Dear Red Hot Mamas- May 2017

Dear Red Hot Mamas,

I know that we all feel short on time.  We’re busy with caring for our families, our jobs, and protecting our own health sometimes isn’t given a priority.

I bring this up as the middle of this month (May 14-20) is National Women’s Health Week.  It’s an observance that we need to be aware of as it was designated by The US Department of Health and Human Services – The  Office on Women’s Health.  Its goal is to encourage women of all ages to take steps to improve their health.

Some of the ways you can improve your physical and mental health include:

• Visit your healthcare provider for a well-woman checkup and get preventive screenings.
• Get active – exercise daily for 30 minutes.
• Maintain a healthy body weight, as determined by your BMI. Your BMI is an approximate measure of body fat based on your height and weight.  The BMI is an approximation and is used as a tool to assess body weight and identify overweight and obese individuals.
• Eat healthy – eat five or more servings of fruits or vegetables daily; avoid refined sugars and starches; and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
• Keep your blood pressure under control.
• Have your cholesterol checked yearly.
• If you smoke, stop.
• Pay attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress.

And, I do encourage you all to stay connected with others.  Red Hot Mamas is a very valuable tool to do so.  Our programs are offered in hospitals throughout the US and are free to women and their loved ones.  And, our community forum on www.inspire.com,  has thousands of women who are candid about their lives as they experience menopause.  You can find out more about these significant options by logging onto our website, www.redhotmamas.org.

Many of you may remember Barbara Streisand’s song
“People who need people are the luckiest people in the world”.  Well, what she said was right.  Why?  It is because the importance of having relationships and good health definitely are intertwined.  Both positively contribute to our mental and physical-well-being.

Short on friends?  Here are some suggestions to making new ones:  Attend some of our Red Hot Mamas programs and log onto our community forum;  take classes at a local community college; join a gym; find an organized sport to participate in (bowling, tennis, etc.); join town social groups and/or religious organization.

In closing, please get on track to a healthier lifestyle this month, and the months thereafter.  Look to ways to remove those obstacles that may have been in your way before.  And, on a personal note, I admit, to having hit many potholes in the road and not taking care of my own health.  However, having you all to share this with has helped me to get back on track again.  I hope you can do so, too.

Good health to you all,

Karen Giblin