body mind spirit Archives - Page 2 of 11

5 Products to help you get healthy!

January 8, 2015 by Wendy S

1. Vitamix

This is first on my list because you have to start getting healthy by making sure that you’re getting the right nutrition! Craig wrote a great post about our Vitamix!

Vitamix 1732 TurboBlend VS Blender

2. Meal Planner

Making sure that you’re eating the right foods at the right time of day is very important! We use The Organized Family Menu Planner by Glow Baby to help keep us on track!

The Organized Family Menu Planner by Glow Baby

3. Fitbit

Tracking your movement, activities, steps and calories can help keep you motivated! The new Fitbit Charge has a lot of amazing features, including the number of stairs climbed!

Fitbit Charge HR Wireless Activity Wristband

4. Yurbuds

When I run, I have to listen to music. The regular ear buds that you get with most devices, don’t stay in when you’re running.

Yurbuds Inspire Pro Female Performance-Fit Sports In-Ear Headphones
(also available for men)

5. Contigo AutoSeal Waterbottle

Hydration is important! I love that the Contigo bottle auto-seals and doesn’t leak! It’s also easy to drink from and fits in most cup holders. Most importantly, it fits in the cup holder on the elliptical at my gym!

Contigo AutoSeal Water Bottle

NOTE: Some of the links above are affiliate links and I may get credit if any purchases are made.

Pushups for Donuts: A parable

October 26, 2014 by Wendy S

Friday we had a Halloween Party for the Senior Youth Group at our church. We had a package of mini powdered donuts left over. I casually said, “Oh, we’ll have eat them on Sunday. I’m sure I can find a way to work them into the lesson.”

I turned to Google to help me out. I found this amazing story. It has been published in books and on many other websites, the author is Unknown, but the message is so powerful!

Pushups for Donuts

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending school in Utah. In this school Seminary classes are held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson’s Seminary class.

Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class,

Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, “You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?” Steve’s answer was, “Yeah, I do.”

Then Brother Christianson asked, “How many push-ups can you do?” Steve said, “I do about 200 every night.”

“200? That’s pretty good, Steve,” Brother Christianson said. “Do you think you could do 300?”

Steve replied, “I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.”

“Do you think you could?” Again asked Brother Christianson.

“Well, I can try,” said Steve.

“Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,” Brother Christianson said.

Steve said, “Well… I think I can… yeah, I can do it.”

Brother Christianson said, “Good! I need you to do this on Friday.”

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother

Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts.

Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want a donut?”

Cynthia said, “Yes.”

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?”

Steve said, “Sure,” and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk.

Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.

Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, “Joe do you want a donut?” Joe said, “Yes.” Bro. Christianson asked, “Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?”

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.

And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.

Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, “Scott do you want a donut?”

Scott’s reply was, “Well, can I do my own pushups?”

Bro. Christianson said, “No, Steve has to do them.”

Then Scott said, “Well, I don’t want one then.”

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?”

Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, “HEY! I said I didn’t want one!”

Bro. Christianson said, “Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.” And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro.

Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, “Jenny, do you want a donut?”

Jenny said, “No.”

Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve,would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?” Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say “No” and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.

Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Bro. Christianson, “Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?”

Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, “Well, they’re your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.”

And Bro. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, “NO!

Don’t come in! Stay out!”

Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, “No, let him come.”

Bro. Christianson said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.”

Steve said, “Yes, let him come in.”

Bro. Christianson said, “Okay, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?”

“Yes.”

“Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?” Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a doughnut?

Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?”

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. “Susan, do you want a donut?”

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, “Bro. Christianson , can I help him?”

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, “No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?”

As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said:

“And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.”

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

“Well done good and faithful servant,” said the professor, adding, “Not all sermons are preached in words.”

Turning to the class the professor said, “My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God spared not His only begotten son, but gave him up for us and for the whole world, now and forever. Whether we choose to accept His gift to us, the price for our sins has been paid. Wouldn’t it be foolish and wouldn’t it be ungrateful just to leave it laying on the desk?”

Getting Healthly: 6 month update — Normal BMI #NewMapsgirl

March 18, 2014 by Wendy S

For the last 6 months, I’ve been focused on my health. I’ve been eating better. I’m exercising 3 days a week. And I’m feeling great!

When I started this journey, I wasn’t even close to having a normal BMI. I was overweight.

But with a lot of hard work, at my last measurement, just over 1 month ago, I had lost 13″ and 24lbs.

In the last 4 weeks, I’ve lost another 3 pounds!

Normal BMI!

As much as I’ve been watching the scale and tape measure, I’ve also been keeping an eye on my BMI. As of today, I am Normal!

BMI Categories:

Underweight = <18.5

Normal weight = 18.5–24.9

Overweight = 25–29.9

Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Why is a normal BMI important?

(info from the CDC)

BMI is used as a screening tool to identify possible weight problems for adults. However, BMI is not a diagnostic tool. For example, a person may have a high BMI. However, to determine if excess weight is a health risk, a healthcare provider would need to perform further assessments. These assessments might include skinfold thickness measurements, evaluations of diet, physical activity, family history, and other appropriate health screenings.

The BMI ranges are based on the relationship between body weight and disease and death. Overweight and obese individuals are at increased risk for many diseases and health conditions, including the following:

Hypertension
Dyslipidemia (for example, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides)
Type 2 diabetes
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

Since I have a family history with so many of the things listed above, getting healthy and getting back into the “normal” range was important to me!

Still have work to do

I still have work to do though. I would like to be more in the middle of the normal range, so I have about 10-14 pounds more to lose. I’ll confirm this with my trainer and doctor to make sure I’m hitting the correct targets.

Flash Player 9 is required.

What is your BMI?

Are you in the normal range? Are there things you can work on to become healthier?

Other awesome things that are happening

Since Craig and I have adopted healthy habits, I have seen our girls do some things that make me very happy.

Just the other day, Rachel stopped and read a nutrition label to see the amount of sugar something had in it.

Lauren will grab fruits and veggies from the fridge more frequently than she asks for candy. She still has a sweet tooth so we’re working to curb that!

How are your health goals going?

If you’re on a healthy journey too, let’s support each other! Leave a comment below and let me know how you’re doing!

Book review: “Fitness Confidential” by @VinnieTortorich

March 14, 2014 by Wendy S

I was sent the e-book version of “Fitness Confidential” to review.

Since I have been working out with a trainer for the last few months, I was curious to see what this book is about.

Vinnie Tortorich has years and years of experience in fitness and nutrition. In “Fitness Confidential” he shares his story and all of this knowledge.

The book is divided into 4 main sections: Eat to Lose, Exercise to Win, Life into Living, Cut the Crap

Eat to Lose

He talks about societies habits, the changes in our food and how we try to make things sound healthy. He dispels many of the myths and warns of the hazards around some of the diet fads that exist. There is a lot of information about how our bodies work and how it handles different types of food. He believes that it’s best to eliminate sugar and grains and he describes that people need to eat the right foods to become and/or stay healthy.

Exercise to Win

After being bullied as a kid, he started working out, changed his body and changed how everyone looked at him. He started eating properly and exercising and got in shape. He gives some tips on choosing a gym that is right for you and tips on how to approach your workout routine. He reminds the reader that what you eat is most important for losing weight and many other valuable pieces of advice.

Vinnie describes some of the exercises that will give you the most out of your workout in the least amount of time. Like his discussion on choosing the right gym, Vinnie discusses what makes a great trainer. And, his best infomercial-type style, he tells you want the best piece of fitness equipment you can buy. (I’m not giving it away. It’s too funny not to read.) He goes on to explain that even with all of these things, you still need to be mentally willing to put in the work.

Life into Living

This section of the book threw me for a loop! There’s no way for me to get into detail with out ruining what happens. But it’s truly amazing what Vinnie is able to accomplish.

Cut the Crap

This final chapter is filled with examples of why you just need to get off your butt and get moving. He spends the whole chapter motivating you to start on a new path but keeps it real. He wants people to be able to help themselves and be working out and eating better for all the right reasons.

My thoughts:

When reading the book you can tell that it was written with the same inflection as if Vinnie was talking to you. He’s blunt, he swears, and he doesn’t beat around the bush. He will open your eyes to some of the myths that we have come to believe are fact. He likes to knock down some of the media hype that surrounds a lot of the existing “healthy” products and ideas that retailers would like you to think are good for you.

I like that at the beginning of each section, there are some real-life examples of what he will be focusing on. Many times he’ll give some history about himself and what were his motivating factors that moved him to where he is today. As he discusses nutrition, exercise, and habits that people need to be healthy, he declares himself as the readers trainer. He’ll have the reader reflect on their own lives and then he gives them things to do to start changing their lives. Even if it is just a small things.

This personal story, mixed with facts and fitness knowledge, is a great way to show people that anything is possible. You need the right knowledge and motivation to get you going and keep you going. If you’re looking for a book to get you started on a healthy journey, or need a good refresher as to why you’re working out, this is a good book to read.

Title: Fitness Confidential

Authors: Vinnie Tortorich and Dean Lorey

ISBN: 978-1939337924

Publisher: Telemachus Press, LLC (June 27, 2013)

Format/Length:Paperback 248 pages (kindle edition 638 KB)

From the Publishers:

America’s Angriest Trainer, Vinnie Tortorich, exposes the nasty underbelly of the fitness industry while getting you into the best shape of your life. For over 20 years, Vinnie has been Hollywood’s go-to guy for celebrities and athletes looking to get fit fast. Now, in this hilarious and often r-rated memoir, he holds nothing back. What’s the best piece of fitness equipment money can buy? What’s the fastest way to lose weight: diet or exercise? Why are health clubs worse than used car lots? In FITNESS CONFIDENTIAL, Vinnie tells all. So get ready to get fit, get inspired and get the dirt with Hollywood’s most outrageous personal trainer!

To learn more about Vinnie Tortorich, check out his website: http://vinnietortorich.com/

And you can listen to his podcast by subscribing here: The Podcast

Like him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angriesttrainer

Follow on twitter: @VinnieTortorich

You can purchase the book on Amazon.

Living with Juvenile Diabetes #T1D

March 11, 2014 by Wendy S

I signed up to run the Race to End Diabetes because I wanted a personal challenge, but I also feel that it is important to find a cure. My grandfather had diabetes, but he passed away when I was young, so the impact of diabetes on his life wasn’t apparent to me. I want people to know how T1D affects a child and their family.

Hello, my name is Erica, and I blog at bassgiraffe’s Thoughts. Our 4 year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes one year ago. Since then our lives, and most importantly, her life has changed dramatically. Before we tell you what a typical day of our diabetic family I want to give you some important facts about type 1 diabetes.

What is Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)?

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) also known as juvenile diabetes is when a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin. It’s not caused by what someone ate or an unhealthy life style. It can be hereditary, caused by a virus or can just happen. In our case we think it was a virus she had the summer before she was diagnosed. Once the pancreas stops working it will never work again. In order for someone with T1D to stay alive they need to inject insulin into their body. They also have to keep a close watch on the blood sugar (blood glucose or BG) levels and count the amount of carbohydrates they eat during the day.

What happens if BG levels are too low?

If a T1D’s BG levels go below a certain number their body starts to shut down. If they don’t get a fast acting sugar (carbohydrate) into their system they will go in to a coma and could die if the low blood sugar isn’t caught soon enough. If someone cannot wake up to take a fast acting sugar you may have to inject glucagon into them, they will then need to stay in the hospital for observation. For this reason it is extremely important for a T1D to check their BG often. For our daughter, we check her any where from 6-12 times a day — poking her finger to get a drop of blood, 6- 12 times a day and have it read on a glucose meter.

What happens if BG levels are too high?

If a T1D’s BG levels go above a certain number and goes untreated for a certain amount of time their body will develop what is know a keytones, and could go into Ketoacidosis (DKA). If you don’t seek help soon enough your body will start to shut down, you could go into a coma or even die. Signs of high keytones are frequent urination, extreme thirst, unable to stay awake, pain in the stomach. To get rid of the keytones, you need to administer insulin, and sometimes you may need to stay in the hospital until your blood sugars are in control. To keep our daughters BG levels at a safe range, we have to give her insulin injections 4 times a day, usually in her arm or leg.

What goes on in the life of a kid that lives with T1D?

For us, it’s not always a cut and dry routine, nothing is “typical” when it comes to someone with T1D. Its a constantly changing thing. Something might work for awhile then things change and you have to figure out how to get her BG numbers back on track again.

Our day starts out by getting up just like any normal family, but because managing the disease is all about routine and schedule, weekends often mean not sleeping in as long as we used to in order to make sure everything stays on track.

Once dressed, we go downstairs, and test her blood glucose (BG) levels before she eats. If she is low, she gets a juice box immediately, otherwise we need to figure out what she wants to eat for breakfast, and measure exactly what she is eating so we know how many carbohydrates she will eat. Sometimes she will eat everything we measured out. That make it easy for us to then calculate how much insulin she gets for her food plus any added/subtracted amount, depending on how her BG was before the meal. If she doesn’t eat everything we then have to figure out how many carbs to remove before doing our calculations. We then put a needle tip on her insulin pen, set it to the calculated amount and administer the insulin in her arm or leg. This usually is accompanied with crying or screaming (the screaming has become less the longer she has been doing it).

If it’s a school day my husband, Chris, often will make the lunches in the morning before they leave. Lunches aren’t as simple as making lunch for our oldest child. It takes a bit longer to prepare. Her school has two nutrition breaks, one midway through the morning and one in the afternoon. So she needs to take two lunches with her. Both lunches need to meet a carb count goal (set by her medical team) to make sure her BG levels are maintained through the day as well making sure she has proper nutrition. We write down exactly what carbs are in each part of her lunch, this is for the nurse to be able to calculate the proper insulin and if she doesn’t eat all the food, he can subtract the carbs from the final number. Chris also prepares her diabetes kit, making sure all her diabetic supplies (insulin, needle tips, test strips etc) are all ready for the day.

That is all done in the morning. Once that is all done, we are ready to head out the door to go to school.

Care at school

Before each nutrition break she has her BG levels tested, then she can eat. Once she is finished with her first nutrition break, her nurse will communicate with us her BG levels and confirm how much insulin he is giving her. For her second break he only tests her BG levels and sends another message to us.

Routine is important ~ even in the middle of the night

When she gets home, she gets to play or do homework for a bit while we prepare dinner. We have to try to make sure she is eating close to every 2-3 hours to help keep her BG levels as even as possible. We test BG levels again before dinner. We then measure out how many carbs are in what we put on her plate. In the past she would fight us on eating and wouldn’t eat everything put in front of her, if she doesn’t eat everything we then have to remeasure her food to find out how much she didn’t eat, so we are sure to give her the correct insulin. After another arm poke with her insulin, she usually goes back to playing or to reading with her sister.

Before bedtime, we check her BG again and then she has a snack to make sure she has enough carbs to last her body through the night. She then gets her fourth and final insulin shot of the day, this time it’s a long acting insulin that works in the background for 24 hours. (There are two types of insulin she receives. A fast acting one that only lasts around 4 hours, she gets that one 3 times a day. And then there is the long acting insulin that lasts for 24 hours.) She then goes to bed.

We then either stay up til midnight, or if we go to bed at a ‘normal’ time, we set an alarm to check her BG levels in the middle of the night (she sleeps through this testing). The midnight checking is extremely important, we can’t see her and she can’t communicate with us with how she is feeling. There have been many nights her BG levels were low. We then have to give her a fast acting carb, like a box of apple juice. We then recheck her 15-20 minutes later, if it still hasn’t gone up we repeat the process. It makes for long, tiring and stressful nights when that happens (and for me I won’t be able to sleep, because I’m worry that her levels will go low and she won’t wake up in the morning). We are also blessed that our daughter has become a pro at “sleep-drinking” so we just have to sit her up, and put the straw to her mouth and she can finish the box in less then a minute, then rolls over and goes back to sleep. It wasn’t always this simple and we would have to fight with her to wake up and drink the juice. We are also very thankful that she has never been so low that she hasn’t been able to wake up at all either!

Keeping us on our toes

Every day is a bit different. It all depends on our schedules, what she eats, her BG levels, her level of activity and so much more… and weekends present their own challenges, nothing has a set schedule. We hope this helps you get an idea of everything that we need to deal with helping a young child with type 1 diabetes.

Thank you Wendy for helping spread the word about T1D and for doing the Ford Canada Race to End Diabetes run. It means a lot to our family and many others in Canada. Our hope is to one day find a cure and our little girl won’t have to live through so many pokes and fears, that she can live a “normal” childhood.

At only 4-years-old, she has spent a year of her life getting poked and pricked. Until there is a cure, this will be the rest of her life. As she grows, she will start to understand how to care for herself, but until then, her parents will repeat this routine every day.

Thank you Erica for sharing your story!

Please support me as I Race to End Diabetes to help Erica, her daughter and many other Canadians who lives with this disease.