglycerides are the key. Levels that high means that his liver is converting excess sugar/carb into fat (triglycerides) as the only way to get rid of it. He can reverse it, quickly, and perhaps completely, with a war on carbs with the nuclear option on sugar.

Watch this video with lipid expert Thomas Dayspring discussing a real case of a firefighter with a similar lipid profile. This video is talking to your hubby and Dayspring is a fantastic communicator:

<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an6L9VY0v8A&index=8&list=PL0A01EBCE2711A5A5”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an6L9VY0v8A&index=8&list=PL0A01EBCE2711A5A5&lt;/a&gt;

Focusing on low fat will be counterproductive with those triglyceride and HDL numbers (because it will make it harder to cut the carbs).

I did not have blood work before I started eating better, but I suspect my numbers were very similar to those. Although I generally favor a step by step easing into diet changes, knowing what I know now, if I got those numbers, I would seriously consider full-blown induction phase Atkins to bring the trig numbers down fast. In a nutshell: no sugar, no grains.

<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275”>http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275&lt;/a&gt;

Eric Westman treats diabetic patients successfully with that kind of intervention at his Duke clinic. With those numbers, Dayspring would start immediately with carb restriction AND a statin.

37865

<p>Here’s a video of the instructions that Westman gives patients diagnosed with diabetes. This is an “emergency” intervention to get people kick started.:</p>

<p><a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube;

<p>The main difference in the way I eat is that I eat a much larger amount of veggies than Westman outlines, I eat a little fruit, and I’m not 100% compliant with no sugar/no grains. He’s talking getting carbs down to 20 grams a day as a short term kickstarter intervention. In his book, he then describes how to move up to where I am – maintenance phase, with maybe 100 grams of carbs a day. The real trick to maintenance is figuring out, from trial and error, what level you can tolerate without gaining weight (or seeing your triglycerides go up).</p>

37866

<p>More viewing entertainment for hubby:</p>

<p>[Dr</a>. Robert Lustig: What is Metabolic Syndrome and Why are Children Getting It?](<a href=“Robert Lustig, MD, What is Metabolic Syndrome, and Why are Children Getting It? - YouTube”>Robert Lustig, MD, What is Metabolic Syndrome, and Why are Children Getting It? - YouTube)</p>

37867

<p>Thanks for all those helpful links. As chief nutritionist and diet planner in our household, it looks like I have some homework! </p>

<p>I do like our doc; he told H he would like to try the fish oil first before prescribing a statin. He’s taking some mammoth amount of that as well. I know very little about statins, other than most people I know that start them never stop using them. H will have repeat blood work and a follow up visit in 4 months. </p>

<p>No grains and no sugars are going to be tough for H. I know what I prepare at home but I also know he eats when I go to bed and no telling what he eats at work or on the drive home. He doesn’t read (he can, but chooses not to) but I will suggest the videos to him - I probably shouldn’t watch them at work, either! </p>

<p>I am just going to say here and get it over with that I am angry with him for getting to this point. Thanks for letting me get that out. </p>

37868

<p>My H is not a reader also. But he does enjoy audible books and podcasts. Maybe your H could listen to them on his way to and from work. Maybe it would stop the mindless eating. </p>

<p>I get annoyed when I cook healthy meals and my H raids the vending machine at work. It’s like I’m doing all the heavy lifting. It makes me really mad when I try and he doesn’t but I get blamed for things. He had a heart attack before he was 50, so real concern here. He’s heavier than I’d like but not overly so. </p>

37869

<p>Oh Saba, I understand your anger. I wish there were a magic potion we could slip into the water for instant husband damage control. I was wondering how your H was doing after walking the 5K and how his program was going. I’ve said before that with mine, the big kick in the pants came from not only the heart attack and the associated shame he felt for not being more proactive to prevent it, but his younger, brilliant cardiologist who told him he had to lose more weight than he thought possible. Does your husband have a recommended eating plan from the doctor who ordered the tests? How does he feel about this? </p>

37870

<p>Oh the irony.

</p>

<p>Today, a rest day for me, I took a trip to the lululemon store in the most popular (non-outlet) shopping mall of our area, to see what I could see. Boy their clothing is attractive, but definitely pricey. I tried on the infamous runsie which unfortunately they did not have available in the right size; what was so cute in the photographs and on the hanger, was definitely flattering on me–too short :frowning: I had much better luck with the running skirts, and now have not one but two hotty hot skirts and a new top. The store was really well staffed with young, fit, friendly women who were actually helpful. The clothing is very comfortable! Skirts are the black and white print and a navy with a striped waistband. The skirt length is great. </p>

37871

<p>

</p>

<p>Tell me about it. A typical evening snack for me was sour gummy worms and Doritos. Or a huge bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Or two slices of french toast with real maple syrup. Washed down with Pepsi, or Raspberry Snapple, or lemonade. So, I know all about tough – weaning off that junk. I’m the guy who stood in the grocery aisle just holding a can of Pringles. Thats why trying to do “low-fat” at the same time is counter-productive. Lo carbs and lo fat doesn’t leave much and that’s simply not sustainable. The tradeoff is give up the sugars and grains, but eat the steak and the bacon/eggs and so forth. Snacks that helped me were sharp cheddar cheese, salami slices, green olives, etc.</p>

<p>The good news is that he can probably make a major change in those triglyceride numbers before his 4 month follow up. The studies show that trigs start dropping in days if you successfully cut the sugar and carbs, especially if you can do the radical intervention. Mine were very low quickly after I started losing weight. LDL stayed high (higher than your hubby’s) for 18 months before falling. I’m not sure if they fell because my weight had stabilized or as a result of starting thyroid supplements (or both).</p>

37872

<p>I have a question I hope one of you can answer. </p>

<p>I’m a not quite couch potato. I hate exercise and have a lot of rather minor body issues. Due to a birth defect, I have about two-thirds of normal muscle strength. I have mild scoliosis and a slightly frozen shoulder which lots of therapy improved but `hasn’t totally eliminated. Bottom line: I have to be careful exercising.

I go to an exercise class for seniors 2X a week. A lot of it is just stretching. We use some weights. I use 3 pounds but for some exercises, especially with the frozen side, it's really too much. I swim for about 40 minutes (slowly) 1-2 times a week and I walk,probably only averaging 2.5 miles an hour or so, with a walking buddy about 3X a week for anything from half an hour to 2 hours. (We probably average about 75 minutes.) When my walking buddy can't make it, I use a treadmill.

I'm in my mid 60s, female. Right now, I'm trying to lose about 4 more pounds. (I've lost 4 or 5 over the course of about 6 weeks.) Even without the weight loss, my BMI is fine. However, I put on 8-9 pounds during the last year. It went straight to my belly, so the waist/height stuff says OVERWEIGHT. So, right now, I have a BMI of 22 but a waist/height ratio of .51. (It was worse; I've lost about an inch off my waist. )

Now, here's the question. When I read stuff, it says that my RESTING heart rate should be about 60. My general fitness should be 78-101 `and intense should be 125-133.</p>

<p>However, about 15 minutes after exercise class, my HR was 74. (pressure was 128/80, which is high for me.) When I walk for about half an hour on the treadmill at about 3.5 miles an hour, my heart rate goes up to about 129. I feel fine, but…I’m afraid to go faster. </p>

<p>I tried asking my doctor, who said ask a trainer–which I don’t have. I asked the physical therapist for my shoulder and she said to ask the doctor. </p>

<p>Is the fact that my HR goes up that high with what is, after all,only moderate exercise a bad thing? Remember, I feel fine. I’m not winded–probably less out of breath than I am after swimming 40 minutes (20 round trip laps.) </p>

37873

<p>Jonri- we’ve had a lot of discussion about how inaccurate the heart rate estimates are. Without you searching the thread. The bottom line is that you can figure out your resting heart rate. Measure it right before you get out of bed. That is a sign of fitness and the goal is for it to be as low as possible. Max heart rate can vary greatly and is NOT a sign of fitness, but it is a good number to know, because then you can figure out how hard you should work at a moderate and an intense level. If you are bent over panting, you are getting close to your max. Then we can talk about target zones.
I suspect the seniors exercise class is not particularly beneficial from a fitness perspective, although it probably has value in other areas- like stretching. My aerobic heart rate zone is 135-148, with a max of 185. I would not worry at all unless you feel like you are going to keel over! </p>

37874

<p>Thanks! The ONLY reason I was worried is because I read the charts in our mini-gym and this <a href=“BMI Calculator for Men & Women: Calculate Your Body Mass Index”>BMI Calculator for Men & Women: Calculate Your Body Mass Index; I’m really not that winded and don’t feel as if I’m going to keel over. </p>

<p>Actually, the senior class does help me a lot. The guy who teaches it is excellent and it’s gotten me to use weights, which gives benefits I don’t get from swimming and walking. He also has us doing stuff like balance and Kegel exercises, another thing I wouldn’t do without the class. But best of all, for someone like me, is that he helps you by correcting form etc. but never embarrasses anyone. In any regular class I’ve tried to take, the instructor immediately started yelling at me that I’ve got to try harder, when in reality I AM about to keel over. </p>

37875

<p>Jonri:</p>

<p>Unless you are in some kind of cardiac rehab program, a heart rate of 129 is definitely not too high for you. Figure your max heart rate is probably somewhere between 155 and 175 (it could be even higher). So, 129 would be somewhere between 73% and 83% of your max. That range is ideal for exercise. If you aren’t breathing heavy, it’s probably towards the low end of that range. My “not breathing heavy” walking pace is a heart rate somewhere in the 68% to 72% of my max, depending on how hot it is and how long I’ve been going.</p>

<p>It would actually be GOOD for you to push the pace. Breathing heavy is good! One way would be to find some hills. Going up and down short hills is great because it drives your heart rate up and then lets it fall back on the downhill part.</p>

<p>At least for me, 80% of my max is breathing heavy but not painfully so. I can keep that up for a while. 90% of my max is pretty winded and I can’t keep that up for very long – a minute or so. 100% of my max (which I have done on occasion) feels like the world is coming to an end. Panting, pacing in circles, just desperately hoping to catch a breath. It’s great exercise, but now that I’m in a little better shape, I just can’t push myself hard enough to get there like I could when I was fat and just walking up a steep hill would do it. When I do short spurts of intense exercise based on heart rate, my target is to get to 90% of my max and then recover. That’s high enough to get the benefit without running myself into the ground. It really could be argued that 85% of max would be high enough.</p>

<p>Anything below 75% of max is not doing you a lot of good, other than building stamina/endurance for lower intensity exercise. Don’t get me wrong, better to walk without breathing hard than to not exercise. Way better. But, if you can crank the heart rate up to the point where you are breathing hard, even panting, for short bursts of exercise, you’ll reap big fitness benefits. Including shedding that stubborn belly fat. I would definitely not be scared of going above 129.</p>

37876

<p>4 miles run/walk this morning. 65 degrees. I can’t wait for it to cool down some in the mornings! I am so pathetic in heat.</p>

37877

<p>Thanks again! I definitely can walk faster on the treadmill and get my heart rate up. I suspect it’s faster in the pool but there isn’t a heart rate monitor in the pool as there is on the treadmill. The chart at webmd says my max heart rate is 156 and I shouldn’t exceed 133. So…when I was already at 129, I just was a bit hesitant to push it higher. </p>

37878

<p>I think my max heart rate is probably around 180 - I’ve never really truly tried to go all out for very long. If I’m doing the elliptical I try to get it up to 150 two or three times over the course of a half hour. But mostly I’m around 130-140. I don’t think any of the monitors at the gym work properly any more, nor does the chest band I got. So I just try to pant a bit from time to time.</p>

37879

<p>If your max heart rate were really 156, then you would be breathing hard at 129 (unless you are incredibly fit). I know that I’m breathing hard above 80% of my max and I think that’s true for most people (except maybe endurance runners?).</p>

<p>I also can’t think of any good reason to limit yourself to 85% of even your true max (which is what WebMD is suggesting) unless you are under some kind of cardiac restriction. It hard to push yourself that hard, but, if you can, it’s good for your conditioning, including your heart. I’ve pushed myself above 90% of my max hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times over the last four years. Nothing bad has come of it. My heart rate recovery (how much my heart rate falls in 60 seconds after stopping) improved dramatically – a very good thing.</p>

<p>If your heart rate is 129 after 30 minutes of walking at 3.5 mph (a pretty good pace) and you aren’t breathing hard, I bet your real max heart rate is at least as high as mine (172).</p>

37880

<p>75 minute hot yoga at 6am. Tough but good. Lots of walking in the airport and around Philadelphia. </p>