winterwx21

I haven't talked about health on here in several months. I know we talked about it some in another Coronavirus thread back in the Spring. Obviously health is extra important during a pandemic. I completely agree about magnesium! That's the one supplement I take. In general I am not a believer in supplements, believing it's much more important to get nutrients from food. But magnesium is so critical to heart and artery health, so I do take that.

No problem. Before I started running, my resting heart rate was 50. Lower than average, but not super low. Funny thing I was actually very worried about that. You go online and read about bradycardia being a resting heart rate under 60. I was having terrible panic attacks over it, so I went to the cardiologist. After examination he told me it was low because I have an extra strong heart, and told me I was probably one of those people that can get it into the 30s with an exercise program. He told me I should, so I did. The running ended the panic attack problem, thankfully. I like running 7 miles, so I'm running about quarter marathon distance.

It probably explains why I can run very fast for long periods of time. My cardiologist says it's a true elite athlete heart. I'm very lucky. I do know a couple other runners that have heart rates in the 30s.

My cardiologist tells me I have a true elite athlete heart. A small percentage of athletes are able to get their resting heart rates into the 30s. It just means the heart is so strong that it can circulate blood to the body well by beating an unusually low amount of times. You can look it up ... some athletes do get resting heart rates into the 30s.

I mentioned in an earlier post that my resting heart rate is 36. I'm sure he saw that, which is why he brought it up. I'm guessing he's mocking me for that, which is weird.

Running actually cured my knee pain. I used to have a lot of pain, but it stopped after I started running. Probably because exercise is a strong anti inflammatory. Walking is great for many people, but it doesn't do a lot (as far as cardio workout) for people that have very strong hearts. I have to run to get my heart rate up.

A number for what?? And yeah, I'm very fortunate to have an elite athlete heart. You're acting very strangely. I see someone reacted to your post with a confused emoji, and I am confused too. Don't know what you're trying to get at here.

Everyone is different. I lost 30 pounds through exercise alone. My diet was pretty good, but I was gaining weight as the years went by as my metabolism slowed down. Then I started running, and after 4 or 5 months the 30 pounds was gone. If I go out for a 7 mile run, that burns about 800 calories. If I do it 5 days a week, that's about 4000 calories burned in a week. That explains how you can lose 30 pounds in several months with exercise and not changing the diet. Of course you can do it with mainly diet and no exercise too, as you said. But some people don't like the idea of eating much less and being hungry all the time. I'd rather eat a little more and go out there and burn 800 calories with a run. Also, studies show that most people don't keep lost weight off if they did it through diet alone, but they do keep it off if they do it through a combo of diet and exercise. Obviously because you can burn off extra calories with extra exercise if you slip up and eat a little more than you're supposed to. So I'd say diet and exercise are equally important.

Obviously heart/lung health is especially critical during this pandemic, because we know that this virus attacks the heart and lungs of many people. Most people that die from this virus die because the lungs or heart give out. So this isn't just about the weight issue ... exercise strengthens the heart and lungs which reduces the chance of dying from Covid. So it's just another reason why exercise can help during the pandemic. There's no question there would be much less deaths if more people exercised. And again I just do not understand why anyone would take offense over medical advice that can help reduce hospitalizations and deaths during a pandemic. Most people don't take offense, but a small percentage of people do. They misunderstand it for fat shaming or trolling, but it isn't those things at all. Talk to any doctor and they will tell you that exercise reduces risk of having severe problems with Covid. Obviously it doesn't eliminate it, but it reduces it which is a good thing.

And the studies show that risk of severe covid increases with each level of overweight and obesity, so even just losing a little weight can help. Too bad some people take offense so easily. This is not about fat shaming at all. It's about trying to save lives, because there are plenty of people that don't know about the weight issue with Covid.

That's when you know that a person knows that they're wrong, when they can't even respond to a good point. You're going against proven medical science, and that's something that no intelligent person can deny. And weird that you take offense so easily. No wonder you've had so much trouble getting along with people on these boards for years.

It's not just that. Here is a quote... "Given the significant threat Covid-19 represents to individuals with obesity, healthy food policies can play a supportive - and especially important role in Covid-19 mortality and morbidity," Barry Popkin, Ph.D., professor of of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School Of Public Health said at the time of the CDC study. Your attitude on this is just puzzling, wxtrix. Medical experts trying to help people to reduce risk is not fat shaming.

I never said from obese to normal weight in weeks. I know that takes much more time. But you can go from overweight to normal weight in a matter of weeks, especially if only slightly overweight.

Of course there are people who are not overweight that are having issues with Covid. But they are a much smaller percentage. For people that are overweight it's a much higher percentage. Just read the studies from the CDC and UT Southwestern. The statistics are overwhelming. You are going against medical science with your attitude.

Most people would agree that that's a bad way of looking at it. It's better having a slight risk of something bad happening than a high risk. There are medical experts talking about how people can reduce risk of a bad outcome from Covid by losing weight. It's something worth talking about because it can save lives.

Of course it does not make you safe from Covid, but it does reduce risk somewhat. Would you rather have a high risk, or a lower risk? You're not using common sense.

I guess that's why the CDC and UT Southwestern are putting out studies showing that being overweight greatly increases the risk of bad outcomes with Covid. This is about saving lives, not fat shaming. You have top medical experts talking about this. There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking about what people can do to reduce Covid risks. Puzzling that some people take offense to this. Trying to save lives is a good thing.

It's not irrelevant because all it takes is a matter of weeks to reduce things like weight and blood pressure, which reduces the chance of severe outcomes with Covid. This is a long term pandemic, so there's always time for people to do things to reduce risk.

I am not fat shaming at all. I would NEVER make fun of anyone for being overweight. This is about saving lives. Any medical expert will tell you that reducing weight reduces the chance of having a bad outcome with Covid. The CDC put out a major study on that a few weeks ago. I'm sure you heard about Prime Minister Boris Johnson almost dying from Covid earlier this year. Afterwards he said his weight was the main reason that happened. Since then he lost a lot of weight and started a major government anti obesity program over there. Is he fat shaming by starting that program? Your attitude on this is really bad. Don't know what your problem is. Of course no one deserves a bad outcome due to their weight. But people deserve to know what to do to reduce their chance of having a bad outcome. Just WOW at your attitude.

Definitely. 2 hours is enough to have major benefits. And yeah it's a Covid thread. Exercise is a way to reduce Covid risks, so I think it's worth talking about. Not only because people in great shape through exercise are at much lower risk of being a severe case if they catch Covid, but exercise also reduces the risk of catching a virus. When you exercise, immune cells are sent all over the body which can choke off invading viruses. So I think it's important for people to know how important exercise is at a time like this.

I think most people can squeeze in 4 or 5 hours a week for exercise, especially since it's SO important for health. George W. Bush told them he HAD to have an hour for exercise every day. I think if the President of The United States can find enough time for exercise, most people should be able to. And I would think many people would want to prioritize it since it is proven to extend life. We know that people that exercise regularly live longer than people that don't. I would think most people would rather live to 85 than drop dead of a heart attack at 60. Squeezing in those exercise hours is worth it.

Exactly. I run around the block for about an hour, at a brisk 8 to 9 minute per mile pace, 5 days a week. 5 hours of exercise out of an entire week doesn't seem like that much, and it's enough that it has enormous health benefits. It caused me to lose 30 pounds and keep it off, and my resting heart rate is down to 36 which is elite athlete level. Blood pressure is nice and low. You really don't need much to get into great shape. Just a decent pair of running shoes and several hours a week. Very true that you can't outrun a bad diet, but running does allow you to cheat a little more. You can eat some junkfood, as long as you keep up the exercise and eat healthy most of the time. I usually eat completely healthy (lean fish/chicken and lots of vegetables) 5 days a week, and the other 2 days I allow myself to have some junkfood (maybe a donut with brunch, pizza or cheeseburger for dinner or cake for dessert). My weight stays at 135 pounds because I'm burning so many calories with the running. The running that I do burns about 4000 calories a week, so it allows me to enjoy some unhealthy foods a couple days a week. I know it's unrealistic to expect people to eat healthy ALL the time, so exercise is very important to strike a balance.

I'm talking about things that should be done to not have as bad of a pandemic. If most people were normal weight and in good shape, there would be much less hospitalizations and deaths. Of course mask wearing and social distancing results in much less hospitalizations and deaths. Yes they are very different approaches, but both work well. Both should be preached.

Yeah I don't think we could exercise our way out of the pandemic completely, but we could make the pandemic less severe if most people improved their health through exercise. Which is why I feel health authorities should be pushing the exercise point as much as they push the mask wearing/social distancing point, but unfortunately you don't hear them do that much. Unfortunately there are a lot of people that don't realize that you can reduce risk through an exercise program.

There are always exceptions, and obviously your cousin is one unfortunately. But the overwhelming majority of healthy althletes that get Covid get mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Look at all the baseball and football players that have tested positive. Almost all have had very mild symptoms or no symptoms. I am a runner with an elite athlete heart (resting heart rate of 36) and had Covid back in April. All I had was a scratchy throat, slight headache and small amount of congestion for 3 days. Doctor said being in great shape is what caused it to be so mild for me. You greatly increase the chance of being a very mild case by being in great shape, but of course there will always be some unlucky exceptions like your cousin. I hope he gets better very soon.