new and frustrated with weight gain, High BP

Hi there! Welcome back.
My return to this site was also inspired by fear of BP meds. I haven't gained weight recently but I guess I've been eating poorly and a lot more stressed (I was between jobs, had a sick pet and a car accident in November-January) and my BP shot up really high, higher than I've ever had before. I immediately starting logging and limiting sodium to around 1000mg per day (AHA recommended max is 1500/day). I think that stress is a big factor too, and I've been trying to work on that. It's been 3 weeks now and I've seen improvement. My doc is no longer talking about meds, as long as I can keep it up.

Reduction of calories is the only thing that's truly *necessary*, I think. Logging is the best way to make sure you're doing that. I think some people get bored of just counting, though, (or they eat tiny portions of really calorie-dense foods and feel hungry all the time) so paying attention to sugar or macros could be a way to stay involved & interested. For BP limiting sodium is usually important. I really don't recommend any fad diet that tells you to mess with your macros (don't go super low fat or super low carb or anything like that. It's hard to stick to and it's not healthy).

I think it's mostly about finding what feels right for the long term. This isn't something you can do for a couple weeks and then quit, or everything will go back to how it was. Personally I always seem to eat less protein than MPF tells me to, but I'm not a body builder and my fat & carbs are right about where they ought to be, so I don't worry about it too much. I'm eating at a bit of a deficit right now, trying to lose another 5 lbs or so to help with my heart health, but when that's done I plan to log at maintenance calories for at least a few weeks as I transition to "eyeballing" healthy meals in the "real world".

Best of luck to you!

iaamo8 wrote: »

I am not new to my fitness pal. I am 51 and keep gaining weight. I am currently 179 and 5'4" female. I have recently been diagnosed with extremely high blood pressure, I do not like the meds and their side effects so I want to reduce my weight to try and reduce my blood pressure as well. I do not like exercise, mainly because I have an auto immune disorder called sarcoidosis in my lungs which leaves me breathless with the slightest exertion. In my past interactions with myfitnesspal I have lost maybe 5 pounds max and just seemed to be too busy to log my foods.

Does anyone have advice on what has worked best for them? Is it controlling sugar intake, keeping strictly to macros, or the reduction of calories work the best? My biggest worry is resetting my metabolism and actually gaining weight which is what seems to be happening.
Thank you for your response in advance.

For me, personally, counting calories was definitely the way to go. It allowed me to still eat some of my favourite foods (although not usually as much of them as I might want!), and also allowed me to learn which treats were not worth the calories and what a proper portion size looks like.

Make the time to weigh and log your food, at least for a while. It might seem time-consuming at first, but once you get a few recipes and favourite foods in your list it will become much quicker and easier. And as you learn, you might find that you get better at eyeballing portions and can continue without logging very much.

iaamo8 wrote: »

Thank you Finn! I really appreciate the time you took to respond. I am sorry about the stresses you sent through. I also had some hard events in my life the most stressful was losing my daughter in a car accident, we also had 2 weddings last year (my sons) and a run in with IRS (wage garnishments) and husbands poor health and surgeries and then my father was incarcerated. Fun fun. It caused me to stress eat and I got out of control with binging.
Thank you for the sodium suggestion. I wasn't sure what range that needed to be. My current BP med that was working (where the others didn't) was recalled a couple of weeks ago because it was tainted with cancer causing elements. So more stress there.

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had a rough time. It doesn't feel fair when these things beyond our control affect our health. Another poster suggested seeking the advice of a dietitian, or at least your doctor. I think this is a very good idea! It's a challenge, but the first step is the hardest. We're on our way at least!