Healthy Living - Love Your Heart

Lindsay Eichelman
Project & Promotions Manager

I had the opportunity to enjoy the American Heart Association’s “Go Red For Women” luncheon on Friday. What a powerful reminder this event is of how much we still need to do to keep heart disease from being the number one killer of women. Indianapolis Woman believes in the mission of Go Red and has served as a sponsor for many years for this great event.

I often ask myself how women still don’t realize that heart disease is THE number one killer of women? I feel like organizations such as the American Heart Association have done an excellent job of educating women over the past few years, but somehow we still all think it doesn’t apply to us. Turns out ladies, it does.

Listen up: Heart disease WILL affect you or someone you love. Period.

The statistics now say one of every three women will be affected. That is a staggering statistic! At the Go Red luncheon we heard from survivors who were seemingly healthy individuals yet had their feet knocked out from underneath them with this devastating disease. It was a huge reality check even for me even though I have participated in many women’s heart health events.

There are some things you can do though to safeguard your heart health:

> First of all, know your numbers. You must know whether you are at risk and to do that you need to know important statistics about yourself including your blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI and many other important numbers. It’s important to have them checked regularly and keep track of where you need to make improvements.

> Lifestyle issues are also a major player in the heart disease arena. Healthy eating, regular exercise and stress management all play an important part in combating this awful disease.

Though I blog away each week about weight loss, it’s important to remember this isn’t simply about a healthier life, fitting into new clothes or even feeling good about the way we look and feel — it’s also imperative to having a healthy heart. We all lead busy lives, but I encourage each of you to take some time this last week of heart month to make some changes in your life that prove you truly love your heart. Heart disease is no longer a man’s disease only. Our hearts aren’t to be taken for granted! Give yours some TLC that it so deserves and really love your heart.

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Winter Blues

Lindsay Eichelman
Public Relations Manager

Do you ever have weeks where you just don’t want to try at this healthy living stuff? I sure do — and they usually hit about this time of year. The sun rarely shows itself, and the weather outside in general is gray, gloomy and frigid. It’s much easier to pull the covers over your head and cocoon than to lace up your running shoes and head outside. It’s also much easier to eat warm comfort food than to worry about calorie counts.

But friends, I’m here to say the last ditch winter blues are not worth sacrificing all the hard work you’ve put in already. We’ve had a few sunny days lately reminding me that spring is right around the corner. In fact, I’m officially starting my spring countdown today to pull me through: 33 days and counting!

While I’m busy counting down to spring and resisting the urge to hibernate until then tell me- how do you combat the winter blues?

On The Go

Lindsay Eichelman
Public Relations Manager

I’ve been traveling quite a bit in the past few weeks. I had a business trip to our St. Louis office for an event and then a trip with some of my college girlfriends to Denver. Needless to say that one of my major struggles was highlighted repeatedly- how to keep up with healthy habits while on the go.

When I’m away from home and out of my routine eating healthy becomes quite a trick! If I’m away on business, I often times find myself picking up the quickest and most convenient thing. When I’m away on pleasure, there is always an occasion for a good meal out or a night of cocktails on the town. No matter how much I plan ahead, I can’t seem to keep it together when I’m out of town.

In addition to healthy eating, being out of a routine wreaks havoc on any workout routine. Business travel is usually pretty grueling and leaves me exhausted at the end of the day. This breeds slacker behavior when I would prefer to hole up in my hotel room to finish up work, read or hit the sack early. Being on vacation is a totally different story. While I typically have the energy and even the time to fit in a good workout- I make it a point while on vacation to NOT do anything I don’t love to do. Unfortunately for me- I’m not one of those people who loves to exercise.

I’m anxious to hear how others on the go combat the chaos that out of the ordinary routines cause on healthy eating and exercise plans. Tell me how you stay healthy on the go?

Afraid Not

Lindsay Eichelman
Public Relations Manager

Tuesday I was camped out on my couch as the snow pummeled Indianapolis watching The Biggest Loser. I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again: It is the most inspiring show on television.

While I was enjoying the show, a seed of thought was planted in my head when Dan, the largest man EVER to come on the show, had a minor meltdown on the treadmill as Jillian berated him. That was a seed of fear.

I watched as Dan struggled with his fear of running on the treadmill at 400+ pounds and envisioned with him snapping ankles and dislocated knees. I listened as he admitted being afraid it wasn’t possible to lose the weight and when pushed admitted that was because he didn’t know any differently. He struggled with the fact that when he looked in the mirror, he tried to envision a thinner person — but he couldn’t.

As I witnessed this breakdown, I got to thinking about my own fears. I try to be a relatively fearless person, but the bottom line is, there are a ton of things that scare me. I’m scared of losing a loved one, of failure (on so many different levels), of heights, of looking stupid, of small confined spaces — the list could go on and on.

And in some ways I’m afraid of winning AND afraid of losing this weight loss battle. Part of me is afraid to win the battle because then I could always backslide and fail again. Also, if I conquer this battle, what new battle will face me? I’m afraid of losing the comfort of comfort food and the old habits of my unhealthier life. A very small part of me wonders what will happen if I really do win? Will the world come to a screeching halt?

On the flip side, I’m afraid NOT to beat the weight battle. I’m afraid for my physical and mental health. I’m afraid if I don’t beat it, it will hinder me from accomplishing the things I want, and I’m afraid of passing on my weight struggle and unhealthy lifestyle to someone else.

The bottom line is everyone is afraid of something. Often, that fear is the very thing that causes us to fail. As we enter February, I’m adding to my healthy habits goal list one more item: stop giving in to fear. If nothing else, maybe by trying to reign in my fear and worry, I can eliminate some stress from my life. What are your fears and how to do combat them?