lower my blood pressure

Last time I checked, I did this.
Things that lower blood pressure:
stop smoking, lose weight, exercise.

I stopped smoking= check
I am working on the weight and exercise portion, heh.

According to my last b.p. check, I am between 100-130 / 70-85 depending on the time of day, mood, if i have eaten, who is around me, etc.

after smoking a pack+ a day for the last 16 years
...
last cigarette was 5/15/06 approximately 3:00 p.m.
current time/date 6/06/06 approximately 8:20 p.m.

it has been nearly
22 DAYS, 5 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES
since i have had a cigarette.

....and my blood pressure is going down…
probably a combination of NO smoking, increase in exercising and weight loss.

hooray for me!!!!!!

i am working very hard on all my health related goals right now.
so much in fact, that i am barely focusing on anything else right now.
some might say that that isn’t good…
but if you knew me, you would know that this is the 1st time in my 30 year life, that i am putting myself and my health in front of anyone elses…and it is about time.

smoking: smoke free for 5 days 4 hours and 5 minutes.

fitness: i am going to a 35 minute strength training session 5 times a week. i am walking for 30 minutes twice a week. i am working on increasing my pedometer steps daily. more walks will be the next goal.

diet: i am eating 6 healthy snack/mini meals a day.

weight: down 15 pounds which i am proud of

vitamins: i am consistenly taking them daily.

water: i am drinking 12 eight-ounce servings daily.

hopefully, the changes mentioned above will help with the decreasing of my high blood pressure. i am trying to stay away from having to take pills. i ordered a personal blood pressure arm thing-a-ma-bopper so i can self monitor at home and when i see a noticeable difference, i will go in to my doctors office and have him confirm that my levels are better.

ugh. i went to the pharmacy tonight and i used one of those blood pressure machines just to see…. (I wonder how reliable they are)...and my b.p. was 155/99 which is insane for me. i know that b.p. tends to be higher after you have eaten or smoked a cigarette…. but would it have been much lower had i not eaten for 6 – 8 hours or not smoked?

i am attempting to lower my blood pressure without the use of pills. i had a bad allergic reaction to them, so i want to stay clear of them.

i am working on my diet and nutrition.
i am working on my fitness and exercise.

fyi: still down 15 pounds which i am proud of …

i am a smoker and do want to stop. i know that i will need a pill to help me with that. quitting smoking will have so many benefits, of course, one being decreasing my blood pressure…but my doctor doesn’t want to give me anything to help me quit smoking until my blood pressure goes down. ugh. annoying.