What is it with teens smoking on school property in this day and age?  Not only is it against the law but with all the medical information out there now-a-days it almost seems worse then when I went to school in the 80's and 90's.  And where are the school representatives?  Teachers, Vice Principle, Principle?  No one seems to care that this is happening at an alarming rate.

My twin daughters started going to a new school here in London, Ontario this year called London South Collegiate School.  Despite being told that it is one of the best high schools here in London I have to question how people have formed that impression, because in my opinion, if this is one of the best schools in London, then the education system here is greatly lacking.  Not to mention the health of the students certainly doesn't take precedence.

The previous two years my daughters attended school in the US.  In fact, schools rated "Excellent with Distinction".  Schools where the students are encouraged to participate in the school/community or the activities provided by the school.  For example, the many teams and extra activities the school offers to wearing the team or school colors one day per week to attending the games.  This really gave my daughters a feeling of belonging to a community within their community.  And this doesn't start in Middle school, this is bred into the children from the moment they start school in Kindergarten.  Which could be a good reason most of the kids that attend these schools have a higher sense of self.  The teachers/administration also seem to have a greater responsibility toward the children that attend the schools and take school offenses very seriously.

Within a week of dropping my kids off and picking them up everyday from their new school I noticed one large difference.  The kids at this school blatantly smoked within feet of the doors of the school and the signs that state "No Smoking on School Property" and quoting some provincial ordinance.  Not only is this a school policy but it's the law.  In fact most, if not all places in Canada/USA have a law in place that prohibits young people under the age of 18 from purchasing cigarettes let alone allowing them to smoke right in front of the school doors.

I certainly don't want this to turn into an article on who has the better educational system or which country cares more for the well being of it's kids.  That's not the point in this article.  The point I am getting to is this, Why would any school allow it's students to smoke on school property?  Why not put a bar in the school and allow the kids to shoot back a couple vodka shots at lunch?

Why should I have to drop my kids off in the morning or pick them up after school just for them to have to walk through the fog of second hand smoke being forced upon them?  And it's not like the school is unaware.  If fact on a few occasions when picking up my daughters the Vice Principle was standing out there with the smoking students.  Certainly not passing out detentions or discouraging the behaviour.  I didn't see any students hiding the fact that they were lighting up or tossing the remains of their destructive behaviour to save themselves from the consequences that may have been coming with the Vice Principle standing there.  The students continued puffing away as if it was their right to destroy their own bodies, infect those around them and break laws in the process.

Another question would be, Why are school administrators allowing this to happen?  Why is it day in and day out teens continue to blatantly smoke on school property without a word spoken to them?  Is it because the school administrators or teachers don't feel this is an important enough issue to take a stand on?  After all it is ONLY the health and well being of the rest of the student population being forced to breath the second hand smoke clouding the school.  Isn't that why people can no longer light up in restaurants or bars or on hospital properties across this nation?  To give the general population a fighting chance against the numerous diseases caused by second hand smoke.  Then why allow 13-18 year olds to infect our kids everyday at the one institution that is supposed to be protecting them and molding them into our next generation of leaders?

London South, I am sure, is not the only school with this problem.  Although I cannot speak for other schools in Ontario or across Canada for that matter as I have not witnessed this first hand else where but I am 99% sure it is going on.  Why, as a parent, should I support such behaviour?  From the young people or from the school?  I shouldn't and neither should you!  It is an outrage that we idly sit back and have to wait for school administrators or community administrators to finally do something.  This is an intolerable issue that should be taken seriously and harsh punishments handed out for.  Starting with detention, calls home, suspension and even fines sent home to the parents that are so oblivious to their kids behaviour that perhaps a wake up call is needed.  And to the administration that sits back and lets it happen on a daily basis, shame on you!  It is not only your job to discourage smoking on school property it is the law that you stop smoking from happening on school property.  Don't just hang a sign out on the walls of the school and expect young people to listen.  Get involved and do something!  Protect ALL the students and enforce the law!

If this is happening in your community, at your kids schools and you feel helpless - DON'T!  Contact the school first, if that doesn't work, contact your Mayor's office and get direction from them on what can be done to enforce the law and finally if that seems like a waste of time contact your local news office.  I'm sure this is a news worthy enough story to tell.  As parents our responsibility does not stop at the front door when our kids leave.  It is a 24 hour job.  And we DO have the power to protect them no matter where they may be.

Have comments?  Contact me with your opinions.  Or if you like the article please link me with one of the below links.

      

This past week has been quite interesting to say the least.  But for now I am only going to touch on Thursday past.

My question is this, Do hospitals really care about the H1N1 flu pandemic?

Let me explain my thoughts on this . . .

I woke up Thursday morning with my chest feeling heavy, almost like I had smoked 2 packs of cigarettes over night.  Within a few hours I felt extremely fatigued and by 5pm I headed to bed because I could not keep my eyes open any longer.  I woke up at 8:30pm feeling ten times worse than when I crawled into bed just a few hours before.  Now my hips, shoulders, upper arms and thighs were all aching, my chest felt like it was on fire, I could barely breathe and I felt very weak.  My hubby called me and I couldn't even bare to sit at my desk to talk to him my hips hurt so badly, he told me I should go to the hospital just in case it was H1N1, especially since I have three kids who we certainly do not want to see come down with something like that horrid flu.  I crawled into a little ball on the couch didn't move a thing as I drank my orange juice.  By 9pm I started getting the chills and decided it might be a good idea to take my temperature.  104.9F!  Well it was definitely time to head to the hospital.  But first I took 2 Tylenol and 10 minutes later took 2 Advil.

Luckily there's an emergency only about 5 minutes from my house here in London, Victoria Hospital.  I grabbed a face mask on the way in, got registered at 10pm and then told to sit in the little glass room for highly infected individuals.  I was surprisingly the only one in there, with my sister Christea who gracially came along to keep me company.

After 3 hours of sitting there watching the nurses chat, eat and carry on (awesome to see our tax dollars at work), I was then invited into the back and given my own little bed.  After about 30 minutes the nurse that escorted us back into the treatment area came back to take a peek on us.  We asked her if they were going to test me for H1N1 and she gave a little chuckle and said that they don't test people anymore, it's too expensive.  She said, "Can you imagine if we tested everyone that came through the doors with flu systems?"  She said they basically just assume that they/we all have H1N1 and treat them accordingly by sending them home to take Tylenol/Advil and should the symtoms get worse have them come back.  Come back??  For what??  They don't bother to test people anymore and with the 4 to 6+ hours of waiting, I'm not surprised people have died from this flu.

So let me ask this.  How and where are Canadians really getting their info?  How can flu statistics be accurate if they are NO LONGER testing people??  And what the hell is the point in making people sit in a cold, glassed in room for hours just to tell them in the end to "Just go home and take meds you can buy over the counter!"  I wasted my time & gas to end up treating this flu just like any other.

If you have thoughts on this please feel free to leave me your comments.

Amanda =)
amanda@accordingtoamanda.com

      

This might explain how the "Swine Flu" started . . . . .

Special thanks to Brenda for this mid-day chuckle!  =)

Amanda

      

Friday Day 5 - Week 1

Here's how I did today.

Food Name	Amount	Unit	Cals	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Prot (g)	Delete
		Total	1,070	20.4	179.0	54.2
Banana, raw	1	small (6" to 6-7/8" long)	90	0.3	23.1	1.1
Boca Burger	1	serving	120	5.0	6.0	14.0
Mustard	1	teaspoon	3	0.2	0.3	0.2
Cucumber pickles, dill, reduced salt	2	slice	1	0.0	0.3	0.0
Lettuce, raw	1	small leaf	1	0.0	0.1	0.0
Spinach, raw	10	leaf	23	0.4	3.6	2.9
Multi Grain Rounds	1	serving	100	1.0	22.0	4.0
Onions, mature, raw	1	thin slice	4	0.0	0.8	0.1
Lettuce, raw	4	cup, shredded or chopped	31	0.3	6.5	2.0
Spinach, raw	1	cup	7	0.1	1.1	0.9
Cabbage, red, raw	0.2	cup, shredded	4	0.0	1.0	0.2
Carrots, raw	0.25	cup, chopped	13	0.1	3.1	0.3
Salad dressing, ranch dressing, reduced fat	2	tablespoon	66	5.2	4.9	0.3
Pepper, sweet, red, raw	0.25	cup, sliced	6	0.1	1.4	0.2
Apple, raw	1	medium (2-3/4" dia) (approx 3 per lb)	72	0.2	19.1	0.4
Turkey Cheddar Sausage	1	serving	120	6.0	4.0	10.0
Potatoes, red, flesh and skin, baked	1	potato medium (2-1/4" to 3-1/4" dia.)	154	0.3	33.9	4.0
Milk, nonfat, fluid, protein fortified, with added vitamin A...	12	oz	139	0.9	18.9	13.5
Apple juice	1	cup	117	0.3	29.0	0.1
		Total	1,070	20.4	179.0	54.2

	Grams	Calories	%-Cals
Calories		1,070
Fat	20.4	181	17	%
Saturated	4.9	43	4	%
Polyunsaturated	4.2	37	3	%
Monounsaturated	3.6	32	3	%
Carbohydrate	179.0	687	64	%
Dietary Fiber	27.3
Protein	54.2	209	19	%
Alcohol	0.0	0	0	%

Exercise : 3 mile walk

      

Thursday Day 4 - Week 1

Today didn't go so well as far as my food choose's want.  I skipped lunch while I was cleaning the house and doing laundry.  Just didn't think about it I guess.  I used to always skip breakfast except on weekends when I'd make my hubby and me toasted egg sandwiches with bacon, lettuce mayo, onions, tomatoes and cheese.  I no longer eat them. However I could as long as I thought healthy and used multigrain or whole wheat toast, 2 egg whites, tomato, lettuce, onion and simply leave out the cheese and mayo.  For extra flavor a good alternative would be 1 tbsp of low fat cottage cheese on the toast.  Plus you could add spinach to the egg whites.  Mmmmm, I might just try that this week some time.

Ok so here's how I did today.

Food Name	Amount	Unit	Cals	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Prot (g)	Delete
		Total	1,122	32.2	51.2	46.3
Bread, multigrain, toasted	2	thin slice	114	1.7	21.2	4.6
Peanut butter	0.25	tablespoon	24	2.0	0.8	1.0
Pork chop, fried	8	oz, with bone, cooked (yield after bone removed)	425	28.1	0.0	40.1
Alcoholic beverage, distilled, vodka, 80 proof	7	fl oz	450	0.0	0.0	0.0
Apple, raw	2	small (2-1/2" dia) (approx 4 per lb)	110	0.4	29.3	0.6
		Total	1,122	32.2	51.2	46.3

	Grams	Calories	%-Cals
Calories		1,122
Fat	32.2	289	26	%
Saturated	11.2	100	9	%
Polyunsaturated	4.3	38	3	%
Monounsaturated	13.8	124	11	%
Carbohydrate	51.2	193	17	%
Dietary Fiber	8.1
Protein	46.3	195	17	%
Alcohol	65.0	450	40	%

Exercise : 1 hour 10 minutes Tredmill lvl 4

      

Wednesday is Day 3 of Week 1.

Instead of breaking my food down into meals, it is much easier for me and takes a lot less time to just copy and paste my info from www.FitDay.com where I keep track of my daily foods.  It's a great place to keep track of your daily totals and to mark your progress.

Ok so here's how I did today.

Food Name	Amount	Unit	Cals	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Prot (g)	Delete
		Total	1,123	19.4	92.4	139.7
Total	1	cup	133	0.7	30.9	2.7
Milk, nonfat, fluid, with added nonfat milk solids and vitam...	0.5	cup	45	0.3	6.1	4.4
Fish, cooked	3	oz, boneless, cooked	95	1.0	0.0	19.8
Bread, multigrain	2	thin slice	115	1.7	21.3	4.6
Tomatoes, raw	1	thin/small slice	3	0.0	0.6	0.1
Onions, mature, raw	1	thin slice	4	0.0	0.8	0.1
Chicken, breast, skin not eaten	12	oz, boneless, cooked, skinless	550	11.9	0.0	103.4
Beans, string, green, cooked, from canned	20	beans	55	3.5	5.5	1.5
Potatoes, red, flesh and skin, baked	1	potato small (1-3/4" to 2-1/2" dia.)	123	0.2	27.0	3.2
		Total	1,123	19.4	92.4	139.7

	Grams	Calories	%-Cals
Calories		1,123
Fat	19.4	174	15	%
Saturated	5.0	45	4	%
Polyunsaturated	4.8	43	4	%
Monounsaturated	6.8	61	5	%
Carbohydrate	92.4	364	32	%
Dietary Fiber	12.2
Protein	139.7	589	52	%
Alcohol	0.0	0	0	%

Exercise : 30 minutes on Stationary Bike
                   35 minutes on Tredmill at lvl 4
                   

      

Tuesday was Day 2 - Week 1

Here's how my day went.

Breakfast : 1 Cup of Total Whole Grain Cereal with 1/2 cup of Fat Free Milk
                     Calories = 165                    0.5g Fat
                     Sodium = 10% DV              Carbs = 10% DV
                     Protein = 6g                         Dietary Fiber = 4g - 11% DV
                     *** There is also almost a full days worth of vitamins and minerals in Total Cereal.

Mid Morning : Had no Snack

Lunch : One 4oz fillet of Mahi Mahi fish = 96 Calories - 1g Fat - 16g Protein
               2 cups salad mix with 2 cups of fresh spinach = 27 Calories - 0g Fat - 2g Dietary Fiber - plus more
               1 tbsp Low Fat Ranch dressing = 40 Calories - 3.5g Fat - plus more
               1/2 Cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese = 80 Calories - 1g Fat - 13g Protein
               *** Total Meal = 243 Calories - 5.5g Fat
               If you were still hungry after this meal, simply add more salad to the meal or finish it off with you favorite fresh fruit.

Mid Afternoon : 1 Small 6" Banana
                       1/2 Cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese
                       1 Cup Fat Free Milk
                       *** Total Snack = 260 Calories - 1.3g Fat

Supper : Mahi Mahi Fish Sandwich
                        One 4oz Mahi Mahi Fish Fillet = 96 Calories - 1g Fat - 16g Protein
                        MultiGrain Sandwich Thin Round = 100 Calories - 1g Fat - 5g Dietary Fiber - 4g Protein - plus more
                        1tsp Mustard - 0 everything
                        1tsp Dill Relish - 0 everything
                        1 slice tomato
                        1 slice red onion
                        6 lg spinach leaves
                        1 large leaf lettuce
                4 Cups salad mix with 1 cup of raw spinach = 38 Calories - 0g Fat - 4g Dietary Fiber - plus more
                1 tbsp Low Fat Ranch Dressing = 40 Calories - 3.5g Fat - plus more
                *** Total Meal = 274 Calories - 5.5g Fat

Evening - 2 double vodka & sprite zero = 256 Calories - 0g Fat

DAILY TOTALS = 1288 Calories - 13.1g Fat - 70.2g Protein - Plus much more including more than 100% of my daily vitamins & minerals.  I also left a little room in case I had wanted an evening snack such as fresh fruit or a small evening salad.

Todays Exercise - 1 Hour on stationary bike.
                                       20 minutes Yoga
                                       35 minutes on Tredmill @ lvl 4
                                       30 minutes Upper body on gym circuit

      

Monday was Day 1 of week 1.

Search for a food:


Calories, carbs, fat, protein & fiber nutritional information from CalorieKing.

Most Nutritional information is based off a 2000 calorie/day diet.  I am targeting 1000 - 1400 Calories/day.  I fry all my meats with cooking spray or EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on occasion and I use no salt.  Instead I use Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend.  The Mrs. Dash tastes really good on fish.

Here's how my day went.

Breakfast : 1 Cup of Total Whole Grain Cereal with 1/2 cup of Fat Free Milk
                     Calories = 165                    0.5g Fat
                     Sodium = 10% DV              Carbs = 10% DV
                     Protein = 6g                         Dietary Fiber = 4g - 11% DV
                     *** There is also almost a full days worth of vitamins and minerals in Total Cereal.

Mid Morning :1 Small 6" Banana
                        Calories = 90                  0.3g Fat
                        Sodium = 1mg                Carbs = 23g - 8% DV
                        Protein = 1.1g                 Dietary Fiber = 2.6g 11% DV
                        Calcium = 5.1mg           Potassium = 361.6mg

Lunch : One 4oz fillet of Mahi Mahi fish = 96 Calories - 1g Fat - 16g Protein
               2 cups salad mix with 2 cups of fresh spinach = 27 Calories - 0g Fat - 2g Dietary Fiber - plus more
               1 tbsp Low Fat Ranch dressing = 40 Calories - 3.5g Fat - plus more
               1/2 Cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese = 80 Calories - 1g Fat - 13g Protein
               *** Total Meal = 243 Calories - 5.5g Fat
               If you were still hungry after this meal, simply add more salad to the meal or finish it off with you favorite fresh fruit.

Mid Afternoon : 1 Small 6" Banana
                       1/2 Cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese
                       1 Cup Fat Free Milk
                       *** Total Snack = 260 Calories - 1.3g Fat

Supper : Mahi Mahi Fish Sandwich
                        One 4oz Mahi Mahi Fish Fillet = 96 Calories - 1g Fat - 16g Protein
                        MultiGrain Sandwich Thin Round = 100 Calories - 1g Fat - 5g Dietary Fiber - 4g Protein - plus more
                        1tsp Mustard - 0 everything
                        1tsp Dill Relish - 0 everything
                        1 slice tomato
                        1 slice red onion
                        6 lg spinach leaves
                        1 large leaf lettuce
                4 Cups salad mix with 1 cup of raw spinach = 38 Calories - 0g Fat - 4g Dietary Fiber - plus more
                1 tbsp Low Fat Ranch Dressing = 40 Calories - 3.5g Fat - plus more
                *** Total Meal = 274 Calories - 5.5g Fat

DAILY TOTALS = 1032 Calories - 13.1g Fat - 70.2g Protein - Plus much more including more than 100% of my daily vitamins & minerals.  I also left a little room in case I had wanted an evening snack such as fresh fruit or a small evening salad.

Todays Exercise - 1 Hour on stationary bike.

I also tend to have 2-4 cups of black coffee and approx. 48 fl. oz of water.  I would eventually like to cut coffee down to 1 cup of coffee in the morning and switch over to green tea.  Updates will come.  =)

Mahi Mahi fish is a light, flaky white fish.  It is very good as it takes on the flavors it is cooked with with no strong flavor of its own such as salmon or tuna which keep their unique flavors along with the spices or flavors added.

If you have any healthy meal or snack ideas please feel free to email them to me.

Amanda =)

      

So a few months ago I joined Twitter.com but never really paid attention to it until recently. I added some of my favorite celebrities just to find out . . . . nothing.

Sure they all Twitter and Tweet but nothing that means anything to me.  I mean honestly who cares that P.Diddy has a new video out called Diddy Doo that talks about how much he has and how much people should fear him ... blah blah fucking blah.

Or tonight for instance . . and these are taken from real posts . .  mileycyruseating dinner with someone special or PerezHiltonWhat one of YOUR favorite "so-bad-it's-good" jokes?  or once again [ iamdiddyTrying out a new drink I just made up called the sumertime!!!! CIROC VODKA and Pinapple juice!!!! Its that simple!!! THE SUMMER TIME!!! Go!!] P.Diddy talking about something completely out of the average persons thought process at this moment in time.  I honestly think most Celebs think about Hollywood and forget that there really is a real world out there living real lives.

Seriously!  Do I care? Do you care?

Let me know if following the retarded antics of Celebs makes you happier than knowing that they are just as real as we are.  please send me your opinions on this.

Ok, nighty night all.

Amanda =)

      

Before I get started with progress reports, I figured I would post my current stats and pic.  Each week I will post new stats and pics and hopefully if all goes well we'll all start to see the positive changes I am hoping for.


  


Me and my girls New Years Eve 12/31/05 & My Main Page image is me 12/22/05  I was about 155lbs at the time both these pictures were taken.  And although I was smaller I was not in very good shape.  I never worked out, I never ate healthy.  That is what I hope to change this time.  Lose the weight by getting my body in shape and eating things that are good for my body, mind and soul.

This is me just yesterday.  I had my daughter take a picture of me to show everyone else what I'm starting with **sigh** again.  I've been in this spot so often.  This will be the last time!! Starting Weight 224lbs Height - 5'7"   Chest - 42"  Waist - 42"  Hips - 53"  BMI - 35  Goal Weight - 150lbs I'll be heading to the gym here shortly and I need to pick up a measuring tape so I can take all the measurements above.  At that point I'll fill them in.

I'll be posting later today on yesterdays regime.

Amanda =)