I live in the metro also. Who do you go to? just curious
Dr Shane Stone of Calypso Concierge Medical is my primary doc and he is awesome. This is his solely owned practice and not governed or hampered by any of the corporate medical groups.
He is very one on one, takes all the time needed during the office visit, and highly accessible when you need to see him more frequently than usual. He is also very quick to respond to email messages through his patient portal.
Over the past months, he has been very encouraging of a reduced caloric and carbohydrate diet to help shred needed pounds (I’m 221 and desire to bet to 180-ish) and slowly turning up the frequency and intensity of exercise.
Dr Stone also recommended using a food diary app to help with nutrition accountability. I am using MyFitnessPal for this and tweaked the daily macro nutrients to lower carbs and increase fats and proteins. MFP also diaries exercise.
Today I had a routine visit with him and we discussed that slow and steady improvement to exercise not only benefits calorie burn, but also strengthens heart muscle. And the more fit your heart, the less effort it needs to push the blood around, thus reducing blood pressure.
So for you today, if your doc prescribes meds, follow the directions and take them. The FAA permits several and wants you taking them if you need them.
And then with the guidance of your primary doctor, you can start with improving things with diet and regular exercise.