On this post I just wanted to give you readers a small glimpse into what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. If you're here because you got an email from me, I'm glad you made it here! I know it's tough to open any one particular email amongst hundreds or thousands you get daily from someone totally unknown to you, so I really appreciate the effort you made to get here. I probably get 100 emails a day sent to one account, and I read probably only one or two of them. Anyway, digressions aside, the info here will cover only the last five years or so of my life; you can check out the rest of the blog to experience my 70's obsession, if you so desire - but for now, let's get down to business...
I'm an air traffic controller by trade, and because this profession is highly specialized, we have the same physical requirements to meet as pilots, firefighters, and law enforcement officers. More specifically, as this pertains to my experience, our blood pressure can be no higher than 150/110. As you can see, then, it doesn't necessarily take much to cause disqualification from this job.
In August 2006 I had to go to the doctor's office for a cold or allergy, and there the medical assistant informed me that my blood pressure was 160/110 - over the limit for an air traffic controller. I couldn't believe it, but I should have - I weighed 260 pounds and paid little attention to what I ate every day. I was a heart attack waiting to happen.
When I told my manager about the high blood pressure, he advised me of my options, none of which were pleasant. I was placed on sick leave immediately and sent home. It took a few hours for all of this to sink in, but then I decided to quit feeling sorry for myself and do something about it. I researched online for the best diet for lowering blood pressure, and at the time the South Beach diet seemed to be one of the more popular ones. I also checked out the Mediterranean diet and the gluten-free diet, both of which had elements that I felt would suit me. Along with that I followed a suggestion from a co-worker to start taking omega-3 fish oil tablets, and in three weeks my blood pressure was down to 130/90, and I was down to 245 pounds. I was able to go back to work by the second week of September.
This is not really much of a story, but if it can help anyone out there to recognize all the possibilities that self-determination provides, then I'll be happy to have opened a small avenue to that end. Thanks for reading!
Click here for more info on a better diet for you
