Volume 9, Number 5 SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE HEALTH AND WELLNESS SERVICES February 2005
Learn and Live - Top 10 GO RED Tips
One in three American women dies of heart disease, making it the #1 killer. That's The Hearttruth. It's also true that heart disease is "ageless." Whatever a woman's age, she needs to take action to protect her heart health.
1. Make a date (and keep it). Each year on you birthday, schedule a check-up. Have your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels checked, and aks your doctor to help you reach or maintain a healthy weight. Be sure to follow your healthcare professional's recommendations, including taking prescription medications.
2. Tune in as you tone up. Add more physical activity to your life by stepping, marching or jogging in place for at least 15 minutes a day while watching your favorite TV shows. Increase your activity by 5 minutes each week until you are getting a minimum of 30 minutes most days of the week.
3. Grab some H2O when you go. Take a water bottle with you wherever you go. It’ll keep you hydrated and the bottle’s weight will strengthen your arms.
4. Keep out of sight, out of mouth. Keep packages of unhealthy food hidden in the pantry. Put raw veggies and fruits in front of the refrigerator and healthy snacks in the front of the pantry, so that’s what you see first. If you keep grabbing healthy foods for a minimum of 21 times, it will soon become a habit.
5. Eat right to control cholesterol. Eating foods high in saturated fat can lead to high cholesterol. To keep your cholesterol levels down, eat foods low in saturated fat, such as lean chicken or turkey (roasted or baked, with skin removed), fruits and veggies, low-fat or fat-free dairy products and whole grains.
6. Shake the salt habit. To help lower high blood pressure, watch your salt intake. It may be disguised in food labels as sodium alginate, sodium sulfite, sodium caseinate, disodium phosphate, sodium benzoate, sodium hydroxide, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and sodium citrate.
7. Kick butts. If you smoke, quit. Try this four-step way to snuff your habit. On Day 1, cut the number of cigarettes you smoke by half. On Day 3, cut the number of cigarettes you smoke in half again. On Day 5, cut your smoking in half again. On your Quit Day, quit!
8. Be a good loser. Excess weight increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. To achieve steady, painless weight loss, take it easy. Each day, if you eat 200 – 300 calories less than you would normally consume, and exercise at least 30 minutes on most or all days of the week, you’ll get closer to your goal and be able to achieve weight loss that’s steady and painless.
9. Don’t let a slip get you down. If you get off your exercise schedule, have a cigarette or mess up on a meal, immediately get back on track toward reestablishing a healthy lifestyle.
10. Say “Yea for me.” To maintain momentum with exercising,
losing weight or quitting smoking, keep track of your achievements and reward
yourself by doing something you enjoy.