Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Lower My Blood Pressure: Days 26 to 31

I know: I'm over by one day, but that's just the way the cookie crumbled this time. Mmm... cookies...

 It's been really important to me to find exercise that I like that doesn't bore me, that challenges me without wrecking me, and that is as efficient as possible.

Enter Zumba.

I first attended Zumba classes a couple of years ago when it was still new on the market. I enjoyed it then, but then I just fell out of it after a while. I really do think, though, that if you like to dance, and if you want to have fun, this might be for you.

It's based on Latin beats and Latin dance steps, but Zumba is more than that. It can be more fitness-based, dance-based, and you can even include weights. And like everything health-related, unless you try it, you don't know what it can do for you.

I started taking classes again about 8 weeks ago. A friend at work has been teaching it for a couple of years, and I thought it was about time I started supporting her. And I'm really glad I did, because it means that I can hang around with friends in a completely different environment, and getting exercise in a completely different way than I normally do.

Zumba was recently featured on The Biggest Loser, and it was so interesting how attitudes changed in one single class:

Perhaps some people who have never heard of it will give it a try!
So, this is the end of this particular challenge, but it's far from the end of working on my blood pressure. The weight loss has been easier than I ever imagined, but I think that's because of the technology in myfitnesspal.com that made it so much easier to track what I was putting in my mouth and all the exercise I do. I've learned that I really am an active person, and that I really needed to look at what I was eating to get this issue under control. It's still scary: I don't know if it will last, but I'm optimistic that it will. I don't know yet if my pressure is lower yet, but I think I will give an update in about six months after my next appointment with my doctor. I've also added "ticker" to my sidebar that will show how far I've come, so you can watch it if you're curious! Oh, also: I lost six pounds last week. That makes fourteen pounds in total. Wowee!

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