You have a friend or relative willing to be interviewed on reluctance to start rehab or complete it.
I was contacted directly by a PHD candidate from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix Arizona. Her name is Mary Wood and she is writing a thesis on overcoming barriers females face that keep them from starting rehab or completing it. She is asking us to refer friends or relatives that would be willing to discuss this with her. This is an important project and if it helps to improve rehab commencement and graduation in the future it will be well worth it.
Mary is well aware that our group are all graduates but if we know someone we might refer to the study have them contact Mary at mdwood@outlook.com
Here is a link to her e-mail that you can forward to friends mdwood@outlook.com
In our recent 2021 resolutions survey just over 75% of you said you wanted to drop some pounds this year. This post is not about dietary strategies or shaming each other for the foods we eat. Each of you will choose tactics to lose weight, which could include more exercise, less sedentary behavior, more good foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etcetera), less food overall and so on.
Before we start let’s determine just what our weight situation is. A universal measure of weight category is Body Mass Index or BMI. This index is not a perfect measure as your body type (bone structure and muscle mass) can affect the reading. But it is not a bad guideline. BMI is determined by weight and height. You calculate a number which places you on a range scale as outlined below.
Category
BMI Range
Severe Thinness
<16
Moderate Thinness
16-17
Mild Thinness
17-18.5
Normal
18.5-25
Overweight
25-30
Obese Level 1
30-35
Obese Level 2
35-40
Obese Level 3
>40
Courtesy of Calculator.net
I will not suggest that we should all be “Normal” nor will I recommend to anyone what their target should be. I am comfortable in sharing how I look at the index and what my goals are. When I started my “weight loss” resolution I was 198 pounds and a statuesque 5 foot seven. This gave me a BMI of 31.2, so in the Obese Class 1. My goal is to achieve a weight of 175 pounds, which as I laid out in a previous post, would be bring me to the mid range of normal body fat. My BMI at 175 would be 27.4, which is the midpoint of the overweight category. I am comfortable with that weight as I believe I have an above average level of muscle mass and the low 180’s is where I have been most of my adult life. You can calculate your own BMI using the link below.
Now let’s turn our attention to what it takes to lose weight. I used to think it was as simple as ingesting fewer calories that you burn. I now know it is way more complicated than that and I have been reading up on the topic. I will try to distill what I have learned in future posts.
Many of you know Mohan Singh the Heart Failure Nurse from SHN. He will be speaking on the latest information in the treatment and management of heart failure. If this is of interest to you you can join the web meeting using the link below. You can sign on anonymously if you wish. Try to log in starting at 9:20AM.
The answer to this question is very subjective and depends a lot on each individuals situation. Your gender, age, muscle mass, bone structure and body type can profoundly affect what is realistic for you. Still, I personally knew I needed to have a goal for me and I was looking for some objectivity or science to guide me. I looked at BMI calculations and I did not like the answer it gave me, and, ideal body weight (IBW) calculators were turning up numbers I Knew I could never achieve (like sub 150 pounds!) I came across a tool that made a lot of sense for me. A chart showing body fat ranges for different categories and a calculator you can use to determine your individual starting point. I have put a link to this tool at the bottom of this post but let me explain how I used it.
I used the calculator to determine my body fat % estimate to be 33%. The calculator also said, “Due to different body types in the population, your body fat (Cardioman) can be between: 30.1-36.8 %“. I next looked at the chart and isolated what the midpoint of normal body fat would be. This turned out to be 21%. So this told me I needed to lose about 1/3 of my body fat. Based on my starting weight that meant I needed to lose 23 pounds! This established my goal weight for me.
Try the calculator and see if it is helpful to you in establishing a goal.
We have heard from about 2/3 of the peer group. We will keep the survey link open and you can find it at the bottom of this Post. Preliminary findings are shown here. We want to move onto the next steps of sharing and ensuring everyone is as successful as possible with their resolutions.
Almost 90% of us have at least thought about targets and desires for 2021.
Perhaps not surprisingly over 80% of of us that have goals have a target or desire for weight. I can only assume weight loss, but who knows. Nutrition and Exercise can certainly impact weight changes.
Just over half of us with targets are prepared to share our journey with the group. There will be a page on the website where we can share goals and comment to each other. This page will be password protected and I will be sending it out separately by e-mail. This should be fun!
A whole year of opportunity is spread out ahead of us. Will this be the year we make and keep health promises to ourselves. Let’s journey through 2021 together. As a starting point let’s figure out what we are doing as a group. The link below takes you to a three question anonymous survey. I’ll write about the results and then we will figure out how to make everyone successful in 2021!
Use the link below to register for the presentation.
Our local Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, will give a free, online presentation about the current status of COVID-19 vaccines and their local rollout on Friday, January 15, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.
The details of this “meeting” can be found at the link below, including how you register. As many of us are in the higher risk group, this may be of interest to our peer group. The link will open a PDF with all the details you need.
I have shared my “Covid Camp” tragedy, the ten or so extra pounds of not so lean body mass gained slowly over ten months or so. The battle back has commenced! Step 1 was to isolate the sources.
The enemy is usually sited around 4:00 PM! The snack craving.
Then I was reading about how even ten minutes of activity has significant health benefits. I knew they did not mean chewing. So I decided to trick the enemy.
I hop on my recumbent bike for twelve minutes (first two are warm up). The craving goes away and I add more activity to my day.
I will keep you all posted on the results of my new strategy.
Healthy Hearts Peterborough 