[geeks] Resolutions?

[Will Mc Donald]

From: "Dave McGuire" <mcguire at neurotica.com>
> On January 1, Will Mc Donald wrote:
> > I was diagnosed with high blood pressure a few weeks ago (I'm only 29!)
so I
> > have resolved to cut down on beer, salt, red meat, fat and slothfulness.
> > 2002 has the potential to be extremely dull. :)
>
>   I'm 32 now.  I was diagnosed with high blood pressure when I was 15,
> and have been on atenelol for some time.  Realistically speaking,
> don't plan on keeping your salt intake down.  I don't know of anyone
> who has actually been able to keep that up.  Try it though, you might
> get lucky.  If you're large, getting some weight off will help a
> *lot*.

I'll cut down on salt and salty foods but looking at most
pre-packaged/processed foods they have loads. So a certain amount is pretty
much unavoidable.

I think it's probably due to my lifestyle and diet. I do eat lots of junk,
drink loads of booze and exercise little. I suspect it'll come under control
if I start sorting myself out. It was fine (and always has been) up until
recently. I needed a kick up the arse anyway to get myself sorted and get
back to the active lifestyle I led when I was 18... and this is it. :)

Weight-wise I could lose a stone or two but I'm not overweight, 6' 5", 15
stone or thereabouts. Doc seems to think that's fine.

I only ever smoked for "recreational purposes" and I gave that up a year
ago. I found cutting out caffine (tea and diet Cokes) over the last few
weeks really easy and staying sober more often has its advantages too.

>   As far as weight...I've had some luck with a few things lately.
> Drinking lots of water is good, for one.  Lots of people argue about
> it regarding weight loss...but the fact remains that I've been losing
> weight steadily since I started drinking lots of water.  Another thing
> is soda intake.  If you drink lots of non-diet soda like me, you're
> getting a LOT of calories from it.  Try Pepsi One or Diet Barq's,
> they're the least nasty of any diet soda that I've tried.  I like them
> both, and I HATE diet soda.
>
>   High blood pressure is a dangerous condition that can lead to many
> painful problems.  Don't take it lightly.

Trust me, I don't. :) The first thing I did was a little research, it's
quite damn scary. "The Silent Killer!" as it was called on the American
Heart Association's website. I read that and though "Right, you're sorting
yourself out as of now Mr Mc Donald (apart from Christmas day and
Hogmanay)."

>   Good luck, man.

Ta. Appreciated.

>     -Dave

Will.