Here’s To Beating Hypertension!

On December 31, 2005, I had to be rushed to medical care due to extremely high blood pressure.  What a way to spend New Year’s Eve, eh?  A visit to a cardiologist a couple of days later confirmed what I had surmised, and was diagnosed with hypertension — a medical condition that was, I was told, ‘for life.’  I was immediately put on a prescription medication called Avapro, which helped to lower and regulate my blood pressure.  Although I felt the drug was effective, the ensuing months saw the cardiologist having to prescribe higher dosages.  Three months later, I left the hotel industry and a job that I knew contributed to my physical state at that time.  This also meant that I gave up medical insurance, which also meant that I could no longer be prescribed my hypertension medication.

That was when I started reading up on holistic approaches to managing hypertension, which included, above all else, a proper diet and regular exercise.  Some of what I’d read also indicated supplements such as CoQ10 and garlic pills helped in managing the condition.  As I certainly thought I had no choice in the matter, I fully adopted the holistic approach in June of ‘06.

Over the twelve months that followed, I saw my blood pressure begin to normalize, but it would still get its spikes periodically.  However, I continued the holistic approach, tried to watch my diet, and exercised regularly.

Here I am over two years since that fateful New Year’s Eve and my blood pressure has normalized without the aid of prescription medication.  In fact, when my blood pressure was taken recently during an eye exam, the nurse practitioner indicated that it was almost ‘textbook BP.’  Incidentally, a separate BP measurement a couple of weeks earlier at the dentist office also indicated normal BP.

This makes me happy.  Not only did I not give in to the mantra that hypertension is ‘for life,’ I’ve also managed to beat it using holistic methods.  And, with my recent weight loss, I’m looking forward to more fully giving my physicality a major overhaul.  Wish me luck!

58′49″

My Results from The Human Race 10k

I ran the Nike+ Human Race 10k this morning and finished in under an hour!  Fifty-eight minutes, forty-nine seconds to be exact.  I was elated because I didn’t think I would finish it any faster than perhaps an hour and ten minutes or even later.  I feel absolutely re-energized about running again.

And, yes, my Nike+ screen name is MutantTurtle.  I know, lame…

The Results Are In!

My official weight-loss using the NutriSystem Advanced 28-day program is 25 lbs!  Now, where’s that waffle?  Just kidding!  Sort of.

Not Just For Geeks…

This'll wake you up!

Navigate through ThinkGeek.com and you’ll find some very nifty gadgets that will bring out the inner geek in your or enhance your outer geek.

I Live in Georgia But I Don’t See Tanks Anywhere…

Man, I hope this is a joke post.  If not, Lord help us…

Milk of Magnesia

I remember being spoon-fed this disgusting concoction as a kid because it was ‘good for me.’  It was one of several ‘vitamins’ that my mother imposed on us when we were kids.  But there was nothing ‘good’ in terms of its taste.  The only thing I ever looked forward to after having been subjected to the delicacies of Milk of Magnesia is that my mother would often follow it with a tastier vitamin, like maybe a Vitamin C lozenge.

That picture above actually induces a gag reflex to me.  However poor my memory is, nothing would take the pure recollection of what Milk of Magnesia tasted like.

What about you?  What’s the worst tasting ‘vitamin’ that you’ve ever had the displeasure of ingesting as a child because your parent(s) insisted on its benefit?

I’m Yours

Three Week Weigh-In!

It’s been 21 days since I embraced a new diet and fitness regimen and I’m proud to report that, as of this morning, I am 20 lbs lighter.  Woot!  And the beautiful thing is that, because the nutrition program that I’m on actually allows me to have both a morning and afternoon snack — provided they are healthy options — I feel satiated the entire day.  The required eight glasses of water a day also helps in keeping me full.  Another beautiful thing is that, over the last three weeks, there’ve been plenty of opportunities to give in to unhealthy snacking at work (where free food just seems to always be available), but I’ve not succumbed.  And I didn’t feel like I had deprived myself of the goodies; I simply wasn’t hungry enough to partake of, say, the cupcakes or scones or danishes that would magically appear in our office kitchen.  There was even a full-on ice cream sundae bar one time to which I’d said “No, thank you.”

The other awesome thing that’s happened is that I’ve discovered the wonderful world of walking.  (And, no, that asshole Jared Fogle had nothing to do with this epiphany.)  I would walk an average of 5 miles in the morning and 3 miles in the evening.  What a great way to let my mind wander or work through things!  Plus, I get to listen to killer tunes while getting my walk on.

Now, I’m going to come clean on the “new diet” that I’ve been on, and I’m doing so because I was a skeptic when I bought it, thinking that it can’t possibly work on me.  That it would only work on the celebrities who’d so far endorsed the diet because those celebrities can afford to have personal trainers and/or private chefs to help them stay on the program.  Well, consider this skeptic turned!  The program: NutriSystem Advanced.

Why else am I coming clean about this?  Simply, I’ve learned a lot about “eating right” through the program.  That carbohydrates are not bad for you; you just have to be mindful of the glycemic index.  And that there are “proper portions” to meals without seeming like you’re on a diet.  In fact, I was able to dine out while on the program provided I stick to what I’d learned about the right kinds of food.

The 28-day program itself provides you with breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert per day.  Then, it gives you a meal plan that delineates other healthful items you can add thoughout the day to maintain a balanced diet.  Therein lies the beauty in the program; you don’t have to be on it for years and years in order to manage your weight — you learn about healthy eating habits that you can apply even after the program.

I’ve still got another week go during which I’m poised to lose another 5 to 7 lbs.  Then, after the program, I’m going to work on getting to my “target weight.”  This would mean working on losing another 20 lbs hopefully before the holidays.  And, because of what I’d learned so far, I’m confident that I’ll get there.  Wish me luck!

Parkour Is…

A Boy Named Sue

Johnny Cash’s song is about a boy who’s had to endure troublesome times because he’s been given a girl’s name.  I know that there are plenty of unisex names out there, but some are just too gender-specific that it seems rather odd that parents would choose to assign, say, a girl’s name to a boy and vice versa.  I was taken aback one time when I foung out that someone named “Meredith” was actually male, when I’d always thought it was a female name.

Some might be cultural.  For instance, the name “Shannon” immediately invokes a female to me, but its Irish roots actually started out male.  Another name that sounds female is “Carroll” (or “Carol”) but its old German origin actually means “man.”  In Spain, the female name “Marie” or “Maria” is sometimes added to the name “José” to give their boys’ names a reverence of both of Jesus’s parents.  Therefore, there are plenty of men in Latino culture whose names are either “José Marie” or “José Maria.”

Then, there are those names that sound or are generally male but are used for females.  “James” (or “Jaymes”) has started cropping up among females, for instance.

I know that a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, but these gender-bending names have confused me for way too long!  It’s difficult to start formal letters if you’re not sure of the recipient’s gender.  Would I dare assume that someone named Sean Davies, for instance is male and address the letter to Mr. Davies?  After all, actress Sean Young is a female with that name.  What about someone named Ashley Wright?  Should I assume that I should begin the correspondence with “Dear Ms. Wright” when Ashley is used by both genders now?

And don’t even get me started on some very inventive African American names like Lashawn or Jaedyn.

Am I alone in this quagmire?

Okay, “quagmire” is too strong of a word. But, you get my point, right?