By Jillian Boston, Personal Trainer & Fitness Nutrition Specialist
Happy February everyone! How fitting that February is known as the month of love and also Heart Health Awareness Month. I love that there is a month dedicated to focusing on self love and heart love. Both of which can go hand in hand when it comes to taking care of yourself. We can support our hearts in so many ways physically as well as mentally and I hope you are excited to make that a priority this month. Here are my tips for putting your heart first this month literally and figuratively:
1. Make healthy nutrition a priority: Eating is something we have to do every day in order to fuel ourselves. The food we eat either positively or negatively impacts the heart. Foods that are natural like fruits, veggies, grains, lean proteins and healthy fats all support the heart. While processed foods, added chemicals, added sugars and alcohol all put a strain on the heart. My challenge for you this month is to take note of what you are ingesting and see if there are any positive changes that you can make. Some examples of this are: omitting sugar from your morning coffee, skipping a nightly cocktail or glass of wine, making a home cooked meal instead of ordering out, and/or having a healthy afternoon snack instead of another cup of coffee. Simple changes will make a huge difference when it comes to your heart.
2. Feel your emotions: A lot of the time we feel like we have to be strong and not process how we are feeling. While this may seem like the best thing to do it can actually be putting stress on your heart. So next time you feel like you need to cry, let yourself cry. The next time you’re feeling stressed, take a few minutes to figure out how you can reduce some of that stress. The next time you are feeling angry, take a minute and figure out how you can constructively release that anger. By processing and releasing these emotions you are keeping them from building up in the body which will help reduce pressure on the heart. You also might notice that you actually feel WAY better after processing your emotions than you do when you keep everything inside.
3. Exercise: Working out is a fabulous way to support your heart. Any type of exercise you do will help build up your cardiovascular endurance which makes your heart stronger. The beauty of being a member of Fitness Unlimited means that you have access to an amazing variety of different styles of workouts. So do what your heart is calling you to do, whether it is a yoga class, Zumba, weight lifting, cycling or walking on the treadmill. Your body and heart will thank you!
4. Love yourself a little extra this month: Take that day trip you’ve really been wanting to go on, take the self care day you keep telling yourself you’ll get to, read that book that’s been sitting on your night stand, have the the girls night you and you friends have been trying to schedule forever, have a cozy night in with the people you love. Whatever part of yourself you have been neglecting, focus on that this month. It may sound silly but how we feel about ourselves and our life has a direct impact on our heart. So here is your permission to do what makes your heart happy, you deserve it!
5. Take part in our heart healthy challenges this month: All month we will be holding challenges at the club and in our private facebook group to help you make your heart health a priority. We will also be posting workouts and heart healthy recipes to our social media outlets. Make sure to follow along for challenge details!
I hope you have the best February and know that loving yourself and putting your heart first isn’t selfish, it’s amazing!
