Monday 6:30 pm with Sherry
I had a check-up today and I'm mostly fine. The blood work hasn't been done yet, so I may be jumping the gun. And he wants to x-ray my knee, but mostly because I complained about it.
But... I've definitely slacked off about my weight. I haven't weighed myself in almost a year, I think. And my clothes still fit, but may be a bit more snug than the were after my big challenge last year. I knew that. According to the doctor's scale, I've regained 25 pounds of the forty plus that I lost. OK, I can deal with that, and I basically know the adjustments I need to make to get things back on track.
Now here's the scary part. My blood pressure this morning came in at 175/116 !!! I thought I had it licked, and even went off my medications and had no problems a year ago. I had a headache this morning. And the doctor says its possible that the headache, or whatever caused it, also caused a spike in my blood pressure. But it's also possible, and more likely, that the high blood pressure is actually causing my headache. This little problem puts a bit more urgency into shedding a few pounds. My guess is that going back to the weight I should be will significantly lower, if not eliminate the blood pressure problem. And if it actually is as high as this morning's reading indicates, then its a VERY serious problem.
The headache stayed with me, until about Triangle in tonight's yoga class. So there is one thing I'm wondering. I get these headaches pretty regularly when I skip a day or two of yoga. So, you might ask, why do I skip these days? Because even smart people can be really stupid about some things is the best answer I can come up with. I'm definitely going back to 5 or more days a week, and maybe to every day. I would join the 100 day challenge that's beginning on Jan. 1, all accross the country, but I know I'm going to miss a bunch of days in mid February from travel. Maybe I'll join anyway and try to make up those days as best I can.
Class tonight was very pleasant. The temperature was perfect. I didn't skip a pose, but crash landed early out of Locust. I came in with the headache, and had it completely disappear. I kicked out and held it for a full set on both sides in Standing Head to Knee. But the best thing about the class is that I felt alert and with the dialogue the whole way through. It was one of the most satisfying classes I've had in a while.
The day 292 meditation recommends a 15 minute meditation in the morning. I really need to start trying this. First off, there's the benefits. And then, of course, its kind of silly for me to be writing anything about this stuff unless I've dived in. The meditation also has a beautiful quote from Shakespeare, which stands on its own:
And this our life exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
The quote is from As You Like It, which is one of my absolute favorites. It's never gotten a good film version, as far as I know, but the two stage productions I've seen of it were extraordinary and delightful. I had never considered the retreat to the forest as a kind of meditation, but here again, Shakespeare proves that he simply knew more than most people had ever imagined.
6 comments:
Duffy, have you ever thought about what it would like to actually be skinny? And how much better you would feel (not to mention the good you would be doing for your health)? And how much better you could do yoga? (I can't imagine doing Bikram if I weighed what you weigh.) If you put half the discipline into your diet that you put into your yoga - well, I know I am not saying anything you don't already know. I was sorry to hear about the blood pressure and hope it might be an aberration.
Good food: can't live with it, can't live without it. Maybe January 1 would be a good time to do something serious about the weight?
Sorry for the chastisement: it just seems like such a contradiction.
Bon appetit!
Hi Duffy,
I had undiagnosed high blood pressure for a few years. I used to get head splitting headaches. Once my blood pressure dropped to normal levels my headaches completely went away. My readings were higher than yours, although yours do sound high. I did a blog post about what happened to me here:
http://www.my-health-software.com/view/items/high-blood-pressure.html
For what it's worth: I have also found that dropping my weight has helped my blood pressure come down.
On another subject, I have been doing a bit of yoga on and off for the past couple of years. Unfortunately I can't get to a class around here, so I have been going by the "Yoga: The Ivengar way" book. I have read about Bikram yoga, and would love to do a class one day (or even better do it regularly). Yoga in summer feels much better, and I guess Bikram yoga makes it even better.
Good luck with getting your blood pressure down and feeling better.
Steve
Yikes, Bosco.
Bonnie:
Bosco is my brother. He get's alot more license than other people would, because I know exactly how he meant what he said, even though its possible that it might sound harsh to others. Actually, its nowhere near as harsh as I've been on myself the last couple of days.
I've said for the last couple of years that I wouldn't do any diet or exercise that wasn't sustainable. Dieting is bad because people can't continue with their initial dieting. Same goes, to some extent, for cleansing. And look what I've done -- I managed to slip into a combination of things that was going to end up killing me in a few years. Hardly the sustainable program that I envisioned.
Steve:
Thanks for sending me the link. Your story is much scarier than mine, and I'm really glad you got things straightened out. I've been browsing through stuff on your site, and its been very useful. Thanks again.
George (Bosco):
As you probably know, I have no idea what it would be like to really be skinny. The surprising thing here is that my clothes still fit and I look pretty good even with all the extra weight. But it will be pretty easy to take it off. Once I've got things under control I will evaluate what's next.
Bonnie and Duffy:
I was just about to point out the relationship myself. Duffy knows I meant no harm. As I look back at what I wrote, if I was just a random blog commentator my comment is incredibly arrogant.
Duffy and I come from a strong family tradition of exorbitant eating and yo yo dieting. Among our family we have lost (and regained) thousands of pounds.
Hot fudge brownie sundaes?: they aren't just for breakfast anymore.
Apologies! A little context makes a big difference.
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