Love Your Heart

Coronary heart disease is the single major cause of death in the U.S.

Like many, I've often taken my health for granted, especially during a busy semester or other busy time in my life, when I just didn't feel that working out, going to the grocery store, or cooking healthy meals would fit into my schedule. After researching the simple steps we can all make to prevent heart attacks and increase our heart health, and after thinking about the scary "1-in-3 women" statistic, and thinking about my grandmothers, my mother, and my future children and grandchildren, I've decided to make a commitment. I am going to commit to love my heart. I'm committing to practice what I preach. As an advocate and spokesperson for women's heart health and wellness, how can I not? I owe it to myself, to my husband, and to the people I love to take care of myself. I hope you will consider making some small changes to increase your heart-health too.

Here are some simple ways that you can love your heart!
This is a summary, with excerpts, of what I read on the American Heart Association website.

• Quit smoking.
• Choose good nutrition. "A diet rich in vegetables, fruit, whole-grain, and high-fiber foods, fish, lean protein, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products is key."
  
• Reduce blood cholesterol.
• Lower high blood pressure. This is the single largest risk factor for stroke, the no. 3 killer and one of the leading causes of disability in the U.S.
• Be physically active every day. Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 or more days per week.
• Aim for a healthy weight. Your body mass index (BMI) can tell you if your weight is healthy. Click here to calculate your BMI.
• Manage diabetes.
• Reduce stress.
• Limit alcohol. One drink per day on average for women and 1-2 drinks per day on average for men.
  

Keeping all of this in mind, I'm going to set two heart-healthy goals for myself at a time. Once the new habits are established, I will add new goals! For now, my goals are to do cardiovascular exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, and make sure I eat at least one vegetable per day. I have to be honest -- I love vegetables but I haven't been eating them regularly. So far today, I've had two cookies, a bowl of oatmeal, and angel hair with meat sauce, which isn't exactly a heart-healthy diet. Veggies in a can aren't very appetizing, but when Bobby and I buy vegetables, they often end up going bad in the fridge. Adjusting my diet is a lot harder to do now that I'm back in school, teaching three calculus quiz sections, working on projects, and continuing my work with Banana Splits in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Wish me luck and feel free to follow along at LovingMyHeart.blogspot.com as I journal about my struggles and successes in building a heart-healthy life. :)