You Can Do It
Set reasonable goals and take small steps to stay on a heart-healthy path.
Diet
Breakfast is good for your heart. Besides making you more alert, providing essential nutrients, and fending off hunger, breakfast can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Studies have shown that women who eat breakfast are less likely to have excess weight and diabetes—two major risk factors for heart disease. In fact, research shows that eating breakfast is a key factor for long-term weight control. Other recent studies send a related message: You can lower your risk of heart failure by eating whole-grain breakfast cereals. Remember to check the cereal box for the "whole-grain" ingredients.
Here are suggestions for a healthy and easy-to-make breakfast:
- Whole grain cereal with 1%, skim or soy milk and fruit.
- Two slices of whole-grain bread with low fat cottage cheese and orange juice.
- Oatmeal with raisins or dried cranberries, or applesauce and cinnamon.
- Three whole-grain pancakes topped with lite syrup and fruit.
- Breakfast smoothie, made with one cup skim or 1% milk, one scoop frozen yogurt, and ½ cup pineapple, banana, strawberry chunks.
Exercise
Before or after your healthy breakfast, take a 20- or 30-minute walk. It's easy for women to skip physical activity at the end of a long work day; so try to make a morning walk part of your routine for a healthy heart. Besides increasing energy, reducing stress, strengthening bones and muscles, and improving overall fitness, walking can lower your risk of type-2 diabetes and heart disease. So buy a pair of comfortable shoes, keep them near your bed, clip on a pedometer, and start counting until you eventually reach 10,000 steps a day. For more information on walking and pedometers, go to www.americaonthemove.org.
Social Support
Get a buddy to walk with you in the morning before work. You are more likely to stick to your routine if you have a friend or family member support you. You can also join a walking club in your area. Go to The American Heart Association's web site to find a walking event that you can join. Type "heart walk" in the search box of the Home page and you will get places and dates of heart walks near your town. It's more fun to walk and talk with someone!
