"Whatever you're doing, keep it up!"

Just got back from my 6 month follow up on my hypertension with my primary physician and I'm so proud of myself. I know I may have given the impression that my appearance, particularly my weight is very important to me, but it's more like my need to get an A on exam, not so much about anything else except how I performed. Well even more than that, my weight loss has always been about my health. I knew that my hypertension recently had been about a 10 pound weight gain in 30 or so days. I'm naturally thin and I don't think my body or my systems can handle when I push it pass the 10 or 15 pounds. I was ecstatic when my blood pressure readings averaged 118/86! To hear that my top number was it's normal reading before the kid, before marriage and extreme stress, before weight gain, was unbelievable. I just thought... 'I did it, I did it! but how did I do it?' When Dr. Sobel (soon to be retired) said that my weight lost had a significant impact on my readings and then showed me over the last four years how much of a correlation it's had, I was really surprised, yet not really. I just didn't think that 20-25 pounds would really have an effect. If there's no greater motivator to keep me doing what I'm doing, it's seeing my health improve with my appearance. I have to accept that I may never have normal blood pressure readings without medication, I have hypertension, like my mom, like my grandmother did and like so many of my ancestors before, but I don't have to let it beat me. I'm keeping it up!