“If I ever let myself go…SPLAT!” -Frank Burns, M*A*S*H
Turns out that Frank Burns and I have that in common. A blood pressure situation, that is.
My blood pressure was fine in my twenties, back when I smoked and live on fast food and Hot Pockets. Then I quit smoking and started eating better, cooking actual meals, eating fast food only sometimes, and giving up Hot Pockets all together.
And my blood pressure started running a little high.
I will go to my grave pissed about that.
That grudge is probably one of the reasons why my blood pressure has recently gotten worse.
I would wager that my health problems over the past couple of years are probably a contributing factor as well. Stress can play hell with the blood pressure and even though I’m a year removed from that situation, it’s not hard to believe that some effects might still linger. I mean, it did take forever for my hair to start to grow back.
And frankly, my diet hasn’t been the greatest lately.
Though I haven’t gone back to Hot Pockets, and fast food is still an occasional thing, a little analysis of my diet has shown that sodium has still crept in and is probably the main culprit from my blood pressure situation getting worse.
Someone pointed out that age might also be a contributing factor and to them I say –That negativity is not helping.
So this month, I’m monitoring my sodium intake by logging all of my food (which I hate) and making some dietary changes in an attempt to reduce my saltiness. (In this case the literal. The figurative is just a personality quirk.) Maybe, possibly, perhaps a little less sodium will make a big difference.
I’m also going back to exercising first thing in the morning. Yes, I exercise most days of the week and exercise is good for the blood pressure, but I think going back to morning workouts will give this whole lifestyle tweak an extra boost. And I need a boost right now.
Hopefully, all of this will be enough to get my blood pressure back to reasonable levels.
I’d like to avoid a splat situation.
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