Not What I'd Planned

I began changing the way I eat and the way I look at food at the beginning of 2009. It wasn't a new year's resolution. I just started at that point in time.

Eight months later, some things are great and some not so great. I just had confirmation that I suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure). Up until recently, the one thing I could always count on, no matter what, was perfect blood pressure. Never too high. Never too low. Two years ago, when I weighed about 10% more than I do now and did less exercise than I do now, my blood pressure was lower. Just goes to show, it's not all in the pounds (or loss thereof). I'm not on medication yet. First, I have to go for an echocardiogram (next week) and I'm also starting to use a meditation/relaxation CD. My life is quite stressful, mostly due to work, so I'm going to see if some help relaxing will assist in lowering the BP. BTW, I do not consume a lot of salt, but will obviously pay even more attention to how much salt is in my food.

I've also been having a lot of headaches recently and my GP has asked me to keep a headache diary. One more thing to worry about.

This is not the post I'd planned to publish today. Usually, I try to use my life as a springboard for a general discussion, but today I'm feeling too stressed to do that. Even learning to use my home BP monitor is stressing me out! There never seems to be a perfect time to check the BP: no eating at least a 1/2 hour before, 15 minutes of relaxation (can I watch TV, can I read, what if the phone rings?), the same time every day (you've got to be kidding). My heart is pounding.

I'm sure I'll get over this self-created stress and get on with things, just as I always do. But in the meantime, thanks for listening.