Friday, February 6th is National Wear Red Day to bring awareness to the risk of heart disease in women.  Part of our mission at Fashion Crossroads is to empower and educate women to fulfill their inner and outer beauty.  So, naturally, this is an event we want to support.  We are encouraging all of our staff and customers to WEAR RED THIS FRIDAY, and educate yourself about heart disease.  We’d love to give you a Hershey’s Kiss and a great big hug on Friday for coming in to either Fashion Crossroads or FC Outlet wearing red!

The most important risk factors for heart disease are:

• High blood pressure
• High blood cholesterol
• Diabetes and prediabetes
• Smoking
• Being overweight or obese
• Being physically inactive
• Having a family history of early heart disease
• Having a history of preeclampsia during pregnancy
• Unhealthy diet
• Age (55 or older for women
• (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/hearttruth/lower-risk/index.htm

You might not realize that women need to begin protecting their heart in their teens.  Fashion Crossroads encourages you to make your health a priority in 2015.  Smoking, Hypertension and high Cholesterol all increase your risk of heart disease.  If you think you might be at risk or just want more information, check out The American Heart Association’s website or just Google “national wear red day.”

If you find yourself heavier than you’d like to be this February, there are many great ways to incorporate loosing a few pounds and technology.  I wear a Body Media Fitness Band everywhere I go.  It tells me how many calories I have burned, how many steps I have taken, how many minutes of moderate or vigorous activity I have had each day, and how many hours of sleep I got the night before.  Fit Bit or Jawbone also offer great fitness trackers.  These gadgets can help make getting fit fun!  I also use My Fitness Pal to track my calories each day.  This free app makes calorie counting easy and fun.  You can simply scan a product’s bar code with your smartphone and record a food item in seconds.  Using these two things together, I have figured out how many calories I typically burn and how many I can consume if I want to maintain weight or loose weight.  This has really helped me stabilize my weight.  The other gadget that I love is my Withings Scale.  It tells me not only how much I weigh but also what my body mass index and resting heart rate are.  These are also important measures of fitness.

I encourage you to make a healthy lifestyle plan for 2015.  Join with a girlfriend and get walking or going to the gym!  If you do, let us know!  Post on our Facebook page or Twitter page that you are getting heart healthy!  We will celebrate with you and encourage you to meet your goals.