When you are overweight or obese, your heart has to work overtime to pump blood throughout your body. This in turn raises your risk for high blood pressure. If you already are overweight and have high blood pressure, weight loss can do more than boost your self-confidence. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, losing as little as 10 lbs. can help lower your blood pressure. To achieve both weight loss and lower blood pressure, you need to make dietary changes and become more active.
Step 1
Decrease your consumption of calories. Monitor what you eat and drink for a day to determine your current intake. Reduce this amount by 500 to 1,000 calories. This will cause about 1 to 2 lbs. of weight loss a week, according to the National Institutes of Health. Eat foods that are high in nutrients such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, low-fat dairy and lean meats.
Step 2
Reduce the amount of sodium in your diet. Cut back on salt and other high-sodium foods such as potato chips, pretzels, soy sauce, canned soups and spaghetti sauce. According to the USDA Guidelines for Americans 2005, people with high blood pressure should keep their daily intake of sodium to 1,500 mg or less.
Step 3
Give up smoking and the use of tobacco products. Smoking and chewing tobacco not only raise your blood pressure temporarily, but they also cause damage to the arterial walls, according to the Mayo Clinic. Avoid second-hand smoke as well.
Step 4
Incorporate relaxation activities into your life to reduce your stress levels. Excess stress can have an impact on your blood pressure, says Family Doctor. This can also cause you to overeat. Perform yoga, tai-chi, meditative breathing or get massages on a regular basis to reduce your stress.
Step 5
Perform cardiovascular exercise to strengthen your heart and burn calories. Do any form of cardio that you enjoy, such as running, brisk walking, elliptical training, rowing, kickboxing or jumping rope. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, 30 minutes of cardio are efficient for disease risk reduction and 60 to 90 minutes are needed for weight loss. Aim for the higher amount and work out four or five days a week.
Step 6
Lift weights to add muscle to your body. Muscle is metabolically active tissue that can help speed up your weight loss. Target all of your main muscles with exercises like chest presses, lateral raises, back rows, triceps extensions, biceps curls and leg extensions. Keep your weights on the lighter side and perform higher reps. Heavy weight training can cause your blood pressure to increase momentarily. Aim for 12 to 15 reps and do three or four sets of each exercise. Work out two or three days a week.
References
- NHLBI: Maintaining a Healthy Weight
- Medline Plus: Tips for Losing Weight
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005: Sodium and Potassium
- MayoClinic.com: High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): Risk Factors
- FamilyDoctor.org: High Blood Pressure: Things You Can Do to Help Lower Yours
- ACSM: Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines
