Underweight with High Blood Pressure

GingerLolita
GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
My boyfriend is underweight and has mildly high blood pressure. I've been trying to get him to eat more for years, but he just isn't hungry enough and gets mad at me for "nagging" him and "forcing" him to eat. He doesn't have an eating disorder or anything psychological; some of his family members are like this too. It worries me that I can see his whole skeleton when he doesn't have a shirt on, but it doesn't seem to bother him much. He decided he wants to try and lower his blood pressure, and it seems like the DASH diet is the best choice out there. I just worry about him limiting high-calorie choices because there aren't many servings of nuts, fats, and proteins allowed. Although he doesn't eat often, he tends to like these calorie dense foods. Of course, there is an issue when I am cooking for us because most of my meals aren't very calorie-dense. I would give him bigger portion sizes, but he just can't eat that much in one sitting. He also doesn't like many dairy products and is slightly lactose intolerant, and since I'm dairy-free, we really don't keep many in our apartment. Does anyone know if non-dairy substitutes are okay, maybe with some extra protein servings? He's also recently increased his activity level because of a new job, so he's been eating more, but I don't think his net calorie intake has increased much, if at all. I would try to get him on MFP, but he's always annoyed that I spend so much time logging calories, etc. that I know he would never do it himself.

Of course, searching the internet came up with only results about weight loss and lowering blood pressure. Does anyone have advice on what foods or diets are best or worst for weight gain and lowering blood pressure?

Replies

  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    It's nice that you are concerned about his health but he's an adult. Let him figure things out for himself with the guidance of his doctor.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Yeah, he should work with his doctor. This is a medical issue. Most people at a low weight have a very low blood pressure. I am at a low weight and my blood pressure is very low. If the doctor hooks me up to a blood pressure monitor the alarms go off continually because my blood pressure is detected at being unusually low. But, the doctor said it's normal and healthy for me. I have to be careful of blood pressure swings (where it goes too low).

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