A1C Test
Make sure you know where you stand in the normal, prediabetes, or diabetes categories.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure, according to Wikipedia,” is the pressure of circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels…
Body Mass Index
Body Mass Index (BMI) is an indication of how much fat you carry and there are a variety of online tools that can help you determine your BMI
A1C Test
Make sure you know where you stand in the normal, prediabetes, or diabetes categories. There is a simple test called the A1C test that will measure your blood sugar level. The blood testing provides a percentage, and based on the percentage; individuals will fall into one of three categories, which follows:
- An A1C under 5.7% is considered normal.
- An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4% is diagnostic for prediabetes.
- An A1C equal to or above 6.5% is diagnostic for diabetes.
I am right @ 5.7% based on my test results.
Everything that I have read thus far suggests I may prevent 5.8% and beyond if I increase my daily exercise and better manage what, when, where, and how I eat.
Blood Pressure
Each time I have seen a medical doctor to this point, my blood pressure has been measured. So, like weight, this too is a clue that blood pressure is equally valuable information.
According to Wikipedia,” is the pressure of circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels… “Blood pressure” usually refers to the arterial pressure in the systemic circulation.
Blood pressure is usually expressed in terms of the systolic (maximum during one heartbeat) pressure over diastolic (minimum in between two heartbeats) pressure and is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
An adult’s normal resting blood pressure is approximately 120 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg diastolic, abbreviated “120/80 mmHg”.
My blood pressure at my last doctor visit (December 2015) was 139 / 90… Stage 1 Hypertension.
Looking at the Mayo Clinic website for more info on blood pressure, I found a blood pressure chart that opened my eyes to the impact of blood pressure…
Table 1: Thank you, Mayo Clinic Staff – Reference Material – Mayo Clinic.
| The top number (systolic) in mm Hg | The bottom number (diastolic) in mm Hg | Your category* | What to do † |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below 120 | and Below 80 | Normal blood pressure | Maintain or adopt a healthy lifestyle. |
| Between 120-139 | or Between 80-89 | Prehypertension | Maintain or adopt a healthy lifestyle. |
| Between 140-159 | or Between 90-99 | Stage 1 hypertension | Maintain or adopt a healthy lifestyle. If your blood pressure goal isn’t reached in about a month, talk to your doctor about taking one or more medications. |
| 160 or higher | or 100 or higher | Stage 2 hypertension | Maintain or adopt a healthy lifestyle. Talk to your doctor about taking more than one medication. |
| †Note: These recommendations address high blood pressure as a single health condition. If you also have heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or certain other conditions, you may need to treat your blood pressure more aggressively. | |||
The exact causes of high blood pressure are not known. Some items are believed to contribute to high blood pressure, like smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, too much salt, stress, age, genetics, and thyroid anomalies.
Source: Reference Material – WebMD
Next Steps for me
In searching for information on the A1C test, weight, and blood pressure, I used Wikipedia, the Mayo Clinic’s information on weight, and WebMD. I found the information from each of these sources pretty useful- just an FYI.
Based on the Mayo Clinic information, specifically, for hypertension, I am going to take a “no medication”, “no surgery” approach to manage my hypertension. The approach provided consists of beginning with liver detoxification, losing extra weight, exercising daily, eating healthy (increasing fruits, vegetables, plant-based foods, and whole-grain intake), reducing alcohol consumption (Not going to eliminate).
I am going to reduce my meat intake, not going vegan, or anything along those lines. When I travel overseas to places like India, Australia, Thailand, meat is not the centerpiece of a meal, and I don’t see too many plus-sized people.
I will increase my daily water consumption to my weight in ounces- no soda, no sugary drinks, back to the basics. I will incorporate fruit juicing and smoothies into my daily meal planning.
The approach I will use is to burn more calories than I consume, plan what I eat, drink more water, not eat after 8 pm, and exercise more often than not – My new habits to develop. The Zen of Habit forming..