Love your heart for your health

Part of my happiness is being creative.  Creating keeps my hands busy, which means I'm not eating.  Unlike many crafters who are sure to have chocolate, potato chips or cookies nearby, creating the need to eat whenever they craft and many adding unwanted pounds.   For me creative time, is a time that takes me away from eating and allows me the freedom from thoughts of food and the stresses of the day.

I created this in honor of Go Red for Women's Heart Health Day.  Each year online, at my local crops and in my personal life I do something to honor and share heart health information with women.  This is a picture of me wearing red and the paper shows the date...proof that I wore red on Go Red for Women's Heart Health Day!

It is my privilege and I feel my duty to share what I've learned with others.

Heart disease is the #1 killer of women and I think we have to keep the conversation going so that more women are aware and educated. Hopefully, this will help more women to love themselves a bit more.

Love your heart!  Know your numbers: total cholesterol, HDL and LDL, triglycerides, blood pressure, glucose, body mass index, waist size.  Knowing these numbers can help you to make informed decisions about your health and eating and make changes as necessary, to live a heart healthy life.

Healthy numbers are*:
Total Cholesterol - less than 200 mg/dL
LDL (bad cholesterol) -  less than 100 mg/dL is optimal, 100 to 129 mg/dL is near optimal, 130-159 mg/dL is borderline high
HDL (good cholesterol) - 50 mg/dL or higher
Triglycerides - less than 150 mg/dL
Blood Pressure - less than 120/80 mmHg
Fasting Glucose - less than 100 mg/dL
Body Mass Index(BMI) - less than 25%
Waist Circumference - less than 35 inches
Exercise - Minimum of 30 minutes on most days
*Go Red for Women, Mayo Clinic

Love your heart. Love yourself.