Guest post by Gavin Pritchard, Stamford Hospital
Knowing your risk for heart disease
and stroke is a huge first step toward optimizing heart health. Leaving it at just knowing, however, simply isn’t
enough. To make progress, and truly move
toward reducing your risks, requires action.
And action takes a plan.
No one size
fits all, so crafting a plan that is manageable, personalized, and effective,
is key. Proper planning will increase
your chances for successful lifestyle modification over time. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when
creating your heart healthy plan.
Be a Goal Getter
Now that you know your risks,
target your efforts specifically toward managing them. Let the bounty of science backed
recommendations from the American Heart Association be your guide. Setting goals that are specific, measurable,
appropriate, realistic, and that establish a time frame of both short term and
long term, will make your efforts most efficient and allow them to have the greatest
potential for success. If you need
additional help with goal setting, a member of your personal health team, such
as your primary care physician, cardiologist, registered dietitian, and/or
exercise physiologist, can provide needed guidance and support.
Having a visual, written
representation of your plan allows you to keep it in plane site and see your
goals, and the steps you want to take to get there, often. In addition to writing down your goals, your
plan might include a schedule for the upcoming day and/or the upcoming week,
with meals and snacks drafted out (make your shopping list from this!), built
in time for prepping and cooking heart healthy recipes, as well as time carved
out for physical activity. You can even
use the template to self-monitor by checking off what you’ve done as you move
through the week, and mark how you’ve modified things, if you did so. Keep it in a binder when complete, and it’s
great for future reference.
Bend with the Breeze
Embrace the spirit of flexibility
as you move forward with your plan! Trees
that are too rigid tend to break and/or get knocked down when winds get rough,
but trees that stay flexible and sway with heavy winds, stay upright the
longest. As the saying goes, life
happens, so plan on it. Allow yourself
some wiggle room and permission to not be perfect. Doing so will likely help you stick with your
healthy lifestyle longer, be less stressed, and have more fun doing it. Successful lifestyle change doesn’t happen overnight. This is a journey, not a short term, one day
event. Keep moving things forward toward
your goals, no matter what
Simplify
Complicated doesn’t necessarily
mean better or more effective, so why not keep it simple! The simpler you make things, the more likely
you are to not get overwhelmed, and the more likely you are to stick with your
plan. Maybe you’re planning the same breakfast,
lunch, dinner, and snacks for the entire week, or you’re starting out with a
shorter exercise time and intensity than is recommended. That’s ok!
You can always add variety and you can always increase your time and
duration of your workout as you progress.
Build the good habits first, and add complexity later, as you move
forward
See things differently
Progress doesn’t always happen as
fast as we would like. It’s often easier
to get down on ourselves than to lift ourselves up. Perception is power! Boost your spirits and your self-confidence
by giving yourself credit for andy and all successes, whether it’s having an
extra vegetable in the morning, choosing whole grain bread on a sandwich, taking
a 15 minute walk when you had planned on your usual 60 minute workout, or
planning your meals for the next day.
Emphasize the positive things that you’re doing, and try not to beat
yourself up for the things you’re not doing yet. How we perceive things and think about
things, really affects our emotions, and ultimately our actions. So think positive! The glass can be half full all the time if we
let it be!
Gavin Pritchard, RD, CDE, CD-N
Dietitian-Chef
Population Health and Prevention
Stamford Hospital
Gavin - thanks for the helpful suggestions.
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