This is Day 14 of the 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge held in Jan 2015 where we work on improving our diet and fitness for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hi everyone!! :D It’s now Day 14 of our 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge! While this is the last task for the challenge, it’s NOT the last post for the challenge as I’ll be posting a round-up post tomorrow to gather feedback. So, don’t bid your goodbyes yet. Now, let’s hop on to today’s task!
Challenge Tasks to Date
- Announcement and signup page: Join 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge!
- Day 0: Create Your 14-Day Healthy Living Plan | Comments
- Day 1: Drink 8 Glasses of Water | Comments
- Day 2: Eat 5 Servings of Fruits & Vegetables | Comments
- Day 3: Create Your Calorie List | Comments
- Day 4: Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure | Comments
- Day 5: Create Your Ideal Meal Plan | Comments
- Day 6: Follow Your Ideal Meal Plan! | Comments
- Day 7: Review & Set Your Plan for Week 2! | Comments
- Day 8: Get a Great Workout! | Comments
- Day 9: Identify Your Healthy Living Pitfalls | Comments
- Day 10: Meditate | Comments
- Day 11: Identify Your Food Struggles | Comments
- Day 12: Practice Conscious Eating | Comments
- Day 13: Start Your Healthy Living Guidebook | Comments
My Day 13 in Pictures
Here’s a recap of my Day 13 in pictures:
First meal: Veggie patty and banana! (Combining pictures from before as I forgot to take a picture)
Dinner: Wholemeal pasta (cooked by Ken), bacon bits and chickpeas! I went to the supermarket to buy the wholemeal pasta so that I would have some healthier food in the house I can eat in case I run out of my sandwiches/soups/salads!
Supper: Apple and guava soup, grapes, and tea! I really love the soup and grapes (very juicy). I ended up not finishing the tea. Not that it wasn’t nice; I just stop eating/drinking when I’m full or half-way full, as part of conscious eating.
For yesterday’s task on creating a healthy living guidebook, I’ve already started doing this since 2007 (or even earlier). Over the years, I’ve condensed my guidebook significantly as I’ve integrated majority of my ideal healthy living practices into my life (and mind) and hence didn’t need to track many of the things I used to. (For example, I tracked my calories daily in 2008 when I was working on losing weight, but today I’m at my ideal weight and I subconsciously know the calorie content of each food, so I don’t do it anymore.)
Yesterday, I refreshed my healthy living guidebook with areas I’m focusing on right now. It currently has
- My healthy living guidelines, or what I call “commandments” (including the ones I’ve been working on in the challenge, like removing fried/oily food, exercising regularly, eating a salad daily and every other day). These commandments are based on priority areas to me now as well as principles to help bust my past common healthy living pitfalls.
- My favorite list of fruits and vegetables of different colors of the color wheel
- My grocery list to replenish my supplies every Friday
- Healthy places to buy my meals from
- Nutritional information of foods that I’m currently eating weekly (We worked on this in Day 3’s task)
Here’s a topline screenshot of my guidebook (in Excel, my preferred format for all my guidebooks):
Some sections of my healthy living guidebook: My Healthy Living Commandments, Fruits list (to remind myself to eat fruits of all colors), Grocery List, and Healthier Food Outlets to get food from.
My calorie and nutritional list to help me get calorie on the calorie and fat content of each food
As this moment the simplicity of my guidebook is great in helping me to focus on key areas, and I plan to build on my guidebook as I embark on my new phase of healthier living. :D
Reviewing my 14HLC goals, they are
- Exercise at least three times a week – My third exercise for this week will be later on Day 14!
- Cut out deep fried / oily food from my diet – Check!
- Eat salads more regularly, ideally once a day if I can – No salad today (Day 13) but that’s because I ended up sleeping earlier than usual. I was planning to have a salad as my last meal before I sleep. But it’s
Check out other participants’ amazing food logs and progress updates in Day 13’s comments section!
With that, let’s move to Day 14 and our last task, which is…
Day 14: Review & Your Best Health Ahead
So… this is it. :) After two weeks of healthy living since the year started, we’ve now reached the end of our Healthy Living Challenge. As with all PE challenges, everything has to come to a close, and it’s time to gather what we’ve learned and synthesize them into meaningful steps for our journey ahead.
How have you done? Are you happy with what you have accomplished in the past two weeks of the challenge? Did you complete your tasks as planned with each day? If no, why not? What can you learn from your progress in the past two weeks?
Today’s task is for YOU to review YOUR progress, catch up on the challenge tasks so far, and create your healthy living plan moving ahead.
Step 1: Catch Up on the Challenge Tasks
Have you completed the tasks for Days 1–13? If not, catch up on them today!
- Day 1: Drink 8 Glasses of Water
- Day 2: Eat 5 Servings of Fruits & Vegetables
- Day 3: Create Your Calorie List
- Day 4: Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure
- Day 5: Create Your Ideal Meal Plan
- Day 6: Follow Your Ideal Meal Plan!
- Day 7: Review & Set Your Plan for Week 2!
- Day 8: Get a Great Workout!
- Day 9: Identify Your Healthy Living Pitfalls
- Day 10: Meditate
- Day 11: Identify Your Food Struggles
- Day 12: Practice Conscious Eating
- Day 13: Start Your Healthy Living Guidebook
Step 2: Review Your Challenge Performance
Think about the past two weeks since you started the challenge. Then, answer the following:
- On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your own performance in the areas of your (a) diet and (b) fitness? Why?
- What goals did you set for yourself for the challenge? How have you performed in them? Why?
- Were there any obstacles preventing you from sticking to your healthy living plan? If yes, what were they? How can you overcome them moving forward?
Step 3: Set Your Healthy Living Plan Moving Forward!
Now the challenge is coming to a close, it’s time to create your healthy living plan as you move ahead.
- What are your key goals for your health and fitness moving forward? Review your 14-Day Healthy Living Plan and add on/revise your tasks/goals as needed. If your goals are the same, stick with what you’ve written.
- What are your key action steps to ensure that you’ll 100% achieve these goals? Look back at what you’ve done/learned from the past two weeks, especially the answers you wrote for the tasks on Day 7 (Week 1 Review), Day 9 (Healthy Living Pitfalls), and Day 11 (Food Struggles). Identify the steps that will help you to achieve success in your healthy living plan in the long term. Then, start acting on them!
Next, Follow Your Plan for Day 14 (Take Pictures Too!)
What tasks have you set for Day 14 of your 14-Day Healthy Living Plan? Do them today!
Take pictures of your healthy meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and mid-day snacks if any — and share them in the comments section. :D After all, a picture tells a thousand words, and when you share photos of your healthy meals, it inspires others to eat healthily and gives them ideas on what healthy food they can have too!
Post your initial comment sharing your results for today’s challenge task, then add on throughout the day as you have your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and/or if you’re doing any workouts. Attach photos of your meals by clicking the image icon on the bottom left of every comment box. As you add on to your comment thread, be sure to click on the reply button directly below your original comment so that you reply to your own thread (as opposed to starting a new thread).
Share Your Results (and Photos!)
Share in the comments section!
- Your reflections for the challenge
- Your healthy living plan moving ahead
- Your progress with your healthy living plan today
- Pictures of your meals
- Pictures of your workout (if any)
Do check out the other participants’ comments too and share a word of encouragement or two. We’re all in this together, so let’s support each other as a group! :)
PS: Since I always post my day’s progress in the subsequent day’s recap, my progress for today (Day 14) will be posted in the comments section of today’s task (as I always do) and shared in tomorrow’s roundup. I’ll also be collating my thoughts for the entire challenge in tomorrow’s roundup as well.
After you’re done, proceed to Healthy Living Challenge Roundup: Reflection, Feedback, and Moving Forward!
(Images: Women running, Orange, notebook, measuring tape)
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My key take-away is I’ve have put recurring calendar appointments on actionable items from the Healthy Living Challenge. Eg are the exercise sessions, meditation sessions, fruits-shopping, and conscious eating. I have also set health as my #1 goal in 2015 for better health. Looking forward to a healthier 2015!
Well, as an ironic end to the challenge, I fell ill. Have a massively sore throat and it hurts to swallow, so I haven’t really been doing the water/fruit. Also couldn’t go to yoga on Saturday :(
On the brighter side, I did finally get back to yoga, and it’s been good to be observing how well I’ve been keeping up with the tasks. Mostly alright, but a few slip-ups too.
Going forward, I’d like to keep up the yoga, water and meal planning, plus get more serious about snacking on fruit. I should also get back on HabitRPG to remind me of these tasks!
Hi Jade, I hope you recover soon! I was massively ill in Dec last year, and it really, really didn’t feel good at all. (I believe I got bronchitis at that time.) The whole episode made me appreciate great health, and step up my efforts to improving my health through diet/fitness. Here’s a big hug to you!!! *hug*
1. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your own performance in the areas of your (a) diet and (b) fitness? Why?
I’d give myself 5-6 because I finished about 50% of my tasks. Although I’m leaning towards 6 because I have tried to do my best and that counts :)
2. Were there any obstacles preventing you from sticking to your healthy living plan? If yes, what were they? How can you overcome them moving forward?
I haven’t accomplished the other 50% of my tasks predominantly because of spending a lot of time with my boyfriend. In that time, I didn’t eat healthily, drink enough, find time for my meditation and went to sleep after midnight. It’s totally my fault because, although I shared with him that I was working on this challenge, I was too shy (in this very new relationship) to really focus on my tasks when I felt that I should focus on being in the moment with him. BUT health is a very important area of my life so going forward, I would definitely like to carve out time for making it happen no matter what other personal or work engagements I have! And I might even help to inspire other people if I do so :)
3. Your healthy living plan moving ahead.
– Drink enough water.
– Eat 5-a-day fruits and vegetables (I find that when I do this, I automatically eat a more healthy diet and don’t crave unhealthy foods that much. How useful!)
– Exercise around 3 times a week (I am using bodybuilding .com to design my workouts).
– Meditate (eventually go from 2 minutes to 20 minutes every day)
– Try to go to sleep before midnight (as I have to get up early and this way I get a good night’s rest).
HLC Day 14 SWANN’S REVIEW & MY BEST HEALTH AHEAD
Have you completed the tasks for Days 1-13? I have started my calorie list for Day 3, having more calories to look up for foods I usually eat as well as those foods that I do not usually eat, but need to know their caloric content in the event that I do eat them.
I still have Day 4’s TDEE to do.
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your own performance in the areas of your (a) diet and (b) fitness? Why?
In reviewing my overall progress in this Healthy Living Challenge, I give myself an 8.5. In diet and fitness, 7.5
There is a lot of improvement I can create in my food plan. For example, I can eat more veggies as well as have more variety. Weighing/measuring my protein amounts would erase the question if I am eating too much protein. I could cut back/eliminate dairy. I could eliminate whole grain bread/tortillas and have rice, quinoa, sweet potato instead. I could make sure I drink all the water I need EVERY day. Becoming more realistic about calories and energy expenditure, making those calculations would be a good reality check and might b helpful for my healthy living.
I could do other exercises than swimming. Strengthening exercises for my legs, for example.
What goals did you set for yourself for the challenge? How have you performed in them? Why? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your own performance in the areas of your (a) diet and (b) fitness? Why?
I set a goal to be willing to just even BE HERE and to participate as well as I could, being willing to take any steps to connect myself with my body and what i need to do to be more mobile and moving in the direction of living my best health.
Drinking the right amount of WATER was/is very important. I have succeeded with the water-drinking most of the time, and have for decades, so that has been extremely helpful to me with my living healthy. Getting proper rest and SLEEP is so important for me, and I have done that, which is a great accomplishment Eating consciously is crucial for me, a real live game-changer, since I used to disconnect from my body SO much. I do EAT CONSCIOUSLY most of the time. The exception being, I have swallowed a bite of food in order to say something, even though I really was not finished chewing the food thoroughly. That has to stop! Being more willing to exercise, and actually DOING the EXERCISE was also a goal, so YAY! for accomplishing that! Staying POSITIVE, or getting even more positive, reading/watching inspirational material, and meditation are other goals, so I can check that off too, for that is automatic with me rather than something I have to really think about. (Note to self: Although you and Celes are two entirely different people and entirely different body types, Celes, after getting to the root of her EE and food issues, succeeded in automatically making healthy food choices, not even feeling deprived or ‘wanting’ what once was tempting. This is very encouraging…I have also experienced much progress in this area….Keep Going! Do the right things that effect the changes I need.) Oh…Also…It’s also important for me to not stick around negative thinkers, or to view very negative or violent things.
I also need to have a reality check/accountability with food, which I tend to look through rosy-glasses, which is not always helpful and can keep me from living my best life! Yes, I used to be overly calorie-conscious, and scale-conscious, but now I need to be willing to do what is needed to drop excess pounds. If that means measurements, then I need to get back into that mentality if that is what it takes to reduce my body weight so I can be more mobile. And if surgery for my knees needs to happen, then I need to be willing to do that and get that done when I get my weight down again.
I have definitely made headway in the areas discussed above. Being here every day and participating/sharing with others has been helpful, and i feel I am progressing in the right direction, despite my not planning and eating my food plan as well as I could, or doing even more exercise.
Why I have sabotaged weight-loss success over and over again is THE BIGGIE I have done SO much work, Deep work, all throughout my lifetime, and to keep sabotaging points to what deep root am I not looking at that prevents me from achieving my ideal weight, or at least maintaining the weight loss that I have so many times achieved but gained back? Self-worth is huge, and the progress I have made in that area is indeed quite significant. I have had and do have a lot going for me, so what is the deal? Are deep fears/putting a wall up to protect myself from healthy boundaries I find it challenging to keep, keeping excess weight on me? Somewhat, sometimes, but I am aware of this challenge, so it’s something that I continue to work with.
I do associate good times and celebration with food, and I do feel annoyed and sometimes angry that there are foods and drinks that are not part of what is healthy eating for me, and that I am one who has to monitor just how much of something I am having, or else it will catch up with me when I go overboard, and I will gain weight, sometimes getting off track for a long time. SO many things that I used to overeat or wildly binge on are no longer even a temptation or an issue for me, (I have come a lonnnng way!)- and for that I am SO grateful. And with that gratitude comes joy, for gratitude is akin to how much joy I am feeling…gifts of spirit and of my soul that go FAR beyond any physical taste sensation, so thank goodness I feel connected to Something Greater than food and drinks. The physical is akin to the world of sensation, and that is limited, whereas what I experience as a soul uplifts me where the gifts of Spirit leave what is physical pale in comparison.
Were there any obstacles from preventing you from sticking to your healthy living plan? If yes, what were they? How can you overcome them moving forward?
My wanting to have more can sometimes prevent me from sticking to my healthy living plan. I need to let go of the wanting, and focus on the having…That is, I already have what it is I need to live healthy, and focusing on that, being grateful for that, and not a slave to what It feels like I ‘want,’ is key. The ‘wanting’ is a trap!
It is a place that can never be filled, or full. It is just empty ‘wanting’, a ‘Neverland’ sort of place. What is helpful is to focus on what it is I truly need to have and and do to take good care of myself, BE MY OWN BEST FRIEND, and SEE the way I would like to look, and feel, and move. SEE myself there, in this moment, NOW. I am far from that image, now, but in my mind’s eye, I can be there, that ideal healthy living image, already formed, and waiting for me to catch up, so I can walk into that ideal healthy image and live my ideal healthy life. In the meantime, I have my Healthy Living Guidebook to remind me, daily, moment to moment, of the steps I need to take to achieve my healthy living goal.
Doing other things that are NURTURING are important and nourishing for the body and the soul. Replace ‘comfort foods’ mentality with what is truly comforting and soothing to the soul. Surrounding myself with SUPPORTIVE, appreciative PEOPLE
is a very wise and necessary choice that is truly a gift to enjoy. I can feel it when someone is a truly loving being, and truly cares about me, having my best interest at heart, and who really listens to what I have to say.
JOURNALING and MEDITATING, and BEING OUT IN NATURE are all crucial for my health. I have been dedicated to staying true to doing those things on a regular basis. Not to do them, well, life seems flat. Sometimes empty, unfulfilling, like ‘What’s the point of doing/being anything?’ The empty space then wants to be filled, and that’s when food can be used, but what I’ve found out is that it does not really fill at all…the food/drink just makes the emptiness bigger!!!!! What a picture! As I truly realize that food is not going to fill me or blot out anything unpleasant, or solve any dilemma, I will take a deep breath and partake in realistic solutions and not eat over it, cause that won’t help!
A beautiful and practical and workable, successful solution is to follow my Healthy Living guidelines and action steps. I have a growing faith that Good prevails, and that miracles are really just everyday events disguised as solutions! May I be part of the wonderful solution, not part of the problem, making better, wise CHOICES! Key word, CHOICES! So BE it! I deserve living my healthy best life! I CAN DO THIS!
Love, Swann
I LOVE this quote by Louise Hay.
‘I LOVE LIFE, AND LIFE LOVES ME.’
Hello, before the start of day 1, I found myself looking forward for this challenge. I have committed myself by signing up but have not fully participate. I am super behind the challenge now. I am still in day 5, 6 and 7. So far, this healthy living challenge is doing me good. As much as possible for every day now since the start of the challenge, I am conscious of the number of glasses of water I drink, try to really have 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, started listing my calorie list. Planning my ideal meal and following it was kind of challenging for me. Most of the time, I would look on what’s available and then improvise. I like the workout/exercise on youtube recommended by Ms Celes. I tried doing one yesterday and then one today. And after the workout, I felt myself lighter, my mood happier. Thank you Ms Celes for putting up this challenge. It’s doing everybody good.
Hii Celes,
I feel a bit distracted….I just wrote a post on Day 13, mentioning about how I could not post last evening, “This website is not available.” Also on that post I wrote how I posted my work for Day 13, including 5 photos- I saw the photos upload, and then I saw my whole post right there on Day 13, photos included, with others’ posts, and now I do not see my post. Weird to see it, then not to see it. Did you see my post for Day 13? Do you know what happened?/Does any of this make any sense to you? Hope so!
Hi Swann!
1) Your post for Day 13, with the 5 photos is here: https://personalexcellence.co/blog/healthy-living-day-13-guidebook/#comment-1792708484
For some reason it was caught in the spam queue, but this happens occasionally for legit comments, so not to worry about it. I have unspammed the comment, so it’s live now.
2) Website down — yes, there was about 45 minutes of downtime yesterday, but the site is back up and functional now!
3) The comments is managed by Disqus system while the website going down are separate things, so your comment disappearing was simply Disqus marking it as spam (for whatever reason) and has nothing to do with the website down. Again, your comment has been approved so it’s back live!
Sorry for any confusion Swann, and let me know if you have other questions!
Phew! What a relief! Glad to see my work posted on Day 13!
Also, let see how this posts…I followed instructions, but the note/flag under the name space says “Post as Bette” Now what? Oh, and I changed my password on Disqus. Is that password the same one I use for PE or do I use the one I had before? Oh dear, probably should have kept ‘Bette’, as this may pose confusion for those knowing me as Bette. What would you suggest?
Oh sweet, you’re now posting as a registered user! That’s awesome Bette! :D
On the password, I’m not sure which one you’re talking about, so I’ll just outline it here:
1) PE forums uses a user name/password, but the PE forums account is different from this commenting account.
2) If you’re commenting on PE blog posts, then the password will be whatever you used for your Disqus account. I think once you login, you don’t need to keep relogging in so this shouldn’t be an issue. For example I’ve never needed to key in my password for all my comments to the PE blog posts for the past year because I’m logged in all the time.
On the comment name, like I was mentioning before you can actually merge all your previous comments under your cooper/yahoo email under your Disqus account! So they’ll all appear as Bette after you merge the comments. Disqus has a tutorial here to merge comments:
https://help.disqus.com/customer/portal/articles/466232-merging-service-profiles-and-claiming-guest-comments
I recommend you to explore your account login page via http://disqus.com! There are various options there to scan through which will probably clear up some confusion, and you can also upload an avatar etc.
1. On a scale of 1-10, how would I rate my own performance in the areas of my (a) diet and (b) fitness? Why?
Diet: 9. I ate very very little chocolate in the last 14 days :) I am capable of eating one chocolate a day or one box of chocolate cookies a day. In the last 14 days I did not have cravings for sugar and there was no need to resist chocolate since there was no need to eat it. It was efortless. I ate lots of fruits. I went on lunch out during work and ate in peace. I drank lots of water.
Fitness: 6. I missed one yoga class and one volleyball training. I did not go running and did not go for a walk as planned. But I was organizing my activities in the spirit of the challenge; when I did not have my bicycle, I did not go by bus to work, but I combinated walking and bcycling with a borrowed bike. I practiced yoga at home.
2. What goals did I set for myself for 14 day HLTC? How have I performed in them? Why?
– make a meal menu and make a shopping list – done 100 %, 2/2 (planned once a week)
– go to grocery store – done 100 %, 2/2 (planned once a week)
– also buy nuts – done, but did not eat them every day, I kind of forgot about this
– doing yoga 2x per week – done 100 %, 4/4
– it is cold outside, so I will not run yet, but I could go for a short walk – done 46 %, 6/13 (planned everyday since day 2)
– I have some chocolate in the kitchen and I will try to eat it as less as possible – done :)
– drink 2 glasses of water more than usual – done 64%, 9/14 (usual I drink 6-7 glasses of water, so the plan was to drink more than 5 glasses)
– eat 5 servings of F&V – done 69%, 9/13
I also did 13 of 14 challenge tasks (92,8 %), I missed day 8. This is the first time I really stuck to a challenge almost 100 % and did the tasks although I (falsely) thought they would not be beneficial.
I should be more specific with taking a walk goal – I should set an hour when will I go. Overall I drank more water than usual. Statistics in % gives me better insight of my performance (more objective and realistic point of view), that way I see how every single day is important and how fast can I go off track and achieve less than 50 %. My motivation was: the printed 14 day healthy living plan, the printed meal planner, scheduling and keeping track, commenting and sharing my results.
3. Were there any obstacles preventing me from sticking to my healthy living plan? If yes, what were they? How can I overcome them moving forward?
One obstacle was that some goals were not specific enough. I can overcome that with setting more specific goal and plan (scheduling time of the day for walks or running).
4. What are my key goals for my health and fitness moving forward?
Some of my goals remains the same: menu planning, going to grocery once a week, practicing yoga at home twice a week (on weekends), drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day, eating 5 servings of F&V.
I will eat without distractions around me (computer, internet, books, …) – practice conscious eating. I will run three times a week – mondays and tuesdays after work and saturdays before noon.
5. What are my key action steps to ensure that I’ll 100% achieve these goals?
Key actions are: creating and keeping track in healthy living guidebook, making reviews every week and calculating the statistics in % once a month.
6. My progress with my healthy living plan today
– drank 9 glasses of water
– ate 5 servings of F&V
– did yoga in the morning
Miss Elf, Your planning and your success in meeting your goals is awesome! It’s very impressive to me and setting an example that could be very helpful to me. I used to write things down and chart them, but, with few exceptions, stopped doing that years ago.
Chocolate…hmmm…quite a subject for many….A while back, when I tasted 88% cacao chocolate, (which is something that I normally don’t eat at all!), I found that although there was hardly any sugar, I still had a reaction to the naturally occurring caffeine in chocolate. Having fruits seems to have replaced the need for chocolate for you, and it was ‘effortless’ …pretty great!
Eating ‘in peace’ and ‘Every single day is important’ are two things that really stand out to me in your wonderful post. I’m really letting that sink in deeper and deeper. Sometimes it is the simple little things that can bring about big shifts in awareness. Thank you for being here and for participating so fully, Miss Elf.
I’m glad that it has made a difference for you. Me too.
I am glad you found it helpful :) I also wrote down things so many times in the past and than always stopped. That is all preparation for one day when I will suceed in being on track with my goals :)
88% cacao chocolate is great! And healthy :) Not so sweet and a little bitter.
Thank you for participating and creating a positive energy that makes challenges like this even more beneficial and growth oriented.
Hi Celes!
I just wanted to say, I’m sorry I said I would be a part of the challenge and failed to show up. I have been unable to keep up with the intentions I made to do the challenge each day, and I regret that.
I have been skimming the posts each day (even if I haven’t responded), and I just wanted to say, THANK YOU for all of the information and helpful exercises you’ve posted. One of the few things I used was that site you shared to determine how much water you should drink each day, and even just doing that has been extremely beneficial to me.
I’m glad to see that you have so many active participants! I’ve been trying to prioritize my time around Q2 tasks such as this, but for some reason I still haven’t found it in me to do a good job of that. I set the intention, but it always gets away from me.
Anyway, I just wanted to take the time to let you know how much I value the time and effort you put into these, and I’m sorry that my shortcomings prevented me from showing my appreciation through participating. I have no excuses; I just have difficulty holding on to the drive that I sometimes feel so intensely.
Thank you again, Celes! <3 I hope soon I can actually act on the important goals I set for myself, so I can get the most out of the challenges/sessions/etc. that you offer.
Missed your being here, Calae!
Sending all good things your way!
Thank you so much, Swann! I am sorry I couldn’t make it; thanks for the positivity, I’m sending some right back at you! =)
Hi Calae. Your words seem to come from a place of guilt. While this shows that you really care about your commitments to yourself and others, you do not need to feel guilty for falling short of your goals. You can focus on your “light”. Few people your age care enough to follow a course of constant improvement. Just reading inspiring material and picking up what you can is enough. I was not able to participate as much as I had planned either, because of an unexpected family issue that came up, but I decided to focus on what I COULD do rather than what I COULD NOT do. Please don’t take this as criticism. It’s just a mindset to think about, and see if it would work for you. My new mantra is, “Just because I am striving for improvement doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with me right now. I am good enough right now. I just choose to be better.” As always, I wish you the best.
Hello, Susan! Thank you for taking the time to write this. <3 I don't take this as criticism at all, just some really great advice. I do believe I struggle to see my "light," and I think that is a huge root of my problem (if you want to call it that!). Thanks for sharing your mantra, I'll be writing it down and looking at it because I think you're right about being good enough now, but choosing to be better! I just forget that I'm good enough right now!
Hey Calae!! <3 I apologize for my slightly delayed response as I've been busy with a workshop over the weekend as well as the last module of the P.I. course. I saw your comment and immediately felt I had to respond to you!!
Firstly, no don't worry about not being an active part of the challenge!!! You can always administer the challenge in your own time with the daily task posts that are now up on the blog. At the end of the day, the challenge is just 14 days, but healthy living is for life. So it's more important that you integrate the things shared in the challenge in your own life; that's the real intent of the challenge!
I understand about setting the intention and sometimes getting whisked away by other factors. (This comment is in general and not specific to the 14HLC btw.) I say the more important thing is to keep returning to the original intention (if it still holds true) and work on it when things quieten down. And also, sometimes it may be a case of setting a hard rule to allocate X amount of time for this intention, especially if it's an important intention to you, and protect it at all costs. By X amount of time I'm not even saying like 2 or 3 hours (of course if one can do that, that's awesome), but it can be as simple as 15 minutes to start off with. So this can pertain to your Q2 goals, like say building on your blog, listening to chunks of the P.I. course (by the way I'll be sending the members portal access to all the live members including you next week, so stay tuned for that — will have podcasts which you'll be able to easily listen to too when outdoors), doing your self-reflection journals, and so on.
I'm always excited to read your comments, Calae. Just want you to know that! And I totally know that you can act on the important goals you set for yourself — you've been doing that all these years! Just keep doing what you're doing (the active self-reflection, the active setting of intentions), and take it up a notch by securing some private time between yourself and your goals once a day or every other day if you find yourself constantly pulled away from your goals by other things in your life.
Hey, Celes! Thank you for taking the time to respond. <3
I really appreciate all your kind words. I re-read the article you shared about your goal being worth 30 minutes, and I think that is something that can be worth considering for myself! I think the hardest part for me is just picking -one- thing to focus on. There's so much I want to do, and I tend to have an issue that if I set an intention to try starting one new thing, I'll ultimately think, "oh, it'll be easy enough to add this into my day, too…" and that's where it all falls apart.
More importantly, this affects even which "one important goal" I want to do. Using the purpose I've been working with (I've never had an emotional resonance when doing the purpose-seeking exercise, so I keep returning to it every so often), I have a more specific idea, but that still leaves me with two paths I'm super interested in pursuing. The first is an online presence similar to PE (I love working with technology, so the idea of blogging and podcasts etc. seems even more appealing). And the other is to tell a story via web-comics, because I think I could tell a great story with meaning that way and both entertain/teach others.
Both ideas require learning and practice on my part (especially drawing – I haven't drawn regularly in years, and even then I'm not sure I was that great), so it really just comes down to picking one. I think my best bet might be to try each idea for a certain amount of time, and then see which feels more right.
Anyway, sorry for thinking out loud here. Thank you, as always, for the encouraging words. I most appreciate them! I'm also glad to know you look forward to my comments – that makes me really happy!
I would also give me 8 out of ten. I did not do the first 5 days of the challenge, as I learned about it a bit later. I see that my diet has improved and is now much more organised and healthy. But I still should eat a bit less overall as I want to lose some 4 lbs of weight.
My key healthy living goals would be (with the steps to achieve them):
1) achieve and maintain weight of 51-52 kg (currently I’m 53,5kg).
– well-planed healthy nutrition;
– no emotional eating
– ensure diversity of what I eat (I noticed that when I eat the same food every day, I tend to fall astray)
– log my meals into my food diary (just started a new one after a break)
– do not economize on what I eat – that stuff goes into me and becomes a part of me, so I deserve the best nutrition available
– keep reading some articles on healthy nutrition to stay motivated
2) increase my average sleep duration to 6.40 – 7 hours (currently I sleep less)
– go to bed earlier: why do I always get last-minute ideas to do something when it is time to sleep? – I’m sure there is some underlying psychological thing there that keeps me from going to bed, when I know its time to do so. Should figure out what it is.
– make sure I am not to stressed out, so I don’t feel like sleeping any time;
3) exercise 2 – 3 times a week
– I DO ALWAYS have time for this. Period.
4) decrease the level of stress in my life:
– plan, prepare and take it easy,
– take hot showers, get massage and read books
– share my problems with the people who care
5) make my life more exciting (when I am happy, I am healthy)
– travel
– be more sociable
– spend time outdoors
– do the things that I like
– get rid of the filling that circumstances press me to do something: every single action (and non-action) is my choice
– focus on my priorities, have a clear vision of what I want to be and where I head
I noticed that before the challenge I thought that the main obstacle for me to live the healthy life I want was LACK OF CONTROL, now I know it was LACK OF INSPIRATION. I kept eating the same healthy foods every day for half a year (at least) and was so bored with their taste that could not make myself eat them.
During these 2 weaks I brough back to my diets some products that I haven’t been eating for a long time. Today I am eating coconut for the first time in 2014 and 2015 I guess. I had been leaving out many vagatable options that are out there and kept eating apples fish and coffee (my typical meal of the past year).
When my diet is more diverse, I do not need to control and make myself eat healthy stuff, I enjoy it, and this is what Ishould do.
I do not need to do the same intense workout every time, I can do something different (even If it is not that intense) and enjoy thefreshness of the new experience I get.
So here are the updates from me for today.
Breakfast: durable grain noodles, apple and coffee
Snack 1 : carrot, brie cheese and coconut
Lunch: carrot , beets and cabbage + eggs
Dinner: seafood, apple and some coconut
I love your ‘key healthy living goals’ Maryna- They inspire me! I am so glad you were here for this challenge.
I enjoyed what we have shared, and yes, we do have similarities. You also remind me that variety can be a friend to staying true to my healthy eating plan…I’m okay with the same thing to a point, but I, like you, repeated some foods way too much and then that sabotaged me….Which is the direct opposite of what i am trying to create…Which is a healthy food plan that I can LIVE with….LIVE HEALTHY with!
It’s so good to hear that your foods are more diverse, more interesting to you….and your photos are great! You sound more relaxed about your healthy living, and you have great ideas of how to minimize the stress that seems to creep into one’s life. BTW, I do the same thing when it’s bedtime-getting a ‘bright idea’ that postpones sleep.
Here’s to getting better and better each day…each moment!
Swann, thanks for your comments! Appreciated them today and on day 11 of the challenge.
I also noted that we have lots pf similarities, so good luck to us with winning our food struggles!
During these two weeks I came to realization, that those are stress in my life and lack of bright emotions that I need to address to really eliminate emoional eating (as, in general, I am fine with what I eat). Now, I am more on the positive side of how I view my life and that gives me more power to follow my vision of ideal healthy life.
*On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your own performance in the areas of your (a) diet and (b) fitness? Why?
Hmmm well inside the challenge I guess an 8 as in a B? Because I didn’t always comment on the days I should have and many times I forgot to take pictures. I counted calories every 2 days and not every day because it’s time consuming and because I also count other nutrients of interest such as empty calories, trans fat, saturated fat, sodium, protrein and sugar.
Aa for my planned diet. I started off with a plan and halfway it kept evolving because I learned so many new things that made me see that some of my originally planned foods were not so good for me. (Such as the peanut butter brand we had at the beginning. It had trans fat so I had to use another healthier brand.)
In my exercises I haven’t totally fulfilled my desired regime because of lack of privacy from my brothers. I don’t like to exercise with any family member around becauss they start criticizing me that I’m too skinny and why too exercise and when I try to explain it’s not even an exercise to loose weight. It’s to gain muscle tissue as I’m lifting weights they still keep talking. It’s surprising how much people think exercise is just to loose weight!! 0-0
So in general I rate myself a B because overrall I feel satisfied with how I’ve managed. It hasn’t been a perfect ride but it was definetly a start up for my new life, new motivations and new goals but I did the best I could. I’m satisfied with everything I learned, 2015 here I go. :)
*What goals did you set for yourself for the challenge? How have you performed in them? Why?
To reach 100 – I started in 88.8 . I’m noe around 90.2 . Something I’d only accomplished once so I feel proud of myself in that.
To lift weights – I did lift them. As I mentioned in the first question it wasn’t a perfect ride but I’ve managed so far what I can do and from simply lifting weights I have now found a more varied routine thanks to the video you posted.
To eat a protein diet and my ideal meal- I didn’t know how to at the start but.the challenge gave me all the tools I needed and now I have my ideal meal and calorie intake :)
I’m satisfied because I evolved in all areas
*Were there any obstacles preventing you from sticking to your healthy living plan? If yes, what were they? How can you overcome them moving forward?
Yes. Depression, lack of organization and money issues.
Depression – meditation, daily quotes to reflect on.
Organization – my agenda (which is also the healthy living journal) and clean computer and cellphone memory.
Money issues – job applications, keep selling sweets for now.
Moving forward:
*What are your key goals for your health and fitness moving forward?
1- Reach 100 weight while in shape.
*What are your key action steps to ensure that you’ll 100% achieve these goals?
1- Eat a 2,000 based protein diet.
2- Do ab and muscle workout by lifting weights 2 hours and 30 minutes a week. (Divided in different days of course)
3- Continue to count my daily calorie intake.
And I was kind of eating breakfast while I wrote this so I forgot to take a picture. I ate a breakfast burrito with boiled egg, tomato and cheese inside. I drank half a glass of milk and a banana. I was lifting some #8 weights this morning so I kind of needed to repay with lots of protein in my breakfast. (I’m a bit worried working out early will make me loose weight… I try to keep it very simple and brief if I do work out at this hour.
Congrats to you fufu on all your progress! The two weeks has gone by SO fast!….Well….we KNOW how fast time flies, so no surprise there! I have enjoyed our continuing ‘conversations’ over these past days during this wonderful challenge -especially Day 10 where we kept adding onto our conversation, and I wish you the very best in all your endeavors! Thank you for being here and here’s a big cybernetic hug from the south side of the island!
Celes said not to say our ‘goodbyes’ just yet, plus I like to think that we all will continue to send each other the good energy that has been generated from this challenge, and all of us who have been participating and sharing our ways and means of living healthy.
First meal of the day: Rice salad and banana before a coaching call! Terrific coaching call with one of my clients today and so excited about what’s next for her and her business (incidentally she’s starting a coaching and blog business as well). So awesome to see so many lightworkers lighting up the world today!
Will be having my third jog for this week later today. Will update later.
Dinner: Same wholemeal pasta as yesterday! ^_^ With mushroom sauce, chickpeas, and vegetarian bacon bits. This time, I made this meal myself! *self-badge of glory LOL*
‘So awesome to see so many lightworkers lighting up the world today!’
I so totally agree with that, Celes! In this world today, there is so much that is challenged and messed up, that seeing and knowing lightworkers’ shining beams are all over the world, is sooo inspiring and encouraging and gives so much promise! Light erases the darkness! So be it!
Thank you for being such a brightly shining star, Celes, beamingly so!
Snack: Apple and guava soup (same as yesterday’s) with wholemeal bread and grapes.
Then, went for my jog! Third exercise of the week! My handphone was low battery so I took Ken’s battery pack, else I wouldn’t be able to track my run this time. Good thing he bought one!
And last meal for the day (probably): Homemade salad! :D Lettuce, tofu, chickpeas, home-made croutons, vegetarian bacon bits, and cheese!
(I just realized I had two salads today! That’s great! I guess my first salad of the day really counts as the salad I should have had yesterday, since I fell asleep earlier than planned!)
Snack: Apple and guava soup (same as yesterday’s) with wholemeal bread and grapes.
Then, went for my jog! Third exercise of the week! My handphone was low battery so I took Ken’s battery pack, else I wouldn’t be able to track my run this time. Good thing he bought one!
And last meal for the day (probably): Homemade salad! :D Lettuce, tofu, chickpeas, home-made croutons, vegetarian bacon bits, and cheese!
(I just realized I had two salads today! That’s great! I guess my first salad of the day really counts as the salad I should have had yesterday, since I fell asleep earlier than planned!)
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