Diet and Exercise Plan - Research Paper Example

Running Head: EXERCISE PLAN Diet and Exercise Plan 16 April This is a research paper about health, particularly on diet and exercise planning. There are five sections to this paper, the first four concentrates on research about various aspects of one’s health in consideration of planning a more active lifestyle. The last section is a personal planning of my diet and exercise routine, based on the learning I gathered from the first four sections and the related resources. Creating an Exercise Plan Calories A list of exercises and their corresponding calories burned in a 60-minute period were provided assuming a 150-lb person is performing it. I chose to look into walking which is easily accessible to me and which burns 300 calories. Since I am heavier than the standard provided, I will use the same ratio in calculating for the calories I will burn doing the same exercise. I computed that 175 lbs is 17% more weight than the standard, so multiplying that with 300 calories, will result to 350 calories burned for walking at my weight in one hour. Lung Volume Fig. 1. Linear graph of my age and capacity of my lungs showing decline as I age. This section will discuss the volume of air that my lungs can hold at current and future ages. Today I am 31 years old and 72 inches tall. Based on the formula, V = 0.104 h  0.018 a  2.69, where “V” is the estimated amount of air in litres, “h” height in inches and “a” age in years, my lungs can hold about 4.24 litres of air. If I rearrange the variables to isolate “a” and try to find the age where the capacity of my lungs will be at 90% of what it can hold today or 3.816 litres, a = (0.104 h  2.69  V)/ 0.018, the resulting age will be 54 ½ years. Charting volume capacity today vs. future, Fig. 1 will show a linear capacity decline. Blood Pressure Based on the formula provided, P  1/2( a ) + 110, my current normal systolic blood pressure should be less than or equal to 126 mmHg. A 20-year old person should have a maximum normal systolic blood pressure of equal or less than 120 mmHg, when the formula is applied. Regardless of age, adults should have a maximum systolic reading of 119 mmHg, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (2008, p. 1). When one’s systolic reading is 120 – 129mmHg, this is no longer a normal reading and is classified as pre-hypertensive, necessitating lifestyle change to ensure that one will not reach hypertension (NHLB, 2003, p. 1). NHLB recommends the following modifications: 1. Weight reduction. One should maintain a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18.5 – 24.9 kg/m2 to deliver a BP reduction of 5 – 20 mmHg/ 10 kg (2008, p.2). BMI is based on the ideal weigh based for a certain height and can be directly inputted at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm. In my case, my BMI is 23.7 which is within the normal range; 2. The DASH diet. This is an eating plan based on low saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat and emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products (NHLB, 2006, p.5). Included in this diet is maintaining the intake of sodium between 2500 - 1500 mg/ day (p. 7); 3. Regularly conduct aerobic exercise at least 30 minutes per day, most days of the week (NHLB, 2008, p.2); and 4. Moderately consume alcohol and in my case, only 1 drink per day (p.2). While doing this study, I observed my blood pressure for the week and found out that I am already at the pre-hypertensive level averaging 125/ 80 mmHg. Thus, I should follow the lifestyle modifications above in order to return to within the normal blood pressure range. Pulse Rate Based on the formula provided, my target heart rate during exercise is between 132 – 161 bpm. For a 25-year old person, the range is between 137 – 166 bpm. Before beginning an exercise program, one should see a doctor and obtain his professional medical opinion on your exercise plans. A doctor will go through a standard way of testing one’s health to determine fit and ability to go through with a lifestyle change, i.e., from inactive to active lifestyle. First thing they will check is the family history. It is important to know whether one has a history of heart disease, diabetes or asthma. When it runs in the family, there is high likelihood of occurrence of a disease, especially if the lifestyle is prone to the disease. Eating lots of sweets and complex carbohydrates for example is a dangerous lifestyle for someone who has a history of diabetes. Having the genes prone to the disease gives a higher possibility of contracting it. If one has a history of asthma, the doctor may probably check the physical activity you have planned to ensure it is not immediately taxing to one’s respiratory system. Included in this history understanding is knowing the medications that one is taking that may or may not help the lifestyle change. Diet supplements as well as some cold and allergy medicines can cause an increase in blood pressure (Wood & Griffith, 1997, p. 145). After the thorough interview, the doctor will conduct a physical exam. Abnormalities in the body are early indicators of serious diseases and years of professional medical training only can develop the ability to detect and diagnose such conditions. The doctor will check for evidences of blood vessel constriction in the eyes, lumps in the neck, which can indicate abnormalities in the thyroid function; the chest will be listened to for abnormalities in the heart rate and heart sounds, while the back maybe tapped for abnormalities in the lungs; the hands, feet and abdomen will also be checked for abnormal swelling, lumps or growth (Wood & Griffith, 1997, p. 150 - 152). Depending on the findings, the doctor may recommend further tests, a consultation with a specialist or a gradual change in lifestyle in order to prevent aggravating any serious medical condition that one is under at present. Personal Health All my life I thought I was healthy, until after this research. While I currently feel fit, and while my BMI is normal, my BP indicates otherwise. That plus the sedentary lifestyle I live will most certainly put me in an unhealthy state as I age into my 40’s. I consulted an Internist to seek her professional help in my planned lifestyle change. Based on my physical examination, she did not notice anything unusual except the fat deposits that are distributed in my body. She says those are early signs of obesity if I don’t make changes today. We agreed to target and lower my BMI to around 20. We will do this by losing 25 lbs in four months or about 1-2 lbs per week. She explained to me that a pound of fat is equivalent to about 500 calories, so if I reduce my weekly diet by about 1000 calories, I may achieve a reduction of 1 – 2 lbs per week. She also assessed my eating habits: I am constantly consuming high-sodium and high-fat foods from all the fast food I was eating. I also consumed about 2500 calories per day mostly loaded by all the soda I take during breaks. We agreed to change my habits and target 2000 calories per day with moderate exercise of 30-minutes daily. We also agreed to target 20% protein, 50% carbohydrates and 2500 mg of sodium daily. We both agreed that a 1500 mg of sodium per day would be unrealistic goal, since I am currently consuming about 5000 mg of sodium. The last thing she recommended was for me to create my own diet with the help of the website www.mypyramid.gov. Here I can customize diets based on my caloric requirement and they provide tools for tracking my progress based on the diet plan, attached in the next pages (L.Villa, personal communication, 15 April 2010). I am glad I did this exercise planning as early as now and allowed me the opportunity to change my lifestyle and hopefully prevent major diseases in the future. References National of Heart and Lung and Blood Institute. (2010). BMI calculator. Retrieved on 15 April 2010 at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm. National of Heart and Lung and Blood Institute. (2003, May). Reference card from the seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7). Retrieved on 14 April 2010 at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/phycard.pdf. National of Heart and Lung and Blood Institute. (2008, November). What is high blood pressure? Retrieved on 15 April 2010 at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Hbp/HBP_WhatIs.html. National of Heart and Lung and Blood Institute. (2006, April). Your guide to lowering your blood pressure with DASH. Retrieved on 15 April 2010 at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf. US Department of Agriculture. (2009, April 09). MyPyramid meal plan for 2000 calories. Retrieved on 16 Apr. 10 at http://www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/worksheets/Worksheet_2000_18.pdf. US Department of Agriculture. (2009, April 09). MyPyramid worksheet for 2000 calories. Retrieved on 16 Apr. 10 at http://www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/results/results_2000_18.pdf. Wood, S., & Griffith, B. P. (1997). Conquering high blood pressure: the complete guide to managing hypertension. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Read More