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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    I'm 63 year old with a pacemaker and badly need to get fit & lose weight. What should i do?

    Related Topics
    Atrial Fibrillation Cardiology & Vascular Health Fitness and Sports Medicine
    I also have a pacemaker (Atrial Fibrelation)I get very short of breath after only 3minutes on a walking machine
    HELP. I want to get serious with losing weight & getting fit, any tips
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  • Nicole Senior

    Dietitian, Nutritionist

    I'm an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist, consultant, author, speaker and food and health enthusiast. I love talking and writing about food and health.(please note, … View Profile

    Hi there, I'll leave the exercise aspect to an exercise pro however it sounds like you need to eat fewer kiljoules as this is the key to weight loss. Forget about low fat, low carb or whatever just focus on eating LESS kilojoule-rich, nutrient-poor foods like biscuits, cakes, alcohol and sweet drinks and eat plenty of nutritious vegetables and modest portions of grain foods like bread, pasta and rice. Keep your meat lean and your milk low fat. If you don't need to snack, don't. Buy yourself a little Calorie Counter book at the newsagent (or check out www.calorieking.com.au ) and find out just how many kilojoules are in the food you're eating (and the foods you're thinking about eating). I can also recommend the eating plans, advice and recipes in my book ‘Belly Busting for Blokes’ available here http://www.greatideas.net.au/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Belly+Busting&osCsid=3ba0429017e0a44209901ba51a5906a6

    There's no magic to it, it's all about maths. In my experience blokes do well just learning how to be good kilojoule accountants (and this includes spending more in exercise).

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    Dr Jason Kaplan

    Cardiologist (Heart Specialist)

    Dr. Jason Kaplan is a specialist adult cardiologist and physician. Dr. Kaplan studied Medicine at UNSW and graduated with Honours in 1999 then completed his … View Profile

    The first thing you need to do is make sure your pacemaker is programmed to allow you to exercise more physiologically . This is called rate response and it will allow you to increase your HR with exercise.  Getting fit and losing weight require different methods.  To aid weight loss as we get older you need to do weight bearing exercise involving large muscle groups  to activate your metabolism and also dramatically reduce your intake of carbohydrates - less than 100g /day .  Aerobic fitness takes time to build up start small and build up to it.   You also need to make sure that your atrial fibrillation is appropriately rate controlled when you exercise. Your cardiologist can test this on a treadmill when he evaluates you in his rooms.  get a pedometer and make sure you do 10,000 steps a day. Consideration can be given to short term use of alpha- lipoic acid and green tea extract to help things along at the start.  get support through websites such as fitday.com or fitocracy.com.

    A combination of fast walking and often along with at least 2 sessions a week of weight bearing exercises is a good start. enjoy the journey. 

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    Mr Neil Synnott

    Exercise Physiologist, Physiotherapist

    Hi,

    My name is Neil… I practice as a physiotherapist and accredited exercise physiologist.

    Following on from Dr Kaplan's advice re exercise… making a good start is so important… Easing yourself into exercise means that you allow your body to adapt to the exercise and most importantly complete some physical movement each day of the week.

    I have seen a few people that have been super-enthusiastic, pushed themselves and developed an unecessary musculoskeletal injury (back, hip, knee, shoulder pain). If significant enough, the injury can really slow you down from achieving your fitness goals. So starting exercise at a comfortable level FOR YOU is paramount to continuing with a regular exercise program!

    After making sure that your pacemaker is appropriately programmed,  I would suggest consulting with an accredited exercise physiologist so an appropriate exercise program can be developed for you. I like Dr Kaplan's advice re on-line sites that can help you track your progress and results… this servces as a great motivator!

    All the best in achieving your health and fitness goals.

    Regards, Neil

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    fattyx63

    HealthShare Member

    Thanks everyone for all the feedback!!!!

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  • Wynter Chan

    Exercise Physiologist, Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor

    I am an ESSA-accredited Clinical Exercise Physiologist who specialises in Clinical Pilates as well as strength and conditioning. My passion is in musculo-skeletal rehabilitation both … View Profile

    Hi,

    I agree that you should definitely consult an exercise physiologist for specialised exercise programming. In addition, a thorough pre-exercise screening should be done and even perhaps an exercise ECG and spirometry test should be conducted to determine your current fitness levels for effective exercise prescription. Victoria University in Footscray can do that for you as part of their Cardio Club, which runs exercise testing and exercise programs for individuals recovering from CV events.

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