1. Start Planning
“When you don’t plan, you plan to fail”. The key to creating healthy habits is planning for success. Get a notebook, or start a food journal on your computer. Keep track of what you eat. Your primarily goals are:
- To walk at least 15 minutes a day. Add 15 minutes every week until you reach an hour of walking.
- To achieve your ideal BMI.
- To eat a good breakfast (we will talk about it later).
2. Plan To Eat Healthy
Healthy eating doesn’t happen overnight! Following a plant-based, whole food diet is the key, and this is the diet you will follow. As you build your new habit, you will gradually lose your taste for the old, chemical-laden food you used to eat. So here is the first task for you – take action! Throw out all your fat-laden, processed foods – you are not going to need them anymore.
- Buy a scale. You need to know your weight and the goal weight you need to reach.
- Visit the supermarket and purchase enough food to make three healthy breakfasts.
3. Revamp Your Breakfast
It’s time to start revamping the way you eat, starting with breakfast. Think whole-grain, fruit, vegetables, non-fat diaries and some proteins. Here are some suggestions on how to start your day:
- Kick-start your metabolism with a glass of water with lemon, then go for a walk if possible.
- Have egg whites with one yolk, sliced vegetables, whole-grain toast with a little orange marmalade and indulge a cup of coffee.
- Oatmeal topped with handful of raisins and/or nuts. ½ slice banana and a splash of sugar free almond milk if desired.
4. Learn Your Risk Factors
Now that you are changing your habits, you want to know the reason for some of these fixes. But a simple list of risk factors means nothing – the only way to figure out your risk factors is to learn which ones pertain to you. So here are the steps you should be taking:
- Make an ultrasound of the Carotid Arteries.
- Check your blood pressure regularly. A good blood pressure reading is around 120/80.
- Do a C-Reactive Protein Test. This test reports inflammatory changes in the body. General inflammation can be treated with aspirin and statin drugs.
- Make sure your doctor includes a lipid panel – a set of tests indicating the various types of fat in the blood – in your next screening.
- You should take a fasting blood sugar test, along with a hemoglobin A1C test. Your fasting blood sugar level should be less than 100.
- It is also important to check your thyroid function.
- Finally, step on the scale! Vacation and holiday eating will add pound after pound if you blind yourself to their effects. Weighing yourself will help you reduce your caloric intake. Everyone should have a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25.
5. Target High Blood Pressure
Of all the risk factors, high blood pressure is among the deadliest.
- Learn what your blood pressure is and what is your target goal.
- If you are not at your blood pressure goal, discuss a plan with your doctor that will get you there.
6. De-stress Your Life
Stress, which is a key risk factor for heart disease, often doesn’t get the respect it deserves. When you are under stress, your body releases dangerous hormones that can elevate your cholesterol levels, raise your blood pressure and damage your heart.
- Exercise! It is an amazing way to reduce the stress.
- Live a faith-based life and turn to God.
- If you are experiencing a high stress level, seek counselling.
7. Pump Your Iron
Doesn’t matter how old you are, weight training can be beneficial for your whole body, including your heart. Add weight training 2-3 times a week to your daily routine.
8. Get A Good Night’s Sleep
In taking care of your heart your sleep habits count as well. You have to get a good night’s sleep, because if you are tired during the day, you may have sleep apnea, a dangerous sleep disorder, which is linked to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and even dementia.
- Keep a journal of your sleep habits
- If you have symptoms of sleep apnea, make sure you see your doctor.