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Don't Wait: Take Care Of Your Heart Today

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By DEREK MAUL | The Brandon News

Published: February 26, 2007

Many spiritual communities offer programs designed to address the need for balanced and productive lives. It's the "mind-, body-and-soul" approach.

At my church the "Parish Nurse" ministry team coordinates such efforts. They offer blood pressure testing, wellness information, first-aid classes, health fair exhibits and events like last week's "Healthy Heart Luncheon."

Food always gets my attention.

The program was well attended but the crowd did not match churchwide demographics. We have young families galore but I was just about the youngest there.

Why?

Because most of us tend to believe health-related events are only relevant for older, at-risk, chronically ill, recovering or overweight people.

First let's get a couple of key generalizations out on the table. We're already "at risk" because we live in North America. I'm not kidding. This is a diet-impaired exercise-challenged time-squeezed lifestyle-compromised priority-confused culture. Additionally, 65 percent of us, and this number includes children, are more than a tad overweight.

"If I'm young, reasonably in shape, and not at risk of imminent hospitalization," the reasoning goes, "then why waste my time?"

Well I'm glad you asked. I was a speaker at the program and the rest of this column highlights what I shared.

Last summer I got in trouble with my doctor. You know, the usual: cholesterol, triglycerides, exercise, diet, weight. Then she threatened me with medication.

"No way," I objected. "Those are things I can take care of myself."

"Right," she said. "So do something. You've got six months."

But before long I was back to the status quo. Poor heart health is not only relaxing but tasty, too. Besides, cholesterol is my favorite food group and who has time to exercise?

Then I weighed myself and realized I hadn't seen the slim side of 185 pounds in years. I've always said, "I'll pay attention if the scales hit 180." Well 180 was the distant past. "Ooops," I said. "It must be time."

That's when Scout the Labradoodle showed up and became my personal trainer. Two walks daily and suddenly I'm halfway to great health. All I had to do was add smart eating.

Here's the regimen:

* Two long walks plus short excursions. That's 50 miles a week.
* Food portions were huge. I simply reduced each meal by one third.
* It's "multigrain", not "multiple grains". Why add bread when I already have rice?
* Dessert is unnecessary.
* No snacking after dinner. Just hot tea.
* Bye-bye soda. My limit is two per week.

Pretty simple really. Smart eating anchored in regular exercise.

It's been six months now so let's check the results: Rather than target poundage I reason my body should find its own level if treated well. That level turns out to be 170 pounds. I lost 10 percent mass plus inches in key places. The related benefits are huge.

1. Cholesterol rolled back from more than 240 to 219. I'm confident I'll reach 200 by Christmas. Good cholesterol increased 25 percent.
2. Those nasty triglycerides tumbled by two-thirds. I'm now low-risk near 100 mg/dL.
3. I use over-the-counter meds for heartburn. I'm down from seven purples pills a week to around two.
4. As a nice bonus my resting heart rate now hovers around 48.

So here's my pitch: "The Great Shema" (Deuteronomy 6:5-9) recommends loving God with heart and soul and body. I appreciate the way the text concludes. "Talk about [faith] when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

That means I'm going to continue to "walk along the road" as a spiritual discipline. I pray a lot over three miles plus walking itself can be prayer. Relaxed exercise, fresh air and a grateful heart.
God issued me this body and I'm learning to be ever so grateful. I've had it 50 years now and I intend to honor my Creator by taking the best possible care.

It also means I'm going to discipline myself to eat sensibly. Because any manner of overindulgence, food, alcohol or whatever, constitutes an affront to creation and an impediment to a life of faith.

This isn't a column about diet; it's really a column about choosing to live.

Derek Maul is a writer who lives in Valrico. You can reach him at derekmaul@gmail.com.

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