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7 Tips for a Heart Healthy Diet

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heart healthy dietIt is never too late to make changes that can improve the health of your heart. The simplest changes to begin with concern your diet. It is usually recommended that you begin by changing one area of your eating habits at a time, rather than go for a radical overhaul. This lets your body and mind adjust to the changes easier and increases your ability to stick your new lifestyle. Here are 7 tips for a heart healthy diet. If you utilize a tip each week, in less than two months you can be in the habit of eating in a way that cares for your heart.

Tip #1 – Whole grains

Switching to whole grains has gotten much easier. There are many products such as whole grain cereals, breads and pasta you can choose instead of your regular brands. You can focus on adding more brown rice, barley, buckwheat, steel cut oats, whole grains and ground flaxseed products in your diet.

Tip #2 – Fruit and veggies

Many people drop the ball on adding enough fruits and vegetables to their diet because they believe that fresh produce is expensive and can hard to keep. Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables can be equally as good and easier to keep on hand. Just read the labels to make sure they are not packed in sugars or syrups or have sugar and salt added in, something surprisingly common with frozen vegetables. A good way to know what fruits and vegetables are good to eat together is to arrange your plate by color. The more colorful your plate, the better the balance of the healthy foods on it.

Tip #3 – Cut the salt

Try a salt substitute to lower your salt intake, but be mindful that MSG hasn’t been used to replace it (read the label). Some people are very sensitive to MSG and can experience problems. Ground pepper, crushed garlic and turmeric are popular salt substitutes. Pay extra attention to the nutrition labeling on your food too so you can make sure you are picking low salt choices.

How to Eat Right, Exercise and Get Sleep When You Work Late

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Night shift is not only brutal on an individual’s sleep schedule, but also on their eating habits. Working late or doing an overnighter completely changes an individual’s normal routine, and has them on a schedule that to most people is foreign. Though they have to live by a unique schedule, individuals that work nights can still live a healthy lifestyle.

nurseOn night shift it is easy to grab snacks at the vending machine or bring a frozen meal, but individuals should choose to pack their own dinner with fresh food. Packaged food is filled with chemicals and is more of a science lab experiment than real food. Individuals should change up the dinners they bring and choose new healthy recipes to try for variety.  Variety can help you to avoid temptation. There are plenty of easy recipes you can find for free online to whip up that are made with fresh, healthy ingredients. Fresh foods will leave you feeling satisfied and provide you with the energy required for your responsibilities during their night shift.

Being on night shift leaves many individuals tempted to grab an energy drink or coffee. The spike in caffeine or sugar will give them a sudden burst of energy that results in a rapid crash. This will leave the individual feeling sluggish and tired again quickly. Instead of relying on caffeine and sugar for a pickup, individuals should opt to eat healthy foods that provide slow-released energy. Some great replacements for these caffeine beverages are berries, citrus fruit and avocado. These foods won’t cause you to crash during your shift.

Night shift messes with an individual’s sleep schedule and often leaves them with getting little sleep between shifts. Most individuals return home to a family that is just waking up, and they are expected to try to sleep with a busy household. Aside from members of the family being awake, an individual may deal with the bedroom not being dark enough from the sun. Individuals who work the night shift should invest in blackout curtains and an eye mask to ensure they get a sound sleep during the day. Sleep plays a vital role in an individual’s health, and it is important they receive the proper amount of sleep between their shifts.

Being on a different schedule does not give an individual an excuse not to exercise. It is important that they fit in 30 minutes of exercise daily. By not exercising and having a lack of sleep, an individual will quickly notice weight gain and their overall health being jeopardized. If an individual does not have time to go to the gym, they should opt to workout outside or purchase workout DVDs. Many workout videos will provide a full-body workout in 30 minutes. Exercise will keep a person’s body and mind healthy, and help them maintain healthy habits.

A person can still lead a healthy lifestyle while working nightshift. It is important they keep up their healthy habits, and that they not let the late shift be an excuse to live an unhealthy lifestyle.

Just post a list of what to eat and what not to eat? Not that simple

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Morning Inspiration: Why don’t I just post a list and instructions for people to follow to lose weight? Because there is no one size fits all plan that I can give that will work and give you results. We are all adults and we have to take responsibility to find out what eating health is and be willing to change our lifestyles in terms of adding healthy habits like exercise. The answers have to come from within. From your own actions. Don’t just get answers from others who are trying to create cookie cutter solutions. You have to do your own research, try and fail, and decide what works for YOU.

The problem with my posting grocery lists or meal plans is that 1) not everyone eats the same thing and people will complain and 2) people don’t follow them for the long haul.

Also, If you have a health condition, like high blood pressure or diabetes, you can’t just use the same list as someone who doesn’t.

What you have to do is do the work. I always suggest that people take all the knowledge that they have about healthy diet and apply it. Haven’t we read enough diet books to write on, Ladies? It’s simple. Cut out all the junk. Highly processed foods, fried food, fast food, highly sweetened foods, fatty meat, white bread…these have to be removed from the diet. Your diet should be lean meat, whole grains, veggies, fruit, beans, nuts…things close to their natural state. No commercial fruit juice, no soda. Other than that, I always suggest books like The Eat Clean Diet, Eat to Live and the Mayo Clinic Diet for those who need more direction and instruction. However, you still have to follow the rules and modify for your needs if you use one of those plans.

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