from Germany
You rock!! And your calendula looks lovely!
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Your post made me a little happy. Thank you and I hope your journey will continue to be a great one
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Onward and upward! Very inspirational and also recognisable story. All fhe best to you, the calendula has so many good properties!Comment
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Anek lofivelcro Montserrat thank you for the support!
Really enjoyed the balance challenge of HJ today with hands behind the back - it made the exercises feel much different and more challenging! I'll have to keep that as a tool in my toolkit for the future.
Can't believe I'm 1/3 through HJ... not sure I'm seeing any crazy results in terms of the numbers on the scale or in my body measurements, which I've started taking every couple weeks. That being said, I think my face in particular has changed shape a bit and I'm certainly carrying myself differently with better back and core strength. One day at a time!
Today:
Hero's Journey Day 20
Sean-nós dance drill
134 days in a row - 19 weeks 2 days
Gratitude: slept really well, the cherry tree outside, and the shining bright green of the new growth on the fir treesComment
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Nice calendula. And nice, (comma) Calendula!Comment
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TopNotch thank you!!
Not feeling push-ups today but actually I think the arm raises are worse somehow. I've started doing core again! But not anything major. Just Easy Core Challenge. I'll start tracking it here.
Treated myself to a new swimsuit as I needed one... wanted it to be a reward for my body recomp but at the moment it's inspiring me to do more than ever
Today:
Sean-nós dance drill
135 days in a row - 19 weeks 3 days
Gratitude: beautiful summer evening, feel like I made a difference at work, and thankful for my apartmentComment
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Hmm... today is just one of those days. A day when I'm making progress but not sure I can complete all 7 sets of HJ at level 2. Shoulder soreness is really cramping my style. But like others on the Hive, I'm not going to beat myself up over it! Just do what I can and push myself when I can... and keep moving forward
Today:
Sean-nós dance drill
136 days in a row - 19 weeks 4 days
Gratitude: Quiet time to relax (always thankful for that), the beautiful plants in my pots, and iced green tea todayComment
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Shoulders still sore but thankful for high knees where I knocked it out of the park, even the bonus quest!
The first "summer" weekend of the year and finally the temperatures are getting warm I've been experimenting with colder showers and might go swim in the Sound just for the fun of it. But also music and dancing!
Today:
Sean-nós dance drill
137 days in a row - 19 weeks 5 days
Gratitude: morning sun and a great night of recovery, my partner, and fresh cherries at the produce standComment
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Hot but a great day for activity! Spent a half hour this morning dancing outside. I followed that up with a bike ride to the bay for a swim in the saltwater, then biked home. Followed it up with HJ even though I wasn't really feeling it.. but pushed through
Today:
Sean-nós dance drill
138 days in a row - 19 weeks 6 days
Gratitude: beautiful breeze and bright sunlight for lots of Vitamin D, the cool saltwater and swimming with geese in the bay, and looking forward to a healthy stir fry for dinnerComment
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20 weeks in! I have heard from my partner that my body shape has changed and I do believe that...I also feel much stronger... but I'm not seeing the progress in terms of the way my clothes fit, especially around my belly, that I was hoping for after so long. This is understandable since that's a very stubborn part of the body to lose fat from. I'll also say that in total I've probably lost 4 pounds on a good day For reference, I'm trying to lose around 15 pounds but definitely retaining and building muscle is more important than a number on the scale. Mainly I'm trying to make it into my old office clothes pre-pandemic/graduate thesis work, back when I was much more active outdoors. At the moment, while probably smaller than it used to be, the belly is holding me back!
I'm going to try to incorporate some longer fasts into my schedule to see if that will help kickstart more fat loss - typically I've been doing anywhere between a 14 hour - 18 hour fast on a given day, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the half & half in my coffee might be sabotaging me. So, today I've switched to black coffee and setting a goal for a 24 hour fast - I'm on hour 17 right now and feeling strong, especially after completing HJ for the day. I'd love to hear about others' experiences of extended fasting over 24 hours as I'm interested in dipping my toes in the water with that at some point.
Sean-nós dance drill
139 days in a row - 20 weeks
Gratitude: My tulsi blossomed! It is beautiful with purple flowers, black coffee tastes great, and feeling light and clear-headedComment
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Sounds like you've got some good process going after 20 weeks. When others comment on your looks, that's always a good sign.
About fasting... I had longer periods in the past where I fasted in theory. But not intentionally. tbh, I like not eating for a few consecutive days, because after around two days I start feeling oddly euphoric and energetic. That usually lasts until I completely run out of energy. That happens around day five or so. That's the clue for me to start eating again. I can't say much about health benefits because I never paid attention to that, but I've never suffered any ill effects from going up to a week without food. I never went longer, though.Comment
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lofivelcro oops forgot to respond to you! Thank you for sharing your experience - it sounds similar to other accounts of week-long fasting that I've heard. I think you have a very healthy/balanced view of it. And while I have yet to feel "euphoric," I definitely feel focused and that alone is so nice! Glad you've had what sounds like a pretty positive experience with it.
Switching it up a bit with HJ today. I am committed to doing 120 burpees but I'm approaching it as a total throughout the day rather than sets... because I successfully completed my 24 hour fast! Not only that, I have been feeling good and had the opportunity to keep it going, so I have! So far, I'm around 37 hours into my fast. I'm going to break my fast around lunchtime today as I anticipate having dinner with my partner later and want to make sure my body is ready for it. I have been drinking regular water, iced herbal tea, black coffee, and I made an electrolyte mix of magnesium drink (natural calm) and potassium-salt mix (lite salt).
I read that it is not recommended to do HIIT while fasting although strength training and "easier" cardio are okay. I did some core work outside of the easy core challenge and that felt good... so slower sets of burpees it is.
Today:
Hero's Journey Day 26
Sean-nós dance drill
140 days in a row - 20 weeks 1 day
Gratitude: A beautiful cool breeze today, quiet morning, and a free evening to relax between music practiceComment
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Ended my fast at 42 hours last night which was a good thing since we ended up going out for dinner... it was a really good experience! A bit of nerves as this was my first fast over 24 hours but I actually felt fine throughout and I think my only slip up was in the foods I chose to end my fast with (cucumber & tomato salad with chicken sausages, but maybe too much meat?). Nothing terrible happened though
All told I enjoyed the experience and might try incorporating some 24 hour fasts more regularly into my schedule. I'd like to do a longer fast and maybe work my way up to a 3 day fast at some point to try to gain the benefits of autophagy. Honestly this gives me the freedom to choose fasting when I don't have healthy options available, and that feels great!
Had no problem at all taking down all 7 assassins today!
Today:
Hero's Journey Day 27
Sean-nós dance drill
141 days in a row - 20 weeks 2 days
Gratitude: lovely dinner out last night with a digestif after the meal (one of my favorite things), a trip to the used book store, and looking forward to another long holiday weekend
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Whirlwind week full of music and friends, ups and downs. We had our first performance last night and while I didn't play one of the tunes through completely well I recovered quickly and I think we sounded pretty good Looking forward to a few more events in the next few months as well as practicing for the Celtic festival and more gigs! We still haven't figured out a band name...
To be honest yesterday was one of those "bare minimum to keep the streak" days. But I'm back on again today - the MH meals have been all over the place lately and I can't even really say "-ish" anymore. I'll revisit that again once I have a chance to buy more veggies.
After a day without as much activity, I get a little bit nervous about jumping back into programs. But even today although the core exercises still hurt, I could feel my body responding and engaging my muscles in a way it wasn't able to before... I know I'm building strength. And while I'm afraid of falling off the wagon, it feels good to know that one or two days of recovery/lighter exercise will not completely undo this progress.
Today:
Hero's Journey Day 28
Sean-nós dance drill
143 days in a row - 20 weeks 4 days
Gratitude: back in my routine, wonderful evening of music last night, and a quiet weekend (I think)Comment
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Glad to read that your first performance went well.
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from that place over there
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