Being overweight puts extra strain on your heart, increasing the risk for developing high blood pressure and damage to your blood vessels that can lead to serious health threats.
But did you know that changing your lifestyle and losing as little as 5 to 10 pounds may help lower your blood pressure?
How to Change your Lifestyle by Losing Weight
Increasing activity in order to lose weight is very important, and there’s some simple rules to follow:
- Move more
- Start incorporating healthier foods into your diet and stop eating junk food
- Gradually increase your level of physical activity
- Lower the number of calories you take in
When you begin with this type of lifestyle change, it is recommended that you talk to your healthcare professional about a healthy approach to weight loss; Or talk to a nutritionist/registered dietitian about creating an eating plan that’s right for you.
Some other tips to consider:
- Do not follow fad diets
- Do not go without eating
- Don't try to lose weight too fast
- Look up restaurant menus before you go out to eat so you can make a plan that fits in your diet.
On a personal note, I was overweight for many years and taking many diabetic medications, including 2 types of insulin, several diabetic oral medications, and high blood pressure pills.
In 2017 I decided that I no longer wanted to be a slave of my medication., and I had a complete change of lifestyle, including my eating habits and my physical activity
I will say that it was an enormous challenge, however, well worth the sacrifices, and after losing a significant amount of weight, I can proudly say that I have been liberated from all my medicines, and I have been medicine free for over 1 year now!
I am a firm believer in the fact that If one person can do it, another person can do it!
I know that every person is different, and it may be more work for some people than others, but with the help of a health care professional it can become a reality for anyone.