Get fit, room by room
Posted: Feb 19th 2008 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Fitness, Food and Nutrition, General Health, Healthy Habits
Filed under: Fitness, Food and Nutrition, General Health, Healthy Habits
February's Better Homes and Gardens team offers some innovative methods for getting fit without even leaving your house. This room-by-room guide will foster a healthier heart and a healthier you. It all starts at your front door.Front Door
Place a pair of tennis shoes in your entryway by the front door. Put them in a fancy bin or basket so they're handy for exercising. You might also hang an inexpensive pedometer on a hook by the door and clip it to your clothing at the start of day so you can monitor how many steps you're taking. Shoot for 10,000 steps a day.
Place a pair of tennis shoes in your entryway by the front door. Put them in a fancy bin or basket so they're handy for exercising. You might also hang an inexpensive pedometer on a hook by the door and clip it to your clothing at the start of day so you can monitor how many steps you're taking. Shoot for 10,000 steps a day.
Living Room
Resolve to keep meals and snacks out of the living room. People tend to overeat far more in front of the TV because they want something to do while watching a show.
Resolve to keep meals and snacks out of the living room. People tend to overeat far more in front of the TV because they want something to do while watching a show.
Kitchen
Add a kitchen scale to your counter so you'll know exactly what three ounces of meat looks like and how much an ounce of cheese turns out to be. Measuring your portions will help you manage your weight. Invest in a few healthy cookbooks too. And be sure to use them.
Add a kitchen scale to your counter so you'll know exactly what three ounces of meat looks like and how much an ounce of cheese turns out to be. Measuring your portions will help you manage your weight. Invest in a few healthy cookbooks too. And be sure to use them.
Bathroom
Break out the floss for your dental health and your heart health too. Researchers link the inflammation caused by gum disease to heart disease. The healthier your mouth, they say, the stronger your heart will be. And dust off that bathroom scale and jump up on it. Those who weigh themselves daily are the ones most likely to keep weight off.
Break out the floss for your dental health and your heart health too. Researchers link the inflammation caused by gum disease to heart disease. The healthier your mouth, they say, the stronger your heart will be. And dust off that bathroom scale and jump up on it. Those who weigh themselves daily are the ones most likely to keep weight off.
Bedroom
Ask someone to monitor you for a bit while you sleep. Ask your observer if you snore. This could be a sign of a disorder called sleep apnea, a condition that causes lapses in breathing for a few seconds at a time. If all is well in your sleep department, consider an afternoon nap. Napping might cut your chances of dying of heart disease by 30 percent.
Ask someone to monitor you for a bit while you sleep. Ask your observer if you snore. This could be a sign of a disorder called sleep apnea, a condition that causes lapses in breathing for a few seconds at a time. If all is well in your sleep department, consider an afternoon nap. Napping might cut your chances of dying of heart disease by 30 percent.
Stairs
Your heart rate and breathing should not change significantly when you climb stairs. But do they? If so, check with your doctor and then tackle those same stairs for just three minutes a day to increase your cardiac endurance.
Your heart rate and breathing should not change significantly when you climb stairs. But do they? If so, check with your doctor and then tackle those same stairs for just three minutes a day to increase your cardiac endurance.
