Mitch went for his regular cardiologist appointment, yesterday morning. Though his heart is PERFECT, he had consulted a highly recommended heart doc a few years ago, when he was approaching 50. Ironically, (having nothing to do with the visit!) shortly after visiting with him, Mitch had an episode of atrial fibrillation, which some of you remember. After a few months of living with an irregular heart rhythm, (not fun at all) his heart was successfully returned to it’s normal sinus rhythm, via a procedure called cardioversion, which is simply a shock delivered to the heart. In just a few minutes, he was up and back to his usual self!
Back to yesterday’s appointment. Dr. Garfield was very happy with the sound of his heart. He was equally as happy with the fact that Mitch’s weight was the same as the last visit. The reason I am blogging about this is because after an entire lifetime as a heart doctor, this man knows that our good health is dependent upon living at an ideal weight. Most all the things that ail us, are a result of being overweight. From diabetes, to heart attacks and strokes, just to name a few, we are much (MUCH) more likely to live a long, healthy life if we maintain a healthy weight.
But its not just our weight that we should be in touch with. There are several important numbers that we need to know. The simple truth is that most times if our weight is ideal, so will the rest of these numbers be. THAT is why maintaining a healthy weight is paramount. If you have even as little as 5- 10 p pounds to lose and your below numbers are elevated, as well, you WILL find that losing the weight will probably drop all the other numbers into a healthy spot as well.
Waist circumference should be UNDER 35
BMI (Body Mass Index) should be no higher than 25
Blood pressure -optimal is less than 120/80
Total Cholesterol should be under 200
LDL “bad” Cholesterol should be under 100
Triglycerides should be under 150
While I was trying to put up a BMI calculator, for some reason, it isn’t wanting to calculate on the site. Simply google BMI calculator and you will quickly find tons of them. Easy enough…Know YOUR numbers. Being an ideal weight because it looks good is certainly important. Hey, I get it. So if you need to get there for vanity reasons, that’s fine, too. Whatever the motivation, getting healthy is way more than a bonus. Without our health…well, you know.
Thanks for all the interesting stats, Bonni. It takes a lot of self control and discipline to maintain them………but DEFINITELY worth it!!!
Isn’t Dr. Garfield a dream??? Ted and I love him……..even though he is a sabra (cactus)!!
Bonni – Is there a minimum BMI? (Not that I’m anywhere near it!) I’m just curious.
Carol…there absolutely is…once you get under about 18.5% that is considered underweight….I have always been taught that anything under that threatens a woman’s menstrual cycle and once you see numbers in the 17s (or lower) a doctor would look for symptoms of anorexia. If you play around with a BMI calculator, you will see what weight you would have to be to get your numbers that low…even though my own BMI is very healthy at 23.2 (give or take), I would have to lose a full 30 pounds to get mine under 18. Hope that helps.