Major Lifestyle Change

In  2012, I decided to see a cardiologist to address some concerns I had.  Unfortunately,  I was diagnosed with coronary heart disease, with significant blockage in my coronary arteries.  After surgery, the blockages were eliminated.

Before the blockages were gone, I realized I needed to make major lifestyle changes and do vigilant monitoring to maintain my health in the future.  That's because even though the current blockages were eliminated, I knew that my body would continue to create the buildup that caused my health issues.   So I decided to implement some major lifestyle changes, base on Dr. Ornish's book Program for Reversing Heart Disease.  Here are the four elements of change:

1. Diet.  I'm following a mainly vegetarian diet with no added fats/oils or nuts/seeds.  The only non-vegetarian items I eat are egg whites and non-fat milk/milk products. 
2. Exercise.  I am exercising at least 30 minutes a day for six days a week.   Most days, I get in at least 45 minutes of exercise. 
3. Stress management. I use the DVD Beat Your Fatigue and Stress Fast by Del Pe.  It is a 15 minute breathing and stretching program that I do at the end of the day.  
4. Group support. My family has been very supportive my health situation.  In addition, there are some elements of group support in my cardiac rehab sessions.  I've also learned that about 5% of the people I know have had heart surgery.  

At this point, I have been consistently (6 times or more a week) maintaining the diet for 2.5 months, the exercise for 3 weeks, the stress management for 3 weeks, non-family support for 3 weeks.  Prior to 3 weeks, I had been doing the exercise, stress management and non-family support for 2-3 times a week for a couple weeks.

Right now, I am still very motivated to continue the lifestyle change since I believe in the significant health benefits of reversing buildup in my heart arteries.

Disclosure:  No compensation was received for this post.  If  Program for Reversing Heart Disease is purchased through the above Amazon.com link, I may receive compensation as an Amazon affiliate member.

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This is not financial or health advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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