Has anyone lowered blood pressure with weight loss and no medications?

Hi there. I was hoping for some hope and encouragement with this and am very interested in others' experiences. If you read all the way through this, there's actually two other questions I'm asking the community. And, if you do read all the way through this, I deeply appreciate it. Thank you, in advance! 🙂

Years ago, I was what was considered "high normal" for many years based on guidelines at the time. No doctor ever suggested starting blood pressure medications. My BP would run in the 130's over 80's, for example 135/85. But now, with newer guidelines, that is hypertensive (Stage 1). "They" want you to be 130 or lower or 80 or lower, at least that's what my USA based doctor told me. In any case, because I have a calcium score that is mid-range moderate, I was concerned that it may have doing my arteries harm over the years. I've also had my share of stress, which doesn't help. (I started taking Vitamin K-2 July 1st, 2025 to address my concern of calcium going into my arteries, and NOT my bones!).

I was all ready to start Losartan (in the ARB family of BP meds) until I started reading actual anecdotes from people who were on it. I did NOT like what I was reading! From hair loss, to weight gain, anxiety and the list goes on. It really scared me away from starting meds! I am just starting to feel better about my early April osteopororis diagnosis, altering some of my plant-based diet of decades, meeting with physical therapist, and regularly working out with a routine to address increasing bone density. For reference, I am 5'5" and weigh 153 lbs, so I am slightly overweight, still. At age 65 1/2, it is very difficult to shed the pounds, but I've already lost 22 lbs, though it took several months to accomplish - and then I hit a plateau wall, which I plan to climb over very soon! I am VERY motivated to continue to lose weight for both reducing my blood pressure AND reducing my LDL which is only slightly above normal range. (all other lipid numbers are very good).

Back to blood pressure -- I recently saw my doctor to discuss my blood pressure readings, which I take and provided her with a list for many weeks. She did say I was hypertensive, but not by much. Not all my readings were hypertensive. She asked me what I'd like to do. I changed my mind as to my approach now. I feel like now, more than EVER in my life, I'm motivated to get my weight down to 135. She has agreed and is supporting this. I also need to lower my LDL which is 104, but due to calcium score, my cardiologist wants it down to 70. Not sure I can do that on my own, BUT I'm challenged to try.

My risk of heart attack or stroke right now, according to both the cardiologist and regular doctor is 7%. My doctor told me, "you have time" if you want to try to drop the weight, then we can eliminate that factor. For example, if I can get my weight down to 135 lbs, I'm hoping it will drop my blood pressure. However, if losing weight doesn't result in lower blood pressure, then I will need to discuss taking meds. She did say losing weight should help with that. This way, I'll know I did everything I possibly could through "lifestyle" changes, which is always the first line before meds as long as your BP isn't sky high.

So my question here is: Has anyone succesfully been able to drop their weight which resulted in a lowering of their blood pressure? (without being on blood pressure medications). If so, how much weight did you lose before you noticed your blood pressure dropped? I'm really interested to know this! It may end up being a genetic predisposition with me and also my sensitive constitution of letting things get to me -- (not managing stress ideally). But for now, with my doc's support, I really want to give it a shot on my own. I've never been as motivated to drop my weight as now, so if nothing else, I can get to a fitter weight and feel better about my myself. I hate the idea of possibly changing how I feel emotionally and physically with side effects from medications. I may do okay on the meds - and I do realize that. Not everyone has side effects. I've never been on any medications up to age 65. I feel fortunate about that, but I also don't want to risk my health now or down the road. Has anyone reading this been on Losartan and had side effects? (that should be a different post!).

Also, have any women in my age group (in their 60's, post menopausal), managed to drop their weight after losing about 20 lbs? I'm finding it hard to do with this plateau., but I'm very determined to make changes to what I have been doing to make it happen! Has anyone else reached a difficult plateau with their weight loss? It's this darn "belly fat below the naval" that's takes so long to decrease! I plan to increase my daily cardio, if possible, and even my strength training from 2x a week at the gym to 3x a week. (so time consuming though!). I walk in a fasting state for 30-60 minutes with intermittent jogging before breakfast. I don't eat any sugary or savory snacks. My diet is quite strictly, mostly whole-food plant based. My doc said my diet is healtheir than 99.9% of people she sees, which - while it was a great compliment to my commitment to a healthy diet and lifestyle, I also found it a rather sad statement about my fellow human beings.

I'm beginning to realize that no matter how healthy you eat or even exercise, some of us, perhaps including myself, may just have genetic predispositions. I've yet to find that out . . .

I look forward to hearing from others. Having support on my weight loss and lowering blood presure journey would be great for me. This is the only medical support website I post on. Thank you for putting up with my long post. Writing just flows for me and I do get a bit carried away! 🙂

I might add, that I do take beet capsules and add beet powder to my smoothies and try other natural means of lowering blood pressure, such as drinking hibiscus tea. I'm a believer in at least trying natural remedies, if they are science backed. I've also heard celery helps, which I added to my lentil salad today, among a potpourri of other ingredients . . . (okay, byeee)