Healthy Lives - FMOLHS

Eating healthy starts before cooking or selecting a snack from your pantry. Being a savvy shopper makes smart eating choices even easier!
Start at the perimeter of the grocery store. That’s where you’ll find the most healthful, freshest, least-processed options. Try to shop the produce, fish, lean meat, low-fat dairy and bread sections of the store as much as possible to avoid the temptations lurking in the aisles containing snack cakes, chips, sodas and other packaged and processed foods. Concentrate on filling your basket with healthful fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean protein. Don’t shop on an empty stomach. We all know what happens when you go to the grocery store when your stomach is rumbling! Everything looks good, especially those quick, easy-to-eat snacks. Try to have a healthy snack or even a meal before going to the store. You’ll be less tempted to fill your cart with impulse items.Get organized. Make a list of foods you need before you leave the hous…

A healthy diet is one of the best weapons you can use to fight against heart disease. What you eat, how much and how often can impact many controllable risk factors, like cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and being overweight. Keeping a food diary to track the quality and quantity of your food intake is a great way to pinpoint problem-eating patterns and make the changes you need to!
Don’t wait to write. To get the most accurate impression of what and how much you consume, jot down what you’ve eaten as soon as you eat it. If you wait until the end of the day, it’s likely you’ll forget some of the things you ate earlier. Strive to write down every mouthful of food—even tastes, snacks, and sips—within 15 minutes of consuming it.Do get the details. Record relevant important details, including the time of your meal or snack, where you ate, whether you were doing something else while you were eating, and the type of food you consumed—whether, for example, it was a meal from scratch or …

Continuing your 2019 goals can be challenging. Reminding yourself of the bigger picture, like better heart health, is just one way to sidestep pitfalls. Use these four tips to overcome setbacks!
Always launch change with a plan. Map out the journey you’re embarking upon. It’s tempting to skip straight to the action, especially when you’re feeling inspired to make a change. By winging it, though, you may ignore important issues, such as why you do—and don’t—want to make this change. Make a commitment based on that knowledge, then plan a path of small steps that lead to your goal.Set off at a reasonable pace. Rushing rarely works. Few of us are designed to go from zero to 60. In the exercise world, going to quickly puts you on track for injuries, not success. In the diet world, you get sick of nibbling only celery sticks and raw cabbage, and head for the chocolate cake. Let small, steady changes help you achieve what you hope to do.Envision a happy outcome. Rather than telling yourself …

There are several risk factors associated with heart disease. Some can be controlled, but you may be born with certain risk factors that cannot be changed. These include:

Increasing Age Learn moreMale gender Learn moreHeredity (including race) Learn more
Since you can’t control these risk factors, it’s even more important that you manage your risk factors that can be changed. The American Heart Association recommends focusing on heart disease prevention early in life. Begin by assessing your risk factors and working to keep them low. Take steps to lower your risk by changing factors you can control.
American Heart Association