I’ve recently been told I have decently high blood pressure. No biggy, I knew about it prior to the doc visit. But I have been trying to lose weight for quite a while to no avail. Are there any SDMBers out there who are eating a heart healthy diet and actually losing weight? If so what is your secret? And does anyone know and really good heart healthy recipes?
Exercise is the key to losing weight, or being healthy for that matter.
It doesn’t matter how “healthy” your diet is, if you are not burning more calories than you eat, then you will not lose weight.
You must eat the same and exercise more, or eat less and exercise the same, or you can exercise a lot more and eat more.
There are several LOW SALT cook books that one can buy. I also bought a Diabetic cook book. I too was told I have high blood pressure.
Once you start a low-sodium diet, all fast food tastes very salty. It is surprising how much salt is in EVERYTHING. I have had to eliminate a lot of food that I like, well not eliminate but cook from scratch, to lower the sodium. I love chips and salsa. And the salsa is loaded with salt not to mention the chips.
And I have started riding my bike to work (3 miles). For my health and cuz I’m too damn cheap to pay $1.73 for a gallon of gas :D.
Good luck
Surb
Yup. Exercise.
Walking instead of driving does the trick for me, but then there’s a lot of stuff I can do within walking distance of home.
When I was driving to work each day (over one hour commute time,) I wasn’t getting enough exercise and gained weight like crazy - 40 pounds of potbelly in about 2 years and my blood pressure went up, too.
I don’t commute any more. If I walk enough, then I don’t have to take my blood pressure pills. My blood pressure is borderline high, and the walking keeps it down in the normal range. I do check my blood pressure often here at home, and take my pills when the pressure starts rising. And then I make sure I do more walking.
I’ve also take off 20 of the forty pounds. If I can get rid of another 10 I’ll be pretty happy. I was a little on the under weight side before I got fat.
I’m not about to endorse a diet but after looking at Atkins I found that cutting sugar and high glycemic carbohydrates has reduced my BP enough I’m no longer on medication. I’m not a fanatic about counting carbs but I just plain feel better now. Consider it but consult your own doc before going on a diet of any kind.
If you want my non-medical opinion I think salt is unfairly demonized. Unless you’re retaining fluid cutting salt may not help your BP. It didn’t help me. TheLadyLion salts everythign and has normal BP. A couple of doctors have told me that adding potassium can be far more important than cutting salt. Again, eat some bananas maybe but consult your doc before taking suppliments.