Blood Pressure Drop

I started using MFP almost 3 months ago. I just checked my blood pressure today, and it's dropped about 20 POINTS from where it regularly was before I started!!

Prior to that, my blood pressure was very high, regularly around 170-180/105-110. Was that way for a long time, and, since I don't have health insurance, I wasn't on any medication.

Since I started MFP, I started changing what kinds of foods I eat, as well as how much I eat. I've cut out a lot of fried and fatty foods - mainly because I've realized just HOW unhealthy they were for me. (Before seeing the numbers in MFP, I realized they weren't healthy; but I didn't realize how unhealthy they were.) So MFP has helped me to change my diet, and, as a result, lowered my blood pressure.

When I checked it today, the average of two readings was 146/97!! Still a bit high; but almost in the high-normal range. And definitely a HUGE improvement over where it was.

Now, let me say this. I haven't been exercising that much the past few months. And I haven't lost a lot of weight (mainly because I keep going over my daily calorie limits). So this change in blood pressure is due almost exclusively to the change in eating habits, not from exercise or weight loss.

I do intend to exercise regularly. And I'm sure my BP will drop even more after that. But I just wanted to share the incredible change I've gotten just from watching my diet using MFP!

Like I said, I have been going over my daily calorie limits. But I'm still doing much better than I was doing before I started using MFP, when I would eat basically whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted. So, though I'm not yet under my daily calorie limit, I'm still doing much better in terms of eating habits than I was before I started using MFP.

And, like I said, I think, more than anything else, the TYPES of food that MFP has led me to eat, by being able to see clearly what's healthy and what's not healthy, has made, I believe, the biggest difference.

So I just wanted to share that good report with everyone. :happy: