Healthy Heart Challenge 2012
 
Lexy Hamilton-Smith

I want to spend many many months in retirement sipping retsina on the Greek Island of Paros. Sitting peacefully on the Aegean Sea, full of white-washed beaches. Sandy havens I intend to enjoy in a bikini!  So when the call went out to join the Healthy Heart Challenge, how could I refuse?

The warning bells had already started to ring last year when I was having health problems due to severe stress after being flooded. Time for a health reality check. After all, my father died of a heart attack at 62 and my beautiful late husband Dave also had severe heart disease and passed away at 56. 

So for years, I have been sadly aware how cardiovascular disease affected men. But what I did not realise was how often it struck women. I do now, and I know fit young women are also sufferers. It does not discriminate and it DOES kill.

I know my cholesterol level and my blood pressure, and due to last year’s health scare I have now had an angiogram. The good news is I have a healthy heart but I want to keep it that way. So I have joined the gym and bought a bike to make sure I exercise an hour a day.

You can do it too. Registrations open 1 May and the fun starts 4 June, so come along for the ride. It is my great honour to be a Healthy Heart Challenge Hero and I promise to no longer to eat a packet of chocolate biscuits if I am stressed after work…an apple will now suffice.


Challenge update
 
I started my Healthy Heart Challenge just two days after getting home from overseas. So jet lagged and still in holiday mode I must admit I was a little slow off the mark when Monday 4 June rolled around.
 
However, I did manage a half an hour walk for the first three days and kept the wine bottle in the fridge. By Thursday 7 June I was ready for more action so tried out the Body Attack boxing class at my local gym.
 
That was a big heart work out and made me realise I needed to ramp up my Challenge just a little. So Friday night I did an hour walk after work and once again had no alcohol. Saturday I joined the Heart Foundation team at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast where we got hundreds of people to join the Challenge. But still had time in the afternoon for a vigorous walk.
 
Sunday ... a lay day ... big lazy lunch with chocolate pudding for dessert and no exercise. Hey, we all need a break some times!
 
But week two has been really good. Despite a hectic breaking news schedule at Channel Ten with the Baden-Clay case I still managed to exercise each night. My daughter and I also made sure we ate more salads and smaller portions. At this point I have not lost any weight but do feel my heart is getting healthier by the day. So bring on the coming weeks. Even my sister in London has signed on ... anyone can do it.
 


After the Challenge
 
Mid-way through the winter challenge and there's an icy blast from down south making it the coldest week in Brisbane in 27 years. I have to be honest if I was not participating in the Heart Foundation’s Healthy Heart Challenge I would have done absolutely nothing.
 
But my conscience got the better of me. After all you can't be a Healthy Heart Hero without being heroic right? 
 
So third weekend in I started Saturday with a big hour and a half walk spurred on by my 80s hot hits blasting through my iPod. I went to the gym on Sunday: a body balance class which helped me find my chi for the rest of the Challenge. Monday was a hectic work day but I forced myself to do a walk in the very crisp night air after I got home.  At least the 18 year old made dinner while I was gone ... Now that's a positive!
 
Through the rest of the Challenge (barring two days off due to the flu and of course another on State of Origin night which was all about beer, footy and pizza) I would say I averaged four days a week. Not ideal, but for someone who was not pushing her heart regularly I have done pretty well.
 
The real challenge is how to keep it up with a busy work life that has no regular timetable. If only I was an early morning person! Anyway I know there are NO excuses, and I must admit I feel so much more positive when I have worked out.
 
So my promise to myself is to do something four times a week. I will continue to experiment at the gym. I now know boxing classes and body attack really get the heart racing. After all, that retirement on a Greek Island is beckoning, but the bikini may be a little optimistic. Go girls! Keep it up and enjoy.