Training & Nutrition - What am I doing wrong?

So back in February I weighed 250 pounds and didn't do any sort of exercise at all. I ate like it was going out of style and was just worthless. I got a job and started eating less and watching my sodium intake. Weight started falling off. Then in July I was watching the TdF and decided to start biking again. Got my bike out and lost more weight and continued to watch my diet. I'm now down to a little below 185 pounds.

My blood pressure at the beginning of the year was somewhere around 140/80. Not that good but not horrible. My employer gave me a free health screening today and my blood pressure was 140/102! The nurse said it might be high because she'd just pricked my finger for the blood test and said not to worry too much. Seriously though, I would have expected my blood pressure to come down substantially with my new diet and exercise. Hell, I've been riding at least 100 miles/week all summer and although my body looks way better, my blood pressure is just ********. Everything else was alright for the most part. Ratio of HDL/LDL was 4.0 which is fine, but total cholesterol was a bit high at 227. I was probably a bit dehydrated at the time. Would this affect it. What the ****!

well, that is high. not fatal, not really high, but high.

get your own blood pressure cuff (drugstore, cheap, electronic) and start testing
all the time to know for sure

wally world has them for like 20 bucks. test when you wake up test when
you get back from a ride test all day for a week. get some real stats


my bp is 110/60 when standing up from sitting position and pulse 56

At least in my experience, the lower blood pressure and cholesterol happens a while after losing the weight. Keep at it. It was a couple years before I noticed a significant improvement in BP (but I wasn't tracking it closely so it may have dropped before that).

Also, your post sounds like you are kind of wound up. Stress will raise your BP a lot more than exercise can lower it. If you're stressed out, address that.

You can't really tell anything from one isolated measurement. Get a bp monitor and use it regularly at the same time every day. I do it in the evening, after I've been seated a few minutes. Just like the Dr's office would do it. It won't be the same every day, but you'll have a much better idea of what your "normal" bp range is.

Hi, I just happen to read this forum, and I think your problem can be some excess of salt in your diet. Salt is the worst thing for blood pressure I know.

Could just be white coat syndrome. I can FEEL my BP rise when they come at me with that cuff. I get significantly lower readings when I take my own at home in a controlled and relaxed evironment.

If you are on any cold or allergy medication right now, that could easily cause a spike in blood pressure. Went in the other day for a check up and BP was bit high. The nurse asked about any meds I was on. As soon as I told her I had taken a Mucinex she said that was probably it, that Mucinex could send BP up.

Could just be white coat syndrome. I can FEEL my BP rise when they come at me with that cuff. I get significantly lower readings when I take my own at home in a controlled and relaxed evironment.

Clinically high BP is still high BP. If simply having the cuff on raises your pressure, think what other stressors do to it. Just saying.

I went through this last year. I got a cuff at Wal-Mart (do a bit of research to learn the more accurate brands). Mine was $45, and has been confirmed close to the Dr.'s cuff.

If you detect that you're consistently high, make an appointment with a nephrologist, and determine next steps from there. I ended up going in for a scan to ensure I didn't have a renal artery issue, which is why you want a nephrologist on this. If something of immediate concern is going on, it's likely to be kidney related. It's not likely that's the problem, but it's a good place to start.

My bp is successfully controlled with Lisinopril, and it hasn't impacted my cycling at all (best season ever this year).

Clinically high BP is still high BP. If simply having the cuff on raises your pressure, think what other stressors do to it. Just saying.

I would agree.

'cept I am an extremely low stress person. Just don't like doctors. Since I was a kid. When I was about 5 or 6 they had to get my mom and dad and as many nurses as they could fit around my bed to hold me down for a shot :D.

Although if someone pisses me off I feel that "stressor" building.

So don't piss me off...

Just sayin'





















;)
:D

My other worry here is that I am an airline pilot (furloughed currently) and get a medical exam every year (used to be every 6 months) and if I ever have to start on blood pressure meds, it creates a huge mess. I feel like this reading has to have been erroneous somehow. I'm probably gonna have to go get my own cuff like was suggested above and figure out if this is an issue. It's just perplexing what's going on. Somebody above mentioned salt being a factor and I'm certain I've reduced my sodium intake with my diet. I'll have to follow everything more closely now I guess. 25 years old and I feel like I'm falling apart.

My other worry here is that I am an airline pilot (furloughed currently) and get a medical exam every year (used to be every 6 months) and if I ever have to start on blood pressure meds, it creates a huge mess. I feel like this reading has to have been erroneous somehow. I'm probably gonna have to go get my own cuff like was suggested above and figure out if this is an issue. It's just perplexing what's going on. Somebody above mentioned salt being a factor and I'm certain I've reduced my sodium intake with my diet. I'll have to follow everything more closely now I guess. 25 years old and I feel like I'm falling apart.

If you pass your annual you should let it be. I have the same issue (military flier) and it's just way easier not to get into that stuff. My BP is usually higher in the doctor's office. If you get your own monitor and verify it's OK during your normal day just forget about it. As long as it's within limits I don't worry about it. If it were high enough to cause a real problem you can guarantee the flight surgeon would say something about it.

First of all, none of the comments so far appear to be from a physician. And I'm not one either. So take it with a grain of....well, hold the salt.

Here's the deal as told to me by my physician. Some people have high BP and no amount of diet, exercise, weight loss, herbal medicines, acupuncture, or whatever will bring your BP to a normal range. Your high BP could be hereditary.

I've been riding for 20 years and am reasonably fit. My cholesterol runs in the 160-170 range with a great high density ratio. Every other metric is great. However, I have to take a beta blocker, an ACE inhibitor, and a diuretic to keep my BP in the 120/80 range.

I think it is the ACE inhibitor that lowers your heart rate...and it will lower your performance. But suck it up. It's not how fast you ride, it's how long you are able to ride that matters. I'm hoping my ride won't end until I'm in my 90s.

You didnt mention what your cholesterol was before, it may have been much higher than 227 when you started. It takes time to come down. Same with your BP. Its great you lost the weight! Continue with your proper eating (the word diet is hardly ever used properly). Cardio will bring your BP down. Cardio also improves HDL, the good cholesterol. I used to take BP med just to be at 140/85. I lost the weight, got off the meds, continue to eat right and exercise and now I'm 110/64. I also used to have higher numbers at the Dr office, that's very common, (white coat syndrome). Get a BP machine, take it at home and compare. They can be had cheap now. Good job and keep it up!

First of all, none of the comments so far appear to be from a physician. And I'm not one either. So take it with a grain of....well, hold the salt.

Here's the deal as told to me by my physician. Some people have high BP and no amount of diet, exercise, weight loss, herbal medicines, acupuncture, or whatever will bring your BP to a normal range. Your high BP could be hereditary.

I've been riding for 20 years and am reasonably fit. My cholesterol runs in the 160-170 range with a great high density ratio. Every other metric is great. However, I have to take a beta blocker, an ACE inhibitor, and a diuretic to keep my BP in the 120/80 range.

I think it is the ACE inhibitor that lowers your heart rate...and it will lower your performance. But suck it up. It's not how fast you ride, it's how long you are able to ride that matters. I'm hoping my ride won't end until I'm in my 90s.

good points here

I hesitate to suggest this, but the answer is obvious. Your avatar is the problem. I have it from a trusted medical professional that coach Mangino has infected the entire town with the dreaded high BP/cholesterol virus.

If you can't trust someone from Manhattan...who can you trust?

I'm just sayin!

Yes - I know - they'll kick out butts in a couple of weeks! :notamused:

Seriously - stick w/ it. My BP and cholesterol eventually dropped significantly, but it wsn't the first few months that did it. Wish I had your ratio number. :thumb:

Brad - from Manhattan

Ccongratulations on the weight loss.

I would agree.

'cept I am an extremely low stress person. Just don't like doctors. Since I was a kid. When I was about 5 or 6 they had to get my mom and dad and as many nurses as they could fit around my bed to hold me down for a shot :D.

Although if someone pisses me off I feel that "stressor" building.

So don't piss me off...

Just sayin'


;)
:D

http://www.incredible-hulk-library.com/superhero-library/Img/Movies/incredible-hulk.jpg

what am I doing wrong

I lost 65 lbs this year


Nothing!!!

oh, and rock chalk

Your doing great, keep up the good work.
Best question i could ask the OP is: what was your bp five years ago Also you'd have to factor in things such as past medical history, family history etc.

To much hydration may raise your bp slighty, and i mean very slighty Also how quick did this nurse take your bp ? I've seen a lot of bad measurements on them that are way off what they actually are because the health care person's tries to do it quickly instead of correctly.

Don't fret about it, and the other advice that have been given to you on this board is pretty solid, get a bp machine and get a more accurate idea of where your average bp is, then you can be concerned, or not.
My $.02

There's lots of good advice in this thread.

I'm only 32 and have had essential hypertension for at least 8 years (I was only diagnosed when a gym wouldn't let me join until I had seen a doctor) . With the Quinaprill my BP is in the 135/85 -125/80 range, depending on stress levels and how good my diet has been. I am probably fitter now, with all the cycling and hiking than I have been for years (and I used to cycle everywhere before I was diagnosed).

I would get you're own BP machine and monitor your own BP. If it is consistently high, including when you are resting, then get it checked out and deal with the issues of medication etc. then.

Oh, and congratulations on the weight loss and eating a better diet.:thumb:

I've been riding for 20 years and am reasonably fit. My cholesterol runs in the 160-170 range with a great high density ratio. Every other metric is great. However, I have to take a beta blocker, an ACE inhibitor, and a diuretic to keep my BP in the 120/80 range.

I think it is the ACE inhibitor that lowers your heart rate...and it will lower your performance. But suck it up.

I'd recommend you speak with your physician about the possibility of different medicine. I'm on Lisinopril and have just had the best racing season of my life. Maybe your Dr. has reasons to keep you on the other stuff, but I made sure to have the conversation with my Dr. before I got the prescription.

Moving to Training/Nutrition.

http://www.incredible-hulk-library.com/superhero-library/Img/Movies/incredible-hulk.jpg

Dang...

Gotta be more careful about staying away from cameras on my evening jaunts.

Some people have naturally high blood pressure or develop it. Yours sounds more like white coat syndrome. You might learn some relaxation techniques and use them next time.

Aerobic exercise helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. From my experience, diet is even more important. You might try be trying to come as close as you can to eliminating saturated fats from your diet and when you eat meat, eat chicken or fish. It does not sound fun but it is bearable and it sure beats pushing up daisies. For some people, even a pretty strict diet is not enough. Another thing is stress. That does bad things for both blood pressure and cholesterol levels. I don't know if that is your problem or not. Relaxation techniques and even some counseling on dealing with it can help there.

After I got the blood work done, I was kinda pissed about it and my manager said it was probably stress. I said "what the hell am I stressed about" and then I was like, "oh yeah, i lost my job and don't know what to do with my life anymore and am worried about the future and blah blah blah." I had never had any blood work done before this that I know the results of so this is my baseline at this point. I imagine it all had to be way worse 9 months ago (except the blood pressure apparently). They had me do a heart efficiency test where I step up and down stairs to the beat of a metronome for 3 minutes and then rest for a minute and see where my heart rate is and I rated in the "Excellent" category so at least the biking has done that for me.

I went on Atkins a few years back. I drank water like crazy and both my BP and my weight started coming down. I think that keeping the sodium flushed from your system is a major contributor to keeping BP low.

My BP is still borderline, but I expect that as I get more proficient at riding it will come down.

I went on Atkins a few years back. I drank water like crazy and both my BP and my weight started coming down. I think that keeping the sodium flushed from your system is a major contributor to keeping BP low.

My BP is still borderline, but I expect that as I get more proficient at riding it will come down.

Nice, I've done Atkins before and lost some weight but didn't keep track of BP or any other indicators. I gave up drinking any beverage other than water at the beginning of the year so I keep my system flushed pretty clean I imagine. I do drink beer and liquor fairly heavily about once a week though.