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 Quick Steps to a Healthy Heart
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- Limit your intake of fats and oils, especially those high in saturated
fat.
- Do housework yourself instead of hiring someone else to do it.
- Limit serving size of meat, poultry and fish to 2-4 ounces (3 ounces
cooked, 4 ounces raw).
- Work in the garden or mow the grass. Using a riding mower doesn't count!
Rake leaves, prune, dig and pick up trash.
- Go out for a short walk before breakfast, after dinner or both! Start with
5-10 minutes and work up to 30 minutes.
- Limit the use of sandwich spreads like butter, margarine, mayonnaise and
salad dressing.
- Walk or bike to the corner store instead of driving.
- When walking, pick up the pace from leisurely to brisk. Choose a hilly
route. When watching TV, sit up instead of lying on the sofa. Better yet,
spend a few minutes pedaling on your stationary bicycle while watching TV.
Throw away your video remote control. Instead of asking someone to bring you a
drink, get up off the couch and get it yourself.
- Increase intake of fruits, vegetables, cereals, dried beans and peas. Add
one fruit or vegetable to every meal, and you'll be on your way to lower blood
pressure and improved health. Try frozen blueberries on your cereal or grapes
for breakfast, raw broccoli or carrot sticks with low-fat dip with lunch and
fruit salad with dinner.
- Stand up while talking on the telephone.
- Use skim or low fat milk for drinking and cooking.
- Walk the dog.
- Park farther away at the shopping mall and walk the extra distance. Wear
your walking shoes and sneak in an extra lap or two around the mall.
- Roast, bake, broil, or simmer meat, poultry and fish. Cook meat and
poultry on a rack so fat will drain off.
- Stretch to reach items in high places and squat or bend to look at items
at floor level.
- Keep exercise equipment repaired and use it! Treadmills weren’t designed
as clothes racks.
- Use low fat cheeses such as part-skim mozzarella and ricotta in place of
full-fat cheeses like aged cheddar and Swiss. Read the label for fat content.
- Brainstorm project ideas with a co-worker while taking a walk.
- Read labels and choose margarines with liquid oil as first ingredient.
- Try lemon juice on salads or use small amounts of low-fat dressings.
- Walk down the hall to speak with someone rather than using the telephone.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Or get off a few floors early and
take the stairs the rest of the way.
- Walk while waiting for the plane at the airport.
- Substitute low fat yogurt and blender-whipped low fat cottage cheese or
buttermilk for sour cream and mayonnaise.
- Stay at hotels with fitness centers or swimming pools and use them while
on business trips.
- Take along a jump rope in your suitcase when you travel. Jump and do
calisthenics in your hotel room.
- Use two egg whites instead of one whole egg for half the eggs in a recipe.
When fat has a specific function in the recipe, replace the fat contributed by
the yolk with one-teaspoon polyunsaturated oil.
- Form a sports team to raise money for charity events.
- Join a fitness center or Y near your work. Work out before or after work
to avoid rush-hour traffic, or drop by for a noon workout.
- Reduce the amount of fat in recipes by a third or half, while increasing
water.
- Schedule exercise time on your business calendar and treat it as any other
important appointment.
- Buy lean grades and cuts of meat like beef round, loin, sirloin, chuck or
arm; or pork tenderloin, loin, and ham. Remove visible fat from meat and skin
from poultry before cooking.
- Walk around your building for a break during the workday or during lunch.
- Plan family outings and vacations that include physical activity (hiking,
backpacking, swimming, etc.)
- See the sights in new cities by walking, jogging or bicycling.
- Eat poultry and fish more often. Make friends with Charlie and his pals.
Water-packed tuna, salmon and mackerel are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids
that protect our heart and cardiovascular system. Experts recommend eating
these types of seafood twice each week.
- Pump up the volume. Choose low-fat, high-fiber foods whose lower calorie
density fills you up without filling you out. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains
and legumes are high-volume foods that not only help trim your waistline but
also provide nutrients essential for health.
- Make a date with a friend to enjoy your favorite physical activities. Do
them regularly.
- Play your favorite music while exercising, something that motivates you.
- Cook without adding fat. Use nonstick utensils or vegetable spray so added
fat is unnecessary.
- Join a recreational club that emphasizes physical activity.
- Skim fat from broths before using.
- At the beach, sit and watch the waves instead of lying flat. Better yet,
get up and walk, run or fly a kite.
- When golfing, walk instead of using a cart.
- Play singles tennis or racquetball instead of doubles.
- Season vegetables with herbs and spices rather than butter, margarine or
rich sauces.
- At a picnic, join in on badminton instead of croquet.
- Steam, bake or boil vegetables, or stir-fry quickly in a small amount of
vegetable oil.
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