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Assignment: Personalized Nutrition and Exercise Plan Dawn Ryan Axia College of University of Phoenix SCI 241 High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a disease that runs in my family. High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension means high pressure (tension) in the arteries. Arteries are vessels that carry blood from the pumping heart to all the tissues and organs of the body. High blood pressure does not mean excessive emotional tension, although emotional tension or stress can temporarily increase blood pressure.
Normal blood pressure is below 120/80; blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is called “pre-hypertension”, and a blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered high. While hypertension is not a current health problem for me, I am worried it may become one for me or my children in the future due to the family history. I know a healthy diet and exercise plan is the best way to protect myself from getting the disease. Other factors that can contribute to hypertension are; smoking, and stress, both of which are things I need to get under control for my future health.
To help protect myself from hypertension and the health risks that can come from it such as heart attacks or strokes, I have come up with four goals that I can implement immediately and continue for the rest of my life to try to ensure a health and happy life for myself as well as my children. These goals are as follows: My first goal to a healthier lifestyle is to quit smoking. I personally feel this will be the most challenging goal for me because I have been smoking for almost twenty-five years and it is something I really enjoy.
For me nothing is more relaxing than sitting outside on a summer morning when all is quiet and drinking a cup of coffee and having a cigarette. Smoking can make the heart pump faster and work harder therefore driving up the blood pressure. By quitting the heart does not have to work so hard and then the blood pressure returns to normal. Another benefit to quitting smoking is that in as little as two weeks of being smoke free breathing improves and it becomes easier to exercise which will help me achieve other goals. To achieve this goal I have made an appointment with my doctor to get a prescription for a drug called Chantix.
Chantix is used as a smoking cessation medicine or treatment. It is used together with behavior modification and counseling support to help people stop smoking cigarettes. Chantix works in the brain to block the pleasurable effects of smoking. This helps to decrease the desire to keep smoking. (Drugs. com 2008) The second goal I have for myself is exercise. I have never had a exercise routine so I have decided to start by walking and will then increase the intensity of my workouts as my stamina increases and the effects of smoking decrease.
I have also purchased a pedometer and understand that I should set a goal of 10,000 steps everyday (The Walking Site, 2008). On most days I reach and even exceed that goal. I credit that to being a mother and having to chase around two kids while I am home during the day as well as my two dogs who beg me to walk them after I finish my dinner. I measure my success by the number of steps I see on the pedometer at the end of the day. If it is over 15,000 then I feel like I accomplished something great. In the colder months I anticipate some reluctance on my part to meet the required 10,000 steps due to the chilly weather.
I can avoid this by making sure that I have proper clothing to combat the frosty atmosphere. Scarves, gloves and thermal underwear are all great things to have on hand when the temperature drops. If it gets so freezing that I cannot possibly go outside for a long period of time, I will look into potentially purchasing or financing a quality treadmill for my home, which I can use while I watch TV in the evenings or talk on the phone with family members. My third goal is to try and reduce the stress in my life or to find new ways of dealing with it. Medical researchers aren’t sure exactly how stress increases the risk of heart disease.
Stress itself might be a risk factor, or it could be that high levels of stress make other risk factors (such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure) worse. For example, if someone is under stress, the blood pressure goes up, the person may overeat, or may exercise less and may be more likely to smoke. So it is my idea that if I can get my stress under control it will make it easier to achieve the other goals. Some ways to lower stress is to learn deep breathing exercises. Yoga and meditaion are other ways to reduce stress. I have found out that there is a yoga class offered through my church two nights a week.
I have put it on my calendar to attend when the next set of classes begin after the new year. The only problem I can see I will have achieving this goal is if the class conflicts with other commitments I or my children may have. I can get past this obstical by asking someone else to pick my son up from basketball practice so I can attend yoga class. My fourth and final goal is to cut unnecessary calories out of my meals. A healthy daily caloric intake for me should be around 1500 calories (Shape Fit, 2008). Consuming this number of calories will result in me losing weight which is what I am aiming to accomplish.
A major source of easily avoidable calories for a large number of people is beverages. Soda is literally jam-packed with sugar and excessive calories. Let’s assume that I drink, on average, three sodas a day. Each soda contains roughly 110 calories. 110 multiplied by three come out to 330 calories. So that is 330 empty, pointless calories that I can very simply remove from my diet and replace with something healthier, such as a few glasses of skim milk or even a small healthy meal. I have decided to replace all the fluids that I usually consume with pure water flavored with lemon.
A major problem and potential setback that I have is my desire for salty snacks. In the evening this unwelcome craving gets especially hard to keep under control and to my dismay, I usually find myself snacking on a bowl of popcorn or some potato chips with fattening dip. This will be my greatest challenge to overcome. I have decided that when I get hungry for salty snacks I will get out a piece of chewing gum and chew it until the craving passes. I have tried this method a couple of times and it seems to work well. I do not see any changes in my goals as I age except for maybe exercising and maybe that may not be an issue.
I have seen many older people who are more physically fit than myself and can do more than I can. The one thing I may have to change is walking outside in the winter for fear of falling and breaking a bone. If this becomes the case as I age there is an indoor walking time for adults at the high school I could take advantage of, using a treadmill in my home would be another great option. I feel the goals I have set for myself will get me on the right track to a healthy and happy life free of high blood pressure and the risk for a heart attack or stroke. By eating healthy, exercising, quitting smoking, and inding ways to manage stress I can lower my chances of getting high blood pressure by almost seventy- five percent despite the fact it runs in my family. If I fail and continue on the path I am currently on chances are good that I will die of a disease that is related to high blood pressure such as a heart attack or stroke, and will not be around to see my children and grandchildren grow up into healthy happy adults. References http://www. drugs. com/chantix. html http://www. webmd. com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure http://www. mypyramid. gov http://www. shapefit. com/ http://www. thewalkingsite. com/