Cause and Affects...

As I approach 62, and will turn Social Security age(at least for us "Baby Boomers"), in two months.  I still don't quite get the hang of the human body and how age affects it.  Sure, I know as you get older, your body breaks down, and you have to take extra measures to keep it going, or at least it going at a high functioning rate...and even that doesn't always work.  You cannot stop father time from working it's ugly magic...no matter how hard you try.  I realized back in early September 2009, that I would need to do something about my "habits"...Doc told me that I was "pre diabetes 2", and in addition to my moderate blood pressure meds, I would probably need to see a Dietitian at the St. Marys Hospital, and began a regiment to lower my sugar levels and drop a few pounds, from the 214 on my 5' 11" frame.  So off I went, got myself on a diet, and promptly lost 25 pounds by Christmas of that year.  That took me down to 189, and I dropped a few more by last summer, down to a low of 182...I felt good, my blood pressure had dropped from an average of 150/80 to 125/65, my sugar levels within the first 6 months had also dropped to a significant level to keep my off any further medication.

Move forward to Yesterday.....

I had, for the most part, kept the original weight loss off, and when I weighed in, I was right at the same weight as the day I began my personal "Holiday Season"...that is usually the day Nick and I head for Michigan the last weekend of October.  It then moves forward to Patricia and my trip to Wisconsin, the Thanksgiving here in Celina, and the following Christmas and New Year's parties.  I was pretty happy with myself when I weighed in yesterday, yes indeed..sure a few pounds heavier than my low of last summer, but right on target with what I weighed as the "Holidays" began...somehow though, I just didn't feel right.  Sure I had kept the weight off, but I had been eating salty, fatty, foods, and drinking dark, stout beers, rather than my old stand by, Miller Lite.  I had also went off on checking my bp, so I figured it was time, I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel exactly in tip-top shape.  For somebody that had kept the weight off...didn't take long to figure out why.

BP, Up, Up, and Away.....

I strapped on my home monitor and figured that my 125/65 with a heart rate at 60, the last time I checked in November, would probably be elevated, even though I had been faithfully been taking my daily dose of Lisinop/HCTZ in moderate amounts.  I usually take 3 readings so the mind and body can work together to get a average reading...the first one:  178/85, not good, the next 183/78...hummm, and finally 175/72.  Not good at all...so, where to begin, what had I done since November to get the BP up this high?   Let's see, besides salty snacks, a cheesecake which I made my myself, almost an entire cheesecake consumed.  Add gallons of rich, dark, thick beer, and despite no weight gain, I soon realized that I had shot the diet all to Hell...there is indeed more than weight when it concerns Diabetes and Blood Pressure.

So I go back on the serious side of dieting...my usual breakfast will stay the same, muffin with preserves, coffee creamer and sweetener, and a banana, or pear, or fresh pineapple. More veggies and less salt, less soup, more chicken and lean red meat....and a can or two of tuna(yeck!) per week.  Boring, but necessary...

Last night my BP had dropped to 125/65 and this morning it stood at a manageable 135/65, with my heart rate at 65.  With blood work due next Tuesday and a check up next Wednesday...we will see what the Doc says, meanwhile, less salt, and sadly less beer, especially my favorite Stout, at least for now.

Plenty of basketball over the next 36 hours...a JV Boys game at Allen East tonight, then tomorrow a Girls JH double header at St. Marys in the morning, followed by another boys JV game at Spencerville tomorrow night.

enjoy the weekend...back later>>>>