Ok.
This past week has been an eye opener. I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday (pap smear) which didn't go so well. My blood pressure was high, I mean scary high. I was a little apprehensive about my visit (I am a big scaredy cat) and that might have played a small role in the high reading. But I also haven't been taken my medication or watching my salt intake as a should be (yes I know that probably contributed a lot......like the title says....I am hardheaded).
Anyways I immediately set up an appointment with my doctor for that Friday. At that appointment my blood pressure was still high but not as high as it was at the visit to my gyno. So why did my doctor proceed to go off on me?!! I mean not in a mean kind of way but in a fed-up mothering kind of way.
I came to grips that I was seriously setting myself up for severe medical problems when I get older (and some even now) and that I needed to wizen up and make some changes fast.
Sooo...........
I spent this weekend cleaning out the unhealthiness out of my fridge. I did some research online first and then decided to clear out any and all food products that had high sodium content (triple digits with a small serving size). Here is some of what I removed:
-spices (anything with salt included in it's name...seasoning salt, garlic salt)
-teriyaki sauce
-soy sauce
-high sodium canned foods
-frozen dinners
-barbecue sauce (A new bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's......I teared up yall)
-ketchup
-high sodium salad dressing
-mayo
-high sodium marinades
Basically anything high in sodium was removed. I was amazed at how much sodium some items had. All this time I was eating salads and thinking I was being healthy. Little did I know the amount of sodium in just 2 tbsp of LITE Italian dressing (330 mg/tbsp). LITE I say!!!!
*sigh*
Anyways I went shopping yesterday and bought some low sodium substitutes for the things I removed. I bought some fresh herbs and more of spices like parsley, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder. I also did some web surfing for helpful sites and found that I can make some of the things on my own instead of buying it, like barbecue sauce or balsamic dressing.
The new changes will definitely affect my total grocery expenditures for this month (I went over) and I may need to increase my budget a bit. It shouldn't be too much and shoot, with the rise in grocery prices I have been seeing, I think an increase in my budget was about due. But I am thinking it will be no more than $20.
Anyways, below you will find a list of websites I found during my search. I don't know if any of you guys are dealing with the same health issue but if you are I hope they help. Aside from cutting out the sodium in my diet and taking my pills, what other advice would you guys recommend? And yes I know I need to exercise. Aside from that too. Thanks in advance.
RESOURCES
Note: My bad if the mention of a pap smear was TMI for some of yall. But ain't nothing like putting the personal in personal finance huh?
This past week has been an eye opener. I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday (pap smear) which didn't go so well. My blood pressure was high, I mean scary high. I was a little apprehensive about my visit (I am a big scaredy cat) and that might have played a small role in the high reading. But I also haven't been taken my medication or watching my salt intake as a should be (yes I know that probably contributed a lot......like the title says....I am hardheaded).
Anyways I immediately set up an appointment with my doctor for that Friday. At that appointment my blood pressure was still high but not as high as it was at the visit to my gyno. So why did my doctor proceed to go off on me?!! I mean not in a mean kind of way but in a fed-up mothering kind of way.
I came to grips that I was seriously setting myself up for severe medical problems when I get older (and some even now) and that I needed to wizen up and make some changes fast.Sooo...........
I spent this weekend cleaning out the unhealthiness out of my fridge. I did some research online first and then decided to clear out any and all food products that had high sodium content (triple digits with a small serving size). Here is some of what I removed:
-spices (anything with salt included in it's name...seasoning salt, garlic salt)
-teriyaki sauce
-soy sauce
-high sodium canned foods
-frozen dinners
-barbecue sauce (A new bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's......I teared up yall)
-ketchup
-high sodium salad dressing
-mayo
-high sodium marinades
Basically anything high in sodium was removed. I was amazed at how much sodium some items had. All this time I was eating salads and thinking I was being healthy. Little did I know the amount of sodium in just 2 tbsp of LITE Italian dressing (330 mg/tbsp). LITE I say!!!!
*sigh*
Anyways I went shopping yesterday and bought some low sodium substitutes for the things I removed. I bought some fresh herbs and more of spices like parsley, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder. I also did some web surfing for helpful sites and found that I can make some of the things on my own instead of buying it, like barbecue sauce or balsamic dressing.
The new changes will definitely affect my total grocery expenditures for this month (I went over) and I may need to increase my budget a bit. It shouldn't be too much and shoot, with the rise in grocery prices I have been seeing, I think an increase in my budget was about due. But I am thinking it will be no more than $20.
Anyways, below you will find a list of websites I found during my search. I don't know if any of you guys are dealing with the same health issue but if you are I hope they help. Aside from cutting out the sodium in my diet and taking my pills, what other advice would you guys recommend? And yes I know I need to exercise. Aside from that too. Thanks in advance.
RESOURCES
Note: My bad if the mention of a pap smear was TMI for some of yall. But ain't nothing like putting the personal in personal finance huh?
Comments
Also, drink lots of water to flush your system.
And one last trick - I don't know how to yoga, but hear it is awesome. Instead, I just take a quiet moment - sometimes not easy to do - close my eyes and breath deep holding it as long as I can to feel the pressure in my chest and then releasing slowly. Helps so much when stressed.
Good luck to you!
Awesome advance. I started meditating about a month ago. I haven't been doing it lately and will get back on track. It did help immensely. And I definitely need to get cardio in. I want a treadmill but not in the budget at the moment.
Thanks again.
My blood pressure is low, but my heart isn't strong, so I have to do more cardio. I find a hard time motivating myself to go to the gym, so we went out and got an exercise bike at wal-mart and its been great! It was under $100 and has all sorts of cool features. That might be more in-line with your budget? We also got an adjustable weight set that was pretty cheap.
I find taking 15-30 min a day in the morning energizes me all day and really helps with the cardio.
Also - Wow, I didn't realize all that stuff has high sodium. Stuff like mayo? It might be time to go through our fridge too...