Big Development

So I started this whole thing to lose weight, but there are other important factors as well. Health is so much more than being thin. When I was a young woman whenever anyone took my blood pressure they always did it at least twice because they thought, either they did it wrong or the machine was broke. 85 over 60 was not uncommon for me. When I blew the tops of my fingers off in a freak electrical accident they nurse said, “Wow, your blood pressure is really low considering what you’ve been through.” Through the incredible pain I was in I asked her what it was. It was something like 110 over 75 or something. I kind of freaked because it had never been that high, but she said that was fairly normal. You can imagine my irritation almost a year ago when I got put on blood pressure medication. That was not supposed to happen to me. I got the usual, “Oh that’s not uncommon at your age.” I wanted to slap her. She did tell me if I exercised more and started eating better and lost some weight it might improve enough to get off the meds. She suggested I buy a blood pressure machine and keep track of it myself. I did. For about 2 weeks. Then I put the machine on a shelf and it sat there, neglected. Just like I had been neglecting myself. Well I dusted it off today and took a reading. 117 over 75! Woo Hoo! I might have to make an appointment with that doctor and see if I can stop taking these things.

Here’s what we did for the trail mix:

At Sprouts we bought:

·        ½ pound of organic raw almonds

·        ½ a pound of organic raw shelled sunflower seads

·        ½ a pound of organic dates

·        ½ a pound of organic dried cranberries

we cut up the dates and mixed it all together. Munchie and delicious!

Friday – Exercise – 20 minutes; 1.1 miles (I cranked the intensity and the motion up a notch and it turned to 200 calories burned at the .8 mile mark!)

• Breakfast – an orange, piece of whole grain toast with vegan butter, small serving of grits and 1 cup of iced oolong tea.
• AM Snack – a handful of our special homemade trail mix
• Lunch – fruit and veggie smoothie.
• PM Snack –an apple and a small glass of fruit smoothie
• Dinner – 2 small rice, black beans and tofu burritos and a small salad.