Moving Forward

At a snail’s pace! But I guess forward is all that matters. The cardiologist instructed me to halve my dose of the blood pressure medicine for a few days and then go back up and it worked, no more side effects and my pressure is now down a little bit. It’s the first medication to have any effect at all. I tried to go all in on the dietary changes again this week and it failed but it’s only Wednesday and I’ve modified and recovered it rather than letting it go for the rest of the week. I’ve also just joined a gym that is directly on my route to and from work. I can’t start until Monday because of schedule issues this week but I am making sure I am fully prepared and it’s as easy as it can possibly be. It’s always a challenge when you switch to showering and dressing for work in the locker room! However, I live one town over so going home after is not an option and there are no options with a pool in the town I live in. I think the pool will be the key to boosting my activity without so much pain and give me some variety from the treadmill plus access to the weight machines. The weight machines will be especially important as I try to become stronger, especially in my core to reduce back pain. Instead of my usual goal of five mornings per week, I am sticking to a reasonable three days for a while. I think it will be easier to adjust and give me time to keep up with the extra laundry! Eventually I would like to be able to join their group water aerobics class two nights a week and yoga one night plus Saturday mornings. I know that’s a long way off but I look forward to it! In the meantime, my diet next week has been modified to healthier versions of ethnic food. I find ethnic recipes (particularly Indian food) easier to substitute in, add vegetables to, and reduce salt. No more feeling like I am trying to eat leaves and dirt!