Walking for My Heart Health

Finding the courage to make the change you need to make for your health can be daunting and overwhelming. I want to tell you though, you can do this. There is so much knowledge, support, and so many resources available to us, to live longer healthier lives. There are lots of things that we can do in our every day life, from working out, to eating better, and taking care of our mental health.

Making small changes: Preventative care for heart failure

My momma always taught me, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Making small changes for preventative care for heart failure and any other heart issues has been my main focus this year. My dad has had heart issues his whole life, and this year it has been 5 years since he was called to heaven. It took me a long time to make all the changes I needed to start making to protect my heart health.

Losing my dad was such a reality check for me - the kind that makes you stop and look at everything you are doing and wonder if you can do it better. For as long as I can remember my dad's heart health was at the forefront of most things. Many traumatic moments of him being rushed to the hospital are seared into my own heart.

Taking control

While I know that these things are not always in our control, it has become increasingly important to me to do the best I can. Maybe it is the reality check that the beautiful age of 40 is around the corner. Or, maybe it is the fact that I do not want my daughter to hold that same trauma. Simply the fact that I really want to be around for her for as long as I can, in the best health that I can be. For a while now, I have focused on making better choices for what we eat and it has already shown a positive impact.

Walking for my heart health: Taking steps

Walking is such a simple task and I think many of us take it for granted. The ability to get up and walk. I love walking, so one would think that it would be second nature, to do so often. However in today's busy world, with things moving at a pace second to none, you may need to schedule it. Walking is low impact and can be done without a membership, no special equipment and no personal trainers breathing down your neck.

I try and aim for 10 - 15 thousand steps a day. This is based on my ability and it may be different for you. It was not possible for me to start at 10,000 steps a day, that is for sure, I had to work my way there. Starting at my base, which was 2,800 steps per day with my sedentary job. I then added 500 steps at a time, increasing my goal slowly but steadily. Now it is a competition in my home - who walks the most steps? A healthy happy completion for good health.

Going to check-ups

Make sure that you go for your check-ups with your doctor and cardiologist, and get a base line to work from, that way you can improve what you are doing and have a way to measure your progress. As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. While I know we cannot always prevent things, we can do our very best to prevent any added or extra strain on our hearts.

Taking control of your heart health by being proactive and doing the best you can with what you have can prove fruitful.

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