Dude. You have a bum ticker. You have had at least one stroke. You retain water like the Hoover Dam. You're on permanent disability, yes? The economy is what it is and you've been absent from the workforce for quite a while.

I'm not saying don't quit working for it, but you've been out of commission for quite a while. Don't beat yourself up about it.

Thanks. This is my disappointment that this gym membership, now 3 months old, isn't showing the side benefits that I expected, especially considering that the direct benefits have been well beyond my expectations. My physical stamina has gone from about 90 minutes of casual activity a day to almost 3 hours at a sustained heartrate of 95 bpm (my upper limit due to the implanted defibrillator, bpm-wise not timewise).

However, my mental stamina has not improved much at all, and that is what I want most to improve. In that regard, the only thing that has increased is the intensity of my afternoon naps. I had also hoped that my heart's tolerance for mental and emotional stress would improve, but that has not budged.

Anyway, this is my progress report 3 months in, and this is a year-long experiment. At 6 months, my sessions with a trainer go from once a week to twice. At the very least, I will come out of this looking a helluva lot better than when I started.

Concentration will build back slowly. You've made great progress so far. Unbelievably great progress.

Your meds may be interfering somewhat, but my gosh, you're actually feeling well enough to want to get back to work!

Keep working towards your goal and I bet you'll continue to see progress. It's hard to not be impatient ..... hugs.

I have always wanted to get back to work, but when my son was 15, I needed to put that aside to fulfill my parental role and move to Fresno. Now that he is on his own, I can return to my goals, and number one is getting fit enough to conduct a serious job search. You are right, though; my reliance on nitrates impacts my cognitive functioning. That is why I hope to improve my stress tolerance. At my current rate, I should be ready a few years past retirement age. :)

Also, there was more than a little of that "grouchy bear is grouchy"-thing going on last night.

You know, feel free to growl at me, but not only do I agree with deborah but . . .

there are plateaus, you know. If you stick with it, you generally do move to improvement. You HAVE improved rather dramatically in a short period of time.

Also, not saying this is right for you, but wondering if Eat to Live would be of any benefit for you and your heart. You may want to read the book, which is pretty widely available and not expensive.

Now growl away.

As bearwife is saying, you'll experience plateaus as you improve. When people embark an physical fitness program, it's completely normal to make very noticeable improvements early on and then not seem to do as well. As your physical fitness improves, albeit at your body's own pace, your mental capacity will come back as well. For someone with the medical issues you have, I think you're doing incredibly well. Keep it up and you'll start to see real benefits.

I was diagnosed with heart failure seven years ago. The only thing I've found that helps with mental clarity is to greatly reduce the amount of food I eat and eating more greens and less meat and carbs when I do eat. This has killed my afternoon nap that was an absolute requirement a year or two back.

My physical stamina has gone from about 90 minutes of casual activity a day to almost 3 hours at a sustained heartrate of 95 bpm

WOW! That's impressive.

It's frustrating to have to work within limits, but OH MY GOODNESS, that is a huge change, and it's worth celebrating.