Moving out of the American Heart Month project, and maybe looking ahead to The Tribune-Democrat's Progress editions that come out next month, I was feeling the need for a little boost today.
I'm still fighting this nasty cold and cough that has been hanging in there for two weeks now, and I have a lot of story ideas I've been stacking up while I finished he project.
While it was encouraging that several people today congratulated me on the 8-pound weight loss during February, i am still looking at the long range goal for healthier living. Getting below 205 was important, if only because I feel like I've been ranging between about 205 and 210 for a several years. I couldn't really count it as weight loss until it dropped below 205. It was just a normal fluctuation until that threshold was broken.
Now comes the challenge of keeping it up.
I got some true inspiration when I started working on one of those stories that stacked up. It will be published later this week, and it details a study of cancer survivors to see how they respond to information and opportunities for a healthier lifestyle.
Lead investigator Tina Trimbath is a cancer survivor who is truly passionate about the benefits of physical activity and nutrition following cancer treatment. She is having participants keep an online journal of their exercise and diet programs and says her research has shown people are more likely to eat healthy and be active if they write it down as they go.
Of course, I thought of this blog and my own heart-healthy program this month. Will I be as conscious of the daily food intake and physical activity, if I’m not blogging?
We’ll have to see. I really don’t plan to continue this more than a few times a month at this point, despite encouragement from a couple of people who read it.
I recently saw a picture of me in cut off shorts by the pond at my parents house, taken probably shortly after I graduated high school. While some might say that represents my healthiest weight, I don’t have illusions of getting back there.
Baby steps, right?
Next, I’ll shoot to break the 200 mark.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Column for Monday's newspaper
As I wrap up The Tribune-Democrat’s first American Heart Month project with this column and today’s Health Matters installment, I am humbled by the energy, passion and dedication of the doctors and health-care workers who helped me through the
16 published pieces, with more than 9,100 words.
While I believe we touched on many important issues and offered information that nearly everybody can use to improve their heart health or understand what friends or family members have experienced, I know there is much more to build on in the future.
This project focused primarily on heart attacks, including prevention, treatment and response.
There are many more aspects to cardiopulmonary disease.
I learned a few things from the experts and from the survivors we featured during the month. I did not understand, for instance, that cardiac rehabilitation following a heart event is seen as a failure if there is another heart attack.
Memorial Medical Center’s heart surgery chairman,
Dr. Rajsekhar Devineni, put it this way: “The disease is still there. Rehab is getting them in a good lifestyle with exercise and healthy food so no matter what comes they can endure it. It will prime your heart to withstand whatever comes.”
I was reminded of the dozens of breast cancer survivors I’ve interviewed over the past few years for The Tribune-Democrat’s Breast Cancer Awareness Project in October. Many times, these women related how they were treated and in recovery, only to have the cancer return. I am awed by the same optimism and courage in these heart patients.
But on another level, much of what we covered was familiar ground. For years, local advocates like Dr. Matthew Masiello at Windber Research Institute’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Johnstown cardiologist
Dr. Charles Oschwald have been getting me to write about the importance of healthy diet, weight control, tobacco cessation and exercise.
When I started the month, I was struggling with how to bring a fresh voice to the subject. I decided to make it personal.
In my introductory column on Feb. 1, I admitted I am not exactly the poster child for heart health and pledged to commit myself to an improved lifestyle during February. I have updated readers on my progress in online postings on my Johnstown Health Beat blog every day that I was working. This column will serve as Sunday’s posting, with some final thoughts posted later today.
So what was the success?
On Saturday, I hit a personal goal for the month by tipping the scale at 204 pounds – down 8 pounds, or almost 4 percent of my body weight since Feb. 1.
I have been more intentional in regular physical activity, like going to the gym. There is also more awareness to portion control, avoiding fatty foods and between-meal snacking. My wife, Becky, says I’m doing better at taking my time to enjoy my food.
While I will wrap up the heart month postings today, I plan to keep the blog active. I will update less regularly as time permits, perhaps when I’m working on my latest Health Matters monthly feature or another health story.
INTERNET EXCLUSIVE
Well I thought of more I wanted to say, but there was only so much space in the paper. This is the extended version from here on down.
First of all, be sure to check out the three articles in Sunday's paper. The main story focuses on cardiac rehab, with two patients' stories: A heart transplant recipient and an Echo man working on his heart health.
Personally, hitting the 204-pound goal really lifted my spirits Saturday. I was a little concerned because we ate so late on Friday after the snow-tubing fun. I didn’t end up pulling my tube the whole way back up the slope, but there was enough pulling and walking and climbing steps to the snow-tube lodge area that I figured we completed our 30-minutes for that day.
But when we decided to get a late supper on the way in Somerset, things fell apart. Except for fast food, which I am totally avoiding (and not only for health sake), there did not seem to be much to pick from. We ended up eating leftovers at home after midnight.
So when the scales topped out at exactly 204 Saturday I was ready to declare success. For a couple days it seems stuck just below 205, but not enough below to claim 204. I celebrated with a small square of Becky’s homemade chocolate cake with cherries.
Saturday night found us at the Pink Ribbon Ball to support breast cancer awareness. The Frank J. Pasquerilla Center cuisine was interesting, and pretty healthy. Some grilled chicken breast, a piece of broiled or baked or poached fish (Becky could tell you exactly how they cooked it) and some interesting roasted vegetables.
The event had a birthday party theme to celebrate future birthdays of breast cancer patients, thanks to research and treatment made possible by events like Saturday’s ball. Becky and I attracted a lot of attention with our Happy Birthday hats, as seen in the photo.
Despite all the dancing we did, I admit I inched up to 205 again this morning, but I always consider weekend gain to be temporary.
I can hardly blame it on the beer, since I only had one at the very beginning of the ball. I might have had another but they shut down all three bars before the band’s second break! What is up with that?
16 published pieces, with more than 9,100 words.
While I believe we touched on many important issues and offered information that nearly everybody can use to improve their heart health or understand what friends or family members have experienced, I know there is much more to build on in the future.
This project focused primarily on heart attacks, including prevention, treatment and response.
There are many more aspects to cardiopulmonary disease.
I learned a few things from the experts and from the survivors we featured during the month. I did not understand, for instance, that cardiac rehabilitation following a heart event is seen as a failure if there is another heart attack.
Memorial Medical Center’s heart surgery chairman,
Dr. Rajsekhar Devineni, put it this way: “The disease is still there. Rehab is getting them in a good lifestyle with exercise and healthy food so no matter what comes they can endure it. It will prime your heart to withstand whatever comes.”
I was reminded of the dozens of breast cancer survivors I’ve interviewed over the past few years for The Tribune-Democrat’s Breast Cancer Awareness Project in October. Many times, these women related how they were treated and in recovery, only to have the cancer return. I am awed by the same optimism and courage in these heart patients.
But on another level, much of what we covered was familiar ground. For years, local advocates like Dr. Matthew Masiello at Windber Research Institute’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Johnstown cardiologist
Dr. Charles Oschwald have been getting me to write about the importance of healthy diet, weight control, tobacco cessation and exercise.
When I started the month, I was struggling with how to bring a fresh voice to the subject. I decided to make it personal.
In my introductory column on Feb. 1, I admitted I am not exactly the poster child for heart health and pledged to commit myself to an improved lifestyle during February. I have updated readers on my progress in online postings on my Johnstown Health Beat blog every day that I was working. This column will serve as Sunday’s posting, with some final thoughts posted later today.
So what was the success?
On Saturday, I hit a personal goal for the month by tipping the scale at 204 pounds – down 8 pounds, or almost 4 percent of my body weight since Feb. 1.
I have been more intentional in regular physical activity, like going to the gym. There is also more awareness to portion control, avoiding fatty foods and between-meal snacking. My wife, Becky, says I’m doing better at taking my time to enjoy my food.
While I will wrap up the heart month postings today, I plan to keep the blog active. I will update less regularly as time permits, perhaps when I’m working on my latest Health Matters monthly feature or another health story.
INTERNET EXCLUSIVE
Well I thought of more I wanted to say, but there was only so much space in the paper. This is the extended version from here on down.
First of all, be sure to check out the three articles in Sunday's paper. The main story focuses on cardiac rehab, with two patients' stories: A heart transplant recipient and an Echo man working on his heart health.
Personally, hitting the 204-pound goal really lifted my spirits Saturday. I was a little concerned because we ate so late on Friday after the snow-tubing fun. I didn’t end up pulling my tube the whole way back up the slope, but there was enough pulling and walking and climbing steps to the snow-tube lodge area that I figured we completed our 30-minutes for that day.
But when we decided to get a late supper on the way in Somerset, things fell apart. Except for fast food, which I am totally avoiding (and not only for health sake), there did not seem to be much to pick from. We ended up eating leftovers at home after midnight.
So when the scales topped out at exactly 204 Saturday I was ready to declare success. For a couple days it seems stuck just below 205, but not enough below to claim 204. I celebrated with a small square of Becky’s homemade chocolate cake with cherries.
Saturday night found us at the Pink Ribbon Ball to support breast cancer awareness. The Frank J. Pasquerilla Center cuisine was interesting, and pretty healthy. Some grilled chicken breast, a piece of broiled or baked or poached fish (Becky could tell you exactly how they cooked it) and some interesting roasted vegetables.
The event had a birthday party theme to celebrate future birthdays of breast cancer patients, thanks to research and treatment made possible by events like Saturday’s ball. Becky and I attracted a lot of attention with our Happy Birthday hats, as seen in the photo.
Despite all the dancing we did, I admit I inched up to 205 again this morning, but I always consider weekend gain to be temporary.
I can hardly blame it on the beer, since I only had one at the very beginning of the ball. I might have had another but they shut down all three bars before the band’s second break! What is up with that?
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wrapping up the project
I just wrapped up my final four stories for The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project.
Sunday’s package includes a main story about cardiac rehabilitation and living with heart disease, along with two patients’ stories. Both patients were inspiring for me. They each had fought back from their initial, very-damaging heart attacks, only to be felled again by additional cardiac events and symptoms of heart disease.
While it would seem that maybe the rehab and lifestyle changes they embraced did not work, the experts say it probably saved their lives many times over.
“The disease is still there,” heart surgery Chairman Dr. Raj Devineni told me at Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown. “Rehab is getting them in a good lifestyle with exercise and healthy food so no matter what comes they can endure it.”
Then I got a call from Laurel Highlands Advance Imaging in Richland to brag about their fancy CT scanner that can show heart disease, or more importantly, the absence of heart disease. It can help patients avoid a more invasive, more costly catheter test, Medical Director Dr. Anthony Scuderi told me.
That story didn’t really fit into Sunday’s theme of cardiac rehab and living with heart disease, so we are holding it until Monday, when it will serve as this month’s installment of our regular Health Matters feature.
Well, that’s enough of a preview of coming attractions. I am still pretty psyched about the good news for DRS Laurel Technologies I was able to report this morning.
On the personal front, I came home last night to find Becky home from her second trip to the gym dancing in front of the TV with a video exercise-dance program. She even got me to try it for one song. I scored better than she did on her first try!
We gave in to our tradition of going out for wings on Thursday night, but we both ate about half our usual order, and brought the rest home. I may lunch on wings tomorrow.
I won’t say what the scales told me this morning, but I was pleasantly pleased to be down to the weight I have the goal of getting below by Monday.
Good luck this weekend, though.
Tonight should help. We are going with the Bethany United Methodist Church gang to Seven Springs Mountain Resort for a snow tubing outing. Maybe I’ll have to actually pull my tube back up the hill a couple times since we didn’t get to the gym today.
Tomorrow night is the Pink Ribbon Ball to support breast cancer treatment and research. We’ll see if the menu is low-fat and heart-healthy, which is also breast-cancer-healthy, by the way.
I’m working my monthly-ish weekend shift on Sunday, and plan to write another column for the paper to cap American Heart Month the way I started and then finish out this blog project on Monday.
Although I’m toying with idea of updating, perhaps less frequently, with future health-beat stories and updates on my own lifestyle improvement attempts.
Sunday’s package includes a main story about cardiac rehabilitation and living with heart disease, along with two patients’ stories. Both patients were inspiring for me. They each had fought back from their initial, very-damaging heart attacks, only to be felled again by additional cardiac events and symptoms of heart disease.
While it would seem that maybe the rehab and lifestyle changes they embraced did not work, the experts say it probably saved their lives many times over.
“The disease is still there,” heart surgery Chairman Dr. Raj Devineni told me at Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown. “Rehab is getting them in a good lifestyle with exercise and healthy food so no matter what comes they can endure it.”
Then I got a call from Laurel Highlands Advance Imaging in Richland to brag about their fancy CT scanner that can show heart disease, or more importantly, the absence of heart disease. It can help patients avoid a more invasive, more costly catheter test, Medical Director Dr. Anthony Scuderi told me.
That story didn’t really fit into Sunday’s theme of cardiac rehab and living with heart disease, so we are holding it until Monday, when it will serve as this month’s installment of our regular Health Matters feature.
Well, that’s enough of a preview of coming attractions. I am still pretty psyched about the good news for DRS Laurel Technologies I was able to report this morning.
On the personal front, I came home last night to find Becky home from her second trip to the gym dancing in front of the TV with a video exercise-dance program. She even got me to try it for one song. I scored better than she did on her first try!
We gave in to our tradition of going out for wings on Thursday night, but we both ate about half our usual order, and brought the rest home. I may lunch on wings tomorrow.
I won’t say what the scales told me this morning, but I was pleasantly pleased to be down to the weight I have the goal of getting below by Monday.
Good luck this weekend, though.
Tonight should help. We are going with the Bethany United Methodist Church gang to Seven Springs Mountain Resort for a snow tubing outing. Maybe I’ll have to actually pull my tube back up the hill a couple times since we didn’t get to the gym today.
Tomorrow night is the Pink Ribbon Ball to support breast cancer treatment and research. We’ll see if the menu is low-fat and heart-healthy, which is also breast-cancer-healthy, by the way.
I’m working my monthly-ish weekend shift on Sunday, and plan to write another column for the paper to cap American Heart Month the way I started and then finish out this blog project on Monday.
Although I’m toying with idea of updating, perhaps less frequently, with future health-beat stories and updates on my own lifestyle improvement attempts.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A busy day, but productive
I’m washing my hands a lot today after writing about the surge in flu cases yesterday, but otherwise, I’m feeling healthier and my cold seems to be subsiding.
Becky and I started the day with a vigorous workout at the gym, walking a mile and then ellipticalling 12 minutes and stationary biking 12 minutes -- Well, I did anyway, Becky doesn’t do the elliptical since they changed the machines.
She headed to breakfast with a friend and I grabbed a small breakfast sandwich with no fatty meat on the way into the office where I went to work on the story about an almost-104-year-old woman I interviewed yesterday.
Fun lady, even if she was having a bad day. She credits her longevity to her love of good food, which was often accompanied by a good cocktail, I understand.
That story is in tomorrow’s edition, along with the late-breaking story about a government contract that will be a big boost for a Richland Township facility.
All that non-heart stuff pushed back my work on The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project, but I’m still a little ahead of the game. I did manage to get the main story probably halfway done. I’ll just have to finish that story tomorrow and write another one about the Windber man who received a heart transplant.
I may add one more surprise, but it could hold until Monday’s paper and double as this month’s Health Matters feature. More on that later, maybe.
I didn’t get on the scales at home today, but the HealthStyles digital said I was down another pound since Monday, so I guess we’ll see tomorrow. Becky said she was also down a pound, but she went back for a zumba class this evening, so she’s probably wasting away by now.
Becky and I started the day with a vigorous workout at the gym, walking a mile and then ellipticalling 12 minutes and stationary biking 12 minutes -- Well, I did anyway, Becky doesn’t do the elliptical since they changed the machines.
She headed to breakfast with a friend and I grabbed a small breakfast sandwich with no fatty meat on the way into the office where I went to work on the story about an almost-104-year-old woman I interviewed yesterday.
Fun lady, even if she was having a bad day. She credits her longevity to her love of good food, which was often accompanied by a good cocktail, I understand.
That story is in tomorrow’s edition, along with the late-breaking story about a government contract that will be a big boost for a Richland Township facility.
All that non-heart stuff pushed back my work on The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project, but I’m still a little ahead of the game. I did manage to get the main story probably halfway done. I’ll just have to finish that story tomorrow and write another one about the Windber man who received a heart transplant.
I may add one more surprise, but it could hold until Monday’s paper and double as this month’s Health Matters feature. More on that later, maybe.
I didn’t get on the scales at home today, but the HealthStyles digital said I was down another pound since Monday, so I guess we’ll see tomorrow. Becky said she was also down a pound, but she went back for a zumba class this evening, so she’s probably wasting away by now.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A busy Wednesday working toward the weekend.
Blog feb 23
It’s good to be this active already on a Wednesday. Maybe that means my Thursday and Friday won’t be as insane as they have been the past couple weeks.
I got up and finished clearing snow from Becky’s parking space and the turn-around area. And stretched the vigorous workout by cleaning up areas here and there along the driveway where I may have skimped yesterday. Since it is all clear now, which means it will all melt by the end of the day tomorrow, right? I love Pennsylvania winters.
An attempt to inforce the mailbox experienced battery failure and I was not willing to try those 3-inch screws without the power driver. I would say, “reinforce the mailbox” but it really wasn’t very inforced to begin with. Now the snowplows have loosened it.
I came in to discover that one of the heart-story people I was trying to reach yesterday was ready to talk to me and some others were making arrangements for me to get the flu story done today. Completed two interviews this morning and I have two more appointments lined up this afternoon for two more stories – only one heart related – so all is good. Yesterday, I finished one of the three or four stories I'm doing for Sunday’s package in The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project. I am ready to write two more.
And while I was writing this, the final call for my flu story came in and I finished that interview.
Bat out today’s blog post, recheck my email, take a lunch hour here, and head into the office.
Becky is already talking about an early morning tomorrow at the gym, so I don’t have to worry about planning that.
The home scales seem stuck again, so I’m not saying anything about the actual weight until it drops another pound and gets below my official goal for the week.
Last night’s homemade chicken soup with homemade noodles may have looked healthy, but it looked too good not to eat a very big bowl. And Becky made a delicious dessert for her church women’s group and brought most of it home. I only sampled a small square.
Moderation is the word. Right? Besides I think it was dark chocolate and that’s supposed to have heart-healthy stuff in it.
It’s good to be this active already on a Wednesday. Maybe that means my Thursday and Friday won’t be as insane as they have been the past couple weeks.
I got up and finished clearing snow from Becky’s parking space and the turn-around area. And stretched the vigorous workout by cleaning up areas here and there along the driveway where I may have skimped yesterday. Since it is all clear now, which means it will all melt by the end of the day tomorrow, right? I love Pennsylvania winters.
An attempt to inforce the mailbox experienced battery failure and I was not willing to try those 3-inch screws without the power driver. I would say, “reinforce the mailbox” but it really wasn’t very inforced to begin with. Now the snowplows have loosened it.
I came in to discover that one of the heart-story people I was trying to reach yesterday was ready to talk to me and some others were making arrangements for me to get the flu story done today. Completed two interviews this morning and I have two more appointments lined up this afternoon for two more stories – only one heart related – so all is good. Yesterday, I finished one of the three or four stories I'm doing for Sunday’s package in The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project. I am ready to write two more.
And while I was writing this, the final call for my flu story came in and I finished that interview.
Bat out today’s blog post, recheck my email, take a lunch hour here, and head into the office.
Becky is already talking about an early morning tomorrow at the gym, so I don’t have to worry about planning that.
The home scales seem stuck again, so I’m not saying anything about the actual weight until it drops another pound and gets below my official goal for the week.
Last night’s homemade chicken soup with homemade noodles may have looked healthy, but it looked too good not to eat a very big bowl. And Becky made a delicious dessert for her church women’s group and brought most of it home. I only sampled a small square.
Moderation is the word. Right? Besides I think it was dark chocolate and that’s supposed to have heart-healthy stuff in it.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Working out in the driveway
Watching the list of school cancellations and delays last night, Becky said, “I don’t see Arbutus Park Manor on a delay.”
I figured that meant I would be getting some early exercise to get her off to work at 7 a.m. today.
I was right.
When the alarm went off at 5:30, at first I thought it was a malfunction. But soon I was up shoveling about a foot of snow off the driveway and then attacking what I call the PennDOT dam at the end. At least it had stopped snowing by then.
Oh, and I don't want to disparage PennDOT workers. I really appreciate that as soon as I get my own driveway clear, I know I will be on safe, well-maintained roads all the way to my destination. I don't even have a lot of sympathy for the cry babies who have to park on the street and then complain because they have to shovel out their little parking place. I'll do their 8-by-25-foot space, including what the snow plow piled, if they would do my job.
I had parked near the end of the driveway so I didn’t have to clear all 150 feet, plus her parking spot and my auxiliary driveway into the garage. But it still took probably a half hour of fairly-strenuous work. Maybe not as strenuous as my workout at the gym, but there was more to come.
I guess I have only myself to blame after bragging in the Feb. 10 post that I learned shoveling is no more heart-unhealthy than other strenuous activity.
After I ran her in to Arbutus, I came back home and rested a while before heading back out to extend the cleared area. It took another hour and I got it far enough to get my car out, but I’ll have to finish her parking spot and turnaround area tomorrow morning.
It seemed like everybody I wanted to interview today was taking a snow day or something. It was weird. I did get through to a psychiatrist in Pittsburgh about a study he’s recruiting local bipolar patients to participate.
Then I got Holly Senior from the Health Department on the line to update me on the flu. It’s getting very active: Story later this week.
But since I couldn’t really get any interviews for this week’s package of stories for The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month Project, could I say I work was heartless today?
I figured that meant I would be getting some early exercise to get her off to work at 7 a.m. today.
I was right.
When the alarm went off at 5:30, at first I thought it was a malfunction. But soon I was up shoveling about a foot of snow off the driveway and then attacking what I call the PennDOT dam at the end. At least it had stopped snowing by then.
Oh, and I don't want to disparage PennDOT workers. I really appreciate that as soon as I get my own driveway clear, I know I will be on safe, well-maintained roads all the way to my destination. I don't even have a lot of sympathy for the cry babies who have to park on the street and then complain because they have to shovel out their little parking place. I'll do their 8-by-25-foot space, including what the snow plow piled, if they would do my job.
I had parked near the end of the driveway so I didn’t have to clear all 150 feet, plus her parking spot and my auxiliary driveway into the garage. But it still took probably a half hour of fairly-strenuous work. Maybe not as strenuous as my workout at the gym, but there was more to come.
I guess I have only myself to blame after bragging in the Feb. 10 post that I learned shoveling is no more heart-unhealthy than other strenuous activity.
After I ran her in to Arbutus, I came back home and rested a while before heading back out to extend the cleared area. It took another hour and I got it far enough to get my car out, but I’ll have to finish her parking spot and turnaround area tomorrow morning.
It seemed like everybody I wanted to interview today was taking a snow day or something. It was weird. I did get through to a psychiatrist in Pittsburgh about a study he’s recruiting local bipolar patients to participate.
Then I got Holly Senior from the Health Department on the line to update me on the flu. It’s getting very active: Story later this week.
But since I couldn’t really get any interviews for this week’s package of stories for The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month Project, could I say I work was heartless today?
Monday, February 21, 2011
I am Ready for Rehab
Jumping headfirst into the final installment of The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project, Becky and I joined the cardiac rehabilitation group this morning in the gym.
Well, we went to the gym at the same time the cardiac rehabilitation participants are exercising. They get first dibs on some of the machines, but it’s encouraging to see their enthusiasm.
I got a few compliments again in church and elsewhere about Sunday’s stories on cardiac surgery, a research project and heart patient Joe Taresco of Roxbury. I do have to apologize to friends, family and patients of Dr. Jacob “Jack” Kolff for mistakenly identifying him as “The late Dr. Jack Kolff.” Jacob Kolff’s is still alive and retired. His father Dr. Willem Kolff, inventor of the first artificial kidney, died in 2009.
This week, we will look at “Living with heart disease,” with stories about cardiac rehab and other programs that teach patients how to reduce their risk of more heart attacks, or at least improve their overall health to survive with a positive quality of life.
My own weekend was a wonderful respite. The day on the farm lived up to expectations and I even got to have lunch with my very-pregnant daughter, Colleen, at her favorite restaurant featuring a Chinese menu. I resisted the buffet, but got enough food to take home almost a second meal. Even though blood pressure has not been my problem yet, I tried not to think about the amount of sodium.
The planned sittin’ and moseyin’ was moved indoors due to cold, windy weather, which failed to cancel the walk in the woods. The walk, however, turned into a fairly brisk hike around what our family has always called the Four Mile Circle – a circuitous route along back roads leading back to the farm. I think it actually measures about 4.1 miles. Or is it 3.9 miles? And was that measurement before, or after, the mining company slightly altered its route during strip mine reclamation in the 1980s?
These are the questions you ponder on the road while observing all the deer and turkey tracks frozen in what was the road’s muddy surface just a day or two earlier.
Also things like: How long has that new house been there? And: Is there anything left of the stone building’s ruins? The one where my cousin Tommy fell from the wall while catching a snake.
But the most vexing question of the day was Becky’s: “If we are walking in a circle, how can the (cold, biting) wind always be in our face?”
Besides the value of a good healthy workout, we were rewarded near the end of the route with a spectacular view of two separate herds of deer, totalling nearly 30, along with a flock of more then a dozen wild turkeys led by a huge gobbler.
Sunday found me working on a home-computer project that took longer than it should. I mixed the leftover Chinese food with some leftover Spanish rice soup for an intercontinental lunch.
Today started with another hard workout at the gym, where the electronic scales said I lost two pounds since Thursday. Good job for me, because I usually gain over a weekend.
Then I met with exercise physiologist Gary Pagano to talk about cardiac rehab for this week’s installment. He also informed me that HealthStyles is not a “gym” but a “medical fitness facility.”
Maybe that’s why the locker room doesn’t stink like the ones in high school.
Well, we went to the gym at the same time the cardiac rehabilitation participants are exercising. They get first dibs on some of the machines, but it’s encouraging to see their enthusiasm.
I got a few compliments again in church and elsewhere about Sunday’s stories on cardiac surgery, a research project and heart patient Joe Taresco of Roxbury. I do have to apologize to friends, family and patients of Dr. Jacob “Jack” Kolff for mistakenly identifying him as “The late Dr. Jack Kolff.” Jacob Kolff’s is still alive and retired. His father Dr. Willem Kolff, inventor of the first artificial kidney, died in 2009.
This week, we will look at “Living with heart disease,” with stories about cardiac rehab and other programs that teach patients how to reduce their risk of more heart attacks, or at least improve their overall health to survive with a positive quality of life.
My own weekend was a wonderful respite. The day on the farm lived up to expectations and I even got to have lunch with my very-pregnant daughter, Colleen, at her favorite restaurant featuring a Chinese menu. I resisted the buffet, but got enough food to take home almost a second meal. Even though blood pressure has not been my problem yet, I tried not to think about the amount of sodium.
The planned sittin’ and moseyin’ was moved indoors due to cold, windy weather, which failed to cancel the walk in the woods. The walk, however, turned into a fairly brisk hike around what our family has always called the Four Mile Circle – a circuitous route along back roads leading back to the farm. I think it actually measures about 4.1 miles. Or is it 3.9 miles? And was that measurement before, or after, the mining company slightly altered its route during strip mine reclamation in the 1980s?
These are the questions you ponder on the road while observing all the deer and turkey tracks frozen in what was the road’s muddy surface just a day or two earlier.
Also things like: How long has that new house been there? And: Is there anything left of the stone building’s ruins? The one where my cousin Tommy fell from the wall while catching a snake.
But the most vexing question of the day was Becky’s: “If we are walking in a circle, how can the (cold, biting) wind always be in our face?”
Besides the value of a good healthy workout, we were rewarded near the end of the route with a spectacular view of two separate herds of deer, totalling nearly 30, along with a flock of more then a dozen wild turkeys led by a huge gobbler.
Sunday found me working on a home-computer project that took longer than it should. I mixed the leftover Chinese food with some leftover Spanish rice soup for an intercontinental lunch.
Today started with another hard workout at the gym, where the electronic scales said I lost two pounds since Thursday. Good job for me, because I usually gain over a weekend.
Then I met with exercise physiologist Gary Pagano to talk about cardiac rehab for this week’s installment. He also informed me that HealthStyles is not a “gym” but a “medical fitness facility.”
Maybe that’s why the locker room doesn’t stink like the ones in high school.
Friday, February 18, 2011
A good day and looking forward to a good weekend
I have about four hours to write my main story and the patient’s story, which we call a sidebar.
I’m not stressing though. It’s very doable. I have all the notes and backup information right in front of me. I stress when I’m still waiting for an important interview at this point. I even added one extra interview today just to round out a couple things. It is all under control.
The stories about advances in heart procedures will be published in Sunday’s editions of The Tribune-Democrat as the latest installment in the paper’s American Heart Month project. Thanks to the good doctors and others who help me understand what they do so I can present it to the average reader, I hope, in a way he or she can understand.
Today got off to a good start when I was down another pound to 206 this morning. I guess skipping our usual Thursday night out may have helped. Dinner last night was a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I know is a little fatty, but I figured one wouldn’t hurt. I guess the results speak for themselves.
Not sure what we’ll do tonight, but I’m already looking forward to Saturday. It is our de-stressing day on the farm. We will be visiting my mother on the 40 acre farm where I grew up. It’s just north of Curllsville. Did that help? How about just over the hill from Frogtown? Just off the Reidsburg Road?
OK, it’s in the Middle Of Nowhere, Clarion County.
The day will probably include some sittin’ and moseyin’ with a walk in the woods another good possibility.
Nothing like it to recharge the batteries for another week of life in the Big City!
And Becky pointed out I was incorrectly identifying her homemade Spanish rice soup as vegetable soup. It has a lot of vegetables and rice. My bad!
I’m not stressing though. It’s very doable. I have all the notes and backup information right in front of me. I stress when I’m still waiting for an important interview at this point. I even added one extra interview today just to round out a couple things. It is all under control.
The stories about advances in heart procedures will be published in Sunday’s editions of The Tribune-Democrat as the latest installment in the paper’s American Heart Month project. Thanks to the good doctors and others who help me understand what they do so I can present it to the average reader, I hope, in a way he or she can understand.
Today got off to a good start when I was down another pound to 206 this morning. I guess skipping our usual Thursday night out may have helped. Dinner last night was a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. I know is a little fatty, but I figured one wouldn’t hurt. I guess the results speak for themselves.
Not sure what we’ll do tonight, but I’m already looking forward to Saturday. It is our de-stressing day on the farm. We will be visiting my mother on the 40 acre farm where I grew up. It’s just north of Curllsville. Did that help? How about just over the hill from Frogtown? Just off the Reidsburg Road?
OK, it’s in the Middle Of Nowhere, Clarion County.
The day will probably include some sittin’ and moseyin’ with a walk in the woods another good possibility.
Nothing like it to recharge the batteries for another week of life in the Big City!
And Becky pointed out I was incorrectly identifying her homemade Spanish rice soup as vegetable soup. It has a lot of vegetables and rice. My bad!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Progress is slow
I started the day with a vigorous one-mile walk around the track and hopped on the elliptical machine for another mile or so, but no bicycle today. Don't want to overdo as I'm still fighting this cold.
All-in-all, though, it felt pretty good and the electronic scales at the gym said I lost a pound since Monday, even if the scales at home seemed stuck for all this week.
I have been told some people shouldn't check the scales every day because a person's weight can vary naturally from day to day. It's the week-to-week weight that counts. So I'm down from last week.
But in case anyone didn't figure it out, this is hard. While I'm not necessarily developing the routine that I hoped, I am at least thinking about exercise every day – and trying to think about it in the morning before it's too late to start early or think about it in the evening to plan an early start. I am also resisting the urge to just say, on any given day, “Gee, I wish I would have found time to exercise, but now it may be too late.”
Yesterday was one of those days. But at the risk being called an excuse-maker, I wasn't sure early in the day how much I should do after my crappy Tuesday. I did get a little buoyed by the good news from Laurel Auto Group's addition of a new dealership, two vehicle lines and up to 20 jobs.
I am also working hard on portion control and avoiding fats. But they taste so good! Becky’s homemade vegetable soup has been getting me through the past couple days.
Today's workday started with an inspiring interview that will actually be part of next week's American Heart Month project for The Tribune-Democrat. Tom Papinchak of Windber has been working on his heart health since his first heart attack at age 51 in 1984. Since then he's had a stent, a quadruple bypass and, last year, a heart transplant. He he says he owes his life to 25 years of cardiac rehab.
So if the rehab was working so well for him? How come he still needed the bypass, stent and transplant? I have the answer but I'm saving it for next week's package on cardiac rehabilitation.
This week's package of stories to be published in Sunday's editions of The Tribune-Democrat will focus on heart procedures: What they are, how they help, what the risks are and who are good candidates. I've got another patient story and a story about a local research project to help patients during recovery following surgery.
All-in-all, though, it felt pretty good and the electronic scales at the gym said I lost a pound since Monday, even if the scales at home seemed stuck for all this week.
I have been told some people shouldn't check the scales every day because a person's weight can vary naturally from day to day. It's the week-to-week weight that counts. So I'm down from last week.
But in case anyone didn't figure it out, this is hard. While I'm not necessarily developing the routine that I hoped, I am at least thinking about exercise every day – and trying to think about it in the morning before it's too late to start early or think about it in the evening to plan an early start. I am also resisting the urge to just say, on any given day, “Gee, I wish I would have found time to exercise, but now it may be too late.”
Yesterday was one of those days. But at the risk being called an excuse-maker, I wasn't sure early in the day how much I should do after my crappy Tuesday. I did get a little buoyed by the good news from Laurel Auto Group's addition of a new dealership, two vehicle lines and up to 20 jobs.
I am also working hard on portion control and avoiding fats. But they taste so good! Becky’s homemade vegetable soup has been getting me through the past couple days.
Today's workday started with an inspiring interview that will actually be part of next week's American Heart Month project for The Tribune-Democrat. Tom Papinchak of Windber has been working on his heart health since his first heart attack at age 51 in 1984. Since then he's had a stent, a quadruple bypass and, last year, a heart transplant. He he says he owes his life to 25 years of cardiac rehab.
So if the rehab was working so well for him? How come he still needed the bypass, stent and transplant? I have the answer but I'm saving it for next week's package on cardiac rehabilitation.
This week's package of stories to be published in Sunday's editions of The Tribune-Democrat will focus on heart procedures: What they are, how they help, what the risks are and who are good candidates. I've got another patient story and a story about a local research project to help patients during recovery following surgery.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Back in the saddle again
This is another reason why I don't miss work.
I was feeling a little peaked yesterday morning, but not bad enough to call off. But it just kept getting worse through the day. I figured I'd just tough it out, since I had already gotten stories started and nobody else can read my notes. By the time I got home I was miserable and already thinking about calling off today. But I stayed in bed until 10:10 and I feel fine now.
It's not really fair.
When I wrote yesterday’s post, I was still blaming the pain on Monday’s trip to the gym. But by evening I wasn’t so sure. I thought it might be the flu. I always think of Dr. James Eckenrode’s description of the flu:
“You feel good at 8 in the morning, and by noon you have pain and fever, then chills and a cough, and by evening you feel like you’ve been run over by a train.”
I hurt when I woke up and was already coughing the day before. By evening I was pretty miserable, but it was not like I’d been hit by a train.
Maybe a Vespa.
But it was an interesting day at work, even if I didn’t make much progress on The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project.
It started at the crack of noon with a program by state Kiwanis Executive Director Kevin Thomas followed immediately by the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority meeting. Thomas spoke at the lunch meeting of East Hills Kiwanis Club of Johnstown and gave some scary statistics and research information about how children from low-income families are getting left behind in school because they don’t have enough early education opportunities. My lunch was gathered from Hoss’s Steak and Seafood soup and salad bar.
Airport leaders spent some time reviewing their efforts to get more travelers to use the local facility, but also showed some frustration over the number of canceled flights in the winter.
I wrote the Kiwanis story for today’s paper and will write an airport story yet today.
Windber Borough Council’s meeting did not attack any major issues, which is good because I was feeling pretty punk by then. I did file the story on a truck parking issue, but by then I was all in. I did manage to eat some of Becky’s homemade vegetable soup before finding myself unconscious on the couch and dragging myself to bed.
Today is a better day, as I said. I got started with an interview for an Indiana University of Pennsylvania heart surgery research project right here in Johnstown, and set up another interview for tomorrow. I may have one or two more doctors calling me, but I’m well on my way to wrap up Sunday’s package. This week’s stories will focus on surgical intervention to help heart patients.
Even in my recovery and even with the beautiful weather, I’m not really up to a walk in the country. Tomorrow morning, I’m interviewing a patient at Windber. I hope to get up early enough to put in some time at HealthStyles before the meeting.
I was feeling a little peaked yesterday morning, but not bad enough to call off. But it just kept getting worse through the day. I figured I'd just tough it out, since I had already gotten stories started and nobody else can read my notes. By the time I got home I was miserable and already thinking about calling off today. But I stayed in bed until 10:10 and I feel fine now.
It's not really fair.
When I wrote yesterday’s post, I was still blaming the pain on Monday’s trip to the gym. But by evening I wasn’t so sure. I thought it might be the flu. I always think of Dr. James Eckenrode’s description of the flu:
“You feel good at 8 in the morning, and by noon you have pain and fever, then chills and a cough, and by evening you feel like you’ve been run over by a train.”
I hurt when I woke up and was already coughing the day before. By evening I was pretty miserable, but it was not like I’d been hit by a train.
Maybe a Vespa.
But it was an interesting day at work, even if I didn’t make much progress on The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month project.
It started at the crack of noon with a program by state Kiwanis Executive Director Kevin Thomas followed immediately by the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority meeting. Thomas spoke at the lunch meeting of East Hills Kiwanis Club of Johnstown and gave some scary statistics and research information about how children from low-income families are getting left behind in school because they don’t have enough early education opportunities. My lunch was gathered from Hoss’s Steak and Seafood soup and salad bar.
Airport leaders spent some time reviewing their efforts to get more travelers to use the local facility, but also showed some frustration over the number of canceled flights in the winter.
I wrote the Kiwanis story for today’s paper and will write an airport story yet today.
Windber Borough Council’s meeting did not attack any major issues, which is good because I was feeling pretty punk by then. I did file the story on a truck parking issue, but by then I was all in. I did manage to eat some of Becky’s homemade vegetable soup before finding myself unconscious on the couch and dragging myself to bed.
Today is a better day, as I said. I got started with an interview for an Indiana University of Pennsylvania heart surgery research project right here in Johnstown, and set up another interview for tomorrow. I may have one or two more doctors calling me, but I’m well on my way to wrap up Sunday’s package. This week’s stories will focus on surgical intervention to help heart patients.
Even in my recovery and even with the beautiful weather, I’m not really up to a walk in the country. Tomorrow morning, I’m interviewing a patient at Windber. I hope to get up early enough to put in some time at HealthStyles before the meeting.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
It hurts and stuff.
I am reminded today that I didn't even mention my morning yesterday at the gym. No, the exercise physiologist did not call up to ask about the omission, but every muscle in my body seems to be reminding me of the effects – naproxen notwithstanding.
The walking, biking and ellipticalling was similar to last week's evening workout, but the morning-after exercise hangover hit me a lot harder. It may be because I'm catching Becky's cold that she brought home from work.
Never being one to take a sick day, I'm muddling through, trying not to contact other people and frequently washing my hands and using hanitizer, as our granddaughter Emma likes to call it.
My propensity to work through illness may stem from my youth when my small-town-family-doctor father used to give us a hard time if we tried stay home from school for the slightest sniffle.
“Go to school, it's good for business,” Dad would say in his gruffest. He was not serious of course, but it taught me to be tough, maybe. His other favorite advice was dolled out on what to do for a cold or other non-curable condition: Suffer.
Maybe that's why I was drawn to journalism where our primary job is to strip things to the core truths and present that truth without sugar coating.
Sugar coating that is not on my healthy heart diet.
Building on yesterday's vigorous morning workout, I focused more on diet. I had not gotten on the scale Monday until I realized I had finished my morning pound and a half of coffee. That's one 24 ounce cup, for fellow journalists and other math-impaired.
I was down another pound to 207 this morning – before coffee.
It was Valentine's Day, so I knew I had to stop after the gym workout for a card, flowers and another token or two of my affection. I also needed some lunch.
Note to self: Noon is not a good time to go to the HealthStyles gym. The entire staff, along with the physical therapy specialists were taking their lunch hours. Sweet fragrance of takeout wafted through the air.
I knew I could get lunch, cards, flowers and gifts at a Richland supermarket, so that was my next stop. I've never done the salad that way, and was shocked when it rang up at $8. It didn't seem like a pound and three quarters until I started actually eating it, trying to practice guest speaker William Clower's advice from the Feb. 5 Heart Ball (see Feb. 7 installment below) about taking time to enjoy the food and eating in control. I also thought about Tonya Spada-Dixon's quote when she told me, "Overeating healthy can become unhealthy."
I actually carried most of it out with me, had more last night with two small, but probably not healthy slices of Becky's homemade pizza and have the rest waiting in the fridge.
Today is a busy non-heart-month workday, but I did schedule a couple of interviews for later in the week. We joined our fellow East Hills Kiwanis Club members for lunch, which for me was my usual salad bar with a little soup.
Becky and I did think about getting an early start on the day and heading back to the gym today, but our colds made that seem very unattractive, if not impossible.
Actually, it could be a good thing. I tend to lose my appetite when I'm sick. If I can just resist the post-cold hungers.
The walking, biking and ellipticalling was similar to last week's evening workout, but the morning-after exercise hangover hit me a lot harder. It may be because I'm catching Becky's cold that she brought home from work.
Never being one to take a sick day, I'm muddling through, trying not to contact other people and frequently washing my hands and using hanitizer, as our granddaughter Emma likes to call it.
My propensity to work through illness may stem from my youth when my small-town-family-doctor father used to give us a hard time if we tried stay home from school for the slightest sniffle.
“Go to school, it's good for business,” Dad would say in his gruffest. He was not serious of course, but it taught me to be tough, maybe. His other favorite advice was dolled out on what to do for a cold or other non-curable condition: Suffer.
Maybe that's why I was drawn to journalism where our primary job is to strip things to the core truths and present that truth without sugar coating.
Sugar coating that is not on my healthy heart diet.
Building on yesterday's vigorous morning workout, I focused more on diet. I had not gotten on the scale Monday until I realized I had finished my morning pound and a half of coffee. That's one 24 ounce cup, for fellow journalists and other math-impaired.
I was down another pound to 207 this morning – before coffee.
It was Valentine's Day, so I knew I had to stop after the gym workout for a card, flowers and another token or two of my affection. I also needed some lunch.
Note to self: Noon is not a good time to go to the HealthStyles gym. The entire staff, along with the physical therapy specialists were taking their lunch hours. Sweet fragrance of takeout wafted through the air.
I knew I could get lunch, cards, flowers and gifts at a Richland supermarket, so that was my next stop. I've never done the salad that way, and was shocked when it rang up at $8. It didn't seem like a pound and three quarters until I started actually eating it, trying to practice guest speaker William Clower's advice from the Feb. 5 Heart Ball (see Feb. 7 installment below) about taking time to enjoy the food and eating in control. I also thought about Tonya Spada-Dixon's quote when she told me, "Overeating healthy can become unhealthy."
I actually carried most of it out with me, had more last night with two small, but probably not healthy slices of Becky's homemade pizza and have the rest waiting in the fridge.
Today is a busy non-heart-month workday, but I did schedule a couple of interviews for later in the week. We joined our fellow East Hills Kiwanis Club members for lunch, which for me was my usual salad bar with a little soup.
Becky and I did think about getting an early start on the day and heading back to the gym today, but our colds made that seem very unattractive, if not impossible.
Actually, it could be a good thing. I tend to lose my appetite when I'm sick. If I can just resist the post-cold hungers.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Moving ahead after busy weekend
Today, I got started on the next installment of Heart Health, The Tribune-Democrat's American Heart Month Project.
Got a lift from other members of Bethany United Methodist Church, who on Sunday complimented me on yesterday's stories. Those focused on emergency response and how improved technology is saving lives.
The stories I'm working on for Sunday's paper will look at the latest in heart surgery available locally. I met with Dr. Rajsekhar Devineni, who co-founded Memorial Medical Center's heart surgery program 20 years ago.
More about that later. I'm still easing out of the busy, but relaxing weekend. This one did not produce even a minor setback this time, despite our active social calendar.
In my last posting, I was cautioning myself about the party food I would meet at the Friday One party. Planning ahead, we just had a small, healthy snack and no supper before meeting friends for a quick, healthy dark beer before the party.
Well, the party food is unpredictable at best, based on the equally unpredictable assortment of personalities who show up. This installment was a little sparse on real food and heavy on raw veggies, candy, chips and dip. I tried to concentrate on the vegetables, but admit a nibbled on some homemade candy. Since I'm neither a chipper, nor a dipper, that end of the table was not even a serious temptation.
The veggies could have been a problem if I included the dressing. Fortunately, I decided years ago I don't particularly like or need dressing. I've even been known to ask the waitress if they could just pour a little tomato juice on the salad for a dressing. I'm sure there was plenty of fat in bowls of creamy herb-speckled sauce on each of the veggie trays.
Even though we were, as usual, about the last ones heading home door Friday night, Saturday started a little early, with me driving Becky to work at 10 a.m. I knew we would probably be dancing later, but decided to take 45 minutes to remove some blown-on snow from the driveway. It felt aerobic by the time I was done.
The “My Funny Valentine” dinner show Saturday night by (un)apologetic productions proved to be a great stress-reliever. In other words, it was very funny, if a little bawdy maybe. We ended the evening dancing to some karaoke singers after the show.
The nest morning, my Sunday school kids were trying to give me a good workout. But in the end, I didn't have to chase them around the room, just give them my “now I'm serious” and “don't make me go find your parents” looks until they settled down for the lesson. But Becky getting up and making homemade blueberry muffins for her adult class meant I had to limit my breakfast to a couple of small muffins.
After killing off some leftover whole-grain pasta for lunch, our romantic Valentine weekend wrapped up with a long drive through the back roads of Somerset County. A dear friend of ours, the late Rev. Peter Foreman often talked about his experience pastoring Casselman and Confluence United Methodist churches and how he found his outdoor sanctum atop Mount Davis. I had never been to Casselman or Mount Davis and decided it was time.
My plans to get a little exercise climbing from the parking lot to the mountain summit were dashed when I found the road to the summit parking area closed for the winter and the snow really so deep that any walking became a serious workout. We made a snowman on a picnic table bench instead.
We drove back to Johnstown flanked by a beautiful sunset, kicking ourselves for leaving all three cameras at home.
Got a lift from other members of Bethany United Methodist Church, who on Sunday complimented me on yesterday's stories. Those focused on emergency response and how improved technology is saving lives.
The stories I'm working on for Sunday's paper will look at the latest in heart surgery available locally. I met with Dr. Rajsekhar Devineni, who co-founded Memorial Medical Center's heart surgery program 20 years ago.
More about that later. I'm still easing out of the busy, but relaxing weekend. This one did not produce even a minor setback this time, despite our active social calendar.
In my last posting, I was cautioning myself about the party food I would meet at the Friday One party. Planning ahead, we just had a small, healthy snack and no supper before meeting friends for a quick, healthy dark beer before the party.
Well, the party food is unpredictable at best, based on the equally unpredictable assortment of personalities who show up. This installment was a little sparse on real food and heavy on raw veggies, candy, chips and dip. I tried to concentrate on the vegetables, but admit a nibbled on some homemade candy. Since I'm neither a chipper, nor a dipper, that end of the table was not even a serious temptation.
The veggies could have been a problem if I included the dressing. Fortunately, I decided years ago I don't particularly like or need dressing. I've even been known to ask the waitress if they could just pour a little tomato juice on the salad for a dressing. I'm sure there was plenty of fat in bowls of creamy herb-speckled sauce on each of the veggie trays.
Even though we were, as usual, about the last ones heading home door Friday night, Saturday started a little early, with me driving Becky to work at 10 a.m. I knew we would probably be dancing later, but decided to take 45 minutes to remove some blown-on snow from the driveway. It felt aerobic by the time I was done.
The “My Funny Valentine” dinner show Saturday night by (un)apologetic productions proved to be a great stress-reliever. In other words, it was very funny, if a little bawdy maybe. We ended the evening dancing to some karaoke singers after the show.
The nest morning, my Sunday school kids were trying to give me a good workout. But in the end, I didn't have to chase them around the room, just give them my “now I'm serious” and “don't make me go find your parents” looks until they settled down for the lesson. But Becky getting up and making homemade blueberry muffins for her adult class meant I had to limit my breakfast to a couple of small muffins.
After killing off some leftover whole-grain pasta for lunch, our romantic Valentine weekend wrapped up with a long drive through the back roads of Somerset County. A dear friend of ours, the late Rev. Peter Foreman often talked about his experience pastoring Casselman and Confluence United Methodist churches and how he found his outdoor sanctum atop Mount Davis. I had never been to Casselman or Mount Davis and decided it was time.
My plans to get a little exercise climbing from the parking lot to the mountain summit were dashed when I found the road to the summit parking area closed for the winter and the snow really so deep that any walking became a serious workout. We made a snowman on a picnic table bench instead.
We drove back to Johnstown flanked by a beautiful sunset, kicking ourselves for leaving all three cameras at home.
Friday, February 11, 2011
When Minutes Count: Watch for the stories Sunday.
One of the things I love the most about my job is that I get to meet some great people. It's always fun to talk to people who are passionate about the subject they are discussing.
I think it will come through in this week's package of stories for The Tribune-Democrat's Heart Health project do mark American Heart Month. I wrapped up writing and photography for the stories today and they will be published in Sunday's editions.
This week, I focused on advances in emergency medical services that allow doctors in the hospital to diagnose heart attacks from miles away when the ambulance crews have the electrocardiogram equipment on board.
If it seems like I'm avoiding any information about my own heart-healthy lifestyle changes, there might be a good reason. I feel like a little bit of a slacker the past couple days, but hope to work on it over the weekend -- if I can avoid too much party food. After all, it is Friday One.
I think it will come through in this week's package of stories for The Tribune-Democrat's Heart Health project do mark American Heart Month. I wrapped up writing and photography for the stories today and they will be published in Sunday's editions.
This week, I focused on advances in emergency medical services that allow doctors in the hospital to diagnose heart attacks from miles away when the ambulance crews have the electrocardiogram equipment on board.
If it seems like I'm avoiding any information about my own heart-healthy lifestyle changes, there might be a good reason. I feel like a little bit of a slacker the past couple days, but hope to work on it over the weekend -- if I can avoid too much party food. After all, it is Friday One.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Shoveling snow? No worries ... I hope!
I hope it’s too late to use this information, but today I learned about heart attacks and snow shoveling. I was interviewing Dr. Samir Hadeed, cardiology chief at Memorial Medical Center. Although the focus of the interview was on emergency response to heart attack patients, I couldn’t help asking about the snow shoveling issue.
Is the body mechanics of snow shoveling inherently strenuous to the heart? Or would any strenuous activity be as likely to trigger an attack?
Hadeed said it is the latter.
“Doing any physical activity in the cold weather puts a lot of strain on the heart,” Hadeed told me, adding that for many sedentary Americans, snow shoveling might be their “first encounter” with physical activity since the previous summer.
Not me. Although it worries Becky, I do shovel the snow -- but not to the point of over exertion. I always say I’d feel guilty running a snow plow or snow blower to get my car out of the driveway so I can go to the gym for a 45 minute workout. I can usually clear the driveway in 45 minutes and feel like it was just a good workout. If it is going to take longer, I always take a good long rest and cool down after 45 minutes or so.
But AccuWeather and The Tribune-Democrat forecasts don’t have any significant snowfall predicted for the rest of the year. I guess I’ll have to just drive to the gym or brave the traffic.
Hadeed’s comment about the cold weather’s effect on the heart gave me second thoughts about my physical activity from Wednesday. I know I said I was not planning much, but the opportunity presented itself when the Forest Hills School Board went into executive session. I figured, rather than sit in the outer office, I’d stroll around the grounds. It was bitter cold, but the brisk walk felt good.
Today may be more challenging. It started earlier and I’ve got stuff at home tonight. Maybe the stairs again?
Tomorrow, I have to buckle down and write the next package of stories for the American Heart Month project. This Sunday’s installment in The Tribune-Democrat will focus, as i said, on emergency medicine. It’s really exciting how technology allows the paramedic at the scene to connect directly to the hospital and allow the doctors to diagnose the type of heart attack instantly, from miles away.
By the way, if you notice I didn’t mention what the scales told me today, it’s a secret. Besides, I’m told you shouldn’t check every day.
Let’s just say I may have over done it on my second meal of quinoa and beans.
By the way, quinoa is great stuff. I’d like to see more of it. Even though quinoa has been around for centuries, it’s pretty new to the American diet, and I understand Johnstown has trouble with new stuff.
My friend Ben Gallagher said he would have second thoughts about adding it to the menu at his Village Street Cafe because he would have to tell everyone what it is.
Balanced Living Magazine said quinoa, known as the mother grain by the ancient Incas, has attracted attention recently because of its impressive nutritional value. Although higher fat than other grains, quinoa is higher in calcium, protein, B vitamins and iron. One cup of steamed quinoa has just 200 calories, but a whopping 9 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.
And it is pretty tasty, if a little weird looking.
It’s a little hard to find, but at least two Richland Township supermarkets regularly stock it.
Is the body mechanics of snow shoveling inherently strenuous to the heart? Or would any strenuous activity be as likely to trigger an attack?
Hadeed said it is the latter.
“Doing any physical activity in the cold weather puts a lot of strain on the heart,” Hadeed told me, adding that for many sedentary Americans, snow shoveling might be their “first encounter” with physical activity since the previous summer.
Not me. Although it worries Becky, I do shovel the snow -- but not to the point of over exertion. I always say I’d feel guilty running a snow plow or snow blower to get my car out of the driveway so I can go to the gym for a 45 minute workout. I can usually clear the driveway in 45 minutes and feel like it was just a good workout. If it is going to take longer, I always take a good long rest and cool down after 45 minutes or so.
But AccuWeather and The Tribune-Democrat forecasts don’t have any significant snowfall predicted for the rest of the year. I guess I’ll have to just drive to the gym or brave the traffic.
Hadeed’s comment about the cold weather’s effect on the heart gave me second thoughts about my physical activity from Wednesday. I know I said I was not planning much, but the opportunity presented itself when the Forest Hills School Board went into executive session. I figured, rather than sit in the outer office, I’d stroll around the grounds. It was bitter cold, but the brisk walk felt good.
Today may be more challenging. It started earlier and I’ve got stuff at home tonight. Maybe the stairs again?
Tomorrow, I have to buckle down and write the next package of stories for the American Heart Month project. This Sunday’s installment in The Tribune-Democrat will focus, as i said, on emergency medicine. It’s really exciting how technology allows the paramedic at the scene to connect directly to the hospital and allow the doctors to diagnose the type of heart attack instantly, from miles away.
By the way, if you notice I didn’t mention what the scales told me today, it’s a secret. Besides, I’m told you shouldn’t check every day.
Let’s just say I may have over done it on my second meal of quinoa and beans.
By the way, quinoa is great stuff. I’d like to see more of it. Even though quinoa has been around for centuries, it’s pretty new to the American diet, and I understand Johnstown has trouble with new stuff.
My friend Ben Gallagher said he would have second thoughts about adding it to the menu at his Village Street Cafe because he would have to tell everyone what it is.
Balanced Living Magazine said quinoa, known as the mother grain by the ancient Incas, has attracted attention recently because of its impressive nutritional value. Although higher fat than other grains, quinoa is higher in calcium, protein, B vitamins and iron. One cup of steamed quinoa has just 200 calories, but a whopping 9 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.
And it is pretty tasty, if a little weird looking.
It’s a little hard to find, but at least two Richland Township supermarkets regularly stock it.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Short entry, stressing over regular work
Finished yesterday with a trip to the gym. An hour of walking, ellipticalling and stationary biking felt like a real workout. Legs a little rubbery in the stairs when I was done.
Home to some fish and quinoa pilaf with beans. Sounds pretty healthy, but really tasty too.
Quinoa, by the way, is called the super grain or mother grain because of all the protein and fiber. The preferred pronunciation, I’m told, is “KEEN-wahm,” but “kin-O-ah” is also accepted.
The combination helped drop me down another pound to 208 this morning. Lowest so far.
Not planning any big workout today, based on the pains and stiffness. I have been told you should not strain every day.
Trying to dig into the emergency medicine advances for this week’s installment of The Tribune-Democrat Heart Health project for American Heart Month. I have most of what I need, but having trouble making contact with one source.
I have an appointment with a patient who owes his life to the quick response. It is always good to put a face on the story.
Home to some fish and quinoa pilaf with beans. Sounds pretty healthy, but really tasty too.
Quinoa, by the way, is called the super grain or mother grain because of all the protein and fiber. The preferred pronunciation, I’m told, is “KEEN-wahm,” but “kin-O-ah” is also accepted.
The combination helped drop me down another pound to 208 this morning. Lowest so far.
Not planning any big workout today, based on the pains and stiffness. I have been told you should not strain every day.
Trying to dig into the emergency medicine advances for this week’s installment of The Tribune-Democrat Heart Health project for American Heart Month. I have most of what I need, but having trouble making contact with one source.
I have an appointment with a patient who owes his life to the quick response. It is always good to put a face on the story.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Looking for routine
I need to feel stuck in a rut.
My whole life, I have managed to avoid routines.
My work day always has been flexible, which can be a good thing or a bad thing.
On days I have night meetings, I can get some stuff done around the house or run errands during normal business hours and still put in my eight hours. Fridays I can work a 9-5 and kick back for an evening with my favorite redhead.
But it has also been difficult to commit to church classes, committee work or even kids’ sports schedules.
The two times in my life when I was in the best shape, physically, I was able to develop fitness routines.
When my daughters were young, they were enrolled in Oil City (Venango County) YMCA preschool gym and swim classes three mornings a week. I normally started later, so when I took them to class, I had my 45 minutes on the indoor track or on my personal street route and then time to shower and change for work.
Even after they started school, I could keep the routine because it was just that – routine. In fact, I was able to continue it after I dropped the YMCA membership. I was younger and healthier and didn’t mind jogging in the snow, so it seemed pretty silly to pay all that money, basically for a shower that I had at home.
I was able to continue that until just about my 40th birthday, when I started to develop intermittent chest pains. I stopped running, but didn’t do what I should have done– see a doctor – for four months. Even though I knew better. My dad was a doctor and was still alive then. Fortunately, when I finally saw the doc, he figured out I had developed an allergy, maybe to the parakeet my daughter and budding zoologist Erica had to have. It was creating chronic post-nasal drip that was collecting in my lungs and causing pain when it reached a certain point before I coughed it out, I guess. (sorry if you were reading this with a meal).
So I never regained that routine and I never returned to the nearly ideal weight I was able to maintain between 170 and 180 pounds.
Almost a decade later, my wife (and favorite redhead), Becky, and I got into a routine of getting up at the ungodly hour of 8 a.m. to go to Windber HealthStyles.
That lasted about six months, but helped me get down from my all-time peak of about 232 pounds to my current 205-210 range. Summer broke the routine because I felt like I was exercising more regularly with lawn work and weekend recreation. But then we never got back into it. Her work schedule changed and my motivation went into hibernation the next winter, I guess.
As I said before, we continue to pay for the HealthStyles membership because to drop it would be saying: We are not going to work out any more.
But planned, directed physical workouts have been sporadic at best. Even after starting this blog, you can see, my physical activity has been haphazard. After tipping the scales yesterday at the same 211 it read on Feb. 1, I vowed to do better.
I did better at the eating stuff, but yesterday’s exercise was limited to my usual two-thirds mile hike to and from The Tribune-Democrat office from my parking place. A morning start for work and two evening church events filled the rest of the day – or at least created my best excuse.
Today, I was down to last week’s low of 209. I was to start with a 9 a.m. interview. By the time that was pushed back to afternoon, it was too late for an early workout. Instead I dove into this Sunday’s stories about emergency response to heart attack patients.
When I left the house for the office, I picked up my gym bag and packed it for this evening.
Hey, all routines start somewhere.
My whole life, I have managed to avoid routines.
My work day always has been flexible, which can be a good thing or a bad thing.
On days I have night meetings, I can get some stuff done around the house or run errands during normal business hours and still put in my eight hours. Fridays I can work a 9-5 and kick back for an evening with my favorite redhead.
But it has also been difficult to commit to church classes, committee work or even kids’ sports schedules.
The two times in my life when I was in the best shape, physically, I was able to develop fitness routines.
When my daughters were young, they were enrolled in Oil City (Venango County) YMCA preschool gym and swim classes three mornings a week. I normally started later, so when I took them to class, I had my 45 minutes on the indoor track or on my personal street route and then time to shower and change for work.
Even after they started school, I could keep the routine because it was just that – routine. In fact, I was able to continue it after I dropped the YMCA membership. I was younger and healthier and didn’t mind jogging in the snow, so it seemed pretty silly to pay all that money, basically for a shower that I had at home.
I was able to continue that until just about my 40th birthday, when I started to develop intermittent chest pains. I stopped running, but didn’t do what I should have done– see a doctor – for four months. Even though I knew better. My dad was a doctor and was still alive then. Fortunately, when I finally saw the doc, he figured out I had developed an allergy, maybe to the parakeet my daughter and budding zoologist Erica had to have. It was creating chronic post-nasal drip that was collecting in my lungs and causing pain when it reached a certain point before I coughed it out, I guess. (sorry if you were reading this with a meal).
So I never regained that routine and I never returned to the nearly ideal weight I was able to maintain between 170 and 180 pounds.
Almost a decade later, my wife (and favorite redhead), Becky, and I got into a routine of getting up at the ungodly hour of 8 a.m. to go to Windber HealthStyles.
That lasted about six months, but helped me get down from my all-time peak of about 232 pounds to my current 205-210 range. Summer broke the routine because I felt like I was exercising more regularly with lawn work and weekend recreation. But then we never got back into it. Her work schedule changed and my motivation went into hibernation the next winter, I guess.
As I said before, we continue to pay for the HealthStyles membership because to drop it would be saying: We are not going to work out any more.
But planned, directed physical workouts have been sporadic at best. Even after starting this blog, you can see, my physical activity has been haphazard. After tipping the scales yesterday at the same 211 it read on Feb. 1, I vowed to do better.
I did better at the eating stuff, but yesterday’s exercise was limited to my usual two-thirds mile hike to and from The Tribune-Democrat office from my parking place. A morning start for work and two evening church events filled the rest of the day – or at least created my best excuse.
Today, I was down to last week’s low of 209. I was to start with a 9 a.m. interview. By the time that was pushed back to afternoon, it was too late for an early workout. Instead I dove into this Sunday’s stories about emergency response to heart attack patients.
When I left the house for the office, I picked up my gym bag and packed it for this evening.
Hey, all routines start somewhere.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Slight weekend setback, but a new tool in the arsenal
The Tribune-Democrat table at Cambria-Somerset Heart Ball
Todd Berkey, Cris Witprachtiger, Arlene Johns, Becky and Randy Griffith
With all four stories completed Thursday for the first installment Heart Health, The Tribune-Democrat's American Heart Month Project, I was ready for some time off. I just had to remember it was only time off from work. Not time off from healthy living.
Here are the four stories:
Heart Health: 'The social outlook has been changing'
Women face cardiac risks
Ongoing efforts to foster health
Tips on a heart-healthy diet
The busy three-day weekend provided both a challenges and opportunities for my own heart-healthy lifestyle.
Friday began with a church luncheon. Lots of covered dishes with inviting homemade food – and desserts! From there, I stopped by the Steelers Rally and then into The Tribune-Democrat office for the office Steelers fete with more homemade treats.
I tried practicing portion control, with a little of this and a little of that. But pretty soon I had sampled a little of just about everything, which I think defeated the purpose. In my defense, I only took one small piece of cake at the church and another small dessert at the office. It was the other stuff that probably did me in.
It may have been guilt, but I finished by day downtown with about a three-mile walk around the business district and Old Conemaugh Borough area.
Friday night, my lovely bride and I made our usual happy hour stop at Tulune’s South Side Saloon in Johnstown to meet up with some friends. I did limit myself to one imported beer there, but Joe said it was probably worth an American beer and a half.
Later, we were in another Johnstown restaurant where I got a grilled chicken salad, after first reading the menu description to make sure it wasn’t the usual couple pieces of chicken on some iceberg lettuce, with a couple of tomato slices and maybe an onion slice. The menu listed those, plus peppers but said it was on “gourmet salad blend.” I asked the waitress if that meant several types of lettuce (hoping also for some other greens). She thought it did.
It didn’t. Apparently in Johnstown, “gourmet salad blend” is chopped up iceberg lettuce.
One online article I found calls iceberg “the least-nutritious member of a family of nutritional champions. Any other lettuce or leafy green vegetable would be a better choice.”
While another source defends iceberg, saying the least-nutritious label only applies in comparisons by weight. A nutrition-by-calorie comparison brings iceberg closer to the others. But both sources urge “a variety” of greens.
And I just don’t like iceberg very much. I used to think I didn’t like salad, but then I learned about other lettuce.
Saturday I got plenty of exercise helping friends with three girls move into a two-story home with steps up to the back door. Enough said, I think.
We did stop for lunch, which for me was a personal-sized pizza with lots of veggies and no meat. That was a suggestion from Tonya Spada-Dixon, Memorial Medical Center’s clinical nutrition manager.
Saturday night was the Cambria-Somerset Heart Ball fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Since it was a heart event, I knew all the food would be healthy. Just kidding. But it was just one night, right?
I limited myself to half my sauce-covered fish, but then shared half of my wife Becky’s filet mignon. My boss, Arlene Johns, asked me about the blog during dinner (noticing my appetite, I think). I told her I was not blogging on my days off.
“So it doesn’t matter what you eat?” she quipped.
Thanks boss. It’s OK. We made up for it later on the dance floor.
But the healthiest part of the night for me was the guest speaker, William Clower, who wrote several books about the Mediterranean diet.
Clower urges we avoid foods with processed chemicals, but anything else is fair game if we eat in control. Food has a PR problem he said, “Personal responsibility.”
In cultures where obesity is less common, he said, people eat natural foods, and truly take time to enjoy their food in control (read: portion control). He demonstrated by passing out small squares of rich dark chocolate and encouraged us to break them up into small pieces and savor them for something like a half hour. Truly taste it, and not make eating just another item on the to-do list.
In our family we had a saying: He who eats the fastest gets the mostest. But I did get my chocolate to last at least 10 minutes. Groundbreaking for me. Besides, it was melting.
I have been trying to work on that advice. It seemed to come in handy at the Super Bowl party Sunday night. Setting down my fork or my sandwich between bites; taking small portions. Only taking things I know I’ll enjoy. The volume was definitely down.
I think he’s onto something. But it may be too early to tell.
I got on the scale today at exactly the same weight as a week ago. I think I was down a pound or so last Thursday, but the weekend did me in, as usual.
I’m not discouraged. The second week begins tomorrow.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Conflicting purposes
Short entry today because I have to finish the last two stories for Sunday’s kickoff of …
No! Not the Super Bowl. (I wish) The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month Project.
But it seems writing about heart disease prevention could interfere with my personal work on heart disease prevention.
I am writing the main story with an overall picture of heart disease risk factors and local programs to help develop strategies that reduce the risk. Additional stories hit the often-overlooked risk of heart disease in women, the components of a heart-healthy diet, and a Somerset County woman’s personal steps to reduce her own risk.
Then this evening, I’ll be there when Rep. Mark Critz helps launch the cardiac risk clinic collaboration between Windber Research Institute and Windber Medical Center.
Watch for that story in Friday’s editions of The Tribune-Democrat.
Ironically all the writing about heart health my limit my daily physical activity for heart health – unless I get up to Windber HealthStyles and stroll around the track for a while before the congressman’s hootenanny.
While I will continue to work on a heart-healthy lifestyle over the weekend, I won’t be blogging again until Monday. I worked Sunday, so I have tomorrow off and will take the opportunity to enjoy some heart-healthy de-stressing.
As I look forward to my first weekend in the heart-health mode, it was a little disturbing to see the American Heart Association’s warning that too much alcohol can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, obesity, a higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death.
Fortunately I read the second paragraph:
“If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. This means an average of one to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.”
So my Friday happy hour at Tulune’s South Side Saloon is safe for now. The Heart Association also lists some possible health benefits to a little drink now and then, but warns:
“No direct comparison trials have been done to determine the specific effect of wine or other alcohol on the risk of developing heart disease or stroke.”
Hmm, Further study is clearly needed.
No! Not the Super Bowl. (I wish) The Tribune-Democrat’s American Heart Month Project.
But it seems writing about heart disease prevention could interfere with my personal work on heart disease prevention.
I am writing the main story with an overall picture of heart disease risk factors and local programs to help develop strategies that reduce the risk. Additional stories hit the often-overlooked risk of heart disease in women, the components of a heart-healthy diet, and a Somerset County woman’s personal steps to reduce her own risk.
Then this evening, I’ll be there when Rep. Mark Critz helps launch the cardiac risk clinic collaboration between Windber Research Institute and Windber Medical Center.
Watch for that story in Friday’s editions of The Tribune-Democrat.
Ironically all the writing about heart health my limit my daily physical activity for heart health – unless I get up to Windber HealthStyles and stroll around the track for a while before the congressman’s hootenanny.
While I will continue to work on a heart-healthy lifestyle over the weekend, I won’t be blogging again until Monday. I worked Sunday, so I have tomorrow off and will take the opportunity to enjoy some heart-healthy de-stressing.
As I look forward to my first weekend in the heart-health mode, it was a little disturbing to see the American Heart Association’s warning that too much alcohol can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, obesity, a higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death.
Fortunately I read the second paragraph:
“If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. This means an average of one to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.”
So my Friday happy hour at Tulune’s South Side Saloon is safe for now. The Heart Association also lists some possible health benefits to a little drink now and then, but warns:
“No direct comparison trials have been done to determine the specific effect of wine or other alcohol on the risk of developing heart disease or stroke.”
Hmm, Further study is clearly needed.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It’s Groundhog Day and Phil did not see his shadow. But as I look forward to the end of winter, I am just at the beginning of my heart health commitment for American Heart Month.
Day Two started a little faster than day one, with some morning interviews set up at Memorial Medical Center. I set the alarm early enough, I thought, to either deal with a predicted coating of ice or get in a quick trip to the gym. By the time I determined the ice was, again, a non-factor, it would have been pushing it to get to the gym. Besides I was dealing with some technology ignorance and going through steps to get this blog linked to The Tribune-Democrat website, www.tribdem.com.
To make a long story short (if that is still possible at this point) I made it just in time for my 10 a.m. meeting with Dr. Daniel Wehner, chairman of emergency medicine, and Storm Nagle, pre-hospital operations manager. Breakfast was a perfectly gold-speckled, healthy banana in the car.
Still feeling the effects of yesterday’s stairs workout, I wasn’t too worried about getting the full aerobics in today. Even Dr. Charles Oschwald, Memorial’s director of cardiac prevention and rehabilitation program, told me yesterday the recommendation is for at least three days of heart-rate-elevating activity each week.
I did get some walking. From the emergency department with Nagle and Wehner, I walked to the Good Samaritan building and met with Michelle George, cardiovascular disease prevention coordinator. After that I trudged back to the main building and up two flights for an interview with Tonya Spada-Dixon, clinical nutrition manager. All the time, I was lugging my long leather coat and mojo (mobile journalist) bag – about 20 pounds of additional weight.
I heard somewhere that you should park as far from your work as you can comfortably walk as a stress reliever and fitness bonus. That’s why I’ve been parking in the Haynes Street area for years. And it’s a lot cheaper. I was lugging the same load today and yesterday for the one-third mile hike to the newspaper’s 450 Franklin Street office. I had second thoughts about the walk yesterday because it was raining a little and because I had already been through the stairs workout at home (see yesterday’s entry).
Many times, when I’ve had a voluntary strenuous workout before work, a breaking news story requires another walk or run. Yesterday it was a half-mile jaunt, with all my gear to a Robb Avenue fire.
So the exercise is coming along. Diet is another story.
Spada-Dixon said the biggest mistake people make is portion control.
“Overeating healthy can become unhealthy,” she said.
Where have I heard that before? Oh yes. “Portion control” was all my wife Becky said last night when I was taking some homemade noodles and soup with the last of the turkey pot pie.
If she weren’t such a good cook.
Day Two started a little faster than day one, with some morning interviews set up at Memorial Medical Center. I set the alarm early enough, I thought, to either deal with a predicted coating of ice or get in a quick trip to the gym. By the time I determined the ice was, again, a non-factor, it would have been pushing it to get to the gym. Besides I was dealing with some technology ignorance and going through steps to get this blog linked to The Tribune-Democrat website, www.tribdem.com.
To make a long story short (if that is still possible at this point) I made it just in time for my 10 a.m. meeting with Dr. Daniel Wehner, chairman of emergency medicine, and Storm Nagle, pre-hospital operations manager. Breakfast was a perfectly gold-speckled, healthy banana in the car.
Still feeling the effects of yesterday’s stairs workout, I wasn’t too worried about getting the full aerobics in today. Even Dr. Charles Oschwald, Memorial’s director of cardiac prevention and rehabilitation program, told me yesterday the recommendation is for at least three days of heart-rate-elevating activity each week.
I did get some walking. From the emergency department with Nagle and Wehner, I walked to the Good Samaritan building and met with Michelle George, cardiovascular disease prevention coordinator. After that I trudged back to the main building and up two flights for an interview with Tonya Spada-Dixon, clinical nutrition manager. All the time, I was lugging my long leather coat and mojo (mobile journalist) bag – about 20 pounds of additional weight.
I heard somewhere that you should park as far from your work as you can comfortably walk as a stress reliever and fitness bonus. That’s why I’ve been parking in the Haynes Street area for years. And it’s a lot cheaper. I was lugging the same load today and yesterday for the one-third mile hike to the newspaper’s 450 Franklin Street office. I had second thoughts about the walk yesterday because it was raining a little and because I had already been through the stairs workout at home (see yesterday’s entry).
Many times, when I’ve had a voluntary strenuous workout before work, a breaking news story requires another walk or run. Yesterday it was a half-mile jaunt, with all my gear to a Robb Avenue fire.
So the exercise is coming along. Diet is another story.
Spada-Dixon said the biggest mistake people make is portion control.
“Overeating healthy can become unhealthy,” she said.
Where have I heard that before? Oh yes. “Portion control” was all my wife Becky said last night when I was taking some homemade noodles and soup with the last of the turkey pot pie.
If she weren’t such a good cook.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
No excuses today
I started this blog to go along with a series of health care articles I am writing for The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown for American Heart Month. The series kicks off Sunday and is previewed, along with this blog, in a column published today.
Well the first day of my month-long commitment to a healthy heart lifestyle got off to a less-than-auspicious start.
Hearing my wife, Becky, scrape ice from her windshield before leaving for work at 6 a.m. gave me second thoughts about getting up and heading to the gym. I didn't want to spend 30 minutes on aerobic machines and then come home and spend an hour chipping driveway ice. I figured the ice could provide the recommended daily physical activity. But then it warmed up of course, so I was in a dilemma.
Since I had an evening work commitment, I didn't want to jump right in on the phone calls I had to make for the American Heart Month project. By the time I realized there was not going to be Icemageddon today, it was too late to head to the gym. There is too much traffic with no sidewalks or even snow-cleared berms on my road, so an outdoor walk was scrapped too. Becky has a Wii fitness thing she likes, but it seems a little too Richard Simmons for me.
Are those enough excuses?
But I like to say that I don’t believe in excuses, sometimes quoting the poet Rudyard Kipling’s line, “We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.” (Except I saw a simpler version of it on a poster attributed to former Steelers Coach Chuck Noll, so I used to attribute it to him.)
With excuses aside, what was my plan? Trudging through the ice-crusted, foot-deep snow in the field? Maybe not.
I was still mulling it over as I started my day’s work from home with phone calls and online research. I interviewed internal medicine specialist Dr. Durre Ahmed of Indiana about how primary care doctors encourage heart health. She tells her patients exercise is easier than they think, and suggests climbing the stairs instead of using the elevator.
“Stairs? I have stairs,” I thought. Having recently worked on a project that required prep work in the basement and installation in the second floor, I knew the route well.
So I spent half my lunch hour trudging up and down the two flights, each with 12 steep steps. For variety I started adding a once-around on the first floor. That got the cats some exercise too, trying to figure out what I was chasing, I guess.
Felt like a real workout by the time I was done, so I’ll keep it in mind as a last resort. And one less excuse.
Diet-wise was a little better. I had my usual high-fiber toast and protein-healthy peanut butter with a banana for vitamin C and B6 Potassium and Manganese. Lunch was a re-heated piece of turkey pot pie that probably had too much fat, but they say you have to start slow.
As I wrap up the first day of my first blog, I can’t help thinking how blogging is like exercise and diet. Everyone starts off with intentions of keeping it up at least several days a week. Look at those blogs after a month or two and you see less frequency. Eventually, you stop looking because it hasn’t been updated since May of what year?
Well the first day of my month-long commitment to a healthy heart lifestyle got off to a less-than-auspicious start.
Hearing my wife, Becky, scrape ice from her windshield before leaving for work at 6 a.m. gave me second thoughts about getting up and heading to the gym. I didn't want to spend 30 minutes on aerobic machines and then come home and spend an hour chipping driveway ice. I figured the ice could provide the recommended daily physical activity. But then it warmed up of course, so I was in a dilemma.
Since I had an evening work commitment, I didn't want to jump right in on the phone calls I had to make for the American Heart Month project. By the time I realized there was not going to be Icemageddon today, it was too late to head to the gym. There is too much traffic with no sidewalks or even snow-cleared berms on my road, so an outdoor walk was scrapped too. Becky has a Wii fitness thing she likes, but it seems a little too Richard Simmons for me.
Are those enough excuses?
But I like to say that I don’t believe in excuses, sometimes quoting the poet Rudyard Kipling’s line, “We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.” (Except I saw a simpler version of it on a poster attributed to former Steelers Coach Chuck Noll, so I used to attribute it to him.)
With excuses aside, what was my plan? Trudging through the ice-crusted, foot-deep snow in the field? Maybe not.
I was still mulling it over as I started my day’s work from home with phone calls and online research. I interviewed internal medicine specialist Dr. Durre Ahmed of Indiana about how primary care doctors encourage heart health. She tells her patients exercise is easier than they think, and suggests climbing the stairs instead of using the elevator.
“Stairs? I have stairs,” I thought. Having recently worked on a project that required prep work in the basement and installation in the second floor, I knew the route well.
So I spent half my lunch hour trudging up and down the two flights, each with 12 steep steps. For variety I started adding a once-around on the first floor. That got the cats some exercise too, trying to figure out what I was chasing, I guess.
Felt like a real workout by the time I was done, so I’ll keep it in mind as a last resort. And one less excuse.
Diet-wise was a little better. I had my usual high-fiber toast and protein-healthy peanut butter with a banana for vitamin C and B6 Potassium and Manganese. Lunch was a re-heated piece of turkey pot pie that probably had too much fat, but they say you have to start slow.
As I wrap up the first day of my first blog, I can’t help thinking how blogging is like exercise and diet. Everyone starts off with intentions of keeping it up at least several days a week. Look at those blogs after a month or two and you see less frequency. Eventually, you stop looking because it hasn’t been updated since May of what year?
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