Ladies, Take Care of Your Heart!

This year I've spent a good amount of time focused on my weight and doing something about it. At the beginning of the year I participated in the Modern Mom Challenge and shortly after that was completed I was invited to do the pre-launch of EA SPORTS active. I have made progress but there is still have work to do. I try not to be hard on myself because I did not gain this weight overnight and it takes time and effort to lose it. In the meantime I do the best I can and look to my community, other women that are working on getting in shape- to support me. I know that community support is helpful, giving and receiving words of encouragement make this process easier.

I was thrilled to learn about the Go Red for Women Better U initiative. Go Red For Women "celebrates the energy, passion and power we have as women to band together to wipe out heart disease and stroke." On a designated day each year women are encouraged to "Go Red" and wear red fashions to symbolize their commitment to heart health. The new Better U program is a 12 week course that provides information that can help women on the journey to healthy living. You may not know this but heart disease is the number one killer of women and in many cases it is preventable. Better U provides suggestions for small steps you can take - like eating baked instead of fried foods, that will make a difference.

There is also an entire community of women that are taking this journey that you can interact with. You simply set up your profile, determine the date you want to start Better U and jump right in. You can even search participants by location and find women in your area that are committed to improving their heart health. My friends over at MamaLaw are the bloggers for Better U and you can learn all about their stories on the site. A "Better Me" widget is available for download. This coaching tool provides daily reminders and enables you to sign in from your blog, facebook or even your desktop. I encourage you to join Better U.

To get you started, I have a Better U, Better Me kit to giveaway that includes a fabulous tote/gym bag, water bottle, a Go Red pin, a grocery shopping check off list, a yoga mat and one of my favorite snacks, Craisins. I have to tell you that I love my "goodie bag" and I am certain that you will too! To win, all you have to do is visit the Better U website and leave a comment here regarding your favorite aspect of the site or share something you learned.

If you want extra entries:

For Extra Entries -LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH METHOD OF ENTRY

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4. Twitter the giveaway. Please leave the tweet url in your comment (click on the time of your tweet and this will pop-up). To make it easy you can use this text:

Enter Better U giveaway to win gym bag filled with goodies on @Cutiebootycakes Blog http://tinyurl.com/ku2jm9 Pls R/T

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7. Blog and link back to this giveaway.

Good Luck!

This giveaway is open until 11:59 PM on Wednesday, July 1, 2009. A winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will be notified by email (please be sure to include your email address if it is not in your profile) and have 48 hours to respond. Otherwise, an alternate winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

ETA: Congratulations to entry number 169 Kathy Pease! She is the winner of this giveaway.