Posts

Bayer Winter Health

Do You Have A Healthy Holiday Action Plan?

This post is sponsored by Bayer. To make sure these products are right for you, always read and follow the label.

If you don’t have a plan to keep your health on track this holiday season, you’re not alone! Busy holiday schedules can make it feel almost impossible to maintain even the simplest healthy routines.

Try keeping a simple list of your top health goals for the winter. Make sure to write it down on paper where you and your whole family can see it and track their progress. Start with simple goals- achieving something small can give you the boost you need to stay motivated! Need some goal inspo? Keep reading for my top 5 healthy holiday goals.

My Healthy Holiday Action Plan Goals:

1. Try a winter-friendly workout

• Why not beat the winter exercise slump with a new workout tailored to the colder temperatures? If you’re someone who typically gets active outside, try an indoor activity like aqua aerobics, indoor rock climbing or an indoor group exercise class. Challenge yourself to find one new workout a month, or list your top three and cross them off once you’ve given them a try!
• Don’t be too hard on yourself if a cold temporarily puts a wrench in your workout goals. Just make sure you get back on track once you’re rested and recuperated. If lingering nasal congestion is an obstacle, try a nasal saline-spray to clear your sinuses. hydraSense® Daily Nasal Care products are100% naturally-sourced seawater that is clinically proven to reduce and relieve your nasal cold symptoms. hydraSense® Daily Nasal Care products can be used alongside your other oral cough and cold medications.

2. Focus on fruit

• Ok, this one should be on everyone’s list this winter! Farmers’ markets and apple picking orchards may be closed, but that’s no excuse to cut back on those l vitamin-packed fruits. Eating a variety of fruits is fun, so why not challenge yourself to eat the rainbow?
• Frozen fruits are an easy-option if you struggle to keep fresh in the house, but make sure to check for added sugars. While it’s easy to track your own fruit intake, it can be harder with kids. Not sure if your little ones are finishing their apples and getting their vitamins? Try supplementing with FLINTSTONES® multivitamins. You’ll love that they’re the #1 brand choice of pediatricians. They’ll love that they come in delicious chewables or gummies!

3. Drink more water

• You know water is important, but it can be harder to remember in the winter when you’re not feeling hot and sweaty. There are many great apps out there these days to help you log your water intake. If you’re looking for something with a fun twist, try Plant Nanny. When you drink water, you help an adorable plant friend grow!
• Don’t let this one drop when you’re not feeling well. Getting enough liquids is especially important when you’re sick. Try adding a vitamin-C tablet to your water. Redoxon® Tablets give you ten oranges worth of Vitamin C*, which should motivate anyone to drink up!

* Redoxon® is not meant to replace food.

4. Schedule your sleep

• Bedtimes aren’t just for kids. The best way to get your sleep back on schedule is to pick a consistent time to hit the pillow. Write it down so you can track how often you’re making it to bed on-time. If you’re consistently going to bed too late, think critically about what’s making you miss the mark.
• One of the major bedtime derailers is your cellphone, so limit screen time one hour before sleep.

How will you challenge yourself and your family to take on healthy goals this winter?

This post is sponsored by Bayer. To make sure these products are right for you, always read and follow the label.

#DadFit Hard Work

Project #DadFit – This Sh*t Is Hard

I knew the journey to a healthier me would be challenging but I had no idea it was going to be this difficult. Late last year I started running, hit the gym multiple times a week and even had P90X3 going strong. Nothing could stop me. Or so I thought.

Enter the busy Christmas season, snow on the ground and a bout of laziness and everything I had worked for is now far in the rearview mirror. I’ve wanted so badly to get back into my routines but I’m struggling to find the starting point. I’m now back to my old ways, which happen to include non-stop snacking, shortness of breath, sucking in my stomach to fit into my clothes and a complete lack of motivation to do any of the things I used to love doing, such as blogging and podcasting.

Inconsistency seems to be the only consistent thing in my life right now and I’m slowly working my way through it. What is this thing that holds us down even though we want nothing more than to move forward? I’ve watched all the motivational videos, seen what being out of shape can do to you and even interviewed a bunch of health experts, yet here I sit, unable to muster the strength to get off the couch.

I took a first step yesterday when I signed up for a trial membership at my local GoodLife Fitness and plan on attending my first session in the coming days. There is a lot of work to be done and I honestly have no idea if I’ll be able to get it done, but I’m going to keep chipping away at it in hopes that it’ll eventually stick.

I’m going to go ahead and assume that others are going through the same struggles that I am so I can feel like less of a failure and more of an every man. If you are struggling, feel free to share your story in the comments and maybe we can work through this thing together.

Fitbit Flex Review & Giveaway {Canada Only}

I recently took part in the #RFitChallenge from Rogers and it required me to try out the Fitbit Flex for a period of a couple weeks to see if it would help with my new found love for not being overweight and tired.

Right off the bat I liked the design of the Fitbit Flex because it was a small black wristband that, after wearing it for a couple hours, you forgot you even had on. My goal was to make it to 10,000 steps a day and because the tracker syncs automatically with my smartphone and computer, I would get updates through the day that helped motivate to get moving a little bit more. I especially liked the badges for attaining certain goals because I am a big fan of shiny things and awards.

My favourite feature about the Fitbit Flex was definitely the sleep tracker. With just a couple taps on the tracker, you set the Flex into sleep mode and it tracks how restless you are in your sleep. In my case, I found that I was only having a good sleep about 1 every 5 nights, which obviously isn’t good. I have since been taking steps to try to create a more peaceful bed time by cutting out TV and snacks right before bed. It even has a silent alarm to help wake you up.

I also appreciated that the Flex was water resistant, so I could wear it in the shower. It sounds trivial but if I had to take that thing off every morning, I guarantee I would leave it on the counter half the time. I also loved all of the options on my personal Fitbit web page. From food intake to weight and heart rate monitoring, they have thought of almost everything here. Combined with my weight watchers program, I am going to be unstoppable!

There were a couple things that could use some work with the Flex. I found the clasp tough to latch on and the battery died a little quicker than I would have liked (every 3-4 days). I also noticed that while on the elliptical machine, it was having a hard time tracking steps but overall I loved the Fitbit Flex and definitely recommend it for beginner and advanced fitness buffs.

FITBIT FLEX GIVEAWAY!

What? You want one of these? Okay, you got it! To enter to win a Fitbit Flex of your very own, all you have to do is leave a comment here telling me one thing you would like to change about yourself in order to live a healthier lifestyle.

Contest is open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec, and will close at noon on October 13th. Good Luck!

Congratulations to the winner of the Fitbit Flex, Andrea B!

Disclosure: I received the Fitbit Flex from Rogers to facilitate this review. I wouldn’t be giving one away to you guys if I thought it was no good, so it has my official stamp of approval!

My Way Overdue P90X Review! (Sort Of)

P90X

There are a million reasons for why I took so long to write about the P90X. I received the package from Beachbody back in February, just as I was crashing down from the inspiration that was the Dad 2.0 Summit. The truth is, I was afraid. I am overweight, out of shape and I was petrified to try out the system for fear of dropping dead. That probably sounds ridiculous but it’s what was going through my head.

I have always prided myself on providing the work I promised in a timely manner and this one has been hanging over my head for a couple months now, taunting me like the ghost of reviews past. I even thought about returning it a couple times but have since decided to face my fear and give it a go.

Due to prior commitments, I will be starting the program next week but promise to make amends to Beachbody by posting an update on how everything is going at a later date. I’m still scared of passing out but I feel like this is something I need to do for myself and my health.

While I gear up to get started, I’m looking for some tips and tricks from all you fitnessy people on things I should be doing to get through this unharmed. Please leave them in the comments for me and maybe others. Thanks!

My @AdultEssentials Vitamin Challenge Wrap Up! Gummies Anyone?

For the past 2 months, I’ve been taking part in the Adult Essentials Men’s Blog Tour! I have to say, I was a little skeptical about the whole thing because I’ve never really been a vitamin kind of guy. In my original post, I had narrowed it down to poor taste, enormous size or laziness; and while I’d like to say it was a combination of the three, it was definitely laziness.

How am I supposed to remember to take a vitamin every single day when I can barely remember to put the same colour socks on before I leave the house for work!? I can’t lie to you all, it was tough remembering at first. Fortunately, after about a week or two I got into a rhythm and never missed a day from that point on. Here’s where my inner child kicks in. Had the vitamins not been in gummy form, I can assure you that I would have stopped taking them, just like every other time I’ve tried to start a vitamin routine. I know, it felt ridiculous even typing that but I absolutely can not stand chewing on chalky vitamins.

Ok, back to my adult side, I have been a shift worker for the past 3 years. I work a horrible 12 hour shift on a 24/7 rotation which makes sleep and nutrition almost impossible. Anyone who has ever sat in a giant office complex alone at 2am, with a stocked room full of chips, chocolate bars, pop and all kinds of other junk will understand what I’m talking about. It’s difficult to stay on top of things when you can’t control your instincts because of exhaustion.

Well, I’m happy to report that after 2 months of taking the Adult Essentials vitamins, my sleeping has improved dramatically! Given, the vitamins can’t make my kids sleep through the night (Ahem, Deb, please work on this) but my problem was always in the getting to sleep part and that has been a breeze lately.

The other thing I have noticed is that my energy levels have been much higher in the last few weeks. I can’t give the vitamins full credit because I implemented an exercise routine at the same time as I started taking them; but it was due to the challenge that I started exercising, so that should bring it full circle in crediting Adult Essentials for the motivation. I’ve been able to stay awake and alert longer since I’ve begun with the vitamin/exercise combo and my kids and I are the ones reaping the benefits of a more active Daddy!

Look At These Before & After Photos! What An Amazing Transformation!

I think it’s also important to note that I am no vitamin expert and had to do some research on the effects of each type of vitamin I was going to take before doing it. I would suggest you do the same or even talk to your doctor before starting a new regimen. I found the Adult Essentials Nutritional Info page to be very helpful in educating me on what each vitamin is responsible for doing.

In closing, I wanted to take a minute to say Thank You to Deb and Stu Lowther, who are the masterminds behind Adult Essentials and also IronKids Gummies. My dealings with them have been nothing but pleasant and I love following and interacting with them on their social media accounts. They are one of the few companies who understand that the best way to reach your target audience, is to treat them as you would like to be treated and it’s no wonder why they are so respected within the blogging community.

It’s been a blast to have been a part of the Adult Essentials Men’s Blog Tour and I’m pleased to report that they have a new customer and friend in me. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to go check out Adult Essentials on Twitter and Facebook. Think I’m just kissing up to them? Go ahead and start up a conversation with them and you’ll see what I’m talking about!

Well, what are you waiting for? Get out and at least try the vitamins! They’re Gummies that are good for you, People!

Cheers!

I am participating in the Adult Essentials Men’s Blog Tour. I received a supply of vitamins in exchange for my participation in this campaign. Opinions expressed belong to me and are NOT influenced in any way.