EDITOR'S NOTE: Week 4 of Daily Courier reporter Judy Kroeger's 10-week Highlands Health challenge.

Hearts, flowers and chocolate, all Valentine's Day staples, but they take on deeper meanings within the Highlands Health Challenge. The challenge focuses on living healthier and achieving heart health as a labor of love for myself and for others.

Breast cancer makes the news, and routine screenings and self-exams remain vitally important, but heart disease remains the number-one killer of women and of men.

The Centers for Disease and Prevention, Atlanta, have leading causes of death for 2007, the latest year. Heart disease claims 25.1 percent of all women, all ages and races averaged together and 25.7 percent of all men, all ages and races averaged together.

All cancers combined are the number two killer of women, at 22 percent.

Heart disease doesn't have to be a death sentence.

While chocolate may soothe a broken heart, a little dark chocolate (about two ounces a day), can actually help keep blood flowing more freely and possibly prevent heart disease.

Only dark chocolate and cocoa seem to have this effect, due to a higher level of flavonols, that can improve circulation. Dark chocolate has added fat and sugar, so love it in moderation.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I've been giving myself and my husband Bryan heart-healthy gifts, like sharing kitchen time cooking healthy meals with lots of whole grains, vegetables, fruit and lean protein like beans, nonfat yogurt and fish.

I'm going to make a special Valentine's Day mousse, with only 180 healthy calories per nine-ounce serving:

Two cups plain nonfat yogurt (130 calories a cup)

Two tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (10 calories a tablespoon, with 5 from fat)

Two tablespoons all-fruit jam (40 calories a tablespoon). I haven't decided on cherry or strawberry, but both are delicious and romantic.

Mix cocoa with yogurt, add jam and blend with a submersible blender wisk or mixer until light. Divide into two dessert dishes and serve or refrigerate. A sprinkling of cocoa and cinnamon makes a nice garnish.

Unsweetened yogurt makes a wonderful base for healthy cooking. Add to cooked whole-grain cereal with some cocoa (sweetener optional), use in place of sour cream on baked potatoes and in dips for vegetables or fruit. Adding all-fruit jam or thawed frozen berries cuts the sugar in pre-flavored yogurts. It's also a nice base for a fruit and/or vegetable smoothie.

Eating better has been a choice I make every day, and keeping track of what, how much and when I eat has made planning easier, and kept my blood glucose in better check.

We challenge members received a book to record a month's eating and exercise, but a calendar, notebook or blank paper will work just as well.

Jot down time, foods and amounts (the more accurate the better) eaten. Some people add notes about the setting or their feelings about eating.

This week's challenge literature included "handy" guidelines:

• The palm, without fingers and thumb is about 3 to 5 ounces of cooked and boneless meat, or one serving.

• The open handful is bout a cup of food, or two carbohydrate choices — equal to a 6-ounce baked potato or 1 cup of corn or peas.

• A tight fist equals about a half cup or 1 carbohydrate choice like a half cup of ice cream or cooked cereal.

• Four fingers equal the number of half-cup carbohydrate choices per meal.

• The whole thumb equals about 1 tablespoon or a serving of regular salad dressing, reduced-fat mayonnaise or reduced-fat margarine.

• The thumb tip is about 1 teaspoon, or one serving of margarine, mayonnaise or oils.

Envision a plate with one quarter lean protein, one-quarter carbohydrates and one half vegetables.

"We're not just concentrating on weight loss, but on overall health," said Sandi Brown, head of nutrition at Highlands and a fitness class instructor in the John P. Murtha Wellness Center. "Don't be discouraged if you're not losing weight as fast as you wanted. Keep watching portions, drinking water and getting some exercise. You'll feel better."

The Internet provides an array of tracking tools with fitness tips. Two with supportive communities and scientific-backed advice that Bryan and I try respectively are: www.sparkpeople.com and www.presidentschallenge.org .

Both free websites offer eating advice and easy ways to track and measure steps towards health.

Spark People has millions of members around the world and certified nutritionists and exercise physiologists on staff. The President's Challenge is the Internet home of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, now available for both children and adults. The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award has added a nutritional component to its exercise challenge.

Although I hadn't introduced him before, Bryan joined the Highlands Health Challenge.

He's on Team Belly Busters, an all-male team that lost 15.4 pounds as of last week. My all-female Lollapaloozerz lost 17.2 pounds as of last week.

Bryan's lost 5 pounds as of this week, and I lost another 1.6, down 5.6 pounds, for a total weight of 189.4.

We'll start Valentine's Day early by falling in love with our dusty Wii and using "Let's Dance" 2 and 3 to get our hearts pounding.

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