Heart Smart Help Contents

Disclaimer

How to use this program

Thoughts on Dieting

How to build a menu

Changing the food item list

Recipes

Calculators

Activity Planner

Weight graph

Comparison Chart

Food pyramid

Using a template

Exercise program

Low calorie diet

Diabetic diet

Low sodium diet

Low cholesterol diet

The nutrients in foods

RDA Guidelines

Error Messages

Using Help

Registration

Shareware

Ordering Information


Disclaimer

The information in this program is not meant to be medical advise, or a substitute for coordinating your dietary goals with a health practitioner.  While we have taken caution to provide information that is timely and accurate, the field of nutrition and weight loss are constantly changing.

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How to use this program
How to use this program.

This program is designed to help you eat a healthy diet.  There are many benefits to eating healthy including lowering your risk of heart disease, and according to some authorities, lowering your risk of certain types of cancer.

Your doctor may have also suggested that you reduce your cholesterol intake to help prevent coronary artery disease, or he/she may have suggested that you reduce your sodium intake to help control your blood pressure.  Regardless of why you are using this program, eating a more healthy diet will help you feel and look better.

Diet alone is not the answer though.  You must also combine your healthy diet with a program of regular aerobic exercise, approved by your doctor.  The combination of healthy eating and regular exercise will add years to your life and vitality to every day.

Before starting any dietary change, or exercise program you must check with your physician for specifics.

This software can be useful in any program that your doctor has prescribed.  There are several steps to changing your eating habits for life and this program can help you do that.  The first step that you need to work on is a current food diary of what you are eating.

To keep a food diary you must enter everything that you eat, every day for a week.  Eating habits are just that, we tend to eat the same things day after day out of habit and not necessarily because it is good for us or we are hungry.  We can use our natural tendency for habitual behavior to eat healthier for a lifetime.  After compiling your food diary for the first week, look at the foods that you are eating.  Is your diet high in fat or protein?  Is your diet high in sodium and cholesterol?  Use the RDA guidelines to see where you fall on the healthy diet scale.

If you are using Heart Smart to reduce your calorie intake and lose weight, you would want to look at your diary for foods that are high in fat and consequently calories (calories by content).  Replace high calorie, high fat foods with foods that are low in calories and fat.  For instance, instead of potato chips, eat carrot sticks.  After a three weeks of this replacement you will have developed a new healthier eating habit.

The same thing can be done for low cholesterol and low sodium diets.  Replace those items high in those components with foods that are low in cholesterol or sodium.  The important thing is to continue to replace unhealthy food choices with healthier food choices.  It is also necessary to continue to monitor your progress by keeping a food diary.

While you are working on changing your eating habits you should plan your weekly menus.  Modify your first week’s diary, or select the Healthy Menu plan, and plan your meals for the next week.  Post this menu on your refrigerator so that you have a constant reminder of what you are going to eat for the week.  (See also Thoughts on Dieting)  If you happen to eat something not on your menu then add it to your menu sheet and then to the program to see its effect on your overall menu plan.

Changing your eating habits is not easy.  Unlike smoking or drinking alcohol we all have to eat to survive, eating is not a frivolous behavior.  Another thing that you want to remember is that you do not want to feel like you are depriving yourself.  It is OK to eat ice cream or cake as long as you do it in moderation.  It is also important to reward yourself for doing well on your diet as long as the reward is not food.  After you have lost 10 pounds (or stayed on your low cholesterol or low sodium diet for a month) go buy yourself a new pair of jeans, shoes, computer program, or something else that you have been wanting, you deserve it.

You will also need a good food book to use this program effectively.  One of the best on the market is by Corinne Netzer:

The Complete Book of Food Counts

Published by Dell

Available at B. Dalton

A good book of food components will allow you to add items to the food list to meet your specific eating goals.  Food items can also be added from the food label information.  The food item list is limited to 2000 items so if you run out of room you will have to delete those things that you will never eat.

You will also need a food scale.  There are many food scales available on the market and it is not really important which one you choose.  The least expensive is as adequate as the most expensive.  You do need to weigh your portions, if that is how the food is measured, to maintain some form of accuracy in the food component calculations.

Mike Henning RN

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Thoughts on Dieting

I have given a lot of thought to dieting, and have a lot of empirical experience on the subject.  I have spent a good deal of time over the years studying food and nutrition.  I also have a vast library of motivational and informational cassettes to which I listen.  From these sources I have derived these thoughts about dieting and am currently applying them to my own life to get down to my “fighting weight.”

Fats

Many of the comments that I get about the program concern the breakdown of fat and the concept of good fat versus bad fat.  Mike’s rule about fat is this – If you are concerned about the type of fat in your diet and what kind of fat you are eating, then there is too much fat in your diet.  If you are eating a well balanced diet (see the food pyramid) and are staying below the RDA values for fat, then it does not make much difference what kind of fat you are eating.

Here is the problem.  You can be the worst cook in the world but no matter what you make, fat makes it taste good.  A pat of butter turns a baked potato into a treasure, it can even make broccoli palatable.  Covert Bailey says that fat is grease.  If you handed a mechanic a stick of butter, he could do with that the same thing that he does with a can of black goo.  You would not eat shop grease, or put it on your toast so, every time you get out the butter dish think of that mechanic.

Dieting with a partner

In Proverbs 27:17, Solomon says – “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  If you have someone to work with, and be responsible to, your dieting program will go much better.  You can use your partner for encouragement and you will need to report to your progress.

None of us like to be embarrassed or disappoint those that are close to us, so find a friend to diet with.  Check in with that friend every day for encouragement.  If someone were to call you first thing in the morning and tell you what a great person you were, how strong you were, and no matter how much you weigh they still love you; don’t you think that it would be easier for you to stay on your diet that day?

You will also tell your partner about your weight losses, or gains.  Zig Zigler, the master motivator has a theory about goals.  If you have a give up goal, tell everyone about it because there are people out there that will be on your case the minute that you slip.  If you have a get up goal, only tell those who love and support you.  Dieting has both type of goals.  To get to your ideal weight you will have to change your eating habits by giving up some foods that you are eating now.  You also have a grow up goal to reach your ideal weight.

So, as you determine the foods that you are not going to eat any longer, or cut back on, tell everyone.  But your goal weight and your visualization of your new body only share with your partner.

Keeping track of your weight

Do not weigh yourself every day.  It is tempting while you are on your diet to get up first thing in the morning and step on the scale to see how much you have lost.  Your weight will fluctuate from day to day so only weigh yourself once a week.  Your target should be to lose no more than two pounds a week and it is better to shoot for one pound a week.

You did not become overweight overnight, and there is no quick fix short of tummy tucking and lipo suction.  So relax!  Where you are right now is where you are suppose to be and if you have fifty pounds to lose it is OK if it takes a year, the important part is that you are working on it now.  Do not be fooled by the ads proclaiming immediate weight loss results because that is exactly what they are, weight loss, and not a change in your long term eating habits.  Most of those diet originators know that your body will start giving up water weight really easily.  You see immediate results on the scale, but you have not lost any fat stores.

Incremental goals

If you have more than 10 pounds to reach your ideal weight, work on incremental goals of 10 pounds.  By breaking up your goal into small increments you will get vital feedback and good feelings about your progress, after all, anyone can lose 10 pounds.

Losing 10 pounds should take between 5 and 10 weeks, so plan and chart your progress for that.  Most of all, you have to have patience.  Again, you did not become overweight in a few weeks so don’t expect to get to your ideal weight in a few weeks.

When you reach your incremental goal, it is important to give yourself a reward.  Buy a new outfit, or go somewhere you have not been before.  Do not give yourself a food reward though, that is, do not celebrate reaching your goal with a chocolate cake.

Never use the word lose

This tip comes from Wayne Dyer.  Lose is a negative word and has the connotation that you are fighting something.  When we approach anything with an adversarial mental state, we have already lost the battle.  Instead of thinking about losing weight, visualize yourself at your goal weight.

There are several ways to do this.  If you have a picture of yourself at your ideal weight, then post it where you can see it every day, the bathroom mirror is a good place.  If you don’t have a picture at your ideal weight then sit down daily and think about what you would look and feel like at that weight.

Exercise, exercise, exercise

When we hear someone talking about exercise, our mental picture goes back to our school days when the gym teacher made us do calisthenics.  Oh how I hated those days.  There was always a Joe Jock in the class who could do 500 sit-ups, or 50 one arm pushups.

It wasn’t until I was 40 that I realized exercise could be fun.  I started bicycling, and even took an aerobics class one winter.  But your exercise program does not have to be that intense.  You can start off by walking, or using the stairs at work instead of the elevator.

A regular program of exercise is just as important and maybe more important than the food you eat.

Exercise does many wonderful things for our bodies.  First of all it produces endorphins which make us feel good and improve our whole outlook on life.  Exercise also increases our HDL cholesterol which helps to clean the goobers out of our arteries.  It will also increase our muscle mass which will mean that we will be using more calories naturally, because muscle uses more calories than sustaining fat stores.  A word of caution though, muscle also weighs more than fat so as your muscle mass increases as your exercise program becomes more intense you may want to discuss with your doctor a change in your ideal BMI.

Self Talk

We all talk to ourselves all day long.  Did you know that you do not go longer than 11 seconds without saying something to yourself when you are not otherwise engaged in conversation with someone else?  It is time to start using that self-talk constructively.

Much of our self-talk is negative.  i.e.  “You idiot you should have known that you couldn’t do that.”  What we are going to do though is to make that self-talk positive.  Make a list of five things that you are going to change while you are using Heart Smart.  Here is a sample list:

•	I feel great at xxx pounds.

•	I eat only at meal times.

•	I eat fruit as a healthy snack.

•	I am positive and energetic at my new weight.

•	I eat to live not live to eat.

These statements do not have to be true today, but will be true in the future.  By having these statements on index cards and reviewing them during the day you can use the principles of cognitive dissonance to help you reach your weight management goals.

For heavens sake, don’t tell everyone you meet you are on a diet.

Don’t tell everyone you are on a diet, they don’t care!  Have you ever gone up to talk to someone and the first words out of their mouth is that they are on a diet.  Did you care?  When people do that they are looking for sympathy and want you to know that they are making big SACRIFICES.  Well, we don’t need that because we know inside that we are really already at our goal weight and our body is just catching up.

Some one once asked Leonardo DeVinci how he made The David.  His response was that he got a piece of stone and took away everything that was not The David.  So too, we need to think of ourselves as the statue and we are getting rid of everything that is not The ______ (you fill in the blank with your name.)

Most of all, remember, you are not this form that you happen to be carrying around in the physical world.  You are that beautiful, loving, kind, and nurturing spirit inside of the form.

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How to build a menu

Building a menu is simple.  Drag and drop food items from the food item list to the menu day and meal you are building.

Select a day and meal with the tabs.  Select a food item from the food item list, set the number of servings, and click and drag it to the meal list box.  Repeat this for each item in the meal.  You can have up to ten items in each meal.

You can change the serving size by clicking in the edit box and typing a number of servings, or you can use the + and - keys to change the number of servings by whole numbers.  (If you are only going to have a fraction of a serving then you can use decimals to signify this; i.e., a serving size of 0.5 would mean half of the serving size in the food list.)

To delete an item from the meal just drag the item from the meal to the trash can.

Repeat the build process for an entire week and you have a weekly menu.  With your newly created menu you can build a shopping list, and with a registered version you can print the shopping list, the weekly, or daily menus.

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Changing the food item list

The food item list will hold up to 2000 food items.  You can change the list by adding foods to the list or deleting foods from the list.  The information for the food item list can come from a nutrition book, or from a food label.

To add an item to the food list select Add Food Item from the Food Item menu or select the speed bar button.  Enter the information requested in the dialog box.  The convention used in the supplied food list for name is the major category such as cereal, the type, and the serving size; i.e., Cereal, wheat flakes (1 oz.)

To modify an item on the food list, select the item and then select the Modify Food Item menu item, or double click on the food item.  The dialog box will come up with all of the information that exists on the food item.

To delete a food item from the list, select the Delete Food Item menu item or click and drag it to the trash can.  The program gives you an opportunity to cancel the delete.  If you continue with the delete, the food item is gone and can not be retrieved.

Food items can also be added from the recipe tab.  After entering your recipe, you can click on the Add Food Item in the recipe menu.  This will calculate the food item components based on the number of servings you have selected for the recipe.

Additionally, the Merge Other FOODITEM.DBT action can be used to merge food item lists gotten from a second source.  The procedure is the same as above except the food item list must be from version 4.0 or later of the Heart Smart Program.

You can cancel the merge process at any time by selecting the cancel button when a food item is presented.

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Recipe planner
Recipes

Using the food list you can build a new recipe.  In version 5.0 of the program you can save that recipe, print it out, and reload it in addition to being able to add it to your food list.

The format for the recipe planner is the same as the menu planner.  Food items and serving sizes are dragged and dropped from the food list, with the addition of the number of servings the recipe will make.  When your recipe is built, you can add preparation instructions and then print the recipe and/or save it to disk.  Additionally, you can select the Add to Food Items menu action and the total contents of the recipe will be divided by the number of servings and you can add it to the food items in your database.

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Calculators

The calculator tab sheet gives you information about where you are at, and where you want to go.  In order to use the automatic graphing features of the weight chart, you need to enter all of the appropriate information into the calculator.

The first function of the calculator is to compute your current calorie usage.  This is an age, sex, and activity level computation.  You need to enter your current weight, age, height, sex, and activity level.  The computer will then give you an estimate of the number of calories that you eat to maintain your current body weight.  This computation is not an absolute because it is a computation of metabolic rate, it is a good average though and you may be taking in more, or fewer calories but the number will be in the ball park.

You then go to step 2 which is to select a goal weight.  If you have more than 10 pounds to lose then you should work toward a 10 pound incremental goal.  Next you will enter the calories in your diet plan.  The computer will then determine how many weeks it will take you to get to goal.

During the computation of your current calorie usage, your current BMI is computed and when you select a goal weight, your goal BMI is computed.  The BMI calculation is becoming a standard for weight measure. (See BMI)

When the calculator is completed, you can use the information to make a progress plan on the weight tab, if you have not already done that.

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Activity planner

The activity planner helps you to see an estimate of how many calories you burn during exercise.  After an activity and the duration time are entered, the calories for the activity will be subtracted from the calories shown on the day selection tab of you menu and the resulting calories will be shown.

Please be aware that the calories listed for any activity are only a guideline, and the actual calories that you burn are dependent upon your intensity while doing the exercise.  Again, the resulting Calorie Balance is a good estimate, but it is an estimate.

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Weight graph

The weight graph is called up by clicking on the Weight tab,  This gives you a graph of your progress toward reaching your ideal weight.  The new graphing functions allow you to have the computer calculate your loss plan based on the data that you have entered in the calculator.  If you use a large weight loss, and a long period of time you will notice that your plan will not follow a straight line.  That is because as you lose weight you need fewer calories to maintain your weight so your weight loss will slow down.

I recommend that if you have more than 10 pounds to lose that you set 10 pounds as your intermediate goal.  Calculate a comfortable plan based on losing 10 pounds and work toward your intermediate goal.  When you have reached that weight, then work on the next 10 pounds and repeat this procedure until you have reached your goal weight.

This is important so that you get the positive feedback that you deserve.  When you have reached an intermediate goal, do something nice for your self as long as it does not involve food.  Reaching an intermediate goal is an important step in a total weight loss program.

By entering all of the data in the Calculator tab, the computer will generate a weight loss plan for you.  Enter the data and then click on the Generate Plan button.  If your plan will take more than two years, you will get an error.  So, if you are at your goal weight, you will need to manually create a plan.

If you do not use a computer generated plan, then you can enter your own plan by inserting new rows with dates, plan weights, and actual weights.  If at any time you enter invalid data the graph will go blank and will not return until the invalid data is corrected.

Because the weight information is stored in a file that you must load, you can have multiple weight files in the program.  This means that the program can be used by several people in your household and each will have a different weight file.

If you have made changes to the weight data you will be asked if you want to save the data before you leave the program.  Any data not saved at this point in the program execution will be lost.

 In the registered version the graph can be printed.

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Comparison chart

The comparison chart compares your menu with the recommended dietary allowances.  This pie chart allows you to select the current meal, day, or week based on the setting when you enter the Comparison tab, and the display changed you make with the radio buttons on the tab.

This graph provides you with a quick look at how you measure up to the RDA values.

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Food Pyramid

The food pyramid was designed as a convenient way for people to remember what is contained in a healthy diet.  At the base of the pyramid are complex carbohydrates which should make up the bulk of your daily diet.  As the pyramid rises the number of servings decreases.  At the top of the pyramid are fats, oils, and sweets which should be used sparingly.

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The nutrients in foods

Vitamin C

Citrus fruits and juices, guava, broccoli, brussels sprouts, green pepper, strawberries, “greens”, tomatoes, cabbage

Vitamin B1

Pork, liver, organ meats, whole grain and enriched grains, nuts, dried peas and beans, eggs

Vitamin B2

Milk and dairy products, organ meats, eggs, enriched grains, green leafy vegetables

Vitamin B3

Kidney, liver, poultry, lean meat, fish, yeast, peanut butter, enriched and whole grains, dried peas and beans, nuts

Vitamin B6

Yeast, wheat germ, pork, organ meats, egg yolk, whole grain cereals, potatoes

Folic Acid

Green leafy vegetables, asparagus, broccoli, liver, organ meats, milk, eggs, yeast, wheat germ

Vitamin B12

Only food of animal origin: meat, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, milk, dairy products

Vitamin A

Liver, egg yolk, fortified milk, dairy products, margarine, breakfast cereals, dark green and yellow vegetables, winter squash, carrots, broccoli, spinach, “greens”, peaches, apricots, cantaloupe

Vitamin D

Sunlight, fortified milk, margarine, breakfast cereals, butter, egg yolk, liver, fish liver oils

Vitamin E

Vegetable oils, wheat germ, whole grain products

Vitamin K

Dark green leafy vegetables, vegetables of the cabbage family, synthesized in the intestines from gut bacteria

Calcium

Milk and Dairy products, canned fish with bones, green leafy vegetables

Phosphorus

Milk and milk products, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dried peas and beans, nuts, soft drinks, processed foods

Magnesium

Green leafy vegetables, nuts, dried peas and beans, grains, seafood, cocoa, chocolate

Sulfur

Salt, sodium containing preservatives and additives, processed foods, canned meats and vegetables, condiments, pickled foods, soft water, ham, foods prepared in brine solutions, milk, meat, carrots, celery, beets, spinach

Potassium

Whole grains, legumes, fruits, leafy vegetables, broccoli, sweet potatoes, potatoes, meat, tomatoes

Chlorine

Salt

Iron

Liver, lean meats, enriched and whole grain breads and cereals

Iodine

Iodized salt, seafood, food additives, dough conditioners, dairy disinfectants

Zinc

Oysters, liver, meats, poultry, dried peas and beans, nuts

Copper

Liver, kidney, shellfish, grains, dried peas and beans, dried fruit, fresh fruit

Manganese

Whole grain, nuts, dried peas and beans, fruit

Fluorine

Fluoridated water, fish, tea

Chromium

Whole grains, meat

Selenium

Wheat, organ meats, other meat, seafood

Molybdenum

Liver, whole grains, dried peas and beans, organ meats

Cobalt

Organ meats

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Recommended Dietary Allowances - Guidelines

Diet consisting of:

60% Carbohydrates

30% Fat

10% Protein

Vitamins and Minerals

Adult Male	Adult Female

Vitamin A	1000 RE	1000 RE

B1 (thiamin)	1.5 mg	1.1 mg

B2 (riboflavin)	1.7 mg	1.3 mg

B3 (niacin)	19 mg	15 mg

B6 (pyridoxine)	2.0 mg	1.6 mcg

B12 (cobalamin)	2.0 mcg	2.0 mcg

Folate	200 mcg	180 mcg

Vitamin C	60 mg	60mg

Vitamin D	10 mcg	5 mcg

Vitamin E	10 mg	8 mg

Vitamin K	80 mcg	65 mcg

Calcium	1200 mg	800 mg

Iodine	150 mcg	150 mcg

Iron	10 mg	15 mg

Magnesium	350 mg	280 mg

Phosphorus	800 mg	800 mg

Selenium	70 mcg	55 mcg

Zinc	15 mg	12 mg

Potassium*	2000 mg	2000 mg

Sodium*	500 mg	500mg

mg - milligram

mcg - microgram

* - Minimum daily requirement for adults

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Using a template

The registered version of the program comes with two menu templates for a 1200 calorie and 1800 calorie diet.  These templates use generic servings as a guide to your meal planning.

There are seven different generic items:

Meat, eggs, poultry

Bread

Fat

Fish

Fruit

Vegetable

Milk

Meat, eggs, poultry - This item represents 1 oz. of meat or poultry, or one egg.

Bread - The bread item is a slice of bread or substitute such as a roll or potato.

Fat - A single fat serving such as a tsp. of margarine.

Fish - This item is 1 oz. of fish.

Fruit - The fruit is a single serving of fruit such as an apple, or ½ banana.

Vegetable - The vegetable serving is ½ cup of vegetables.

Milk - The milk serving represents a cup of 2% milk or substitute.

To use the template, replace the generic item with an item of your choice from the same type of food.  For instance your could replace a meat serving with 1 oz. of beef.  If you are using prepared foods, you may have more than one item.  An example would be beef stew would be meat and vegetable servings.

As you add your specific item, delete the generic item by dragging it to the trash can.

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Low calorie diet

A diet low in calories can help you lose weight.  Before beginning a weight loss program you should check with your physician.

To lose weight you must expend more calories than you take in forcing your body to convert stored calories (fat) to glucose for your body to use.  To create a reduced calorie diet you need to find out your calorie usage rate, this can be done using the Calculator Tab (the computation of the calculator is more complex than the simple method shown here.).  A pound of weight is about 3500 calories so if you wanted to lose a pound a week you would have to use 3500 more calories than you take in.

To compute this figure you would subtract 3500 from your weekly calorie count.  The result of the subtraction is then divided by 7 to see how many calories a day you should average.  Or you can deduct 500 calories from your daily calorie count.

For instance:

Your ideal weight is 170 pounds and you are very active

Basal rate - 170*19 = 3230

Weekly calories = 3230x7 = 22610

To lose one pound per week = 22610-3500 = 19110

Average calorie intake per day = 19110/7 = 2730

In case you are wondering why we are using ideal body weight instead of current body weight it is because you need to tailor your food intake to where you want to be and not where you are.  So by using ideal body weight your loses in the beginning will be larger and taper down as you near your goal.  The plans generated by the program compute your metabolic rate on a weekly basis because weight loss is not linear.

Your progress can be charted on the program’s Weight graph.  Your weight loss will also be enhanced by beginning a regular exercise program in addition to your diet.

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Diabetic diet

The Heart Smart nutrition planner can also be used for diabetics.  It is extremely important for a diabetic user to consult with his/her physician or dietitian before beginning any program of weight control.

The American Diabetes Association uses an exchange diet with the following food exchange items:

bread/starch

meat

milk

fruit

vegetable

fat

The percentages of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats for the diabetic closely follow the percentages in the recommended dietary allowances found in the comparison graph.

The program can be used to help you chart your blood sugar and insulin usage.  One diabetic user has added the food items - AA Blood Sugar, and AA Insulin.  By using the AA, the items appear at the top of the menu.  All of the food item components for both of these items are 0, and she then sets the number of servings to her blood sugar reading and the number of units of insulin that she takes to the AA Insulin food item.

In the past diabetics were told to stay away from simple sugars.  This may no longer be true but you will need to check with you physician for his plan in your diabetic control.  There is also evidence from the DCCT (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial) that multiple doses of regular insulin may help control your diabetes better and reduce the complications of insulin therapy.  Again you will need to check with your physician for a plan specifically suited to your needs.

If you are a type II diabetic it may be possible for you to control your blood sugar through proper diet and weight control.

Above all, if you are a diabetic and you are using this program you need to check you blood sugar frequently.  In the hospital blood sugars are normally checked on diabetics 4 times a day and often the doctor prescribes sliding scale insulin.

If you have questions about diabetic diet, further information can be obtained your local or state American Diabetes Association or your Endocrinologist.  Consult the white pages of your telephone directory.

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Low sodium diet

A low sodium diet can help you control your blood pressure.  In nursing school there is an axiom that says where the water goes there goes the sodium.  So, if you are retaining water then you also are retaining sodium and if you are outputting water then you are also outputting sodium.  If you have a high sodium diet then you will tend to retain water.  That increases the amount of fluid in your blood stream and hence leads to high blood pressure (hypertension).

Your doctor may have prescribed a low sodium diet for you.  A 2 gram sodium diet contains the amount of sodium found in 1 tsp. of table salt.  The foods you would want to avoid on a low sodium diet include:

cake mixes

some cereals

cornbread

pancake mix

prepared foods

salted snack foods

seasoned foods

dried fruits

brine cured foods

canned vegetables

buttermilk

cheese

pudding

bacon

canned meats

fast food

Above all you want to avoid table salt.  Before using salt substitutes you need to check with your physician because many salt substitutes contain potassium that can affect any cardiac medicine or diuretics that you may be taking.

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Low cholesterol diet

A diet low in cholesterol is generally defined as a diet with less than 300mg of cholesterol per day.  Cholesterol is only contained in animal products such as meat, eggs, cheese, and dairy products.

To maintain a low cholesterol diet you would want to exclude items such as:

red meat

eggs

cheese

milk products

chocolate

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Shareware

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it.  If you try a shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register.  Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period.  With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual.

Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below.  Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!)  The main difference is in the method of distribution.  the author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group.  For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software.  You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware.  the Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy.  Because the overhead is low, prices are low also.  Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.

Disclaimer - Agreement

Users of Heart Smart must accept this disclaimer of warranty:  Heart Smart is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of mechantability and of fitness for any purpose.  The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Heart Smart.

Heart Smart is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation.  Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system.  The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products.  If you find this program useful and find that you are using Heart Smart and continue to use Heart Smart after a 30 day trial period, you must make a registration payment of $19.95 to Henning Associates.  The $19.95 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time.  You must treat this software just like a book.  An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another.  Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time.

Commercial users of Heart Smart must register and pay for their copies of Heart Smart within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn.  Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Henning Associates.

Anyone distributing Heart Smart for any kind of remuneration must first contact Henning Associates at the address below for authorization.  This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering Heart Smart immediately (However Henning Associates must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of Heart Smart.

You are encouraged to pass a copy of Heart Smart along to your friends for evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it.  All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the Heart Smart system.

Henning Associates

Mike Henning

1710 Allied St. #36

Charlottesville, VA  22903

voice/fax (804)-295-0554

or

(800)-823-6896

Help Index


Register
Registration

To register this “try before you buy” program you can either click the Register button at the registration screen, or use the Register menu item.  Your name and number must be entered exactly as provided from Henning Associates including the use of upper and lower case.  Once registered your program will automatically enable the print features and disable the registration screen.

If you have not ordered the program and want to, click on the Order button in the registration screen or use the Order speed button and fill out the order form.  The form can be sent by fax, e-mail, snail mail, or phoned in to the 800 number.  See the order form and order form help for more information.

Or, you can order on-line using the menu item in the help menu.

Help Index


Error Messages

Error messages are presented in dialog boxes.  Some errors are fatal and will be presented with a red circle with an X in it.  Other errors are warnings and will be shown with a Yield sign with and exclamation point.  Fatal errors will cause the program to halt and will exit.  Warnings are to let you know that something is not right and the program will continue.  Depending on the warning, continuing could cause unrecoverable errors in your data.  Additionally, there are dialog boxes that give information and generally mean that the program is having trouble using the information that has been provided.  These messages will be presented with a blue circle with and I in it.

You must exit this program before turning off your computer to save current information.  The program will not allow you to leave Windows without closing the program.

Help Index


Using Help

You will find that many of the screens presented in the Heart Smart program have context sensitive help.  To use context sensitive help just depress the F1 key and the help file will be run and the specific help topic will be called up.

Every page in the help file has a return to index item at the bottom of the page to return to the table of contents.  Clicking on contents at the top of the help screen can also do this.

A highlighted underlined item will present a pop-up window with additional information.  A highlighted item that is not underlined will jump to another topic.

Help Index


Exercixe program
Exercise program

While a healthy diet is a key ingredient to a healthy heart it is not a total solution.  In a recent study, researchers found that the incidence of fatal heart attacks in patients with previous cardiac injury was reduced substantially by taking part in a cardiac rehabilitation program.  If exercise can help those people who have had previous infarctions, imagine how much more it can do for people whose heart has not been damaged.

In my other life as a nurse I have worked on a cardiac floor and it is amazing the difference in quality of life for those older adults that stay active and those that live a sedentary existence.  While everyone in a hospital is sick, the seriousness of the illness is variable.  As a rule, those patients that currently have an exercise program or have an active life that resembles an exercise program (i.e., they don’t have a car and must walk to where they are going) are much less seriously ill than those who are “couch potatoes”.

Before you begin any exercise program you must consult your physician to preclude a poor outcome your exercise program.

Aerobic exercise is named after the way that the body produces energy.  Our body can produce energy using oxygen or not using oxygen.  In anaerobic exercise the body produces energy without oxygen.  The switch by the body from aerobic to anaerobic is automatic and relates to your heart rate.  If there is not enough oxygen being transported to the cells of your body then they will start using anaerobic metabolism.  If there is enough blood, and hence oxygen, being transported to the cells then they can use oxygen for metabolism.

Why is this important to you?  You can only convert fat cells to energy with aerobic metabolism.  When your body has used up the available stores of energy in the form of carbohydrates, it begins to metabolize fat into energy for the body to use.  In addition to burning fat by aerobic exercise, you also work you heart and develop collateral circulation.  Collateral circulation is blood vessels that develop to oxygenate your heart and are in addition to the major circulatory system of the heart.  If you have good collateral circulation then in the event you have an occlusion of a coronary artery the collateral circulation can continue to provide life giving oxygen to your heart muscle and minimize the damage.

Everyone’s aerobic zone is different but as a rule, aerobic exercise occurs when your heart rate is between 60 and 80 percent of your age based maximum.  To compute this number subtract your age from 220 and then 60 to 80 percent of that is your target range for aerobic exercise. (Sample).

An exercise program does not have to be elaborate.  In the past, studies have shown that aerobic exercise for 20-30 minute 3 times a week has a dramatic impact on overall health.  More recent research has shown that for the best cardiac health this program should be extended to 5 times a week.  Your program can include more than one type of exercise.  The calories burned for each type of exercise will vary but if you are in the aerobic zone you will be doing your body and your heart good.  The activity planner will give you a better ball park figure of how many calories you are using for any particular activity.

Will your aerobic threshold change?  Yes, as you get more healthy and your body becomes more muscular your aerobic threshold will increase.  This means that you heart rate can be higher and you will still not be in your anaerobic zone.

Help Index


Ordering Information

Heart Smart is a shareware program.  That means that you have this software for evaluation.  If you like it and plan on continuing to use it, then you are obligated to send in the registration fee.  When you have registered the program you will get a registration name and number that will enable the print functions and will eliminate the nuisance screens.

Order Methods

Henning Associates has tried to make registration as easy as possible.  This new version of Heart Smart does not require a program update for registration, just a registration name and number.  That information can be gotten by phone, e-mail, or snail mail, (of course registration over the phone or by e-mail requires a credit card).  You can also fill out the registration form and mail it with your registration payment.  Or, you can register on line on the web page.

If you want to FAX the registration form you can easily do that by selecting your FAX/Modem as the Windows default printer.  Call up the order form from the Main menu or the Registration window.  Fill out the form completely, including the credit card information and then select Print.  Your registration form will be printed on your FAX.  Use our toll free number (800-823-6896.)  If you include a FAX number with your address information I will FAX the registration information back to you or I will send it out by snail mail.

To order by e-mail, instead of selecting the Print option choose the File option.  This will create a file named ORDER.TXT in your Heart Smart directory.  Attach this file as a message to any of the e-mail addresses that are listed below.  If you are ordering by Internet it is best to include the file as your message text because there are so many different Internet attachment formats, not all of them are processed by every service.

Cost

The cost for registering Heart Smart is $19.95 plus $2.95 for S&H.  This price will get you a registration name and number provided by e-mail or phone.  Additionally you will be sent a master diskette of the program with a confirmation of your registration information, including templates for a 1200 and 1800 calorie diet.

Site licenses for Heart Smart can also be purchased if you are going to have multiple users of the same copy of the program.  This information will be furnished on request.

If you are a registered owner of Heart Smart and do not have access to an on-line service to get the updated version you can request a diskette for a S&H fee of $5.00.

Support

The purchase of Heart Smart comes with lifetime support and lifetime free upgrades.  I value your business and am always willing to talk with you about any problems you may be having or just to discuss enhancements you would like to see in the program.  Your registration name and number will be good for the life of the program and will work on all future versions of the program.  You will be notified of major upgrades to the program by mail so that you can look for it on the major networks.  All Henning Associates shareware is currently available on the WWW at - http://www.siestasoftware.com

Addresses

Henning Associates

1710 Allied St. #36

Charlottesville, VA 22903

voice/fax - 804-295-0554 or 800-823-6896

AOL - mikerh1053

CompuServe - 72176,2507

Internet - mike@siestasoftware.com

WWW - http://www.siestasoftware.com

Henning Associates is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you.  If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help.  The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products.  Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI  49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a Compuserve message via Compuserve: Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.

Help Index


Personal Food List

Version 5.0 of the Heart Smart program introduces a personal food list feature.  You can add food items from the whole food list to your personal list and work with a smaller list by selecting the personal list from the Food Item menu.  If you are using the personal list and need to get an item from the whole list, you will find that the menu item used to change to the personal list will now be used to show your the whole list.

You can also delete items from the personal list only when you have the list selected.  Deleting items in the personal list is done from the menu item.  You cannot delete an item from the whole food list while you are using the personal list.  Like the whole food list, the personal list items can be dragged to the menu and dropped and will be added to that meal.  There is also a feature in the Food Item menu to clear all of the items from the food item list.  This action is not reversible and will clear all of the items from your personal list.

The personal list allows you to deal with a smaller selection of food items in the list.  Like the whole list also, the personal list will when in focus will go to the item associated with the keyboard key you type.  That is, if you type an A, the food list will automatically scroll to the first A item.

Help Index


Food Item Tables

The food items in Heart Smart are saved in a file named FOODITEM.DBT.  This file is found in your Heart Smart directory.  The food item table has been updated for version 5.0 and there have been many changes to make the table easier to use.  The values of the food items have also been given a sanity check.  My thanks go to Janice Miles for doing this arduous task.

You can merge the food items from your version 4.0 file with the new food item table with the Merge function in the Main menu.  If you have been using version 4.0 for a while and would like to continue to use the version 4.0 food item table you currently have, you can copy it to the version 5.0 directory and replace the version 5.0 food item table.  If you do decide to take this drastic action, you will have to use the Clear Personal List function in the Food Item menu to remove all of the version 4.0 food items from your personal list.  Version 5.0 added a new field to the database and the version 4.0 data is added to the personal list by default.

Help Index


RDA Guidelines

Diet consisting of:

60% Carbohydrates

30% Fat

10% Protein

Vitamins and Minerals

Adult Male 	Adult Female

Vitamin A	1000 RE	1000 RE

B1 (thiamin)	1.5 mg	1.1 mg

B2 (riboflavin)	1.7 mg	1.3 mg

B3 (niacin)	19 mg	15 mg

B6 (pyridoxine)	2.0 mg	1.6 mcg

B12 (cobalamin)	2.0 mcg	2.0 mcg

Folate	200 mcg	180 mcg

Vitamin C	60 mg	60mg

Vitamin D	10 mcg	5 mcg

Vitamin E	10 mg	8 mg

Vitamin K	80 mcg	65 mcg

Calcium	1200 mg	800 mg

Iodine	150 mcg	150 mcg

Iron	10 mg	15 mg

Magnesium	350 mg	280 mg

Phosphorus	800 mg	800 mg

Selenium	70 mcg	55 mcg

Zinc	15 mg	12 mg

Potassium*	2000 mg	2000 mg

Sodium*	500 mg	500mg

mg - milligrams

mcg - micrograms

* minimum daily requirement for an adult


Composition of Foods

1 gm carbohydrate	4 calories

1 gm protein	4 calories

1 gm fat	9 calories


Calorie usage rate

Depending on activity level, multiply ideal body weight in pounds by the appropriate number of calories.

Activity Level	Calories Used

Sedentary	11-12

Light	13-14

Moderate	15-16

Heavy	18-19


Food Labels

The new food labels give you the serving size and the values for that serving size.  Additionally, the labels give you the percentages of the RDA for those food components based on a 2000 calorie diet.  For use in this program you only need to know the values for the food components.


Calories for Various Exercise

Activity	Calories Burned

per hour

Aerobics, light	345-445

Aerobics, moderate	425-550

Aerobics, step, moderate	625-825

Baseball	275-350

Basketball, easy game	400-500

Biking/cycling 6 mph	250-325

Cleaning	175-250

Dancing	325-425

Gardening, moderate	275-375

Golf, walking with bag	400-500

Hiking, moderate	275-375

Jogging/running 10 min/mile	575-750

Jogging/running 6 min/mile	900-1200

Laundry	175-250

Mowing, self-propelled mower	200-275

Nordic track, moderate	525-700

Racquetball, moderate	550-725

Shopping	200-275

Shoveling snow	375-475

Skiing, downhill	375-475

Stairmaster, 60 steps/min	400-500

Swimming, moderate	325-450

Tennis, moderate	375-475

Walking, 20 min/mile	175-250

Walking, 15 min/mile	225-300


Aerobic Zone

To compute your aerobic zone subtract your age from 220 and then multiply by 60% for the minimum and 80% for the maximum.  A heart rate higher than 80% will push your body into the anaerobic zone.  A heart rate lower than 60% of your maximum will not have as much beneficial effect.

Example for a 49 year old:

220 - 49 = 171

171 *.60 = 102 beats per minute (minimum)

171 *.80 = 137 beats per minute (maximum)


BMI

Your Body Mass Index is a measure of your weight relative to your height.  The formula for calculation of BMI is:

weight in kgs/(height in meters)2 = Body Mass Index

BMI is used as an indicator of risk of other health problems, such as cardiac disorders, diabetes, and cancer.  The following table is a guideline:

Men	Women	Risk Factor
< 20.7	< 19.1	Underweight The lower the BMI the greater the risk.
20.7 to 26.4	19.1 to 25.8	Normal, very low risk.
26.5 to 27.8	25.9 to 27.3	Marginally overweight, some risk.
27.9 to 31.1	27.4 to 32.2	Overweight, moderate risk.
31.2-45.4	32.3 to 44.8	Severe overweight, high risk.
> 45.4	> 44.8	Morbid obesity, very high risk.
Source: Hamilton and Whitney’s Nutrition Concepts and Controversies

As with everything else, BMI is only a guide and will vary from person to person.  A person with a very small body fat value will have a higher BMI because muscles weigh more than fat.  It is important for you to discuss your ideal BMI with your doctor.