From Your Health Journal…..”A great article once again from the Huffington Post by Tom W. Watson entitled How to Love Your Heart this February. Love the Huff Post, and always try to promote their health articles. As many of you know, February is Heart Health Month. Please take the time to read Mr. Watson’s ‘heart’ warming story about his ‘heart’ health, as well as losing two friends recently from heart attacks. Heart disease is still the number one killer in the United States. Many individuals suffer from many chronic health issues due to obesity such as heart disease. We need to help people understand the importance of losing weight, and staying healthy. Fighting obesity is a natural good ‘first’ step in the fight against heart disease. Please visit the Huff Post web site (link provided below) to read this amazing article.”
From the article…..
And so it’s February — the month where so much focus is placed on our love interests. A concept I’m certainly not against, since I proposed to my wife at this time of year several years ago now. But this year, I’d like to issue a challenge to seriously consider other matters of the heart during this month. In particular, I’d like you to consider your heart’s health. Typically, in early January, most North Americans proclaim their well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions, but within a few short weeks the resolution war is lost, and we renege on the resolutions we made.
In their January edition, Time magazine listed the 10 resolutions that are most commonly made and broken annually. Of the top 10, health issues such as losing weight and getting fit, quitting smoking, eating healthier, and drinking less all ranked highly. In essence, four of the top 10 resolutions made annually by North Americans directly or indirectly has something to do with heart health.
This year, more than any other, heart health is on my mind. In the past 10 days, two men I’ve known for years have passed away from heart attacks — one being my brother-in-law, the other a good friend and mentor. Their loss is truly unfortunate and deeply profound to their family and friends.
Unfortunately for many of us, more often than not we understand that we should be doing something to curb our waistlines and improve our heart health, but we aren’t motivated enough to actually sustain our efforts. Maybe it’s because deep down, we are in denial — we believe we won’t be the next one to suffer the same fate my brother-in-law and my good friend just suffered.
Several years ago, I was in the same boat. I was several pounds overweight — I knew it, and in many ways I wanted to make changes in my life. I wanted to lose weight and gain a more youthful approach to life. But I had fallen into a lifestyle of indulgence: too much good food, too much wine, not enough exercise, and too many insincere reasons why I couldn’t make the changes. It all hampered my resolution efforts. Only when I suffered a small stroke did I realize, “It could be you next, Tom. You were lucky. You’d better get after your waistline issue if you want to live healthier, happier, and longer!”
To read the full article…..Click here