What an amazing week, week seven turned out to be! I topped off a great week with The Great Camp Adventure Walk, where I completed all 20km! Needless to say even as I am writing this now my legs are still hurting but wow did it feel good.
Here is a recap of Week Seven:
Weight training four times this week.
Yoga twice this week.
Daily stretching (the stretching is geared towards my back that was introduced to me for physio)
11,000 steps a day – can I beat last week?!
Two 3km walk
The Great Camp Adventure Walk
Week seven was pretty awesome, can you tell?! I really want to keep my momentum from week seven moving for this week (if I could just get my legs to recover!).
Here are my goals for this week:
weight training four times this week
yoga twice this week
daily stretching exercises from physio
11,000 steps a day
two 3km walk
one 5km walk
enter all of my meals in My Fitness Pal
I am aiming to hit all my goals this week, so fingers crossed for me! My body while not losing weight is definitely feeling better. Which is the greater win for me.
Looking forward to checking in with you again next week. Have a great week!
Medicine has always been an important part of my life. When I was younger, I wanted to be a surgeon more than anything else in the world. My life was centred around helping people and trying to make them better. It was what motivated to become a lifeguard, to volunteer in retirement homes as well as at York Central Hospital and later to participate in a research study at Sick Kids Hospital as part of the Aventis Biotech Challenge. The days that I spent not only in the lab but with patients taught me so much. Medicine is all about healing and creating miracles and why my life has always centred around caring for others.
While I may not have become the surgeon I had always wanted to, I did graduate from a Kinesiology program and I am currently working in a teaching Family Medicine unit. Every day I am able to witness little miracles in our patients and share in these moments with them. It is a role that has humbled me and taught me to appreciate every moment in life because nothing in life is ever guaranteed. My work has brought home to me how important it is to give back to others and to support research and providing care for patients. This is a concept that I am continually trying to share with others.
Sick Kids is a world leader in both patient care and research in order to make sure that every child has the chance to be healthy, happy and dream. It is because of courageous individuals, volunteers and generous donors that these children are given the chance to achieve all they deserve.
The Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk will be held this year on September 26th, 2015 in downtown Toronto. The Great Camp Adventure Walk is a challenge by choice event – you get to choose whether you want to complete a 5km, 10km, 15km or even 20km. Campsites are found along the route every 2.5km, each having its own unique theme and activities. The Main Camp at Fort York will be full of family friendly activities including: entertainment, arts and crafts, Fun Zone, games, Tuck Shop and quiet areas for rest.
The Great Camp Adventure Walk gives families the opportunity to not only support those in their lives that may have been affected by childhood illnesses and cancer but to also teach their children about the importance of fundraising and the miracle of medicine. It gives children a chance to support children.
If you want to be a part of this important day to benefit Sick Kids, head over to the Great Camp Adventure Walk page and sign up to take part in the walk (they are dog friendly too!) or donate to a group or individual participating (if you want to donate to my team, you can do so here). If you are signing up for the Great Camp Adventure Walk, you can use the code: social, to receive a $10 discount off the registration fee.
The 2015 goal is to raise $2 million for Sick Kids and every little bit helps! So head over to the Great Camp Adventure Walk to learn more, donate, volunteer and participate. Every action counts and makes a difference in a child’s life.
Please take a moment to enter to win the following giveaway. Not only do you walk away with $100 but you also win $100 donation to a team of your choosing – a win-win!
Disclosure: I am part of the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk for SickKids campaign with Influence Central and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
My second week turned out a lot better than my first week with regards to my goals, for which I am quite proud of. My daily routine became much easier to stick to (thankfully) and I have begun to notice some differences with how I feel mentally (not so foggy brained) and my stomach feels lighter and not so heavy feeling. This has made attaining my goals that much easier to accomplish.
So here is how I did with last week’s goals:
1-2 pound weight loss. I maintained my weight but did not lose anything extra.
Continue to maintain my vegetarian diet with a meal plan This is becoming easier and easier!
Yoga fours times this week. Honestly, yoga has become my favourite new form of exercise. It leaves me feeling so refreshed from head to toe.
Daily evening meditation.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge with a fitness calendar. I posted my calendar on the fridge so now I have no excuses! I go through each day highlighting what I have completed.
Two litres of water a day
10,000 steps minimum a day. I did it!! I am so proud of myself – all week I reached a minimum of 10,000 steps.
Daily morning detox tea I am using Purgo teatox which I love.
This week’s goals:
1-2 pound weight loss.
Yoga four times this week.
Daily evening meditation.
Daily squat, lunge, push up, crunch and plank challenge.
Two litres of water a day.
11,000 steps a day (got to up my goal a bit!).
Two 3km walks.
Here is my big surprise: I am taking part in the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk on September 26th! I am officially ‘in training’ mode as my team-mate would like to complete the 10km walk. You will find more out on my upcoming walk for this great cause this week.
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a $50 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card!
My first week is officially done in my healthy lifestyle challenge and I had quite a few ups and downs. While I am not 100% happy with how well I committed to it, I can’t look back but only forward as tomorrow is always a new day. I need to focus on my overall health and well being and each positive and healthy step forward is a win for me.
So here is the breakdown:
Last week’s goals:
2 pound weight loss. Completed!! Woohoo!!
Follow my vegetarian diet with a meal plan. I stuck to this like glue and while I wish I had some additional emotional support for this change I am happy with how I feel and I am sure my loved ones will too over time.
Yoga four times a week. I managed to complete my yoga practice twice this week and it made me feel so good! I love how my body feels so relaxed afterwards and this will be something I will do more of.
Daily evening meditation. While I did complete this in the bath (the only time I am given absolute and complete silence) it still felt good to just quiet my mind and focus on nothing.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge. I actually kind of forgot about this one so this week I am going to make a fitness calendar to keep myself on track!
Run daily for five minutes (I am starting out here!!). Does chasing after kids at soccer count??
Stay hydrated with eight glasses of water a day. This is the part I loved the most and left me feeling less bloated.
10,000 step minimum a day. Oops, not even close! I was very bad last week while on vacation!
This week’s goal:
1-2 pound weight loss
Continue to maintain my vegetarian diet with a meal plan.
Yoga fours times this week.
Daily evening meditation.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge with a fitness calendar.
Two litres of water a day.
10,000 steps minimum a day.
Daily morning detox tea.
Make sure you check out my initial post on my healthy start and enter to win a giveaway to focus on your healthy start!
This one word has a way of drawing out raw emotions, heated arguments and debates. Today I want to speak with you about my own personal experiences with vaccinations and break down the current Ontario Immunization schedule.
As many of you know, I have been blessed to work as a Clinical Team Assistant in a family medicine unit. I have been able to bring a woman in for her first prenatal appointment and prepare the visit for her family doctor. We watch the baby grow and joke near the end of their pregnancy that it feels like they have been pregnant forever. When baby comes in for the first time you feel like they are a part of the family! Getting to hold their child warms my heart. It is incredible and humbling to be able to watch families grow over time. When a member of that family becomes ill it breaks your heart.
For many parents the problem with vaccines is the abundance of conflicting information online, the information given by a well-meaning individual and the fear of the unknown. Open and honest communication with your family health care provider is essential from the start of your pregnancy right through to your delivery and your child’s first newborn visit to ensure you feel comfortable in the decisions you make and with the relationship you have with your family health care team. Your family physician has your child’s best interests at heart. They would never prescribe your child anything that would harm them or that they would not need nor would they recommend a vaccine that could potentially harm your child. A patient becomes like a member of your family and their best interests are always the main concern for a family physician. Talk to your family health care team – if you don’t understand what you saw on the news or in a magazine bring it in to your appointment and address your concerns.
Here is some information to help you understand and appreciate the vaccination process.
What is a vaccine?
Vaccines are preparations made up of a specific selection of dead or weakened bacteria or viruses which are administered orally, by injection or through inhalation. When these dead or weakened bacteria or viruses enter a person’s system the body responds by producing antibodies that attack and kill the organisms without causing the serious symptoms that occur during a real infection.
Why do children need immunizations?
Our children are born with a degree of natural, inherited immunity which they acquire during pregnancy from their mother’s blood. That immunity is reinforced during breastfeeding as breast milk is rich in antibodies. Unfortunately, this passive inherited immunity is only temporary and wears off during the first year of life. This leaves your child open to a host of diseases.
Vaccination is the only tool that we have to prevent these diseases. Vaccines allow our body to build up antibodies to prevent diseases. We ensure our child has proper nutrition and exercise to grow strong and vaccines are the only way to ensure their immune system stays strong.
Vaccines do not make your child sick. Think of your last needle – did it hurt? It may have felt like a sting or a pinch but well worth the benefit of protecting against the disease. Both of my boys received all of their immunizations without Tylenol or Advil and developed no fever or irritability after their immunizations.
Children that cannot receive vaccines due to being immune-compromised or who are too young, count on their community for protection. Herd immunity only works when the community as a whole vaccinate.
When/Why do we receive vaccines on a certain timeline?
Your child’s vaccines are scheduled at certain developmental milestones and it is important to ensure you are staying on track with this schedule. This schedule was developed to ensure your child receives these vaccines when their body is ready for them as well as to provide protection against vaccine-preventable disease as early as possible. They are combined with important well baby visits at two, four, six, twelve, fifteen and eighteen months of age.
Let’s break down the current immunization schedule in Ontario for children up to the age of six:
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenza type b: The five in one protection vaccine. This vaccine given at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months protects your child from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whopping cough), polio and Haemophilius Influenza type b also known as Hib which can cause meningitis.
Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and polio: The four in one protection vaccine. This vaccine, given at 4 to 6 years of age, protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whopping cough) and polio.
Pneumococcal: This vaccine is given at 2,4 and 12 months of age and protects your child from pneumococcal meningitis, pneumonia, ear and blood infections.
Rotavirus: This oral vaccine is given at 2 and 4 months of age to help prevent and lessen the severity of gastro (stomach) bugs.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella: This vaccine is given at 12 months. This vaccine protects children from measles, mumps and rubella.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella: The four in one protection vaccine. This vaccine is given between 4 to 6 years of age and protects against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.
Meningococcal: This vaccine given at 12 months of age protects against meningitis an infection that lines your child’s spinal cord and brain.
Varicella: This vaccine is given at 15 months of age and protects against chickenpox. In some children, chickenpox can cause severe skin infections, scars, pneumonia or brain damage.
Vaccine Safety
Vaccines are constantly tested to ensure safety for patients. Patient safety is the top priority for our health care system. Vaccines do not cause disease nor do they cause autism.
Why is this important?
For many of us we can’t imagine the suffering that comes from these diseases let alone the symptoms that accompany them. This is because of how effective vaccines have been in eliminating once common and prevalent diseases.
My children will never know the scars and itchiness from chickenpox that afflicted me twice as a child. Nor will they hopefully ever lose a loved one from meningitis as my husband did when he lost his older brother as a child.
This is why we vaccinate – to prevent the preventable. It is so very important for not only the health of our children to vaccinate but the health of our most vulnerable population in our community.
Getting immunized is an important part of creating a foundation for a healthy life. If you’re on the fence about immunizing, here is the information you need to make an informed decision for your family:
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