Losing weight is not as easy as it may sound. Normal and healthy blood pressure is among the most important things in life. To maintain normal blood pressure, you need to check your weight to ensure that you are within the healthy range.
Losing weight can be an incredibly strenuous and daunting task. It calls for a lot of effort and discipline. However, maintaining a healthy weight does not always have to feel like a struggle. By making simple lifestyle changes, you will notice that you are able to cut small portions of your weight which ultimately make a huge difference.
You should therefore consider a change in your approach to losing weight, from huge spontaneous weight cuts to smaller weight cuts over a longer duration. The latter is more sustainable.
What is the connection between losing weight and blood pressure?
The heart of an overweight person works harder in pumping blood to the rest of the body. It requires more energy to pump blood to the peripheral regions of the body. There is also a high likelihood that the blood vessels of an overweight person have fatty deposits along the walls.
These fatty deposits reduce the space in which the blood passes. This results in the heart using more force to pump blood throughout the body thus ultimately raising your blood pressure.
Losing weight, therefore, helps in lowering your blood pressure. This is because your heart will not have to work too hard in pumping blood to the rest of your body. You are exposed to a lower risk of contracting other health issues related to weight such as diabetes, stroke, and heart diseases.
You feel better and lighter when you don’t have to carry extra weight around. Your cells are able to utilize blood glucose better to produce energy making you accomplish more things that you had set to do.
What exactly is a healthy weight?
To know whether you have a healthy weight, you need to consult with your healthcare provider. They will advise you on whether your weight is healthy or not. If you are not of healthy weight, they will give your ideas on how to lower your weight and keep it under control. The parameters that are used to determine whether one has a healthy weight or not include the body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. You can use these measures to check your weight by yourself as well.
BMI refers to the measure of your weight put against your height. You are able to know what is the appropriate weight for your height. There are several ways to know your BMI. You can use a BMI calculator. You can also calculate it by yourself. You simply divide your weight (in kgs) by your height (in m2). For instance, for a height of 1.5m and a weight of 70kgs, you p simply multiply 1.5 ×1.5 to get the 2.25 m2. Then take the weight and divide it by the square of the height, 70/2.25 to get 31.11. This is the BMI.
How do you interpret BMI values?
Values below 18.5 are considered to be underweight and one is encouraged to gain weight. Values between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered to be within the healthy range. A person within this range is encouraged to keep a healthy diet and an active lifestyle in order to maintain this range.
Values between 25 and 29.9 are considered to be overweight and one is encouraged to consider losing weight through exercise and a diet change. This will not only help in lowering a person’s blood pressure but also reduce the risk of weight-related diseases. Values between 30 and 35 are considered to be obese and one is encouraged to consider losing weight in order to improve their health. Values above 35 are considered to be very obese. Here a person may need to seek professional help in both health and weight management.
You can use a tape measure to know your waist circumference. If it is above 94 cm or 37 inches in men and 80cm or 31.5 inches in women, this is interpreted as overweight and you are encouraged to lose weight.
