Team S.J.G.R. Thursday Huddle #3: GET UP OFFA THAT THANG!

 

Hey good people! What you know good?

Ha ha ha. . . .that's one of my favorite greetings. (The proper answer is: "I don't know nothin'!") Even if you know something. Ha ha ha!

Okay. Enough shenanigans. . . let's get it crack-a-latin'! 

First things first. . . a reminder for all of us:

WE LOSE WEIGHT IN THE KITCHEN (OR THROUGH FORK MANAGEMENT)

WE GET FIT (AND HEART HEALTHY) IN THE GYM (OR THROUGH EXERCISE WHEREVER YOU DO IT.)

I just can't say that enough. Team S.J.G.R. is over the b.s. idea that risk of heart disease goes on hiatus or decides that we are too cool, too cute, too nice, too talented, too whatever to fall prey to the realness. We are OVER that. So our approach is a slow and steady one like that tortoise when he went up against the hare. And baby, just like that fable teaches us, slow and steady wins the race. 

Let me be less cryptic here:

The ultimate goal should ALWAYS be cardiovascular health. Period. End of story. Not fitting in some skinny jeans or not having a jiggle in the back of your arm. And yes, those can be mini-goals but not the prize that your eyes stay on. Because what good is it to look cute if you can't do anything? What help is it to fit into a pair of skinny jeans but be unable to walk two feet due to heart failure? 

NONE. AT. ALL.

We are about the realness. And since we know that looking good in a pair of skinny jeans does not prevent heart disease alone, then we are gettin' up offa that thang when it comes to our thinking.

Now. 

Since our hearts are our focus, that means that weight loss is necessary for heart protection if you're overweight. And damn, that mountain can seem like a high one to climb. Damn, it can! But you can climb it. You can just focus on the people you love and climb your ass off. Hell yeah, you can. 

Step one:  Look at what you're eating.

Step two:  Be mindful when you eat.

Step three:  Don't oppress yourself.

Step four:  Get the bad sh*t up out of your house.

Step five:  Plan your meals.

Step six:  If you haven't planned your meal, be vigilant about the words, "Naaah, I'm good." Which means "Hell naaaww, I ain't eating that because it's not worth it."

 Step seven:  Drink water. It fills you up.

Step eight:  Eat a bunch of veggies--they fill you up. Not potatoes. Easy on carrots, too. (They have a high glycemic index.)

Step nine:   DO NOT ever drink your calories.

Step ten:  Think about your heart and your ultimate goal whenever you eat. 

See? That required no point counting or any such thing. It just tells you to use your noggin' and to get up out of hypothetical la-la land. Because heart disease is some REAL SHIT that CAN AFFECT YOU no matter how much you think it can't. Trust me. It CAN.

Speaking of which.

I ran into one of my favorite patients of all time yesterday while walking on the bridge toward Emory Hospital. Ten years younger than me. Disabled by congestive heart failure that he got after his heart muscle was left severely damaged from a HEART ATTACK. Could barely even walk faster than a shuffle. This patient is NOT overweight. He just has a family history of heart disease and was making some not-so-great choices. And you know what? S.J.G.R. for him and his family. 

No, he didn't die. But he now is a young person with a heart that works at less than 10% capacity. Which SUCKS. And no, it isn't FREAKISH or OMG-how-could-that-happen-ish. It is a reality that can happen to any person. Because I will keep saying over and over again that heart disease is the most likely thing to take the life of every single person reading this blog. 

Believe that.

So what else? We have to keep moving, right? A minimum of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week to make our hearts happy and reduce our risk. Yes!

Yesterday, I was at home and it was raining. I wanted to run after work but didn't when that monsoon started. But then, I looked at my progress for the day on my FitBit fitness tracker and saw that I'd only achieved 8,500 steps for the day. My goal is 10,000 or more. So do you know what that meant? It meant this:

I had to GET UP OFFA THAT THANG! Sure did. I got in my car and went straight to the YMCA. And you know? I couldn't find my membership card and didn't let that stop me either. Because I wish I could talk about how little excuses like rain and not being able to locate a membership card can keep you on your butt. But see, my heart needs me to move. So I thought about my patient with his slim build and his name on the heart transplant list and said, "BUMP THAT." I got to move.

Or better yet, GET UP OFFA THAT THANG!

So. That picture up top is after my workout. I was feeling good so I ran three miles and did some weights. Got well over my goal in steps and loved knowing that my heart was getting healthier. I even added "GET UP OFFA THAT THANG!" to my running play list because it kind of hyped me up.

So. What are you doing? It's Thursday. Are you keepin' it 150? Or all you bull-jiving? Are you aware that the realness does not go on break? That those little goombahs are building their little plaques in your arteries whether you acknowledge them or not? But our team recognizes them and puts them in a headlock. We shall not be sucker punched. No ma'am, no sir.

SH*T is still real. What you doing? What you feeling? What you know good?

Keep it 150. If you're at the goal, do more. Go harder. If you're bullshitting with the meals, CUT IT OUT. (I ate a bag of kettle chips yesterday so I feel the pain, too.) We can do this. We will do this. We are Team S.J.G.R. and baby, we are a movement!

Now.

GET UP OFFA THAT THANG! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

***

Happy Thursday.