Thin Blog

Our heart is a complex organ, but keeping it healthy is relatively simple. The heart pumps blood and generates oxygen to fuel all of our vital organs. The great news is that whatever is good for the heart is also healthy for our bodies. The following keys will help us attain a heart healthy life.

1. Start with a healthy diet. We need to limit our fat intake. Fat has several good qualities such as providing taste to our food, and transporting vitamins and nutrients to key organs in our bodies. However, to much fat blocks the arteries which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Fiber is also very important to a heart healthy diet. Eating fiber helps us reduce the absorption of dietary fat, cholesterol, and triglycerides. The old saying, an apple a day (with the peeling of course) keeps the heart doctor away, is true. We also need to eliminate excessive salt abuse. Your body doesn’t want or need extra sodium. Extra sodium overloads your kidneys’ ability to regulate blood pressure, resulting in increased stress on your heart.
2. Get Moving! Exercise, or physical fitness is essential to keeping your muscles strong, healthy, and to generate oxygen throughout your body. Exercise helps keep the arteries free of plaque, and helps our bodies convert food into energy. Physical fitness also reduces unhealthy stress, another huge factor for heart disease.
3. Take Charge of Your Heart Health! This means: know your family health history, monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol, don’t put off getting your yearly physical examinations, and know the warning signs of a heart attack.

Warning signs of on oncoming heart attack may vary between men and women. Below are some of the warning signals.

• Feeling breathlessness, often without chest pain.
• Flu-like symptoms–clamminess, cold, sweats, and nausea
• Pain in upper back, shoulders, neck, or jaw
• Feelings of anxiety
• Unexplained excessive fatigue or difficulty sleeping

If you have any of these symptoms please call 911 or seek medical attention.

Remember for a Heart Healthy Life you need to eat a low fat diet, increase your fiber, reduce your salt intake and to exercise regularly.

Quite often I have heard many people tell me, and I quote…”I want to lose weight.”   What I have learned is that there are many people that make the statement, but there are really only a minority of people that are willing to make the sustained effort to make weight loss a personal reality.  I will  further make the statement that I too spent many years in that minority group and was quietly ashamed after I fully understood what weight loss was all about.  I had said for over 20 years “I want to lose weight’ and was amazed at what happened after I admitted to myself… that I really did not want weight loss badly enough.

I tried to lose weight from that moment, way back in  1984, when my uniform for work (USMC) started to get a bit snug around the waist.  I tried to watch what I was eating and I continued to exercise, but over the years, my weight loss attempts were less than exemplary.  The process of gaining weight was a slow and steady “event” that only was self-realized after I looked in the mirror (of emotional personal reflection) and asked myself what the hell had happened to me?  I used to be fit and trim and then all of a sudden (25 years later) I was this 297 pounds of flab leaving the doctor’s office.  I held in my hand a litany of illnesses and prescriptions that somehow forced me to realize that I was not going to be The Biggest Loser.  I was destined to be a big, fat and really sick person until I died a slow and meaningless death, unless I made some type of change.  I walked out of that office that day and was awoken to the fact that I not only wanted to lose weight, but needed to lose weight.

Did my NEED make the want more important?

Why do I write this?  Why am I so rude?  Shouldn’t I be more understanding?  Shouldn’t I be more compassionate to her “needs?”  Shouldn’t I be more delicate in this article?

NO!

I behaved during my encounter with the lady in the cart.  I pointed her in the right direction and she tootled her way down the main aisle.  I had to be politically correct for her, since I need my job.  That was then, and this is now, and this blog is where you came because you too had uttered the mental and verbal statement that “I want to lose weight.”  If you feel as strongly as I did about my obesity and have endured that mind blinding question as long as I did, then it is time you wake up to the fact that it is time to put an end to lip service and make weight loss a reality.  What you do not realize is that losing weight does not have to be a life-time or unending endeavor.

I “tried” to lose weight for so long that I wrongly assumed that weight loss was this process that was going to be a life-time event.  I thought I would forever be on a lifetime of dieting and that all of the food fun was going to be sucked out of my life.  Looking back on it all, that was the subconscious thought that was holding me back and it was just plain wrong.  What I did not realize was that if I really wanted to lose weight, the only thing I had to do was focus that desire and push it to the top of my thoughts, for the duration of the event called dieting.  I had to make that statement a reality and that reality of dieting really did not have to last for the rest of my life.

I wanted to lose weight for well over 25 years and failed.  Once I buckled down in my desire, I was able to make the weight loss a reality in less than 6 months!  What I failed to realize during those 25 years was that I did not have to give up pizza and gyros and beer and pretzels and soda and tacos and…… forever.  I only had to allow the desire to lose weight be the paramount desire for 5.5 months and once the weight was gone, it all became about maintenance.  Looking back on myself I now understand that losing my weight was more about simply re-booting my body than having to be on a diet.

If you want to lose weight, that is great.  Sadly enough I must ask you how long have you wanted to lose weight?  How long have you wanted to lose weight and yet gained weight?  The question I am asking is how bad do you really want to lose weight?  If you wanted it badly enough why can’t you just let it happen instead of trying to force it to make it happen?  If you really wanted to lose weight aren’t you mentally strong enough to make it a reality?  Push aside all of your excuses and dig down deep into the core of the issue, if you have been overweight for years.

I used Medifast to make weight loss a reality in my life.  I lost over 115 pounds and it just happened by sticking with the program.  I am nothing special.  I am no great role model.  I am just someone that realized one day that I had not wanted to lose weight badly enough.  It was not until I understood the concept that weight loss does not have to be a “forever” event.  It just had to simply be an event that I held onto… until it happened.  Once it happened I went back and celebrated with the foods I love, with the understanding that I simply had to be careful.  I eat whatever I like these days and although I love pizza, and eat it, I understand that if the weight starts to return… the period of time I need to “reboot” is much, much shorter.

I will NEVER go back to being overweight again.

My closing question to you is what will YOU do?  You do not have to use Medifast, just because it worked for Sue and myself.  Our Story does not have to be your story.  My closing question is simply how badly do you want to lose weight?  Will you really do something about it, or will you simply ride down the aisle on your elecrtic cart, into a future of obesity related illnesses that has the statistical probability of killing you long before you need to die?

The clock is ticking and it will never stop ticking, but how many more ticks does the clock have left for you… before someone else says “they should have lost weight!” as they are standing over your casket?

In America today many people have become overweight or obese for many reasons. Most Americans today no longer turn to a BMI chart to see if they are overweight, they turn to it to discover just how much overweight they have become.  Many of those American refer to what is called a BMI chart

The way a BMI chart works is really very simple.  It takes two pieces of your information and combines them to yield a result.  Two simple measures, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, provide useful estimates of overweight, obesity, and body fat distribution.

Health care providers also use BMI and waist circumference measures to assess a person’s risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, or other health problems. This fact sheet tells you how to measure your BMI and waist circumference, and what these measures mean for your health.

BMI measures your weight in relation to your height, and it is closely associated with measures of body fat. You can calculate your BMI using this formula.

For example, for someone who is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, the calculation would look like this:

A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered to be in the healthy range. A person with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

You can also find your weight group on the chart below. The chart applies to all adults. The higher weights in the healthy range apply to people with more muscle and bone, such as men. Even within the healthy range, weight gain could increase your risk for health problems.

Because BMI does not show the difference between fat and muscle, it does not always accurately predict when weight could lead to health problems. For example, someone with a lot of muscle (such as a body builder) may have a BMI in the overweight or obese range, but still be healthy and have little risk of developing diabetes or having a heart attack.

I am a part time Health Coach and I work full-time in a large home improvement store, that is blue.  All day long, where ever, I go I am required to speak to people in a way that drives me crazy because being “politically correct” is something that will kill 100′s of thousands of people in the next year.  I can’t tell a person that they are fat and they will die prematurely, if they choose to continue to do nothing about their weight.  You are the one reading this and if you will check out your BMI at this internal link, you will discover your personal health risks from your weight.  Please click on the link to determine and understand click on the link and determine what your BMI has become.  (BMI link)

Now that you know what YOUR BMI is I hope you will stop and think about it for a few moments.  What most people do not understand is that there are really four categories of the BMI.  Those categories are as follows;

• Healthy BMI
• Overweight BMI
• Obese BMI
• Morbidly Obese BMI

Now that you know what category you fall into, and now that you understand what the BMI is all about, let’s talk “NON-POLITICALLY” correct.  Let’s talk about some facts and let’s not allow saying the “improper’ thing to get in the way.

HEALTHY BMI
If you have a healthy BMI there is a good chance that people will be telling you that you are too thin.  Let me be the first to tell you that you should not be listening to what they are telling you because they really do not know, or even understand what the BMI is all about.  A healthy BMI is not something that should be taken for granted and if you have a healthy BMI, pay attention to where your body is headed on any given week.  A person with a healthy BMI needs to guard against becoming overweight and also they need to protect against becoming too thin.  You should be aware that a healthy is what will help you live not only a longer life but also a more healthy and active life.  Statistically,  you will not suffer from many of the illnesses that being fat has to offer.  If you have a healthy BMI then do everything in your power and control to keep it for the rest of your life.

OVERWEIGHT BMI
Most people do not even realize that there is a section between having a healthy BMI and an obese BMI.  This is the area where most people are comfortable and think that nothing really has to be done.  This is the BMI that should be sounding the alarm that something needs to be done.  This is the BMI that you should start to be concerned because obesity is just a few poorly chosen meals away.  This category of the BMI chart is often achieved by those that are in a relationship, and are comfortable.  Young married couples settle into a life that is easy, comfortable and full of enjoyment.  This is when most choose to not engage in many activities that burn calories while there is no slow down to the calories that are ingested.  This is the point of time in your life where it will be the easiest to shed some weight and return to that elusive BMI that is classified as being one of having optimal health. 

OBESE BMI
If you are in the category of Obese BMI then you better get up and do something because you are shortening the time that you have to live.  If you have achieved this BMI then you have either a pot belly or big and wide hips with an ever increasing bubble butt that is starting to sag into cellulite that is not that attractive at all.  Sure people are polite and ignore the fact but it is about this time that you are finding it more and more difficult to sit in booths at restaurants, because you are too large.  Once you reach the category of being obese you tend to ignore the fact that the weight is there and you think that only the “other” person is going to be the one that has a heart attack or a stroke or get diabetes.  It is in this classification of BMI that your health will start to spiral downward.  This is the time where millions and millions of people become Type 2 diabetic.  If you are  concerned then click on over and take the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test at diabetes.com.

MORBIDLY OBESE
If you are in the category of being morbidly obese you may be confused by the description of this category.  Some refer to is as “extreme obesity” and other classify it using other descriptors because they do not want to offend you.  I have no such feelings towards upsetting you because I have no such sympathy in telling you what is headed your way.  They do not call it morbidly obese for any other reason than the fact that this will be the phase of your life where you will eventually die from being fat.

The way you die may be long and drawn out and you may suffer from things like diabetes, amputations, strokes, heart attacks, cancer, liver disease, venous insufficiency, gallbladder disease, breathing problems, vein thrombosis, arthritis, depression and a list that could virtually fill the entire Internet.  If you fall into the category of being morbidly obese you may live for quite awhile,but the quality of your life is going to…..how should I say this?……The quality of your life is going to suck! 

If you CHOOSE to remain in this category long enough there is a great chance that after a long and series of illnesses and discomforts, you will die.  You will die and if you have anyone that survives you they will have to bury the body,that your soul will leave behind.  If you choose to do nothing about being morbidly obese then we suggest you start planning on your funeral because it will happen sooner than you hope or plan.

If you choose to do nothing about morbid obesity you may suffer a life that will prevent you from being able to play with the children or the grand children.  You will not be able to take the walks or bike rides and you will will surely not be able to spend the quality time that is desired in the parent and child relationship.  Ultimately your life will be cut short and your family will be forced to deal with the large amount of remains that you will vacate and the family will be forced to get rid of through a funeral.  If you are really overweight then you should plan on a quick cremation so your remains will not have to deal with the public humiliation of moving back and forth.   If you still choose to do nothing your body will be displayed during the autopsy as rudely as shown in the photograph.  There is little dignity in death and that is even more-so for the morbidly obese.

If you think I am trying to scare you then you are right!  What you need to be scared of is not what death awaits you, but the life that awaits you.  You need to be concerned with what you are doing to those that you love and those that you will leave behind after you die.  Your kids, wife or any other loved ones will be forced to pick up the pieces of the life that your obesity will shatter.  If you think these words are harsh, then I am glad because it is my hope to help you!  It is my hope to tell you that just because you are morbidly obese is no reason to give up.  There is no reason that you have to live a life that will be one of suffering.  I can write these words because I am a person that had given up and then woke up.  I am a person that had the reality of my future shown to me and I made the choice to make a change. 

If you want to lose the weight then you are the one that needs to make the change.  You are the one that needs to make it happen.  Nobody made you this overweight and nobody can stop you from eating yourself to death….but YOU!  You are the one that needs to take control of your life and you are the one that will have to live, or die, with the results that you have achieved.  It is NEVER to late to lose weight unless you are dead.

If you are ready to make the change than you really need to explore the ONLY weight loss program that I found that really works.  When I thought about having a gastric bypass a close friend of mine told me about Medifast and since that fateful day I have lost over 100 pounds.  Medifast has been approved by the John’s Hopkins Weight Loss Center and the National Health Institute for being safe and effective.  (Click Here for Link) 

If you are afraid that you will die, or at best have a crappy life, then do something about it…do anything, but do something.  If you do not want to die prematurely and leave your family behind before your time, than make your life better.  Give Medifast just 30 days and watch your life be returned to something that you can control.  On the program you will not suffer from hunger and you will lose weight.  Now how great is that and what really other options do you have left?

Oh!  That option is death!

The Medifast diet has been clinically proven to be safe and effective