Keeping Your Heart Healthy @ Work!
Keeping your heart healthy while at work is not a hard task when you focus on the end goal of living a long healthy life. Here are some tips to survive and thrive for the betterment of your health throughout the work day.
Tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy @ work
Reduce Sweets
o Limit your intake of sweet foods that can increase your sugar and cause pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
o Sweets from from fruits are best. (Try to stick to fruits with low glycemic numbers) to avoid rapid sugar spikes.
Reduce Sodium Intake
o Keep your sodium under 2300mg and if you are hypertensive under 1500mg.
o Request no salt or a pinch when eating out
Understand Fats
o Reduce saturated fats, eat no trans fats (processed foods like cake, cookies, and chips)
o Add unsaturated fats (olive oil, olives, avocados, nuts, fish)
Alcohol consumption in moderation
o 1 drink for women & 2 drinks for men per day. Excessive alcohol usage does extreme harm to the body.
Move More
o Let’s get physical: Add a minimum of strength training 2 days per week.
o 30 minutes of moderate exercise every 5x a week for a total of 150+ or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise.
o Walking, swimming, running, dancing, jogging, ellipticals, treadmills, stair climbers, climbing stairs instead of taking elevators.
o Sit Less, stand more.
o Park further away from your destination
Reduce Stress
o Figure out who and what causes you stress and limit exposure. Certain situations trigger stress, do your best to avoid them when you are able.
Stress Management Techniques
· Journal
· TAB (Take a Break from it all--- 3 to 10 minute breaks to help ground you)
· Meditate/Pray
· Breathing Exercises
· Massage
· Pilates
· Yoga
· Qigong
· Tai Chi
· Music
· Art Therapy
Operating at your best throughout the day whether at work or not, does not have to be hard. Plan and commit to eating right, moving more, worrying less and doing your best with the responsibilities that are given to you and you will be just fine. Take breaks throughout the day to release burdens that may occur. Be kind to your heart and body for that matter because there is no you without them. Breathe easy.
Reference
Hhs.gov
Cdc.gov
Heart.org
Mayoclinic.org