My friend had a heart attack

[CaffeineMe]

Ok, here's the story. About 20 min. ago, the phone rings, and it's my best friends wife. Turns out, my friend had himself a heart attack yesterday, he's 32. Yikes. He smokes, eats a lot of red meat, doesn't exercise enough. Word is he'll be OK, his wife sounded pretty upset still, so I didn't press for lots of details.

Me: Don't smoke (used to and I do enjoy a cigar now and then, helped get above friend started smoking actually when we were younger/dumber, that's what friends are for), eat my share of red meat, and don't exercise enough. 30-40 lbs. overweight, but I wear it well.

Obviously, this is the wake up call. I'm sitting here, making myself all kinds of promises that are ringing just a little hollow....I've made them before, these "I'm gonna exercise more" promises, but they never quite pan out.

So, as my friend is taking the first heart attack and not myself (always figured it'd be me first), how do those of you who make these types of committments stick to them? What's your motivation, what makes you go and put in that 20-30 min. a day of cardio when it'd really be easier to just keep on poppin' the cheetos and watching TV?

I need to do something about this, or it'll be my turn next. He doesn't have kids, I do, and I got more to live for, and more that I need to be accountable for.

Is that the answer....do it for your kids?

Just random thoughts here...obviously, being faced w. a life or death type of thing that a friend of mine is facing is a slap in the face, and I am not as coherent as I want to be/should be at the moment. Guess I'm just looking for ideas for myself, to help get me off my lead ass.

It's 11:00 PM...I'm going for a walk!

[Jengo]

sorry man, hope your friend gets better.

[mmonnin]

Exercise: It has to become apart of your daily routine. Something that you do daily is much more effective than when you feel like it. Make it apart of your job. I find that I can be lazy if its in my own spare time but if I am getting paid to do it, not only will I do it more often but better as well.

Reward yourself for doing it each day. Just dont let the reward balance out the exercise.

I dont know about you but I consider running one of the best ways to stay in shape. Great leg, HEART, cardio, etc workout. And hey if you go one direction, you have to get back so its not like you can just stop and get off the tredmill. You have to come back.

One thing of the things I consider to be one of the keys to feeling young besides exercise is stretching and vitamins. Your body organs will break down even if you are in shape if they do not have the right nutrition. And well stretching, I feel so much better if I am loosened up. Not only is it good for the body but you will feel so much better. I cant stand being unflexible.

[profdlp]

Marc - that is great advice.

The only thing I'd add is that when I was a workout fanatic I felt wonderful. I hurt my back (not related to my fitness regime) a few years ago and have since put on a bunch of pounds. I would estimate that being out of shape is responsible for more than half of the things I am not happy about in my personal life.

It's hard getting started, but you can be sure that once you reach even a moderate level of fitness you will find that everything you do in life becomes easier. It's a shame that most people take better care of their cars than they do their own bodies.

[bothered]

That's tough on your friend and his family.
I don't do any exercise except going to work, which I believe dosen't count. I am the same weight I was at 18 and can eat like a horse. I really wish I didn't smoke but don't have enough desire to go through the pain of stopping. The only time I was fit was in my mid 20s when I played squash and I felt great, I wish I could feel like that again. I've heard of super fit people who die young and people who just abuse their bodies and go on for ever, I think a lot of it is mental attitude rather than exercise.Your friend is young enough to get through this.

[TheSmJ]

I'm in the same boat (in terms of promising myself to start working out again like I had when I was a workout-a-holic in middle/highschool) and I never could quite get around to working out. 40 pounds later... I figured out what I needed.

The key is, you have to find someone to go work out along with you. Join a gym with them and start an exercise program. Having a companion to go through the pain of burning off the pounds and someone to rely on you being there with them makes it MUCH more likely you'll actually show up at the gym 3 (or more) times a week when you're supposed to.

[fudgam]

If you wanna give up the junk food, dont buy it. Plain and simple. If its not in the house, you wont go eating it. As for the cardio, if your joints can handle it, go running through the neighborhood. Being outside is so much better than using a cardio machine in a gym.
To keep yourself motivated, remember where you are, where you could be....., and where you want to be.
To help keep those promises, maybe consider a home gym? Ive got one in my basement, so its EXTREMELY easy for me to kill time down there and VERY easy to stick to a lifting schedule. Theres no hassle of going to a gym.

[The Hostess]

personally i don't FEEL like i exercise alot but i do and i think that is the key.
i work daily chores in to a schedule and once they are completed i've accomplished two things..

as for daily diet, i'm not too good at that.
i eat two meals a day. once at 4 or 5pm and again at work (lunch 10pm)
i think beacause i work nights that i don't gain the extra pounds that other who are at home watching t.v. might gain.

generally i feel i am healthy but vitamins would probably be benefical too. :)

[PressX]

My dad died just before Christmas and it was the wake up call I had been expecting for some time. He smoked 60 a day for ~ 40 years (73) and was overweight most of his life apart from when he was a pilot in the RAF. He died as a result of a fall and hip op which lead to a stroke and pneumonia. This would NOT have happened if he did not smoke and was a little healthier. He had diabetes which he almost ignored (doughnuts and pork pies etc) as well as angina and a bunch of other stuff - he was a walking chemist.

Since Jan I have lost 1.5 stone and stopped smoking the 20 plus cigs a day since I was 15/16. My next target is regular exercise - although I do walk the dogs - but not enough!

I think it is is thirty something thing. I look at my two kids and then think of my dad never being able to kick a ball about for longer than 2 mins and that is all the incentive I need!

I am doing it for my family as much as for myself.

The only think I miss is the odd mars/snickers at about 11ish with my coffee :-)


CaffeineMe - I hope your friend makes a full recovery.

[CyrixInstead]

Lifestyle change, that's the important thing. Just throw away some of your meal instead of eating it all, eventuallyyou will not give yourself as much and also will notwant to eatas much.

Being healthy is 60% eating & 40%exercise.

~Cyrix

[mmonnin]

If you wanna give up the junk food, dont buy it. Plain and simple. If its not in the house, you wont go eating it.

I find that very true as well. Since Lent season I stopped eating most of the junk food that I ate on a weekly basis. I stopped buying it and now I dont even have the urge to buy it anymore. Replace it with something healthier.

After a few weeks and your body becomes used to some physical exercise you Will notice missing a day or 2. You wont feel as energetic or as good without the exercise.

[Straight_Man]

I find that very true as well. Since Lent season I stopped eating most of the junk food that I ate on a weekly basis. I stopped buying it and now I dont even have the urge to buy it anymore. Replace it with something healthier.

After a few weeks and your body becomes used to some physical exercise you Will notice missing a day or 2. You wont feel as energetic or as good without the exercise.

What I did for relatively cheap snacks was to start eating more GORP (aka trail mix, assorted nuts, M&Ms, Raisins, mixed, and some of their tropical Trail Mix from time to time also) from Walmart and MANY less chips. I do not eat hamburgers that are not cooked by me or Mom.

As substitute for hotdogs, I eat a Bratwurst (sourkraut I do not like)once in a while (comes from living in IL, there was a Bratwurst company in southern WI that made the best brats I could ever want, and sold them in IL and three other states as well as Wisconsin). The nice thing about GORP is it keeps with no refrigeration, and Walmart was nice enough to put it in a heavy plastic ZIPLOCK resealable style bag (yes, it comes thermal sealed also from factory, cut off thermal seal, neat ziplock remains if you cut in right place). Oh, and I eat a ton of fish compared to folks up north and love shrimp (rock and otherwise) and Rock Lobster and Shark also. Natural noodles also can help, I really like Shrimp Alfredo with restaurant made noodles. Also been known to have a banana for a snack.

Sorry to hear about your friend's trouble, mmonnin.

[Dragstk]

You need to find an excersize program, or activity, that makes you happy. A lot of people say that running is good, or doing a step machine, whatever it is. If it doesn't appeal to you, you won't stay at it. For me, the excersize of choice is bicycling.
All bad habits are just that-"habits". And they can be broken or stopped. You need to find the motivation. But that motivation must come from inside you. Yes, your kids can be a good motivator, but I feel in the end, you have to do it for yourself.

20 yrs ago, I was 270#, on a 5'7" frame. Fast food, beer, drugs, you name it. I hated the way I looked and felt. Then 1 day, I said "no more". Ever since then, I have been in the 190 range.
I have a very slow matabolism, so I struggle with food all the time. But every day, I ask myself "How bad do you want it?"

Like yourself-you are worth it. Excersize will become your next "habit". And you and everone around you will benifit.

Dragstk

[Leonardo]

There's no compicated formula - that's where most people screw up.

Eating - all, but in moderation. Four food groups is still valid!

Exercise - nothing complicated. Walking is just as healthy as running; it's the distance that counts.

Drink plenty of water, avoid sugary drinks, get plenty of sleep.

It's that simple.