I was diagnosed with high blood pressure (hypertension) about three years ago. After a series of tests, my doctor told me that there was no medical reason for my high blood pressure; it had to be hereditary. Since there is no medical reason why he had high blood pressure, then it could be changed. I made up my mind to get it down and off the meds. I was taking 2 chartia pills a day, time released.
After taking medication to lower my high blood pressure, I noticed a difference in how I felt. It seemed to calm me down and I had fewer headaches. Even though the medication was helping me, I didn’t want to depend on it. I was afraid that my 2 pills would increase to 3, then 4 and so on. I took this as a wake up call to make a switch and lower the 2 pickups to 1 and then to none.
Here is what I did…
I found a way to lose weight. I don’t like to exercise, but I did too. I did as little exercise as I could. I have a treadmill at home and I walk while watching the shows I like. Some of my favorite shows are Bones, Haven, The Middle, and Modern Family. I recorded the shows and watched them while walking on the treadmill. I’d skip all the commercials by doing a 1 hour show that’s about 30 minutes long. This is the time he needed to walk to have a healthy heart. Those 30 minutes would take me between 1 mile and almost 2 miles depending on how fast I walk. Every day is different and I would adapt according to how I felt. However, I made sure to always walk, even when I didn’t want to.
I also changed the way I ate.. I didn’t want to be on a diet, but I needed a little help with what to eat, so I found a site where I could do this. It was not a place where they sold food, but simply a place where I could learn about the correct foods and how and when to eat them.
I got rid of anything easy to do first. All those boxed meals like tuna helper and stuff. They are very high in salt. Think about it. Companies need to somehow preserve them and I think the way they do that is by adding a ton of salt. Salt not only contributed to my high blood pressure, but also prevented me from losing weight. Also eliminate canned soup. After eating canned soup, people would ask me if I was feeling okay, but I never understand why. Yes now. They said I looked blushing; that my cheeks were red and my nose too. I think to this day it was all the salt in the soup.
I started buying fresh fruits and vegetables before shopping at the grocery store. I bought fresh fruits and vegetables. The stand is much cheaper than the grocery store and the produce tastes better. The stall I shop at packs up small pots full of plums or tomatoes for a low price. Every week the items change in the pots, which helps me change the products I buy. I spend an average of $15 for a week or more. I can tell you for sure that the same items I buy at the stand cost twice as much at the grocery store and have no flavor.
I cut the white items to include bread and sugar. I buy brown rice pasta and spinach pasta now. If I eat bread, I try to only have one slice of bread and make my sandwich thicker in the middle. I buy multigrain breads. I ditched the sugar and used honey instead. I even cook with honey.
All these things I did are easy to do.
In 1 year I was completely off meds and lost 19lbs. I still want to lose more weight, but I seem to be having a hard time achieving it. I’ve been slowing down my treadmill workouts a bit and that might be why. Even when life gets hectic, I try to find time to work on myself and stay healthy.
I don’t want to be dependent on medication again. I recommend that you get a blood pressure machine and monitor your pressure, check it several times a day at first and only once or twice a week after that to make sure your blood pressure stays below 120/80.