You have had your blood pressure checked and were told if it was in a safe range or not, but do you understand what the numbers mean? There are two numbers. The higher of the two is your systolic pressure. The lower is your diastolic pressure.

When your heart pumps blood your veins and arteries also contract in order to transport blood to your body. The amount of pressure created depends on the size of the opening of the blood vessel. If you are stressed your muscles automatically tighten creating a smaller hole increasing your blood pressure. Cholesterol also likes to stick to the walls of blood vessels decreasing the diameter allowing less blood to flow through at once which also increases pressure. Other medical factors can also play a part such as the blood vessels becoming less elastic so that they can not stretch and contract as they used to.

The systolic pressure is the amount of pressure in your blood vessels created when your heart contracts and is pumping blood. Stress plays a large role on this number. The more stressed you are the smaller the opening is in the blood vessels.

The diastolic pressure is when your body is at rest. The heart and blood vessels are relaxing between pumps. When this number is high it is often due to a medical issue such as high cholesterol, inelasticity of the blood vessels and more.

Healthy blood pressure is around 120/80 mm Hg. High blood pressure is 140/90 mm Hg.

One way to control your blood pressure is through exercise. Some blood pressure medications can lower your systolic pressure 5 – 10 mm Hg which is the same as increasing your exercise. So becoming more active can eliminate your need for drugs or prevent you from ever needing them.

Exercise makes your heart stronger allowing it to become more efficient when it pumps creating less pressure on the blood vessels. It takes about 3 months to see the results of exercise, so don’t be discouraged if you check in a month and don’t see the results you were hoping for.

Any activity that works your cardiovascular system will help your blood pressure. So anything that will get you breathing harder than you would be sitting on the couch. Going for a walk after dinner, swimming, raking leaves, shoveling your driveway, playing a sport such as soccer, basketball, tennis and more are just some examples. Anything you can think of that will get your heart pumping. If you can’t take 30 minutes all at once you can combine the times during the day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator to your office; go for a quick walk on your lunch break. As long as your daily activities have you breathing faster than you would at rest for 30 min every day.

Strengthening your heart is definitely beneficial to your blood pressure. Another side effect of your increased activity may also help you shed some weight. As little as 10 pounds can significantly decrease your blood pressure.

Only you can take care of your health and well being. Why not start today!!! Only 30 minutes of activity a day can make a huge impact on your life.

Single Leg Squat

Single leg squats are great for your glutes, legs and balance.

Stand on one leg.
Sit your hips back and bend your knee. Keep your weight in the mid to heel of your foot. Making sure your heel stays on the ground. Keep your head up and touch the ground with your hands.
Push yourself back up to standing position and repeat 15 times on one leg.

Keys to a Successful Work Out Program

We see it every year. Someone we know has a New Year’s resolution to be fit and joins a gym. They go full force for the first few weeks and don’t see results right away so they stop. People often quit going within 2 to 6 weeks of signing up. If exercise was something that was quick and easy we wouldn’t have so many overweight and out of shape people in our society.

Before you join a gym or start an exercise program you should set long and short term goals. This allows you to have things to work towards and guidelines to stick to over time. You can change up your short term goals every 2-6 weeks as you progress.

Long terms goals are things that happen over time.

Lose weight
Increase Strength, Flexibility, Cardio
Run a 5k, 10k or marathon in 6 months to a year.
Rehabilitate an injury

Short term goals are all of the pieces that will eventually help you achieve your long term goals. Small achievable goals.

Do 15 min of cardio 5x/wk for the first week, then 5 min extra each week until 1 hour is achieved
Do a strength training or flexibility program 3x/week
Meet with a running coach to design a program for a race
Eat smaller portion sizes and add 2 more vegetables in your day

REWARD YOURSELF! Every time you achieve one of your goals you should reward yourself. This does not mean giving yourself a high calorie, high fat/sugar treat. Try to make it something healthy. Tickets to a concert you wanted to go to, a new work out top/bottom, or even a night to yourself with a bubble bath and your favorite book. Peace and quiet. If you have kids you can make a deal with your husband/wife to take the kids out for the night or watch the kids while you go out and have a "you" night. Manicure, pedicure… Whatever you would enjoy.

Keep in mind that results take about 12 weeks to achieve. If you have a well balanced program and are truly watching your nutrition you should see results. If you aren’t seeing results then you may not be eating what you should be around your work outs, your strength program might be missing some key elements or your cardio isn’t consistent enough. Check with a personal trainer to see if you are doing all that you could be. Don’t give up. The key to success is to stick with it and be consistant. It took you a while to get out of shape. It will take a while to reverse the damage, but it will come over time. Keep reassessing your goals as you improve and reward your self as you achieve each goal!

Pesto-Infused White Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Stew

Stew
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼ inch dice
3 large ripe tomatoes chopped
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 cups cooked beans or 2 15.5 ounce cans cannellini or other white beans, drained rinsed
1 ½ cups vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup pesto (recipe below)

Pesto
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
¼ cup pine nuts or raw cashews
2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
Fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

To make the pesto, combine the garlic and nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the basil and pepper to taste and process until ground into a paste. With the machine running, stream in the olive oil through the feed tube, processing until well blended. Set aside ¼ cup and freeze the rest for future use.
Heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until softened. About 5 minutes
Transfer the onion to a 4-quart slow cooker or large pot. Add the bell pepper, both kinds of tomatoes, the beans and the stock; season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours if using a slow cooker or simmer in a pot for 20 minutes until all of the vegetables are cooked.
Just before serving, stir in pesto. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Serves 6

215 cal, 31g carbs, 11.5g protein, fat 5.8 g, sodium 405 mg (based on low sodium broth)