TOS Crew Review: GoTrybe

One can't turn on the TV, read a newspaper, or be online and not run in to the statistics that continue to exclaim the issue the United States has with childhood obesity. It's definitely alarming. In this day and age of increasing technology with video games and television and iPads and more, it's not surprising that children are not as active as they once were.

That is where GoTrybe hopes to change things. 

Their mission statement....

Provide a global interactive lifestyle community that motivates young people and adults, through fun and edutainment, to integrate fitness, nutrition and wellness into their everyday lives.

GoTrybe is taking those things that have been harmful for children (increasing technology) and using it to help them become healthier. Simply put they are "an online, interactive social community dedicated to the health and wellness of our youth."

There are three different levels based on ages that you can pick from. They are:

• ZooDoos for K-5th grade
• Trybe180 for 6th-8th grade
• NexTrybe for 9th-12th grade

You can sign up and try it free for a day. If you like what you see, you can sign up for a one-year subscription for $19.95.

So what exactly is GoTrybe?

GoTrybe (pronounced....Go...Try...Be) takes the very technology that typically works against children and puts it to work for them. Once an account is set up, a child (or parent) can go in and set up a video workout. This is a very neat feature. There are various clips of all the different types of exercise routines available. You can drag and drop them in to a workout (this includes warm-up, cardio, strength, flexibility, and cool-down). Then you can save the workout and play it!

There are also sections on nutrition, wellness, and motivation (tabs under "Daily Activity). These are all designed to help a child become healthier and stay active.

My thoughts:

When I first went online to set this up for my boys I was excited. It looked like a super fun way to workout and have fun. Now I will say, I am the mom of three very active boys. I loaded up a workout for each of the younger ones since I was just trying it out for them (they are both at the ZooDoos level).

However, when I rolled it out to them the next day they completely balked at it. I didn't push it on them simply because they are active and healthy.

Having said that though, I think there are huge benefits to this program. Not only in getting kids a bit more active and healthier (via increasing stamina and flexibility), but also teaching them about nutrition and making being active a part of their lifestyle. I was really bummed when my boys absolutely refused to try it simply because they thought it a bit "too girly."

Overall I think the concept is great. I like that it can be customized and the price is certainly right.

Be sure to head over to the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to see what other Crew members had to say about this product.



Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. TOS Crew Members are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.

Researching Life

As I've shared before on this blog, I'm a diabetic. Seemingly a Type 1 diabetic, although I was diagnosed at age 28 with this disease. But why did I say "seemingly?" Simply because of a few articles I've read that say what I truly have is Type 1.5 or latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood (LADA) simply based on the age of onset. I do know that my body makes antibodies against my islet cells. That if I stop taking my insulin, my blood sugars will spike & I will most likely die or at the very least end up in the hospital - not a good thing.

I do know that my first endocrinologist was very surprised that I was making antibodies & gave me the diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. Simply put, I have to take insulin for the rest of my life because my body no longer makes it.

For the first year, I took daily insulin injections which really is a misnomer. I took injections four to five times a day. I was happy when a new insulin came out called Lantus. Lantus is a 24-hour insulin that does not peak. I took one shot each night before bed & it stayed at a steady rate all day long, helping to keep my blood sugars low between meals. Prior to that I took an insulin called NPH which lasted about 6-12 hours so I had to take two shots of this. But I could mix it with my insulin for meals. Lantus can not be mixed so it added a shot to my daily regimen.

Then I started on my insulin pump by Medtronic. I used their Minimed Paradigm pump & loved it. It made my life so much easier & the control of my diabetes was tighter. My quarterly HgBA1C was lower. HgBA1C stands for hemoglobin A1C which is a blood test that gives your "average" blood sugar for the last three months. It's the most accurate way to determine this since you can't lie about what your sugars are - blood tells. The docs like to see if below 7%.

Of course, you all know how this turned out. If not, click HERE to read what happened when I switched pumps a year ago.

So now that I am back on "daily" insulin shots, I'm finding that my control is horrid. My average blood sugar is well over 200. The normal range should be 70-100. I'm finding that a sugar in the low 100's brings on hypoglycemic symptoms even though my sugar is fine. I'm finding that I'm starting to have neuropathy in my toes again (sharp pins & needles feelings that HURT). This is NOT good. Not good at all.

However, it's serving as a large wake-up call.

I know that I need to loose weight. I've known this for a very long time. I joined Hot for the Holidays to keep me motivated & accountable. It's working to some extent. I've lost a whopping 1.5 pounds since I started - four weeks ago. At this rate, I'll meet my goal in about 17 years - if I did my math right.

I know this is more than just a weight issue. It's more than just a food issue. It's even more than just a health issue. It's a heart issue. So very much a heart issue.

I know that I need to make some major changes around here. I need some major "stick-to-it-ness" to move forward. I need an attitude change as I tell my children frequently.

So I'm spending some time tonight while my boys are watching mindless TV too late at night (I know but it's Star Wars: Clone Wars & they have to put it on late & we have no way to tape it & it's just me & the two older boys right now so I'm letting them) I'm spending some time researching my life.

I'm looking up stuff about the glycemic index. I ordered some new workout DVDs off eBay (Zumba). Before I go to bed tonight I plan to have an eating plan written out for tomorrow as well as an exercise plan. I'm recommitting to this goal I have. I even took a quiz on Spark People about my motivation. It said I was at this point in my goal searching. I'm ready to make a difference in my life.

I'm tired of being fat. I'm tired of having out of control blood sugars. I'm ready to be healthy. I'm ready for a change in my life. I'm ready.