I had promised myself that I would start getting back into decent shape February 28th. There was nothing specific about this date other than my boys weekend at Nascar ended the day before. My first run was 60 yards followed by a rest for half a minute and finished with another 60 yard run. Getting started is all about taking the first step and finishing what you started. Day one of getting back into shape was short.
Fast forward 43 days, my day started out to be fantastic. I woke up before my alarm went off feeling good and fresh from my sleep. My athletic gear was laying on the floor next to my bed waiting for me. The challenge today was to run 3.5 miles on a treadmill for the very first time.
My treadmill run was spectacular, my pace was the fastest it had ever been since I started running this year.
9:28 AM they called my name in the waiting room, having my name called early must be a good sign for our first meeting. The assistant takes my blood pressure and I wait for the doctor to show up. My new doctor is straight forward and does not sugar coat anything. I prefer information delivered to me this way because time has a way of softening everything. “Rick you have high blood pressure” my jaw almost fell to the floor. How high is it? REALLY high, off the charts she said.
I was not sure what to think so I told my doctor I don’t know what to do about this but my mind is open and listening to everything you say. I grabbed my note-book, pen and wrote down everything she told me.
Food will be bland, no spices from jars as they have sodium. Keep your sodium count under 1500 mg a day. Take these medications once a day and these other medications twice a day. We are not sure how long you have had this high blood pressure so we are sending you for a consultation with a cardiologist. They will be able to determine if there is any damage to your heart. The last statement scared me, I need my heart to live and watch my family grow up. I kept writing down everything she said, then I had a chance to ask my doctor some questions. My first question was I started running a few weeks ago, can I continue running? She said that is good you are running, I am a runner also. Keep working out because you need to lose 100 pounds or the equivalent of a 14 year old girl!
Follow my life as I deal with being recently diagnosed (April 12 2011) with high blood pressure (224/109). I need to lose 100 pounds while changing my food habits to reduce my sodium intake to under 1500 mg and eat foods without preservatives.Exercise and diet will be the key to my survival. I plan to aggressively manage my meal plan and exercise
http://bloodpressureishigh.blogspot.com/
