Take Care of Yourself!

Home

by Lamar Tyler | on November 26th, 2009 | 7 comments

84437347

by Harriet Hairston

So, it’s Thanksgiving. Guess what I have to be thankful for today? I’m thankful that I learned my blood pressure was elevated. Sounds like a strange thing to be grateful for, doesn’t it? Well, I’m grateful for it, because recently I made some significant lifestyle changes in terms of diet and exercise, and it seems everything I was I planned to implement was for this very moment.

Typically my blood pressure is pretty low. My average rate is 120/75. This morning, I took my pressure, and it was 151/104! I’ve never seen a reading like that coming from MY body! Now, keep in mind, it’s thanksgiving…I ate some things yesterday that I haven’t eaten in a very long time. Yet blood pressure is definitely not something I want to play with at this age and stage of my life.

How are you ensuring your health and well being is taken care of? Do you have little pains in your body that you cannot account for? Is there an unexplainable uncomfortable feeling you get when you eat certain foods? It’s not worth ignoring, especially when many of the killer diseases out there have very few obvious symptoms. A little extra fatigue, some irritability that came out of nowhere, and one of two things could be happening: you probably just need a little more rest…or you could have a silent but pervasive problem on your hands.

Either way, when I realized how high my pressure was for the first time, I thanked God that it wasn’t normal for me, and that simple changes make a huge, lasting difference. Thanksgiving is not necessarily the best time to leave sugary treats alone, but with discipline, exercise and a balanced diet, my blood pressure anomaly will just be a blip on the radar screen of an overall healthy life.

God bless!

~ Harriet

Harriet Hairston, a freelance writer, human resources administrator at an HBCU and creator of the motivational blog, “Can She SAY That?!?” has a unique style that brings readers into her life through her transparent demeanor. She lives in Louisiana with her husband and two sons. You can reach her at harriet_hairston@yahoo.com.

About the author

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are the creators of the award-winning blog BlackandMarriedWithKids.com . They also are behind the Amazon.com bestselling DVDs Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me and Men Ain’t Boys that explores manhood in the African American community. The Tylers are also the proud parents of four children.

http://www.blackandmarriedwithkids.com Ronnie

Thanks for this post Harriet. Lamar is going to say that you wrote it just for me. I have been having this pain in my leg for over 3 weeks now and last night, Lamar lectured me for over 30 minutes about taking care of myself.. he told me to get my leg checked immediately!!
http://harriet-canshesaythat.blogspot.com Harriet

I’m glad I got my pressure checked…turns out the blood pressure bracelet my mom was using was too small for my wrist. The numbers either came out really high or I got an error. My BP is back to 120/75 (it never deviated, actually). That was a scare, but a GREAT reality check for me.
Jonesi

It’s ironic that you wrote this, because as I was traveling back from Cleveland heading home, my eldest Aunt called to say she was in the emergency room because her blood pressure had risen to stroke levels. We all need to be more cognizant of our health, because then we are no good to anyone sickly, or even worse dead. I stay on my mom all of the time about taking her medicine. Thanks for reminding me that I need to also get my priorities in order and finally get real about losing weight. I reflected on the way home about all the calories I had taken in over vacay and it made me pause; I refuse to have another binge fest like I did this year….the long-term damage isn’t worth it.
Staycee2

This post is a reminder for my yearly exams, which I get when I’m off with the kids during the holiday! Made appointments today and I thank god I’m hear on this earth another year!
Ashley

Studies show that 90 percent of middle-aged Americans will develop high blood pressure in their lifetime – American Heart Association has launched a new campaign to help kick high blood pressure out of your life and make this stat a thing of the past. Check out this fun new animation and see why you should be an HBP Escapee!

http://www.heart.org/hbp
Mac-

I have high blood pressure. I have been taking 100mg of Cozaar daily since July to combat this problem. I had an exam on 12/01/09 and it was 166/100. The nurse told me to rest for 30 minutes and she she would conduct the test again. Not to my surprise after resting for a while the number increased due to my anxiety. I watch my salt intake, I take several vitamins a day, flaxseed, fish oil, garlic, magnesium, vitamin B, drink green tea and nothing seems to work. I will admit I am a fried food addict, which I now only eat once a week. I believe that stress is the reason for my high blood pressure. I am a single father of 6 children(whom I have been raising by myself for the last six years), two are are in college now and the others are in middle school. Between work and my children its hard to relax, can any one offer any suggestions to help me alleviate this problem I have with my blood pressure.
http://harriet-canshesaythat.blogspot.com Harriet

Wow, Mac. It sounds like you have A LOT on your plate.

In your message, you made no mention of a workout/exercise regimen. You would be surprised at how many places have workouts available for both you and your children.

If you can’t afford a gym or YMCA membership, just go for a walk for an hour a day. Studies also show that people with high blood pressure who climb stairs for 7 minutes daily see a dramatic drop in their blood pressure after about a month of that exercise. Take the stairs instead of the elevator if you can.

I hope this helps. Laying off the fried food would help as well. Break that grill out from time to time! )

Take Care of Yourself!

About the author

Facebook Fan Page

You Saved Me – DVD

Happily Ever After – DVD

Men Ain’t Boys – DVD

BMWK Classic Posts

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

BMWK Partners