The Bad News
Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 600,000 Americans each year and that more women die from heart disease than breast cancer?
The Good News
Did you also know that you have a lot of power in protecting and improving your heart health? That's what we're here to talk about this February as it is Heart Disease Awareness and Prevention Month.
What is Heart Disease?
First, let's quickly discuss what heart disease is. Your arteries supply blood to the heart, carrying oxygen and nutrients to this very important muscle. When plaque builds up on the inner walls of your arteries, it causes hardening and narrowing, thus reducing the blood flow to the heart. When plaque buildup becomes so severe that blood cannot reach the heart, heart attacks occur, causing permanent damage and sometimes death.
Risk Factors
Now, let's go over the risk factors for heart disease that are in your hands. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, diabetes and high stress levels all significantly increase your risk of heart disease. However, you can control these risk factors and The Fuse Fitness is here to help you to do just that to ensure that your heart is healthy.
No Smoking Allowed
First, schedule a physical to have your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked. If you smoke, ask your physician for help quitting. This is crucial! Cigarette smokers are two to three times more likely to die from heart disease than nonsmokers. Next, determine whether your weight, and even more importantly, your body fat levels are healthy.
Height and Weight
Body mass index (BMI) is your weight in relation to your height, and is a helpful measurement in determining whether your bodyweight is healthy or not. Have your body fat measured, especially focusing on visceral fat, which is abdominal fat located around your vital organs. Think "beer belly" or "muffin top." Make sure that you are exercising at least 30 minutes daily and that your diet consists of lots of fresh vegetables and fruits and whole foods that are as minimally processed and organic as possible.
Here to Help
The Fuse Fitness wants to help you reduce your risk of heart disease and help get you healthy. We will be doing a six week body fat loss challenge beginning the first week of March.
We will measure your body fat using our Fat Loss Monitor with Scale, which sends a safe, low-level electrical current through you body to calculate the amount of body fat tissue, known as the Bioelectrical Impedance (BI) Method. We will take the measurements at the beginning and end of the challenge.
Get Started Now
We offer a wide variety of fitness classes for all fitness levels, as well as personal training, which will give you a more individually designed and structured program. Let us help you in getting your minimum 30 minutes of exercise per day! You just need to take the first step by signing up HERE and NOW.
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. We are here to support you.
Yours in health,
Kristin at The Fuse Fitness
