love RED [with all my heart]

red. oh, where do i begin? i love it. it’s sassy. it commands attention. and it’s also mushy + lovey.  oddly, those kinda describe me.  my mom has called me ‘sassy britches’ (for as long as i can remember)…i absolutely crave attention from those i love (youngest of 2, not my fault), and i’m a sucker for love (yep, big softie).   and while i could go on (and on) about me + my love for red, that really adds no value to anyone’s life whatsoever.

but this does: today is GO RED day. and why? how can wearing one (fabulous) color on one single day make a difference?  oh, it can. it’s amazing what can be accomplished when passionate people join together and make noise.  and it will be noisy as we join forces with american heart association + go red for women to kick off our 3rd annual BLOG YOUR HEART OUT campaign.  the message behind this ultra-viral, social media-driven initiative is to rally others to spREaD the word about heart disease.

how?  not only are we harnessing the viral nature of social media to tweet/facebook/pin to our little hearts’ content, but we’re featuring 4 fab bloggers who have a heart for helping others to blog throughout february to raise awareness.  and together, we are rallying bloggers around the world to join us to blog about heart disease on one day. yep, one day. major noise.  ok, so random blog-reader, how can YOU get involved. well, i’m so glad you asked. here’s a little exercise (ok, no calories are burned, but it’s worthwhile):

i am a:

• fabulous woman. [woo hoo!  YOU are why we’re doing this.]
  take (heart) action steps:
  

1. wear red.  it’s fabulous, just like you. so sport it. pull out your red pumps, heck don your red boa for all i care, but please just use this one day as a reason to rock your red.
2. go red.  it takes 30 seconds to join the movement + in return you get a 5-step action plan from the american heart  association. based on your profile, they provide a sweet step-by-step personalized plan for preventing heart disease, which is the NUMBER ONE killer of women, more than all forms of cancer combined. scary, right?
3. spREaD the word. tell women in your life about the risks of heart disease. it’s easy.  share this blog post, share a link on facebook, retweet, , PIN, or go old-school and just have a convo!  and repeat after me: “go to goredforwomen.org!”

• blogger. [or just one-who-blogs, like yours truly.]
  take (heart) action steps:
  

1. please see steps 1-3 above, plus…
2. blog your heart away.  join us on february 22nd, 2013 for the 3rd annual BLOG YOUR HEART DAY and  post a blog on 02/22 about heart disease. p.s. there’s something in it for you. we will pick the top 4 posts to win amazing giveaway goodies, plus be recognized in our national press release. [learn more here on how to join]
3. tweet it. mark your calendars (again, 02/22) to join a very noisy tweetchat on BYHO DAY at 11am PST. join this very heart-warming cause to raise awareness on one day – look for hashtag #BYHO2013 and follow @fitbook, @american_heart, and @goredforwomen.

• human being. [please, leave a comment if this doesn’t apply to you as i could use a good laugh.]
  take (heart) action steps:

1. move for 30. research shows you can greatly reduce your risk of heart disease just by being active for 30 minutes per day. that doesn’t mean a grueling sweat session (although it is advised to get your heart pumpin’)…but this could mean a quick 10-minute brisk walk in the morning, one at lunch, and one after dinner. every little bit adds up!
2. eat 5. fruits + veggies, that is.  try RED ones just for fun today: tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, beets, bell peppers, apples…and right there you’re packin’ in some major antioxidants, lycopene + hearty-healthy nutrients.
3. get healthy. see your doc, check your cholesterol + blood pressure, and take action. do you need to lose weight? stop smoking? 80% of heart attacks are preventable just by improving your health.

so why? why, oh why would we do this?  well aside from my obvious love of red, no that is not my motivating factor. 2 things:

my family means the world to me. and with heart disease prevalent on both sides of my family, i wanna do all i can to keep those i love around for a long time to come. and do what i can to do the same for my (future) little ones. at the end of the day, all that really matters is those we love.

my passion is my company, but more importantly, my customers. or as i lovingly call them, my fitbookers.  and with over 90% of our customers being women, i see it not as an obligation, but my very real responsibility to raise awareness around the #1 threat to their health. see, it doesn’t matter if we have a small group of people with 6-pack-poppin’ abs, if we have an even larger group of women who are at risk for losing their lives. this is a serious matter and one that i’m whole-heartedly committed to.

so with that: join me for the next month as i BLOG (my) HEART OUT.

join me, won’t you?
[if that’s a yes, leave a comment with how YOU are taking one or all of the take (heart) action steps above. i’ve been known to give away fun things when someone or something touches my heart.]

with all my HEART,
angela