Women's Health Tips for Heart, Mind, and Body

Women's Health Tips for Heart, Mind, and Body

Follow a Heart-Healthy Diet

There's an easy recipe if your goal is to keep away problems like heart disease and strokes.

• Eat more fruits and veggies.
• Choose whole grains. Try brown rice instead of white. Switch to whole wheat pasta.
• Choose lean proteins like poultry, fish, beans, and legumes.
• Cut down on processed foods, sugar, salt, and saturated fat.

When eating healthy, flexibility often works best, says Joyce Meng, MD, assistant professor at the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health. If you like to follow a strict diet plan, go for it. If not, it's OK. "Find what works for you."

Tricia Montgomery, 52, the founder of K9 Fit Club, knows first-hand how the right diet and lifestyle can help. For her, choosing healthy foods and planning small, frequent meals works well. "I don't deny myself anything," she says. "I still have dessert -- key lime pie, yum! -- and I love frozen gummy bears, but moderation is key."

Exercise Every Day

The more active you are, the better, Meng says. Exercise boosts your heart health, builds muscle and bone strength, and wards off health problems.

Aim for 2 and a half hours of moderate activity, like brisk walking or dancing, every week. If you're OK with vigorous exercise, stick to 1 hour and 15 minutes a week of things like running or playing tennis. Add a couple of days of strength training, too.

If you're busy, try short bursts of activity throughout the day. Walk often. A good target is 10,000 steps a day. Take the stairs. Park your car far away from your destination.

Montgomery exercises every day, often with her dog. By adding lunges, squats, and stairs to a walk, she turns it into a power workout. "I also am a huge Pilates fan," she says.

Visit Your Doctor

Get regular checkups. Your doctor keeps track of your medical history and can help you stay healthy. For example, if you're at risk for osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones, he may want you to get more calcium and vitamin D.

Your doctor may recommend screening tests to keep an eye on your health and catch conditions early when they're easier to treat.

Keep the lines of communication open. "If you have questions, ask your doctor," Meng says. "Make sure you understand things to your satisfaction." If you're worried about a medication or procedure, talk to him about it.

Cut Down Your stress

It can take a toll on your health. You probably can't avoid it altogether, but you can find ways to ease the impact. Don't take on too much. Try to set limits with yourself and others. It's OK to say no.

To relieve stress, try:

• Deep breathing
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Massage
• Exercise
• Healthy eating
• Talking to a friend, family member, or professional counselor

Create Healthy Habits

If you make the right choices today, you can ward off problems tomorrow.

• Brush your teeth twice a day and floss every day.
• Don't smoke.
• Limit your alcohol. Keep it to one drink a day.
• If you have medication, take it exactly how your doctor prescribed it.
• Improve your sleep. Aim for 8 hours. If you have trouble getting shut-eye, talk to your doctor.
• Use sunscreen and stay out of the sun from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Wear your seatbelt.

Take time every day to invest in your health, Meng says.

It paid off for Montgomery. She says she overcame health problems, feels good, and has a positive outlook. "My life," she says, "is forever changed."

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Struggling With Self-Worth? Great Tips for Boosting Your Belief in Yourself

Do you know the number of people who you meet every day who struggle with self-esteem? Research says that one in four adult people face the problem with self-worth. That’s 25% of the adults who are not aware of their value. It’s a big number. However, the number may sound surprising because a lot of them skillfully hide it. They have learned how to deal with it from young. They continue to live the same way over the years. Shyness, low self-confidence, not knowing of their self worth designs the way they think. Their thoughts determine their actions. Consequently, their actions determine their future.

Therefore, if you want to achieve the best results and become the most successful person you know you must put some effort in learning how to overcome your fears and boost your confidence. Only highly confident people manage to achieve their set life goals.

Remember that your weaknesses are your strength

You must tell yourself your weaknesses and your fears can’t make you worthless.  Becoming aware of that is the first step towards achieving your greatest success. If you have ever read a biography of some very successful people, you will find out that none of them was born rich. None of them achieved great results over night. However, every one of them have encountered many failures and all of them continued to work and struggle until they succeeded. Simultaneously, the common characteristic of all of them is that they never gave up. Even when they faced the lowest point of their lives.

Therefore, remember that you are worth and every time you face a new failure, you must remember that this is what makes you stronger. This is what curves your willpower. This is what will take you to the top.

Tell yourself you are fearless

If you want to achieve great results you need to stop thinking like a victim and start leading your life instead of others watching do it. Moreover, you need to convince yourself  that nothing can scare you and you can skillfully overcome any obstacle. Only when you learn that sometimes very little effort needs to be done to make great things happen, then you will start to feel how miracle happens in your life. The Universe will help those who are courageous. You must tell yourself that you are a wonderful person and act accordingly. Be courageous, be brave and your life will start to turn into abundance.

Build your knowledge from books

When you feel stuck in life engage yourself in reading about other inspirational stories. You’ll be amazed of how many people in this world have encountered even worse difficulties through life and they still managed to overcome them. You’ll learn that others have had the same fears, the same worries and the same problems like you and found the way out of them.  Reading about these people’s biographies can really boost your confidence.

Furthermore, reading is an excellent way to build your own knowledge about your craft. Discover new ways of working, enhance your skills, develop them, and you’ll be surprised of how much you can learn from your time dedicated to reading. Surprisingly, all successful people in this world have found a that had changed their lives for good. Don’t be afraid to find yours. Sometimes all you need to do is to relax to find happiness.