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Posts Tagged ‘heart disease’

Our heart is a complex organ, but keeping it healthy is relatively simple. The heart pumps blood and generates oxygen to fuel all of our vital organs. The great news is that whatever is good for the heart is also healthy for our bodies. The following keys will help us attain a heart healthy life.

1. Start with a healthy diet. We need to limit our fat intake. Fat has several good qualities such as providing taste to our food, and transporting vitamins and nutrients to key organs in our bodies. However, to much fat blocks the arteries which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Fiber is also very important to a heart healthy diet. Eating fiber helps us reduce the absorption of dietary fat, cholesterol, and triglycerides. The old saying, an apple a day (with the peeling of course) keeps the heart doctor away, is true. We also need to eliminate excessive salt abuse. Your body doesn’t want or need extra sodium. Extra sodium overloads your kidneys’ ability to regulate blood pressure, resulting in increased stress on your heart.
2. Get Moving! Exercise, or physical fitness is essential to keeping your muscles strong, healthy, and to generate oxygen throughout your body. Exercise helps keep the arteries free of plaque, and helps our bodies convert food into energy. Physical fitness also reduces unhealthy stress, another huge factor for heart disease.
3. Take Charge of Your Heart Health! This means: know your family health history, monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol, don’t put off getting your yearly physical examinations, and know the warning signs of a heart attack.

Warning signs of on oncoming heart attack may vary between men and women. Below are some of the warning signals.

• Feeling breathlessness, often without chest pain.
• Flu-like symptoms–clamminess, cold, sweats, and nausea
• Pain in upper back, shoulders, neck, or jaw
• Feelings of anxiety
• Unexplained excessive fatigue or difficulty sleeping

If you have any of these symptoms please call 911 or seek medical attention.

Remember for a Heart Healthy Life you need to eat a low fat diet, increase your fiber, reduce your salt intake and to exercise regularly.

I have watched the television show The Biggest Loser for many seasons and I must admit I really enjoy the show. I have sat and watched strangers lose weight and then I would get motivated and decide to lose the weight. I would get all fired up and then I would exercise for a few days in my attempt to lose 100 pounds. I would start to eat better and do well for a while but somewhere along the journey I would start to wander off the path of fitness and weight loss and stop going to the gym and start eating poor food choices again. Before I knew what had happened I would again be sitting in front of the television watching the season finale of The Biggest Loser and all of those on the screen would look slim and fit and be smiling from ear to ear. I would still be sitting in the same chair and weigh the same as I did at the start of the season, or maybe even gained a few pounds. There I would sit wondering what happened to my weight loss goals and wondering where my motivation had gone. Once again the season ended and I felt like I would be fat for the rest of my life. That was until the end of the latest season of The Biggest Loser. That was until I discovered the need for sustained motivation.

Something clicked in my weight loss mentality at the last episode of The Biggest Loser. When I saw the smile on the faces of all the contestants I knew that I had to make a positive change in my life or I was going to spend my life being overweight and always upset with myself because of my failed attempts at weight loss. When I saw all of the confetti fall down and the winner looking so much healthier I turned off the television and went to my room and packed a gym bag for the next morning.

When the next morning arrived I stained all of my mental weaknesses to the maximum. I pulled my way to the scale and weighed myself and the number that was displayed was the motivator for me to keep moving. I had gained 25 pounds since my last diet attempt. I have had a gym membership and never used it much but today I wandered into the building and everything about that morning was a struggle. I got winded on the machines easily and I struggled to keep myself even there. The binding force that kept my legs moving was the smile on the face of the newly crowned Biggest Loser. I kept thinking about all of my failed attempts and new that id I did not make a fundamental change I was sealing my future to include diabetes, heart disease and a whole host of other ailments that arrive merely because of the fact that I was overweight. I kept the cardio machine moving and the sweat was pouring off me and actually I felt pretty lousy about the whole event. I knew I was doing what was right and good for me but my mind was screaming for me to leave and go get a egg and cheese bagel and just give up.

Despite my urge to run away the smile of the first female Biggest Loser kept flashing into my mind and I stuck it out for one hour that day. I had done it and I was glad I had done it but I was even happier that it was over. I then quickly showered and headed off to start my workday. It had begun; I had started my journey to lose the weight. I had set my sights on the goal to lose 100 pounds in one year and today was the first day and I had done it. I had made it to the gym and although I was tired and my mind was racing I had a small glimpse of success in my mind’s eye. I had begun my weight loss journey and I was hoping to never look back. I had begun!  I had started the exercise but now I had to control the eating!