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Busy Woman's Guide to a Healthy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We will have 19 people around our table on Thursday and we are truly blessed to have so many members of our family together. Yet, large family gatherings, cooking large meals, and “together time” can be stressful.  Not to mention what it can do to your healthy eating habits! Even good things cause stress -- and let’s face it, not every family gathering is entirely a “good thing.”

Here are some ideas to keep your stress level low and your Thanksgiving healthy:

Keep Perspective: Whether you are hosting or a guest, remember no one will recall the turkey or how long it took to get to the table.  This holiday is about the being thankful for the people around you and the blessings in your life.  Take the time for extra hugs (especially for the harried cook). 

Keep Breathing: When things start to overwhelm you, remember to breathe.  ...in through your nose, and out through your mouth -- more out than in.  Blow out the stress and give yourself permission to enjoy.

Keep Connecting: Even when we have the opportunity to be in the same room with friends and family it is easy let the time go by without truly connecting.  Take the time to sit down and really have a conversation.  Make this season a time to share.

Keep Proportion: It’s easy to overindulge at the holiday table. Here’s some tips to stay in control:

• If you are hosting:

• Don’t starve people before they eat.
• Often, the holiday meal is served at an odd time.  Serve some healthy snacks (veggies and dip for example) to tide people over.
• Serve something warm to drink.
• If you are cold your body thinks it needs more food.  Warm up and you will feel less likely to overindulge.
• Make the meal an event – serve in stages.
• Try starting with a salad or soup first.  Then clear and serve the main course.  It takes twenty minutes for the stomach to tell your brain it is full.  Give it a head start!
• Once you serve the main course take the leftovers off the table.  Again, waiting twenty minutes to serve seconds will help your brain catch up with your stomach.
• After the main course, clear (and even do) the dishes.  This can be a great time for a walk together, a little touch football or even a chat about what has made you grateful over the year.  
• Consider plating the dessert.  Putting a small serving on a beautifully decorated plate make a wonderful finish to the meal.
• After the meal, wrap up “doggie-bags” for your guest.  It is a lovely gesture and a way to limit the gravy taunting you in the refrigerator.

• If you are visiting:

• Try to treat this meal like any other.  If you don’t take seconds usually – don’t!
• Fill up on healthier choices such as turkey and vegetables
• Hit the relish tray hard!
• It’s one day – don’t beat yourself up for a slip.

Keep the quiet: Just for a few hours, disconnect from your electronic gadgets and focus on the people around the table. No calls, no texts, and no tweets. Without the distractions you may be surprised how well you connect.

Keep the thanks: Thanksgiving should be a day to slow down, take a break from your usual busy life and look around. What is good in your life? Who gives you joy and comfort? What are you thankful for this year?

I wish you low stress, great success, and a wonderful holiday.

Eliz Greene is the Busy Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Heart. Drawing on her experience surviving a massive heart attack while seven-months pregnant with twins, struggling to lose the 80 pounds gained during her pregnancy, and her background as an adaptive movement specialist, Eliz developed simple strategies and tips to help other busy women be more active, eat better and manage your stress.

As the Director of the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative, Eliz travels the country energizing and inspiring audiences in keynotes and workshops on women’s heart health. She writes one of the top 100 health and wellness blogs.

Eliz stresses balance, the importance of taking time to appreciate the good things in life, and treating yourself well. Learn more at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

Learn CPR in 2 Minutes

October is Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Awareness Month. Every two minutes someone drops dead from SCA -- could you save someone?

Take a few minutes to watch my latest video and learn the basics of Hands-Only CPR. With it you CAN save a life.



Pass this along -- let's make sure everyone knows how to save a life!

Get the CPR Anytime kit at CPRanytime.org

Watch this video for information on using an AED:

Need a tip to eat better, move more or manage your stress? Wish Eliz would answer your question? Add a comment below and we’ll provide the tip!

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

Yard Work IS Exercise!

Check out Eliz's latest Quick Tip on using yard work to move more!

Need a tip to eat better, move more or manage your stress? Wish Eliz would answer your question? Add a comment below and we’ll provide the tip!

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

Mammogram for Your Heart?

Yet another reason to schedule your mammogram!

We all know mammograms can detect early breast cancer, but did you know it could also predict early heart disease?

Along with detecting a lump, mammograms can also detect calcium deposits in the blood vessels of the breast, an indicator of early heart disease. Calcium deposits detected on mammograms correlated to a significantly increased risk of stroke, according to research.

What does this mean? Not only are mammograms an essential tool for diagnosing breast cancer but also they can be a useful in screening for heart disease and stroke as well. "It's beautiful that you can start to pick up the risk on the mammogram," said Arvind Ahuja, a neurosurgeon and co-director of the stroke center at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "(The mammogram) can serve two purposes."

Once the calcium deposits are discovered, doctors can screen for and address other risk factors, such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels, and create a treatment plan to limit the risk of stroke and heart attack.

What should you do?

Have regular mammograms. Surprisingly, only half the women who should have annual mammograms actually get them—even when their insurance pays for them. Having previous tests to compare can be essential in picking up small changes. Talk to your doctor to determine how often you should be screened.

Ask your doctor specifically if your mammogram shows calcium deposits in the blood vessels of your breast, it may not be something he or she is in the habit of reporting.

Schedule a cardiac and stroke screening if you do have deposits and discuss ways to decrease your risk.

Women who have had open-heart surgery or other surgery in the chest area need to be especially consistent with mammograms because scar tissue can mask a lump. Even if you are not at the recommended age, discuss with your doctor the need to have a yearly mammogram to be safe. Scars and increased sensitivity may make a mammogram more challenging; discuss these issues with the mammogram technician before you begin. If you have an implanted device, such as a pace maker or internal defibrillator, make sure the technician understands the compression must be done slowly and cautiously so as not to dislodge the leads.

If you are scheduled to have chest surgery get a mammogram first if possible. “It is a good idea to have the mammogram before surgery to get a good baseline and then have 12 months to heal before you have the next one,” cautions Mellanie True Hills, founder of the American Foundation for Women’s Health. “The thought of having to deal with a mammogram within three to six months after surgery is frightening.”

If you are 40 or older and haven’t had mammogram in the last 24 months, call your doctor and schedule an appointment today.

Please add your comments below.

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

Wine and Chocolate Recommendation

As you may know, I am a big fan of wine and chocolate as a stress remedy. But which wine and what chocolate you may ask.

Red wine (white wine doesn't supply the same benefits) doesn't have to cost much to be good.  Here are some of my favorites is usually available for under $15:

Peralta 2005 Syrah
Screw Kappa Napa 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Menage A Trois 2007 Red

Dark chocolate with at least 60% cacao will do the trick. Try to limit your self to about an ounce. or two. Experiment to find one which suits your taste for creaminess, bite and flavor.  Here are some of my favorites:

 Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Evening Dream

Dove Dark Chocolate Miniatures

Cacao Reserve by Hershey Premium Dark

Please share your favorites by adding a comment below.

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

HEART for Women Act Passes House

Good news!

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelminlgly to pass the HEART for Women Act. Now on to the Senate!! Four members of Wisconsin’s delegation to the U.S. House have co-sponsored the legislation, including: Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison; Ron Kind, D-LaCrosse; Steve Kagen, D-Appleton; and Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee.

The Heart for Women Act takes a multi-pronged approach to improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and stroke via: raise awareness among women and their health care providers of the prevalence of heart disease in women; provide gender and race-specific information for clinicians and researchers; and, improve screening for low-income women at risk for heart disease and stroke.

I traveled with a group of fellow Your The Cure Advocates to Washington, D.C. to help our legislators understand the importance of the HEART for Women Act, NIH and CDC funding and the FIT Kids Act. I invite you to get involved and join the Your The Cure Network. Our voices together can make a difference!

Please add your comments below.

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

A View From the Top

I often close e-mails and letters with:

“Wishing you low stress and great success.”

Often the key to limiting stress and getting what you want is the people choose to help meet the goal.

This summer I took a trip to the top of the mast of our Catalina 34 sailboat.  It is a “tall rig” which means the trip is 51 feet up from the water line.  It took a good quality climbing harness, a well tied bowline knot, and my handsome husband grinding away at the winch to get me up there  -- oh, yes -- and a certain amount of courage and faith.

Back down on the deck, Clay, the handsome husband, laughed at all of the praise I received from our crew and passers-by.  “It’s a metaphor for our relationship,” he declared, “I do the hard work and you get all the credit.”  It’s true.  So often I am praised for something he contributed the lions-share to complete.  I’m often the one seen, but not the only one at work.

It’s a pretty good metaphor for success as well.  If you want to reach the top, you’d best be sure you have a good crew around you -- and don’t forget to share the praise.

So -- here’s the praise for my crew and some thoughts about the view from the top.

Know who you can count on to keep grinding. As I mentioned, it is 51 feet to the top of the mast. The last ten feet are tough -- I couldn’t really help by climbing at all and Clay had a tough time cranking the winch.  Our boat partner, Dave Levine, stepped in to help tail the line until I reached the top. They never stopped. Thanks Honey!

Who do you know who will grind  until you reach your goal?

Have a trustworthy safety line. Dave (until he hopped over to help Clay) and his lovely bride Debbie kept tension on a second line, just in case Clay’s slipped.  We never needed it, but it was nice to know it was there. Thanks Dave & Debbie!

Who is your safety line?

Set yourself up for success. When it was clear someone would have to up the mast (because I’d manage to leave the VHF antenna disconnected -- oops), I volunteered.  While the idea of being hoisted way up there was a bit scary, it sounded like an adventure.  Clay, not liking the idea of losing or injuring the mother of his children, was a bit worried to say the least. His worries were eased by seeking the advice of our dock-mates and purchasing a very nice climbing harness.  We had a plan, enough people to do the job correctly and the right equipment. Thanks again REI guy and all those who gave us good advice! 

Do you have what you need for success?

Have someone to remind you to look at the view. Our dock-mate, Mark Stein, another C-34 owner, was on hand to document the event and as I was coming down yelled, “Don’t forget to look around!”  He was right, the view was fantastic, and I would have missed it had he not reminded me.  So often we reach the moment we’ve worked for and forget to stop, look around and appreciate it.  Thanks Mark!

Who will remind you to enjoy the view?

Take a break when things get tense. Okay, they got me up there, I connected the antenna, and then it was time to come back down.  It sounds easy, but it’s dangerous.  My weight would cause me to careen down the mast without Clay’s careful guidance of the line.  He was pretty stressed about it, but he did a great job. Of course Dave and Debbie were ready on the safety line as well.  About one-third of the way down I needed to swing my legs and body out, around and under the spreader arms.  On the way up this actually helped -- I could climb and help pull myself up, which took some of the pressure off of Clay.  On the way down, however, it was a little bit scary for all of us.  Once I reached the spreaders, I asked Clay to cleat off the line and I just sat for a moment.  Clay got to take a moment to breathe and I got a moment to gather myself to swing out.  Clay gave me some slack and I swung my legs around.  As it turns out -- not as scary as I imagined (most things aren’t) and I returned to the deck safely. The break was good for all of us. 

Will you remember to take a break and re-group when things get tough?

Pay attention to who is watching. In addition to my crew and the passers-by on the dock, two pairs of eyes were glued to our activities -- belonging to Gracie and Callie, our daughters.  During the process they were the cheerleaders and shouted “Hang on, Mama!”  At the end, and still to this day, Callie wants to know when it is her turn to go up the mast.  Maybe when you are a bit older -- of course hauling her 50 pounds up the mast would be MUCH easier than hauling my 125!  All-in-all, it was a good lesson for them about team work and trying something new, even if it is scary.

Who is watching you?

I hope I thanked and praised Clay, Dave, Debbie and Mark enough.  The view from the top was pretty spectacular.  Thanks for getting me up there.

Share your story about getting to the top.  Make a comment below.

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

Fruit Smoothie: Quick Tip# 102

Check out this Quick Tip for Busy Women -- to eat better!


Need a tip to eat better, move more or manage your stress? Wish Eliz would answer your question? Add a comment below and we’ll provide the tip!

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com

Microwave Popcorn in a Paper Bag: Quick Tip #101

Check out this Quick Tip for Busy Women  -- to eat better!

Need a tip to eat better, move more or manage your stress? Wish Eliz would answer your question? Add a comment below and we’ll provide the tip!

Eliz Greene is a heart attack survivor, author and nationally known speaker on a mission to encourage women to recognize heart disease as their most serious health threat and provide down-to-earth strategies for active and healthy lives. Learn more about Eliz and the Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative at www.EmbraceYourHeart.com