Keith Ahrens

I was just at an airport waiting patiently for my ride to pull up in passenger pick-up.

Two guys, one a traffic enforcement officer and another a motorist waiting for his passenger. These two guys started yelling at the top of their lungs hurling every swear word and insult at each other imaginable.  The traffic cop wanted him to move his car.  The driver had his passenger literally walking down the sidewalk. I though they were going to go at it.

I simply couldn’t believe how in the holiday season such a simple thing turned into a Heart Attack waiting to happen Stress Test for these two guys. Their Blood Pressure must have been through the roof – for nothing!

Take it easy.  Parking lots, shopping carts, and long lines are going to happen. Consider it part of the season. Relax. Take a deep breath. Laugh it off if you can.

The days will always come and go but adding stress certainly doesn’t help our hearts. – Keith

I ask parents to raise their hands if they want their kids to be Lawyers, Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Scientists, Senior Managers, CEO’s, etc….

They ALL raise their hands.

Then I ask them if it was all worth it if their child has a Heart Attack at 45 years old?

My Point-

Parents need to get involved and demand that funding continue in ALL health and physical education programs.

For the most part, each school district dictates its own curriculum.  Physical education should be mandatory through grades 12 and required every semester a student is in school. – Keith

Today I attended the annual Holiday Lunch with the Mended Hearts Chapter of Las Vegas.  There were about 33 fellow survivors in attendance along with some friends and family.

One thing’s for sure, these folks take nothing for granted and cherish life’s everyday pleasures.

After Heart Surgery or Cardiac Intervention such as Pacemakers, Stents, Angioplasty, etc… Many people go through a depression phase. It’s not uncommon.

One of the best ways to get out of that “funk” is to be around and speak with others who understand what you’ve been through.

Support groups are a fantastic way to share personal feelings and experiences.

If you’re a survivor or family member of a survivor, please see if there’s a local Mended Hearts Chapter in your area and attend a meeting.

Many members are involved in hospital visits after patients have surgery or cardiac procedures.  I remember having a visit at my bedside by a member of Mended Hearts after my open-heart surgery.  I knew that I wasn’t alone. – Keith

I just watched the movie ELF with Will Ferrell as Buddy the ELF.  This movie inspires me to believe that anything is possible.  We limit ourselves too often by listening to what others tell us we can or can’t do, or more importantly what they believe is possible or impossible.

Belief, Magic, Hope, Faith, and the possibilities of infinity abound.

Imagination = Infinity!

Believe in yourself!

Did I mention I cry every time I see this goofy movie? – Keith

Heart Disease remains the leading causes of death in the US.

Obesity is an epidemic.  Obesity is a leading contributor and cause of Cardiovascular Disease.  It’s a well-known risk factor.

If Obesity is the most preventable of all the diseases, why are we having such a hard time doing something about it? – Keith

Americans born today have a greater chance of not living as long as their parents.  The CDC Center for Disease Control released new data that indicates that life expectancy has fallen.  Although it’s different for men, women, and minorities, the fact that it has declined is alarming.

A couple of the key trends noted in this report are that stroke has dropped to the 4th leading cause of death.  The article credits efforts of the American Heart Association as a reason for the trend along with major advances in stroke therapy.

Heart Disease and Cancer are still the #1 and #2 causes of death in the US accounting for 48{1ee8873d3da54571ef77633feec9b2f18618b0dba2f28faf42edb28003d1c6f7} of all deaths.

Obesity has risen to such high levels and contributes to heart disease and diabetes, both potentially leading to an early death. – Keith

To read the report click here: Center for Disease Control

OK, OK, When is enough, enough?

What would you do if you were told you can’t exercise?

The doctor just told me that I couldn’t exert myself until the first of the year. He said no more physical exertion such as treadmill, cardio, or heavy weightlifting until at least January 1.

I just had this biopsy on my bladder and it turns out I tried doing a little too much too soon.  (you can read my previous blog post) I’ve been climbing the walls and feeling like crap. I’ll spare everyone the details.

I need to allow sufficient time for healing at this point. No exceptions.

With the holidays here in full swing and not being able to exercise, how do I prevent a holiday weight gain.  The answer is quite simple although making it happen will be more challenging.

The only answer is to not consume more calories than we burn. That brings us to our BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate.

Your BMR is the number of calories you’d burn if you stayed in bed all day or sat on the couch and did nothing all day.  Our bodies burn calories even at rest.

At 5’10”, 210 pounds, male, My BMR is @1926 calories to maintain my weight.

To determine your BMR you can click on the link, enter your numbers, and find out approximately how many calories you burn by doing nothing.

If I consume fewer calories each day than my BMR shows, I’ll lose weight.  If I consume more, I’ll gain weight.  Simple but equally challenging.

What I can do is go for a nice walk.  I think I’ll be walking at the lake quite a few times in the next month.  At least I can walk. – Keith

Have you ever said that you’re dying for a certain type of food or treat?  I sure have.

What I didn’t realize over all the years was that I was contributing to an early death when I took each bite.  My heart and overall health were being sabotaged with every over-indulgence.

We should always strive for nutritional balance in our lives and we each need to decide at what point is that “little something” worth it.  When is “just one more bite” too much?  I think the answer is different for each of us but the healthy principles are the same.

The holiday season has descended upon us. Food is everywhere we look. Just getting through the grocery store or Costco or Sam’s is a challenge these days. Samples here, samples there.  Most offices look like a diabetic coma, heart attack waiting to happen or a saturated fat grenade.

Keep your eye on the “little something’s” this holiday season. That may just mean going without some of the foods that we love to die for. – Keith

We get so busy during the holidays. It seems that we have twice as much to do in half the time it takes to do it.

Our Stress levels rise. Many will turn to food; others will come in the front door and plop down on the couch. Believe me, I’ve been there. In fact, I used to plop down, overeat and then tell myself how tired I was and not necessarily in that order.

We need to manage our time better.  By developing a schedule of tasks it can make the daily chores during the holidays less stressful and thus better for our hearts. A “To-Do” list lets you DO.

Prioritize the tasks you have to do in order of importance. And NO, not everything you have to do is as important as the next.

The one appointment that needs to be at the top of your list is physical fitness.  You must schedule an appointment everyday for yourself for daily exercise or physical activity. Consider the extra running around you have to do a bonus activity for your heart.

It’s not so important when you do it but I believe that by getting your exercise completed early in the day, everything else will just seem easier.

My top 3 priorities each day are sleep, physical fitness, and heart healthy meals. Everything else is secondary.

So, pencil in that appointment for yourself each day. It’s one you can’t miss! – Keith

After a speech I recently delivered someone asked me what I meant when I spoke of “The Walls”.

The walls that I was talking about were referring to my “layers of fat” my obesity.  I probably didn’t articulate that well during that speech but it’s a heavy subject (no pun intended).  I was limited on time and couldn’t expand on every detail.

I often get asked in interviews or during Q&A after a speech why I became or got so big.  I get asked often, why I didn’t get the weight off sooner?  My response is that one of the reasons I put on the layers and kept them on is because it helped me keep people away–relationships, people, etc…

Although I was very successful in my career, I kept people at a distance.  I had and have a fear of intimacy.  It stemmed, I believe, from my parents divorcing when I was 13.

I never wanted to be put in a position to let someone down or not feel unconditional love returned. Jan Denise, a friend of mine who wrote a couple articles on me put it best.  She wrote a book called “Innately Good“.  In it she talked about why people have fear like I have.  She said that if someone has the capacity to love another unconditionally (which I believe I do), and in turn that person feels that someone can’t love them unconditionally, then they feel, as I did/do, that he/she shouldn’t let people in their lives as to not get hurt or hurt someone else.  I hope that makes sense.  That’s what I meant by walls.

I still work with this because my life has changed so much over the past few years.  I think this was one of the core reasons that I was so big for so long.

The walls made feel safe.

The journey certainly continues. – Keith