This morning I took the opportunity to pay a visit to our Preventive Care program’s Wellness Clinic which is convened at the Drayson Center on Monday and Wednesday mornings. My evaluation covered a body composition analysis, body water balance, obesity diagnosis, segmental lean development assessment, among other odds-n-ends. Many of the tests were conducted through use of a really cool “InBody 520” analyzer, which uses multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. My daily basal metabolic rate was 1,955Kcal, and my body water balance, which measures the balance between extracellular water and total body water, was 0.378 (a range of .360-.390 is normal) My body mass index was 24.5 (18.5-25 is normal), and percent body fat was 15.2 (a range of 10-20 is normal). A segmental lean mass reports a person’s actual lean mass relative to your weight. Percentages at or above 100% are best. In my case, my arms were about 120%, my trunk at 107%, and legs around 105%. Not bad for an old man. My resting pulse rate was 56, we won’t discuss my blood pressure . . . I encourage everyone in the challenge to go pay the clinic a visit, for an appointment call 909.558.8690.

Taking life in stride,

Dr.D.

While there is a large body of evidence that suggests regular exercisers have less cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure and other weight related benefits outlined in yesterday’s blog, a study published in the Nov. 6 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine found modest exercise, like walking everyday, changes the size and density of cholesterol carrying proteins in our bodies. Evidently  cholesterol circulates through the body by attaching to proteins. Cholesterol appears more likely to clog arteries when it is transported by small dense protein particles. The study revealed that regular exercise produces bigger transport proteins that reduce the potential risk of cholesterol even if the cholesterol level remains the same. It seems it is exercise’s ability to change the size and density of cholesterol- carrying protein that reduces risk.

See http://www.clinicians-choice.com/faqs16.php for more information.

Tomorrow: Dr. D. takes a fitness test.

Yeah, read it and weep. Rain or shine. My best day so far has been 16,670 steps.

While lounging in some non-descript airport recently, I came upon  a U.S.A. Today (January 22, 2009) which someone had shoved under their seat before hastily heading off for some equally non-descript destination. Having no-shame, I rescued the paper from under the nose of housekeeping only to find a nice little article on the benefits of “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” or NEAT for short.  The upshot of the article was that little changes in your lifestyle can add up to major calories expended.  For example, a normal sedentary day (taking the elevator, drivng versus walking etc.) at the office or school requires you to burn as little as 85 excess calories while taking the stairs, or walking a few blocks to work can combust up to 600 excess calories per day. In other words, a little extra walking can be very benefical. Simply converting your sedentary TV time into active time can assist you into dropping  as much as 50 pounds over the course of a year. Weigh Cool!

Stepping out to enjoy the rain,

Dr.D.

Greetings,

As each day passes my daily step count increases, I’m now at the threshold of 13,000 and hope to routinely achieve 15,000 before the end of the week. I know there are those marathoners, who shall remain nameless, who believe their running prowness will prevail in the end. For those cocky individuals, I recall from my youth the tale of the tortoise and the hare…….rabbits beware.  Starting this weekend I shall begin a thoughtfull examination of some of the health benefits associated with our challenge, and will pontificate on some of those virtues in this blog. But before I run (no pun intended), let me clearly state that I am a LAKERS fanatic, and that in the spirit of inclusiveness, even Celtics fans are welcome to participate in the challenge. Enjoy the long weekend,

moving on,

Dr.D.