Tough Challenge

I've now been at my new job for almost a year, and the biggest challenge is still eating out for lunch everyday with coworkers. I've been continuing to try to balance it out by eating self-made dinners at home, which still seems to be keeping my BP in check. At my last doctors appointment it was at about 130/80 (which isn't too bad considering all of the burgers, burritos, etc that I've consumed!). One down side is that I've gained back about half of the weight that I initially lost a few years back. It's just so easy to fall off the wagon, especially when you love to eat tasty food!


Yes, processed foods are often terrible for a low-sodium diet, but shockingly, a lot of restaurant foods are even worse. I was reading this list of the saltiest foods in America and couldn't believe how much sodium some of these dishes have! I had been eating one of the dishes, broccoli with beef, instead of some of the saucier choices at Chinese restaurants because I thought that it was a better low-sodium option; boy was I wrong. Check out the list, its very interesting.


I'm now back in the process of trying to lower my sodium intake again, to avoid having my BP skyrocket like it did before. It's pretty easy to make low-sodium pasta sauces (I really enjoy experimenting with different ingredients), stir-frys and dishes made with our slow-cooker. One day I'll start to take lunch to work (at least a couple of times per week) - we'll see how that goes.


Thanks for reading, and for sharing your comments.

A Year Later...

Now, about a year after I got off of atenolol, I'm maintaining my blood pressure at around 130/90, taking just 1/2 a HCZ pill per day. Yes, I was off of both meds for about 6 months, but my Dr. thought it would be good to get back on a minimal dose since my BP did go up some (but still within the normal range). I started a new job a few months ago, and I've been slacking some on the food I eat for lunch out. I'm still eating low sodium dinners (i.e. same cereal and/or no or little-salt-added cooking), so it seems to be balancing out. One surprising change at my last check-up was my cholesterol, which was at 210 2 years ago (when my BP was off the charts), was down to 170. Guess it was a positive by-product of my change in diet.

I've found that Swiss cheese (60-90 mg sodium/serving) is a much lower sodium alternative to cheddar or jack cheese (usually 170-190 mg sodium/serving). I like to melt a slice on a piece of toast to eat with my cereal. I also found Heinz No Salt Added Ketchup, which I had never seen before. Not as tasty as the regular version, but not too bad. Works well on no-salt-added turkey swiss burgers!

It's amazing how all of these little things that you can watch can really make a different in the long-run.