Blood Pressure

marcusj73

I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and I was told that if I lost weight it would come down. I have lost 36 lbs so far but my pressure is still elevated. I lost the weight by changing my eating habits and exercising. I didn't want to do a quick fix that would allow the weight to return as soon as I stopped. Just wondering if anyone else has any better info on this. I don't want to take meds forever.

Wuggums

For some people, BP comes down very quickly with weight loss. For others, it happens more slowly. For still others, BP is more of a hereditary issue and will always be high regardess of how "healthy" they otherwise are. For me, I've lost about 150 pounds and I'm still on BP meds. Granted, I'm now on the lowest dosage and I think I may need to cut them out completely soon (BP drops a little too low at times). Keep working - even though your BP may still be high, you're making the right healthy changes.

knittnponder

Reducing your carbs will help with blood pressure. I also take a magnesium supplement that brought mine down some before I lost weight. Exercise will help too. Regular exercise that improves cardiovascular health will begin to bring it under control so do it several times a week. And of course drink plenty of water and watch your sodium!

Homer3D

Hi Marcus,

I got your friend request and your question about how I lowered my BP. Congrats on the weight lost so far, but I guess is that you are like me. You don’t really care too much about what you weigh as long as you BP is within normal range. What really helped me was jogging with my heart rate monitor. You want to focus on keeping your heart rate in the “zone” for at least 30 minutes worth. So I would set the zone and go jogging. If I was under the zone, I would push harder…when I went over, I would slow down or walk. Hill training is also really good. Basically, find an good incline and jog uphill then walk down hill. Repeat.

Another thing that could help is limit your intake of sodium and drink lots of water.

Good luck!

i_love_vinegar

I am very short so a little weight makes a huge difference...I went up to 124 pounds last semester (before starting mfp though) and I recall seeing the school nurse and being told my blood pressure was a bit high...they asked if I had been running. I said, "Yea...I was in a hurry" BUT I wasn't running though.


I decided to lose weight. I had never been above 107 pounds until then...I got down to 108 a couple weeks ago and went to the doctors. The nurse said, "Your blood pressure is low! Like a child's, but you are really small though."

I am still losing weight, but that comment made me happy and relieved. I feel you on this and congrats to you on achieving low blood pressure through getting healthy!

jeninne

Hi Marcus,

I got your friend request and your question about how I lowered my BP. Congrats on the weight lost so far, but I guess is that you are like me. You don’t really care too much about what you weigh as long as you BP is within normal range. What really helped me was jogging with my heart rate monitor. You want to focus on keeping your heart rate in the “zone” for at least 30 minutes worth. So I would set the zone and go jogging. If I was under the zone, I would push harder…when I went over, I would slow down or walk. Hill training is also really good. Basically, find an good incline and jog uphill then walk down hill. Repeat.

Another thing that could help is limit your intake of sodium and drink lots of water.

Good luck!

Adding the cardio as you did helped lower my husbands- and his appears to be related genetically. All of what you are doing and add the cardio is awesome no matter what!

Rae6503

Unfortunately you may have to be on medication the rest of your life. I was diagnosed at 25 and even when I hit my goal weight 2 years ago and was pretty darn thin, I still needed medication.