Excellent heart program tonight

Dr. Cusack just sat at the table and talked to us for an hour, answering questions and giving lots of helpful advice.  What a generous and funny woman (who can be influenced with Reeses's peanut butter cups...).  My takeaway was the huge impact diet and lifestyle can have on lowering your risk of heart events.  One comment I wrote down and need to remember is "use food as fuel, not entertainment."  Looking forward to learning more from the rest of the heart docs.  Every day, I feel lucky to be in this challenge.

Hello everyone!!!!
I am sorry i missed you Friday, i got an injury from the personal training on Thursday and was in to much pain to come. i pulled a muscle in my groin and ended up needing to go to the doctor. Luckily i did not give myself a hernia, but it is still very painful, i am on muscle relaxing pills and i plan to continue with the pogrom. Even my doctor is encouraging me to i just cant do anything on the floor for a while. So when i have my training tomorrow i plan to talk to the trainer and try to mostly work on upper body. This is a good lesson for everyone not to push themselves to hard, or top let your trainer talk you into doing so. Only you are in control of your body, so you know what your limits should be. Also if i do miss any events its usually because i am a student and i have things going on in school. But i am trying my very best to come to all the events going on in our group. I would love it if you all could email me and fill me in on anything interesting i miss.

Thanks and good luck everyone
-Julie

Week Three: Stick to Your Plan

Track Your Activity for Success
Research shows that women who track their eating and physical activity habits are more successful at improving them. Why? Tracking allows you to see the choices you make, determine whether you met your
goals, and learn what stopped you if you did not meet your goals.

You can also discover new ways to make healthier choices. For instance, if you typically grab a doughnut
for breakfast, you can plan ahead and bring a granola bar.

Tracking can seem like a lot of work. Use these tips to simplify the process.

Tip 1: Find a food and physical activity logging system that works for you. Paper, electronic, calendar, or notebook trackers are all examples of ways to track your meals and activities.

Tip 2: Focus on the behaviors you are trying to change. If you already eat more than 2.5 cups of fruit a
day, work on adding your 2.5 cups of veggies or eating heart-healthy fish twice a week.

Tip 3: Make the time for logging. Track your food and activity as you do it. This can help you know where you stand with your goals, and not forget anything you did or ate.

Physical Activity Is Everywhere.
Sneak in 10-minute or more bouts of activity throughout your day. Or, increase the intensity of the activities you already do. Your goal should be 150 minutes of activity a week.

At home: Clean with more vigor, take your kids or pet to the park to play, dig in the garden, or put on an exercise DVD instead of a movie.

At work: Take a brisk walk break instead of a smoke or coffee break; use the restroom, copy
or fax machine that's farthest away from your desk.

When you travel: Walk briskly around the airport rather than sitting before your flight and stay in a hotel that has a fitness facility and take along appropriate clothing and shoes.

Healthy Eating: Dining Out Done Right.

Eating out is okay! Almost every restaurant has at least one or two heart-healthy options, you just have to
plan ahead and know what you are going to order. Choose foods that are: baked, grilled, broiled, steamed, pan seared, dry sautéed or roasted. Avoid foods that are: fried (batter, pan, deep), sautéed, creamed, buttered, au gratin, scalloped, breaded or crispy.

Let's do this

Good morning ladies. We are into week 3. Are you seeing a change yet? I know I am and it's a positive feed back that makes me feel blessed I was chosen for this program. I hope everyone is finding there way and what works for them. Would love to hear from you via email. I hope your week is wonderful. 

Second Week Reflections

It's me Eden.    Been really busy at work and community.  So excited with the membership at HFI and I tried to go to different classes when it is not my group session training day.   I am very thankful that I am actually being active.   My group sessions are Mondays and Fridays at 6:15 a.m.  On Tuesday, I did walk with the Docs at 7 a.m.   On Wednesday, tried boot camp class at 6:30 p.m.  On Saturday, went to  10:30 a.m. Zumba class and  11:30 a.m. Barre.   Went to 1 p.m. Zumba class today.  Just love Zumba!   Bootcamp was really hard for me.   It is really worth trying the classes to see which one you like!   See you all at the lecture of Dr. Cusack tomorrow!

CT Food Bank Walk Sun. 4/27 in Bridgeport

Anyone care to join the Walk Against Hunger on Sun. 4/27 at Bridgeport's Seaside Park?  I created a team called the Better U Babes which right now is just me and my husband Evan (he loves being surrounded by interesting women).  It costs nothing although they will ask you about setting a fundraising goal, which you can make $0 if you want.  I believe the start time is 10am (site says 1am, which I'm guessing is a mistake) but I will need to get back to you on that.  I think it's a 5K (about 3 miles) walk or less.

Would love to see any or all of my Better U teammates as well and anyone from Stamford Hospital or American Heart Association who wants to come.  It's a festive couple hours with music, food, drink and t-shirts for all the walkers.  Here's a link for registration.  If you type better into the search box, you will find our team name.  See you tomorrow night at the 5:30 heart lecture with Dr. Cusack, Mary Ann

http://ctfb.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1090&pg=entry

Bruised but not beaten

I wound up pulling an abdomen muscle yesterday while doing medicine ball twists with Lisa.  It is keeping me from doing really active classes this weekend but I decided it shouldn't be an excuse for total inactivity so am hitting the pool instead.  Had hoped to do some outdoor walking but didn't see anyone other than ducks out in this weather. :)