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Life was easier when your mom forced you to eat a balanced meal. She bought the healthy food, cooked it, and served it to you. Nowadays you still know the right thing to do (eat your vegetables!), but it all seems so complicated. (Should I pay more for broccoli that's organic? Will steaming it leach out all the vitamins? Couldn't I just wash down a vitamin with my martini and call it a side dish?) When it comes to being healthy, you have nothing but options. Although that's nice when you're talking TiVo, it can make a simple trip to the supermarket feel like the most gnarled decision tree, as every pro (fish oils!) appears to have a con (mercury poisoning!). The fact is, everyone could use a little advice.

So we canvassed the country's experts, ranging from top physicians and personal trainers to nutritionists and even our own lifestyle guru, Martha Stewart, to find out how they make healthy decisions a painless part of their daily lives. Cultivating these good habits -- studies show that in order to transform a behavior into a routine, you need to do it for 27 consecutive days -- is the easiest possible way to turn something you know you should do into something you actually can do. On the following pages, Blueprint serves up professional tips, tricks, and techniques in bite-size pieces -- just like Mom did.

No. 1: Exercise More (Okay, Exercise)
You've got a job to do, people to see, and, um, TV to watch. But working up a sweat is one of the most effective ways to prevent cardiovascular disease, the number-one killer in America. We could all reduce our risk of heart disease by 50 percent to 80 percent through lifestyle changes alone -- like not smoking, altering our diet, and exercising, says Dr. Donnica Moore, a health expert for Life Fitness, a wellness company in Far Hills, New Jersey. Women who exercise regularly also have a 30 percent to 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer.

Secrets to success: Schedule your sweat. "I use my PalmPilot to pencil in a workout every single day for a month," says Erika Bloom, owner of Erika Bloom Pilates Plus in New York City. "I never actually exercise seven days a week -- if a friend calls and says, 'Come to this play on Tuesday,' I cancel the workout -- but I end up doing four or five sessions a week." Even if five times a week is a pipe dream, plan as much exercise as you can fit into your calendar. An ideal routine, says Los Angeles fitness consultant Ashley Borden, is 30 to 60 minutes of cardio three to four times a week. To be sure it happens, she makes exercise dates with a friend. "When you have somebody to train with, your accountability is 100 times better," she says. 

Also, set yourself up to be a successful early riser: "I lay out my workout clothes the night before," Bloom says. Even my jacket, keys, and water are there, so when I wake up, I throw everything on and run to the gym instead of sleeping in. If you lose motivation or become bored easily, get out of the gym and start wearing a pedometer, suggests Elizabeth Somer, a registered dietitian in Salem, Oregon, and aim for 10,000 steps a day. (Log on to walkstyles.com to learn about DashTrak, an online pedometer program that charts your daily steps, distance, calories burned, and average heart rate.) "Even just walking will do you good," says New York City cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg. "You don't have to run or jog to get heart-healthy benefits."

First Published: September/October 2007