How I lost weight in 2 weeks - The Murray's Way %

For several years I’ve been battling with my blood pressure. Unfortunately high blood pressure is hereditary in my family. I’ve been going back and forth visiting my primary doctor every six months having blood-work done repeatedly to tackle this silent killer. Last June when I visited the office I was seen by the Physician Assistant who wasn’t very personable, staring at the computer screen recommending I start a prescription regimen immediately. I was unhappy with her presence. She wasn’t making me feel comfortable, the vulnerable human being in the room she was talking to at the screen. The first question I asked, “What were the alternatives to medication.” She stated, losing ten pounds, exercising (which I hate) and changing my diet (I thought I ate right). My second question was if I took this medication how was she going to determine when it was time for me to come off of it. She couldn’t give me a satisfactory response so I left and decided I had to do what was right for me.

Let me rewind a little bit prior to going to the doctor office I had a bag of popcorn from the movie theatre, lunch (whatever that entailed probably not too bad though), Oreos, and a Izze drink I bet. I also have white coat syndrome which means whenever I enter a doctor’s exam room my pressure shoot through the roof. And by no means am I trying to minimize that fact that my blood pressure is compromised but the other factors play a key role in all of this too.

I went home that evening to discuss with my husband what the P.A. suggested. He didn’t let me finish talking, before I knew it he interrupted me and said, “Don’t take the medication.” And that was the end of the conversation. The following day I headed to work with this issue heavy on my mind. I had a cup of fruit loops for breakfast. I didn’t pack my lunch because usually when I have a PD with my colleagues we go out for lunch, however I always travel with snacks. It was roughly around 10 a.m. and I pulled out my Oreos I packed in a baggy. My co-worker shouted, “You can’t eat that.” With a sigh I responded, Why not? At that point I began to google the nutrition facts of Oreos and to my finding I learned how much sodium are packed in the cookies. My co-worker stated you have to figure out healthy snacks. We talked about some options then headed out to lunch. For lunch I ate a grilled chicken salad with roasted red peppers, black beans, corn with a slight dab of balsamic vinegar dressing.

After work I went to CVS to check my blood pressure it was 126/80 & 118/74 after a few minutes a great improvement from the day before (150/90).
It was clear what I was consuming throughout the day was causing major issues to my health. I thought I was eating healthy by having Greek yogurt everyday (too much sugar), tortilla chips (high in sodium), Salad (high sodium dressing), grilled chicken, etc. The snacks as well as other things I was consuming was going to cost me my life. I would eat chips after school with the kids, a chocolate candy bars daily, chocolate Häagen-Dazs ice-cream, Entenmann’s chocolate donuts (at least twice a month), juice 2 to 3 times a day, etc.

I knew I had to change my habits immediately. I started walking a mile at least 3 times a week. I bought healthy snacks such as dark chocolate with zero sodium and only 4 grams of sugar per square, unsalted tortilla chips, low sodium popcorn, and frozen fruit bars. On Easter last year I challenged myself to drink water for a month which actually went very well. After a month I gradually treated myself to special drink once a week and I still try to follow that regimen today.

As the summer heat kicked in I gradually cut back on exercising but I tried to at least get in 2-3K steps every other day. I can truly say being completely conscious about what I eat and reading nutrition facts has changed my life and the pounds I wanted to shed are gone. When I went back to the doctor’s office two weeks after the initial visit I lost 7lbs. The P.A. thought I was taking the medication but I informed her about what I was doing and she approved. She told me to keep it up and didn’t push for the medication further. I actually gave her another chance because she was a little more personal on my second visit. I still have 3 more pounds to go but it’s a start.

Daily Meals

Day 1 – 5

Breakfast 1 cup of Quaker Oat Oatmeal (1 teaspoon brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter)
Snack (fruit: orange, pear, grapes, watermelon) I love watermelon for the 1st 2 weeks that’s all I ate in terms of fruit.
Lunch (grilled chicken, salmon, stuff pepper ground turkey) veggies only no starch
Snack (1 Ghirardelli dark chocolate 60% cacao square)
Snack (for the ride home) Skinny popcorn individual .65 oz bag only 45mg of sodium
Dinner ( chicken, salmon, cod fish, stuff pepper instead of ziti or lasagna, veggies)
Snack (one dark chocolate square)

I’ve been following this regimen for the past 10 months and I’ve been able to maintain the weight lost. I try to incorporate fresh beets into my diet (yuck) Zucchini and other veggies that allegedly help lower blood pressure. Now don’t get me wrong I do cheat! I eat out like twice a week but I try to make healthy choices but I do make bad choices too. If I order a salad from Wendy’s I don’t use the full packet of dressing I only use maybe a third of it. When I order my food in a restaurant I usually ask them to prepare it with no salt. We can’t deny our bodies something it craves because when you finally allow yourself to have it you will binge .

Now that we are in quarantine I have remained steadfast to my daily meal schedule. I have eaten Doritos on an occasion or two but for the most part I’m committed to staying on track. I loss my father to a major stroke 2 yrs ago (he was taking medication) I don’t want to go down that same rode. I try to walk at least 3 days a week to keep moving because the first week of quarantine I was only averaging about 50 steps per day ….. lol I hope I covered everything if you have any additional questions please free to shoot me an email I’ll be glad to answer any of your questions.

Thanks for stopping by Be Safe!

xo,

Alghashiyah