Secura Oven, Chocolate Syrup, and BPDown

Hi,

I just have a few things on my mind. One, I wanted to say how surprised I am that my new Secura Convection oven still does not have any stains of any kind on the upper fan compartment. I remember the first time I used my Nuwave Oven how it already had stains from the food on it and I was never really able to get them out because that is the electrical part that you cannot submerge in water to let it soak or get it clean. I don't know if oven cleaner would have worked because the housing is plastic, so I never tried it. But the Secura is, so far, still without spatters and sparkling clean.

Two, the chocolate syrup made with coconut oil does seem to be keeping my cravings at bay. I had to have it twice yesterday, but, other than that, I've not gone off the program due to cravings at all. I think I forgot to mention that I am also chewing Orbit gum which I believe is sugar free (I'm not absolutely sure), and yesterday I used that three times. None so far today. I did postpone my breakfast and did not eat until about two. I was getting really famished and used the chocolate syrup to tide me over until I got some salad made and cooked a couple of eggs to garnish the salad. Feeling full now, and I could tell when the "full" signal went off. I still ate two more bites (hard to break a lifelong habit) but left the last one in the bowl.

Three, I've received my "BPDown" program in the mail and have used it twice in the evening to try to assist in lowering my blood pressure. It consists of two red heart shaped squeeze toys for your hands and a CD with timed breathing instructions. It also has written instructions but is easier to "time" with the CD.

At first I thought the lady on the CD was simply going too fast for me. I tend to take long slow breaths when I'm doing my own BP lowering exercise just before I test my BP, but she was going at a pretty fast clip, in my estimation. I measured my BP after the first session and it was higher than usual. I was a little disappointed with that, but remembered that some folks don't see results for about four weeks, so I simply forged ahead.  During the morning of the second day (yesterday) I thought about it and decided not to resist her speedy breathing rhythms and simply followed them as close as I could. I figured that my idea of how this is "supposed" to go, may be in error and it just seemed to make more sense to follow it obediently. After all, they have said that many other people have done their program and lowered their blood pressure.

I read a few of the research articles on both the breathing techniques and the isometric hand squeezing exercises and it seems to be confirmed that these two methods do, oddly, lower blood pressure. I noticed in the reading that the breathing exercises seem to affect the upper BP number and the squeezing affects the lower number, so a combination of the two of them should be effective. I also remembered reading in one of the research papers that the measurement of import was the one taken in the morning after having done the exercises the night before. I was actually quite surprised that my BP this morning was 138 over 88 which is considerably lower on the upper number, but a little elevated on the lower one. I also noticed that my pulse was faster than usual by about 20 points. So, something seems to be happening. Of course you cannot tell with one reading, but I'm taking it as a good sign, and will keep going with it.

I have a doctor's appointment on June 28th and I want to be able to show that my blood pressure is under better control than it has been recently. When I went to my new doctor, my nurse practitioner made me increase my Losartan by double the dose I had been taking because my BP was something like 160 over 90 in her office. That is a lot higher than it usually is when I measure it myself at home every morning but she would not take "No" for an answer. I had not yet found the BPDown program at that time so had no recourse.

I was compliant and started to double the dose immediately but did not see any affect on my home BP readings at all over a couple of weeks time. They continued to be the same as usual, so when I found the BPDown program I hopped right on it. I am really not interested in taking any more BP medications after all the trouble I've had with them before from suffering from asthma for three or four weeks after taking one dose of Lisinopril to having the symptoms of a small heart attack with another one. When I tried Amlodipine I had a bad chest cold for four months which did not clear up until I stopped taking it. I really hope the BPDown program works.

I've also been surprised that after all this time of exercising in the pool that that has not helped with my BP readings, either. I go three times a week, unless I'm sick, and have gotten myself up to just under an hour of time spent doing the exercises my therapist taught me plus a regimen of simply "keeping it moving" in the water. I've added a couple more things on my own that I do, too. I feel overall much stronger and have more stamina for having kept going, but it just has not made my BP come down at all. Again, I really hope the BPDown program works.

Well, anyway. I'm currently making my salads and following my original program. I don't think about cheat days, yet. Maybe later. Maybe not. I don't know. I put on a pound this morning but figured I'm not going to sweat it unless I see a trend. I did eat four meals yesterday, so that might be the source. But that is part of my original program: if I'm hungry, I eat. I just make sure I eat fresh raw salad, and some cooked animal protein, and I am on my program.

Write a comment and let me know how you are doing. Would love to hear from you.

Be back soon,
Marcia

Note: Link to BPDown web site: http://www.bpdown.us/