At some point during your recovery you will suddenly realize you are beyond that fragile, don't bump into me, I'll break stage. You will no longer be getting tired as easily and those surgery healing pains will have gone away. Basically you will be getting to feel stronger. You will need to get out more and do any other sort of thing that will give you normal activity. My recovery began in early October, I had some problems with my lungs, and a return to the hospital that pushed my recovery back somewhat. Sometime after Thanksgiving I begin to feel differently. No longer weak. Able to do more things for myself. I tried to get out of the house with Cindy often. I wasn't driving yet. I would go out shopping with Cindy, which I had not done for years previously. But it was a good way to be active. After less than half an hour I would have to find a place to sit and rest while she continued to shop. That was normal for all of us and it will be for you. It is part of recovery, gaining more strength as you become more active. The same will go for walking daily. You will begin to feel stronger as you increase the distance and how much time you spend walking.
There are some basic elements of recovery and rehab. Regular exercise, weight control, and eating healthy foods. All of these combined are your goal. Put together they are the basis of a healthy lifestyle. The further you get into recovery the closer you are to beginning rehab. You will not be truly rehabbing until you have gotten into a regular routine of exercise. It does not have to be a fitness or cardio rehab center. Those are better, but you walking a distance that takes you to the safe limit you are capable of is your goal. By that time you should be beginning eating the types of foods that will improve your cholesterol levels and accomplish your healthy weight goals. Five months after having a heart attack and heart surgery my daughter Michelle had me in a regular daily exercise program at a fitness center.
Losing weight is a very good by product of eating more healthy foods and exercise, even though exercise may only be walking at a brisk pace. When you begin to change your eating habits to healthier foods it also means stopping, giving up, or how ever you want to put it all of the bad foods you had been eating. Now you know better than anyone what those are. They probably had a significant part in you having a heart attack. You should become familiar with your cholesterol levels, and I don't mean knowing your total....You need to know your exact numbers on HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. Anything you were eating that increased LDL and or triglycerides should be stopped and replaced by fruits, or vegetables. Losing the weight and lowering your cholesterol levels will not be as difficult as you might think in the beginning. Remembering your goal of not going through again what you just survived should be great motivation. Also becoming healthy may mean to you doing and enjoying things that in the past may have been too laborious or tiring. You will feel younger. I can honestly say I do feel younger and stronger. I enjoy my new eating habits, the foods I eat, exercising daily, and feeling strong again. I think my family looks at me differently now and is proud of the new person I have become.
I was fortunate in that I was so motivated that once I was clear of hospital stays, heart test, and weekly doctor office visits I was serious about getting better. I have thought a lot about this but I think in the very early stages or recovery, being as active daily as I could, and progressing after the first 3 or 4 weeks had much to do with me getting quickly back on my feet so to speak. It did not make any matter to me, cold, or rain I was going to do my walking outside once or twice each day. And as I have told you I rested when needed, which was often, but I stayed away from just lounging and watching TV. I found other positive things to do.
I am going to finish this up by saying the last two posting were done by request to help kick start some who may be searching for what to do and how to do it. I didn't know either, but somehow if you try hard enough you will find your way. Most of this blogs earlier posting title's indicate the content. There is a lot about healthy foods, exercise, and how to lose weight without "going on a diet." I didn't say you will not miss some of the foods you use to eat. Go back and read some of those postings, I am sure they will answer a lot of your questions.
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