Jill,

Glad to hear you're OK and on the road to recovery. I can only echo what others have said about getting into shape and taking control of your health. I was headed in the same direction a few years ago and decided to take control by going on the South Beach Diet, which seems to have reversed the trend to a significant degree. While I was not hypertensive, my resting blood pressure was considerably higher than it was a decade earlier, and unfortunately so was my pulse rate and weight. Tipping the scales at 225 I purchased the South Beach Diet book, read it cover to cover, and a week later was well on my way to getting healthier. After loosing 50 pounds, my resting blood pressure is now 110/55 to 110/60 with a pulse rate of 60 to 65. My cholesterol is down from 257 to 212, triglicerides are the best they have been since I was 25 years old, and all subsequent blood workups have been outstanding. My doctor is now on the program and says she cannot believe the results.

Keep in mind this program was designed by a cardiologist, one that reported his patients were not getting better on the American Heart Association's Diet. In fact, most got progressively worse until he came up with this program.

I personally was taking an increasing number of medications, some of which had very nasty side effects. Now, the only meds I take are one aspirin daily and one to shrink the prostate. The same is true with my wife, who was taking huge numbers of pills, and the number was growing monthly. Since loosing 44 pounds and getting into some light exercising she no longer has to take most of those medications--including one for diabetes. Her blood sugar is perfectly normal since going on South Beach.

I hope to make another whirlwind tour of the sunny south again next year, and with luck we'll meet in person at that time.

Stay healthy,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy