I took the Saffolalife Weight Heart Test today and the result was:
“Well done! Your heart is healthy. Keep following your health routine to maintain your heart health”
While that is good news, it doesn’t mean I can sit back and relax. As a type 2 diabetic, I have to keep working to maintain it.
Being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes was a solid wake up call for everyone in the family. We were getting carried away by our busy-ness and paying less and less attention to our health. Our bodies can only cope up to a point before it screams at us.
We immediately pledged to focus on our health. Yes, our hearts beat for each other. But first, they must beat healthily.
Here is what we are doing to keep our hearts healthy – and in love!
Collaborate on cooking
I used to be in charge of kitchen shopping, cooking and washing up. Now this is a joint project. We plan our shopping list together, then shop together. We take a collective interest in meal planning to ensure that we eat healthy.
Eat healthy
We make sure each meal includes a salad and plenty of vegetables. We follow the healthy plate guidelines to fill our plates. To avoid overeating (hey, I am a good cook!) We use smaller plates. And of course, we eat dinner together and at least two hours before bed time, since lunch is at the workplace. We have cut down significantly on oil, sugar, salt, bread, baked goods and fried stuff. We snack healthy with nuts, sprouts and fruits. We read labels diligently to make sure we know what we are eating. We try to cook from scratch as much as we can. We follow healthy eating tips for vegetarians.
Walk together
Walking is my best friend. It is easy to do. Needs no equipment other than a pair of good shoes. We are blessed with a beautiful stretch of terrace where we walk every day for an hour. The first 45 minutes are brisk. Then we spend the next half hour catching up on our day, chatting, laughing. We look forward to this time together every day. It is such an enjoyable way to get our exercise while spending time with each other. Walking is a great way to stay fit as well as keep cholesterol levels balanced. High cholesterol is not a healthy heart’s friend!
Walk everywhere
We do not own a car. Really! We live in an area where we have easy access to everything we need. We prefer to walk everywhere. It is a win-win situation where we not only get our exercise, but also save on transportation costs while practicing green living by not adding another vehicle to the road, plus we think that paying a car insurance is very expensive, if I ever get a car I would have to go with a company like Insurance Partnership or a cheap
truck insurance because other prices are insane!
Get enough sleep
There is more and more research to prove that inadequate sleep can cause plenty of health problems. We have no intention of finding out what they are by personally experiencing them! We used to sit up late to finish work earlier, but have now resolved to shut down all devices at 11.30 pm, latest. If we don’t care about ourselves, who will?
Actively keep stress at bay
Healthy living is great. But what about fun? Yes, fun keeps stress at arm’s length. Sure, we have some stress, but we are conscious about not letting it get out of hand. We laugh a lot. We enjoy watching comedy programs. We read together. We sing.
Divide household chores
We tackle household chores together by dividing them up. Laundry is my husband’s job, while I tackle the cooking. We do the washing up together. We take turns at getting the clothes back in, folding them and putting them away. We do argue over vacuuming and mopping, but we end up doing it together, with coffee breaks, which we are slowly replacing with fruit breaks. I usually earn a lunch treat out when we do that.
Health is wealth. Unless we take action responsibly, how can we protect our heart?
What are you doing to take care of your heart health? Start by taking the “Weight-Heart Test” at www.saffolalife.com as a first step to healthy weight management and a healthy heart!
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I am joining the Saffolalife #ProtectHerHeart initiative and pledging my support to better heart health in Association with BlogAdda.
