• Quit Smoking
• Get Sensible Exercise
• Get Tested for Diabetes
• Control High Blood Pressure
• Form a Partnership for Health
• Keep Alcohol Use Moderate
• Strive for Balance
• Maintain a Health Body Weight

• What is Blood Pressure? What Happens When It's High?
• How is Blood Pressure Checked and What Do the Numbers Mean?
• What Causes High Blood Pressure?
• Preventing High Blood Pressure
• If You Have High Blood Pressure

• Activities and Calories Used in Exercise
• Sample Walking Program
• Test Your Physical Activity and Heart Disease IQ
• Successful Exercise at a Glance

• Low-fat Cooking
• Eating Right in Every Location
• Diet tips at a Glance
• Calculate Your Body Mass Index
• Using the Food Label
• What is Cholesterol and Why Does it Matter?
• What Your Cholesterol Numbers Mean
• What Affects Blood Cholesterol Levels
• What Can You Do to Lower Your Blood Cholesterol
• Eating Right and Staying Active
• A Daily Food Guide
• Shopping the Heart-Healthy Way

Losing weight can be a lifelong struggle, and so-called “fad” diets often are only for short-term success. Generally speaking, it is good to avoid any diet that disallows certain foods or relies on special liquid or pill supplements. It is also important to expect any weight-loss program to take time. Many people who lose weight quickly gain the weight (and sometimes even more) back within one year. And the ups and downs of frequent fluctuations in weight are not good for the heart either. 

To make a commitment to weight loss, you need a long-term perspective.  You need to change aspects of your lifestyle that may also be contributing to the difficulty of losing and maintaining weight loss. It is true that you can lose weight by eating a balanced, low-fat, high-fiber, diet and increasing your level of physical activity to a goal of at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. Small, meaningful changes, over time, will bring steady progress that lasts longer than the drastic changes often taken for quick results. 

Consider this: reducing your daily calories by 250 to 500 calories a day can translate into a loss of 1/2 to 1 pound per week. You might be able to achieve this goal with no change in diet but simply by increasing calorie expenditure through increased physical activity. Or, you might give up desserts or breakfast pastries in exchange for a healthier, lower-calorie morning meal.

Tips:

• Eat smaller portions.

• Avoid second helpings. 

• Eat less fat by staying away from fried foods, rich desserts, and chocolate candy. Foods with a lot of fat have a lot of calories. 

• Eat more fruits and vegetables. 

• Eat “low-calorie” foods, such as low-calorie salad dressings.

Long-term benefits of weight loss:

• increased energy and mobility

• increased self-esteem and confidence 

• improved general health and heart health

Steps you can take today:

• Play “fat detective” -- go through your panty, cabinets and refrigerator and identify all of the foods that are high in fat (those that have 30% or more of their calories from fat). Most packaged food will have a US Department of Agriculture label that shows the percentage of fat they contain. Make a list of<