Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Prescription: Running and No Refined Carbs


Chris Uszynski, 38, of Amherstburg surmounted a serious sports-related injury by becoming a running fool.

A terrible hockey hit dislocated my hips and landed me in hospital with four hip operations between the ages of 11 and 13. The rest of my adolescence was spent being very cautious about physical activity.

As a rule, your metabolism slows noticeably every five years, and through my 20s and into my 30s - because I was mostly sedentary - I gained more than 65 pounds. In fact, my weight ballooned to 230 pounds, an unhealthy weight for my five-foot-10-inch frame. Arthritis set in and as I entered my early 30s, I was facing a double hip replacement.

As a father of two very young children, I knew my life had to change.

I visited my family doctor who is a colleague of Dr. Gabe Mirkin, who invented sports medicine 50 years ago. I followed Mirkin's lifestyle change mantra: exercise and no refined carbs.

It's a lifestyle change, not some fad or quick fix, but a commitment to yourself.

In five months, I dropped 65 pounds, and went from a size 40-inch waist to a 31-inch waist. Then, it was time to attack the arthritis that was in my hips and knees.

Great doctors believe that most arthritis is caused by an infection, so my family physician, Dr. Colin Sinclair, prescribed a two-month supply of antibiotics five years ago that removed all the arthritis from my body.

Then I started to run. I have completed dozens of marathons, half-marathons as well as 10-km and five-km races. I am a running fool.

This entire experience has given me the ability to inspire and tell people that they can change their lives.

I went from popping powerful anti-inflammatory drugs to absolutely nothing after a 35-km training run. I run more than 100 km per week and run with or after my wife and children every day. My love for my family continues to be my inspiration in everything I do. I found through weight loss and exercise that you need to be vigilant and don't give in to temptation.

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