I haven't forgotten my blog, promise! Life has been crazy with school the last couple weeks. We have one week and then finals, so things have been hectic.
I have actually started my DASH eating plan. I'm not so good at not eating meat, but I am eating less of it. I just started on Monday, so I feel hungry all the time and unsatisfied with what I am eating. I am, however, doing really well on reducing my sodium intake, which is a key aspect of the DASH diet. That has contributed to some water weight loss which is very much welcomed.
I will be better about updating after the next two weeks are done -- finals will be over and I'll officially be done with my P2 year!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Eating Plan Decided
So yesterday I just listed the basics of my lifestyle modification program I planned to follow. Today I am going to be a little more specific -- partly to procrastinate, but also because it is important to have a specific plan to follow.
Everyone knows that you shouldn't go to buy groceries without a grocery list, otherwise you end up buying all kinds of things you don't need or that aren't healthy for you. Eating plans are the same way -- if you don't have at least a backbone of what you plan to eat, then you'll eat whatever is quick and convenient (at least I do). So when things are crazy (i.e. you're a pharmacy student and you're doing whatever you can to survive a crazy week), when you can't make the meal you planned then at least you'll know what you were going to eat and you'll choose something similar.
I said I was going to follow the Dash eating plan, and I am going to modify that a bit. The Dash eating plan can be found here: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf. Dash = Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It has been proven to lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels. Also, because you're limiting the amount of refined sugar you're eating, you're positively impacting your blood sugar levels. So really, it's a good eating plan that lends itself to a variety of disease states. The Dash eating plan allows you to eat meat, which is great if you want to eat meat, but because I want to take this one step further and become vegetarian, I am going to eliminate the meat and supplement my protein through grains and nuts. Otherwise I think my eating plan will follow pretty closely to the Dash eating plan. In case you're interested, I am adapting this "28-day vegetarian boot camp" meal plan: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/vegbootcamp/week1/.
Finally, here is the plan for my exercise component: I am teaching yoga/pilates for 60 minutes at least once a week and attending a 60-minute class once a week (so two planned strength-training workouts) and running 3 days a week. I have school and then work on Wednesdays, so I won't be exercise that day, and Friday might be a rest day or catch-up day depending on if I work the following Sunday.
I'll see how the first week goes and adapt as I go! It's important to be flexible, and I'm horrible at being flexible, so that will be a challenge in itself!
Everyone knows that you shouldn't go to buy groceries without a grocery list, otherwise you end up buying all kinds of things you don't need or that aren't healthy for you. Eating plans are the same way -- if you don't have at least a backbone of what you plan to eat, then you'll eat whatever is quick and convenient (at least I do). So when things are crazy (i.e. you're a pharmacy student and you're doing whatever you can to survive a crazy week), when you can't make the meal you planned then at least you'll know what you were going to eat and you'll choose something similar.
I said I was going to follow the Dash eating plan, and I am going to modify that a bit. The Dash eating plan can be found here: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf. Dash = Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It has been proven to lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels. Also, because you're limiting the amount of refined sugar you're eating, you're positively impacting your blood sugar levels. So really, it's a good eating plan that lends itself to a variety of disease states. The Dash eating plan allows you to eat meat, which is great if you want to eat meat, but because I want to take this one step further and become vegetarian, I am going to eliminate the meat and supplement my protein through grains and nuts. Otherwise I think my eating plan will follow pretty closely to the Dash eating plan. In case you're interested, I am adapting this "28-day vegetarian boot camp" meal plan: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/vegbootcamp/week1/.
Finally, here is the plan for my exercise component: I am teaching yoga/pilates for 60 minutes at least once a week and attending a 60-minute class once a week (so two planned strength-training workouts) and running 3 days a week. I have school and then work on Wednesdays, so I won't be exercise that day, and Friday might be a rest day or catch-up day depending on if I work the following Sunday.
I'll see how the first week goes and adapt as I go! It's important to be flexible, and I'm horrible at being flexible, so that will be a challenge in itself!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Background on My Project
Hello! Here is the typical opening blog post where I am explain who I am and what I am doing. The people who would even potentially be reading this already know who I am, but because this is the start to my lifelong dream, I better go through the whole story.
I am in my second year of pharmacy school and I am taking a Lifestyle Modifications course. This course alone has changed where I see my role in pharmacy at least sometime in my career. It is about designing a lifestyle modification program for individuals who have chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, etc. who want to do what they can to optimize the care of their disease and prevent it from getting worse. These modifications involve dietary changes and increased physical activity as well as stress and sleep modification. There are a lot of reasons why people are overweight or obese and it is not as simple as telling someone, "lose weight, eat healthy, and take your medication." I am a firm believer in food addiction, especially specific foods, and I truly believe it will be a lifelong struggle if someone chooses to change the way they eat. There are no quick fixes!
Anyway, stepping away from my soapbox and back to my Lifestyle Modifications course. My professor is a firm believer in "being your own first patient" and since this is what I want to do with my life, I am taking him seriously. Also, if I EVER get the chance to help people do this, I want something they can refer to if they don't believe when I say, "I've done this. It's not easy."
My plan is "simple": exercise 30 minutes at least 5 days a week; follow the Dash Diet; and re-evaluate my stats (below) in 3-4 months. I also plan to address stress and sleep, but let's face it, I'm in the final leg of my second semester of my second year of pharmacy school -- there's a lot of stress and very little sleep.
Here are my baseline stats as of 4-9-12:
Weight: 136.4 lbs.
Pant size: 10
Total cholesterol: 179 mg/dL (normal < 200 mg/dL)
LDL: 88 mg/dL (< 130 mg/dL)
HDL: 75 mg/dL (> 45 mg/dL)
Triglycerides: 80 mg/dL (< 150/dL)
TC/HDL ratio: 2.4 (< 4.5)
Serum Glucose: 88 (< 120 mg/dL fasting)
Blood Pressure: 134/76 (120/80 mmHg)
Today is a research day as far as planning how to fit exercise into my crazy schedule and what kinds of foods I should be eating. Tomorrow will be the first real day on the Dash Diet!
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