February is Heart Health Month

A healthy diet and lifestyle are the best weapons you have to fight heart disease. Many people make it harder than it is. It is important to remember that it is the overall pattern of the choices you make that counts. As you make daily food choices, base your eating pattern on these recommendations:

Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.

Select fat-free, 1% fat, and low-fat dairy products.

Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet.

Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol. Aim to eat less than 300 mg of cholesterol each day.

Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars.

Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Aim to eat less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day (or less than 1,500 mg if you are in a higher risk group for high blood pressure).

If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. That means no more than one drink per day if you’re a woman and two drinks per day if you’re a man.

Keep an eye on your portion sizes.

And we all know that exercise is great for your heart! If you are not exercising, you can get out and start walking, it's FREE! You can join a gym or you can buy exercise DVD's.

For the month of February, I am offering 25% off of all DVD's at Team Beachbody. Simply email me at srojek@frontiernet.net and let me know which program you are interested in and we will get it ordered for you! You can choose from Hip Hop Abs, Turbo Jam, P90X and more!

And as they say on Cartoon Network, "get out and play just an hour a day"!

5 Reasons to start walking

Did you know that walking is one of the best exercises that you can do? Plus, it is also one of the cheapest. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes and just head out the door!

5 of the best reasons to start a walking program are:

1) to help to lower your blood pressure

2) to increase your energy and your stamina

3) to help prevent weight gain

4) to help improve and boost your bone strength

5) to decrease your cholesterol

Now, there are many other benefits too, but these are some of the best reasons to just get out there! Here's to your success!