Fitness Friday

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Friday morning WINK News fitness expert Mike Drumm stopped by to give you tips on making healthy lifestyle choices.

What you eat can have a great impact on both of these so make your calories count. Eat a heart-healthy diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables and low in sodium. One of the most important things you can do to eat heart-healthy is limit foods that are high in unhealthy fats. Easy ways you can include more Heart-Healthy Foods are:

Choosing healthy cooking methods like baking, broiling, grilling, or steaming.

Don’t use butter to coat your roasted veggies. Instead, use just a tablespoon of olive oil or another vegetable oil. Olive oil is high in mono-unsaturated fats, a healthy fat.
Replace those unhealthy fat sources with sources of healthy unsaturated fats. Add avocado, a source of healthy fat, to your salads, wraps, or sandwiches.
Choose more fresh foods rather than processed meat and snacks. Add more vegetables to your meals and decrease the amount of meat. Casseroles, soup, sandwiches, and salads.
Select fat-free, one percent fat and low-fat dairy products. Prepare foods with little or no salt.

Avoid Added Sugars. Not only are they empty calories and a leading cause of obesity, they also put you at risk for heart disease. The increased intake of added sugar raises blood pressure, lowers levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and raises levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

Get Moving! It’s no secret that exercise is the key to shedding pounds, but it can also help you live longer. The American Heart Association recommends 40 minutes of aerobic exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity 3 to 4 times a week for lowering your cholesterol and the risk of coronary heart disease. It also prevents or delays the development of high blood pressure. Protect your heart and exercise consistently.

When you think “heart health,” the automatic assumption is to scout out fitness tips related to cardio. Strength-training (like lifting weights, push-ups and lunges) can be just as beneficial. Strength-training works both your muscular and cardiovascular system, improving endurance and increasing good cholesterol levels.

Relax. Stress can cause weight gain, and increase your heart rate that could damage your artery walls. The next time you feel anxious, breathe deep and try to chill. Laugh, smile, play. Evidence shows the health benefits of lightheartedness and optimism for healing and fighting off illness. Seeking happiness-producing activities is a good way to relieve stress and boost your mood-and heart health.

QUIT SMOKING! Being smoke-free and eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke is important to heart health. You have years of life to gain and love to give by quitting smoking. Quit smoking or encourage your loved ones to quit. Now’s the perfect time! Let’s cement the HEART as a symbol to raise awareness about the risks of heart disease and lifestyle changes that can reduce cardiovascular risks and promote healthy hearts.