As February approaches, the American Heart Association is gearing up for Go Red for Women, a month of raising awareness of heart disease in women. Heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year, killing approximately one woman every 80 seconds.
This is a cause that’s been dear to me for awhile. In 2007, my mom was diagnosed with Prinzmetal’s angina. She has been under the care of a cardiologist and her symptoms are controlled. But her diagnosis served as a wake-up call of both the prevalence of heart disease in women and the need to do what we can to keep our hearts healthy.
The American Heart Association offers a lot of healthy living tips, from physical activity to stress management to healthy eating. The “6 Simple Steps for Your Whole Family to be Heart Healthy” has become an easy touchstone for me to make sure we’re staying on track.
I think we do a great job at making time for physical activity, both as a family and individually. Jeffrey is a really active kid and it’s easy to find ways from SkyZone to Playground World that he can get in plenty of exercise (and we can sneak some in too).
Matthew is a member of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland and I practice yoga daily, either at a studio or at home (or on East 4th Street), which helps with stress management too.
We also do a good job with cooking healthy. We’ve been a member of Fresh Fork Market for five years now, which provides us with fresh vegetables and fruits to incorporate into our meals. Their weekly emails with what you’re getting in your bag make meal planning easy, too!
We could definitely use some work on simplifying our schedule, though! Which is why I like the “take baby steps, not giant leaps” reminder in the 6 steps.
I try to involve not just Matthew and Jeffrey, but my parents in these simple steps too. My mom and I met up last week to cook an easy, healthy lunch together from the Go Red for Women cookbook.
We made Chinese Flank Steak and it was really delicious! Packed with veggies and lean meat, this was a great choice and a nice reminder that eating healthy can be tasty too.
Plus, I’m pretty sure cooking and having lunch with my mom accomplishes the stress management goal too! That lady is good for my heart!
So, how can you get involved with Go Red for Women? Well, first of all, wear red on Friday, February 3, which is National Wear Red Day. This easy and stylish choice helps raise awareness of heart disease and the efforts to fight against heart attacks and strokes in women.
You can also attend the 2017 Go Red for Women Health Expo & Luncheon on Friday, February 10 at the Cleveland Convention Center.
At the luncheon, you’ll have the opportunity to browse the informative expo, with information and give-aways; participate in health screenings; bid on silent auction items; and enjoy a healthy lunch along with inspirational stories about how heart disease has impacted real women.
Tickets for the luncheon are $250 and proceeds benefit local projects focused on research, education, and advocacy. You can purchase tickets online. Or you can enter to win two tickets to the Go Red for Women Health Expo & Luncheon right here!
Here’s how to enter (you can do one, two, three, four, or all five entries, just leave a separate comment here for each):
1.Leave a comment here telling me which of the 6 Simple Steps for Your Whole Family to be Heart Healthy you most want to focus on in 2017.
2. Visit the Cleveland American Heart Association and Why CLE? on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know you visited both pages.
3. Follow @clevelandaha and @whycle on Instagram and leave a comment here letting me know you’re following both.
4. Follow @ClevelandAHA and @WhyCLE on Twitter and leave a comment here letting me know you’re following both.
5. Tweet the following phrase and leave a comment here letting me know you tweeted:
I want to be there when #ClevelandGoesRed! Thanks to @ClevelandAHA and @WhyCLE: http://whycle.com/2017/01/12/why-clevelandgoesred #giveaway
You can tweet once per day for additional entries, just leave a separate comment here each time you tweet.
The giveaway will close on Friday, January 27 at 11:59pm and the winner will be notified the following day. Good luck!
***Disclosure: I was asked by the Cleveland American Heart Association to help promote Go Red for Women. In exchange, I received a swag bag and one complimentary ticket to the Go Red for Women Expo and Luncheon for myself, as well as two tickets to the Expo & Luncheon to give away. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.***
Visited both on Facebook!
My fiance & I are doing #4 (taking baby steps) with our meal planning (#2). This is a little new for us because we’d always been eat-whatever-or-order-in people, but we’ve both started the Four-Hour Body in the countdown to our wedding, so we’re really using this as an opportunity not just to lose weight but to get healthy. It’s so worth it!
Already followed you on Instagram, & now I follow thw CLE AHA, too. I’d love to learn more about then! Thanks for this post.
Annnd followed you both on Twitter, too
I want to (#6) Live By Example! I exercise daily and have for years, so I’m hoping that, someday, my son will see the importance of exercise! (He’s 8, so he still thinks it’s fun to get up on my elliptical) 😀
Visited both on FB
Following both on Instagram (jokeel888)
Following both on Twitter (@jokeel)
Today’s tweet:
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/819715184520523777
I want to focus on #2 Make time to plan a weekly menu, go shopping, and prep your meal – trying to get my son to eat healthier – especially vegetables.
Visited both on Facebook
Following both on Instagram @dale_keel2001
Following both on Twitter @dalekeel2001
Tweet for Thursday
https://twitter.com/DaleKeel2001/status/819719100985393152
Tweeted Friday 1/13/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/819863079060127744
Friday tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/819869093301915649
Tweeted Saturday 1/14/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/820248241610559488
Saturday tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/820251368950788097
Sunday’s tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/820615504389873664
Tweeted Sunday 1/15/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/820616410867109888
Tweet for Monday 1/16/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/820950606403747840
Monday’s tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/820951930763612161
Tweet for Tuesday 1/17/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/821306863929163776
Tuesday’s tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/821307737766236164
[…] Go red in Cleveland and cook up some fun with Jen Rome from Why Cle? […]
Wednesday’s tweet 1/18/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/821676968311750656
Tweeted Wednesday
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/821678216842801156
[…] red in Cleveland and cook up some fun with Jen from Why […]
Tweeted Thursday
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/822037944424873984
Tweet for Thursday 1/19/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/822039123347329025
Friday tweet 1/20/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/822396985873485824
Friday’s tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/822397903750754304
Tweeted Saturday 1/21/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/822784024540221440
Saturday’s tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/822784810334691329
To live by example. 🙂 It’s been hard with a newborn; but now that Remy Bea is no longer a “newborn,” it’s time to step back up!
I visited and liked both FB Pages!
Follow both on instagram!
Follow both on twitter!
Tweeted!
https://twitter.com/ItsAHero/status/822990232438054912
Sunday’s tweet 1/22/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/823147655010381825
Tweeted Sunday
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/823148924131282944
I tweeted again 😉
https://twitter.com/ItsAHero/status/823328693732986884
Monday’s tweet 1/22/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/823481067822784514
Tweeted Monday
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/823483709454254083
Tweeted:
https://twitter.com/ItsAHero/status/823431348312559616
Tweeted Tuesday 1/24/27
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/823853190630277120
Tuesday’s tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/823853918958604292
Tweet, tweet! 😉
https://twitter.com/ItsAHero/status/823793747657916416
Tweeted Wednesday 1/25/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/824210701787025409
Wednesday tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/824211562734948352
Tweeted today
https://twitter.com/ItsAHero/status/824156152288215042
Thursday tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/824573965909815296
Thursday’s tweet 1/26/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/824572709271142400
Friday’s tweet 1/27/17
https://twitter.com/jokeel/status/824936158660530176
Friday’s tweet
https://twitter.com/dalekeel2001/status/824937030308225024
Tweeted today!
https://twitter.com/ItsAHero/status/824865803073789953
And also yesterday, but I forgot to comment!
https://twitter.com/ItsAHero/status/824503432564379648