Losing Weight?

[pardes]

Upon taking up biking a month ago, I dropped 25 pounds almost instantly. Then things have leveled off. Perhaps this is in part due to biking to new and interesting restaurants.

Speaking of BP, my blood pressure has dropped so much from losing weight that I now only need 1/2 of the lowest dose available. Another 25 pounds and I'll be off the BP meds completely. It really is true that if you lose 5-10% of your body weight your BP starts to normalize.

With severe spinal and hip arthritis, doing any major training has been a challenge. However lifting a bike up to the bus bike rack about 4-6 times a day has certainly helped my upper body strength.

Since my panniers are always loaded with tons of camera and other stuff weight, the additional weight to pull helps as well.

I'm looking for other ways to get strength training that doesn't aggravate the arthritis. Doc gave me Celebrex to keep the pain under control which helps a lot. Other version of COX-2 drugs have been taken off the market due to heart and stomach complications; but with severe pain, the pain relief outweighs the risks.