Coach Ditka "Straight from the Heart":
Open the Door to a Healthy Heart’s
Interview with Mike Ditka

Q. Now that you’ve had your refrigerator makeover, what do you think about the tips you got on heart-healthy eating? Is this the kind of healthy advice you think anybody can follow?

Coach Ditka:

I really do. I think it is good advice. It makes sense and I think it’s important if they want to have a healthy life. I think you’ve got alternatives in life. You know, you can take any course you want to. I think the big thing in following a diet like this is some discipline in your life. You’ve got to be able to say no to certain things. Just because you liked something as a youngster doesn’t mean you have to like it as an adult. You can change your taste a little bit on the sweets and things like that.

Q. I know Dr. Judelson gave you a pretty good grade. For the most part, you had a healthy refrigerator, but I guess there is always some room for improvement?

Coach Ditka:

There is. I mean, when you’ve had a problem in your past, whether it’s attributed directly to high cholesterol or not, you want to lower your cholesterol. You want to eat healthy. You want to feel healthy. You want to have a little more energy. I really believe the only way to stay healthy is to eat properly, get your rest and exercise. If you don’t exercise and do the other two, I still don’t think it’s going to help you that much. I think you’ve got to incorporate everything into it. Eating properly is great. I mean you cut the fat down, cut the cholesterol out, but still you got to get your rest and you got to have some form of exercise.

Q. What about yourself since your heart attack in ‘88? What type of exercise routine and physical activity are you getting now?

Coach Ditka:

First thing, I did a lot of swimming. I got in the swimming pool. That was easier for me because I’ve had my hips replaced. I used to run a lot. I use to run miles and miles and miles. I couldn’t any more so I went into the swimming, did a lot of water aerobics and a lot of stuff in the water. I still do some of that so basically what I do, I’ve gone back to running some. But, I don’t run long distances. I run on a grass field and run intervals of 150 yards, walk 50, run 150, walk 50 and I keep doing that back and forth. When I get my heart rate up, I get good exercise and I think it’s good for a lot of things, plus it’s not hurting my hips right now. At this point it isn’t, maybe someday as a result of the running it will hurt. I do some weights and I do a lot of stretching. I think it’s important to stretch as you get older, but I try to do basically all the things I did when I played, except I can’t do them as well and as much.

Q. What about some other lifestyle changes you’ve made? What about your diet, specifically?

Coach Ditka:

I think a lot of things have to change. I think your alcohol intake has to change. You know, usually a big person feels they can drink anything they want to and as much as they want to and I’ve cut that way back. I do like red wine. I drink red wine, but it’s not a necessity that I drink 10 bottles of it. I can have a couple of glasses and that’s fine. I do like beer, but lately I’ve started drinking non-alcoholic beer and I like the taste of it and I don’t get the alcohol, so that’s a good alternative also.

Q. Say you’re in a job that’s demanding, there’s pressures, a coach’s stress, for example. How are you going to be handling that in spite of your lifestyle changes?

Coach Ditka:

I didn’t handle it very well in the beginning and that’s why I had the problem. Basically, my problem was attributed to stress more than anything. I don’t know what that does and I guess doctors can tell you that there’s chemicals that build up in your system when you go through a lot of stress and constant stress. I guess not to blow it off at all could be a problem, but to blow it off too much can be a problem also. What I’ve tried to do with my life now is, I understand the job’s important, believe me. If it wasn’t important, there wouldn’t be only 30 of us (NFL head coaches) doing it and I work for a guy and he pays me well to do it and I have a great obligation to the fans in this area. But, it’s not life or death and I’m not going to make it that. I’m not going to make it the all - everything. Our (the Saints) goal is to get better, make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, but I’m not gonna anguish over it like I have in the past. I got better at it last year except for one or two weeks. For one or two weeks I let it eat at me constantly, but that’s something you have to do and, again, it comes down to being willing to change your lifestyle. I think other things in life, too, are important. What you feel spiritually. I think a lot of that has to do with it. If you have no spiritual life, chances are everything is going to aggravate you, you’re going to fly off the handle at everything and that’s what I did in the past. I’ve kind of got that under control now.

Q. I know you have a lot of motivational sayings that are in your office. And you have one in particular, "nothing in this world is impossible to a willing heart." Can you talk to me about that? What does that mean to you? Is that your philosophy on life?

Coach Ditka:

Well, there’s a lot of ways to say it. Somebody said what your mind can conceive, your heart will believe, your will can achieve. That’s a lot of words, but you know, what you want to do in life, you can do it. But, you got to understand there’s sacrifices involved, there’s discipline, there’s perseverance. I mean, it doesn’t come easy. If things came easy, then everybody would be great at what they did, let’s face it. We would have no inferior people. Some people are willing to pay the price and it’s the same with staying healthy or eating healthy. There’s some discipline involved. There’s some sacrifices. You gotta push certain things away and say no I don’t want that, don’t worry about it, don’t bring the cake in front of me, I’m not going to eat it. And, sometimes the hostess doesn’t like it but that’s just part of it. You have to be able to say no. I think it’s the same in sports. You want to be good at what you’re doing, then you gotta practice a little more. The old saying "you get out of life what you put into it." One of my favorite sayings is "Hell comes when the person we are comes face to face with the person we ought to be." Now, what we should be, that’s regrets and there is no reason to have regrets in your life if you do the right thing. So, when it comes to eating healthy, it’s just doing the right thing. And it’s not something you have to do 365 days a year, but I think it’s something you have to do 25 days a month. Let’s put it that way.

Q. Do you have a family history of heart disease?

Coach Ditka:

Not really, and actually my cholesterol was 190 when I had the heart attack. 190, which isn’t that high. I took it down to about 130 and it’s probably about 140 or 145 now. My numbers are in good shape right now as far as I know. We’ve checked on that with the doctors. Matter of fact, I’ll get a physical this week. But, mine was brought about by the emotions I put into the game and it wasn’t right. I don’t know how to put it, but yet you know we have so many people who the way they look at life, the way they work depends on what happens, us winning or losing. It’s kind of crazy. So, I kind of got caught up in that, I’m gonna try to stay away from that.

Q. You’ve made a lot of lifestyle changes. What about your family, did members of your family make some of those changes too, as far as diet?

Coach Ditka:

Well, they have to. I mean if I’m eating it, the other people have to eat it also. I mean it’s just like we talked about in the refrigerator with Dr. Debra, what’s in the refrigerator is what you eat. I don’t let them hide things in there. Now, once in a while they put some snacks in the pantry that aren’t really that good, but that’s fine. Most of those are served to guests or a neighbor’s kids or something like that. You know, there’s not that many people there. There’s just me and my wife and a dog and we feed him Healthy Choice also.

Q. Is there anything you would say to someone who’s really not taking much stock in what they’re eating or their physical activity, after what you’ve gone through, that you’d say "Hey, you know it could happen to you, it’s time to wake up?"

Coach Ditka:

Here’s what I tell anybody and this is what I believe. The greatest gift we have is the gift of life. We understand that. That comes from our Creator. We’re given a body. Now you may not like it, but you can maximize that body the best it can be maximized. You can make it whatever you want to. You see people who have been very heavy in their life who have taken that body, trimmed it down, firmed it up through discipline, exercise and being able to say no. Eating properly, that all comes into it. I think it’s the greatest gift we have. I mean, how many years do you have in a body. We’re only passing through here, so to make it through 80, 90, you’re blessed, I mean to make it that long. So, why not try to maximize your body. I always tell people I want to live to be 150 and they say why would you want to do that. I say, well there’s a few people I haven’t made mad yet, I want to get them.

Q. If you were "no holds barred" to say what your favorite food is, you know, cholesterol, calories or fat don’t matter. What is your favorite?

Coach Ditka:

Really, if I’m gonna eat a meat, I’d rather eat venison than anything and I do like it a little on the rare side. That’s probably my favorite meat and I’ve had some awfully good venison in some of the great restaurants. But I like fruit. I mean, I could eat a lot of fruit. I’ve been into the habit of freezing white grapes and using them as a snack. Instead of eating peanuts or popcorn or something like that or pretzels, I just eat the white grapes. A friend of mine told me about it and I tell you what, now you don’t just sit there and eat all of them because I’m not sure that’s good for you either. But, they’re great and they’re refreshing and they kind of cool you off and it’s a nice thing to do before you go to bed.

Q. What did you learn today or how is that you incorporate into your lifestyle the food substitutions? How do you incorporate all that?

Coach Ditka:

Well, after I had the heart attack, it was a very simple choice. What the doctor told me I did and I did it religiously. I ate nothing but lean turkey breast or chicken breast or a piece of fish that was very lean. I mean I stayed away from everything. One of my favorite things is mayonnaise and I have to tell you that. I love mayonnaise, but I don’t eat it any more. If I do I put light mayonnaise on it, which I know is still not good but it’s a lot better than the other one and I don’t eat it that much. I found that over a period of time, and since coming down here, what I really like is hot sauce. When I put some Tabasco on things, and there’s really nothing in Tabasco, it’s not bad for you in any way, so that’s kind of become my substitute. Now you got to get used to a hot mouth, but that’s okay.

Q. What milk do you drink or what do you put on bread?

Coach Ditka:

Well, the milk I basically buy is skim. I buy margarine. I do have butter in the house, but I buy margarine and basically, I’ve used margarine ever since I’ve had the [heart] problem. I’ve used it religiously, I mean, I like the taste of it. I don’t see the difference. For years, people said you can always tell the difference. I guess if you were a profound butter eater you would tell the difference, but I was never a profound butter eater any way. When we grew up it wasn’t like we were that affluent, so margarine was a little better deal to buy, so we had the margarine.

Q. Why are you helping us out with the Open the Door to a Healthy Heart Campaign?

Coach Ditka:

Well, I really believe it’s important for people to understand that there are alternatives. People want a cop-out, listen I’m a realist and I talk about motivation, talk about all the things it takes to be greater or are important to win and people want to use excuses all the time. We have a lot of people that say "I can’t do it, it’s too tough." Then they watch someone else do it. "That’s too hard to do." I think it’s important because it is your life. It’s your body and you’re going to have a much better life, you are going to have a quality life, better lifestyle, you’re going to be healthier, you’re going to be happier, you’re going to enjoy the people around you and they’re going to enjoy you more. If you’re a guy that’s always tired and worn out, overweight, doesn’t want to do anything, no energy, I think you have alternatives. You have choices throughout your whole life and I think the main thing is, the best thing you can make choices about is your body, who you are, what you are, what you stand for and then that should be what you put into that body in the way of eating, how you exercise, your diet, everything else. To me that is why I’m doing it. I think that people should understand, if they want to change they can change and if they don’t they might as well not watch this.