What Does Food Have To Do With Blood Pressure?

What Does Food Have To Do With Blood Pressure?

What Does Food Have To Do With Blood Pressure? I’ll tell you. Today’s Foodie Friday Blog is more of a celebration. A celebration of my healthy blood pressure and my quest for getting off of the ONLY medication I am currently taking. The blood pressure medication I currently take is unfortunately a two parter. Its Amlodipine Besylate/Benazepril hydrochloride (5-10mg). After seeing the doctor today, he has taken me off of the first part of the medication (Amlodipine Besylate 5mg). I still have about 3 months of weaning off the Benazepril Hydrochloride 10mg (2 months 10mg, 1 month 5mg) then a follow up in January. 2018 may be the first year of not taking any medications since 2003 (aside from my daily vitamin and Omega 3 which I consider supplements).

How Did I Achieve This?

Diet and exercise are the major players in this successful equation. A Whole30 eating habit (not die hard strict all the time, but on for 30-60, off for 10-15 etc.) has been a huge help. I am down to 309 pounds with the help of an exercise program that began back with Free The Yoke’s Summer of Move competition and continued on nicely since then. I drink water, eat bananas, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, raisins/grapes, and tomatoes. Also, I eat eggs, chicken, fish, turkey, pork and red meat on occasion. The ratio has shifted slightly to about 75% fruits and vegetables and 25% protein, and I’m striving to shift that to more of an 80%/20% ratio, but overall I am happy with the shift.

ONE THING I LEARNED TODAY:

I am likely never going to be Mitch Babcock jacked (check him out at Fitnesstx)…but that has never really been my goal. My goal is simply to be as healthy as I can possibly be, free of medications, and as strong as I can be in attempts to reach the best possible version of myself.

I am currently working in fifty pound milestones. The starting point was 350, and I should be down to 300 by year’s end. My next goal will be 250 down from 300. The following goal will be 200 down from 250. It did not happen in a few weeks, it did not happen with a miracle diet, and it did not happen with a new workout fad. It literally just happened slowly and steadily over the course of the last two years, putting in as much work and attention to detail as life would allow on healthy habits and not getting down when it didn’t happen but trusting the process. I am trusting the process of facing more towards health, prevention and wellness and facing away from sickness, medicines, and treatment.