by Alan Rubin
Hennepin County Library paperback 320 pages
genre: non-fiction, self-help
My cardiologist laughed and said I was a goofball (or something along those lines) when I told him I had gotten this book. But as always, I found this Dummies book very helpful. I didn't read it cover-to-cover, but focused on the chapters I was most interested in:
ch. 9 - Choosing Foods
Go for high potassium foods, try low-fat or fat-free options, snack on carrot or celery sticks and rice cakes. Page 139 had lots of great ideas:
I also used the info to calculate "ideal" weights. For a woman who is 5'6" (me), a target weight is 130 pounds. 10% variance in either direction is 13 pounds, so I should be in the 117-143 pound range. Wow. I don't think I've seen 143 pounds since Nick was two years old . . . but I'm heading in the right direction!
For a man who is 6'1", the ideal weight is 184 pounds. The 10% variance of 18.4 pounds leaves the range at 165.6-202.4 pounds. I have no idea what Louie weighs right now!
One resource that I made note of while I was reading was the Health Record at www.lifeclinic.com but that entity has become part of another entity and I couldn't find any free record sheets to print out.
Another tool is the DASH booklet at nih.gov but I feel as though I already have enough info about that.
ch. 10 - Keeping Salt Out of the Diet
This is what I'm really struggling with. I love the taste of salt! The recommendation in this book was to avoid foods that have 180+mg of sodium per serving. Ideally, I should look for those that have 35mg or less per serving! I don't read labels as much as I should, but I've been getting better about it. Boy, the foods I like have a lot of sodium. I should eat "very low sodium" foods. Read labels - another piece of advice I noted. Make sure salt substitutes aren't high in potassium (which seems to contradict the chapter nine assertion to seek high potassium foods, except I think that was referring to foods that have it naturally and not as an additive).
ch. 12 - Lower Blood Pressure with Exercise
So much here that I need to work on! There was a plan for using walking as a primary tool. Time a one-mile walk and make a goal chart. There was a sample on page 187 but I'm too lazy to scan it. I may just grab a cell pic and make my own. It's pretty simplistic. Basically, level one is doing a mile in 30 minutes. Then I would decrease the time it takes and increase the distance walked. I may give this a try. My Fitbit has been a great tool for me, but I like new challenges.
Now I can finally return this book to the library! I had to blog about it before relinquishing it.
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