Regarding Rehab

Flicka has been so great about posting updates on everything that has been going on with us. I thought I would pop in, say hi, and fill in a few details about how rehab is going.

Initially my cardiologist said I would be bored after a month, and my surgeon said it would probably be a waste of my time. I figured I would give it a shot, and take advantage of the nutrition resources if nothing else. It has been interesting to say the least.  When I first started at the end of May, a round of nutrition classes was also just beginning. These were two days a week for 3 weeks for 45 minutes before the regularly scheduled exercise portion of the class which took me away from the house and put quite a burden on Flicka to handle all three of the kids without me. The information was quite good, though. I learned about the different kids of fats including the limits of what I should consume of each kind in a day. Also that the omega 3 fats in fish is important for heart health and can act like a lubricant in the arteries, and that it is different from the omega 3 fats in avocados and almonds (but those are still good).

Most importantly, though is the trans fats. Now this seemed like the latest buzz word that showed up on food labels the past few years, and like the others, I figured it would be gone in time. These are the extra bad fats that will lower your good cholesterol. Trans fats are found in vegetable oils that are hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated into a semi-solid fat. The real kicker here is that I guess it only takes 1/2 g to lower your good cholesterol, but food labels can say “0 grams of trans fats” if they have less than a gram per serving so you really have to check the ingredients list for any sort of hydrogenated oils. What a pain. Lots of good stuff has hydrogenated oils like Nestle cookie dough, 3 Musketeers, Quaker granola bars and even Skippy peanut butter.

I also learned about some good stuff I should be eating, like fruits and vegetables. Needless to say, we’ve been eating much more of those lately. One of the best features of the nutrition class was the insight I got to new foods and alternatives to items I was used to having. Trader Joes, for instance, has great low fat cheeses. Yay! We decided a while back that it is just way too hard to give up all dairy so it is nice to find a cheese I can put on a veggie burger that doesn’t taste completely like wet cardboard.

Trader Joes also has a heart healthy instant oatmeal with sterols that help lower cholesterol. Another good find! Every little bit helps I suppose.

So the nutrition classes are over and I’ve tried going to other classes since, but I’m just not finding them very useful. Which is a nice way of saying they’re wicked boring. I really don’t want to sit through 45 minutes of someone telling me what each of my medications are for, when I already know why I need to take each one. I suppose if I was really old and was on a lot more meds, it could be more useful…

Rehab itself isn’t all that bad. It gives me an excuse to get out of the house and exercising. There are some good guys in there with me and we love to reminisce about all the glorious foods we used to be able to eat while working out on the elliptical machine. My nurse, Mary, is a great gal so naturally we give her a hard time. She gets us back though, come strength training.

Once I get there, I put on the heart monitor with the little stickers, get a blood pressure and get to exercising. Mary comes around mid-way through for another blood pressure and to check on how hard I’m working. All stats she sends to my cardiologist. After cool down, we do a little strength training with dumbbells, stretching, one last blood pressure, then out the door to sit in rush hour traffic on the 405.

I recently had my mid point checkup and I had gained 2 lbs since I started (which I attribute to finally getting a bit of upper body strength back)and I lost 1” around my waist. I guess I’m doing something right, but now my clothes aren’t fitting anymore.

Well, with about a week left of rehab, I need to get my exercise regiment up to 5 days a week. I’m thinking a gym membership is in order unless someone has an old elliptical machine they want to donate to the cause.