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Posted: March 5, 2020 at 1:46 pm
By Kris Gunnars, BSc
Apple cider vinegar is a popular home remedy. People have used it for centuries in cooking and medicine.
Many people claim it can relieve a wide range of health complaints, but you may wonder what the research says.
Apple cider vinegar has various healthful properties, including antimicrobial and antioxidant effects. What's more, evidence suggests it may offer health benefits, such as aiding weight loss, reducing cholesterol, lowering blood sugar levels, and improving the symptoms of diabetes.
However, little research exists, and further studies are needed before it can be recommended as an alternative therapy.
This article looks at the evidence behind 6 possible health benefits of apple cider vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar is made via a two-step process.
First, the manufacturer exposes crushed apples to yeast, which ferments the sugars and turns them into alcohol. Next, they add bacteria to further ferment the alcohol, turning it into acetic acid the main active compound in vinegar.
Acetic acid gives vinegar its strong sour smell and flavor. Researchers believe this acid is responsible for apple cider vinegar's health benefits. Cider vinegars are 56% acetic acid.
Organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar also contains a substance called "mother," which consists of strands of proteins, enzymes, and friendly bacteria that give the product a murky appearance.
Some people believe that the "mother" is responsible for most of its health benefits, although there are currently no studies to support this.
While apple cider vinegar does not contain many vitamins or minerals, it offers a small amount of potassium. Good quality brands also contain some amino acids and antioxidants.
Apple cider vinegar is made by fermenting the sugar from apples. This turns them into acetic acid, which is a main active ingredient in vinegar and may be responsible for its health benefits.
Vinegar can help kill pathogens, including bacteria.
People have traditionally used vinegar for cleaning and disinfecting, treating nail fungus, lice, warts, and ear infections.
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used vinegar to clean wounds more than 2,000 years ago.
Vinegar is also a food preservative, and studies show that it inhibits bacteria like E. coli from growing in and spoiling food.
If you're looking for a natural way to preserve your food, apple cider vinegar could help.
Anecdotal reports also suggest that diluted apple cider vinegar could help with acne when applied to the skin, but there doesn't seem to be any strong research to confirm this.
The main substance in vinegar acetic acid can kill harmful bacteria or prevent them from multiplying. It has a history of use as a disinfectant and natural preservative.
To date, one of the most convincing applications of vinegar is helping treat type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar levels caused by insulin resistance or the inability to produce insulin.
However, people without diabetes can also benefit from keeping their blood sugar levels in the normal range, as some researchers believe that high blood sugar levels are a major cause of aging and various chronic diseases.
The most effective and healthiest way to regulate blood sugar levels is to avoid refined carbs and sugar, but apple cider vinegar may also have a beneficial effect.
Research suggests that vinegar offers the following benefits for blood sugar and insulin levels:
The National Centers for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says it's very important that people do not replace medical treatment with unproven health products.
If you're currently taking blood-sugar-lowering medications, check with your healthcare provider before increasing your intake of any type of vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar has shown great promise in improving insulin sensitivity and helping lower blood sugar responses after meals.
Perhaps surprisingly, studies show that vinegar could help people lose weight.
Several human studies show that vinegar can increase feelings of fullness. This can lead you to eat fewer calories and lose weight.
For example, according to one study, taking vinegar along with a high carb meal led to increased feelings of fullness, causing participants to eat 200275 fewer calories throughout the rest of the day.
Furthermore, a study in 175 people with obesity showed that daily apple cider vinegar consumption led to reduced belly fat and weight loss:
However, keep in mind that this study went on for 3 months, so the true effects on body weight seem to be rather modest.
That said, simply adding or subtracting single foods or ingredients rarely has a noticeable effect on weight. It's your entire diet or lifestyle that creates long-term weight loss.
Overall, apple cider vinegar may contribute to weight loss by promoting satiety, lowering blood sugar, and reducing insulin levels.
Apple cider vinegar only contains about three calories per tablespoon, which is very low.
Studies suggest that vinegar can increase feelings of fullness and help you eat fewer calories, which may lead to weight loss.
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death.
Several biological factors are linked to your risk of heart disease.
Research suggests that vinegar could improve several of these risk factors. However, many of the studies were conducted in animals.
These animal studies suggest that apple cider vinegar can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as several other heart disease risk factors.
Some studies in rats have also shown that vinegar reduces blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and kidney problems.
However, there is no good evidence that vinegar benefits heart health in humans. Researchers need to do more studies before reaching any strong conclusions.
Several animal studies have shown that vinegar can reduce blood triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood pressure. However, there is no strong evidence that it leads to a reduced risk of heart disease in humans.
Apple cider vinegar is a common remedy for skin conditions like dry skin and eczema.
The skin is naturally slightly acidic. Using topical apple cider vinegar could help rebalance the natural pH of the skin, improving the protective skin barrier.
On the other hand, alkaline soaps and cleansers could irritate eczema, making symptoms worse.
Given its antibacterial properties, apple cider vinegar could, in theory, help prevent skin infections linked to eczema and other skin conditions.
Some people use diluted apple cider vinegar in a face wash or toner. The idea is that it can kill bacteria and prevent spots.
However, one study in 22 people with eczema reported that apple cider vinegar soaks did not improve the skin barrier and caused skin irritation.
Talk to your healthcare provider before trying new remedies, especially on damaged skin. Avoid applying undiluted vinegar to the skin, as it can cause burns.
Apple cider vinegar is naturally acidic and has antimicrobial properties. This means it could help improve the skin barrier and prevent infections. However, more studies are needed to know how safe and effective this remedy is.
The best way to incorporate apple cider vinegar into your diet is to use it in cooking. It's a simple addition to foods like salad dressings and homemade mayonnaise.
Some people also like to dilute it in water and drink it as a beverage. Common dosages range from 12 teaspoons (510 mL) to 12 tablespoon (1530 mL) per day mixed in a large glass of water.
It's best to start with small doses and avoid taking large amounts. Too much vinegar can cause harmful side effects, including tooth enamel erosion and potential drug interactions.
Some dieticians recommend using organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegars that contain "mother."
Bragg's seems to be the most popular option, which is available online along with reviews and ratings. However, several other varieties are also available.
Read more about the right dosage of apple cider vinegar here.
A common dosage for apple cider vinegar ranges from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons (1030 mL) per day, either used in cooking or mixed in a glass of water.
Many websites and natural healthcare proponents claim that apple cider vinegar has exceptional health benefits, including boosting energy and treating disease.
Unfortunately, there's little research to support most claims about its health benefits.
That said, some studies suggest it may offer some benefits, including killing bacteria, lowering blood sugar levels, and promoting weight loss.
Apple cider vinegar appears to be safe, as long as you don't take excessive amounts of it.
It also has various other non-health-related uses, including as a natural hair conditioner, skin care product, and cleaning agent.
Reposted with permission from Healthline. For detailed source information, please view the original article on Healthline.
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6 Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar, Backed by Science - EcoWatch
Posted: March 5, 2020 at 1:45 pm
Airway Heights resident Shawn Impett decided to restrict carbohydrates and sugar in his diet, leading to a 130-pound weight loss.
Impett, 43, once tipped the scale at 335 pounds but dropped to his goal weight of 205 in December 2018 after starting the ketogenic diet in the previous year. Along with keto, he follows an intermittent fasting plan and has kept the weight off for more than a year.
He also attends a Spokane Valley Take Off Pounds Sensibly group, which he joined in 2010 and credits for its members support. His mother had first tried ketos high-fat, low-carbohydrate eating plan, so he began soon after.
When my mom and her friend found the keto diet, I started doing it, he said. I found that I had more energy, and the pounds were dropping off quickly, so I thought, There is something to this.
I started doing it more seriously, and I kept showing better and better results.
Keto is short for ketosis, a metabolic state when the liver begins to use stored fat to produce ketones for energy. It happens if the body loses access to its preferred fuel from carbohydrates. Health professionals often caution people to incorporate foods such as green vegetables and whole grains.
Impett cut out certain foods such as one favorite: chips. He consumes more fatty proteins, including eggs and beef, and has gone to a one-meal-a-day model.
He said his health and energy have improved significantly. With the weight off, Impett doesnt have the symptoms of two prior-diagnosed medical conditions essential tremors and atrial fibrillation.
The symptoms of those have pretty much gone away, he said. Its really beneficial to lose the weight and to get rid of the bad foods.
About eight years ago, the atrial fibrillation had caused heart palpitations and, at times, a racing heartbeat.
Back in February 2012, I woke up with my heart just beating rapidly. I went to the hospital, and my heart beats were at 220 beats per minute. Plus, I could kind of feel light flutters, which were the palpitations.
Thats when I was diagnosed with AFib. For a while, I was on a very light dosage of medication, but it was just to keep my heartbeat regular. Since Ive lost the weight, every once in a while Ill have a little flutter here and there, but its very rare now. Im off the medication.
He no longer takes medication for tremors, which previously caused problems for writing and eating soup, he said. Talking about health is part of Impetts comeback when people tell him they cant cut back on certain foods.
A lot of my friends have asked me what I have done, and when I tell them, You have to get rid of the sugar and the carbs, they say that they cant get rid of those, he said.
Youve got to make a decision on whats more important, the food or your health. I made the decision that my health is more important than the food. Are they themselves more important than the food? Once they have made that decision, it becomes easier to lose weight.
This time, he also did research and learned how to maintain his weight, he said.
I had previously lost weight through Weight Watchers and had gotten down to 160 pounds, but, after a bad marriage, I gained it all back, plus some, Impett added. But when I previously lost weight, I was almost starving myself. I didnt really know why and how to get the weight off.
This time, I knew what I was doing and how to keep it off. Ive already kept it off for over a year. Having more information makes it easier.
Today, hes a co-leader of his TOPS group. Impett received the 2018 TOPS Washington King award, recognized at a state conference last year. Impett uses strategies to keep on track such as what to do at restaurants.
Ive switched more to a kind of carnivore-type keto, but every once in a while Ill have vegetables, he said. Mostly, its when I go to restaurants with my TOPS friends because restaurants dont have plain meat plates.
So at a Mexican restaurant, for example, he said hell ask for fajitas but skip the beans and rice. Ill eat the guacamole that comes with it. Its a good source of fats.
His daily activity happens at work where he is a cook for a Zips restaurant, he said. On the job, he usually averages about 8,000 steps a day.
Im also doing whats called one meal a day, Impett said. Ive found for me that with intermittent fasting and keto together, its very powerful in a good way. It works a lot better than keto by itself or intermittent fasting by itself.
Continued here:
Tipping the scales: Keto diet, fasting and group helped man reach weight-loss goal - The Spokesman-Review
Posted: March 5, 2020 at 1:45 pm
Even blocks away from the Forum, you can feel Oprahs gravitational force. Traffic snarls around the venue as motorists with Orange County license frames honk at hapless traffic guards, desperate to get into the parking lot. Still, the mood is jubilant. Im at the Oprah Winfrey show! a parking lot assistant exclaims into his phone while passing a group of anti-vaxxers holding signs.
No, Oprah is not swooping in to save the Democratic Partyat least not yet. Instead, she is doing elaborate branded content for a company that produces small frozen meals and assigns points to edible goods. Oprahs 2020 Vision Tour is an all-day eventlike schoolmeant to transform the mind, body, and spirit of attendees, and is sponsored by WW (or Weight Watchers).
At the media sign-in, a woman hands me a low-cal cookbook wrapped in a pretty bow before looking down at her phone and twisting her face in horror. Oh my god, she says. Oprah just fell down.
Oprah had been talking about achieving balance when she fell, her flowy white pantsuit rippling in the wind. Thankfully, she regrouped quickly and by the time I enter the auditorium, the 66-year-old billionaire media mogul is already deep into delivering a lesson about achieving the highest version of yourself to a rapt audience of nearly 14,000.
What is holding you back? she asks the crowd, channeling a very 90s strain of self-help that is more concerned with banishing internalized doubts than addressing things like structural inequalities.
Still, its comforting to think that we could all achieve anything we put our minds to, were it not for our own inner critic. And I quickly remember that Oprah is also funny as hell: she talks about being scared of her grandmothers giant breasts (which she pronounces breast-esis) and says thats why she now hugs children from the side. Even when shes describing a recent pneumonia scare, she manages to turn it into a joke about how her doctor was scared to have her as a patient, lest she die on his watch. The folks around me seem to be laughing not out of shock or surprise but deep relief and identification, her honeyed voice distracting us from the Coronavirus alerts bombarding our phones.
As we fill out workbooks meant to gauge our satisfaction with life, Oprah walks through the audience, peeking at our answers. (According to mine, Im an emotional basket case.) Oh Jesus! someone screams when she pops up behind them. This being L.A., it seems like everyone she talks to has something to promote, but our host knows how to handle it: when one man who lost 160 pounds starts shilling his book, Oprah gives him a hug and succeeds in getting him to shut up.
In many ways, though, its a bizarre moment in time to be taking Oprahs advice seriously. The television host-turned-tycoon has long offered spiritual guidance and materialist solutions to middle-class anxieties, but they seem out of step with the plans proposed by nearly all of the Democratic presidential contestants. What good is a wellness intention, which her workbook encourages us to set, when so many people cant afford to see a doctor?
Likewise, when Oprah says Life is going to give you the experience you need for your own evolution, the mantra sounds similar to the idea that its god or the universes plan for bad things to befall certain peoplesay, being evicted or become homelessbecause it will help them grow. These ideas dont necessarily seem to reflect where Oprah is at politicallyin her Golden Globes speech, she linked her mothers struggles to those of abused women workers and called out systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination in Hollywoodbut they make up the philosophy she is selling to tens of thousands across the country.
Her thinking on weight-loss seems a little more evolved. She treats her own journey as fodder for a standup set: [Longtime partner] Stedman and I went on a cleanse together, she says. Dont do it! You get evil without bread. She then does an impression of Stedman begging her to eat a biscuit. Shes quick to note that some people feel comfortable at any size, and thats OK! When a local teacher is trotted out on stage for losing over a hundred pounds, she tells the audience that we should love ourselves at every stage of our weight loss journey.
Our own travels involve a simple boxed meal from Panera. As we file out of the auditorium for our lunch break, we find a ring of selfie-stations where we can pose alongside Oprahs beaming face or hold vegetables in front of a backdrop of Oprahs farm. (To the surprise of no one, a representative tells me the veggies arent actually plucked from Oprah-owned soil.)
Im in the Oprah cult, says Beatrice Friedman, a retired speech therapist who drove from San Diego to attend the Vision 2020 tour for her birthday. This particular tour is different from anything shes done before, and Im just in that spot where Im ready to dive in for some more wellness.
A group of sorority sisters whod stayed in touch well into their professional lives told me they appreciated Oprahs take on FOMO (she says she has JOMO, or Joy of Missing Out) as well as answering questions like Whats your why? to figure out why they want to accomplish a certain goal.
I wondered about my own life goals as we filed back into the auditorium for a dancing class led by Julianne Hough, a meditation session from Jesse Israel, and an interview with Jennifer Lopez (elsewhere on the tour, O was joined by Dwayne Johnson, Tina Fey, Michelle Obama, and other huge names). Was my highest calling endlessly refreshing Twitter, desperate for the freshest memes? Was I living my lifes purpose by obsessively washing my hands?
Theres a Hallmark card quality to the kind of life advice Oprah is selling, but its potency stems from its deep familiarity. What kind of American isnt nostalgic for an afternoon spent sitting in the living room, enjoying a deeply satisfying parasocial relationship with a rich, empathetic woman who seems to have it all figured out?
Even when Oprah later bragged about the number of trees in her backyard (6,300; she hired a tree counter to tabulate), I didnt think much about how absurd it was that one person could own so much property. Exhausted and desperate for some kind of truce, the rational part of my brain had temporarily short-circuited. All I could think was, Wow, seems nice.
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Oprah Takes Her Brand of Self-Improvement on the Road - LA Magazine
Posted: March 5, 2020 at 1:45 pm
It was a swing game, a significant one. And it swung away from the Vancouver Canucks, as too many games have over the past week.
Aside from a pair of early Arizona Coyotes power-play opportunities in which the Canucks struggled to contain their opponent, Vancouver played superb hockey for almost 50 minutes.
Down early on a strange bouncer that deflected off Carl Soderberg and shot up, the puck spinning and arcing, a zany parabola, before landing on Thatcher Demkos head and into the net, Vancouver found their footing and controlled 35 minutes of the game ably. They built a territorial advantage, generated chances in bunches and tested Darcy Kuemper repeatedly.
Until the Canucks took the lead on a Tanner Pearson goal in the third period, Vancouver looked the better team. And then it rather quickly fell apart.
The club just seemed to stop playing. They managed only six even-strength shot attempts in the entire third period.
Of course, as...
Read the original post:
The Armies: A high-leverage loss, radio wars and the Jake Virtanen thing - The Athletic
Posted: March 4, 2020 at 10:44 am
By Liz CookRegistered Dietitian, Canyon Health and Wellness Clinic
In honor of National Nutrition Month our weekly Fitness Facts will be focused on nutrition for the entire month of March. Additionally, we are hosting a healthy eating trivia contest for all GCU Today readers throughout the month.
Each weeks Fitness Facts will contain a trivia question. To enter, email your answer to [emailprotected] by the end of the day each Friday to be entered to win a healthy prize basket. We will select one winner each week as well as one grand prize winner at the end of the month. Good luck!
To kick off National Nutrition Month, here are eight ways to get healthier today!
While the idea of losing 10 pounds in a week to kick off your journey to a healthier version of you may seem appealing, its not likely to fulfill the function youd like it to.
We all know someone or have been someone who has picked a quick fix and seen amazing results, only to revert to old ways and end up back where they started just as quickly. When it comes to real change, diets and detoxes wont get you there.
While the idea of making slow and steady progress isnt as appealing as dropping 10 pounds immediately, its the only proven way to make things stick in the long run.
One study conducted by the National Weight Control Registry found that individuals who maintained their weight loss for at least one year did so using sustained behavior change.
Finding a way of eating that is realistic for you to maintain forever is the best solution for lasting results. A registered dietitian can help you find these solutions and make them stick!
Whether its planning your meals ahead of time, making a grocery list before running into the store, or simply having healthy snacks stashed in your desk, being prepared is always an asset in the journey to be healthier.
When we make decisions ahead of time, we are far more likely to make a better decision than if we leave it to a last-minute decision when were already tired, hungry, stressed, etc. Use sites such as Yummly or Pinterest to find and save healthy meal and snack ideas to use for future planning.
Whether its looping in your family on your goal to eat healthier, finding a friend to hit the gym with or even grabbing a co-worker for a lunchtime walk, making changes is easier when we have someone on our team.
If youre struggling to get those around you to share your goals dont sweat it. Lead by example and be open to sharing when theyre ready to hear it!
Hands down, the biggest block I see when it comes to trying to be healthier is an all-or-nothing mindset. We think we need to cut all the bad things, only eat the good things, and be 100% perfect.
What ends up happening is we become a pendulum. We are all in, totally good and 100% on it for a little while. Eventually, we crack, we eat something bad and let that be a reason to go totally off track, eat all of the bad things, skip the gym, etc. We swing back and forth between all and nothing, good and bad, healthy and unhealthy.
This cycle is hard to break, but my biggest piece of advice is to stop aiming for perfection. When we aim for 100%, we are setting ourselves up to fail. What happens when someone brings in doughnuts? What happens when you have a birthday to celebrate?
Eating unhealthy foods such as doughnuts or birthday cake is a completely normal part of life. Its not unhealthy, and its not going to ruin your progress toward your health and wellness goals.
Instead of aiming for the unattainable 100%, I suggest aiming for an 80/20 balance. Each day, or each week, try to make 80% of your choices the good and healthy choices and allow the other 20% to be the fun choices that allow you to enjoy life, connect with others, and not feel deprived.
Like I said before, we want to focus on whats sustainable in the long run and set ourselves up for lasting success.
Take a second to answer this question: On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being terrible and 10 being AMAZING how do you feel today? What could you do to move yourself up one or two numbers?
Getting an extra hour of sleep, managing your workload better, having a healthier breakfast, fitting in some exercise or simply making more time for things that make you happy are ideas that might pop into your brain. Jot down as many ideas as you can think of right now, then keep reading.
You may be looking at a list of seven things you could do to feel better. While we all want to feel our best and try to implement all of these ideas immediately, if you decide that youre going to get to bed extra early tonight, wake up at 5 a.m. tomorrow, go for a run, drink more water, eat a healthier breakfast, pack a salad for lunch, and cook a well-balanced dinner for yourself, youre likely going to burn yourself out very quickly.
Instead, lets pick one or two of those items the ones you feel would have the most impact on your day and try to implement them for the next week or so. Once these become part of your day and you dont feel as if you have to work hard to make them happen anymore, pick another one or two to add to your daily routine.
The best day to start is today. The next best day to start is tomorrow. Waiting for Monday, for a new week, a new month or a new year is a great way to delay your success.
Your motivation is here right now; ride the wave and get started. Instead of waiting to use the weekend to prepare and go all in on Monday, start today, start tomorrow, start ASAP. Start small, but just start.
Use those goals you just came up with and put them into practice the first opportunity you get. A small change is better than no change, and good choices fuel good choices.
If only one of these points sticks with you, I want it to be this one: Make a change today for a healthier tomorrow!
****
Here is your trivia question of the week: When setting realistic goals, instead of aiming for 100%, a better strategy is to aim for _____. Send your answer to [emailprotected] by the end of the day Friday to be entered to win!
Read the original post:
Fitness Facts: 8 ways to get healthier today - GCU Today
Posted: March 4, 2020 at 10:44 am
Of the 30 pregnant and postpartum women screened for participations, 23 women elected to complete their interview (7 declined). All eleven providers offered an interview participated. Tables1 and 2 describes participant characterisitcs. Figure1 shows the application of the PRECEDE-PROCEED framework to the 6 themes identified within the categories of predisposing (facilitate or hinder motivation for change), enabling (make possible a desired change) and reinforcing (influence continuation of the behavior) factors that can influence behavior change. Below we describe each of the themes aligned with these factors with representative quotes from pregnant or postpartum women and obstetric providers.
Six key themes in the PRECEDE-PROCEED model (14) that influence behavior change in pregnancy and postpartum
The first predisposing theme was womens level of motivation for making behavior changes in pregnancy and postpartum. In pregnancy, women were motivated by wanting to have a healthy baby and delivery and, in the postpartum period, women were motivated by wanting my body back. One pregnant woman stated:
I just want to make sure that I have a healthy delivery...and the baby will just be health [y] both of us will be healthy...And, of course take care of him. You know all throughout his life, and you know... [I] have to be healthy first so I can take care of him. (Pregnant woman).
In addition to motivation for having a healthy baby, women were motivated to have an uncomplicated labor and delivery and for many, to successfully breastfeed their infant. Obstetric providers also considered womens motivation to have a healthy baby as an opportunity for counseling about behavior changes. One nurse midwife, illustrated this opportunity to engage pregnant women in the following way:
Youre catching them at a time when they know theyre in this pregnancy for a limited amount of time, you know? So its not [as] overwhelming were initially just asking them to focus on being healthy just for this [finite] amount of time. (Certified Nurse Midwife)
During the postpartum period, women described their motivation to make healthy lifestyle changes to improve their body image and feel like me again. One postpartum woman said,
I mean pregnancy just kind of not destroys your body, but it makes you feel like you are a different person I guess exercising is more for me to feel like me again, and to feel happy with the way that I look and the way that I feel. (Postpartum woman)
Another postpartum woman illustrated a desire for wanting her clothing to feel similar to how it felt before her pregnancy as follows:
It would it would be nice to have the ten pounds off and be back to sort of fitting into things a little bit better. I think that itll be better for my body. I could fit in more clothing which it would be nice because thats definitely like an ugh feeling when you like, try to put something on and you are like, Oh yeah, that doesnt fit anymore. (Postpartum woman)
The second predisposing theme was womens pre-pregnancy knowledge and experiences about importance of healthy behaviors, including eating well and physical activity in pregnancy and postpartum. Although many pregnant and postpartum women expressed basic knowledge about the importance of eating well and being physical active, they had different opinions on what they should and should not do to achieve a healthier lifestyle. One pregnant woman described the benefits of physical activity in pregnancy in the following way:
I wanted to bounce back quickly and you know, if I go [to] the gym maybe labor will be a little easier, my body will be conditioned to that sort of thing, so (Pregnant woman)
Some women described having health goals like taking prenatal vitamins during pregnancy and breastfeeding after pregnancy, because of past knowledge and experiences with previous pregnancies. In the postpartum period, women commented on their lack of preexisting knowledge about the challenges of breastfeeding their infants, and expressed a desire to have had more information during pregnancy, and support in the postpartum period:
[Before I had my baby] I was under the impression that if you tried [to breastfeed your infant] and you just sat there [then] you did it. And [if] you just breastfed all day, it would work. But it just didnt. (Postpartum woman)
Obstetric providers described examples of women who already had knowledge and skills about the importance of physical activity and nutrition noting that these women were able to continue a healthy lifestyle. For example, one obstetric provider stated:
I think the patients that come in already at a normal healthy weight and that have good healthy behaviors already are the ones who are more likely to ask specific questions, like can I keep running? Can I keep going to yoga? I had somebody recently who was asking me about weight lifting in, like getting into the third trimester, and those are usually the people who are already doing these things and they want to be able to continue. (Obstetrician)
Pregnant and postpartum women described the importance of overall wellness as enabling them to make and maintain behavior changes. Wellness was defined broadly and beyond their pregnancy-related health, including mental/emotional health, sleep quality, feeling in control of their own time and reducing stressors.
In particular, lack of quality sleep was a major barrier to dietary and physical activity changes, especially postpartum when women had newborns. One postpartum woman described lack of sleep as a barrier to exercise as illustrated by the following quote:
Between four and six months [my baby] was waking up like every hour like every night. It was just it was really bad. It just made me feel so tired during the day that the idea of moving, getting up and doing things was really not [feasible] So I feel like thats been a big problem. (Postpartum woman)
Some women shared their struggles with emotional changes during and after pregnancy, even postpartum depression. One postpartum woman described her mood in the following way:
I dont think I had full scale postpartum depression with either of my pregnancies, but I definitely had the baby blues pretty badly especially with the first one . Thinking back to it ugh I was not in a good mood for the first bunch of months, I think my husband noticed it more, but Im not sure he necessarily wanted to like drag me to a doctor (Postpartum woman)
Another postpartum woman described her lack of energy in pregnancy as, [W] hen I come home Im just like I dont want to do anything. I dont [want to talk with anyone] my [low] energy level kind of sometimes puts a strain on [me]. A postpartum woman described how stress can be a trigger for her to eat high calorie foods:
I end up eating [or] drinking a soda or having some candy or something, because I'm like oh Im felling stressed [and] this would make me feel better. (Postpartum woman)
Obstetric providers noted the importance of addressing womens wellness in pregnancy, including mood and sleep, and not just focusing on the patients weight. One certified nurse midwife said, I think its important not just to focus on the number [her weight] but just being healthy in general.
The majority of participants shared stories highlighting the importance of strong social support from family and friends, to enable them to make and sustain health behavior changes in pregnancy. One pregnant woman highlighted the benefit of having peer support from another pregnant friend:
Sometimes you need another pregnant womens point of view so they can say, I know what youre going through. (Pregnant woman)
Social support from friends and peers with similar experiences was especially important in the postpartum period:
I just had a baby two weeks ago. [My family member] was like oh, really-- Look at your cheeks, look at your belly. I felt like I wasnt doing [well] with my weight. When I read about [and saw other womens] experiences, I knew I wasnt alone in this. Actually, I was doing [well]. (Postpartum woman)
Obstetric providers also commented on their role as providing support for their patients through behavioral changes:
[W]omen want to get a little pampered and feel like, you know, theyre being taken care of and you want to make sure that shes feeling okay and that shes doing okay and that shes getting what she needs and, you know, just basically a little extra attention um, from a healthcare provider I think can do a lot (Certified Nurse Midwife)
Participants described the importance of knowing someone outside of their immediate family and friend network to be an accountability partner who could provide positive reinforcement to help them stay on track with reaching health goals in pregnancy and postpartum. For most women, their healthcare providers served this role. One participant stated,
You know so the one thing is accountability I would eat more, exercise less [if] no one else [was] looking. . . (Postpartum woman)
Another woman described,
[I like] feeling like you have some sort of support, you know, whether you needed it or not, but to know that someones checking in on you and they really care about how youre doing and the baby and trying to make your life easier. (Postpartum woman)
One obstetric provider highlighted the importance of positive reinforcement and said, It might be something you just say, [like] hey, youre doing great with the weight Keep up the good work.
Participants were specifically asked about how their clinics could support their efforts in achieving healthy lifestyles in pregnancy. In particular, participants discussed their use of technology, including mobile phones and mobile applications, which could facilitate their behavior change and enable communication with providers between visits. One woman remarked I would use [it] everyday with regard to the ability to interface with her moble phone to help with behavior change. Another woman remarked that her health care providers would know where Im coming from and they can work with me better noting this would also help them on their end.
Obstetric providers discussed the importance of integrating future clinical programs on healthy lifestyle within the electronic medical record to facilitate their ability to review patients progress. One obstetric provider discussed this point in the following way:
Im a bigger fan of an [electronic] referral [to a healthy lifestyle program] just because then theres tracking of it . Reading other providers notes or reading the [behavioral counselor, i.e. health] coaches notes thats something you can eventually weave in to your other visits and things like that . And then too, [to] read what the patients .responses [are] or if theres trends or repeating issues you can touch base [about these isues] in [the] visit, you know? [In real time]. (Certified Nurse Midwife)
Posted: March 4, 2020 at 10:44 am
Grossman joined Tommy Hilfiger in 1988, around the time that Hong Kong billionaire Silas Chou invested in the company. It was on a path and a trajectory for dynamic growth. Another rocket ship I think its why I tend to go (for) high growth or transformative companies, because I love that feeling, Grossman said.
Her daughter Elysabeth was born soon after. I went from the showroom, from a meeting with Nordstrom, to the hospital to have the baby. And then I was back in four weeks. Insanity, I know, but I loved it, she said. When Elysabeth was about 18 months old, a recruiter called Grossman to ask if she would be interested in interviewing to be president of Chaps, the mid-range label of Ralph Lauren.
I said, Are you crazy? Im with the hottest company in the menswear industry today. Its on fire. I have this incredible position. You know, I have a young child. Im not making a move. But she agreed to meet Lauren and his business partner Peter Strom.
She took the Chaps job, but again it was an unconventional move. Everybody thought I was insane because I was leaving this incredible company to go to a very small company that had really never been successful, Grossman said. But she knew she could make it work. I really believed that not taking a risk is sometimes riskier than believing in yourself and taking that risk in the first place and (people) tell me Im brave, and I said: Im not brave, Im just willing to bet on myself.
It worked. When I took over the (Chaps) business, it was doing about $26 million unprofitably. And in three years, we built the company to a $250 million (turnover), one of the most profitable divisions of the company.
But Grossman wasnt happy. She didnt like the culture of the business, which was licensed to apparel company Warnaco at the time. The Warnaco CEO had humiliated a co-worker in a meeting, and Grossman said that if she stayed at a business that didnt treat people in the right way, she felt complicit.
And I went in and resigned to the CEO. And at one point she looked (at) me and said, Are you resigning? And I said, Yes, I am. And she said, Well, you're either independently wealthy, you have another job, or you're stupid. I said, Or D, none of those above. And I was escorted out by security that afternoon.
A couple of days later, Lauren and Strom called to offer her a role as vice president of new business development, and she developed denim line Polo Jeans Company, a brand licensed to clothing company Sun Apparel. When clothing group Jones bought Sun Apparel in 1998, Grossman decided it was time to move on.
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Weight Watchers CEO Mindy Grossman on her career from Nike to wellness - CNBC
Posted: March 4, 2020 at 10:44 am
Sleeping stresses me out. Im rubbish at it. And thats made all the more frustrating because Im acutely aware of how important and beneficial it is to my overall health and fitness.
Good sleep can double fat loss. It supports muscle gain. Hitting the hallowed eight hours all but guarantees you a longer life. Yet, at least once a week, most likely on a Sunday when the fear kicks in, I lie in bed, tossing and turning, unable to switch off for hours. Only very rarely does my head hit the below and Im asleep within 15 minutes.
Gladly, my nightmares came to an end purely by chance when my wife brought home a Simba Orbit weighted blanket. It turned out she couldnt use it because she has asthma, so I decided to give it a whirl. And it worked, completely and utterly.
Simba Orbit Weighted Blanket
149.00
I had no idea how or why, but I didnt care. All I cared about was the fact that I was falling asleep more quickly and staying asleep. The endless tossing and turning ended. And crucially, the more quickly I fell asleep, the less opportunity there was for me to get inside my own head and psych myself out of better rest.
It all makes sense, though. The blanket is filled with thousands of glass nano-beads, held in evenly-filled quilted pockets, and works through something called deep pressure therapy (DPT). DPT is essentially a calming process activated through a physical stimulus such as a hug or another application of pressure across the body.
DPT also counters stress by helping your nervous system switch from 'fight or flight' to 'rest and relax'. The weight of the blanket turns off your sympathetic nervous system and activates your parasympathetic one. This helps to regulate your heartbeat, relax your muscles and set your mind at ease, so you can get to sleep, and stay there.
According to research published in the Journal of Sleep Medicine and Disorders, The additional pressure stimulation from the weighted blanket provided a calming effect on the study participants, by decreasing agitation and increasing the quality of their sleep. This was demonstrated through a decrease in movements during sleep with the weighted blanket, which were increased in the pre- and post-test periods, and also the subjective increased in sleep quality.
Spending money on a heavy blanket sounded like swindle to me, too. Ive mulled it over and over in my head. But, all that I come back around to is that it works. Sleep is no longer a struggle. Im less anxious as I go to bed and more rested when I wake. All Im waiting for now is for that doubling of fat loss to kick in.
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Struggling to Sleep? This Bedroom Swap Cured My Sleeplessness in One Night - Men's health UK
Posted: March 4, 2020 at 10:44 am
It spread quickly, sending my body into acute septic shock: How flesh-eating disease nearly killed a Toronto tech CEO
I had no idea there was a deadly bacteria quietly and rapidly growing in my body. It was just over a year ago, and I was staying at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in midtown Manhattan. At the time, I was the CEO of PathFactory, a leading AI-powered marketing technology company based in Toronto that helps businesses like IBM, Adobe and Oracle market their products. I was in town to speak to a gathering of the top private-equity firms in North America.
The day after my talk, I awoke with a fever of 102. I had five meetings in five hours, and I needed to catch a plane home that night, so I slammed down four Tylenols and three cups of coffee and tried to shake it off. By 2 p.m., I was in meeting number three and my left leg, just an inch or so below the kneecap, was killing me. I chalked up the pain to skiing: a few days earlier, Id tried to shave two seconds off my time on an icy run in Caledon and wiped out at the bottom. I figured this was my comeuppance. My business partner, Nick, had taken over the talking at our meetings. I was just trying to make it through the day. Meanwhile, a snowstorm had rolled into New York City; there was no way I was going home that night.
The next day my fever had spiked to 104.5 and my leg was still screaming in pain.When I tried getting out of bed in my hotel room, I collapsed on the floor, losing consciousness. Some time later, I came to. I couldnt muster the strength to move my arms or legs. Im in trouble, I thought. My iPhone was across the room. Hey Siri!, I tried. Text Nick. Nothing. I tried several more times without success. It was then that I realized how weak my voice was. I took a deep breath and summoned every ounce of strength I had. Hey Siri! I shouted. Text Nick. What would you like to say? I only had a few words left, so I just said it: Help, Ive fallen and I cant get up!
Nick burst into my room a few minutes later, followed by a hotel doctor, then EMTs. Nick was adamant: I was going to the hospital. Mount Sinai West was three blocks away. I assumed I had the flu. But Nick made a big deal out of the fact that my leg was hurting, and I credit his stubbornness with saving my life. The EMTs whisked me past emergency and straight to a trauma room.
The attending physician was concerned about the leg pain combined with acute fever. He wanted to do an exploratory surgery,but first he would need a CT scan, and thatmeant someone had to call my insurance company to get approval for a $17,000 test. That duty fell to Nick. He got it done. When the scans and my blood panels returned, the trauma room suddenly exploded with action. Theyd found somethingsomething terribleand they were rushing me to surgery. I was fading.
The bacteria that was killing me is called Streptococcus pyogenes. Its surprisingly ubiquitous: up to 15 per cent of the population carries it with no symptoms whatsoever. In others, it might lead to treatable conditions like strep throat, tonsillitis or respiratory illness, or skin conditions like impetigo. However, in random and rare casesfewer than 200 in Canada annuallythe bacteria might become something terrible. I was one of those random and rare cases. The bacteria had bloomed into necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as flesh-eating disease. It was spreading rapidly from my left knee up and down my leg, destroying the skin and muscle tissue. The disease had also caused my body to spiral into acute septic shock, which manifested in dangerously low blood pressure and cascading organ failure. It was going to kill me fast.
To save me, surgeons wouldhave to stop the disease from progressing further by cutting it out. At first, they tried to remove only a 12-inch portion of the skin and fat from my lower leg. Hours later, when that failed to stabilize me, I was back in the table for a more aggressive tissue removal.
My wife, Danielle, was at our home in Torontos west end. Our kids10-year-old Racquel and seven-year-old Maxhad just gone to bed when the phone rang. The attending doctor told Danielle I was very sick and that she needed to come to New York right away. I was going into surgery and I might not survive. As the surgeons prepped me, they handed me the phone. I apologized to Danielle for wrecking her evening; I tried to stay upbeat. The room fell silent as I spoke. I said goodbye to her, and that was the last thing I remembered for a long time.
By the time Danielle landed in New York, I was in a coma and on life support. They guided her into my room, where my body lay, surrounded by machines. My surgeon spoke to Danielle in a grim, measured tone. They had removed significant amounts of tissue from my leg, saving as much muscle as they could. They hoped theyd stopped the disease from spreading further, and I was on powerful antibiotics. At the moment, their biggest concern was that I was in acute septic shock. I was on an aggressive course of vasopressors and inotropes, designed to bring my blood pressure up and prevent my organs and brain from dying. The trade-off was that the vasopressors worked by constricting the blood flow to my extremities. My limbs were starved of blood, and my hands and feet were turning black.
After four intense days, the staff started to see improvements in my condition and worked to wean me off the vasopressors. But the bacteria was proving hard to kill. Despite everything, it was still hiding in my leg. It bloomed again, and, for the second time in a week, I spiralled into septic shock. According to the prevailing research, going into septic shock twice in one week put my chances of surviving at roughly five per cent. Suddenly, even though I was still in a coma, I was a medical celebrity: I had a kidney team, a cardiac team, a surgical team, an infectious disease team and a host of other experts running tests and keeping tabs on me. I was in one of the top hospitals in the biggest city in the U.S., yet they had only encountered two other cases like mine in the past two years.
Danielle had a ton of support: my sister flew down from Toronto, along with some family friends. Our parents worked shifts at home taking care of the kids and trying to keep life normal for them. Despite all this, Danielle felt completely alone. This was the most serious event in our lives, and the person she would normally turn to for support was unconscious. All the doctors would say is, He is very, very sick. Thats how she knew it was very, very bad: despite all the work being done, no one seemed to be planning for my survival. Every night, she was the last to leave, retreating to an empty hotel room. Every morning, she returned early, hoping I had made it through the night.
Open your eyes, Mark. Open your eyes I did. It was bright. I couldnt feel anything, and I couldnt move. I didnt know it at the time, but I was recovering from a three-week coma. When Id gone into the hospital, it was the third week of February. By the time I woke up, it was mid-March. It took me three days to fully come out of my coma, but to me, it felt like three years. I was still me, but the me-part was compressed into a small ball of consciousness, a ball that had been tossed into a deep black ocean. I vaguely recalled being married, having kids, having a life. But I wasnt sure what was real. I would float to a level of lucidity, just enough to open my eyes and process my surroundings, and then, without warning, I would sink down again, away from my body. The cycle would not stop.
After three days, I suddenly snapped back, and this time, I stayed. I was told I was extremely sick, but I was having a hard time comprehending exactly what I was sick with. An army of medical staff were perpetually circulating through my room. They all smiled the same smile: a combination of disbelief and relief. I tried as hard I could to smile back at them. I was too weak to move, I had a feeding tube, seven or eight IVs, and I could barely speak. I could not see my body or move the covers, but I could see my arms. They were swollen to the point of being unrecognizable. Id absorbed about 40 litres of intravenously fed saline that was now stuck in my tissue. It felt like I was encased in cement.
My blood pressure remained at dangerously low levels, and my organs had been starved of nutrients. My kidneys were not working and I was on full-time dialysis. My liver had been severely compromised. My heart had taken a merciless beating and doctors were concerned it might also be permanently damaged. I couldnt breathe properly due to a collapsed lung, and I heard whispers that I might have brain damage. My hands and feet were still black like stone from the vasopressors, and I knew I might lose them, but that was the least of my problems. The expression on my doctors faces gave it away: I could still die.
And yet I still didnt fully comprehend my situation, despite the fact that I was hooked up to a feeding tube, dialysis machine, infusion pumps, catheters and a vital sign monitor that was constantly telling everyone how messed up I was. I figured I could go home soon and just walk it off. Ive always seen myself as a strong person. I was going to be 50 that year. I was a tech CEO for 20 years, so I thought I understood what stress was. I was a boxer, so I thought I understood mental endurance. I thought it would be a day or two before my boundless energy and vitality would return.
That idea was largely dispelled the first time I saw what remained of my leg. Four days after I woke from my coma, two surgical residents silently removed the elaborate layers of dressings that spanned the top of my leg to the top of my foot to revealwell, mostly stuff you dont ever expect to see. Thats bone, right? I croaked. The skin on my lower leg was gone, along with much of the muscle. I could clearly see almost the full length of my tibia. The back of my thigh was also gutted, leaving only exposed muscles and tendons. It looked like something from a horror movie. I had a hard time imagining how I was supposed to heal from this.
No one was saying anything so I pushed out a few words, the kind of words you actually hear in movies but never expect to say yourself: Am I going to walk again? The room was silent. Danielle leaned into my field of vision and spoke to me in her most confident voice. Yes, you will walk, but its going to take some time and we will get there together. I realized I needed to modify my expectations.
I spent three more weeks in the ICU, regaining some organ function while doctors pumped me with massive courses of antibiotics. The infectious disease team would show up periodically to draw fluid from under my kneecap, employing a comically large syringe that needed two people to operate. My leg was still completely gutted, and bones and muscles would be exposed for weeks still. The dressings needed to be peeled off and changed every dayan 8 a.m. horror show that required four surgical residents and 30 minutes to accomplish. I was given some oral pain medication but I still nearly passed out from the agony each time. I was also on dialysis, which made me throw up most of what they were feeding me through the tube in my nose.
Fortunately, my organs improved quickly. First my heart bounced back, and the cardiac doctors had a little celebratory party in the hallway. My liver suddenly seemed okay, too. But my kidneys were only working at about 15-per-cent capacity. They would take the longest to heal. The hardest thing was not being able to move. I was in constant pain from my huge open leg wounds, as well as from the pressure points on my spine and the back of my head. I needed to be washed regularly, and even that was excruciating.
About six weeks into my hospital stay, I was stable enough to be moved. Id need extensive reconstructive surgery on my leg, but I had to go back to Canada to get it. My surgeon, Reid Ravin, reached out to a colleague in Toronto, and I was referred to the burn centre at Sunnybrook Hospital, a self-contained, quarantined facility with a dedicated group of specially trained nurses and doctors, its own surgical suite, as well as pain management, skin bank and critical care proficiencies. They had seen nec-fasc cases before and had a bed ready for me. I had been the subject of hundreds of test and procedures and numerous consultations by experts from multiple fields. The cost of saving my life in New York had amounted to a whopping $1.4 million. The insurance company was pleased I was returning to Canada.
Danielle figured out how to get an international medevac from Manhattan to Toronto. A day later, two smiling nurses from Montreal appeared in my room, sporting Canadian flags on their uniforms and ushering everyone out of the way. Were here to take you home, they said. An hour later, I was loaded onto a Learjet. A few more hours, some ham sandwiches and Diet Cokes later, they pushed my gurney through the large double doors of the burn unit on the seventh floor ofD-wing at Sunnybrook. Almost immediately, I was injected with a cocktail of painkillers, and for the first time since I came out of the coma, I was in zero pain.
Marc Jeschke, the centres medical director, came out to speak to Danielle. Despite all the progress Id made, he said, I was still extremely sick. My kidneys were compromised, my blood pressure was all over the map, and I was in danger from my wounds, blot clots and respiratory complications. The bacteria was likely long gone, but they were not going to take any chances and planned to keep me on antibiotics till the lab cleared me. I had dry gangrene in my hands and feet that would need to be dealt with, and it was unclear if my leg was salvageable. Jeschke mentioned amputation, and Danielle gasped. Shed suspected it was a possibility, but no one at Mount Sinai West had ever talked about it.
As it turned out, I did need amputations. My left foot needed to be removed, as well as the toes on my right food and the index and middle fingers on my left hand. Losing pieces of my body was a small price to pay to be alive. Besides, there was lots to celebrate: over the course of six operations, the surgeons at Sunnybrook saved a good portion of my leg. With an aggressive set of muscle and skin grafts, they even preserved my my knee function. Miraculously, my hands healed for the most part. And best of all, my kidneys came back online, I finally started to process some of the fluid that was trapped in my body.
By the end of March, once I was back in Toronto and stable, I was finally able to see my kids. It had been more than seven weeks, and I knew they were scared; I was scared too. My young son only wanted to know if all the bad things were over. I told him they were, and that was good enough for him. My 10-year-old daughter was shocked when she saw me. Dad, your muscles are gone! she blurted out. She was right: skin was hanging from my arms, and I looked 20 years older. Ill get them back, I told her. She wanted to know everything and see everything. She was so grown upit was the one time I cried.
After my surgeries were done, I was transferred to St. Johns Rehab, where I would to learn to walk again. I had been immobile for eight weeks and lost 40 pounds. They say you lose one per cent of your muscle mass every day of immobility, and theyre right. I spent hours trying to do the simplest things, like lift an arm or move a leg. In the short term, I would need special shoes to make up for my missing foot and lost toes. Ultimately, I would get a silicon prosthetic.
Rehab is a lot like it looks on TVbut far more painful. It took every ounce of my willpower to stand or take a step, and my reward was vomiting and passing out. I decided to treat it like a full-time job: my whole world became working out and eating as much protein as I could hold down to regain strength and put on weight. Once I could get up, I took to waking up in the middle of the night and doing slow, tedious laps around the nurses station with my walker. I also finally got a proper look at myself in a mirror. It was shocking, I had grown an epic beard, but the rest of me was frail and thin. The pressure wound on my head was healing, but it was doubtful that any hair would grow there. Fantastic, I thought. Ill have to tattoo something back there instead. I suggested one of those head-ports from The Matrix. Danielle said no.
Im not known for my patience. I was obsessed with getting strong enough to leave rehab as soon as humanly possible. And two weeks after they rolled me into St. Johns on a gurney, I walked out with just the help of a cane. It was the end of April, and I stood outside alone with the rain falling my face. It was incredible. I felt human for the first time in months.
I returned to work in May, after nearly four months away. I was thrilled to be back with my team. Even after everything that happened to me, I was still in love with the company I ran, addicted to the metrics, the culture, the pace. I couldnt wait to see us step it up to the next level. Although my heart and mind were committed, the rest of my body would not cooperate. After three weeks, I realized Id returned to work too early. The surgeries had left me in near-constant pain. I was taking hydromorphone and pregabalin, and those helped a little, but they also made me feel sick to my stomach. I was accustomed to having boundless energy, the kind that helps me manage details, listen carefully and make hard decisions. Suddenly it was harder to reach for that energy.
A zero-sum choice was forming fast. I could do a good job of running the company or I could do a good job of healing, but not both. There was only one choice: I stepped down as CEO, though I would stay on the board of directors. It was a tough decision. Given the therapy and equipment I would need, I knew our expenses would increase. At the same time, I was sure it would be a matter of months before Id be back at 100 per cent. It was the right risk to take.
I spent the summer getting stronger. I did weights, balance exercises, stretching, cardio and more weights. My leg, however, was a constant problem. I no longer had a foot on which to distribute my weight while standing. Instead, all the pressure was concentrated on a small group of bones surrounded by scar tissue. The flesh in the area kept breaking down into messy, open wounds. The pain was severe, relentless and hard to control.
Over the last few months, Id learned a great deal about pain. The takeaway was simple but profound: in time, inevitably, pain will change you. It will change how you move, how you act, and even how you think. I loved Danielle and the kids, and I loved who I was when I was with them. I didnt want the pain to change me. I approached the problem like Id approached hard decisions in the past: research, logic and a truckload of analysis. I asked my doctors a thousand focused questions and scrutinized their answers until I understood all the factors. I learned about state-of-the-art prosthetics and tracked down others who had been through a similar set of complications. Ultimately, I realized that my leg would only get worse as I aged, and the technology to replace it would only get better. And so,a few short months after brilliant surgeons had worked so hard to save most of my left leg, I made the decision to amputate it.
Eventually, I got Danielle and my doctors to agree with me. The only thing standing in my way was OR time: my surgeons at Sunnybrook were swamped with considerable backlogs of patients who needed work done as badly as I did. While I waited, I did things that would minimize my post-surgical recovery time. I learned how the procedure would be done, what muscles and nerves would be involved. I knew I would be stuck in a bed with limited mobility, and that would make me weaker again. It would be weeks before the wounds would close, so Id have to be strong enough to move my own weight around with just one leg. I shifted my workouts to focus on pushing exercises with my good leg and pull-ups with my upper body. I also dropped some of the weight I previously worked to put on. Then, suddenly, in October 2019, I got the call to come in.
Much to my surprise, I got the choice of either a general anesthetic or an epidural and sciatic nerve block. I chose the second option: I wouldnt feel anything below the waist, and I could be be somewhat awake. The idea of being partially awake was intriguing: you only cut your leg off once, I thought, and I wanted to be as aware as possible for it.
The operation took two and a half hours. Youd think there would be a faster wayto take off a leg, but the procedure requires a lot of careful cutting and sewing to create a good stump. Toward the end, I asked the surgeon if I could see my leg. He told me it was already in the morgue.
After surgery, they rolled me back to my room. I sat alone in my bed looking at where my leg used to be. The phantom pain hit me me hard: despite the fact my leg was gone below the knee, I could feel everything from my toes right to the wound site. My brain was interpreting the loss of nerve signals as pure pain. I had an infuser pumping anesthetic into what was left of my leg, and I was allowed to give myself 0.2 milligrams of hydromorphone every five minutes by pressing a button. The infuser made a happy little chime every time I pressed it, but as far as I could tell, that was all it did. By midnight the pain was increasing faster than I could take pain medication; picture a breakwater steadily being overwhelmed by the crashingwaves of a tsunami. It was a very long night.
The next morning, doctors added Lyrica and ketamine to my painkiller cocktail; that did the trick. The wound was wrapped in a clear plastic dressing with a suction pump attached to it, which drew fluid from the wound site and promoted healing. Before the procedure, my leg was a mess of reconstructed tissue, so it was cool to see what the surgeon had done. I was ready to go home after 10 days, but first, I had to prove I could hop around adequately on crutches without killing myself. This was harder than I expected. Crutches are a lot less scary when you have two legs, even if one is damaged. Now I was functioning as some sort of tripod, and the floor seemed a long way to fall.
In the weeks that followed, I learned how much you take for granted when you have two legseven going to the bathroom in the middle of the night becomes a big problem. Falling down needs to be avoided at all costs: when youre missing a limb, you cant collapse safely as you fall, the way every toddler learns to do. If you go down, you go down hard. And if you break an arm or a hip, youre screwed. But I adjustedand more importantly, the pain was gone. I had made the right decision.
This past January, four months after my amputation, I met with my prosthetist, Wilson Cisneros, at Sunnybrook Centre for Independent Living. He presented me with my new leg, comprised of a socket, suspension and foot and ankle system. The custom socket is designed to spread to the weight of my body over specific tissues, like the patellar tendon below the knee and calf muscles at the back. These tissues can withstand weight better than the bottom of my stump. Between the socket and my skin is a precision-moulded liner made of a highly specialized urethane compound. The material is the exact density and texture of human skin, and its designed to prevent my own skin from shearing off as I walk. The socket is attached to a suspension system that is in turn attached to a high-tech ankle and foot mechanism. Wilson had put one of my running shoes on the new leg and showed me how to put the whole thing on. Then, I stood up, and took a few steps. They werent great: I felt like my leg was asleep. However, seeing two shoes with two feet in them flooded my brain with reassuring signals. I quickly adjusted and everything started to make sense. I smiled the entire time. This is going to work, I said to myself.
With some additional therapy, I can now see myself returning to things like boxing, skiing and running. I also want to get back to work. I miss PathFactory, the company I co-founded with Nick and ran for six years. But they did just fine without me, and Im proud. Ill stay on the board of directors, and Im currently exploring some exciting options for my next CEO job. I look forward to building more businesses and contributing to the tech community in Toronto. Danielle and the kids are also doing great. After a long and scary interruption, our lives are starting to feel normal again. Were back to making plans, laughing and spending time talking about anything other than me. For that, I am truly grateful.
Mark Attila Opauszky has been a tech CEO in Toronto for 20 years. He runs ACEO, a blog for tech leaders.
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"It spread quickly, sending my body into acute septic shock": How flesh-eating disease nearly killed a Toronto tech CEO - Toronto Life
Posted: March 4, 2020 at 10:44 am
With as many as six starters on defense departing the Michigan football program, players behind them on the depth will be expected to step in and take more of a role in 2020.
And thats exactly what several of the NFL-bound players expect to happen this fall.
Speaking to reporters last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, both defensive backs going pro, cornerback Lavert Hill and safety Josh Metellus, identified the same two defensive backs as players to watch this season.
Ambry Thomas and Brad Hawkins, Metellus said. I feel like they both just got real comfortable back there, and now they know me and Lavert gone, so they gotta step up. And I feel like theyre really going to be able to lead the defense the right way.
In fact, several outgoing Michigan players pointed to Hawkins, a safety, as a player to keep an eye on. Hawkins was injured during the final two games of the regular season in 2019, but has starting experience and his play was highly regarded, totaling 53 tackles and a pass breakup.
Hes an extremely athletic (safety), Hill said. He fast, he quick, he big he strong. He like to hit. And he make plays on the ball. Hes going to be a great safety in the next draft.
RELATED: Josh Metellus was one of Michigans biggest trash-talkers
Michigan also returns talented freshmen Daxton Hill and Vincent Gray, another underclassmen with playing experience at cornerback.
At linebacker, the Wolverines bring back three players with experience, most notably Cam McGrone the do-it-all redshirt freshman who started 10 games and racked up 66 tackles (9 1/2 for a loss), four sacks, a pass breakup and forced a fumble.
Some have compared his speed and lateral quickness to former All-American Devin Bush, a sign that theres more to come for the Indianapolis native.
Josh Ross and Devin Gil are also back, while Michael Barrett and Anthony Solomon could be candidates to fill the hybrid roles left open by Khaleke Hudson and Josh Uche.
"Michigan going to get great players with them guys, said Hudson, who played a linebacker-safety hybrid role at Michigan. "Them guys work hard every single day. You can tell them guys are trying to learn from me and Uche, and even the coaches. They just want to be the best that they can be.
"I can promise you that theyre going to give it their all every week, every practice and meetings, weight rooms, and theyre going to be the best players that they can be.
Michigan returns three starters along the defensive line, a group that was inexperienced and lacking depth in 2019. Both ends, Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson, are back along with fifth-year senior Carlo Kemp, while the Wolverines expect to receive more production from up-and-coming tackles Christopher Hinton and Mazi Smith.
RELATED: Lavert Hill: NFL teams like my experience in Michigans man coverage
They just matured a lot, especially Aidan, said Uche, a projected second or third-round pick in Aprils NFL draft. "For someone being as young as he is, hes mature. He doesnt act his age. He acts a lot older. Like hes been there before.
Hes one hell of a player, man. I think hes going to be a first-round pick when its all said and done.
Michigans defense took a dip statistically in 2019, checking in at No. 11 nationally after allowing 307.2 yards per game. That was the highest ranking and most number of yards given up by the Wolverines since Jim Harbaugh arrived at Michigan. An incredible feat when you consider the defense finished top-3 nationally, at least statistically, in each of the previous three seasons.
Coordinator Don Brown has prided himself on deploying a head-spinning man-press scheme that emphasizes getting to the quarterback and getting off the field quickly. With several departures, new players are expected to step up.
Every year, Michigans defense handles (it), Uche said. "I feel like theres going to be some new changes, in terms of how we run things and stuff like that.
"You guys are in great hands. The defense is in great hands.
Said Hill: "We got a good team, so yall will see.
Read more on Michigan football:
ESPN: Michigans QB situation among top-25 in country heading into 2020
U-M in the mix for two top 2021 running backs
Ex-Michigan captain Joe Bolden joins Ohio State coaching staff
Clarkston 4-star OL Rocco Spindler has Michigan in his top 10
Five stars, high hopes: QB Shea Patterson departs with no regrets
Link:
Michigans departed players talk defense for 2020: You guys are in great hands - MLive.com
