Lowering blood pressure

lauraw1986
lauraw1986 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all, I'm a 26 year old female....for the last 6 months I've steadily gained almost a stone in weight. I gave the gym up and started eating junk on a regular basis. At a routine doctors appointment I was told I was classed as obese according to my bmi score (I'm 5 2" and weighed in at 9st12) and my blood pressure had increased (the tops end of normal) Although after blood tests and an ECG the docs said I was fine. I've made a conscious decision to eating well and exercising regularly and have lost 5lbs since 3rd January I seem to have 'plateaued' and am not getting anywhere. I'm on this health kick for obvious reasons but my main aim is to lower my blood pressure- had anyone else been in a similar situation and managed to lower their blood pressure naturally? If so can you recommend things I should be doing / eating or things I should stop doing??

Laura xx

Replies

  • lauraw1986
    lauraw1986 Posts: 6
    Sorry I'm not classed as obese but I am classed as overweight
  • Fr3shStrt
    Fr3shStrt Posts: 349 Member
    Exercise and losing weight should naturally bring your blood pressure down, but it is no guarantee. This is totally random and may not be the case for you at all, but birth control pills (with estrogen) turned out to be the cause of my high blood pressure. My blood pressure was high enough (and this was when I was in my early 20s) that I was put on meds, which brought it down, then I stopped taking my BC (I forget why) and my blood pressure really dropped. It was at a healthy level for a few years (with no blood pressure meds) so I tried going back on the pill and it shot back up.
  • lauraw1986
    lauraw1986 Posts: 6
    Ah thank you for that! Funnily enough I decided to stop my bc after being on for over 10 years....I think I'll make a docs appt in 6 weeks time to check my BP as I only stopped my bc a few weeks ago- fingers crossed it is lower! The docs said I had all the signs of suffering from anxiety which I seemed to have calmed down from since running and eating better but who knows!?
  • SmileyFaceGuy
    SmileyFaceGuy Posts: 201
    A low-sodium diet is great for lowering blood pressure because, well, sodium raises blood pressure (by increasing the volume of blood)
  • Doberdawn
    Doberdawn Posts: 733 Member
    1. Keep your daily sodium at or below 2000 mg a day.
    2. Stop caffeine.
    3. No decongestants.
    4. Take 1,000mg to 1,500mg fish oil daily.
    5. Take co-q 10 100mg 2x daily.
    6. Drink hibiscus tea, 1 cup 3x a day. This is not a gimmick. You can read it on Mayo clinic site.
    7. Exercise daily, even just 10 minute walk a day... But 30 minutes a day is better.
    8. Lose weight.
  • the3erwins
    the3erwins Posts: 37 Member
    I recently was able to come off blood pressure meds. Obviously, I lost some weight (118 lbs so far.). However, I also joined a gym and lowered my Sodium intake. Also, drink plenty of water. I also replaced regular coffee with decaf, and cut out nearly all other caffeinated beverages. It worked...my wife and I are both off the meds now.
  • jo_marnes
    jo_marnes Posts: 1,601 Member
    My bp has changed as my fitness increased. Was normal before (120/ 75) and has dropped to the lower end of normal (100/ 55) over the past 4 years
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Ah thank you for that! Funnily enough I decided to stop my bc after being on for over 10 years....I think I'll make a docs appt in 6 weeks time to check my BP as I only stopped my bc a few weeks ago- fingers crossed it is lower! The docs said I had all the signs of suffering from anxiety which I seemed to have calmed down from since running and eating better but who knows!?

    My doctor was worried about my BP because it's getting on the high end of normal; she's concerned because birth control can cause higher BP, so if I can't get my BP down by my next appointment she's going to take me off of it. So if you've stopped that will probably also help.

    Agree with others that reducing salt and stress can help. My doctor recommended yoga, meditation, or just taking time for myself. Since I already am fairly unstressed (at least while I'm not at work) I'm working on getting healthier and reducing salt.
  • lorenzoinlr
    lorenzoinlr Posts: 338 Member
    I saw my blood pressure drop from the high side of normal to 100/55 as a result of fitness, loss of the weight below and preparing my own meals more often without added salt, as opposed to eating out.
  • lauraw1986
    lauraw1986 Posts: 6
    Thanks for all your help and advice xx

Categories