I love you guys. I really do. That may seem so weird, but it’s the truth. You guys have been with me through so many things… Being a military wife, deployments, moves, miscarriages, years of struggling with infertility, moving back to Michigan, buying the farm, living in a fixer upper, & many days of battling anxiety & depression. It’s been a journey & having you here by my side means the world. I mean that with all my heart. Speaking of heart… that’s why I’m here today. To talk about our hearts. The American Heart Association contacted me recently and asked if I felt called to talk about heart health.. my answer immediately was.. why? Then I kept reading the email and read the stats that heart disease is the leading killer of women. & I was SHOCKED. We hear so much about cancer & other tragic ways to die… but the heart? Really? Then I was on board. Most of my readers [97% to be exact] are women according to my analytics & you are telling me that a majority will die from heart disease? We can prevent this. This can be prevented. We can do it together…. I couldn’t sit back and not share this with you guys. Simple ways to better your heart health.
- Dealing with stress in our livesThis is the hardest for me. Stress. With my anxiety and depression it seems that I get stressed more than the average person. If I could change this I totally would… I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. I really wouldn’t. Actually do I have an enemy? haha no.. but you get what I mean. But we can deal with the stress. The daily stress & the really hard stuff that seems to consume us & cause our health to fade. Some things I’ve been practicing is breathing exercises when my stress level rises & learning to talk it out with Jose & my friends. It truly helps. The calm app on my phone and meditation videos have also really been helping me through those anxious moments as well.
- Be mindful of your heart health.We can be mindful. Is what we are doing good for our hearts? Did you know that brushing your teeth & good oral health is very important for heart health? It is. So we can be mindful of brushing our teeth and visiting the dentist regularly. This is just one example of how we can be mindful of our heart health. I hope after you read this blog post that you are more aware & can spread the awareness of heart health to others… It’s important. We need those hearts of ours to be healthy.
- Limit sugar & sodium.This one. This one is hard for me… Boy do I love my sweet & salty. I crave it.. I want to live off of it, but as I approach 30 I’m seeing how it has affects on my body & not in a good way. High sodium intake raises blood pressure which leads to heart disease… and I don’t even have to go into how bad sugar is on our hearts. After a lot of weight gain this past year & just noticing a decline in my health, for the first time ever I can feel the weight [no pun intended] of my health decline on my heart. Rapid heartbeat just from climbing the stairs… that’s when I knew something had to change. My diet was horrible & I needed to move more which leads me into my next point…
- Up your physical activityThis is so important! We have to get moving. Moving keeps everything in our bodies healthy hands down. Exercising for just 30 minutes a day improves the following: Improves blood circulation, keeps your weight under control, prevents bone loss, improves energy levels, & helps manage stress. We all need to move more and with more intention. I know none of us are lazy & we run after our families & do the laundry… but let’s up that intentional work out where we actually plan on moving for the point of getting our health under control. Go for a walk, do some yoga, do some simple sit-ups & push-ups in your living room. Just get moving.. your heart will thank you.
- Add color to your dietEat your veggies. Eat those greens. Add a variety of color from fruits, veggies, proteins, & more…. A variety of color in our diets provide the essential nutrients we need to keep those hearts beating and our blood flowing. Like I said before this is the one that I need to work on the most… after a year without a kitchen eating out was the normal for us & that is a major reason for my weight gain, but even after a few weeks of implementing this I already see a huge difference.
- Be well.In all that we do every single day let’s just be well. Let’s be intentional with our health for us and for our families. We don’t need to be overwhelmed by drastic life changes… baby steps is all that is needed for better heart health & we can all implement some of those changes today.
I don’t know about you, but this reminder from the AHA was much needed.. I want to be a healthier version of me for my family, for me, for my creator, & for my future. If you want more info you can visit GoRedForWomen.Org to help you on your heart journey & to support others. Today Jose and I get the honor of going to Detroit to go to a luncheon with The American Heart Association alongside Nicole Curtis from HGTV which is super exciting to be supporting heart health & also get to hear the stories from others. I’ll be sure to share a lot of the journey of the day on my Instagram so be sure to follow me over there [click here]. Thank you guys so much for stopping by the blog today & everyday to see what we are up to. I truly want you to be healthy so please please please take care of yourself, love yourself, & be kind to those hearts. xx
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Yes, our health is Extremely important! Thank you Liz for posting this. I have had some health struggles and after researching, found a GREAT website. It’s Food Matters, or FMTV. It’s like NetFlicks, but about HEALTH issues. Yoga, Recipes, Documentaries, Films, Expert Interviews, huge personal movies that really have inspired me! From people who truly know what they are talking about. Example: You CAN prevent or reverse many diseases. What we Think, Eat, and Do makes a huge difference in our lives. Just like the Bible says! Check this website out, You are worth it! It has really helped me. Huge Encouragement!!!
Love your pretty red shirt! Where did you find that? <3
Thanks Liz for this important reminder. We take out health for granted so often andnoutnit in the back burner while we take care of everyone else.
Many people suffer with anxiety and depression. As an RN I suffered with that for 30 years. Not wanting to take medication. Finally I decided I was tired of suffering with anxiety and depression. I have been taking a med for 10 years now and has helped me a lot. I now no longer feel I am walking around with a huge brick on my head. I use to live in MI and hubby and I raised our son and daughter there.
Blessings Always to you and yours.
Anxiety always affected me. I finally found out I had a hole in my heart when I started having symptoms. They fixed the hole but not until my heart was having major issues. Luckily, with good medicine my heart has now recovered to pretty much normal. But I do know the feeling of being out of breath when walking stairs, feeling overly tired too much, and having heart issues. I appreciate your post, women need to hear to take care of their heart. I always felt that my heart would race too fast when in anxious but I had no idea what was going on inside. Be true to your heart, rest when you need to, and surround yourself with beautiful people who support you every day. Sounds like you’re on the right path! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Liz, Thanks so much for sharing this important message and for encouraging all of us to be good to our hearts. It’s so easy to ignore our health when we’re focused on everything else in life!
Thank you Liz! I hit 40 this year. I was very athletic in my younger years and this was such a good reminder as my body is changing and life seems to be more stressful with family, business, and everything else in the craziness. It’s time to be more intentional for sure! xo Amy