The mission of the Tri-County Diabetes Alliance is to raise awareness and improve the health of people with diabetes and those at risk for developing diabetes by creating and sustaining an effort to inform, educate, and assist individuals to improve their health.
Weight Loss Can Do Your Heart A World of Good!
Submitted by Kathy Wool, RD, LDN
Welcome to February
2010! What a great year to recognize how important our
heart health is and to do everything we can to keep it healthy.
February has been given the honor of being American Heart Month. Cardiovascular
diseases, including stroke, are our nation's No. 1 killer. To
urge Americans to join the battle against these diseases, since
1963 Congress has required the president to proclaim February
"American Heart Month."
There are so many thing s we can
learn and do to protect our hearts. Doing them all is a great
goal. But let’s concentrate on one aspect. And that is weight
loss. By directing our energy and achieving one step, weight
loss can do your heart a world of good. Here are a few steps
to take a look at and see if you can change that scale just a
few pounds at a time.
Set a
timer for 20 minutes and see yourself as a slow eater. Savor
each bite and make it last. Enjoy the flavor sensations and
notice how your portions get smaller and you feel fuller earlier
so you do not overeat.
Serve three vegetables with
dinner tonight, instead of just one, and you’ll eat more without
really trying. Eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way
to lose weight. And season with lemon juice and herbs to enjoy
their true flavors without added fats and calories.
Whole grains such as brown rice,
barley, oats, buckwheat, and whole wheat also belong in your
weight loss approach. They help fill you up with fewer calories
and may improve your cholesterol level too. Whole grains are now
in many products including waffles, pizza crust, English
muffins, pasta, and soft "white" whole-wheat bread. Read the
food labels to be sure.
Give up the two strips of bacon at
breakfast or in your sandwich at lunch time. This saves about
100 calories, which can add up to a 10 pound weight loss over a
year. .Maybe you can add tomato slices, banana peppers, roasted
red bell peppers or mustard, to flavor the food without the
extra fat and calories!
Choose vegetable toppings for
pizza instead of meat and eliminate over 100 calories from your
meal. Other pizza tricks to lower the fat and calories: go light
on the cheese or use reduced-fat cheese and choose a thin,
bread-like crust made with just a touch of olive oil, not those
thick crusts or cheese filled ones.
Replace one sugary
drink like regular soda with water or a zero-calorie seltzer and
you'll avoid 10 teaspoons of sugar.
Eat home-cooked meals
at least five days a week. A Consumer Reports survey found this
was a top habit of "successful losers." Sound intimidating?
Cooking may be easier than you think. Use foods such as
pre-chopped lean beef for fajitas, washed lettuce, pre-cut
veggies, canned beans, cooked chicken strips, or grilled deli
salmon for shortcuts.
Chew sugarless gum with a strong
flavor if you are tempted to give in to a snack attack. Making
dinner after work, at a party, watching TV, or surfing the
Internet can lead to mindless snacking. Gum with a strong flavor
distracts you from other foods so they don’t taste as good.
“Choose a 10" lunch plate instead of a 12" dinner plate to
automatically eat less. Cornell's Brian Wansink, PhD, found in
test after test that people serve more and eat more food with
larger dishes. Shrink your plate or bowl to cut out 100-200
calories a day – and 10-20 pounds in a year. In Wansink’s tests,
no one felt hungry or even noticed when tricks of the eye shaved
200 calories off their daily intake.”
Get the portions
right! Stick with modest food portions at every meal, five days
a week or more. After measuring portions a few times, it can
become automatic. Make it easier by keeping serving dishes off
the table at meal time.
When an occasion includes
alcohol, follow the first drink with a nonalcoholic, low-calorie
beverage like sparkling water instead another cocktail, beer, or
glass of wine. Alcohol has more calories per gram (7) than
carbohydrates (4) or protein (4). It can also lead you to
mindlessly inhale chips, nuts, and other foods you’d normally
limit.
Restaurant meals are typically fattening, so
consider these tactics to keep portions under control:
Split an entrée with a friend.
Order an appetizer as a meal.
Choose the child's plate.
Get half the meal in a doggie bag
before it's brought to the table.
Eating vegetarian meals
more often can become a habit for successful weight loss. Why? Legumes, lentils, bean burgers, and other legume based
foods are high in fiber and can fill you up with far fewer
calories.
Lose 10 pounds in a year without dieting by
burning an extra 100 calories every day. Try one of these
activities
Walk 1 mile, about 20 minutes.
Pull weeds or
plant flowers for 20 minutes.
Mow the lawn for 20 minutes.
Clean
house for 30 minutes.
Jog for 10 minutes.
So this
February take those first steps to prevent and control factors
that put you at greater risk for heart disease. These include
not only what we eat and how much we weigh but also high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, tobacco,
and secondhand smoke - ALL risk factors associated with heart
disease! A healthy diet and lifestyle are the best tools 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. So let’s eat better and get more
active this February,
American Heart Month 2010!!
February 13, 2010 Community Church of Ocean Pines
Women Don't Miss This Chance For Free
Health Screenings and So Much More! Click Here
For More Information
TheTri-County Diabetes Alliancewill sponsor and conduct several health education and outreach
programs addressing prevention of pre-diabetes and diabetes. This
will include presentations and free health screenings in a variety
of settings including schools, worksites, faith based communities,
and other community centers. Please check our
events calendar by clicking here .
Download Our
"Closing The Gap On Diabetes"
Resource Guide by Clicking Here
Tri County Go Red:
Saturday, February 13th, at Community
Church of Ocean Pines 8:30-11:30 am
FREE health screenings, presentations,
demonstrations for more information or to
register, please call 410-632-1100 extension
1102.