Category: health and fitness

Take on the Weekend With Depend! #DependFitFlex

Last week I shared a personal story of my own journey with incontinence and how it has affected not only my day to day life but my mental health as well (it’s not easy to be constantly worried about leaking!).

It is so important for people to know that they are not alone and that even though the causes may be different we are all in this together. There is nothing to be embarrassed about – our bodies are only so strong. I wanted to share this inspirational video from Depend that I believe will help so many of you.


If you have a second I strongly suggest reading this post by Sandi from Canadian Blog House as she shares an incredibly open story of her journey with incontinence. A definite must read post! You can find her story here

Has incontinence ever stopped you from enjoying your regular activities?

Disclosure: I am part of the Depend® Fit-Flex Blogger Campaign and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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Taking Charge of Bladder Health #DependFitFlex

Bladder control and incontinence. It is nothing to be ashamed of but for so many individuals it is the hardest subject to talk about. Millions of Canadians will experience some form of bladder control issue whether it be from child birth, surgery and a medical condition (such as a prolapse).

It is so important for individuals to reach out for help without fear of embarrassment or shame. If we really knew how many people were suffering from this it would be that much easier to talk about!

I began to experience bladder problems while pregnant with my second son. As many of you may be aware pregnancy and childbirth can cause many bladder issues including frequency and leaking. These symptoms should never be overlooked but when I mentioned it to my doctor they felt it would go away after he was born (the idea that the decreased pressure on the bladder will decrease after delivery thereby eliminating my symptoms). Several months after an extremely difficult labour my symptoms were not disappearing but I was too embarrassed to talk to my doctor about them – do you know how awful that is? The one person that I should be able to tell anything to and I was too afraid to talk to her because I was embarrassed!

Instead I allowed myself to suffer in silence for another year and a half until I finally broke down in her office and told her the truth. I was terrified of what she would think of me and angry with my body for betraying me (how could my body have done this to me?!). She held my hand and told me I was not alone and how common these problems are in my age group (not to mention chiding me for not coming to her sooner). She decided to send me to a specialist just in case and for that I was grateful as it turned out I had a cystocele that was causing the majority of my problems. I cried in the specialist’s office when she told me – I had allowed my fear and embarrassment to stop myself from seeking help earlier.

Why are we so scared to talk about bladder and bladder related health issues? Join Depend and myself this month as we get comfortable talking about bladder health and learning when to seek help! Let’s end the stigma of bladder health issues and get back to being healthy!

Here are some tips for taking control of bladder issues:

  • Exercise! It is important to maintain a healthy weight to control pressure on the bladder – the more weight you carry in the abdomen can aggravate bladder issues. Try to include both cardio and exercises that work on improving your abdominal wall.
  • For women, kegels are so important! Especially before, during and after child birth. Make sure you are doing them right – if you don’t know how ask. It will help strengthen the vaginal walls and maintain the strength of the pelvic muscles.
  • Include a healthy diet and avoid caffeine and sugary drinks that will contribute to bladder issues.
  • Seek help – make sure you rule out causes such as an urinary tract infection first. Do not be afraid to ask for help – your doctor is there to help you!
  • Wear comfortable protection like Depend fit flex that will allow you to carry on with your active lifestyle without fear. Don’t use products that were not meant for bladder incontinence – it can lead to more anxiety and fear over embarrassment.

 

Disclosure: I am part of the Depend® Fit-Flex Blogger Campaign and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.
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Take Back the Summer with Allergy Relief from Pharmasave #shop

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.
Allergies. They are the bane of my existence! Every spring it starts slowly with the sneezing which then leads to the runny nose, itchy eyes and skin until I am full blown tissues stuffed in my nose to keep from dripping everywhere – paints a pretty picture right?

What doesn’t help is that my children are extremely active in sports and love hiking and camping – and so do I! I don’t want to not be able to participate no matter how awful I am feeling. Finding an effective allergy medication is so important and it makes the difference between being exhausted and miserable and being able to enjoy the day with my family.

I was excited to take part in the #CollectiveBias campaign to shop for allergy medication at Pharmasave. I had already used up a good portion of my medication stock already so I was eager to get in and shop.

Pharmasave has a huge selection of allergy medications and allergy symptom maintenance medications (such as rinses, sprays, drops,etc.). They also have a great variety of non drowsy medications (because we still need to be able to function during the day!). I typically look for non drowsy allergy medications (nothing is worse then being exhausted after taking your medication). I also look for a combined sinus medication as well (sounds odd but trust me it makes the world of a difference for me and my nose).

I also always purchase a good nasal rinse. It completely removes the sinus build up and pressure that happens during the allergy season. I found that this significantly decreases my sinus headaches as well. It has helped alleviate so many of my symptoms in combination with medication. A definite must have in an allergic individuals medicine cabinet!

I ended up purchasing the Claritin Allergy and Sinus because it not only covered all the bases but also had a non drowsy formula. The medication took control quickly and I was able to enjoy the gorgeous weather at the park with my kids playing soccer! There is nothing better then a quick acting formula that allows you to function at your fullest.

The best part of purchasing allergy medications at Pharmasave? I was able to get back to being me and enjoying my time with my family doing what we love the most!

For my fellow allergy sufferers here are some helpful tips for the allergy season:

  • using an air purifier as well as a cool mist humidifier
  • using saline nasal rinses
  • keeping yourself hydrated (think lots of water!)
  • some people have found that diets high in Omega-3 acids as well as probiotics helps. There is no scientific research but allergy sufferers have also agreed that local honey can be helpful too.

Do you suffer from allergies? What are you go to methods for allergy season?

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Matcha Green Tea #Giveaway #CAN

I recently had the opportunity to try out Kiss Me Organics Matcha Tea (you can find my full review here) and I was so impressed by the product that I am now offering you the chance to win your own bag of Matcha Tea!

Here are some of the benefits of Matcha Green Tea if you are unfamiliar with this product:

  • three times the number of antioxidants as regular green tea (due to the fact you are consuming the whole leaf not just brewed into a tea)
  • boosts the body’s natural immune system
  • natural energy boost (recommended daily dose is 1/2-1 tsp a day)
  • naturally increases the body’s metabolism

This was my first time trying Matcha Tea and I was thoroughly impressed not only with the quality and taste but with the product’s ability to hold up to it’s claims. It definitely gave me an energy boost (and I recommend starting of with a 1/4tsp a day to let your body adjust to the product) without the crash that normal energy boosters give (I remember those days in  University drinking energy drinks and it was awful!).

Canadian residents you can now enter to win your own bag of Matcha Green Tea Powder (ARV: $40CDN) to discover the benefits of matcha tea for yourself! Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder #review

For the past week and a half I have been using Kiss Me Organics Matcha Green Tea Powder. This has been my first exposure to Matcha green tea powder (and actually hearing about it!) so I was really curious to learn more about Matcha and it’s benefits.

Matcha refers to finely milled or powdered green tea. Matcha is made from shade grown tea leaves. After harvesting, the tea leaves are left out flat to dry and will begin to crumble and are referred to as tencha. Tencha is then ground into matcha. Research has found that matcha green tea powder contains three times the number of antioxidants then regular green tea. This is believed to be because the whole leaf is ingested. It also delivers a higher potency of chlorophyll and catechins.

The Kiss Me Organics Organic Matcha (sold exclusively on Amazon) is sold in a 4oz (113g) bag. This brand of Organic Matcha is found to have 137 times the amount of antioxidants as brewed green tea. Antioxidants are important to help boost the body’s natural immunity and system. Organic matcha has also been found to increase the body’s natural metabolism from 8-10% of daily expenditure to 35-43% of daily expenditure and a natural energy boost.

The recommended daily dose is 1/2-1tsp a day that can be added to lattes, smoothies or baking. When you place an order you will actually receive a recipe book full of healthy recipes and tips of adding more matcha to your daily food intake. I found it pretty neat that you can add it in to normal recipes without altering the taste.

I am using my Matcha in my daily smoothies. I found at first that a 1/2 tsp was a bit too much for me as it did give me an energy boost so the next day I dropped it to 1/4 tsp and had the benefits of increased energy (without any side affects). After a week I increased it to 1/2 tsp and have no noticed no side affects.  I was very impressed with the taste and quality of the Matcha – once in my smoothie it had no taste, left no after taste and did not alter the appearance of my smoothies. I definitely noticed an increase in energy and metabolism. I had more energy for exercising and at work then normal.

You can find more information on Organic Matcha on the Kiss Me Organics website and read more reviews on Amazon here.

I wanted to share with you my favourite smoothie recipe:

Ingredients:
– 1/2 tsp Organic Matcha
– 1 banana
– 1 cup of sliced frozen strawberries
– 1/2 cup of pineapples
– roughly 3/4 cup of cold water (enough to make the smoothie thinner)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until desired consistency. Enjoy!

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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