What to do before a deposition?
By Dr John Ellis MD // Leave a comment
I am going to be deposed as an expert witness in a medical malpractice case. It can be stressful to be in that position. So, beyond reading (and re-reading) documents, articles, etc, what did I do?
Get on the treadmill! I got my heart rate during intervals briefly up to 176 (supposedly higher than a 55 year old man can go!) PS: Don’t start exercising trying to get to that heart rate. It took me years of regular exercise to get there. My resting heart rate is now in the low 60s, which may even mean I’ll live longer.
The stress flows out along with the sweat, Onwards!
WHERE TO START?
By Dr John Ellis MD // 2 Comments
Where to start? For some folks radically, for others, one change at a time, maintained for 2-4 weeks until it becomes a habit. More activity; healthier foods that actually satisfy longer; but NOT going hungry!
Originally posted 2011-03-12 05:15:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Do you self-quantify? How measuring and recording can help your weight loss/improved health journey
By Dr John Ellis MD // Leave a comment
Tracking our health has become extremely important as various technologies are becoming increasingly accessible. Remember those big cell phones way back when? Now you have pocket size smartphones with gps, camera, various sensors, and over 500,000 apps that allow you to do so many different things. We are now able to observe our health and bodies, and determine causality using various technologies that help measure our sleeping patterns, track our diets, mood, etc. An interesting article in The Economist details the “Quantify Self” culture, and gives examples of how people are tracking various things to improve health and fitness.
An example of a popular tracker, also mentioned in the article, is the Zeo. It’s a sleep monitor that enables you to monitor the effect of various habits like exercise on your sleep quality. This can be helpful for obese people who may have sleep apnea and may not know it. As mentioned many times in this blog, sleep apnea is common in obese people, and sleep has a tremendous effect on health and dieting.
Measuring and recording enabled me to observe how some of my habits influenced weight fluctuations during my weight loss journey. I now track what I eat by taking pictures of my food on my cell phone (I used to keep a food diary), weigh myself everyday, and use heart rate monitors when exercising and record on Google calendar. Even something as simple as wearing a belt is a good way to track your progress. I guess I am part of the “Quantify Self ” culture.
Consider tracking your health and diet in an effort to become healthier and live longer!
Originally posted 2012-03-12 07:00:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
90 DEGREES IN CHICAGO… WALKING ON THE LAKEFRONT
By Dr John Ellis MD // Leave a comment
I have a usual powerwalking route along the lakefront. Got it down to 59 min today! Measurement and tracking are so important!
Lots of BBQ (barbacoa, and “Q”) going on at 63rd St beach.
Enjoy your holiday food, but try to eat healthy foods in moderation, and take advantage of the opportunity to be active outside.
This is the song that got me pumped up a gear:
Originally posted 2010-05-30 16:33:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
WHAT’S WORSE? FAT OR CARBS?
By Dr John Ellis MD // 1 Comment
I generally eat a low-fat diet, except that I do have a lot of salmon and sardines (in water; no salt added), which are rich in unsaturated fats and omega3 fatty acids, which protect the heart.
I don’t subscribe to Atkins no-carb diet. I DO avoid simple carbs (white bread; “wheat” bread; white rice; added sugars to almost all prepared food). I do eat LOTS of complex carbs (sweet potatoes with skin on; brown rice).
How to determine which are complex carbs? Choose the ones with a low glycemic index – they raise blood sugar less rapidly. For a list of carbs and their glycemic indices, see the South Beach Diet listings.
One point is crucial: a meal that produces a rapid, high rise in blood sugar also increases insulin. Then your sugar goes from high to low… the next time you eat, you’ll be hungrier and may eat too much. And… if the first meal bumps your sugar high, the second meal, even if lower in sugars, will bump your blood sugar more than if the first meal was of low glycemic index. See the chart below. Eating simple carbs sets you up for failure and eating more later.
In fact, the work cited here suggests that saturated fats aren’t the culprit in heart disease; simple sugars are. The NY Times Sunday magazine stirred up this debate back in 2002. So, low-fat may not be the way to go if it means high-sugar. Low-fat yogurt with fruit swimming in sugar at the bottom of the container is NOT healthy!
TIPS: Stop drinking soda and fruit juices. Don’t eat products with added sugar or HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Read labels. Prepare your own food.
Originally posted 2010-04-26 07:03:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
COLLEGE-AGED KIDS: GET IN SHAPE!
By Dr John Ellis MD // Leave a comment
The LA Times reports:
A new study by Tufts University scientists found that body fat percentages are not the only precursors to health problems later in life. A person’s physical fitness may matter a lot more — at least when it comes to developing cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
Attention, college students: Get off that shuttle bus and start walking to class.
You’re already eating a diet of mainly beer and pizza, staying up all hours of the night, and living in cramped, potentially germ-infested dorms. The last thing on your mind is whether you’re setting yourself up for future cardiovascular disease or Type 2 diabetes.
Now might be a good time to start thinking about it…
Originally posted 2010-06-23 06:00:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
I still have pain, but less than I used to since losing weight.
By Dr John Ellis MD // 1 Comment
I’ve had two neck operations for herniated cervical discs. Lifting and weather changes make it worse.
Indeed, obese people are more likely to have pain as others. Hips, knees, backs, shoulders… the list goes on and on:
Appearing this month in the journal Obesity, the study found that overweight people reported 20 per cent higher rates of pain than “normal” weight, and the higher the body weight, the greater the pain.
The obese group reported 68 per cent higher rates of pain; those with extreme, or “class III obesity” — meaning a body mass index of 40 or more, one of the fastest-growing weight classes in Canada — reported 254 per cent more pain.
“People who are obese are considerably more prone to having daily pain,” the authors write — and the association held after the team controlled for back, neck or other painful conditions.
However, a number of things have helped me limit the pain:
- Eating foods that help reduce inflammation. Fish and fish oil supplements, lots of veggies, limiting simple (white) carbs help.
- Core strengthening and stretching. I do Pilates for this; others like yoga. It helps improve my bad posture.
- I try to limit the drugs (tylenol = acetaminophen; aleve=naprosyn). Like the old man I’m becoming, I often smell like BenGay :-) But those menthol patched really do help my neck and shoulder pain.
For many people, the idea od losing weight to reduce cholesterol or blood pressure is an abstract thought. Reducing pain by losing weight is a tangible benefit!
Originally posted 2012-08-03 08:27:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Wanna lose 6 lbs over the next year?
By Dr John Ellis MD // Leave a comment
Take public transportation!
Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and the RAND Corporation said in a statement that light rail users were 81 percent less likely to become obese over time, compared to car-driving commuters.
Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7019135519#ixzz0slXf6cgk
Originally posted 2010-07-17 06:11:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
By Dr John Ellis MD // Leave a comment
Sweet red peppers, zucchini, brown rice, black beans, hot sauce. Swordfish not shown
I got a good walk on the lakefront – my usual – 1hr 2 min (damn! I wanted less than an hour, but was on the phone the first 1/4 of the trip.) Beautiful, sunny day and lake vistas to lift the spirits!
And a little music to relax by:
Originally posted 2010-06-20 16:54:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Bill Clinton’s plant-based weight loss – click to watch this important video
By Dr John Ellis MD // Leave a comment
I don’t do everything Bill Clinton does (I drink skim milk with breakfast, I do eat fish, with very little meat; I have 2 TEAspoons of olive oil a day), but his emphasis on a plant-based diet I believe is correct!
Says the President:
The short answer is I went on essentially a plant based diet. I live on beans, legumes, vegetables, fruits. I drink a protein supplement every morning. No dairy. I drink almond milk mixed in with fruit and a protein powder, so I get the protein for the day when I start the day out.
It changed my whole metabolism and I lost 24 pounds. I got back to basically what I weighed in high school. But I did it for a different reason, I mean I wanted to lose a little weight but I never dreamed this would happen.
I did it because after I had this stent put in I realized that even though it happens quite often that after you have bypass that you lose the veins because they are thinner and weaker than arteries. The truth is that it clogged up, which means that the cholesterol was still causing build-up in my vein that was part of my bypass and thank God I could take the stents.
Originally posted 2010-09-27 05:43:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Video: How I Lost 100 Lbs
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