No, I didn't miss-spell it!

The parting words from my cardiologist (yes,I have one) were; "No restrictions on exercise! Let's work on getting those lipids down."

I'll get to the background (apparently, I have a pretty big one) later, for now let's just talk about what he was saying to me.

At the risk of causing confusion... all fats are lipids, but not all lipids are fats. So what was he saying?

Considering the fact that I was being discharged from the hospital after having a clot in my right coronary artery, we can probably draw some simple conclusions.

But why me?

I was active. I ate a reasonably healthy diet (or so I told myself). And still, here I was being discharged after having a heart attack.

Note to self; There's a big difference between knowing and doing!

Am I alone here with this? Come on, let's be honest for a minute. It's just me and you talking. We all have at least, moments where we would rather just know than do... don't we? Haven't you ever done something you know wasn't good for you in the long run, but in the moment it just seemed like the thing to do? "Well, Tim... no! I always do what's right for me!"

Really?

I really was active, in fact the strength of my heart saved my life. At the moment of attack, my right coronary artery was completely block and yet my heart kept doing something it shouldn't have... it kept beating!

Myth #1

Cardiovascular strength equals cardiovascular health. My heart, arteries and the rest of my vessels were strong, no doubt!

But... that doesn't stop plaque from building up on the inside of the walls from too much bad cholesterol. And, when that plaque ruptures... a clot is just a few heartbeats away!

Myth #2

Lettuce in your refrigerator does not equal a healthy diet.

I used to lie to myself. I told myself I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I exercised regularly. Besides, I had lettuce in the fridge and I usually ate a salad once or twice a week.

Myth #3

The mirror never lies! Actually... this one is true! It's your brain that misrepresents what it sees to itself based on what you have told it.

We can and most of us do, convince ourselves that what we perceive we see in the mirror is the way we actually are. Let me ask you this; Have you ever seen a picture of yourself and thought it doesn't look like you at all? Trust me when I say, the pictures of me lying in the hospital bed were a wake up call of huge proportions! And since it was my brother who took them, there was no way of denying who they were.

Myth #4

The BMI (Body Mass Index), doesn't apply to me.

I mean... this thing can't be right. I'm bigger than the average person because I used to lift weights! That must be it! This thing is telling me I'm obese and this is ridiculous! I'm a runner! Who came up with this thing anyway?

Trust me when I say; If you are not a competitive bodybuilder... the BMI is a pretty good gauge of where you're at and that means even admitting that you may be obese.

So what was this mysterious cardiologist saying to me?

No mystery at all!

Number one, I was fat! There, I said it! No matter how you slice it or dice it, I was overweight. You can soften it however you want. Throw in some words like "vertically-challenged" or under-tall or big-boned, but let's not do that. At the time of my heart attack I was 5' 10" and 235 pounds. My BMI was 33.7 which puts me in the obese category. Incidentally, a normal range BMI is, 18.5 - 24.9. As you can see, I wasn't even close.

I suppose that would partially explain the low-fat, low-cholesterol, carbohydrate restricted diet he put me on... don't you think?

Number two, not only was my overall cholesterol reading extremely high, my ratio of LDL (bad) to HDL (good) was out of control. Which of course would explain the fact that 4 of the 7 prescriptions I have are aimed at controlling my cholesterol.

Hey, Tim! Want a burger and fries?

Yeah... not so much, thanks!

Summing this whole thing up is easy. I'm mad... "lipid", at myself for pretending that everything was just fine!

I sincerely hope that no matter what age you are... you won't lie to yourself like I did. I'll start tomorrow isn't a valid excuse because that turns into the next day and the next and pretty soon it's ten years later and you still haven't changed.

If you look in the mirror and proclaim; "I look great, let's go have a monster cheeseburger!", you might need a new mirror. If you don't get an honest mirror... you might need a blood pressure monitor like me!

I hope you'll get a little mad at yourself for accepting the lies you've been telling yourself.

If you want honest answers, contact your doctor... or me, I seem to have a lot of that lately!