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Thread: BP mystery. They laughed at me when I said....

  1. #1
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    Default BP mystery. They laughed at me when I said....

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    Around seven years ago my BP was checked and it was up in the 160/100 range so I was put on meds which controlled it to 140/80. Then a couple of years later I decided to see if I could do something about the BP as I was a skinny/fat under conditioned 55 year old carrying a bit of extra weight.

    I decided to try a Keto diet-the newest fad-bought a little barbell and started doing some resistance training and lost 2 stone. After a few months I was getting dizzy spells after the work out and was surprised to see my BP had fallen to a low of 90/60. I checked it over the following days and it never went above 120/80, but frequently went much lower, so I quit my meds. My BP stayed in a range of about 130/80 for a year or so.

    Then I took up serious BB training and SS. I was advised to up my carbs and calories to cope with the recovery, so I did although I was concerned it might bring my BP back up. My weight increased as did weight on the bar and I got stronger, but my BP shot back up to 160/90 and I went back on the meds.

    So, to today. I hired Andy Baker to coach me and he put me on quite a strict diet which I only began 4 days ago. It's low fat-unlike Keto, it's quite low on carbs compared to how I was eating (far more complex carbs like rice/potatoes instead of bread) and of course lots of lean protein. The training has changed, a bit more work with a 4 day split, but again, this is only day 4. Yesterday I started feeling a touch dizzy and checked my BP at 110/80 so I decided not to take my meds. Today I recorded 125/78 and then later on 101/66. This is a mirror of what happened last time.

    Have I accidentally discovered the secret to lowering blood pressure and its hidden in my new diet ? Everyone laughed when I said that I thought the Keto diet had been responsible last time, putting it down to weight loss and the effects of training.....but that cannot happen in 4 days when I've been training for 2 years and haven't had chance to shed any pounds.

  2. #2
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    About time you got yourself a coach. I'm glad you got it figure out. If I had to guess chances are you weren't DTP prior to hiring Andy and he got you on a better schedule and cleaned up the junk in your diet, both from fat and carbohydrates. This stuff isn't entirely complicated, we just happen to be our own worst enemies.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    About time you got yourself a coach. I'm glad you got it figure out. If I had to guess chances are you weren't DTP prior to hiring Andy and he got you on a better schedule and cleaned up the junk in your diet, both from fat and carbohydrates. This stuff isn't entirely complicated, we just happen to be our own worst enemies.
    A 60 point drop in 4 days ? I've never heard of anything other than medication that could move BP down by that much so rapidly. I'm looking for leaks at this point. I definitely haven't got it figured out. That is 160/90 to 101/66 -everyone should hire Andy if he can work that kind of magic :-)

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    What time of day do you check it and are you consistent with checking it at the same time of day? What is your posture and is that consistent as well?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    What time of day do you check it and are you consistent with checking it at the same time of day? What is your posture and is that consistent as well?
    I check morning 8am and evening 5pm. Always in the same chair and same posture. I've had the doc check that I'm doing it correctly and that my machine is properly calibrated.

    Checked it again this morning and it's 120/74 - that's a consistently good average after 2 days without meds.

    I really need to find out exactly what part of this diet -omission or, inclusion, that is working so well and so fast as I obviously want to keep it.

    I did talk to the doctor about it when it went normal last time and we had some discussion about resistance training, muscle and arterial wall flexibility. Could it be that the engine has been effectively primed by training, that swapping out, or in, something in the diet instantly changes things in a similar way to a bit of oil on a good bearing ?

    I have no simple carbs on Steve's diet. There's more protein in the form of 4 eggs for breakfast ( interestingly I have eaten very few eggs since I last saw those low BP numbers) and a couple of Oz each for lunch and dinner. I'm getting zero dairy -and I usually eat a lot of cheese, butter and some cream, but I was eating similar quantities when BP went low. I'm having berries and probably a bit more fruit than I normally eat. I've cut out the coconut water I drink during training and replaced that with water.

    I keep going back to those eggs as the most obvious difference, coupled with very few simple carbs ? Funnily enough, my brother has UC and has recently started eating more eggs and has found that it's helped him with that.

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    I note your high readings "were checked" and your low readings you recorded yourself. Could be "white coat" syndrome. It might be worth it to do a holter blood pressure 24 hour reading, where a monitor on your arm takes your pressure every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes at night. I was getting BPs of 145-160/80 so my doctor ordered the test. The holter readings showed 115-125 systolic readings over the day, with two jumps: 145 just after the nurse put the holter on and 145 again just before she took it off. The test is annoying, the thing squeezes your arm while you're sleeping, but it gave me great peace of mind.

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    8am 120/74
    2pm 112/73
    5pm 128/75

    Today's numbers 2 days off meds and 5 days into diet and training. I forgot to add that I started taking cider vinegar gummies around 2 weeks ago-I was taking cider vinegar when the readings were low the last time.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Slow Uncle Joe View Post
    I note your high readings "were checked" and your low readings you recorded yourself. Could be "white coat" syndrome. It might be worth it to do a holter blood pressure 24 hour reading, where a monitor on your arm takes your pressure every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes at night. I was getting BPs of 145-160/80 so my doctor ordered the test. The holter readings showed 115-125 systolic readings over the day, with two jumps: 145 just after the nurse put the holter on and 145 again just before she took it off. The test is annoying, the thing squeezes your arm while you're sleeping, but it gave me great peace of mind.
    I give myself white coat syndrome :laugh: I'm that kind of person. Before I went on meds I recorded my BP 3 times a day over 2 weeks and it was consistently high-a couple of times bordering on 200/100+. The doctor averaged the result. We also compared my monitor to the surgery monitor and they were within a few BP of each other. High BP is in the family, my mother has had it since her 30s -now in her mid 80s, still in reasonable health and still works part time. The good thing with my doctor is that he works with me and also lifts. He isn't a pill pusher and has reassured me many times that though BP is high, my risk factors are very low, so meds are precautionary.

    I'm happy that my BP is accurate and back to normal- again 8am today 119/73-I'm just very curious as to the exact cause.

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    99/64 midday. I don't know what's going on, but it's good.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nockian View Post
    99/64 midday. I don't know what's going on, but it's good.
    So as long as you post on this thread, your BP stays low and you stay off meds. I recommend updating this post every 7-10 days, between meals, as needed.
    I plan on doing the same if I note my own BP going up.

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