iCiNG Transformation Challenge -- How'd You Do?
[ 19 May 2008 ]
Well, for a lot of you, today is the last day of the iCiNG Transformation Challenge. Phew! It’s been an interesting month, huh?
I thought this might be a good place for us all to discuss our final results & see how we feel about how well we did. I’d love to hear what you think helped you, & what might be useful in the future if we ever decide to do this again!
I noticed that most of us were pretty gung-ho for the first week & a half or so, but then things really started to taper off. Did you lose interest, get too busy, decide your goal wasn’t really that important, or something else?
My life was thrown for a bit of a loop when we decided to up sticks & come to the States, but thankfully I managed to stay on track pretty well. I’ve eaten a lot of great raw food while I’ve been here, & I’ve also exercised every day — whether I wanted to or not, haha! I have walked miles & miles & miles, & while it isn’t the world’s most stimulating exercise, it still counts! (Especially given the way I walk, which is typically quite fast.)
I haven’t been doing weights like I thought I would, but the interesting thing I’ve noticed is that the more raw food I eat, the more muscle develops on my body. Almost like the exertion (ha!) of lifting a piece of celery to my mouth makes my biceps bulge. But it’s really cool — I’m doing practically no work & my body is redefining itself. I’m pretty okay with that, & plan to keep it up!
So, how did you go? What were your greatest triumphs & challenges? Tell us!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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Well, i didn’t think that this would be what i would do for my transformation challenge but what i did was, i ended up getting of drugs. I’d had a major problem with them and this seemed like a good way to try to encourage myself to get off them. I’ve been clean for the entire month so i finally think im on my way to staying clean forever!
Whoot!
It was bloody hard though!
Hi gala, I did really badly! I found it difficult to keep up with the discussions threads because they were so long, also it only ever got to ‘week 2’ so i think we were missing a couple weeks there which might have kick started a few people back into the game!
Not blaming you or anything just giving feed back of course ! :) In the e-mails you sent I think I was under the impression that you would give little ideas and tips as well as your cute motivational bits.
Something like…
* Make sure you drink your 8 glasses of water today! Think clear glowing skin, fresh hydration & creative juices flowing through the brain to help you gulp down those healthy h20 atoms! you know your body is going to love you for it!
* Today eat 4 different pieces of fruit for a vitamin cocktail that will make you feel positively AMAZING! Try for apple, strawberries, plum, kiwi fruit & banana. Slice them all up and put in a bowl to munch on throughout the day.
* Today take a run around the block and breathe as much fresh air as you can!
I think if we do it again in the future more helpful hints/ideas/instructions would be fab.
i think something like that would have helped a lot of people :) thanks for being great! xx
I’m a bit of a late-comer, so I might start this challenge now! (Forgetting the chocolate I’ve eaten already today…)
x
I didn’t do so good to be honest. Not making excuses but I did have exams, so at the time they were more important, and then I felt happy so thought I’d done it – until yesterday. so yesterday I picked up where I left off, but am just gonna work on one thing at a time – I think I gave myself too much today! So for a month (until 19th June) I’m going to do a lot of EFT or finding out more about myself, then do my next goal, then my next and so on.
Well done anyone who managed to keep it up the whole time!
Just before I start, I think what Kitten said was very true. Again not that I’m saying it’s your fault we tapered off a bit, but I too was under the impression that you would be giving us helpful tips, suggestions and ideas to help us keep on track with transformation. I understand we all have different goals, but the ideas such as those kitten made are pretty universally healthy body and mind suggestions, so would work reasonably well with all transformations, even if it’s not a persons specific goal. Also if you manage to have the board up and running by the time/if we do the transformation challenge again that would make it a lot easier to keep up with how everyone is going. I know personally that would have been helpful, as those were my big peer bits to give me support or make me feel better if i had a bad day, cause it’s not really something I’d feel comfortable talking to my friends about, cause quite frankly this is something they would think is just bizarre (i know this for a fact from when i casually mentioned my goals to them).
But these are just suggestions for if you decide to do this or something similar to this again.
Personally I started off really gung-ho, but then I’m not sure it just got hard to focus on it as well as everything else going on with uni and life. also didn’t help that i was sick in bed for a week, and feeling sickish for half a week before that. and that i was still getting over tonsillitis when it started. (my tonsils just aren’t having a good yr lol, or maybe the doc initial guess was right and i did have glandular fever, in that case its not my fault cause it makes it hard for you to concentrate, but i don’t know).
Another reason I found it hard to focus on it was, I didn’t really view the transformation challenge as a short term thing. I had goals that were more ongoing (for example i had a weight goal which was more by the end of the year i want to be… I felt this was more realistic and I would be able to achieve it healthily) so when i felt i was going to slip i talked myself around in that it was ok for now, which isn’t the right frame of mind i know.
I’ve done so well with my challenge, I haven’t reported on here for ages as I’ve been busy with my end of year presentation and packing up house. I have managed to stay on track with the healthy eating and exercising, I have also remained positive!!
I plan on continuing with everything I have done, I have decided that this was a good start to the rest of my life. I need to be more proactive in being positive and all of my other goals.
I hope that everyone else has done well, and is going to keep going strong!!
Sunshine & Sparkles!
xxxx
I feel like I did very well, there were a couple of illnesses in the month that kept me from spending much time at farmer’s markets/cooking but I used that time to lay in bed and write, so I guess doing one goal at a time was okay.
The thing I am most proud of is the work I did with my relationship. We had been in a bad pattern due to things going on at our respective homes and one of my goals was to put more time into getting our relationship/love lives back on track, and we did wonderfully. The doggy was very happy with all of our walks and hikes and picnics. We were also very happy with these things and the time we’ve been spending together. :)
This was a fun challenge, I don’t feel like I even changed my daily routine very much, it was just a good thing to be conscious of the things I care about and put effort into them. Thanks for the support Gala, and everybody!
My goal was to smile all of the time and at everyone.
Even if I didn’t smile every moment, I feel I succeeded simply because I am now more aware of the expression on my face – what I’m sending out into the world.
So if I catch myself frowning, I fix it.
I unfortunately did TERRIBLE. I wanted to start excersising more and eating better, but the challenge started at the same time as finals week of school, so I was already too stressed out to focus.
But on the bright side, I did start up last week and am happily sticking to it so far. The transformation emails have really helped the last week :).
And I love this idea. You should make it an annual thing!
Mine is * going reasonably well. I say going because it forced me to start more long-term habits that I’m slowly but surely making progress on. So even though I fell off a couple times, I consider it a success.
I did okay. I suppose. :(
My goals were to study 2 hours a day and also eat as much raw food as possible. It kinda stretched to Serrano and palma ham :P
and I’m finding McDonald’s irresistible, but every time I eat something that isn’t raw I realise that it’s not helping my body. It’s like my body is trying to tell me it’s crap, if that makes sense.
With the studying… well I turned up for school on time for the month which is a big thing for me. And then I had a week, in which I had to basically declutter, clean and organise the whole house, because we already ordered the skip and then the dog died and my parents didn’t feel like doing anything. I have blisters on my hands! I also had to work 7 hours at school one weekend -6pm to 1am! So all in all no study done whatsoever :( , but I still have two weeks til my first exams, and I’m pretty good at exams. Wish me luck!
Well done to everyone who tried and even partially succeeded:) (esp jessabee, that sounds hard, keep going:)
I did ok. I wanted to eat more heathily (which I have done) but exercise more, which I haven’t managed. That’s next on my to do list:)
To be honest I didn’t keep up with the discussion because it got quite long, but I signed up for the emails and appreciated them.
oh double post, but I’m going to the raw food lecture by philip mc cluskey in camden tomorrow! Anyone else here going or know about it, there’s info on facebook, if you search for his name. ...So that’s also something down for my raw food goal :)
My goal was to take up yoga. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time and it was actually one of my new year’s resolutions, but I still hadn’t got round to actually doing anything about it.
I looked up a couple of youtube videos and got so excited that I decide to commit to doing yoga five times a week XD This was probably a bit optimistic — the first week I managed six times, the second week five, but during the last couple of weeks I only managed to do it about twice per week. Still, I don’t consider myself to have failed, I actually think it was a complete success because I feel like yoga is part of my lifestyle now and I know I’m going to be able to keep it up at least a couple of times a week, including attending the yoga class that I started last week.
After doing yoga for a only month, I feel like I have more energy and more control over my body, it’s great! I’m so glad I finally took up yoga :D
@Gala I’m feeling terribly virtuous :-) I’ve kept up my trips to the gym and my twice weekly swims. I’ve also been out walking at weekends, so I can pretty safely say that I am exercising more now than I ever have during my adult life! And the best thing is, is that it really shows. I have heaps more energy & I’m more toned than I have been since I had my kids. So, it’s all good!
@Jessabee Congratulations! What a phenomenal achievement :-)
I did very well on my challenge. I am now staying Vegan from here on out. AND I added exercise to my regiment (I got a gym membership and a personal trainer! Whoo!). I have never felt so good :D
I didn’t do as well as I could’ve because the end of the semester got in my way. The projects and other stuff drove me away from my goals and I lost weight not because I was exercising like I should have but because I was so busy that I even forgot to eat. That is not a healthy thing at all and I just felt tired all the time.
Not good at all _.
looks like people are doing okay really! i’ve actually properly given up smoking, something i thought i would never be able to do, so i’m amazingly happy. also, i have really stuck to veganism, and find i actually want to keep to it rather than keeping to it just because i feel i have to. woot! positive thinking not going so good, but i’m working on it, pessimism is a hard habit to break :)
well done to everyone who made their goals, and keep it up everyone who’s carrying on! xx
It’s really good to hear about your progress. Yes, definitely, sometimes life gets in the way, but all we can do is our best!
It’s interesting, too, to see that some of you had different expectations of the iTC list. I did consider dishing out tips but I thought that
a) they might be redundant (I give tips out on iCiNG all the time) and
b) everyone’s challenges were so different and personal that I didn’t want people who weren’t exercising, for example, to get a slew of information that wasn’t relevant.
Next time it would be really cool if there were seperate lists based on the goal. Something to think about!
I think I did pretty well with my goals! I was really focused on improving my health by eating well and exercising. Right at the start, I hired a personal trainer at the gym, and I’ve committed to two sessions every week. Plus, I do extra cardio on my own. I feel better than I ever have before! As a nice side effect, I’ve become more aware of what I eat, and I choose better foods. I’ve stopped using the microwave, which was a huge factor in my eating well goal. This is such a welcome change in my lifestyle.
Thank you, Gala! I don’t think I would have taken these steps without you here to encourage me.
And congratulations to everyone who participated! Good job!
Ok well i was doing fab working out everyday etc, untill my partner and i lost our appartment and we have had to move apart. i had lost nearly a stone and felt great. The i stoped working out due to packing and things and just feeling depressed. We have both had to move home. I am in nottingham and he is in windsor (UK) over 100 miles apart. living back with out parents. I feel like i have put all my weight back on. I doubt this is the case but i have put some back on. WHen i am settled a bit here i will start to work out again but all my stuff is in the loft here :(
First off, congrats to everybody who tried! Second off, I think the emails that were sent out were very encouraging, Gala! So thank you for that, they were helpful.
Third off… The progress. Well, uh, I started out really, really well for the first two weeks. My original goal was to give up meat, and I ended up staying away from more than just meat. I started replacing milk with soy milk, etc. Overall, I felt pretty healthy for a while.
Then, I slipped up and everything sort of went downhill from there. I guess vegetarianism wasn’t the best choice. I think I could have benefited more from choosing a better goal/challenge.
I guess I posted a little early, I wrote how everything was over-all for me on the discussion board…
But while I didnt stick to it so strictly, I kept to it. And I wrote down how I was doing in my journal at least twice a week which really helped. The emails were also very cute and I looked forward to them! It got me to check my emails more often too…
Gala, if you wanted to do goal-specific chalenges, it might be a good idea to do them like your wardrobe-taming articles. That way, people could do the challenge whenever they wanted.
Great job to everyone on their transformation! And even if you slacked a little, theres still plenty of time to keep transforming. Even though its finished, I’m going to try and keep going untill I dont have to try anymore…
Well, I’m shocked to say things went really well for me! My only goal was to feel more positively about my body each and every day. I’ve had a few slip-ups, but…
-I’ve managed not to put myself down publicly
-I ran 1.3 miles in boyshort undies an a t-shirt for a charity event!
-My friends have been mentioning how I look a lot thinner, one even said I look taller…I haven’t lost weight, I’m just standing more confident!
-I bought a pair of hot-pink teeny tiny little running shorts to swim in…but also to wear around as a joke…I feel great in them!! I would never have worn these a month ago!
I’ve also been inspired to do a summer ‘To Do’ list of things I’m usually scared to do/put off. I’m excited to check as much off of my list as possible! I’m getting rid of a lot of stuff at my parent’s house and saying goodbye to the timid girl full of false bravado I once was. I want to be clean, organized, and confident. I’m also pescetarian now, and it feels so right!
I never really posted in the threads here, but I loved the e-mails and kept up with my goal.
I haven’t done too badly. I wanted to just get over a bad break-up (with a friend, not a bf) that was messing up other friendships I have because I was in such a state, and one of those is now going really well. Another I think I’ve outgrown, but such is life, and at least now I can see it’s not because of how crap I was feeling. I’m off counselling. I use EFT fairly regularly, though recently I’ve not had anything that I’ve really, really wanted to tap on, which I’m taking as a good sign… I know it was a funny set of goals, but they were what I needed to tackle.
I failed miserably, ha! But I am proud of myself for my attempts, however pathetic they may have turned out to be.
I didn’t stick to anything very well because of my exams and the revision I need to do as a result. :[
I did however get some exercise in now-and-then and started a few good habits.
In my summer holiday between school and college (!!!) I will try to redo the iTC, hopefully all the free time will help motivate me! :)
Of the 27 days, I’ve exercised 24. Took one day off after a twisted ankle, one day with a sick child, and one day where I was totally swamped with a project. It was a bit tough at times to break away, but the 20 minute bar I’d set made it easy to reach. Even on the busiest (or rainiest) days, I found myself cheerfully spinning or running past the 20 minute mark.
The goal of eating fully raw two days each week wasn’t quite met. I am managing one day completely, with the two days following being 2/3 raw. I’ll need to read up before I try to do more than I am. I learned the hard way I need a more substantial breakfast before heading out on a three hour ride. Berries & banana on a bowl of steel cut oats gets me a lot further than berries and banana alone. So, not as raw as I’d hoped, but a darn sight healthier than I’d been before.
I may not have met my goals exactly as I set out, but this 27-day challenge has helped me form a couple of very healthy new patterns in my life. I’m taking the next four weeks to get them firmly established.
Thanks for the extra motivation and support, Gala. You were a big help on this.
i totally messed up. i don’t think i finished any of my goals.
it was just because i was abroad for a while, and it got all screwed up there. :S
but thank you so much everyone! you guys were fantastic support while it lasted!
Well, There isn’t too many people who have done to well! (Which makes me feel not so depressed.) :( Still, I’ll join that list then!
The day you picked as the starting day was a terrible day! It was the first day back to school after a two week break. Yuck!
Not just that but the first two lessons were DOUBLE maths! Double Yuck!
Also my mean mean teacher gave us TWO Practise SATs papers! Triple Yuck!
So as you can see it didn’t go too well. Also my friend brought me my (extremely) late birthday present – Chocolate! That was my first goal, to give it up! :( Damn.
Still, I have another half term and the big ol’ 6 week break coming up so to stay positive I’m going to give it another go.
I realised that although I sat around for a couple of days before the challenge started thinking “God, why won’t it hurry up? I’m ready for it now!” Turns out I wasn’t ready. At all.
So now I will become better prepared and let my friends know what I’m doing so they won’t tempt me accidently and I’m really going to give it my all.
Thanks for being so inspiring and giving me the kick start I need to start changing the things I don’t like.
Cuddles and cookies,
Vixxie.
Well done everyone! And thank you Gala for your cute emails! I didn’t really throw myself into it, but that was largely because of the timing. This is the kind of thing I do myself anyway (I call it ‘having Lent’), and I’d just come off one (style-related) Lent before this started, and I began a new (dietary) Lent about a week ago (related to ‘the month’, ladies), so the iCiNG challenge wasn’t my primary focus. But I did remember to jump on the stationary bike for 5 minutes before each aerobics class – I hate cycling but I really need it to rehabilitate my long-suffering knees. So yay, I think a habit has formed, and that’s why we do this, right?
Well, I think I stuck with it pretty well. I wasn’t as hardcore as I should have been in regards to my diet, but I’m working on it. I’m really glad to say that I am finally sticking to an exercise regime, which I feel is a big accomplishment.
I don’t really see any changes in my body, tho. It’s really frustrating. I understand that I don’t have a lot that needs to be changed, but I wish I could at least see one or two differences. My brother told me that for someone like me, I’m not going to SEE the changes as much as I FEEL them, and he has a point. I absolutely feel stronger and in better shape. I just wish my thighs would echo that feeling, lol.
That being said, I’m going to stick with it. I like knowing that I’m putting good things in my body. It’s great to have really ditched the junk food. (Unless I go to my parents house, cause the pantries are loaded with junk! I need to just stay away!)
I loved the challenge and must say that although I did not do well at keeping up with my goal, after reading all of the emails daily they made me really think of what was the most important to me.
Now that the challenge is over I am trying very hard to drink more water, smile more often, and truly relax. I am taking it one day at a time!
Your blog is my sunshine on a rainy day. You are my favorite person (and I’ve never even met you) and the best part of my day is reading your inspirational, kooky, and awe inspiring words!
~Peace, love, and hair grease!
I completely lost interest after a week; it was horrible! But things are, ironically enough, picking up now that the challenge is over. Hopefully seeing how nice that first week was is enough to kick me into gear now :)
Well.. basically I thought I would change my llife around and account for all my actions. I was having so much trouble with working on a course I didn’t enjoy, the pressure of being expecting to do things I do’t want to do when I have a plenty of creative energy, people who I felt didn’t appreciate how effort I put into trying o makethem happy.. so..
I asked to take the year out of university, put my flat up for let, sold 80% of my possessions on ebay and made a fortune and decided to move to the loveliest, vibrant city 400 miles away from home. I have had a lot of respect for making these decisions by my friends and I am working on putting clubnights on and writing ‘zines ALREADY :) In fact 3 of my friends are following suit to help me out.
When I get there I will be living with some people who I have already met and we will be working on all going raw vegan together :D
I am so excited!
I didn’t really follow through with the things I had planned on doing (excepts improving my grades, did that happy dance), instead I did other new things, I went out more, with new people. I branched out of my introverted shell. I’m still totally shy, but I started talking to new people and I went out to a book thing at the local book store (I really love to read) with some new friends…so all in all, not what I planned happned, but things I didn’t plan for did…If that makes any sense.
I think the consensus is that a lot of us school-agey ones were really focused on our finals – I know I worked my tail off for them! So I didn’t really have to motivation to put the iTC on top of all that either. But I think what all of us schooltypes have been hinting at is that the emails and things from the itc helped us up our grades and studying, even if that wasn’t our goal. If there is another one (soon?) then I will be ecstatic to participate!
welllllll … my itc experience was interesting: i failed and succeeded.
i ‘failed’ in the sense that i didn’t stick strictly to my goals each day in terms of exercise, waking up early, and tapping.
however, i succeeded, because even just the intention of turning my life around in a gentle, regular way has brought many positive changes. my attitude has really improved, i’m more comfortable with my body, i’ve gained confidence, and i have new and very exciting and ambitious academic goals. i attribute a lot of this to the tapping … i think i probably tapped 10 nights out of the itc, but it’s made a massive difference, even if i didn’t feel it at the time.
thank you!
I tried really hard to stop my nervous habit, but because I spent 36 hours moving boxes and sorting through my parents’ things, and so my nails haven’t improved what with stress and getting ripped off in the move.
But, I did take a positive step. Thursday this week is the day I’m going to see a counsellor and work towards actually having some closure over my parents dying. I haven’t been coping too well lately, and it only adds to the stress of uni, so I think it’s a good idea since it might stop me having long periods of being okay and then suddenly crying for three days straight.
I ended up focussing on one goal specifically (not picking my face) and I had good results! I started taking supplements which really helped my skin-vitamin E and flaxseed oil if anyone is interested, they are really great for the skin. I messed up occasionally, it is quite hard to resist an ingrained habit of many years! But overall I feel like it set up a great foundation for me to kick the habit! Good stuff – I’ll be up for another one any time Gala :)
I really enjoyed the challenge and was really happy with how it went.
My goal was to cut out junk food for the 28 days (and cook for myself instead of ordering takeout, and make healthy choices while eating out). I slipped up a couple of times – I had high tea for lunch on Saturday, and had a tiny biscuit with my post-dinner tea the week before – but the important thing for me has been the change in my habits and cravings.
Before I started the iTC, I was eating junk food pretty much every day – not to too detrimental effect (I eat mostly healthily, just have a weakness for sweets, and I exercise heaps) – now I barely crave it at all. The iTC has given me impetus to think about why I’m eating what I’m eating, to do so mindfully, and to think about whether I REALLY want something.
I’m not sure if there have been any changes to my body shape at this stage, but my skin is looking great, and I feel really healthy. Am planning to continue along this tack indefinitely!
i was doing ok but then got mumps and went home, which didn’t help my motivation much at all. however i am now healthy, going vegetarian for a week (or longer if i can manage it!) and starting eft again. so, hopefully i’ll have better luck this time!
i have to say though that i didn’t see any difference from doing eft. i was hoping i would, i guess i will just keep trying.
btw, the emails were totally cute & i enjoyed getting them even when they made me feel guilty for not trying!
My original goals were to stop biting my nails and to be healthier in general.
I am happy to report that for the first time in many years I have lovely long nails [YAY!]...but the health part when downhill a bit because I kind of got kicked out of home after the first week and a half. I also went on 2 different holidays during the month so that made it kind of difficult to keep on track with things.
However – about half way through the challenge I decided to become a vegetarian, for ethical and environmental reasons, and I’m pleased to say that although it wasn’t an original goal, I’m doing very well with my transition!
I think I did pretty well! Halfway through, I learned enough about myself to completely make over my ITC goals – and for the most part I’ve kept the original and the new ITC goals because the first half was enough to form a few good habits, and the second half was for me to prioritize on things that were more difficult to stick to.
Overall, it really has been a transformation! I’m feeling my willpower and self-control come back, and I’m embracing it to become a better person on my own terms. Thank you, Gala.
P.S. What you’ve said about the correlation between raw food and muscle mass is so interesting! Especially since I just downed an entire lightly-seasoned avocado, mmmm.
I did pretty well until last week, at which point I spent a week with my brother, his wife, and their new baby. With a week-old baby in the house, my bedtime goals went to pot. Living with a couple of starving newlywed students meant that they couldn’t afford to buy enough raw fruit for me to have smoothies. And exercise? I was too busy doing dishes. But I did do a lot of rocking a baby, which was about the most exercise I did.
And my interest did taper off a bit. Next time we do something like this, I’ll get a notebook to write down my stuff.
I didn’t participate in this challenge, but I’m wondering will there be another one? And when will it start?
I had originally meant to make this an exercise challenge like many other nonpareils, and it seemed particularly good timing that my fiance and I had been planning on buying an exercise bike… But for financial reasons we weren’t able to get the bike as soon as we planned so I decided to make it an artsy challenge instead! I plan to take a whole year off “real” work next year to produce a graphic novel, so I wanted to start taking good creative habits right now, to avoid an abrupt transition between office work and unproductive days as much as possible next year. I haven’t reported at all, but I actually did really, really well! I’ve got about 20 black and white images so far, all hand-drawn and inked, which is very productive for a 30-day period. I’m actually challenging myself to start colouring those drawings now!
p.s. the smile challenge, how cute!
I kind of failed massively this weekend in my bid to eat healthier and less. I was sick and grumpy and gorged on chocolates to make myself feel better. Other than that, I think I was pretty successful—I ate a lot less greasy food, and fewer meals in general, and had tons of milk and water.
well i managed to stick to the veganism fine. i haven’t really missed cheese and milk chocolate and all that other stuff at all. maybe the odd occasion but i’ve surprised myself with my will power and i think i’ll be staying vegan forever, or until i decide it’s not for me anymore. my eating is so much healthier now without even having to try. even when i eat “bad” it’s stil considered healthy by my old standard. like if i have a burrito it never has any cheese or sour cream or gucamole so it’s actually pretty healthy.
because veganism was so easy i also decided to try switching my meals so i was eating dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner – an attempt to try and sort out my sluggish metabolism. that was a bit harder especially when i had friends to stay but i’m getting into the groove now and it’s a lot easier.
have been to the gym at least 3 times a week which was my aim – now it’s more like 4 times.
the journal writing didn’t go so great but i think i more than made up for it with all the other things. though gala’s moleskin post has really inspired me to try and keep the journal i’ve always wanted to.
my new motto “structure and limitations can set you free”. I truly believe it. I’m the sort of person that needs structure to achieve goals and stretch myself – as odd as it may sound to some people. i never thought that just one month based on a challenge on the internet could really make this much difference so a big thank you to gala for her constantly inspirational posts and support. x
I’ve been with my boyfriend over a month now and we’re nearing our unoffical six month anniversary too, and I recently got up the courage to say I love you to him, amongst doing other things
Emma – I love the eating dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner idea. Stellar!
so my challenge was just to get healthier and feel better about myself. i dont think i necessarily need to lose weight and apparently no one else did either because they thought i was an idiot when i said the word “diet” but a diet isnt always about losing weight…just changing habits. :) so…
i exersized everyday and kept a food log which i stopped about mid way because i found it was depressing me more than anything…
i started a journal which is so great its such a good feeling to write down lovely little aspirations :)
i ate really healthy and when i was craving sweets i chewed gum
i decided that i would either tone up or just find a way to be more self confident. which now i can truly say i am because i can wear a shirt with leggings and not feel embarrassed about my dancer legs that will never be tiny.
im not ending the “diet” i just recently bought a bike and feel so much better pushing myself…i have noticed a happier me lately im not sure if its my new outlook or just the weather change. :) thank you for the great idea.
My plans had been to give up milk and do yoga every morning and work out a few times a week, but a crazy schedule and lack of energy kept me from the physical bits- but i did give up milk! I used to be vegan, and I play with giving up certain bits every once in a while, but hadn’t for a long time and though i still ate things with milk (and everything else) in it, i DIDN’T drink milk -and as simple as that sounds, i did it every day, multiple times, and made myself so sick and made my stomach hurt so much, that it’s a very big step in the right direction :)
I had 6 things to work on…lets see how i did at each…btw Gala considering u up and flew to NYC in the middle of it I think you did a great job at motivating us..i lvoed all the pretty quotes and emails you sent..
Definately something to run again!!
i didnt finish all uni work but i got on top of it and organised it all and I finish my degree in 2 weeks so yipee!!
I showed off at Harpers but was lazy adn didn’t go back a second time though I will once uni goes back
I let love find me (stopped chasing boys) and now have two potential boys chasing moi!! (lucky me!!)
I got the guts to ring up and bok in to get my tattoo touched up and will also be getting a second one really really soon!!
I got off my M&M addiction though i made up for it with yogo’s and chocolate cake but I stopped drinking Coke as much…not completely but stopped as much so I am proud of that wee little improvement
I didnt get to write everyday for my story but I did write a few blogs over the time and I also wrote a few stories for the magazines i work for
All round a good beginnners lame effort with slight improvement but I am at least now well aware of what I need to do to succeed…
YAY FOR ITC!!
http://www.myspace.com/unzippedkitty
It’s hard for me to say whether I succeeded or not as my goals kind of changed as I went on. I was trying to post photos of myself on my flickr page everyday, and I kept it up for a few days, but in the end life just got in the way (I study at TAFE through the day and I’m a chef at night so sleep takes priority over a lot of things). I’ve managed to look people in the eye when I’m talking to them more than I thought I’d be able to, and while I have to remind myself to do it I don’t think that’s anything to be concerned about. Over the course of the challenge it became more about me being comfortable with me, and in turn it’s made some of my goals easier to achieve and some seem not so important. So I’m pretty happy with how I did!
I made great changes to how I take care of me (food, exercise, well-being) which I hope are now on their way to being good habits.
A forum where folks could have discussed their individual challenges would have been great – I loved it when people made comments, but started feeling like a girly-swot (not in a good way) towards the end – so I stopped :)
I’m spending time here
www.first30days.com
... interesting site.
Yay to everyone who got something out of ITC and a big, huge gold medal to Jessabee!
Ha, I signed up for the challenge but couldn’t possibly gather the overwhelming force to do it. So I’ve started a new 30 day challenge for myself last thursday, eating 80% raw. So far I’m doing good, no slip-ups yet and actually I’m eating less than I thought I’d need.
First I wanted to do 100% raw, but I find it too difficult a task in a household of four where I’m the only one doing this. So I decided to eat raw all day and then have dinner with my parents and brother, eating what they eat.
It’s a good compromise for me, for now, and next step is 90 and finally 100% raw!
Thanks for starting the iTC Gala, because it did, in the end, make me buckle down and tackle this food thing!
I finished the challenge by passing out on a man I didn’t know on the train from Parliament Station.
I didn’t think I was going all that well and these constant discussions and daily motivations made me feel like I was failing and wasn’t doing enough.
I think I am more motivated now it is over but I must have had a result because people complimented on how fit I looked but I am worried as to what my fainting was all about.
Gala! Squeal! I know this is totally unrelated to anything but I’ve decided I am going to go to your fabulous Wildilocks (though probably the one in Perth as my dad lives there) to get my short and fairly BORING hair dreaded and extended into awesome long layered dreads of awesomeness!!!!!!!! Woot. I’ve been emailed Cass and she’s been super nice and super helpful. Yay!
Today i found out my body fat has dropped by 2%,my over all weight is down by 4 pounds,my bicep measurement is smaller meaning i have less bingo wing-heheh, and my waist measurement is down too!
I have been training like a mad woman at the gym since March but have stepped it up full throttle this month,i am happy it has paid off and i have good results _
A lot has changed for me. I started doing some transformation, on my own accord, earlier in the year with getting out of debt and freelance writing. I have been trying to transfer careers, from teaching to writing. I have just accepted a new full-time writing/editing position with an awesome company, and I’ve been working there part time (while teaching during the day! Zzz!) until the end of the school year. Then, I joined a gym. I haven’t been going THAT often, but I have noticed my legs are looking more toned.
Great work for you, Gala! Have you been cooking raw on your own? If so, do you—or anyone else—have any good recipes? I’m a vegetarian now so the transition shouldn’t be that tough, right?
Well… I started my iTC challenge with wonderful intentions! I wanted to learn Japanese for two hours a day while at work, I wanted to exercise at least 4 times a week and I didnt want to eat any junk at all.
But, my subconcious had other ideas. I ended up turning my entire life around in more ways than exercise and eating well! I left my boyfriend of 3 years and went home from Japan to Aus. It took so much courage to take this leap. I have a new job and am seeing my friends loads. I am getting happy slowly but surely!
So in my own way, I succeeded! Good work everyone for your efforts big or small! And thanks Gala, for the daily emails. I looked forward to them and enjoyed them! xxx
bri — Oh my god, running in underwear! I could never do that! You’re my hero!
Joy — Sounds like you made some really great steps. Congraulations!
Fallon Hester — Aw! That’s so lovely. Big kisses!
Zoe — That’s amazing! Wow! Good for you!
zoë — Oh, I’m sorry if the emails made you feel guilty! That wasn’t my intention…
Nicolette — I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it really! I think when it comes to things like this, if you do them too often, they lose their power. I definitely won’t be holding one for another couple of months, though of course you are free to improve your life as you see fit!
emma — The pleasure is all mine, sugar!
Unzipped Kitty — Thank you very much, dollface!
Elaine — Out of curiosity, how do you think a forum would have been different to a page of comments? & first30days.com is the site of a friend of a friend of mine, hee!
MJ — Woohoooo! I’m so excited for you! I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with Wildilocks, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time there (& the result, of course!). Let us know how it goes!
Beka — I’m not doing much food preparation myself at all. I have been visiting salad bars (they’re all over the city), raw restaurants, eating fruit & raw stuff I find at the supermarket. & lots of water. It’s not as hard as it sounds :>
Chloe Gibbons — I think the iTC was about making necessary changes, & you definitely did that! Congratulations, cutie!
Although I didn’t change any of my eating habits (I think they are okay other than the fact I LOVE white toast its like my favourite food ever) I think I’ve done okay.
I went to the gym 3 times a week and did things like skipping and hula hooping in between ad breaks of my favourite shows (silly, but effective) And last week I brought a Wii fit, I works well since I’m really competitive and addicted to video games and can’t quit till I’ve unlocked everything.
I really wish I could change my awful eating habits though…I just don’t have the will power. I love food. I associate with fun and friends.
I don’t really feel guilty about having little sweet treats either until I compare myself to the way other people eat and realise that I eat a tonne of crap, even stuff that I didn’t think was very bad for you like bread or pasta etc. It really confuses me what is healthy and what isn’t.
Gala – a forum would have been better because challenges could have been threaded so that raw challengers would have had their own thread, exercise another, tapping another and so on – that way like-minded challengers could ‘find’ each other more easily. I think many found the first page of comments in particular, hard to navigate and some people were trying to have little conversations and Q+As across messages which got a bit lost (which was a shame). I don’t know if that’s why it petered out a bit on the second page.
I know you mentioned that you didn’t want to just have a tacky add-on forum hitched to iCiNG (and I can understand why you wouldn’t) – but I thought I’d mention it as an observation. I loved the challenge and I’m carrying on :)
I wanted to drink X-amount of water a day, start flossing my teeth, and find a women’s weight lifting class.
I have been successful in flossing my teeth (YAY!), and that actually IS a big deal for me because I have tried to get in the habit many times and been unsuccessful. I think I only drank my desired amount of water 2 days. It was hard for me to remember to do, because it has to be done at work, while I’m running around (I work at a printing company). As for the weight lifting class, I admit I did not even try. It is still something I plan to do in the future.
My boyfriend and I have been making other lifestyle changes since the new year, and I haven’t backed off of those – we eat meals at home and do some kind of exercise most days of the week. I can jog for so much longer than I EVER thought I would be able to! I’m very proud of us for sticking to it. So I am not feeling too poorly about not reaching all of my iTC goals. Plus, I am not giving up on the water and weight lifting goals just because the Challenge has ended.
I agree with many of the statements that the comment page got too lengthy, and the goals were so varied that it was nearly impossible to keep up. Maybe in the future a livejournal group could be considered. With livejournal, you get the icons and clever names which could help participators keep each other in order. There are so many people here, I have no idea who is who.
Based on this comment page, it sounds like many participants did well on their Challenges, and I salute them!!
ps. also, I realize that you are a busy gal and you likely don’t have time to run a livejournal community in addition to everything else you do! Perhaps for possible future Challenges you could get additional team members on board to help run stuff!
I was super motivated and brilliant for the first week, and actually felt so healthy and good, and then for a number of reasons things sort of took a downturn, exams started and I didn’t have the time to think about what I was eating! Was a very good week though. ;)
the challenge was INCREDIBLE for me. I started off just turning 18, in a two year relationship that i knew was going bad but still stayed in, a it out of shape and a bit out of shape with my thinking. Since the challenge started, I have left my ex and started dating a boy who is absolutely perfect for me. I used EFT to help me through my doubts and weirdness in the start of our relationship, he has opened me up, creatively spiritually and sexually ;). I have made new friends, and reunited with friends I thought I would never see again. I have dedicated myself more towards the cause of revolution in this world, and attracted others who are doing the same. I have been participating more in activities like dumpster diving and guerrilla gardening. I’m starting an infoshop and freestore. I lost weight. I am happier, I have stopped thinking bad thoughts. I just cleaned my room yesterday and got rid of half my stuff and I’m about to go give it to my freestore. I have made more art than before, like I said I have opened up creatively. Started writing again after years of writer’s block. Anyway, it’s been an insane revolution in my head. And I really don’t think it’s stopping anytime soon. Thank you!!!! And everyone else who made major changes, congradulations!
Completely agree with Elaine re the forum. I also reckon that from a business perspective it would be an absolute winner for you Gala. At the moment you’ve got great two-way conversations happening with your nonpareils, but a forum would allow multi-dimensional conversations, connections, friendships, support — and massive traffic! At the moment I’d guess most people only check once a day to see if you’ve posted, or maybe more often if they’ve commented and want to see if you or anyone else has replied. With a forum traffic would drive itself and people would stay on the site for hours, no doubt! It also would’ve been great for the transformation challenge, I agree with others who have said this.
Sorry to get off track…. my challenge went great but I think my goals were too easy! I ate no chocolate (well, I didn’t have some choccy chip biccies, but still…), no second helpings (well, once!), but I didn’t meet my four-times-a-week gym goal. Managed it for two of the weeks, and went three times the other two weeks. But given I started getting up at 5.45am to go, I’m still pleased with myself! It really helped me manage stress through a veeery big month at work, I didn’t loose any weight at all which was slightly disappointing but I definitely have more energy and fitness, and firmed up a bit!
Jessabee and Jessabelle — brave girls! Well done.
Elaine & Annabel — Amen to that! A forum has been in the works for ages but frustratingly, I am reliant on my programmer who is working at his own pace. We will get there I promise! & thanks for giving me your thoughts on it — all the conclusions you’ve come to are the same as mine. I am totally looking forward to putting in place & I thank you for your gusto & enthusiasm!
I failed at pretty much all of my goals, and when i get back home and things go back to normal, i’m going to start over and try again! a week into this one everyone in the house i’m staying in got the superflu, except for me, so i was too busy playing nurse to focus on drinking water or making art. i have saved all the encouragement emails you sent, though, so i can use them again! i believe it will go much better the second time around!