Get a Blood Pressure Monitor

In addition to a Bluetooth scale, another great investment is a home blood pressure monitor.

You may even be able to get one now at the end of the year, essentially with no out-of-pocket cost!

I’ll tell you how I did it after I tell you about my monitor and why I bought it.

I got the QardioArm home blood pressure in late June after learning more about how high blood pressure can provide chronic stress to blood vessels, which can open the door to slight areas of damage which can become the place where plaques start to form.

It was only $99 plus tax, so it seemed like good value, and I’ve been using it regularly to track my blood pressure.

Here’s my reading from last night, which it categorizes in the Normal range, just above Optimal:

We’ve all had our blood pressure measured at our medical appointments, and I often wonder at their usefulness.

I have had readings in the 140/90 range previously (especially when I was 60 pounds heavier), and I’ve never had anyone suggest that I might have hypertension.

It’s true that sometimes just being in a doctor’s office can raise one’s blood pressure (they call it “white coat hypertension”), and we all have fluctuations. One high reading shouldn’t necessarily send off warning flares.

But if you’re not measuring regularly, how do you know whether it’s “one high reading” or not?

That’s why I think a home blood pressure monitor is a great purchase. Because it’s connected to my iPhone, I can gather and track readings over time, and view them as either monthly or weekly averages. Here’s my chart:

Weekly and Monthly charts of average systolic and diastolic blood pressure are available.

I have at least 10-15 readings per month, and the general trend has been in a good direction.

Here’s why mine was essentially free: As I was going through my medical paperwork last month and reviewing my health care flexible spending account (FSA) program and remaining balance, I saw that home blood pressure monitoring devices are eligible for reimbursement.

I downloaded my receipt and filed online with my administrator, and got full reimbursement. I had already paid for it out-of-pocket, so it was a nice surprise that the money I had set aside in my FSA could reimburse me.

I think the $100 or so would be a good investment for anyone, particularly those of us who are old enough to remember the Carter Administration.

But if you have some FSA money you have to use (or lose) before the end of the year, it’s a total no-brainer.

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Check out My Health Journey and my #BodyBabySteps.

Get apps to track progress and support your health journey

I have found the following apps helpful in encouraging and supporting the health changes I’ve made over the last few years.

As you’re starting the #BodyBabySteps, you might want to download these. All of them are free, though most have premium offerings as well.

I’ve supplanted some of them with apps related to devices and gadgets I’ve purchased, but I’ll introduce those in later posts.

For now, we’re starting with the basics.

  • Health, from Apple. This comes with iOS, and Google Play has a comparable offering for Android.
  • Fitness, also from Apple. This integrates fitness-related data from various apps and devices, and particularly from my Apple Watch.
  • Weight Gurus. This app supports my bluetooth scale, as I described previously.
  • Strong. I use this to track my resistance training. If you’re not doing weightlifting yet, you can wait to get this one. That’s #BodyBabyStep Seven.
  • Map My Run. This likewise supports the cardio side of #BodyBabyStep Seven with versions for iOS and Android.
  • Sleep Cycle. You just set your phone on the nightstand, and it has a smart alarm. Instead of a definite time, it looks for a time close to your target when you are in a light sleep stage. That’s better than being jarred out of a deep sleep.
  • Zero. This is my fasting app. #BodyBabySteps Four and Five relate to the timing of your meals so you don’t need this right away, but I’d recommend getting it.

What other health-related apps have been helpful for you?

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Is Cancer Caused by Sugar?

That’s the question posed in this discussion featuring one of my top Health Sherpas, Dr. Jason Fung, in an interview related to his new book, The Cancer Code, with Dr. Mark Hyman, a functional medicine physician and host of The Doctor’s Farmacy podcast.

Dr. Fung is among the five physicians who have been most influential for Lisa and me. From The Obesity Code to The Diabetes Code to The Complete Guide to Fasting to Life in the Fasting Lane, his books share common themes:

  • Insulin is the hormone that causes your body to store fat.
  • While other macronutrients cause some insulin response, sugar, starches and highly processed carbohydrates cause blood sugar (and insulin) spikes, and our continuous snacking means blood insulin levels are perpetually high.
  • This condition, called hyperinsulinemia, causes weight gain, often leading to obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
  • Giving patients with Type 2 diabetes increasing doses of insulin to manage blood sugar causes them to gain even more weight, making the problem worse.
  • Obesity increases the risk of many cancers, including breast, prostate and colon cancer. Insulin, with its growth-promoting properties, seems to encourage the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells.
  • Intermittent fasting, time-restricted eating or even fasts of a day or more create periods of lower insulin levels in the blood, which enables your body to begin burning the fat you’ve stored. Fasting regimens may have some cancer-prevention benefits, too.

I have spent hours listening to Dr. Fung’s books on Audible, many of them more than once, and we also have the print edition of some of them. He has had great insight into dietary and lifestyle contributors to disease, and also is an excellent communicator to a lay audience.

Setting aside one hour to watch this video would be a great investment for you.

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Get a Bluetooth scale

As you get started on your health journey, it’s important that you have a good bathroom scale to measure your progress.

You may not want to do daily weighings as you’re getting started. Some people get discouraged by natural weight fluctuations, and so if you think you’re prone to that you may want to weigh once at the beginning, and then wait a few weeks before stepping back on the scale.

Lisa and I use this scale, which we got for less than $50. With the Weight Gurus app (iOS or Android), you can automatically record not only your weight, but also Body Mass Index and percent of your weight that is fat, muscle, bone and water weight.

It’s kind of magical, calculating all of those percentages by the electricity running through your bare feet. And the good part about having these figures in addition to body weight is that as you are getting into the #BodyBabySteps involving exercise, and particularly resistance training, you will add muscle mass.

That’s a good thing, even if your weight isn’t going down.

So if you don’t have a trusty scale, I recommend you get this one. I’m not an affiliate and I make no money based on your purchase.

I just like it and use it every day, and I think you’ll like it too (assuming you have an iPhone or Android device.)

You’ll be glad when you’re able to look back and see how much progress you’ve made. Here’s my first weigh-in, along with yesterday’s:

Lisa didn’t weigh when we started on this journey because she didn’t want to know. She thought it would mess with her head, and she also wasn’t sure she could be successful.

Now she wishes she had gotten a starting weight. She has lost at least 40 pounds, and is fairly confident it’s 50 since we started in 2016. But because she didn’t weigh, she can’t be exactly sure.

So before you start the #BodyBabySteps, get a scale and a starting weight so you’ll be able to tell your full story of success to encourage others.

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Black, Creamy or Bulletproof

Whereas Lisa and I were previously Folger’s drinkers, now we buy the roasted beans and grind them just before brewing our morning cup(s). We usually each have a 20-ounce Contigo container per day, although we sometimes brew a second pot and have a refill.

I drink coffee one of three ways, depending on what I’m trying to accomplish with my eating patterns.

Black. If I’m in a fasting or time-restricted eating mode, I take it straight. It doesn’t break my fast, and it actually has an appetite suppressant effect. Sometimes I’ll add a half-teaspoon of cinnamon, which also isn’t a fast-breaker.

Creamy. When I’m not concerned with extending a fast, I treat myself to a creamy concoction. And by creamy I don’t mean with Half-and-Half: we’re talking full-fat, organic heavy whipping cream. I also usually add MCT oil and cinnamon. I use a hand frother to break up the fat so it’s dispersed and doesn’t float on top of the coffee. Any blood sugar or insulin spike is minimal, and hunger stays away.

Bulletproof. On special occasions, I melt a chunk of grass-fed Kerrygold butter in the microwave and pour into my Contigo, or else just let the hot coffee do the melting. Using the same hand frother keeps the butter fat from floating to the top. I typically add a pinch of salt and a half-teaspoon of cinnamon to the mix as well. With bulletproof I don’t add the MCT oil.

What we never add to coffee is any kind of sweetener. Lisa formerly used monk fruit, but as we have learned that even calorie-free sweeteners can trick your brain into triggering insulin release, she’s decided it’s not worth it.

The common thread with all of these ways of drinking coffee is that they promote satiety and don’t spike blood sugar.

If we haven’t eaten since 6 p.m. the previous evening, our bodies are already in or approaching fat-burning mode. Creamy and Bulletproof coffee just cause us to toggle between burning the fat in our bodies and the fat in the coffee.

Once that’s gone, we’re back to burning what we already have stored. It makes it easy to skip breakfast, and sometimes even lunch.

That’s why this post is part of #BodyBabyStep Two: Seek Satiety.

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