You don’t have to break your budget in Honolulu, HI, to improve your heart health. You do have to plan. It doesn’t require thousands of dollars to eat healthier and create an exercise plan. It does require a plan and devotion to sticking with it. If you’re overweight, a smoker, or have other lifestyle issues, you can change that with planning. It won’t be easy, so plan for the pitfalls. Look at the things you can change and create a plan to change those things. You can’t control genetics, but you can protect your heart by making those changes.
When you lack exercise, create a schedule that includes exercise at the same time each day.
Your heart is a muscle. Like any muscle, you need to exercise it to maintain strength. That means doing aerobic exercises to build cardiovascular strength. You need all types of exercise to achieve good health, including strength, flexibility, and balance workouts. Include HIIT—high intensity interval training—workouts once a week. It’s a way of doing any exercise. You alternate between maximum intensity for a minute or two and a recovery pace for the same time or longer. It improves heart health faster than other ways of exercising.
Plan your meals and cook them ahead to lose weight.
Meal planning can save you money and improve your heart health. We’ll help you with customized plans specific to your needs. Meal planning around heart health includes weight loss plans for those who are overweight. If you have high blood pressure, losing as little as five pounds can make a difference. When you do meal planning, it saves your budget, too. You don’t have leftovers. If you’re eating baked chicken one day, you use the leftover meat to make chicken salad, soup, or a casserole on other days. It saves time because you cook a week’s meals in one day. During the week, you heat and serve.
Get adequate sleep.
You need adequate sleep for a healthy heart. When you sleep, your body regulates blood pressure. Sleep helps you reduce inflammation that can damage the heart. It’s also necessary to improve general cardiovascular functioning. Lack of sleep increases your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and other issues that affect the heart.
- If you quit smoking, you potentially could gain weight without planning. Smoking is bad for the heart, but so is obesity. Don’t trade one bad habit for another. Instead, trade it for a good habit, like walking when you want a cigarette instead of eating.
- When you meal plan, include food high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fatty fish such as salmon, trout or mackerel; flaxseed; and seafood, such as like oysters or shrimp.
- Don’t forget to include plenty of greens in your meals. Choose leafy vegetables that contain vitamin K and nitrates. Add beets to your diet to help lower blood pressure. You can use the greens and the beetroot.
- You’ll save money and improve heart health by switching out red meat for beans. Beans contain folate and fiber. Folate can reduce the risk of heart disease by 20%. Green beans also fight inflammation and prevent or reduce hypertension.
For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!