This post brought to you by American Heart Association. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stagetecture.

Healthy habits are becoming harder and harder to keep, as our lives get busier, am I right? It’s amazing how many tasks, jobs, and hats we as mothers, daughters, sisters and grandmother’s take on in a typical day.  My daughter reminds me everyday, “Life Is Why.” She shows me how making time to exercise, eat healthy, get more rest, and get off of the computer on a regular basis are all healthy habits for me, but that in turn transform my family.

Make your “Life is Why” Image!

American Heart Association has created the  #LifeIsWhy campaign to help mothers like you and me determine what is the reason you want to live a longer and healthier life? They have some great resources to help you get healthy… before I share them with you, here’s my story…

I come from a family where obesity is the norm rather than rare. Most of my life I carried at least 75-100 pounds of extra weight, until 2005 when my father passed away from complications with diabetes. After the birth of my daughter at the end of 2005 I vowed to get healthy to be able to live a longer life, and see my daughter grow to have her own family.

I lost 75 pounds and have kept it off by eating healthy and exercising:

• I visited a blood chemistry doctor to find out what foods my body wasn’t digesting well. I found out that wheat, blueberries, spinach, carrots and celery were all causing my blood sugar to spike and therefore I could never lose weight.
• I joined my local gym and started exercising 3, then 4, up to 6 days a week now for an hour a day.
• I installed a health app on my phone to track my progress and got a fitness tracker to track my daily steps.
• I asked my husband and daughter to join me in getting healthy and we made family eating lifestyle changes as well as played a family-friendly dance-off video game each week to exercise together. 🙂

What healthy habits can you start today? Here are a few suggestions:

• Increase consumption of fruits and veggies
• Decrease consumption of sodium
• Decrease consumption of sugary sweetened beverages
• Increase physical activity
• Check and control blood pressure

The American Heart Association is leading the way in helping people to live healthier, longer lives. 

They’ve got resources for healthy living, like recipes, healthy tips and tricks for moms, and information and resources on heart and brain health. They’re working to improve the health of communities by affecting laws through advocacy initiatives. The organization is funding life-saving research and science advances to help people live healthier, longer lives so they can experience more of life’s precious moments.

Now that you’ve heard my story tell me ‘What is your Why?’ What’s your reason, your motivation, for living a healthier, longer life?

Try these helpful resources to join me and other women making a life choice to become healthier.

Moms Unite Facebook Group

Join other moms to get encouragement for healthy living, exercise tips and more.

AHA – Pinterest

Need healthy recipes, heart healthy tips and fun facts? Follow their Pinterest board!

Create your own “Life is Why” image

Share what your “Why” is in the #LifeIsWhy campaign here at http://lifesiswhy.org/moms

This year vow to get healthier and remember you don’t have to do it alone! You have me as your cheerleader to make this a year of change for you and your health.