Lower My Blood Pressure: Update

It's been seven months since I finished this challenge, but I thought it deserved an update. By the time I'd finished this challenge, the journey really only just begun, and it's not over yet.

As of today, I've lost 62 pounds and a bunch of inches off my body. I ran a 10k in September and finished right in the middle of the pack at 1:07:04.55. I exercise every day. Every. Single. Day. I count my calories. I go to bed early. I stretch every night.

In short, I am quite a nauseatingly healthy and boring person.

But today, I went to see my doctor for the first time since we talked about me changing my lifestyle habits to check to see what my blood pressure was like. I was nervous about it, because it was at the end of the workday and I'm always a little hyped after that. I was sure that I was going to hear him say, "You've done well, but there's still so much more to do."

But he didn't. In fact, I didn't even get to see him at first. I saw his medical intern first.

She said, "What can we do for you?" I told her I was there to follow up on my blood pressure problem. She looked up my file and saw all my tests and asked if I was on medication, to which I said no, I was changing my lifestyle habits instead.

"What have you been doing?"

"Exercising, watching what I eat, and losing weight."

"And how much have you lost?"

"Sixty-two pounds."

She did a double-take, blinked twice, and said, "Ww-ow." And when I explained that I didn't want to go down the medication road, and that I wanted to try to change my habits instead, she sighed and said, "Hearing that makes me so happy."

And when she took my blood pressure, there it was:

I am normal.

After that, I saw my own doctor because I wanted to give him something: a photo from me running in the 10k. On the back, I wrote, "Thank you for helping me to learn to live a healthy life." He thanked me and said, "When I drive to the hospital, I always see you walking and running up the path there. Keep it up!"

And well, I have to keep it up, because I'm 16 pounds away from my goal. There have been plenty of days when I just wanted to give up, but I haven't. I have mixed feelings about today, because it feels like I don't have to keep going now, but I know I can't stop yet. And maybe this will always be a struggle... which is a bit depressing. But I've been living like this for seven months, and it won't always be so hard. It's certainly much easier than the alternative.

And that's the point: I am fortunate to get great health care, but I've chosen to try to focus on "care of health" instead. And it's paying off.

Keeping on keeping on...

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!

Lower My Blood Pressure: Days 19 to 25

I suppose I left it all on a cliffhanger in my last post, regarding what happened at the doctor's office the next day. I'm sure you've all lost sleep over it and wondered if I'd ever emerge again. Nail-biting situation, that's what.

Or not. I mean, I'm sure those of you who read this all have lives away from my blog.

Well, the doc read the results of all my tests and very gently proclaimed that he did not want to put me on any medications, and that we should work on changing my lifestyle. "That means watching salt, saturated fats, eating more fruits and vegetables..."

As he said these things, I began to smile. He looked at me and started laughing, "You're laughing at me, aren't you?"

"No, no!" I exclaimed. "I'm just so glad you said that," and explained to him all the things I'd been working on since we'd talked last, finishing with the sentence, "... and so far, I've lost six pounds."

Then, he did something I never thought I'd see a doctor do.

He applauded.

I'm so glad I have such an understanding person as my doctor. He says things like, "We'll work on it together," instead of, "You need to stop all the bad things you're doing." I really feel like I'm not in it all alone. And I'm so grateful for that.

Anyway, I'm to see him again in six months, when we'll see if things have changed. I really feel positive that there will be big changes in my tests and in my body.

And I lost another two pounds this week.

Lower My Blood Pressure: Days 11 to 18

This was an interesting week. I went out three times this week for dinner (which, now that I think of it, is a heck of a lot for me!). Last Saturday, we went out to a dinner theatre that had a buffet. I had a pretty good idea of what kind of food was going to be there, and I really just wanted to enjoy myself without having to worry about what I was eating. I decided to work my butt off with an hour-long cardio workout and two 40-minute dogwalks. I walked into dinner with about 1400 calories extra to eat.

Turns out, it's really hard to eat 1400 calories in one sitting... I mean, unless you're at McDonald's. You can do it in three seconds there.

Anyway, it's been a good experience for me to get used to thinking about what I'm doing to eat before I go somewhere, and to have some idea of what is a good portion. I've also learned that, if I don't exercise before these events, I'm not even that hungry to begin with before dinner, so I can't really fit much food into me after all.

This from someone with the ever-expanding stomach.

At my Yoga Fusion class last night, as we lay there at the end of the 90-minute session, I noticed how much easier my breath seems to move inside of me these days... like silk through my fingers, or like water in a stream. I'm trying to remember what my breath was like before this challenge, and all I can think of is that it wasn't like this. It's just... easier.

On Monday, I'm going to my doctor for a follow-up appointment. I'm nervous. I don't know if my numbers are going to show how much work I've done. I've learned to be disappointed after these appointments... I hope I can convince myself that what I'm doing is right, and at the same time, convince my doctor that I am actually doing something about this. Sometimes, it's the doctor that is the hardest to convince.

Oh, and I lost four pounds this week. Whoa...

Lower My Blood Pressure: Days 6 to 10

The food battle continues... Still eating too much sugar, but still under the calorie goals set by myfitnesspal.com. I think I'm going to spend some time today researching some better snacks that have less sugar in them. I like fruit, but it's not doing me any favours right now.

On Thursday night, I decided to accept a friend's invitation to go to a Yoga Fusion class at a local studio. She's mentioned it to me before, I've always been reluctant to do group exercise activities. It's not because I'm embarrassed to exercise around people, just that I like solitary exercise.

Anyway, I'm glad she talked me into it. I was looking for something different to do for exercise that night, so I borrowed another friend's yoga mat and made short trip there. I walked into the warm studio, unsure of what to expect, but open to whatever would happen.

I'm glad I brought a big bottle of water and a towel.

It was a surprisingly relaxing class, even though we worked hard. It was a mix of Pilates (which I've always enjoyed) and yoga. I thought that the warmth of the room would do me in (it wasn't officially a hot yoga class... perhaps tropical is the better word?), but it's true that your muscles stretch better when they are warm. It was interesting, because during the resting poses, I felt curiously cooler, even though I'd been dripped with sweat only moments before. I knew I'd be sore the next day, but I felt good about it, proud that I'd given my muscles a new challenge.

The class ended with a long period of corpse pose, which went by really quickly. Actually, the whole 90-minute class went by in a flash. I felt like I could breathe easily again after a long day. I overheard a couple of people say that they didn't think their blood pressure could take another class, but I really thought it did my heart good. I suppose the real test would be to test my blood pressure after I got home and showered and cooled down, but I'm going to have faith for now that it is good for me.

And yes, I'm going back next week. Maybe I'll get a yoga butt after all. Oh, and I lost two pounds this week. Yay me.

Lower My Blood Pressure: Days 4 & 5

It's been an uncomfortable couple of days for me and my tummy. Yesterday, after doing my usual 30 lengths at the pool, I was so tired that I could barely walk home. I lay down for a while... felt a few chills... and thought, "Hmm, maybe I've overdone it."

Fast forward to this evening and the first solid meal (sort of) that I've been able to eat since yesterday morning. I think I must have had food poisoning or something, but whatever it was, it's just about finished now, and I hope I never have to go through another wretched night of crampy tummy again.

Heh, you can always hope.

Anyway, as I snacked on my second small bowl of dry bran flakes this afternoon, I thought about how delicious it tasted. My hubby was eating a banana, and it smelled like the best thing ever. Feeling brave, I went and got one, and man, was it good.

Then, it dawned on me:

Having never gone through something like this before, I tend to take my digestive system for granted. Perhaps I abuse it... I thought nothing of burning through half a big bag of chips on a binge day. I usually paid for it the next day, but I always recovered by the afternoon... no biggie.

All the clichés about food are true:

1. Food is precious.
2. Not everyone gets to eat the food I get to eat.
3. Not everyone has the stomach to eat like I do.

I've been so obsessed with counting my calories and making sure I exercise enough to eat the foods that I want to eat, that I forgot the main point: I can eat whenever I want. I just have to remember that I don't have to worry that it won't be there tomorrow for me to enjoy, and that my system really should only have to work so hard to give me energy. I need not test it all the time.

Oh, and also: If you're ever up in the middle of the night with cramps in your digestive system, try a mugful of hot water with a couple of pieces of star anise infused in it. Stopped my cramps within minutes!

Lower My Blood Pressure: Days 1, 2 and 3

Following a few appointments with various members of the medical profession, I have to finally admit that my blood pressure is higher than it should be. My weight and my genetics are against me. Since I can't do anything about my genetics, time to get serious about my weight.

Having always been pleasantly plump (and sometimes, unpleasantly so), this is a lifelong battle for me. I think that now that I have something to work on that is a result of this plumpness, I can finally turn and look this problem in the face. This has not been an easy thing to do.

I'm not going to go into specifics. I think I'm finished being depressed about this situation... at least, I am for now. I have a feeling this is going to be a rollercoaster of a challenge.

For the past three days, I've been using myfitnesspal.com to track all the things I put into my mouth, and all the exercise I do. First observations?

1. I ate way too much (but no surprise there).
2. I eat a lot of sugar, mostly in the form of fruit.
3. Losing two pounds a week is a lot more work than I thought it would be.

I've also found out the lengths I'm willing to go to just to get a little bit more food. Yesterday evening, when I had discovered I messed up and had too many breadsticks for an appetizer and was a couple hundred calories over, I decided I'd add twenty more minutes to the workout I was planning to do later that evening, and a good, long yoga session. I preferred to work harder than be over my limit.

Today, I'm tired, but I did get a Jillian Michaels workout and a 45-minute dog walk in. So far, not bad. I'm hoping it'll get easier.

For now, I'll just have a little nap here on the couch after I eat my cup of raw turnips... which, by the way, are only 36 calories...