If you’ve made a commitment to live a heart healthier lifestyle, here’s a tip that will get you far: Build yourself a support system of people who will not just cheer you on, but who will also join your efforts.
Research shows that it’s easier to stick with new, healthy behaviors when you’re not going it alone. So take a low-fat cooking class with your spouse. Sign up for a bike-athon with your kids. Encourage your co-workers to grab lunch with you at the local salad bar instead of the nearest fast food joint. And above all else, invite your girlfriends to get on board.
Infusing heart health into your social life is easier than you think. Just explain to your friends that one in four women will die from heart disease, and that significantly more women than men lose their lives to it every year. Then set out to be a heart health role model…and watch your friends follow your lead!
Need a few ideas to get you started? Try these.
Golf is a terrific way to spend the day with a girlfriend -- basking in the sunshine, sharing personal stories, and also burning calories! According to Julieta Stack, LPGA Pro Golf Instructor for the Classic Five Golf Courses in Maryland, “One of the best ways to enjoy an evening out with the girls is to start with a round of twilight golf, and then head to the clubhouse or a nearby restaurant for dinner.” Because you just exercised, your metabolism will work harder to burn off your meal. And if you skip the golf cart and walk the course, you’ll have burned about 5 to 8.5 calories per minute (compared to 2.5 to 3.7 with the cart).
Go berry picking with a girlfriend and then enjoy the “fruits” of your labor by making heart healthy berry smoothies that not only taste good but are good for you, too! If the season’s not right for berry-picking, go for a walk instead and use frozen berries to whip up a healthy reward. Try this easy smoothie recipe, from our friends at Eating Well.com:
1/4 cups orange juice, preferably calcium-fortified
1 banana
1 1/4 cups berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and/or strawberries
1/2 cup low-fat silken tofu or low-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon sugar or Splenda Granular (optional)
Combine orange juice, banana, berries, tofu (or yogurt) and sugar (or Splenda), if using, in a blender; cover and blend until creamy. Serve immediately.
Call a friend to join you for a walk. Not a ho-hum walk around the block, but instead a nature walk through the woods, a shell-collecting stroll at the beach, even a walk-and-window shop trip to the mall. If you walk just 20 minutes a day, every day for a month, you can lose up to 1 inch off your waistline! It’s amazing what some good old fashioned walking can do.
While researchers are still working to understand the scientific impact stress has on heart health, there’s no question that there’s a connection. You’re more likely to prioritize tension-taming if it involves plans with your friends, so make a date to get a manicure or go shopping together for nail color and then paint each other’s nails. Get tickets together to go to the symphony, or to attend a concert at a local university or music school. Or, meet at your local yoga studio for a class or your local knitting store for a therapeutic “stitch and bitch” session. Don’t have the time (or money!) to get away with a friend? Then make a daily date to talk on the phone or over the backyard fence, and chat away your inner stresses.