Starting eating better and blood pressure.

weightgoesbyebye
weightgoesbyebye Posts: 54 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This is a question for any members who has or has had high blood pressure when they started eating right.

I have high blood pressure and just changed my diet 4 days ago and I have noticed my blood pressure getting higher each day. Not a lot just a few points but when it was high to start every point hurts. Is this normal as the junk cleans out of my system. I found one article online about it and it said your body releases all the salt and water it has held onto into your system which raises your pressure.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this. Thsnks

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,886 Member
    Hmm. This might be a question better asked of your doctor. But what was your diet and what did you change it too? Are you measuring your BP the same way under the same conditions now that you did before?
  • weightgoesbyebye
    weightgoesbyebye Posts: 54 Member
    My diet before was pizza pops, big bag chips daily, 2lt pop daily, burger king, lots of meat and cheese sandwiches, hungry mans, chocolate bars, all processed foods for the most part, out of 7 days I would eat veggies maybe 2 of them and a good meal maybe for 4 total meals.

    Now breakfast is egg whites, peppers, onions, beans, mushrooms, 1 toast with peanut butter.

    Lunch is a chicken wrap with 1 large dumpsters wrap, 3 ounces chicken, romaine, tomatoes, cheese, and chipotle sauce.

    Supper is rice, 3 cups veggies and a meat.

    No chips
    No candy
    1 can of pop daily
    No chocolate bars

    Thanks
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    With 175 lb to lose, you should continue using your bp meds as directed. As you approach your goal for weight loss at some point in the future, you are very likely to discover that your blood pressure has returned to normal. Always stay in sync with your doctor on managing your bp. As progress happens, your dr might be able to reduce your dosages.
  • weightgoesbyebye
    weightgoesbyebye Posts: 54 Member
    I am hoping it does. Most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms but not me. I get light headed pains in my head and dizziness. So at least I know to take it easy. 3 years of that takes its toll on my body and mind and if my blood pressure does go back to normal then the symptoms will leave and I will be a new person..
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
    weightgoesbyebye wrote: »
    I am hoping it does. Most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms but not me. I get light headed pains in my head and dizziness. So at least I know to take it easy. 3 years of that takes its toll on my body and mind and if my blood pressure does go back to normal then the symptoms will leave and I will be a new person..

    Are you currently under a doctor's care for it?
  • weightgoesbyebye
    weightgoesbyebye Posts: 54 Member
    Yes I see my dr once a month. And am on meds.
  • Dilvish
    Dilvish Posts: 398 Member
    I too have high BP. My doctor actually wanted to put me on a second medication and I said no. I had been on the lowest dose of Cilazapril that you can take (2.5mg) for 12 years until my pressure started creeping up, as did my weight.

    I asked what I could do to lower it naturally, aside from obvious weight loss. Contrary to what you were told, reducing salt/sodium intake will lower your pressure not raise it. This is what he recommended...no more than 1600mg of sodium per day. It does work but it takes a lot of label reading (nutrition facts) to ensure you don't go over.

    The big problem is that pretty much anything in a package contains a great deal of sodium, including sodas. Even canned vegetables contain a crap load of salt...many staple foods like cheese and bread too are loaded with sodium.

    If you have cut out all the crap food, you should also be checking your sodium that you may be adding to your new diet...if you also enjoy soy sauce, get rid of it. Soy sauce is so bad for blood pressure it's not funny, even the "low sodium" version.

    Good advice dictates that if you need to lose weight and lower your BP, cut out all the crap, especially soda, even diet soda! The chemicals in soda wreak havoc on your system. Your light headedness could be a sign of sugar or caffeine withdrawal if you were consuming so much pop and sugar.

    Changing your diet radically (good for you) can have it's ups and downs but it should make you feel better eventually.

    I think it wise for now just to change what you eat not how much. Focus on healthy foods but don't worry about portion control until you are satisfied it is food you can truly enjoy then work on portion control and adding exercise.

    If your dizziness continues, get it checked out as it could be something more serious.

    Personally I consume walnuts (1/4 cup) and pomegranate juice on a daily basis to also help keep my BP in check. With the diet (better eating habits) I am on I usually get less than 1600mg of sodium each day and my BP is back to normal...yesterday it was 117/73 albeit while still on the Cilazapril. FYI I am overweight by 55lbs (was 80lbs)...

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