See Ya High Blood Pressure

At the ripe old age of 18, my childhood doctor diagnosed me with genetic hypertension. I remember so vividly going into the cardiologist's office. Me and someone who looked like my grandma hanging out in the waiting room. Ok lets be fair, I have no idea if it was really a grandma. But I remember looking around and thinking, I am the youngest person here, easily, by 50 years. And to make this visualization more comical, when the doctor ordered a stress test, they couldn't get the treadmill to go fast enough for the results they needed.

I've always been fit, but at this particular time, I was a recent competitive gymnast who left gymnastics to play high school sports. I have always been active. My mom always said that by age 2 I had so much energy she needed to find me a really good outlet. And that's how I started my life as a gymnast. Not only did I love gymnastics for the outlet of moving my body a TON but I also loved it because I was good at it. So from the time I was 2 until 16 I was a gymnastic loving kid!

Gymnastics wasn't a cute after school program for me. I was a competitive gymnast. So it was more like a full-time job with lots of OT hours. My training was long and intense at times. In elementary school I remember wearing a leotard under my school clothes just so I could be ready to leave school and go directly to train. I went everyday after school, and all day Saturdays. My mom was able to excuse me from middle school and high school PE class because first, I didn't have the time, second, I for sure didn't need extra physical fitness. All of this to say, I was FIT. 25+ hours a week of gymnastics during the school year, and probably something like 40+ hours a week during the summer. A lot of fitness! And..... a lot of driving. The gym I attended was over half an hour away.

Now lets reminisce a little about last weeks blog post. I promise this will all full circle soon. I haven't been cooking dinners recently.... because.... life. Shit. Nope. Truth: Priorities. So insert my mother dealt with the exact same thing, as we all do. She made her choices and did what she thought was best. The solution, food on the go. Prior to COVID changing the world of restaurants and curbside pick up, no one did "on-the-go" expect fast foods. So I ate McDonald's, Wendy's, and Taco Bell nearly everyday of my life for EIGHT years. Anyone ever seen the movie, "Super Size Me"? If you have never heard of or seen this movie, just know eating fast food everyday for 8 years isn't very nutritional or healthy. In the movie the guy eats an absurd amount of McDonald's and his health tanks as a result. During my gymnastic years, my personal favorite meal was a super sized Big Mac meal. And although I was extremely active and burning the calories from most any meal I ate, the quality of food does matter. Sadly in 1995 this wasn't widely thought about or discussed. This seems crazy now but I'd like to assume people back then were loving and trusting that food establishments were providing "good" quality meals. Anyway..... all of this to say, I might have looked healthy in some aspects but my food choices weren't stellar. So when I was 18 and had high blood pressure and the only possible answer was: genetics. Seemed fitting. My parents had similar health issues in their families, so it made sense.

No blame on the doctors. They didn't have the full story. And unfortunately at the time, this was medicine. So after breaking the treadmill and not getting a good stress test, they used the data they gathered to make a diagnoses. Genetic hypertension. Two meds, for the rest of my life. Cool? I was also on ADHD medications for my Dyslexia. So what's two more pills?

Fast forward several years and who I was at 18 was not the person I grew to become. If I'm being honest, I hated taking all the meds, even at 18. I was on and off my ADHD meds for years because I hated them. I always felt I had other tools and strategies to use my dyslexia as a gift. So after years of taking the BP (blood pressure) meds, I was starting to feel the same. I wanted off all of the medications.

The first to go permanently was the ADHD meds. They just didnt work for me. I love and appreciate some people get great benefits from them, but for myself they were counter productive. And since they weren't necessary for life, it was as easy as just deciding to be done. And I was.

Blood pressure meds weren't as easy. My cardiologist would away say, "I tell my patients that maybe if they lose some weight, that might help?" This was always a weird conversation. Again, I have always been, by appearances, a healthy weight. Check me out throughout the years:

18 years old Marcy (and when I was 1st diagnosed):

22 years old Marcy (probably the least healthy time of my life was right after college):

27 year old Marcy:

So I felt like my doctor had no clue what they were saying. Little did I know that one text from a dear friend (Sarah Weiner/McElheny that's you, Boo) would start the momentum that would change everything. "You should try CrossFit with me?" Oh gosh.... Are you now worried this is going to be a blog post persuading you to join CrossFit? Are you waiting for me to convince you of this new cult? CrossFit IS LIFE! Jk jk JK. I do love CrossFit for sure, but I love all fitness. CrossFit just happened to be the avenue I took to wellness.

Lets start here: Strength is sexy if you ask me! CrossFit was my gateway to realizing my potential and loving my body for what it does for me. But my change didn't happen overnight. Not the strength part, and not the nutrition part, and not the medication part. But the nutrition part, paired with strength was the combo that lead to the demise of my medications. The strength part took years of weight training, consistency, and commitment. But this was something I loved doing. It paralleled my gymnastics life. And CrossFit incorporates gymnastics movements. So I thrived.

Moving my body was the first element. Next: My first nutritionist. Funny enough I didn't see a nutritionist for my blood pressure. I was recommended to see someone because of chronic pain I was experiencing from working on the computer for 50+hours a week. Kelly Bradley: Licensed Healthcare Professional | Women’s Health & Functional Nutrition Coach, Licensed Physical Therapist, Certified Healthy Food Chef, Educator & Instructor, Certified Yoga, Gyrotonic Exercise and Pilates Instructor. Sadly I don't think she is still in business, or I would tag her website here. She was such a light. At the time we met she encouraged a raw vegan diet. Seems very anti-Marcy, right? I love meat! But honestly, raw vegan was a shift to focus on whole natural foods, and while I didn't cut meat out completely, I landed on a very heavy fruits/vegetables diet, with minimal processed foods. Huge for me! My food choices were often lean pockets, pretzels, starbursts, creamer with a little coffee, sandwiches, and wine.

So I started eating mainly fruits and vegetables. And while I was never overweight or looked unhealthy, I can promise you I was. Changing my diet was THE thing. And going to the gym was the added bonus. Not only did I lose some weight, but my BP dropped too. I started getting light headed and dizzy from taking my BP meds, which was a good sign in my situation. My cardiologist pulled the 1st med. Success! I used that momentum to keep going! After about 6 months as a semi raw vegan my CrossFit gym ran a nutrition challenge. It fit with my new views on overall diet, so I jumped on board. Insert Paleo-Zone. Paleo foods (whole natural ingredients) in a specific quantity (zone). This again moved the needle more towards better health. And again, lost some weight, while gaining muscle and strength, and this ultimately stopping my second BP medication.

Here I am, with one of my besties, at the end of my 1st Paleo-Zone Challenge.

I learned so much in this season of change. I am DEEPLY grateful for this unfolding. And its why my health will always be something I keep high on my priority list. I had no idea how bad I felt until I made the shift. And while I'm not raw-vegan, or strictly Paleo, or even an active CrossFitter, I do take all those powerful lessons and continue them in my own way today.

Currently I fitness in my home gym, or with friends, or the occasional drop in to a gym! I make sure to get outside often too. Fitness, for me, isn't just the one hour in the gym. Moving my body, nature, mindfulness, and strength are my daily focus. As for nutrition, it is something I continue to tweak and revisit, just to make sure I have the best version of my health. I am loving the #800gChallenge from OptimizeMe Nutrition. I work with an amazing food/wellness coach certified through their program, Natalie Rooney. She rocks. Little did she know taking me on as a client would be nutrition AND therapy.

But lets talk life lesson. This still blows my mind how we perceive ourselves and our situations. Not all situations unfold like this one, but some do. And I think most of my situations unfold nothing like I think they will. So why paddle upstream? I've learned to be open to letting the current take me places... Even if those places might not be where I think I want to go. If I hadn't let go of my preconceived notions of health (which were founded on knowledge from doctors who can be reliable resources) and tried something different, I'd be on my hamster wheel doing the same thing with the same results. This particular story left me thinking about being wrong. My doctors had it wrong. And most importantly, I did too. This is awesome. What else am I wrong about? Maybe its my beliefs, my routine, my behaviors? Who knows! This is the lesson. How can I be wrong today? And how can I be better!?

This is my story and I appreciate everyone's is different. I hope everyone finds their way to health and happiness. And if I can inspire, encourage, or even plant a seed of change for you I feel deeply satisfied. Mostly, I hope you find the fun in being wrong. The surprise and delight that comes from being wrong is less like shame & embarrassment and more like excitement & awe. And that is part of the secret sauce to life.