"Having a Heartbeat is Very Important to Being Healthy."

"Having a Heartbeat is Very Important to Being Healthy."  Dr. White Rabbit

I have been in North Carolina for the past week, babysitting my beautiful, intelligent (bordering on genius) and most perfect grandchildren and have temporarily been given a glimpse of the "8 years old and under" world during my stay.  As we were channel surfing, we stopped on a "medical show" where three white rabbits were discussing important health issues.  The "Doctor" Rabbit was telling the "Patient" Rabbit that "Having a heart beat is a very important part of being healthy."  I couldn't agree more!   In fact I would venture to say that any person without a heart beat would NOT be considered healthy.  

Although it made me laugh - it also made me remember a time when I DID have a heart beat, but would NOT have been considered healthy.  About 6 years ago I was surprised to find out that I had a blood pressure of 195-200/95-115 and a cholesterol count of 247.  I knew I was overweight, I knew I couldn't climb the stairs in my house without huffing and puffing, I knew that I couldn't breathe in and out when I would bend over to tie my shoes and I knew I was tired ALL the time but my excuse was that I just didn't have time to exercise and eat healthy.  I was simply TOO busy and TOO hungry.  After a very RUDE awakening following extensive medical testing, I understood that my choices were to remain "as is" and risk a stroke, heart attack, diabetes, decreased mobility and an early death - or I would need to make some changes.  In an attempt to lower my blood pressure, I was put on several drugs that made me so groggy that I had trouble getting off the couch.  I knew this was NOT going to work.  In spite of the fact that I never exercised regularly and had tried every diet known to man and woman with no long-term success I knew I needed to try again and I also knew it wouldn't be easy.

Today, 6 years and 3 months later - I have a normal blood pressure, a healthy weight that I'm not ashamed to put on my driver's license, a normal cholesterol and I ran a half marathon 2 months ago. I KNOW that exercise played a major part in my transition to a more healthy lifestyle.  

If you're not convinced...I did a little research and actually found an article written by the Mayo Clinic Staff that discusses a drug-free approach to lowering blood pressure, and guess what replaces the drugs???  Exercise!  Of course, there are times when drugs cannot be totally replaced by exercise - but exercise certainly can help. 

I have discovered that I was fooling myself when I thought I didn't have time to exercise. I am able to accomplish so much more in a day, now that I have my health under control even in spite of the fact that I've taken time to work out.   There are ALWAYS 30 minutes available sometime during the day.  It may be in the wee hours of the morning, the late hours of the evening - or somewhere inbetween but we owe it to ourselves to make it a part of our daily routine.  We also need to make note that even at a healthy weight, we can still be considered "unhealthy" if we're not exercising.  

I know many of you are already committed to your Mary-thon and you now have 2 weeks down and are ready for Week #3.  Congratulations!  If you started and stopped - start again!  There's still plenty of time.  If you haven't started yet - sign the pledge, plan your Week #1 and START!!!   I applaud you (or promise that I will applaud you) for scheduling 30 minutes each day, 5 days per week to fulfill your commitment.   It takes 21 days to make a habit - so this is a defining week for many of us!  

REMEMBER:  It'll feel better when it stops hurting!  

Keep Moving Forward!

Mary

PS - I finished Week #2 and am on to Week #3!  Can't wait to get home and put my stickers on my chart!  

Here's the article:

Exercise:  A Drug-free Approach to Lowering High Blood Pressure by the Mayo Clinic Staff

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/HI00024