We all know that regular exercise plays an important role whether you are trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight. Did you know that eating properly and lowering your cholesterol if it is too high can be just as significant steps in the process? Combined these factors can determine how effectively you can reach your goal.

Following are a variety of tips to help you become healthier and trimmer.

1. Eat breakfast every day
- Eat within 2 hours of waking up
- Eat a well-balanced meal (i.e. skip the donuts)
i. 1 serving of whole grain cereal, 8 oz. skim milk, ¼ cup walnuts, and ½ banana
ii. 1 whole wheat English muffin, 8 oz. skim milk, 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter and a piece of fruit
iii. 1 egg, whole wheat toast, Benecol or Take Control spread, glass of skim milk and a piece of fruit

2. Never skip meals
- Skipping meals only lowers your metabolism

3. Eat 4 servings of vegetables every day
- 1 serving = ½ cup cooked vegetables, 1 cup raw vegetables
- Flavor vegetables with a butter spray, low fat cheese, or melted Benecol or Take Control
- Experiment with a variety of vegetables to expose yourself to different vitamins and minerals

4. Do not load your vegetables with butter, cheese or salt
- You will undo all the good those vegetables provide

5. Eat 3 servings of fruit every day
- 1 serving = ½ cup fruit

6. Try eating different kinds of fruit
- Experimenting with a variety of fruits gives you a greater array of vitamins and minerals

7. Eat healthy fats every day
- Examples of healthy fats include olive oil, canola oil, Benecol, Take Control, nuts and avocadoes. However, watch how much of them you have

8. Avoid fried foods and foods with trans fats
- Eliminate foods that contain hydrogenated oils, palm and coconut oils
- Limit saturated fat (palm, coconut oils, chocolate, animal fats) to no more than 15 grams a day
- Say no to trans fats (hydrogenated oils)

9. Eat lean protein at every meal
- Examples of lean protein include: beans, fish, nuts (1/4 cup/day), eggs (4 yolks/week), white poultry meat and red meat in moderation
- Limit to one meat serving a day = 3 – 4 oz = deck of cards

10. Don’t eat large servings of meat or consume protein shakes
- Recommended daily amount of protein = body weight (kg) x 0.8 g

11. Drink plenty of water
- Recommended daily fluid amount for women = body weight (lbs.) x 0.31
- Recommended daily fluid amount for men = body weight (lbs.) x 0.35

12. Don’t drink your calories
- Avoid pop, juice, fancy coffee drinks and sweetened tea

13. Make yourself accountable
- Keep a food journal.
- Record what you ate, how much you ate, when and why you ate

14. Don’t eat mindlessly

15. Treat your body with respect
- You only have one body. Just as you have your car tuned up regularly and fueled with the best gas, give your body the proper foods and liquids

16. Don’t feed your body with junk
- Your body will only run properly when you treat it properly. Enjoy plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, complex carbohydrates, water and healthy fats.

Maintaining a healthy weight is achievable by following these steps. Do your best to make healthier choices every day with each and every morsel of food and every drop of liquid that you ingest. Your body will thank you for treating it more wisely.

“Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.” Hippocrates

Rachel Sumner, M.P.H. R.D., is the Clinical Dietician Specialist at the Ministrelli Women’s Heart Center at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak. Opened in 2002, the Ministrelli Women’s Heart Center is the first and only cardiac center in Michigan designed expressly for the prevention, diagnosis and research of women’s heart disease. This state-of-the-art facility features on-site diagnostic capabilities, including stress tests, EKGs and echocardiograms (heart ultrasounds). To receive more information on heart disease or the Ministrelli Women’s Heart Center, please call 248-898-4760.