I am 63 yrs old and have developed a bigger waist line. Please let me know how to reduce it without much exercise as I am a heart patient and have undergone surgery.?

Answer 1

Without knowing your complete cardiac condition, it is impossible, and would also be negligent of me to recommend an exercise program. Generally, walking is a safe way to lose weight along with lowering your calorie intake, but since you are a cardiac patient, you must* FIRST CHECK WITH YOUR HEART DOCTOR before you start *any* exercise program. If he or she says you are okay to exercise, you can start by walking up and down the sidewalk in front of your house only until you feel like you're just starting to breathe slightly a bit harder than usual. DO NOT DO MORE THAN THAT the first few days and ONLY IF YOUR DOCTOR SAYS IT'S OKAY. If you tolerate that well, you can increase the distance to a few more feet. Keep increasing the distance a little at a time as long as you don't exert yourself beyond your tolerance and beyond what your doctor has told you to do. But most importantly, listen to your doctor. Also, are you having any swelling in your ankles? If your heart is having trouble pumping and you are collecting fluid, that can lead to an increase in your waist line. TELL YOUR DOCTOR IF YOUR ANKLES AND FEET ARE SWELLING! If this is not the case, then take a real look at what you are eating. Do you eat fried foods? Do you eat white bread; things with a lot of white sugar in them; starchy stuff like white potatoes, corn, gravies, and pasta a lot? If so, try to stick to mostly fresh fruits, dark green vegetables, other very colorful vegetables, broiled chicken and fish, very lean meats, and use the meat, chicken and fish as the smallest part of your meals. Make the veggies and fruits the biggest part of your meals. The only real way to lose weight is to take in less calories than you burn. And to burn calories, you need to move around. So if you're sitting a lot and eating a lot of starchy, fatty fried food, then that's going to wind up not only *on* your stomach but right back *in* your cardiac arteries. Yeah..I know...I'm no fun at all, am I! The hospital where you had your surgery should have an exercise program, dietary guidelines and someone who can set you up with all of these. Call that hospital and tell them what you want after you get clearance from your doctor...and ask your doctor as well for this information. He or she may be able to get you set up at the hospital for one of their free cardiac rehab programs that some hospitals offer. What have you got to lose except that tummy, eh?