Successful Slimming

Extra body weight puts a strain on the heart. Create a “Lose Weight To Win Big” weight-loss contest. Organize contestants into teams for moral support. Collect a participation fee. Start everyone off with “Healthy Heart Nutrition And Fitness” Guides. Hold weekly weigh-ins to monitor progress. Four weeks into an eight-week program, reward participants with Translucent Water Bottles. At the end, use the collected fees as monetary prizes for top teams and individuals.

Influential Meal

Spread your heart-health message even further by reaching out to community leaders. Invite county and city officials, school administrators and clergy members to breakfast. Right before the event, place heart stickers on the underside of a few chairs. Serve heart-healthy foods, such as fruit, whole-grain muffins and juice, while skipping the fat-laden donuts and bacon. Have medical professionals speak about heart disease, especially in women. Give “Take Your Health To Heart” Red Awareness Pens to all attendees as reminders of the topic. Award “Make Every Beat Count” Insulated Travel Mugs to the people sitting in the chairs with stickers.

A Cart For The Heart

Surprise female employees by personally bringing heart-health materials to them. Stock up on “Heart Smarts For Women” Slideguides, “Be Smart For Your Heart” Women’s Heart-Health Pocket Pals and “50 Heart-Healthy Snacks” Glancers. Also gather printed information about any wellness and employee assistance programs your company offers. Place everything on a cart. Push the cart around,stopping at each employee’s desk to make a delivery. If someone isn’t there, come back later when she is to ensure you get face-to-face contact.

Moving Motivation

Arrange for a fitness expert to visit and inspire women in your organization to become physically fit. Choose a local or national celebrity, maybe one who has written an exercise book or starred in a workout DVD. Allow time for your guest to give a motivational speech, as well as teach some fitness basics. Have Heart-Shaped Pedometers for him or her to pass out. Afterwards, distribute “Eating & Exercising For A Healthy Heart” Handbooks.

Lesson To Learn

CPR can mean the difference between life and death. Sponsor a CPR class to empower the women around you to save lives. In addition to the CPR training, ask the instructor to detail heart attack symptoms, since women have more unrecognized heart attacks than men. Hand out “Warning Signs Of A Heart Attack & CPR For Heart Attack Victims” Wallet Cards. Use “Bless Your Heart” Lapel Pins to thank everyone, including the instructor, for their presence.

Subduing Stress

Stress may contribute to high blood pressure, chest pains, high cholesterol levels, irregular heart beats and even heart disease. The good news is that some of the ways to reduce stress, such as eating and drinking sensibly as well as exercising, are directly good for the heart too. With this in mind, offer a stress management seminar. At the seminar,discuss causes and symptoms of stress, along with stress relief techniques. Include somestress-reducing activities in the event. Set out “101 Ways To Manage Stress For A Healthy Heart” Bookmarks as reinforcement of what was taught.