I've had high cholesterol scores before, and usually just giving up cheese is enough to bring it down. I've never had high blood pressure before and am placing part of the blame on my persistent insomnia over the past year and seeing a new-to-me doctor. But I'm going to try and take a fuller approach to improving my health before my re-check in December.
The Husband's health insurance offers suggestions and the ability to track good habits online, and I'm using that right now. They want me to eat more calories, which is ridiculous since I'm only 4'9" tall and weigh 98 pounds, but these online apps just won't provide info on a plan that's under 1200 calories. It does look like I need to eat more protein. I do eat protein every day, just not enough to satisfy this app.
I already wear a weight vest and do Yoga daily, do strength training with dumbbells 3 or 4 times a week, do Tai Chi and Qi Gong several times a week using Youtube videos, among other things, so "exercise more" isn't really a helpful idea. I'm not currently walking, though, so I'm adding 30 minutes a day of walking to my schedule 5 days a week. I was surprised and disappointed my first day when it took me 25 minutes to walk a mile. I'm down to a mile in 19 minutes now, so I'm pleased I'm making some progress.
I tend to like good-for-me foods and eat those every day, but I also like bad-for-me foods. I'm cutting back to once a month for hamburgers and pizza and cutting out cheese except for cottage cheese and the monthly pizza. I'm not interested in diets that limit carbs, but limiting red meat and processed foods is part of my plan. I've heard increasing potassium helps lower blood pressure, and I'll be adding bananas and raisins, which are the foods I see recommended that I don't already eat.
I've tried everything I know of aside from prescription meds for the insomnia and nothing worked. I'm trying a different app on my phone (My Life) for short calming and directed breathing activities and hope that using it twice a day will relieve some of the stress I honestly didn't realize I was feeling.
We'll see.
I already wear a weight vest and do Yoga daily, do strength training with dumbbells 3 or 4 times a week, do Tai Chi and Qi Gong several times a week using Youtube videos, among other things, so "exercise more" isn't really a helpful idea. I'm not currently walking, though, so I'm adding 30 minutes a day of walking to my schedule 5 days a week. I was surprised and disappointed my first day when it took me 25 minutes to walk a mile. I'm down to a mile in 19 minutes now, so I'm pleased I'm making some progress.
I tend to like good-for-me foods and eat those every day, but I also like bad-for-me foods. I'm cutting back to once a month for hamburgers and pizza and cutting out cheese except for cottage cheese and the monthly pizza. I'm not interested in diets that limit carbs, but limiting red meat and processed foods is part of my plan. I've heard increasing potassium helps lower blood pressure, and I'll be adding bananas and raisins, which are the foods I see recommended that I don't already eat.
I've tried everything I know of aside from prescription meds for the insomnia and nothing worked. I'm trying a different app on my phone (My Life) for short calming and directed breathing activities and hope that using it twice a day will relieve some of the stress I honestly didn't realize I was feeling.
We'll see.
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...I think that I was 4'9" tall and weighed 98 pounds when I was 10!
ReplyDeleteI'm always the shortest adult in the room lol
DeleteSounds to me like you are doing all the right things! I'm not into diets either, for me it's about changing your lifestyle. To lower blood pressure, exercise like brisk walking (seems your doing that) and reducing salt in your diet helps too. For cholesterol I cut out cheese and chocolate, then looked at reducing saturated fat and baking low fat alternatives, also increasing fibre helps with whole grains, oats etc and reducing red meat by substituting chicken and fish. Take care and enjoy! Hugs Jo x
ReplyDeleteGood advice, thx! I'd been eating too much burgers and pizza lol, so I've cut way down. I like oats and sometimes eat them dry with nuts and fruit -like granola- for a meal. I've learned to make salmon salad and eat fish twice a week. We'll see come December if all this has helped at all. Thanks again! :)
DeleteSounds like you're doing everything right. Sometimes it just takes the body a week or two to get in step with the mind.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a while to get cholesterol levels and blood pressure numbers down. I miss pizzas and burgers now that I'm only having them once a month lol
DeleteIf you have netflix you might try the Head Space videos, they have a whole series on falling asleep. They are meditative and mindfullness ways to beat insomnia. I hope your sleeping well again soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Netflix tip. I'll definitely try it. Right now our central unit is having trouble keeping up with the heat. Our bedroom is upstairs, and it's 80 up there at bedtime no matter how cool I set the thermostat. We've taken to leaving the sleeper sofa made out all the time, and I come downstairs if I can't get to sleep or stay asleep upstairs. The tv turned onto the 24-hour local news channel provides some low-level background noise that I find somehow soothing where typical fan-type white noise doesn't help at all. I went to sleep to a Western movie channel last night/this morning. The insomnia predates the heat, but right now that's what I'm blaming.
DeleteI have genetic high cholesterol and I've been on meds since my 20's for it. I'm 5 feet, and weight has always been an issue (too much, not too little). That's genetic too. I walk, walk, walk. Eat healthy much of the time, but its hard. I think you're doing everything right like the other folks said. And like Jo also said, I also try to eat a lot of fiber foods, not eat too much sugar either. But we're all ticking to a slightly different beat, so what works for one doesn't always work for others. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd that even given my age and size the health site I'm using refuses to provide a calorie target of less than 1200 calories. That's an awful lot of calories for me. I'm trying to alter my oatmeal/cinnamon muffin recipe to include flaxseed and flaxseed meal, and this latest attempt seems to have worked.
DeleteI found a couple of Youtube videos that say blood pressure numbers aren't a concern absent an underlying health condition, yet it's a concern for the health-tracking site my husband's insurance company uses lol
Good luck with getting the blood levels back to normal, I'm sure you're on the right way. Valerie
ReplyDeleteThanks! We'll see what the numbers are in December.
DeleteI am sorry to hear you are struggling with insomnia & yes from what I know about it, it can contribute to raised levels of B/P & cholesterol. Some people just naturally have elevated cholesterol levels because of their liver (it's where it gets created) so treating the liver may help - I think milk thistle is the natural liver support herb. Good luck with all that you are doing.
ReplyDeleteI'll look into milk thistle. Thanks for the suggestion :)
DeleteI thought I was short. I have finally found someone shorter than my 4'11". I eat a lot of tuna, an avocado every other day, and blueberries. I've never had a blood pressure problem, though, so I'm probably no help.
ReplyDeleteI like tuna and have tuna salad often. I have a new recipe I'm trying for tuna casserole. I'm glad canned tuna is so easy :) I eat a quarter avocado every day, and I _love_ blueberries. They seem to keep pretty well, too. This blood pressure issue (which my doctor wasn't worried about, but still) is new to me. It's never been high before.
DeleteI don't know what to add -- this really is proactive and looks like you are doing all the right things. Someone mentioned salt -- I've heard that's helpful for BP. And it sounds like you already exercise so the walking will be a wonderful addition. I'd check the list of cholesterol-oriented foods (you probably already have) and see what substitutes might help. But it sounds like you've made a good start on the journey. (Oh, if you aren't deep breathing, add that to your sleep routine as you lay in bed; five counts in, hold two, release for six. It might help; it won't hurt! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI learned about a 4-7-8 deep breathing technique from the My Life app and have been doing that. I've quit adding salt to foods, though I do really like salt on roasted veggies. Ah, well, extra pepper instead ;) I've bought flaxseed and flaxseed meal and have found a way to include those in my oatmeal cinnamon muffin recipe.
DeleteAny suggestions you might have would be most welcome, thanks!
You may find this article helpful
ReplyDelete"10 Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol Levels"
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-lower-cholesterol
All the best Jan
Thanks! I'm in good shape on following these except for Coenzyme Q10. I'll hafta look into that, thanks!
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