Heart Disease Prevention
Calories & Weight Gain
 
If you find it hard to count calories, just focus on eating less fat. You'll be cutting calories as well. Gram for gram, fat has twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates. When grocery shopping, preparing meals, or snacking, here are some tips to keep in mind:
  • Limit your salad dressing to 1 teaspoon per salad serving, or use fat-free varieties.
  • Instead of cream, whole milk, or 2% milk, use evaporated skim milk, 1% milk, or skim milk.
  • Use fat-free sour cream instead of regular and save 25 calories per tablespoon.
  • Cut 30-60 calories per tablespoon by using reduced-fat mayonnaise instead of regular mayonnaise.
  • Limit peanut butter use to 1 tablespoon (95 calories) per sandwich.
  • Cut 100 calories when you eat 2/3 cup of nonfat frozen chocolate yogurt instead of chocolate ice cream.
  • Replace a 2 oz bag of potato chips with 1 cup of plain popcorn and save 141 calories.
Weight Matters Studies show a correlation between excess weight and premature death. Specifically, those more than 30% above their desirable weight faced two to three times the risk of early death from cardiovascular, cancer, and other diseases. Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. today, after smoking, according to the National Institutes of Health.
 
Beware of Fad Diets

Join the "non-diet" movement by changing your lifestyle to lose weight and keep it off. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables and making sure you get regular physical activity are the best ways to manage or lose weight.

You know it's a "fad" diet if it
  • recommends
    -- magic or miracle foods,
    -- bizarre quantities,
    -- rigid menus,
    -- specific food combinations,
    -- no increase in physical activity; or
  • promises rapid weight loss; or
  • gives no warning to seek a physician's advice.