It is almost hard to believe that one month has passed by already. It feels like yesterday that I had finally had enough and wanted to fix the mistakes that I was making and become healthier not only for myself but to give a positive example to my boys. Now it is week four and while I am still sticking to it this had to be my hardest week yet. As you can see by how late this post was! Not only was it the first week of school for my babies (and my youngest who is now officially a Kindergarten kid!), I also had my Dad over helping me with caring for the boys the week before school started and he is the most divine cook ever. No lie – I can’t stop eating his food!
This week, I chose to keep better track of my fitness by using a calendar on the fridge. The mental tracking was just not cutting it anymore. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t giving in to weaknesses nor was I lying to myself.
So here is how I did it week three:
1-2 pound weight loss. I may have gained two pounds with my Dad’s cooking! Oops!!
Weight training three times this week. I managed it once 🙁
Yoga three times this week. Zero times this week.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge.
11,000 steps a day. While I didn’t hit 11,000 every day, I always made it to 10,000.
One 3 km walk.
One 4 km walk.
This week I know I have to step it up even more, especially with The Great Camp Adventure Walk coming up in the next few weeks (yay!).
Week four goals:
1-2 pound weight loss.
Weight training five times this week.
Yoga three times this week.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge.
11,000 steps a day.
Two 3km walks.
One 4km walk.
I am quite excited to see what this week four brings me. Hopefully it will only continue to become easier and more routine as this week passes by. Don’t forget to head over to my initial post and enter the giveaway before time runs out. Have a fantastic week!
This post was sponsored by the makers of REACTINE®. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
Allergies. Just the word itself makes me want to cringe! Allergy season for me brings what I like to refer to as the dreaded ‘allergy drip’. Starting in the spring right through to the fall it is not unusual to see me with tissue stuck up one nostril trying to prevent the ‘drip’ from escaping, red-eyed and just overall in a miserable mood. This is also the busiest time of the year for us as a family with our son’s competitive soccer, swimming outside and travelling, so there is no way I can just hide away in my bedroom (which honestly most days I want to when allergy season hits!).
After several years of dealing with allergies I have learned some tricks to cope with allergy season. Here are my top tips to get you through this difficult season.
Make an Appointment with Your Family Doctor
Before you start on any type of medication routine, seek the opinion of your family doctor if you have any questions or concerns about medication. Your family doctor may refer you to an allergist and this is important for so many reasons. Your allergist will likely complete a skin prick test to determine what exactly you are allergic to (indoor vs outdoor allergens or pet/food allergies) and help determine what kind of medications you should be on, especially if you have any coexisting conditions such as asthma. Knowing what allergens you are allergic to is essential to minimizing symptoms during the peak of allergy season. You can’t prevent allergic symptoms if you don’t know what you are protecting yourself from!
Find a Product That Works For You
Find an over the counter medication that works for you, in my case this is REACTINE®. REACTINE® provides me with 24 hour non-drowsy relief during the day and prevents what I like to refer to as the ‘Allergy Fog’ (the lovely sedating effect some allergy medications can have on your mind and body). When I take REACTINE® morning after morning, my body constantly maintains the level of antihistamine so it doesn’t need to build the level up again (talk to your doctor for daily use beyond 6 months).Make an appointment with your family doctor to see if you require a nasal spray.
Use a Nasal Rinse
While this may not be everyone’s favourite thing to do, it offers a lot of sinus relief. Allergic sinus pain can be quite painful, with the pressure in your cheekbones, forehead or extending into your teeth. Using an over the counter nasal rinse (I use mine twice daily during the worst part of the season) will help to remove any excess mucous build up while moisturizing dry nostrils. The bonus (but a bit of a gross bonus) is that you can literally see this technique working, plus the relief is instant. This can be used in addition to allergy medication, like REACTINE®. If it still feels like you have some water in your nose after you complete the rinse, try to gently blow your nose to remove any additional saline.
Keep the Windows Closed and Air Conditioner On
While it is always nice to leave the windows open during the summer months (not to mention better for the environment and electricity bills), this is actually introducing pollen into your home. This only makes it that much harder for allergic individuals. I still remember how last year, my husband tried to cool down the house with the windows open but when it came to go to bed I could not sleep because my eyes were itching and my nose was running.
Monitor the Air Quality and Pollen Reports
Your local news station and the Weather Network are perfect for keeping you up to date with the air quality and pollen reports. You can also follow @ReactineCA on Twitter for local pollen forecasts. If the air quality is poor and the pollen count high, it is a much better idea to stay indoors as much as possible. Why worsen your symptoms if you can avoid them? If you do have to be outside, ensure you medicate as indicated and if you require inhalers bring them with you. Try to be in locations where if it is needed you can find somewhere to cool down inside at intervals.
While you can’t erase all of your allergy symptoms no matter how hard you may wish that they would just go away, you can significantly reduce your symptoms with a combination of REACTINE®, nasal sprays, rinses, being aware of pollen reports and planning wisely. Always remember to keep a large stock of tissue wherever you go because there is nothing more embarrassing than being caught with your nose dripping and no tissue around!
How do you treat your allergies during allergy season?
Summer is coming to a close as the kids start school next week, so this week’s Wordless Wednesday is a re-cap of all my favourite things from this summer we did. Enjoy!
Make sure you link up below so that I can come visit you too!
It is said it takes twenty-one days to break a bad habit. I have officially reached that point and passed through the worst parts of my journey and I am on the road to committing to making healthier choices for myself and my family. It no longer feels like a chore but it is just part of my normal day. I feel strong, confident and ready to take on more.
Here is how I did:
Last week’s healthy living goals:
1-2 pound weight loss I have finally started to lose weight again thankfully! I lost another two pounds and I am at a weight I have not seen in five years so I am beyond happy. I think the walking and added weight training is helping.
Yoga four times this week. I only managed to do this once this week and I truly missed doing my yoga. Yoga always makes me feel refreshed, energized and at ease with life.
Daily evening meditation. My kids did not want to seem to leave me alone but c’est la vie. I am going to devote additional time this week for my ‘quiet’ time to unwind.
Daily squat, lunge, push up, crunch and plank challenge. I not only completed my personal challenge but also added in extra weight training and ball exercises.
Two litres of water a day. Completed! And learning to finish the majority of my water before 4pm so I am not up all night (!).
11,000 steps a day (got to up my goal a bit!). I completed this five out of the seven days and it is slowly becoming second nature to me to just keep moving.
Two 3km walks. I only made it on one walk this week but I completed it without being completely out of breath.
Each day I feel better as I commit to living a healthy lifestyle. I feel as if I have more energy to give not only to myself but to my family.
This week’s goals:
1-2 pound weight loss.
Weight training three times this week.
Yoga three times this week.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge.
11,000 steps a day.
One 3 km walk.
One 4 km walk.
I am hoping each of these little actions will help me out in my goals of walking 10km with my sister in The Great Camp Adventure Walk on September 26th.
Make sure to check out and enter my healthy living giveaway before September 11th. Good luck.
The first day of school is always hard no matter which way you look at it. New teachers, new class rooms, new routines and seeing your friends for the first time in two months can be quite daunting for children. I can still remember to this day the stress of the first day back! It leaves such an impression on you for life.
This was me on my first day of grade one, transitioning from the small kindergarten area into the big fields. Back in the day we had to dress up for the first day of school which usually included dresses, knee highs, tights and fancy shoes. Looking back now I cringe! Fashion was tough in the eighties and nineties eh?!!
Starting two to three weeks before school resumes, we like to help adjust our children back into the school mode. This helps not only ease their fears but helps them return to a routine easier.
Here are some simple tips to get back into the school mode:
Set up an easy schedule that your children can follow. This should include getting up earlier (my kids are now in the routine of sleeping into nine which has to stop!), earlier bed times, reading and workbooks time. If your child is a visual learner, posting a schedule can help or even including a reward chart is always helpful.
Let your child choose their own back to school clothes. Going back to school is tough and kids want to fit in with their friends. Allowing them to choose their own clothes helps this process. It allows them to express their personality and identity, not to mention it is a lot of fun for parents to learn about their child. This year, our youngest took loads of fashion advice from his big brother.
Watch school related television shows that teach about friendship, overcoming fears and being school smart. We all learn a lot from movies and television shows and children are exactly the same. Allowing them to watch children friendly shows that show true friendship and how to rock school is always helpful for them to overcome their fears. Some great picks currently playing on Netflix are Dinotrux, Project Mc2 and Ever After High.
How do you help your child overcome the first day of school jitters?
Disclosure: I am a #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.
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