Changes and are they worth it?

In his book" If I eat another carrot I will go crazy", Sydney Cardiologist Ross Walker, lists five major risk factors for coronary heart disease. These are;

1. Saturated fat intake
2. Cholesterol
3. Smoking
4. High blood pressure
5. Family History

He also details five minor risk factors for coronary heart disease. These are;

1. Diabetes
2. Obesity
3. Physical inactivity
4. Alcohol
5. Stress.

However, you have to look at the total picture as for example, not all smokers will develop heart disease and not all non smokers will dodge the bullet either.

Tomorrow is another big step in the journey following a health scare and subsequent stenting of one of the main arteries in the heart to ease the blockage which would have killed me. The treatment alone does not save you, it simply buys you time. If you take the issue seriously, you have to buy in to your own treatment or lifestyle adaptation. You cannot expect a health professional to take the issue seriously and provide all the solutions of you don't want to help too.

It is a big step tomorrow as I will be having some blood tests. These are all the standard tests but what makes these ones important is they come at the end of a six month personal experiment. I was aware of the risk factors and have made attempts to modify my lifestyle. The results of the blood tests will let me know if the modifications have had any effect. I certainly hope so.

Everyone can make some change so I tackled the things I thought I could.

1/ Saturated fat intake. Saturated fats are found in red meat in particular, dairy products and a few other things. For six months these things have largely been eliminated from the diet. 

Meat has been replaced by lentils, chickpeas, legumes, tofu, tempeh and more of all the wondrous vegetables that exist. 

Christmas lunch, meat free. "Prawns" are made from vegetable based protein so are mock prawns and the burger pattie is made from lentils.

Milk has been replaced by soy milk, almond milk and rice milk. I have remained 99.99% good but have to settle for cows milk in my tea at work and I still eat the occasional egg as the eggs from our own free ranging chooks are beautiful. The demonisation of eggs by the heart people in the past has now been virtually eliminated anyway. That is another story.

There has been some challenge in cooking and preparation as it was new to me, no meat! Scary for a previously committed omnivore. There was initially some challenge too in the body adapting to the new diet but that soon passed. It has even been exciting to try new foods and new ways of preparing meals. However the proof in the pudding will be if the strict diet has made any difference to my blood profile.

I can clearly say I have not found the change to a majority meat free existence difficult.

2/ Cholesterol. Have remained taking the same dose of statin  to lower blood cholesterol.

3/ Smoking. Finally managed to get this monkey off my back seventeen years ago. so that is not an issue with any life style adaption for me now.I can cheerfully say I am not tempted and will never be tempted again. But it was a huge monkey that took many goes at undoing its firm grip on me.

4/ High blood pressure. Have remained on the medication that effectively reduces this. Have increased exercise and activity levels.

5/ Family history. The biggee that you cannot do anything about which also to a large extent determines risks 2/ and 4/ above! In this western world of making choices for yourself, you cannot choose your family. I have however suggested to the entire family they themselves have some blood tests done to check on levels of cholesterol and its family of markers for heart disease.

The minor risks;

1/ Diabetes.  Not currently diabetic although have been considered pre diabetic in the past. The blood tests will be interesting. Funnily enough, the use of statins to reduce cholesterol is linked with an increased risk for developing diabetes. However I cut out sugar with my tea and coffee, never drink soft drinks, never drink commercial fruit drinks, never eat health bars or breakfast cereals, never eat bought cakes, seldom eat lollies, occasionally eat good quality chocolate and I am tempted by my wife's baking and desserts... occasionally.

2/ Obesity. As weight is something that you have some control over it, I decided to exercise that control. It was obvious to me I was a little overweight, food is beautiful and beautiful food is a thing of joy. Without following any specific diet, without getting all funny about it and punishing myself or doing without, in six months I have lost eight kilos from a starting point of 109 kgs. My body mass index or BMI was 27 and now sits at 25, the top end for a healthy weight. I will go a little further but without effort.

How did I manage this without effort? Portion control, reduced portions and by cutting out meat, cheese and processed foods. Fat which has the highest calorific value in my diet was virtually eliminated. It also pays to read labels and have an idea of how many calories or kilojoules are in foods. It helps in sidelining the under performer in your team who looks all good and showy but is bringing you and the side down.

Portion control. This is breakfast which I eat in the car on the way to work.

If you do lose weight, after a period find something to carry that equates to how much you have lost. It is a real eye opener to carry around, in my case something that weights eight kilos, in my hands. All that weight your heart has to pump blood to. All that weight your joints and spine have to support and all that weight you have to feed to maintain.

3 / Physical inactivity. I wanted to ensure I was doing enough so I  bought a pedometer to measure the number of steps taken in any period and by knowing the length of your stride how far you have covered. I am now conscious of getting enough. 

I have increased my activity accordingly, attack most tasks like mowing the lawn with gusto, and ensure I walk up hills to the point I get slightly puffed. I have not bought running shoes, treadmills, weights, a ski pass or put in an in ground pool.Walking and walking with purpose does it for me and it helps reduce stress.

Walking, smelling the roses and the dogs enjoy it too.

4/ Alcohol. Let's see what the blood tests tell me. I want a happy balanced life and alcohol is part of the party, at this stage.

5/ Stress. This is the most diffuse issue, the one hardest to pin point. If you are a personality type that does think and plan and organise and meet deadlines, it is hard to turn that off. At least a self assessment can help you to recognise when you are stressing and find ways to minimise the cause or assess whether the stress is really worth it. If it is your health that is suffering, it seldom is.

However, stress is something again over which you have some control.  When I walk I often will set myself a problem to thing over. It is remarkable how effective this can be in coming up with a perfect solution. 

If there is a lot on the plate rather than thinking  and worrying about it constantly, I set a time to think about it and mull it over.

I specifically create time now to do some of the things that please me rather than every spare moment being taken up with jobs and performing tasks. The lawn can wait! When I do perform tasks and jobs, I try to focus on the weather, the smells, the heat, the animals around, the birds in the sky, other people, simply life. If you want a life than you have to know what you are wanting to appreciate it.

So tomorrow is a big step in the journey. The results will take about a week to be with my doctor and we can then talk about it and make further adjustments as required. There is more room to move but a sustainable healthy lifestyle is borne about through the ease at which you can achieve it. Once it becomes a huge effort, the seeds are set for failure.