I am START!ing - How about you?

Start!is an American Heart Association movement to promote physical activity through workplace walking programs. It calls on employers of all sizes to "create a culture of physical activity" to improve health...which is a win win for employees and the bottom line.

Many company's are offering their own incentive programs that compliments Start!
For instance one agency I know rewards walkers with time off from work for every 30hours of activity! Isnt that awesome? There are lots of ways to have fun with this program. Sometimes they will create friendly competitions...like between departments or floors...with the "winner" having documented the most active hours (at work). There are also agencies that offer a half hour for walking during the work day (beyond the lunch hour)! I think this is incredible.

So check it out and encourage your employer to adopt the program. The American Heart Association offers lots of program resource material to make participation easy and fun. Couldn't you use an extra push in the right direction?

My personal commitment is a new lunch routine. Starting tomorrow (February 1) the plan is to walk 1/2 hour Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the gym (on bad weather days - walk at the park when it is pretty) and spend the other 1/2 hour with Grant at day care (to accomplish this all in 1 hour...I will change clothes at work and probably be taking more like 1 hour and 10 minute lunches until I get heckeled). On Tuesdays, and Thursdays I will spend the entire lunch hour with Grant and work out in the evening during my Women's Weight Loss Bootcamp here in town. I also intend to prepare rockn salads to bring for lunch. Im not talking rabbit food...I want beautiful artful salads with delicious fresh toppings and crumble cheese hehe. That way I wont feel cheated. So thats my physical activity and nutrition plan. Ready set......GOOOOOOO.

I challenge you to boost your physical activity...for yourself and your family.

Go Red for Women - February 1 and beyond

Weeks ago I promised some more of the "lost ones"...pictures I had taken at work and had been forgotten about as they are mixed in with official work related photos. However...I wanted to post a bit about 2 amazing American Heart Association campaigns that I learned about at that conference I attended last week (was that really only last week? WEIRD). So to multitask and more importantly mix serious stuff with entertaining baby pics stuff....here we go.

Did you brush your teeth today? (hopefully) Did you exercise your heart today? This questions really hit a home run with me. It stuck. I had never thought about it that way before. And yes it is a hella a lot easier to replace your teeth than your heart! Exercising your heart should be as routine as teeth and hair brushing..and other "normal" hygiene practices we have. Boy was that a wake up call for me.



The Go RED for Women campaign is a nationwide movement to encourage women of all ages to improve their heart health to live longer and stronger. Heart disease is the number 1 killer of American women ages 20 and over! (and of men too)However...heart disease can largely be prevented. This campaign is a fun way to arm yourself with the knowledge and tools to take action to reduce your risks.

A few stats to get under your skin:
* In 40 year old nonsmokers, females loose 7.1 years off their life due to obesity!
* High blood pressure is 2-3 times more common in women taking oral contraceptives
* More than 28 million American women are obese (Holla)
* 60% of adults between the ages of 18 - 24 live inactive lifestyles
* 10,000 women between the ages of 29 -44 have a heart attack each year



So anyhoo...the point here ...once again...is to take charge of your health. You may feel young and invincible right now...but heart disease creeps up on you and can steal your youth from you. I just keep thinking that I want to be around for my son as long as possible. When I hear of women dropping dead at 41...YIKERS...I mean yes we are all gonna die from something...but heart disease is greatly preventable.



So I hope you will check out the website and makes some improvements in your heart health. The official wear red day is this Friday, February 1...but more than that...its about a reality check.



Well my time is up...must take my lunch...and run over to see my beautiful precious son. I will post about Start! tomorrow. It a great way to get your employer to adopt a wellness incentive program for their employees(which means more opportunities and rewards for you walking and improving your health!).