I may be at a little bit of a loss for words. I really am not sure what to say about myself. Honestly, I don’t mind sharing stories about myself that are applicable to specific subjects that I write about. However, when I just need to specifically talk about myself, it becomes a little weird for me. I like doing the check-in, I feel as if it kind of re-centers me. Makes me prioritize and gives me some focus. It really makes me think about some of my goals and experiments to see how they are working or if there is anything that I need to adjust. Finding the right goals and plans for myself is important to continuing to progress.
Monthly Challenge – I have been whittling away at this a little bit at a time. If ever I miss a day in my positivity challenge, I make sure that I still write something positive about myself every day. Not much to report when it comes to the flexibility challenge. I haven’t seen a large improvement. I feel like it’s not as difficult to start stretching, but I also don’t feel like I’m stretching much further.
Mental, Spiritual, Physical Challenge – I feel like my meditation has definitely become more of a positivity thing as well. Projecting the good feelings and energy that I want to receive back has been a calming thing for me. I have been much better at reading. I used to read all the time about 5 years ago, somehow life kind of took over that. I used to have a huge excitement about reading and I would have the hardest time not picking up a book or with putting a book down. The nice thing is, I have been feeling that same excitement this last week. My husband and I got out for a date night and ended up at a bookstore. We both walked away with a book each. The book intrigued me; I am hoping it’s a good one. I am still not doing the physical aspect every single day. I am working out 4 to 5 times a week. I know I was going for every day but 4 times a week is really considered to be a great goal. So, I will be satisfied with this for now.
Ragnar – I have still been running. My hubby convinced me to switch out a running day and go use the rowing machine at the gym one day. I thought it would be harder than it was. I fell into the motion, and I did a half hour at a good pace. I have never done the rowing machine before, and I think I liked it. Even though I thought I had somehow smoked it (because I didn’t struggle getting through it), my muscles definitely felt it later. I have been feeling it in my upper back and the backs of my legs. Nothing to leave me a gimp or anything but definitely a bit sore. I think it could be good to incorporate this every so often to build more leg strength. Ragnar seems to be speeding its way closer and closer faster than I expected.
Intermittent Fasting – I had started intermittent fasting as an experiment. I really wanted to see if this was a good plan for me. I originally loved it. When I first started doing it, I loved being able to incorporate higher calorie good foods into my diet. I loved not having to think about food multiple times throughout the day. I thought, this is the kind of lifestyle diet for me. However, I’m coming to the realization that it might not be the right kind of lifestyle diet for my body. I can’t exactly give you a scientific explanation for it. However, the way I feel and the mental block I have been continuing to struggle with when it comes to food is not something I’ve had so much of before. I was starting to feel like I just couldn’t quite get the right array of foods together. I found myself skipping things like veggies because they were so low calorie and I felt I didn’t have room to eat them. I also felt like that I was putting myself to far into a deficit more often than not because I just couldn’t eat enough food in the time allotted. I know many people that love intermittent fasting and probably won’t ever do anything else. This diet is the right one for them. However, I think it is time for me to give up on this experiment and go back to what has worked for me in the past. The kind of diet I was doing when I had most of my success. If you’re curious, that diet was more of a mini meal here and there throughout the day and then a more normal meal at night.
Tripod Headstand and Crane Pose – I honestly don’t remember if I fully checked in with these short-term goals. I can successfully do both of these the way that I want to. They aren’t hardly a struggle anymore. I no longer work at them every day. However, I do it every couple of days to make sure that I still can. I haven’t decided what poses I am going to work towards next. Right now, I think I’m more focusing on the flexibility challenge.
What goals have you successfully completed lately. Have you been working towards the positivity challenge? Comment below and let me know.
Mel's Health and Fitness 