3 things brought me success lowering my blood pressure....

Today's Post:  Wednesday, 10-31-2012

At its worst, my blood pressure was running about 153 over 86.  That’s much too high for best health results but NOT high enough to take drugs to reduce it.

And, I was successfully protecting myself from heart attack and stroke with multiple methods and with the blood tests to prove it was working. Plus I was getting regular, vigorous exercise most days of every week that I’ve continued to do which is quite protective.

More recently, after my job stress went down and my income went up just a bit, I was running about 142 over 78.  That’s still too high but better.

Now it’s 131 over 70!  A bit lower would be nice.  But that reading is no longer high blood pressure even on the top or systolic number.  (That’s almost comparable to the 115 over 75 now thought to be ideal.)

I’m working to remove more of my abdominal fat.  If that works, I may see the 119 over 63 I’d prefer.

But this last drop to 131 over 70 is the one that was most protective and removed me from any level of high blood pressure.

What caused it?

The biggest cause was the  at my desk exercise bike  and the 5 pounds of fat it helped me lose.

I’ve used it now for 8 weeks. 

The two other things that may have helped are:

1.  We live in an area with a lot of traffic during our commute and the rest of our week.  Before, we had a car that I could just get to speed up enough to change lanes when needed. 

But it was often a nearer thing than I wanted.  The car wasn’t horribly short of power but it wasn’t quick either.  So I was more stressed over whether or not I’d make the space I was trying to get to.  And, I realized I was tensing up as if I could somehow boost its performance.

About 4 weeks ago we got a car that was both more crash safe AND which IS quick when you ask it to be.  (It’s an S60 Volvo.) So that kind of working our way through traffic is MUCH less stressful.

2.  My wife finally has enough money to feel financially safe or almost so.  That may have reduced her stress and mine.

More money and lowering stress from a bit too high to only somewhat high are proven to improve health and so those two factors may have done part of the job.

But at least 60 % was from the at my desk exercise and the resulting fat loss.

The 1,000 calories a week of exercise I was getting gave me some decent health benefits.

But adding 1600 to 2000 calories a week to total 2600 to 3000 a week plus sitting with no motion for shorter periods and less total time not only is a big improvement and makes my fat loss more likely and more permanent, it has proven added health benefits.

That apparently includes making my blood vessels more relaxed and responsive and may include removal of plaque to allow more blood to flow.

The bad news is that the recumbent bike and desk takes up a bit too much space to be easy to use or fit in smaller offices.

But if you can use it, it works very well.  It just takes getting used to using it.

To buy one, go to http://www.activoffice.net/ .

My hope is that the much more compact at your desk exerciser that fits most people’s existing desks and offices will be available at some point too.