Healthy (Not)

Had a biometrics screening at work today.  I wouldn’t say I dread doing these, but I definitely don’t like them because I don’t need a stranger to tell me that I’m overweight, my blood pressure is high and my blood lipid levels are not good.  I already know this.  But I have to do it to ensure that I earn credit towards my medical insurance (works out to saving about $250 a year).  I haven’t weighed myself for a while, but was definitely disappointed today to find out that I weighed a touch more than I thought I did.  But what really bothered me was my blood pressure, which was way too high.  I’m not surprised – I wasn’t feeling well last night, and I think that was symptomatic of an elevated blood pressure.  I think it’s always been high – I’m definitely a high stress person at the best of times – but whatever combination of food, exercise and stress I’m currently under is making things worse.  So it’s clear that I need to take steps to reduce my weight and blood pressure.  I think that starts predominantly with diet, more so than exercise, because I know I go through periods where I eat badly – and I think since coming back from the UK this has been one of them.  I need more fruit, more veg, a lot less snack food and a lot more moderation.  I bought myself a blood pressure monitor a while back that I haven’t used yet, but now I think it’s time to actually start using it regularly so I can track my health.  We shall see, I’ve said this before but not followed through.  But these warning signs seem more serious.  First of all I really want to see if I can help myself, before I have to resort to taking any meds.