Only hours away from our return flight from Spain this summer, I found myself Googling symptoms for heart attack in women, just to reassure myself that the pain in my chest was probably nothing. What I read was not clear enough to stop worrying and I very nearly had my husband take me to the hospital. Instead we went for a walk on a pier and I thought I was going to faint. After a good doze of the fresh ocean breeze, I started feeling better and the pain in my chest as well as the dizziness faded away. Things that had gone through my head were very scary. The scariest thought of all was ‘who will look after my children if something happens to me?‘

Everyone knows that when the oxygen masks in an airplane drop from the ceiling you need to put your own mask on first and only then help your children, right? So why is it that in ‘real life’ mums seem to forget this very important rule all too easily? We seem to always be busy with looking after everyone around us that we either tend to forget ourselves or simply run out of time or energy for taking care of ourselves. If you are anything like me, you are enjoying looking after your children, spending time with your partner and your job gives you additional satisfaction, so you might not even notice that you are neglecting yourself.

Why am I telling you this? I’m telling you because I thought I was doing great. I started my business to create the flexibility to look after my children. Driven by the love for my family and the passion for my business, I kept stretching myself beyond my limits. And that despite the fact that I can count the number of nights my little girl has let us sleep through in the past 20 months on my two hands. The heart attack scare of this summer was a big wake-up call for me. I’ve had a check up with the doctor and it appears that the symptoms were indeed caused by exhaustion.

What have I done about this? First of all I got some help. Living far away from family, we had to be creative and found the solution in Granny Aupair. So we now have a Swiss ‘granny’ live with us for 5 months to help me with the children and the household. The difference she is making to our lives is amazing. I feel much better and can be there for the children in a much more relaxed way. We are laughing much more together now :-).

Secondly, I had a conversation with my friend, Luci, about risk factors for heart disease and what she told me made me aware of how important it is to put on our own oxygen masks first once more. She told me about some new research findings you might not know about. Due to my own experience, I feel very strongly about sharing this information, watch my video interview with Luci to learn more.

If you would like someone to help you feel taken care of this winter and holiday season, join us on our Winter Self Care Boost program. In this program we’ll help you cruise through this winter glowing with energy and maintaining your weight with ease. In one of the 5 online video classes we’ll help you create simple habits to tamp down the stress and help you sleep better, at least if you are not woken up by a baby in the middle of the night :-).

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