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Lifestyle and high blood pressure: The practical stuff
Q. I have high blood pressure and I am overweight. What's the best way to lose weight?
A. The best way to lose weight is to burn off more calories than you take in from eating and drinking. To achieve this most people combine doing more physical activity (exercise) with eating a lower calorie diet.
If you need to lose weight to lower your high blood pressure, it is better to set realistic targets over a period of time, rather than aiming to lose a lot of weight in a few weeks. This way you will be more likely to achieve your goals and then keep the weight off. A target of losing one pound (or ½kg) each week is sensible.
For more about reaching and keeping a healthy weight to help lower your high blood pressure, please see the Managing your weight page on our main web site.
