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Again, not that surprised by this whopping gain; more than 2 lbs is pretty significant. I guess my body is trying to gain back all the weight I lost after my procedure. I did eat more takeout this week, in the form of chicken wings with salad and a poke salad and sashimi. Aside from this, my diet has not changed that much. I noticed that eating more takeout and more carbs -- even healthy ones -- make me gain more weight. Even sweeteners (in homemade low-carb desserts) do not have much of an impact on my weight, unless I eat a lot of them.
And finally my blood pressure and pulse have started to go down! I hope this is a tendency that will remain. For the past 2 weeks, my BP was constantly in the mid-130, sometimes high-120, especially when it was hot and humid. On Thursday, it was in the mid-120. This morning, it was at 117/75, with a pulse of 81! What a relief! My pulse was in the 90s and 100s in the mornings for the last 2 weeks!
In the meantime, I ordered PreCardix, a natural product that can apparently have a BP-lowering effect. This product attracted me by its lack of side effects according to reviews, despite the fact that it acts like an ACE inhibitor (BP drugs that end with -pril). I have to stop temporarily my ARB (drug category that ends with -sartan) because apparently ACE inhibitors and ARBs are not that compatible when taken together. Good thing I was gradually decreasing my dose! I started taking the new product a few days ago and so far, it seems to have a lowering effect on my BP. I am still taking my calcium channel blocker though. I am giving PreCardix at least 8 weeks to see if the lowering effect is long-lasting. Otherwise, I will go back to my ARB.
I discovered that there is some development done in the field of hypertension, which is exciting. Two new (or not so new) drugs have been released in the last few years: aliskiren -- a direct renin inhibitor -- and firibastat -- an aminopeptidase A inhibitor that acts in the brain and is used for resistant hypertension. Both seem to be available in the USA and France, but as far as I know, aliskiren is available in Canada, but maybe not firibastat.
I realize that I write more often about my health and BP than about my diet and weight. Even though I try to not gain back all the weight that put me in the high-overweight/obese BMI zone, I focus more on my hypertension because it is potentially more life-threatening or life-altering (heart attack, stroke, dementia, kidney problems) than having a few extra pounds to lose.
After a major thunderstorm on Friday morning, the sky cleared up and it was sunny. Still is today. I am planning to go outside before the weather becomes ugly again tomorrow!
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69.2 kg
Lost so far: 9.7 kg.
Still to go: 0 kg.
Diet followed: Reasonably Well.
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Gaining 1.0 kg a Week
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