Moms, we're busy all day, every day, right? We run around getting stuff done for our family, and at the end of the day we've hardly taken any time to treat ourselves right. We're exhausted, we feel run down, and our minds are screaming for a break. "Mommy Brain" is something I hear a lot from my female friends because we pile so much onto our plates, sometimes our brain just wants to shut down. I've been guilty of skipping a workout because it interferes with something my husband has going on, lost sleep because my kids tell me they need something for class the next morning and I have to make a late night run to the grocers, or stood over the counter eating lunch that consists of my kid's leftover pizza crusts. If you're a parent, I'm sure you've been there too. So, why do we do this to ourselves?
After a few health scares over the past few years, I'm finally starting to put myself first. No, that doesn't mean that my family is going to do without, but I've learned that when mom isn't taking care of herself, she can't really give 100% to her family. My #1 health focus has been improving upon my gut health. Did you know that poor gastrointestinal health can have a negative impact on so many other aspects of your health? It can affect your immune system, vitamin and mineral absorption, hormone regulation, ability to remove toxins, mood, and your overall mental health. That's why I've decided to try the Activia® 2 Week Challenge to see how it would help support my digestive health.
What is this Activia 2 Week Challenge? It's simple! All you have to do is consume an Activia Dailies twice a day for two weeks, as part of your daily healthy routine, to see how delicious yogurt with its billions of live and active probiotics can help support your digestive health.
I've always been a firm believer that probiotics are essential for good gut health. If you aren't sure what probiotics are, they are good, friendly bacteria that have been shown to provide health benefits beyond nutrition. Daily consumption of probiotic foods, along with a healthy routine, help support gut and immune health, as well as overall well being.
I ran to Walmart to scoop up several 8 count packages of Activia Dailies to begin my 2 week quest for better gut health. Activia Dailies come in several delicious flavors, including blueberry, strawberry, and vanilla and since they are all flavors that I love, I bought several packages of each for a variety to keep things exciting from day to day.
How did the challenge work for me? Very well! I will say that I did experience my normal cramping during the challenge as I did start it close to "that" time of the month, but I did notice a huge decrease in bloating and gas by the end of the challenge. I did feel a touch more energized as well, and noticed I wasn't feeling as sluggish as I normally do after lunch. Overall, I am pleased with my Activia 2 Week Challenge results and will continue to consume them daily with breakfast or lunch to continue with my quest to do something good for myself every day.
Activia Dailies can be found in your local Walmart's dairy case.
Ready to take the Activia 2 Week Challenge for yourself? Be sure to check out this Ibotta Offer for Activia Dailies and Activia Probiotic Yogurt so you can save while being good to yourself.
What's something good that you strive to do for yourself on a daily basis?
Great that you noticed a difference. Yep, gut health can sure lead to some screwy things when it is out of whack, and none of them are fun. Have to take care of ourselves, as we are no good to family dead. Unless we have a million dollar life insurance I suppose lol
ReplyDeleteNo good dead, indeed. Though, I might have a watchful eye on my family creating an early demise for me if I had that kind of an insurance policy lol
DeleteI've seen the first photo last night at your Twitter and stared at it for about ten minutes, the colours are just so outstanding, the fruit looks alive, the contrast impeccable.
ReplyDeleteI bet the blueberry one tastes like heaven!
I thought probiotic yoghurt is essential for my health for good twenty years and then ditched it totally and discovered it was actually ruining my stomach all the time :) My bowels and digestion have finally recovered after 8 or 9 months of no yoghurt and no dairy. I even ditched probiotic pills because I found out I'm better without them too. But I do swear my allegiance to seeds, spoonfuls of them every day.
PS the vanilla photo is also brilliant, dahlink, you is an idiot for not finding a job in professional photography in some marketing agency, these photos you did are national ad campaign level quality.
That's too bad they didn't work for you. I notice that if I don't take them, my digestive issues are so much worse :( I do seeds here and there, but opposite of you, they have damning effects on my intestines so my GI recommends I don't consume them (I do my chia though a lot because they digest well if you soak them first).
DeleteYes, that slime from soaked flax seeds probably makes you poop more :) That is why I don't do them with dairy, but ground with some coconut oil, that way they layer the walls of the intestines and protect them, similar effect that eating bananas have, which I also do daily. Yoghurt has the opposite effect on me, it makes me bloated and poopy :) when it really should not. My conclusion is that I'm at that stage when my body is refusing industrial and processed food which dairy really is. It's one of the upper stages of cleansing, methinks. Next up all sugar, and then glutten, the nasty glutten!
DeleteI soak mine in almond milk and it doesn't make me poop more lol. Jason likes to grind his up and add them to smoothies. I do bananas most days for lunch too. Now that Mariah is home, I have to remember to double up on them at the grocers because she keeps eating them all.
DeleteThey do only have nutritive effect if you grind them (flax I mean), without grinding, you can just use the slime they leave in the liquid for better digestion, but that way you don't use up their minerals, vitamins and omega fatty acids.
DeletePS forgot to tell you that our local probiotic jogurts are called Balans, they have them with added bananas, figs, grapes, kiwi, but they also put bran in them so it is a full meal straight from the bottle. It's called Imlek Balans Obrok :)
The addition of the brand sounds great. That way, you are getting your fiber in too!
DeleteI've tried their yogurt and wasn't a fan.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad :(
DeleteI'll definitely be looking in to these. I already eat Activia yogurt, so I know I'll love it. Plus, gut health is so important to your overall health.
ReplyDeleteI hope you share your results if you participate in the challenge too!
DeleteThese look both tasty and nutritious! I really appreciate the ability to grab one on my way out the door every morning too.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I love being able to conveniently (and tastily) get my probiotics every day.
DeleteI always liked Activia. Lately I've been buying plain Greek yogurt, and adding in my own berries. Then there isn't as much sugar. I do love sugar, and fruit for sure.
ReplyDeleteI usually go for the vanilla Greek yogurt, which is probably not good since it does have more sugar in it than the plain. I do the vanilla almond milk (sweetened too). That's probably why I'm having such a hard time getting rid of my belly weight.
DeleteActivia yogurt is really good. These will come in handy to have something nutritional if you're in a hurry.
ReplyDeleteSo true!
DeleteIt's wonderful that you're taking care of yourself so thoroughly. I haven't tried Activia, but I will now on your recommendation.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it as much as I do, Rosey!
DeleteThat looks delicious! I would love to give it a try!
ReplyDeleteI tried these and actually really loved them. The flavor was great and they were the perfect size.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a good challenge. I also love how this has probiotics for you!
ReplyDeleteI've never tried Activia, but I've been thinking about it! Sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you noticed a difference! I haven't ever had this product, but love that it's available at Walmart and not something you need to special order.
ReplyDelete