Pre-Hypertension

Monday, July 24th, I had my annual physical with my doctor and my blood pressure was 138/70!! Very close to stage 1 hypertension. So I immediately cut my sodium waaay down (like less than 1200 mg) for a few day and my BP dropped almost instantly. The past two days I have had more sodium, but my blood pressure is still down. I'm back on track today though. Yesterday my cousin and I took our kids to the International Wildlife Museum and then we went to McDonald's which of course is loaded with sodium. Then I had half a sandwich later in the evening which added on tons more sodium. I feel a little puffy and bloated today, but my bp is still down so as long as I stay back on track today and don't have another cheat meal/day for a week or so I should be okay. For breakfast I had oatmeal with a bunch of fruit and I know for lunch I am going to make a tofu scramble with a bunch of veggies.

My weight has come down a bit, but went up some with the past few days of eating more junk (and too much). I'm disappointed in myself for getting out of control, but I have to remember that the overall picture is what matters more. I didn't weigh myself today because I feel so puffy (plus that time of the month is here), but I have been trying to weight myself daily. I will tomorrow after a day of healthy eating today. 

I feel a bit healthier, but I've also still been really tired. The first few days where my bp dropped down to 110/70 or so I was exhausted and dizzy. A 28 point drop in systolic will do that I guess. 

I am worried about how I will sustain healthy eating during the semester since I tend to eat out way more because I am so far away from home. Eating out, even healthy options, all have tons of sodium. Chris and I bought a decent sized cooler for camping this summer and I think I will put food in there since it kept food really cool. Either way, my body just has to withstand one more year of nursing school!