pipes

I been trying to get this guy a friend to bike with me or just do somthing for over a year ! He weights in at about 400 # 5'10" I think more he says 400 ! Well he had a heart attack today seems like he will make it maybe now he will listen ! He is 51 yrs old and just will not get off the couch fact is he could not walk a couple a blocks without trouble befor the heart attack lord knows how bad he will be now . Just makes me wana stay on the bike and eat right even MORE NOW ...

No Iam NOT going to ride his arse about it but I would like to !! I hate I told you so folks so I will NOT be a I told you so person . Thou here I will say it I told him so .

StephenH

I hope for the best for him. I've known of people that had something like that happen, and that's what it took to wake them up. I've known of other people where it just didn't matter; they were the kind that were going to smoke whether they were on oxygen or not.

As to the result- I've known of people that got tired very easily, had some stents put in, and it just made all the difference in how they felt- so your friend may come of out this feeling better than before, hard to say.

Jerry in So IL

As in my and several other's morbidly obese condition, it takes SOMETHING BIG/MAJOR to get us going in the right direction. Mine was a stress test and blood work. Thankfully I made the change BEFORE perment physical damage was done.

Just be there for him and get him out and walking for 15-20 minutes a day at first. Surely friends and family can swap up the weeks of the week. Then start with the pantry/kitchen. Get his favorite foods and make them healthy. Plan treats and rewards. But in the end, he has to take this as a wakeup call and get going in the right direction now. Even if its just s stroll, as long as it is in the right direction.

Jerry

Barrettscv 

How many Psychologists does it take to change a light-bulb?








Only one, but first the light-bulb must want to change.

I remind myself that people have to want to help themselves.

Michael

Wogster

Don't worry about riding him on it, his cardiologist will do enough of that.

As long as the heart isn't too damaged, there is a lot they can do, and many people have one heart attack and get along well after, but they need to strengthen the heart, and there is only one way to strengthen a muscle, it's the same whether it's a heart muscle or a leg muscle, you need to use it.

Fastflyingasian

my father had a heart attack at age 35. i was 7 at the time and he promised he would never smoke again. i found out 14 years later that he never quit. you have to want to change like i and many of us here do.

i could never smell the difference because he lived with my uncle that smoked. since my parents were divorced by then he was able to hide it from me all these years. now thats dedication! just imagine if that energy was put to something productive.

i have a friend that is pushing 350 and has a big family history of diabetes. he is on the fence about making a change. he now has chronic foot and knee problems, but he still says he plans on borrowing my spare mountain bike with road slicks. he said he would pick it up 3 weeks ago and now he said when he comes back in 3 weeks from vacation. my step father was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. it can be controlled with diet and exercise and he used to be an avid runner. guess what he isnt doing these days. makes me want to slap them silly.

pipes

Like he said in Heft On Wheels I personaly have become the health nut I use to hate ! :O) But I try to not preach to others MUCH ! Took me many yrs to wake up Iam 54 and had a heart attack and double bypass when I was 37 . So Ya I know what he is going thru I got up to 371 lbs befor I grew a brain last yr and now down to 228 the last time I weighed myself .

I hope he wakes up I been told it was a mild one so he may be lucky and have time to reverse this mess duno .

brockga

I have a cousin who is in the same situation. He is probably topping 400lbs and he has just decided to do something about it. He is 30 years old and has two kids under the age of 4. I have a less severe weight problem but I started at 280lbs and have been successful in losing about 45lbs so far. Cycling has kept me going and I participated in my first metric century about a month ago. I have been recommending that my cousin take up cycling to shed some pounds and I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

breadbin

I feel like i'm in the same boat. I need to make a drastic change but finding it hard to break the habit. hovering around the 260lbs mark for the last year and really feel it getting to me. happiest at 200lbs and trying to get down there without the need of a kickstart i.e. heart attack hope your friend comes out of it ok. best of luck to him

Fastflyingasian

almost 150 pounds in 1 year ish . damn i gotta get on the ball. i was proud of going from 300 to 240. i am back to 265. now that my gym membership ended i now can spend much more time for cardio rather than lifting. at least i am a stronger climber now

gunslinger14647

Hi Jerry,

I'm glad you got those tests done. I was 33 when I had my heart attack. I only weighed in at about 175, but I had undiagnosed hypertension, and cholesterol like Crisco. I never bothered to have these things looked into until about 1 month before the attack. Too late by then, huh? Even though I do weigh more now, my recent treadmill and echocardiogram (2 weeks ago) show my heart is stronger than ever. I credit riding to my survival, without a doubt. I hope the OPs friend got the slap he needed to get up and move. I know I did, when they finished that angiogram in 2003 and then came into my room and told me not to move anymore, at all, period. They couldn't understand how I was still alive and told me I was the first open-heart surgery they were going to perform the next morning. I lay there that night thinking, "Well, I've really done it this time. I should have been out there doing something." I got my second chance and I hope the OPs friend gets one, too.