Lifestyle Tips

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Heart & Home: Heart Health Guide Learn how to lower your risk of heart disease in the NWHRC's Heart Health Guide. The Heart & Home campaign is sponsored by Bed Bath & Beyond, REDBOOK magazine and the NWHRC: Partnering to help women get heart healthy.

Visit the Metabolic Syndrome Health Center Order free publications and access the following tools: Are You an Apple or a Pear? Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator

1. Limit yourself to two processed or pre-made foods a day.

   So, for instance, if you have cereal instead of oatmeal and a Hot Pocket instead of a sliced turkey sandwich, you're done with processed foods for the day. Processed foods are swimming in salt, sugars and unhealthy fats and are destitute in all-important fiber.

2. Have a piece of fruit or a vegetable with every meal.

   Having toast with melted cheese for breakfast? Slice up some strawberries. Fixed a sandwich for lunch? Dip some raw broccoli in low-fat ranch dressing to go alongside. More is always better when it comes to fruits and veggies, but aim to eat around five servings a day. A big leafy salad for lunch can take care of three of those servings.

3. Don't buy food you know you shouldn't eat.

   If you know you can't resist chips and ice cream, don't buy them! And if you're buying junk food for the kids, stop. They don't need it any more than you do.

4. Limit eating out to once a month.

   Your waist and pocketbook will thank you.

5. Schedule at least three hours a week for yourself.

   This is time you're not driving the kids, not cleaning the house, not at work, not doing anything to please anyone except yourself. This time is yours to do with as you like. Women need stress busters like this to help reduce the dangerously high levels of stress hormones we walk around with all day, hormones that lead to numerous diseases, as well pack on the fat around our middle.

6. Walk wherever you can.

   If you're going less than six floors, take the stairs—up and down. Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk into the building; park and walk into the restaurant instead of zooming through the drive-through; get up and go talk to your coworker down the hall instead of sending an e-mail. At the end of the day, those steps add up.

7. Wear a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps a day.

   The evidence on these little battery-operated machines is amazing. One major study found that couch potatoes who met a daily goal of 10,000 steps improved their fitness level, blood pressure and body fat just as much as a group that followed a traditional gym-based aerobic program. Overall, studies find that getting 8,000 to 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) helps you lose weight, while adding 2,000 steps to your current level, or about one mile a day, helps maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight.

8. Keep a food diary.

   Not so much to track what you eat, but to track why you eat. Too many people eat as a way to smother emotions or assuage boredom. If you find you're doing this, you need to talk to someone about finding a healthier way to cope.

9. Stop drinking soda and fruit juice.

   They are huge sources of extra calories that don't pack much nutritional benefit but have lots of unhealthy sugars. Instead, stick to low-fat or skim dairy, water or unsweetened iced tea.

10. Find a physical activity you enjoy.

    It could be gardening, kayaking, golf (walk the course), tennis, hiking, biking, rock climbing or many other choices. You'll meet new people, become more physically active and reduce stress—all at the same time.