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WHAT'S NEW
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Heart health Q+A -- risk factors, heart attack symptoms and more
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Get answers from a straight-talking family physician.
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By Dr. Patricia Mark
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How can I tackle these risk factors? Look at the recurring themes: smoking and being overweight and unfit. Most women know that nonsmokers have a lowered risk of almost every disease on the planet. But becoming a nonsmoker can be a nightmare because, for poorly understood reasons, women find quitting smoking more difficult than men do. To make things worse, it's almost impossible to kick the habit in a household of other unrepentant smokers. So now what? Get professional help. Many physicians are skilled at helping smokers along the path to abstinence. There are resources to help people quit on websites and courses at local colleges or public health units. Women must take charge.
There are no easy solutions for weight loss. But I do have a secret weapon for successful exercising: good walking shoes. Try this. Today, go buy a pair of comfortable walking shoes. Leave them out in plain view. When they've become familiar household items, put them on and walk around the house a bit. Now you're ready for action. Walk to the corner store, around the block or up the street to visit a neighbour -- whatever works -- until daily walking has become a part of your life.
It's not about walking a marathon: 20 to 30 minutes of brisk walking a day is all it takes. Don't want to walk alone? A partner, friend or neighbour might follow your shining example and come along. Dog owners, as studies have shown, are heart healthier because they often walk more than people without dogs. Fido will love you, you will burn up calories, and if you commit to smaller portions of pasta, bread, potatoes and animal fat, slowly but surely you will lose weight. You will become more fit, have more energy, enjoy better heart health, lower blood pressure and lower blood sugars. Regular exercise reduces modestly elevated blood pressure just as effectively as medication. Ditto blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. Not a bad return on your walking-shoe investment!
What should an unfit, moderately overweight woman not do?
• Don't spend money on miracle weight-loss pills, potions and lotions. Only one person will benefit: the manufacturer.
• Don't join a gym if you hate sharing space with sweaty bodies wrestling with machines that look like instruments of torture. You won't go more than a couple of times. More money down the tube.
• Don't go on one of those silly diets that promise a 10- or 20-pound weight loss and eternal happiness by next Friday. It won't happen.
• Don't go on one of those fasting/detoxifying binges. Toxins aren't the problem, and all that water and other weird stuff you have to drink can play havoc with your body chemistry. The concoctions associated with this enterprise also cost. Big time.
• Don't waste your money on Weight Watchers (which I highly recommend for their consistent track record and their sensible eating plan) if you are not committed to changing your eating habits from the dark side of high-fat, high-sugar snack foods to the sunny side of low-fat, nutritious foods.
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