marlowe221

Thank you all for your replies and support. It's nice to know I'm not alone. At my doctor's suggestion, I have purchased a home blood pressure measuring... thing. She says there is such a thing as "white coat hypertension" where your blood pressure is relatively normal but you tend to read as having high blood pressure when you're at the doctor's office - probably a medical anxiety kind of thing. She wants me to measure my blood pressure at home for a month and we'll see how it goes. Other thoughts in response to various replies: 1. I don't eat much dairy. I do have at least one cheese stick per day and I occasionally have a glass of milk (maybe once a week at most). 2. I probably don't sleep as much as I should. I usually get 6-7 hours a night; I'm sure that's not enough. 3. It's interesting that going low sodium has had the opposite effect for some people. I should read up about sodium an its relationship to blood pressure more.

Can we talk about blood pressure and diet for a minute? (Warning: I am a little angry and frustrated.) I am a 36 year old man who's blood pressure runs high. Not high enough to require medication, but my doctor tells me that I am headed in that direction if my readings don't change. (I am running around 140/85, with normal fluctuations of course). I don't smoke, I barely drink and I get plenty of exercise. My diet isn't perfect (I'm human) but it's pretty damn good when it comes to sodium levels, eating real, whole foods, and things like that. I have no family history of high blood pressure that I know of. When I google phrases like "lower blood pressure diet" I find stuff like the so called DASH diet (Link). If you check this out, there are a LOT of carbs in this diet - something that a lot of modern eating philosophies say to avoid. They also say to avoid fat... while a lot of the diets that the Nerd Fitness community seems to like are actually pretty high in fat, at least unsaturated fat. Any suggestions? Anyone else struggle with blood pressure? I have made a lot of progress since discovering Nerd Fitness a few years ago. I dropped 30+ pounds, and gained 10 back in muscle. I changed the way I eat. I changed how I even THINK about food. I got off my lazy ass and started lifting weights, doing yoga, and hiking/walking long distances. The things I have learned here have changed my life. But I am losing the blood pressure battle and I absolutely HATE it. I am so frustrated and nothing I have done or am doing seems to make any difference when it comes to blood pressure. The prospect of blood pressure medication is just... I don't know. It makes me feel like all the progress I have made has been for nothing - I know that's a stupid thing to say but it's how I feel right now. Sorry for the rant. If anyone with high blood pressure can share some dietary wisdom, I would really appreciate it.

I need healthy snack suggestions! During the work day (office work), I find that I need a little something between lunch and quitting time. My usual lunch is frozen veggies, an apple, and a cheese stick. Convenient + healthy = a head scratcher for me. I could use a little help.

I eat a plain 3 egg omlet and a bowl of plain Cheerios. I like food to be simple. But I have begun to suspect I am really eating more than I should for breakfast. I'm not sure. I walk a lot in the evenings (4+ miles) and often go to bed hungry....

I will second this. As Steve himself likes to say "you can't out run your fork."

I do a lot of walking but sadly, most of it is on pavement (mostly crumbled). I am not able to get out to a trail very often - wish I could count my 5K+ walks to this project!

Walking is a great start and a great habit to continue. It is definitely my preferred method of exercise and once you get some endurance built up, you can easily transition to hiking. I also think that a good walk has some psychological benefits and it's a good time to think about things or catch up on your favorite podcast(s) or audio books. It's also a great way to recharge if you're an introvert like me and need a break from people.

I know it's kind of cliche at this point but... Since walking is my preferred form of exercise for both its physical and meditative qualities, I would have to go with the Lord of the Rings. Whether it's the hobbits or Aragorn or Gandalf those guys were hoofing it all over the place! I do 3.32 miles every time I go for a walk (3-5 nights per week) and it is totally inspired by Tolkien.

I fought those cravings with a slice of cheese. But I like dairy and still eat it while others can't/don't. I found that just eating a single slice of cheese curbed the cravings and, because of the relatively high fat content, was very satisfying as well.

Very interesting posts! When I started my 6 week challenge, cutting way back on carbs was actually the hardest part. Regular exercise wasn't really a problem once I had identified exercises that I actually liked to do. You always learn a lot about yourself when you decide to change things about your lifestyle. One thing I learned was that I could easily be a vegetarian, as long as I still ate eggs and dairy. In fact, I basically only eat meat at one meal per day now (just dinner usually) and sometimes not even then. Before, I never thought I would be able to give up meat but now I don't really see that as a big deal. But grains? No way! I think the big thing for me was to start paying attention to what grains I was eating. I try to eat only whole grains these days (as much as possible) and avoid sugar, and refined carbs. I certainly recognize that different things work well for different people but whole grains seem to work for me. Carb responsibly, people.

So, carb is kind of a four-letter word around here (in more ways than one), and I totally get why that is the case. This is especially so, when we are talking about the grain-carbs rather than the fruit-carbs or the veggie-carbs. But some of us still eat them! I started a 6 week challenge almost a year ago that has basically never ended in a lot of ways. I started eating a lot more veggies, cut out the liquid calories (other than milk), and basically walk a 5K every other day or so. For a long time, I wasn't eating much of any grain-based food. But I have added some back in for the benefits in, well... pooping! And, because I like bread and oatmeal and things like that. I thought it would be nice to have a place for us pro-grains people to talk about how to eat grains in the healthiest way possible, and why we eat the grains that we choose to eat. For me: I eat one 100% whole wheat bagel every morning slathered with butter. I also eat a bowl of plain Cheerios (in the yellow box) every other day or so as a snack. Sometimes my wife makes cornbread muffins and I definitely eat one (being a good Southern boy, after all). Who's next? Grain lovers sound off!!

Sugar Snap Peas - raw Carrots - raw Broccoli - very lightly steamed with a little butter Zucchini - sauteed in some soy sauce (think hibachi vegetables) Green beans - sauteed in EVOO Spinach - raw/salad Non-Iceberg lettuce - salads Dammit, now I'm hungry.

My wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday in April. That was the first thing I that came out of my mouth. I will be 33 and have no shame. Meanwhile, I am playing Endless Legend, Dungeonmans, and Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

What do you mean by "balanced diet?" I ask because that phrase can mean a lot of things and sometimes is used to refer to diets that are not really all that balanced. I don't mean to imply that you are doing that but, well it happens. All that said the digestive issues that I have had seemed to largely clear themselves up as my diet became more plant-based and less meat-based. I also eat whole grains for the high fiber content. In a sense my diet is not "balanced" at all since I eat WAY less meat than I used to relative to other things. (I am also a dairy junkie but I recognize that is a non-starter for you). Of course, you may already be eating a largely plant-based diet and everything that I am saying may be totally unhelpful...

I only weigh myself every 2 weeks to prevent insanity from descending on me and ruling my very existence. This past Saturday morning was a weigh-in morning and I came in at 187.5 lbs!!! For reference, I was 207 lbs at the beginning of my 6 week challenge that did last September/October (I am 6' 1" tall). At my wedding, almost 2 years ago now, I was in the 220-225 lbs range. Also, I bought a couple of pair of Levi's 505 regular fit jeans - because they fit! That hasn't happened to me in 15 years, easily. Meanwhile, my eating habits remained in a good place - what I think of as my "hobbit" diet (in type of food, not amount of food). I am still doing some strength training and Yoga pretty regularly. I am also walking a 5K 5-6 days per week and not because I feel like I have to do it, but because I WANT to do it. I get pissed off when the weather is bad and I can't walk (and sometimes do anyway). Just thought I would share my success with the community that made these life changes possible for me - I really could not have done it without the support and advice of the community here. Now I need your help and support to continue! My wife was also tremendously helpful and she deserves a lot of credit for that (she won't read this, but she knows how much I appreciate her).

I guess it depends on what it is you want to strengthen your grip to be able to do but... As an acoustic guitar player of 20 years, I like this: http://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Tension-9-Pounds-Finger/dp/B0006GCBL4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423088368&sr=8-1&keywords=grip+strengthener I own the black one, which is the heavy tension model You know what else will strengthen your grip? Playing the acoustic guitar...

Sorry to butt in but I have a question related to this topic. If a person were the kind of vegetarian that still eats dairy products, eggs, and whole grains (all in moderation of course), would that vegetarian still find that they need protein powders/shakes/supplements? I realize that the answer would depend on that person's goals so let's say that the goals are maintaining a healthy weight and general overall health - not a body builder or anything like that.

I am not a vegetarian... yet... But I wonder if I am becoming one... I did a 6 week challenge here on the forums back in September-October of 2014. I knew that I needed to incorporate more vegetables in my diet and was trying to think of a way to include that as one of the goals of my challenge. For those familiar with the rules of the 6 week challenge program, "eat more vegetables" is not a goal - it's too vague! So, I decided that I was going to eat one vegetarian meal per day, since I could easily measure whether or not I had done that and whether or not I was doing it consistently over the course of the challenge. As a life-long meat lover I thought it was going to be really hard. Turns out, it was one of the easiest things I have ever done. I chose lunch as my vegetarian meal for each day. I ate lots of spinach (sometimes romaine) salads, raw carrots, roasted peanuts, cheese, broccoli, and sunflower seed kernels over the course of 6 weeks. I really didn't miss having meat for lunch at all. I was still eating meat at breakfast (bacon) and for dinners though. After the challenge was over, I kept on eating vegetarian at lunch with no real desire to go back. I tried to go back to eating meat at lunch; I was worried I might not be eating enough protein. But for whatever reason, my heart just wasn't in it and I am back to my vegetarian lunches. Another thing that happened was that I developed some "digestive issues" during and shortly after the challenge when I was trying to do the ultra-low carb thing. Eventually, I decided to give up the bacon at breakfast and eat a whole wheat bagel with my eggs every morning instead. So now, I find myself eating meat at only one meal each day: dinner. And I don't always do that. Last night I had some tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. So yesterday, I ate no meat at all - and that happens a few times per month these days. The surprising part to me is that I expected to encounter a LOT of resistance from myself on the meat issue. But it really has not been a problem. Beats me why. I don't mind at all when I have a completely vegetarian day. I don't see myself giving up my dairy products and eggs though! Where is all this going for me? Am I going to eventually become a vegetarian? Honestly, I don't know. At this point, I am just going to go with my preferences as they develop without too much analysis and see what happens.

The 30 day meditation challenge thread got me to thinking about specific meditation techniques... and the fact that I don't really know any! But I would like to learn about some different techniques, try them on and see what works for me. Any links, resources, personal techniques, etc. would be great. Thanks!

This is hands-down one of the best, most helpful, and most clear articles I have ever read on this subject. Thank you so much for posting this!

Personally, I am a fan of breakfast. I wake up very hungry every day - don't know why, I just always have as far back as I can remember. Also, I eat bread and I am still losing weight. I was doing the super low carb thing and was having some digestive issues (read: constipation). Now I eat a 100% whole wheat bagel with my eggs every morning and that problem has gone away and my overall weight loss continues. Just keep in mind that everyone is different and you have to find the system that works for you. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Thank you for opening up yourself for questions! I certainly plan to investigate the links you have posted for Yin Yoga videos/DVDs. But I was wondering if you had a similar list for the more "Yang" styles that you could recommend as well. I live in a very rural area where Yoga classes are basically non-existent so any video/DVD resources are very helpful for me.

beef jerky is one of my road trip favorites also, some trail mix in moderation never hurt anyone. besides that, you can always make your own. if you have the space and/or inclination to take a small cooler, you could have some raw veggies too.

That is very interesting, thanks!

Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown. Seriously, it will work your core pretty hard.