Keith Ahrens CFT, SFN, and BLS Instructor

At the age of 45, Ahrens weighed over 414 pounds and suffered a remote silent heart attack that resulted in open-heart coronary artery bypass surgery.  After surviving this critical surgery, Ahrens invested all of his efforts into losing weight and getting healthy. It took Ahrens a life-or-death crisis to realize how important it is to make healthy choices, and he hopes that Outrunning My Shadow will inspire others to take smart steps now to prevent health catastrophes in the future.

Having lost over 200 pounds without weight loss surgery since his open-heart surgery, Ahrens intends for his book to be a motivational testament to how people can change their lifestyle for the better. He offers tips on how to start living healthy, while acknowledging the challenges and emotional pitfalls one may endure while making drastic changes. 

When Keith Ahrens walked into his doctor’s office and complained of lightheadedness, he never imagined the drama awaiting him.Weighing more than 414 pounds and following a no-exercise, eat-whatever lifestyle, Ahrens discovered that he had suffered a heart attack and desperately needed open-heart surgery. The results of these traumatic events were numerous: dramatic weight loss without weight loss surgery, an entirely new way of eating, a commitment to exercise, an increased respect for his body…and a highly enlightening book, Outrunning My Shadow: Surviving Open-Heart Surgery and Battling Obesity/The Decision to Change My Life. Page after page, readers are reminded of the importance ofregular checkups, as well as healthy eating and sensible exercise. Many books about obesity and new-found health are written as admonitions, warnings that either you follow the text or suffer the consequences. In this book, Ahrens has focused on only the positive, the guilt-free you-can-do-it attitude that so many of us need when faced with drastic change. The essence of the author’s message is simple: get a checkup, move more today than you did yesterday, make a difference in your own well-being, and take control. 

At the age of 45, I weighed over 414 pounds and suffered a remote silent heart attack that resulted in open-heart coronary artery bypass surgery. After surviving this critical surgery, I invested all of my efforts into losing weight without weight loss surgery and getting healthy. It took a life-or-death crisis for me to realize how important it is to make healthy choices, and I hope that I can inspire others to take smart steps now to prevent health catastrophes in the future.

I have lost 200 pounds so far without weight loss surgery since my diagnosis of heart disease and open-heart surgery.

• Get a Checkup
• Set Small Goals
• Make Small Changes
• Don't Diet
• Move More Today Than You Did Yesterday

Stay focused. It’s worth it. It is amazing what we can accomplish as individuals. We must believe in ourselves. We must also realize that no one can do it for us. I tell people that the message in my book is – “No matter how bad things seem to be, there is always hope and that anything is possible.” 

Many people ask me what was the “Aha” moment when I decided that I needed to do something about my weight and what action did I take to make the changes? The decision to change my life was learning that I might have a heart problem and my acute awareness of my obesity and how it affected my quality of life.  I knew that if I didn’t change my life dramatically, I would die sooner than I wanted to. The “icing on the cake” was being told that I needed life saving open-heart surgery.

I have tried many, many times to lose weight before and had some success but each time relapsed only to put on far more pounds than I took off. For 23 years I tried and failed at just about every diet out there. I knew that I had to change my lifestyle and that simple or complex diets would not work for me. I still wanted to enjoy many of the foods I loved but knew certain changes would have to take place. I think the main problems I had with traditional diets for so many years was the fact they seemed unsustainable for long term balanced nutrition or they had a time frame, or ending if you will, which in my case the following day was automatic relapse.

I had to admit to myself that I had a problem with food and was a compulsive overeater. I had to rid myself of the old emotions that caused me to overeat. Stress, emotions, anxiety were the typical triggers.

I have tried not to concentrate at all on losing weight and never did. Losing weight for me has been a by-product of a healthy eating lifestyle combined with a good and active physical fitness program and the choices I make. Remember there are 1440 minutes in each day and that would ultimately mean I work on a healthy lifestyle for 1440 minutes each day.

I started to lose weight by making several immediate changes. The first is I stopped drinking sodas. I was drinking many sodas a day. I started drinking water, which in my opinion assists tremendously in losing weight. The last time I checked there was no medical data stating that drinking a lot of sodas was good for you. Besides the body needs the water to rejuvenate itself. The second thing I can remember is cutting out fast food. I have not been to a drive through in 2 ½ years. I have had people tell me it is extreme for them to give up there fried chicken, cheeseburgers, French fries and other fast foods that are high in fat, calories and sodium. I tell them that extreme to me is the 10-inch scar on my chest from my heart surgery and each person somehow finds a way to relate to that. I cut out most of the high fat foods that I used to eat and eat lean meats, mostly chicken and eat foods that have a good nutritional content. I eat a lot of fresh fruit. Most if not my entire sugar intake is from fresh fruit. I just buy what looks good and is in season. I am a big vegetable eater and love vegetables. I love grilled or baked vegetables lightly seasoned with olive oil and kosher salt and pepper. I try to stay away from the bad carbohydrates and focus on high fiber food products. For me, they just taste better anyway. I believe balance is the key. I used to eat 95% garbage and 5% good for you food. Now, I eat 95% good and 5% savory foods that I love. I find myself eating so much better and when I do eat something in that 5% category I enjoy it so much more. I can finally taste the foods now instead of the constant binge.

I have been asked if I ever wanted to quit? My drive to be more fit and healthier than the previous day has been a big boost for me and has kept me focused. I have never wanted to give up. I have been discouraged, yes. Sometimes even depressed. I found that hitting a plateau was discouraging but I realized that I would breakthrough it in due time. I find myself getting back on track quickly and hope this is the case the rest of my life.

Physical fitness and activity is a very important aspect of any weight loss program. I firmly believe that they both go hand in hand. I am also a Certified Fitness Trainer and have studied the effects of exercise on the body. It is a critical that the body assume some sort of activity to promote weight loss. It is just healthy to exercise routinely.

I do both cardio and weight resistance training. I normally work my cardio on a treadmill and bicycle. I used to tread water for an hour during the summer. I have just started to walk and jog slowly keeping my knees in mind. I have an exercise bicycle also. I played basketball by myself this summer on occasion. The point is that I try to mix up my exercise program as not to get bored. But exercise has been critical to my success.

When I speak to companies or groups I tell them to set small goals because if they fray or fall off track for some reason, which happens to all of us, they can get back on track and still be close to the original goal. Keep moving the bar. Make small changes. Small changes practiced routinely in your lifestyle add up to huge success for you. www.OutrunningMyShadow.com

Keith@KeithAhrens.com