• home
  • about me
  • PR Info

mapsgirl.ca

mapping our life's journey

  • Car Seat Info
    • Rear Facing
    • Forward Facing
    • Booster Seats
    • Front Seat
  • Life
    • body mind spirit
    • faith hope love
    • parenting
  • Recipes
  • Travel
    • RVing
    • Camping
    • Vacation
  • Features
    • monday mumbers
    • 10tuesday
    • wordless wednesday
    • Thank You Thursdays
    • Thursday 13
    • Other Great Blogs
  • Reviews
    • Auto Reviews
  • Shop
You are here: Home / Archives for Life / body mind spirit

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! 

Getting Healthy: Normal BMI

Normal BMI!

Getting Healthy - 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!

Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life Tagged With: BMI, healthy

Book review: “Fitness Confidential” by @VinnieTortorich

March 14, 2014 by Wendy S

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

Book review: FItness Confidential

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.

Filed Under: body mind spirit, book review, Life, Products & Reviews Tagged With: book, fitness, Fitness Confidential, health, review

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. 


Living with Juvenile Diabetes

Bassgiraffe’s Thoughts Thursday Blog HopHello, 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?

Type 1 DiabetesFor 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.

Juvenile DiabetesCare 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.

Clock

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.


A beautiful rainbow

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.

Donate Button

Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life Tagged With: diabetes, Ford Run to End Diabetes, Guest Post, T1D

I’m running in the Ford Race to End Diabetes! #JDRF #donate @FordCanada

March 4, 2014 by Wendy S

Last year I went with Craig to the Ford Race to End Diabetes held at Coronation Park in Oakville.  It was amazing to see so many people come out to run and raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The inspirational speech from a little 8-year-old girl about her life with diabetes was amazing!  

Ford Race to End Diabetes

(Source: blog.ford.ca)

While watching the runners come across the finish line, I said to Craig, “I should run next year.”

Part of me really wanted to run. Part of me didn’t think that I’d actually follow through. 

The old me probably wouldn’t have followed through and I’d just end up standing next to Craig as he tweeted away for @FordCanada and @FordCraigSilva. Cheering as everyone ran past.

The #NewMapsgirl is running!I'm running in the Ford Race to End Diabetes! #JDRF #donate @FordCanada

It’s a year later.

25 pounds are gone.

I’m the healthiest I’ve been in a long time.  

I’m doing this!

My girls will cheer for me!  Craig will cheer for me! I will cheer for me!

Support me in the Ford Race to End Diabetes!

On Saturday, April 26th I will join more than 500 runners at Coronation Park in Oakville to race to find a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D).  Last year the Ford Race raised more than $45,000 for diabetes research, and this year they plan to be bigger and better…and you can help!

Donate Button

To see more about the 2013 race read Bravery On Display At Annual Ford Race To End Diabetes from Ford Canada’s blog.

Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life Tagged With: ford, Ford Canada, Ford Motor Company, JDRF, Race to End Diabetes

MyFitnessPal Tips: Importing recipes is easy!

March 1, 2014 by Wendy S

MyFitnessPal Importing Recipes

Pin it!

In honour of the fact that today is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, I thought I would share a yummy recipe and some tips on using MyFitnessPal!

I found a great apple and peanut butter snack recipe that is perfect to share today and fits perfectly into my new healthy eating habits.  When I went to myfitnesspal today to enter the recipe, I found that they have added a tool for importing recipes! 

New Recipe Importer is easy to use!

When adding your food to your diary, there is now an option under “Recipes” to import from a URL — http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/box (**Update** I have been told that this may not be available to all users yet; it may be something that is being phased in)

Previously, you had to manually enter in all of the information and it would generate the nutritional information about that recipe.  You can still do that, but why? The new importer allows you to enter the URL from the site where you found the recipe, it crawls the site for all of the important info needed, allows you to make changes if needed and you’re done!

Copy and paste the URL

MyFitnessPal Recipe Import

Edit the Ingredient list

MyFitnessPal - Recipe Ingredients

Add missing ingredients

MyFitnessPal Recipe - Ingredients

Save the recipe

MyFitnessPal Recipe - Save

You can see the recipe in MyFitnessPal’s database:

MyFitnessPal recipe in Database

Click to see recipe in myfitnesspal!

 Now I can log the recipe whenever I have it!

Apple Sandwiches with Honeyed Peanut Butter & Oats

Apple Sandwiches
2014-02-28 09:41:18
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon rolled oats
  2. 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  3. 3 tablespoons unsweetened peanut butter
  4. 3/4 teaspoon honey
  5. 1 tablespoon raisins
  6. 1 medium apple
Instructions
  1. Combine the oats and cinnamon in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring occasionally, until the oats are golden. Cool before using.
  2. Mix together the peanut butter and honey.
  3. Core and slice the apple into 6 rounds. (If you don't have an apple corer, you can slice the apple first and then cut out the centers with a small cookie cutter or knife.)
  4. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on 3 of the apple slices and sprinkle with raisins and oats. Top with the remaining apple slices to form sandwiches.
Notes
  1. If you are not eating the apple right away, you can brush it with lemon juice to prevent browning. A solution of 1/4 cup water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice does the trick without tasting too lemony.
  2. For strict gluten-free diets, be sure to use gluten-free oats.
By Emily Ho
Adapted from theKitchn
Adapted from theKitchn
mapsgirl.ca https://www.mapsgirl.ca/

This post was inspired by the 31 Days of Writing Prompts for March from The SITS Girls!

March 31 Days of Writing Prompts

Filed Under: body mind spirit, food, Life, Recipes Tagged With: healthy, myfitnesspal, snacks

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 10
  • Next Page »

Follow MapsGirl On…

mapsgirl@gmail.com

Why “mapsgirl” ?

Wendy is a cartographer! She draws maps!

When not mapping, Wendy is also a mom to two daughters. They are the inspiration of this blog. Passionate about child passenger safety, Wendy was a certified Car Seat Technician in Ontario, Canada from 2008 to 2020. [Read More …]

Subscribe

Top Posts

  • Registering for baby? Not all Safety Items are actually safe
  • What to do with a used, expired or damaged car seat
  • Understanding MyFitnessPal: Goals, exercise and calories
  • Use Instagram and Twitter? Then you need IFTTT! #NoMoreLinks
  • Focused on family: The 2016 Ford Flex is staying on top with technology and safety
mapsgirl on myfitnesspal.com

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Get Sponsored by Big Brands
Emoji Labels are Now Available at Mabel's Labels
January 2021
S M T W T F S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Mar    

Ambassador & Affiliate



PTPA Blogaholic   


Copyright © 2021 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in