When we checked in with Betty Becker in January, the Southgate woman was hitting the gym and counting calories, all part of her get-better plan following angioplasty.

        Getting motivated to lose weight is easy when a cardiologist tells you to just do it, Ms. Becker, 70, said at the time.

Betty Becker rides an exercise bike at St. Luke East in Fort Thomas. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        And after quintuple bypass surgery last month, motivation is a no-brainer, she says now.

        Ms. Becker underwent the surgery June 11. She started cardiac rehabilitation Monday.

        She had undergone three angioplasties to clear blocked coronary arteries, but the blockages kept coming back, so it was time for the bypass.

        “I'm sorry it had to be done, but I am feeling much better,” she says.

        Ms. Becker had been overweight for years when a combination of osteoarthritis and heart disease got her into the gym regularly. Since April 2000, she's lost more than 65 pounds. She wore a size 22 when she started her weight-loss program.

        ""Now I'm a size 12 petite,” she says.

        Her rehab program will include working out three days a week for three months under a nurse's supervision. After that, she'll continue regular exercise on her own.

        She continues on her low-fat, low-salt, low-cholesterol eating plan on her doctor's orders, and makes sure she gets plenty of chicken, fish and fruits and vegetables.

        But her plans for her 70th birthday party Saturday included a pint of Graeter's double-chocolate chip ice cream to be shared with her sisters, and a chocolate cake.

        “And, of course, it will have chocolate icing,” she says.

        Cake and ice cream aside, Ms. Becker knows that after all her surgeries, what she's celebrating.

        “I'm doing really well, and it's made a big difference,” she says.

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