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You are here: Home / Archives for motivated monday

Make yourself a priority, your heart will thank you for it! #EncourageAMom #spon

March 26, 2013 by Wendy S

This post is part of YummyMummyClub.ca‘s and Becel’s “Encourage a Mom” program. In its role as founding sponsor of The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s The Heart Truth™ campaign, Becel wants to empower moms and encourage them to prioritize their own health and well-being as much as they do others. I received compensation for my participation. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided by the sponsors.


When YMC posted the opportunity to do a blog post about encouraging other moms, I knew that this was perfect for me. Perfect timing too! It had taken me awhile to figure out that I needed to focus on myself. The large number on the scale was a huge sign that something needed to change. A lot of things.

What is all of this weight doing to my body?

Extra weight puts a lot of strain on the other organs – particularly heart and lungs. Did you know that “by taking the time to take care of themselves too through healthy lifestyle choices, women can reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke (a leading cause of death for women in Canada), by as much as 80%”?


I want to be around to see my grandbabies. Death is not an option right now. I lost my dad just before that 2008 photo was taken. Rachel was only 6 months old. I weighed about 130 pounds.

Life caught up to me. Habits were formed; bad habits. For example, I take the time to make my kids a nice healthy lunch with fruits and vegetables but I end up getting drive-thru fast food for myself. In that 2013 photo, I’m more than 30 pounds heavier. My BMI is in the “overweight” category.

Reducing the Risk – Making time for me!

In order to be healthier, my doctor told me that I need to make healthy food choices and exercise. It really didn’t seem that difficult. But how? But when?

The excuse I tell myself often is “Between the 4 of us we have activities every night and finding time to exercise is tough.” I need to MAKE time. And I had to start out small. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with too much too quickly. I substituted my trip to the drive-thru with a healthy lunch and fruits and veggies for snacks. I park at the back of the parking lot and I take the stairs instead of the elevator. I started tracking what I eat and blogging about my journey.

Moms helping moms

My “Motivational Mondays” posts have led to become a part of an amazing group of women who support and encourage each other to stay focused on our goals of living a healthy life. “The majority (60%) of Canadian mothers say they don’t have enough time to take care of themselves. Over half (56%) of Canadian moms surveyed said they would be more likely to spend more time to take care of themselves if another mother encouraged them to do so,” according to a Becel commissioned survey. I’m very glad I have this group! A friendly reminder that I’m important too and that scheduling 30 minutes of exercise a day for me isn’t taking away from my kids. In the long run, it will mean more time.

 

Is there a mom you want to encourage?

Every mom needs a little reminder that she is important too!

I’m personalizing and sending this video to a few moms who are on this journey with me, who I know would appreciate a little encouragement!

Becel made this amazing video to empower moms and encourage them to prioritize their own health and well-being as much as they do for others.
You can go to the Becel website to easily personalize and send the video to moms in your life to remind them to take care of themselves too!

Encourage a Mom today! #EncourageAMom

** Images are my own.

Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life, sponsored Tagged With: motivated monday, YMC

motivated monday: the lay of the land

February 26, 2013 by Wendy S

You’re reading this, thinking “Wow! A Motivated Monday post. She hasn’t done one of those in a while.”   I know.  I’m struggling.  I keep falling back into the old habits.  And if I don’t blog, they don’t exist, right??

But…….

I went to the doctor today.

No, I’m not sick.    I went for a physical.

The last time I went was after my daughter was born….she will be 6 next month.  I know…I know…

I think that if I didn’t go to the doctor, I didn’t have to admit that I needed to change.  Avoidance coping.

I decided that since I’m on the road to a better mind, body and spirit, I needed to know where I stand.

All in all, it was pretty good!  My blood pressure is great, my ears, nose, throat are good, lungs are good and other various things that he checked are good.

Then he weighed me and asked me my height.  Ugh.  And when he punched those number into his computer it confirmed what I already knew.  I’m overweight.
(However, I do like his scale better than mine…I’m one pound lighter on his!)
We talked about my eating habits and my exercise habits.  I explained that I’m working on new habits because the old habits are bad.  He said eat good foods, eat smaller portions and walk 30-40 minutes everyday.  That’s pretty reasonable.  Stuff I already knew.  Stuff I need to be doing.
But as we know, breaking those bad habits are hard.  Though I should really stop saying that because it just reinforces the wrong message.
Big deep breath ….
My new habits are going to make me healthy!
Next step is to get my blood work done, but he wants me to fast first. I’ll get that done in the next few days.
Have you gone for an assessment with your doctor to see how you’re doing?? Share your posts about improving your mind, body and spirit!!


Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life Tagged With: health, motivated monday, the incredible shrinking girl

motivated monday: not a great week

February 4, 2013 by Wendy S

I got that in a email this morning.

It’s weeks like this I have to look back and wonder why the trail fell of the tracks.

Let’s start with what I didn’t do:

  • I didn’t exercise
  • I didn’t track my food
  • I didn’t drink enough water

But beating myself up isn’t going to help. Avoiding the issues isn’t going to help.

Building new, good habits isn’t easy.  It’s okay that I don’t get this healthy stuff right out of the gate.  So I need to pick myself up, brush myself off and keep going.

What do you do when you’ve had a not-so-good week??


Share your post about improving your life — body, mind and spirit!


Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life Tagged With: health, motivated monday

motivated monday: getting better

January 28, 2013 by Wendy S

Thanks to Sober Julie for starting
Motivated Monday!

The beginning of week 3!!

I can say things are definitely better than 2 weeks ago.  My ticker says I’ve lost 7 lbs…and 3 of those were last week!!

I have cut back on the junk food and increased my exercise.  My water consumption is up; not consistent yet, but I’m getting there.

My biggest hurdle right now is eating enough fruits and vegetables.  I think that goes back to my issue with needing to learn to plan my meals.

MyFitnessPal.com  is definitely helping me.  Seeing how many calories different foods are is a huge deterrent for wanting to eat too much of a bad thing.  Plus I can keep track of all the water I’ve been drinking and the exercise I’ve been doing.  And I love that I have some friends on there now; supporting me as I go.

If you’re not using a tracker of some sort, I highly recommend finding one that you like.  Join me on MyFitnessPal.com and we can support each other!!

I promise to eat 2 veggies and 1 fruit a day.
(I know it’s not enough…but it’s a start.)
What promises are you making for yourself this week??

If you’re taking the steps to improve your life in some way, please link up your post!


Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life Tagged With: health, motivated monday, the incredible shrinking girl

motivated monday: huge learning curve

January 21, 2013 by Wendy S

Wow! One week down already!

 Some really good things have happened! And I’ve learned a lot about myself. (I could have said that some really bad things happened, but I’m trying to stay positive).


Wendy’s MyFitnessPal

The good things:

  • I’ve started tracking what I eat and how much water I drink (click the button on the right and join me on my journey)
  • I’ve started exercising
  • I haven’t lost any weight but I haven’t gained any either
  • I’ve found a group of people who are focused on a healthier life too;  I need all the support I can get!

What I’ve learned:
  • Weekends are hard
  • I need to drink more water
  • Exercise is tough
  • Finding motivation is hard sometimes
  • I have way too many excuses for way too many things

Monday and Tuesday were awesome! I had motivation, watched what I ate, and exercised 2 days in a row.  Wednesday: eating was okay, exercise was non-existant.  Thursday was the same.  Friday was bad…pizza and no exercise, followed by no sleep (all-nighter with the Youth Group)

And that note up there about “weekends are bad”… ya.  Saturday I slept all day after getting no sleep the night before…no breakfast, no lunch…and then dinner was take out.  Sunday was busy too….no breakfast, peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and left-over take out for dinner.

Today is a new day.  I will kick “Blue Monday” in the butt and get back on track!

Please tell me I’m not the only one struggling to get this health thing sorted out?!?!


Join Motivated Monday and link up your post!

 Photobucket


Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life Tagged With: motivated monday, the incredible shrinking girl

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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 …]

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