iTC Discussion -- Week Two
[ 27 April 2008 ]
This is the second official discussion area for the iCiNG Transformation Challenge! (You can access the first week’s discussion here.) Feel free to come here & talk about how you’re doing, give other people support & help iron out any creases in your personal Challenge.
Here are those rules again…
Use the “best friend” scenario
When we have bad days, it can be easy to get down on ourselves & say negative things or make harsh judgements. As soon as we start proclaiming how much we suck, it just makes us feel worse. If you haven’t had a fabulous day, instead of belittling yourself in a comment, imagine you are standing at the front of a room with your best friend & she or he is describing how you went. Odds are, their description of you would be much more gentle, loving & kind than what’s in your head! (If you don’t have a best friend, or your best friend is secretly a monster in disguise, imagine it’s me instead!)
No numbers
(This really only applies to those of us doing health & physical Challenges.) Please be considerate of where other people are coming from. For example, you might only want to gain/lose x kilograms, but some people will want to gain/lose y — & if they read that, they might feel bad & decide it’s not worth bothering. Similarly, discussing your measurements or counting calories can be quite discouraging or upsetting to people. It’s awesome to have goals but if they’re number-related, please keep them to yourself for now! You may be healthy but there are lots of people with food & body image-related issues, so please — no weight or measurement comments.
Leave as many comments as you like!
This is your space, so you can do what you like with it. I’ll be dropping by to talk about how I went & what I did for the day, as well as leaving note of encouragement for other people. You can treat it like a group journal if you like — a catalogue of our successes & difficulties, lots of love & ideas to keep ourselves going!
Some other things that will improve your iTC:
Do your very best to phrase your experiences in the positive, rather than the negative.
You might like to start your comment with DAY 1/27 (for example) so you can get a bit of perspective!
Don’t use this as your only record of how you’re going & what you’re doing — if you can get your hands on a notebook (or even a few pieces of paper), you should chart your progress there too.
Bookmark this page & make sure you come back often!
Wooooooo! Let the comments begin!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
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Ok so I have already talked about my week on the first board, but I shall have a quick run down, just because it makes me feel good!
:o)
I have been doing well with my healthy eating and lost my target weight for the week! I am loving having Wii Fit, I ache all over from it, but it’s a good ache!
I hope everyone else is doing ok, and is right on track for a great start to next week!
Sunshine & Sparkles
xxxx
I am doing great too. My nails are growing and my writing is really starting to come along.
I am in this challenge since day one. But this week my mind haven’t been 100% focused on it. So my real start is on week two.
It doesn’t matter if i start this week right?Anyway on a positive note, one of my goals was to cut down the cookie consumption. And this week i haven’t had a cookie at all =.
I still have the whole being more positive thing to wrok on a little bit. But that is coming about, pretty much after hwatching the secret!...Mike Dooley(sp?)
is in it talking about the power of attraction and whatnot, very good movie (also audiobook!) it will open your eyes.
I’m posting how I’m doing in here smilesbydi.blogspot.com
Im doing pretty well so far. Not as well as I wanted too, kinda passive, but next week will be much more aggressive.
I’ve been cooking at home a lot more, which I makes me feel a lot better. But still, it’s a lot of oil and starch/potatoes.
My actual intake has been pretty good, not too much, only when I’m hungry. I haven’t lost any weight, but I haven’t gained any either, which is good.
Only went to the gym once, but it was a buy week in general. (Im going right after I type this)
The thing I’m most proud of is getting my projects done, not only on time, but early. Finals Week will go much smoother getting this done now.
Oh how refreshing! I am doing alright, I have managed to stay out of bed and I have been taking a lot more walks. It has been soooo nice out lately so that alone has been inspiring. Water drinking has been fine, I did slip up today and bought myself a soda and neglected the bottled water I had ready for me in my purse. Oh well I plan on drowing myself with the stuff the rest of the day. (not literally of coarse) I also have been good with keeping up a journal. I wrote about the goals I have for next month with is my birthday month. I plan on it being spectacular and trans formative as well.
I think the first week has gone very well !
I have exercised more than I first planned to & stuck to my goals for the most part.
Next week, I plan to step it up and sort a lot of things out !
Also, I recieved a letter from a college I want to attend in September, I was supposed to have a group interview there a couple weeks back, but I didn’t go. It sounds silly but I’m really bad with things like that, I really don’t like them.
Anyway, the letter offered me another opportunity for another interview, which fingers crossed will go great.
I convinced myself I simply have to do it, as it’s now part of the iTC ! hee. wish me luck :)
Day 7 or 8
Chloe- Wow! That is a huge and daring risk, I hope it turns out amazing for you!
Song- Your story is beautiful.
I just got back for the funnest weekend of my life. We had a sleepover, then we went to LA the next morning and invaded a fancy hotel where I gave a speech and won a scholarship. The people presenting it to me seemed very supportive and open minded and I wonder if I can convince them to give me the money to buy art supplies for my plan of unschooled art school. Afterwards, we went to Venice beach and sat on the rocks, followed cool guys and played in the waves. Then we went to the pier and met up with some people I know. On the way back the driver wanted to sleep so we stayed up all night in a random city together and fell asleep kissing. Woke up, went back to his place and watched Bongwater. I’m falling in love. Yay! I’ve been trying to keep up on eating healthy but I always go towards carbs when I get munchy.
Goodness! It’s funny to think of the days going by so quickly.
Let’s see… I haven’t eaten any crap! Except brownies, but I made them myself. No powdered cheese, pizza rolls, or other over-processed rubbish has come into my system, and I’m very happy about that! I made myself a huge pot of delicious sloppy joes and bought applesauce and a bunch of cartons of juice, to keep my sugar cravings in check.
And I’ve been working hard! My senior paper became two pages longer (after 7 straight hours of work! Zounds!) and my research projects have been interesting and engaging. This doesn’t leave much time for outside play, but with hard work they will soon be completed!
7/27 – It’s really refreshing to find out I’m not alone in needing to spend some time figure out the best way to put the things I want to change into a reachable challenge. I had a basic idea of what I wanted to accomplish, and started the challenge last Monday with those in mind. I spent almost the first full week of the challenge reshaping those goals. Here’s what I started with, and what I ended up with on my two challenges:
1 – Eat at least one balanced raw food meal each day. (Became 2 full days of raw food)
I already do meet my original goal most days, with either whole fruit and flax or a homemade smoothie for breakfast. I even eat raw for lunch several times a week. To take it to the next level, I’m now eating raw foods for the entire day, two days each week. This will help me learn to plan for my nutritional needs and to fit it into my daily schedule. I’m hoping to add an extra day in another month; this should make it a smoother transition.
So far, it’s going really well. By spacing the two days, I was able to make sure I had everything I needed the day before. No panic at meal prep. Since I already had the ingredients in the house, I even had a mostly raw day the day after each of my official raw food day. I could get used to this.
2 – Exercise at least 20 minutes each day.
I’ve been an every other day fitness person. Or three days on, two days off. I need to be more consistent. Twenty minutes is the time it takes to run to and from the bank, or to ride my bike to the store and back. Or the time it takes to walk the dog and kids around the park. At the very least, I can do one of my regular daily errands on foot or bike for a quick burst of cardio.
This minimum requirement is working great so far. I had a 25 mile ride on Saturday, cut short by the anticipated thunderstorms; and a multi sport day on Thursday where I rode 15 miles, followed by a two mile run. A couple days of 30-minute runs, and one day where I was pressed for time & took the dog on a quick 20-minute, two mile lope (his pace), then hopped on the bike for a quick grocery trip.
So far, so good. I’ve really enjoyed reading through a batch of the comments each day, and wish everyone a great second week!
And a big thanks to Gala, for starting this challenge, and providing the little bit of extra inspiration I needed.
I am excited about this week! I’m super busy and I always find it easier to stick to things when I’m busy. My goals are
—to go to the gym 4x a week (last week only went 3x, but I played Dance Universe on the Xbox for 2 hours instead of the gym on Saturday — fun! surprisingly sweaty!),
—not have second helpings of dinner (this is my downfall! sometimes I have almost 2 dinners! last week I only had 1 extra potato one night… but they were such yummy roast potatoes and it wouldn’t have been as nice the next day!),
—and not eat chocolate (none last week, didn’t miss it, am on the almonds instead).
i did awfully this weekend!
on saturday, my mum got really worried about my eating habits, because well.. before iTC, i wasn’t eating properly.. so she made me eat a veggie hotdog, and some ice cream.
and today, i had some chinese noodles.
guhhhhhh… i’m going to have to figure out a way make up for this!
but on the lighter side, i have only another week until europe, i’m so excited!
how are you all doing loves?
Not only have I fallen off the wagon, but that same wagon is now about 3 miles past me. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up, though! I’ll just have to chase after it…
yesterday I wasn’t very good. I started working about an hour later than planned and didnt get a lot done, kept procrastinating all day. but at night my boyfriend and I snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie – I should have been doing work, but I felt like it was important that we watched the movie. we haven’t had a date night in awhile. today I have to go to work then uni, I want to do a bit more homework this morning, finish some stuff on the computer this afternoon and work on my essay tonight!
i had gained weight since last week, and then i went to the gym and really pushed myself and lost all the weight i had gained and more in one session
so now this week i’m going to / trying my best to go every single day to see how much i could improve my fitness by going daily
when i first started it killed me to do what i’m doing now, now i can cycle and run a combination of over 7km in under a hour
and i’m really proud of myself for that
also i’ve quit smoking again, i had for more than a month and then gave into temptation but now i’ll stick to it for sure, its coming up to my 2nd week of being smoke free
i beat the clutter in my room and as a reward i’ll be repainting it a powder pink with black edging and putting up retro pin up art :]
I’m with ya Trisha.
I’ve really slacked off this week – and I had about half a cheesecake yesterday; so not keeping up with my ‘manage proportions better!’ goal.
I will catch up though! Doing EFT wasn’t one of my goals, but I’ve been doing it periodically this week – maybe I’ll amp it up a bit to help keep me on track. Plus – this is my last week with a free gym membership, MUST take advantage of that!
i’ve been going through a horrible breakup and basically drank more alcohol than water every day last week. :(
i’ve been staying on top of my goals to stay vegan & i’ve been working a lot which equals working out.
this week i’m going to seriously start!
1) no alcohol. at all.
2) yoga & stretching daily
3) writing daily
4) stay on top of school work & go to class
5) clean up the apartment
6) stay vegan.
p.s. finally got the new atmosphere & i LOOOOVE it! i’m seeing mac lethal this week (he toured with atmosphere last year i think) & atmosphere in may!!!
I’m so glad this is the start of a new week! Clean slate time! I did well with managing my time more efficiently last week, and I have my pre-packed lunch right beside me here at uni, a hearty vege soup. But the thing I struggled with is not picking my face…so this week I’m going to focus on ignoring my face (if that makes sense). I have a theory that the more I focus on not picking, the more I do it, so when I think about touching my face I’m going to busy myslef with some other task until I lose the urge…and instead of thinking about my blemishes and imperfections I will think of how far I’ve come and all the good stuff I’m doing for my skin :)
Yay for a new week!
I’ve decided that this is the week where I am going to eat 100% RAW! Just because last week, I felt so, so, SO sick from when I ate anything cooked like pasta or nachos (which I usually ADORE), so it’s been really weird and I guess transforming to notice that I only feel good after eating fruit & nuts!
I’m also going to try and get to the gym this week, even if the weather terrible (all I want to do is stay snug at home & read!).
Reviewing last week, it didn’t go as good as I had planned. I didn’t write at all, I didn’t read much, I spent too much money on booze & black clothing, I ate junk most of the time & I was horrible, obnoxious and negative.
But I’m happy to start properly this week. You know, do it properly. It’s a refreshing thought.
All in all, the week went very well. I only missed one day of exercise (thanks to a surprise blood test that ruled out any activity later in the day), and actually averaged more than the 30 minutes a day that I wanted. I’ve also been eating better, as well as eating a lot more raw – I’m now addicted to all-fruit and green smoothies. In general, I seem to have more energy, focus, and enthusiasm, which is lovely.
For work, I’ve managed to do my two hours of academic stuff per day, but I’d like to increase that this week, to really step it up. Feels good, though, and I’m happy to be sticking to it.
Oh & also I think I’d mention that I used EFT one night to get over my obsession with boys, and it worked!! Well at least for the night I didn’t think about any… Gala you’re the best!
I plan on starting this week….or I guess add more? I had a simple goal: think positive each day and it’s been working so far.
Now I would like to start on my writing…but that may get delayed because of essays being due/big exams. Yikes.
But in this time frame I want to improve my website (linked via my name)...I keep delaying it.
My week was average. I ate ok, but there was still a lot of junk in there. Most of my exercise seemed to be walking, but not much else.
The beginning of the week, I drank heaps of water but then kinda…forgot.
And I wasn’t nearly as productive as I’d like.
Today that will all change! So from here on…
*Healthy (preferably home cooked) food EVERY MEAL.
*30mins of exercise a day that ISN’T walking
*Three bottles of water a day
*GET WORK DONE!
Hmmm…Last week I didn’t get to do as many things as I wanted to, but I did manage to start an exercise schedule and drink lots of water, and get a head start on my school work…My goals are drink lots of water, eat healthy, exercise, work on my photography projects, and think positively each day.
Is today 7/27? I think so. Or 8.
Things have been difficult the past few days- stress, family, etc. So I’m feeling a little behind.
But I’m trying to work on the positivity thing a lot. It’s difficult, because it’s finals right now, but I should be able to manage I think.
I probably should have told my mother about the vegan meal every day goal though, because her suggestions for what to eat when I couldn’t decide just made it difficult to eat vegan. Things like, ‘Do you want some feta for your salad’ or ‘I could cook you some eggs’ are difficult to turn down from your mom, you know? Dinner tonight was vegan though, surprisingly, seeing as it was all food she packed up for me to bring back to school.
And my writing completely fell by the wayside for about two days.
This week is going to be difficult, but that’s the nature of finals time. I can still stick to my goals though- just to reiterate:
* One vegan meal every day * Write every day * Keep my space clean * Be positive
Yeah, I fell off the wagon a bit too…but I’m going to get back on:
1)NO MORE PROCRASTINATION
2)Essays done BEFORE due date
3)Mum’s cardigan finished.
4)A tidy room
I wasn’t planning to do this challenge, but a bout of break out on my face changed my mind. This is a good opportunity for me to keep healthier. My new goal is to always have a filled bottle of water at my desk as I study this week, and wherever I go, and to also eat some form of fruits every day. Also, it’s time to toss all my candy and junk food out the window!!
I wanted to focus on drinking more water, doing my homework perfectly on time, and so forth. I’ve been doing just fine on those, but here’s what I discovered.
The whole thing really sparked an introspection in me. It made me start asking myself, “Who am I becoming? Who do I want to become? If I were my ideal me, what would I be like?”
So today I wrote it all down, this description of where I want to be, of the kind of person I would like to set myself on the road to becoming (and now’s a good time for it, since I’m graduating from high school in little more than a month!). I decided what would be different in my surroundings, in my friends, in my behavior, if I were already that person. And now I am working to make those changes!
So while I am not really sticking to one specific goal, I’m treating this as a period of self-discovery, of self-exploration really. I’m just getting ready to leave high school and really discover adult life, or at least college life. So basically I’m just taking steps to become who I want to be! :)
im in love with my best friend. hes loving, caring and just so cute. ive never had the guts to tell him. i just cant.. it would tear our relationship apart.. we are such good friends we can eachother almost anything.. but i cant tell him this..
i just want him to know that i love him…so much
sometimes i cant help but cry when he tell me hes going out with this chick.
My goal this week has been to eat one meal a day raw.
since i eat 3 large meals and 3 small meals, it hasn’t been too too hard, but i have missed a couple days.
This week i want to be more focused, being at school is hard since eating raw is impossible with those silly snack machines. I think packing some raw snacks will help!
OH, and for those of you are trying to eat raw but still crave those sugary popsicles, try making your own with fruit juice! and, if you need to get some fruit in your diet, drop some fresh berries in it. A really fab combo is orange juice and rasberries.
Thank you so much for starting a new discussion space for the second week, Gala! It was getting really hard (read: impossible) for me to load the last discussion page.
This week for me – well, there were ups and downs (although I RAN THREE MILES TODAY!!! which is a lot if you’re me), but I’m all right with it. The only thing that’s worrying me now is my most important goal – to finish ALL my work for every class and turn it in before it’s overdue. Well. It’s Sunday night, and I have a LOT of stuff to do! Including stuff from weeks before, because midterms are tomorrow. Thankfully, my teachers, who are AMAZING and understand my situation, gave me permission to rush my work to their mailboxes before 6 AM tomorrow morning – but I’m still absolutely overwhelmed.
This is a test of my strength and willpower – wish me luck!
well i did plan to do ITC until my best friend was in a car crash and was in a coma. so yeh i couldnt quite handle ITC :(
i’ve been trying to turn myself around though:
+ not snacking so much
+ improving my spiritual life
+ working out boy troubles /:
haha i know….they’re all the cliche changes!!!
7/28
As hard as the goals I set seemed to be, I feel like I’m doing a really good job! Yesterday I had a sleep over with a few friends. They noticed my change in habits and were asking for tips and were really interested in challenging themselves. It’s very inspiring! All this encouragement and support makes sticking to my goals very easy.
I think for this week I want to come up with new things to do to reach my goals. Maybe try new food and recipes that are healthy. I just discovered a couple healthy snacks that I love, chips and salsa, and dried cranberries (craisins), yumm! Next I want to make my own fruit smoothies or popsicles, or healthy cookies…
I’m only starting now, a little late!
My goal is to focus on my health.
I have recently developed strange allergies to EVERYTHING.
So far I have accomplished quite a few things.
I have set up a therapy session to deal with my stress, and I have also set up a doctors appointment.
For now I am trying to stick to a very simple, basic diet of bananas, rice, apple juice and toast (the BRAT diet, if you’ve heard of it).
I did some cheating yesterday (I couldn’t resist the lemon loaf!) and I’ve been drinking quite a bit of tea (with rice milk, which is better than dairy) but hopefully I will be able to cut back on the tea drinking!
my goals were to drink more water, meditate daily, and cut out soda, and try to work on body image.
meditating daily is super hard. my mind goes everywhere! i bought a book, but i guess i didn’t read about it well enough and it’s actually for recovering addicts. i took a little break, but i’ll try some more tonight.
body image is going all right, too. i haven’t really been making comments like, “oh i’m fat” or anything, and it’s really helping. so basically, i’m just going to try and not talk about my body insecurities. it’s already making me feel better.
drinking more h2o and no soda is easy peasy! idk why i thought it’d be hard!
Not so great with the stretching today.
Didn’t do any.
But I have an excuse, I slept until two in the afternoon, so I was completely exhausted and stiff.
And I couldn’t stretch later in the evening because I had to wash my hair.
That sounds like a stupid excuse but I have pin my hair up and then let it air dry and it makes any unusual movements a little difficult.
A lot of the stretching I usually do includes lying down and if my hair falls out of the pins, it dries all gross.
>>is ashamed of lame excuse<<
Anyway, I ate healthily and I’ve been forcing myself to sit up straight all day.
My back’s pretty sore but I think it’ll be worth it in the long run.
Hope everyone esle is doing well.
x
Oops…typo.
That’s meant to say: hope everyone else is doing well.
Silly me.
I’ve really enjoyed this process so far.
My goals are:
- Give up all chocolate, cake, biscuits, chips etc for one month. – Stop ordering take-away and cook my own meals instead (not because I order unhealthy stuff, but because it’s lazy). – When eating out, make the healthy choice.
And I’ve done pretty well at them. I had a skim hot chocolate on Friday night (which didn’t make me feel great, but wasn’t strictly contraband) and pizza at my parents’ house on Saturday (again, not strictly contraband), but other than that, it’s all been very healthful – and I really like that, unlike a diet, when I’m denying my sweet cravings it’s not because “I’m so fat, I can’t have it until I’m thin” (or, conversely, cracking because “I’m not that bad, surely one can’t hurt”), but because the challenge demands that I musn’t. ;)
What I’ve found most interesting about the process so far is the awareness I’ve gained of the times when I normally would purchase junk food: feeling anxious, feeling tired, craving salt after a cocktail or two, at coffee with friends, etc, and the fact that I don’t really need it.
Day 7/27
Today was a good day! Seriously, I am almost in shock. For starters, the only junk food I had was a tiny (and I mean tiny) square of dark chocolate and a whole-wheat cookie. Which is incredible because normally I am this bottomless pit of crackers/candy/cookies. And I also went to the grocery store today and stocked up on kiwis, dried Calimyrna figs, tomatoes, bananas and the like.
I wrote in my journal :)
My room is still pretty spiffy…it’s amazing how I no longer trip over the 18 pairs of shoes that usually clutter up the floor.
And I drank a good amount of water!
So I really think that I’m over the worst, which is good because I have exams coming up and a ridiculous amount of social events so hopefully the iTC will start becoming 2nd nature and I can focus on exams/friends.
Good luck & have fun everyone!
Hi all!
I’d like to ask for some advice;
What do you guys think I could do to make myself wake up early everyday? (I want to wake up 5am)
I don’t want to use an alarm though – they drive me crazy :P
Thanks in advance!!
Ivy
OMG the studying is doing bad, really bad!
It will be put to the test this week since I have three exams, one for each day that I’m going to school.
I’m looking forward for the 4 day weekend, us mexicans call it puente (bridge). I’ll be getting ahead on my final projects and I hope to pump the exercise a bit.
My friends are starting to make fun of me for my water intake but that’s ok since they don’t do it maliciously.
Ivy- I wake up at 5:10 am Monday through Friday. What I do is just set my cell phone alarm with a song that is very loud (right now I have monsters from matchbox romance) and when t sounds it kinda scares me and I’ve fallen off the bed a few times but it works. I think that using an alarm at first is crucial, now I even wake up like a minute or two before the alarm goes off, your body has to get adjusted to wake up so early at first, me thinks.
Now I’m in week 2 I know what is working for me and what doesn’t! So in saying that all this week I plan to do yoga every day in the mornings. After work or at night just isn’t right for me. It’s funny because I always feel so better with myself after yoga but don’t always find the time – doing it in the morning will ensure that I always do it. No distractions at 6 in the morning!
Ivy: I think to get used to getting up early you do need an alarm of sorts – maybe you have a stereo that you could set to play a song or the radio or your cell phone can do the trick as Juls suggested. In the summer I leave the curtains open so the light wakes me up too. Now I’ll usually wake up around the same time each morning but remember you need to go to bed earlier if you want to wake up at 5!
ok so I think I’ve had a breakthrough with this sugar thing.
a friend told me to try iron tablets because she started taking them & her massive choc addiction was surprisingly curbed. which makes sense with what karen knowler said. since I’m veggie then when I’m feeling tired I crave sugar for an energy boost. So I’ve started taking multi-vitamins the last two days and the sugar cravings have definetly decreased!
I’m not sure if its the supplements or I’m just getting used to it, or both but it’s great.
on my other resolutions I’m not doing the greatest to be honest but I feel so busy atm& having trouble fitting some stuff in but will endeavour to try harder!
xxoo
Day 6/27:
Took my dog for a walk and played with him for an hour.
Day 7/7:
Sort of a bum day today. Went to the dog park and walked around, counted that for my excercise. Tomorrow I’m going to do another bikini boot camp lesson.
so my goals were to:
0. exercise 20 minutes every day
1. no soda or alcohol
2. do at least 1 hour of studying a day
3. eat lots of green things
at first I was dreading the first one, but now that I’ve made a fabulous playlist with really upbeat music, I have a hard time not wanting to exercise (currently digging that song “ain’t nothing wrong with that” as a workout starter and anything by justice to keep moving). my favorite method of exercising is currently dancing like an absolute maniac. I’m sure my housemates think I’m a nut.
the no soda or alcohol thing has been incredibly easy, now that I carry a water bottle around everywhere I haven’t even thought about drinking anything else.
also managed the studying (my huge looming exam has helped motivate that one), and eating green things isn’t too hard (yay for spinach, asparagus, kiwis, and basil pesto! mmm)
I feel like I should add another goal on top of this, since I seem to be managing these pretty well. maybe I’ll cut out junk food (like candy and other sweets).
ever so much love to the rest of you! good luck this week!
This week has been awesome! If anyone remembers (which is doubtful, wow there are a lot of us!) My goals centered around my relationship. We have been doing wonderfully, it is so nice to get back into enjoying time together and not having to worry about problems back home.
My first goal involved cooking, and we’ve been cooking together every night. Been doing pretty well sticking to organics, however both of us are running low on cash for the month so that one might have to just go back to healthy, not organic.
Second goal, exercising and enjoying the amazing spring weather. We’ve gone on two decently long hikes/picnics twice this week and taught the doggy to swim, she loves creeks. :) Other than that I’ve been walking puppy around town while the boy is at work. I love springtime!
Third goal has been writing, this one has fallen back but I feel okay about it. The time I could be spending writing I have been spending outside/cooking/in bed talking with the boy at night instead of writing while he snoozes. So this is a good thing. I think I will cut this one out of my goals and keep up with the rest.
Good luck everyone, it’s been fun doing this with all of you!
Yay a whole new week in which to challenge myself!
Last weeks wrap up/How did I do in the iTC first week?
Health: I drank my water during the week (failed that one on the weekend) Ate Healthier Mostly (couple of slips ups but a load better than usual) Went to bed on time (But didn’t get up when I meant to!) So health 70/100
Mind Giant Fail! Kept forgetting my bracelet, Kept forgetting to catch myself. Gotta do better this week 30/100
Appearance I think I did rather well. Tried to do different things with my hair and makeup and did some shopping to widen my options(and threw out clothing that doesn’t fit, I don’t like etc)! I wore more interesting outfits on the weekend than normal as well:) (OMG COLOUR) AND Its Casual day at work on Friday! I cant wait! Gonna be awesome! 90/100
My Goals can be found in comment 43 on the first iTC challenge page:)
iTC Day 8
The Good Im Wearing my new boots, My new dress, I did my makeup differently and I remembered my bracelet! I had home made soup for lunch, had breakfast and walked to work! I am cooking dinner tonight!
The Not’so’Good I bought a curly wurly and a small bag of gummi bears and ate the lot. I complained about work:( and I havent been thinking positively… Also didnt do anything with my hair! Also my jug of water is still half full:( and I had 2 coffees today and now I feel awful I think my body is protesting!)
Hope everyone else is as pumped about this week as me!
Day 7 report
a) 60 mins exercise 5 days out of 7 YUP (day off today but did 30 mins anyway. Addict!)
b) 1 litre of water a day YUP
c) mindless ab crunches as part of a)day off
d) take a break outdoors during the day YUP (rainy but good)
e) pep talks YUP
Want to add an extra for week 2 f) something in my sketchbook every day (I want this to become a daily habit again).
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In review – I found it reasonably easy to stick to my goals because I had engineered 2 days off ze exercise! I think having some built in flexibility gave me the confidence that I could do it (but gave me the stress-relieving option of having 2 empty days to use when life got in the way). I was thrilled beyond belief to watch my BP numbers change. I think that aiming at 80% makes 100% success more likely!
I loved the way that people acknowledged their problems in the first week and brushed themselves off and got on with it – no hate – and the way people commented between comments to cheer each other on.
You’re my lucky star peeps!
Second week isn’t going that great.
I ate hot chips today :(
But on the plus side I have been doing my pointe exercises everyday.
Now if I can keep it up for the rest of the week…
Good luck everyone!
Georgie That sounds so horrible. I hope your friend comes out ok. Stay strong!
Ivy I hate alarms too. And I haven’t used one for years now. I don’t know how but I tell myself to wake up at a certain time and as long as I know what time it is when i go to bed, I always wake up before or right on the time I want. Its like I unconsciously count down. I dont know, it works for me!
I have been having the worst last 4 days. I did so well the first 4. I kept track of how well I was doing religiously. But ever since Thursday when I booked my flight home and broke up with my long term boyfriend, I have been using all of my energy trying to prevent my self from breaking down. I mean, in some ways I think I am lucky, I am going home to be with my family and my boyfriend will stay in Japan which makes the breakup easier I think. No temptation, no passing each other in the street etc. But this is my first heartbreak and it is killing me. I know is was my choice and I know it is the right one but that doesn’t make it any easier.
My anxiety levels have skyrocketed. I can’t stop thinking and biting my nails. My heart hurts. I cry when I tell people I am leaving this life and my boyfriend and I cry when anyone tries to be nice.
EFT Professionals, What can I tap to help me with these feelings?
So I think I have to put the iTC on hold for at least a week. Until I am settled back home and start the ‘Getting Over Him Process’.
Go everyone! Keep up the good work. It helps reading everyone’s positive reviews!
So after my post this morning, I totally fell off the wagon within a few hours. I had a big funding proposal due today and there was more work to do on it than I realised. I didn’t have enough time to have a proper lunch or even go to the supermarket to get healthy things to snack on. I’m ashamed as to what I ate so I refuse to tell you all!
I then went out to hand deliver the proposal and started to feel really really sick – like, wanting to throw up kind of sick. There was no other explanation for it other than the crap food I’d been eating all day. So, I stopped somewhere and got a fruit smoothie and within minutes I was feeling SO much better! I was quite surprised at the difference it made.
It was instant proof as to how fresh fruit makes you feel good.
I also had a meeting tonight where I had to motivate a bunch of other people. (I’m working casually at a university as an executive producer for a real time game made by the current students of a course I did a few years ago)
I found myself telling them off for things I realised I was doing myself in my own life, so now I have to take my own advice. (and it was pretty good advice!) Now after listening to my own motivational speech, I feel more motivated myself.
It just struck me that to ‘be kind to myself’ is as much a goal as those to eat wiser or to exercise. Loads of luck to anyone going thru rough times xx
day 8/27
Today I got up early to exercise and discovered that my dog was really sick in the night so I had a huge mess of vomit and poo to clean up. Poor dog is now locked outside and I feel bad because she’s obviously not feeling the best, but there is no way I’m scrubbing the carpet out again! I think the 30 minutes of scrubbing definitely counts towards my exercise quota though – it’s hard work. And I got a half hour to watch mindless big brother tv which there is no way I would normally do!
I took lunch to work and I had no soda or caffeine, despite major cravings for coca cola. Me and Kaidin walked the dog when I got home, even though it was already dark. I’m going to do an hour on the exercise bike while I watch Good News Week.
I’m happy that I’m doing well – even though it’s hard, I’m not making excuses – and I could come up with really good excuses. I spent ages cleaning dog poo off the floor, I didn’t then HAVE to go make my lunch!- I’m just doing it. And it’s getting easier everytime I do.
Is anyone else having problems with support outside of iCing? My workmates know and they are pretty good, but I told my mum I wasn’t drinking during the week and she laughed! Good one Mum!
Trisha you have the best attitude! I’m sure you’ll jump right back on.
Georgie Best wishes to your friend, I hope they get better soon.
Ivy – I’ve started using my Heart Rate Monitor/Watch as an alarm. It’s much quieter than my alarm clock, but works wonderfully. I wake up to a sound I associate with the walk-run or spin fast transition my workouts. It leads to a happy thought first thing, instead of grumbling.
Cookie – Your friend is giving you good advice. I crave chocolate when I’m in need of more protein or iron, and have found multi vitamins and calcium supplements get rid of cravings for heavy dairy (ice cream). A handful of almonds, a spinach salad, or broccoli also weakens the siren call of chocolate. When all else fails though, there’s a tiny box of dark chocolates in my desk drawer. One piece of really good chocolate, eaten slowly and savored, is better than a whole candy bar.
Juls, Chloe, Marie – I love you all!! Thank you SO much for the advice, I TRUELY truely appreciate it :D I think I might try the leaving my window open thing too. Mwah!! xx
Joy – you’re brilliant! That sounds like my kind of alarm clock ;) Thank you so much! xx
So far I’ve been doing ok, I’ve modified one of my goals slightly instead of having it that I have to have a salad a day, I have to have one raw, or vegan meal a day, just cause either way it’s a lot healthier that what I generally eat, and I think it will be easier for me to maintain long term, which is the overall aim of this for me personally. I haven’t been able to motivate myself to exercise that much, but like i said before I want to continue with these goals long term, so I’m not going to stress too much about that yet, just try to motivate myself for this coming week. But other than that I’ve been doing well so far, look forward to the coming week
Gala, thanks so much for all your raw inspiration! I have only just come across your blog so I didn’t start the iTC challenge until this past Friday, but so far I’ve been doing great…
I’m a final-year student, part-time tutor and full-time foodie, but recently I have been eating for convenience and not thinking about what’s going in my mouth which naturally = feeling crap. But thanks to your inspiration, I decided I’d dive straight in and try for 70% raw (minimum) every day for at least two weeks. I’ve now been doing this for four full days and it’s much, much easier and more pleasant than I’d expected, so I think I’m going to go for the full month. I’m eating heaps of lovely fruit and drinking a gazillion litres of water every day and I feel great! I’m sleeping better, I’m getting up early without hating it and I’m full of energy! Thanks Gala, you may well have changed my relationship with food forever, and in such a good way! xxx
Is this 8/27?
I did pretty well over the weekend, all things considered. What I’m most happy about is the changes I feel happening in my body already. Last week I did some sort of activity every day (beyond my daily 40 mins of walking to work) and my body likes it! And a few times the thought of running passed through my mind, which is a fantastic sign (and something I’ll persue when the beautiful riverwalk behind my place dries up). My meat consumption has plummeted, happily, and I’m not finding it very difficult to sit beside my man while he digs into his.
Congratulations team! Week One recedes in the distance. Onward and upward!
Brianna: here’s a fun one. Write a letter to yourself to open in five years. Give it to a trusted friend who’ll throw it in the mail for you at that point. It’s an awesome experience. I’ve got a batch to throw in the mail for my old students in a few months!
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I think this is 8/27
Well, I managed to eat somewhat healthily yesterday and did 2 hours horse riding for exercise and did some EFT. but I was finding it really hard. I was totally and completely into it and determined last week, determined to do it and do it well. And now I’ve lost all that wonderful energy. I’ve lost the inclination to do it. It’s just all fizzled out. I think it’s because during my summer holidays I plan on changing myself as much as I can – dying my hair, cutting it, buying a new wardrobe and so on, and I think I fear that if I change myself too much now, people won’t notice to much of a difference after the summer. Can anyone help me with this?
I’ve been following a diet and exercise plan outlined in the book The Abs Diet for Women. I really like this plan because not only does it tell you the kinds of things to be eating, but it has a ton of really good recipes, which makes it easy to follow. I also get to eat 6 times a day! The exercise plan is also fantastic… taking my workouts from 30-45 mins down to 20-30 mins a day.
After getting this book, I’ve realized that while my intentions for being healthy and fit were good, I was going about it all wrong. Firstly, I wasn’t eating anywhere near enough protein, mainly because I didn’t realize how much protein a person needs in one day. I was getting maybe 30 grams at most, when a person trying to build lean muscle and burn fat needs 1 gram per pound of body weight. Wow! Now that I’m eating much more protein, I have SO much more energy and feel awesome.
I was also wrong in thinking that doing 30-45 mins of cardio a day was the way to go in order to reach my goals. In reality, strenght training is much more effective… and not to mention a shorter work-out!
So I’ve followed this health plan for a week now, and I can already feel and see a difference in my body. My goal for this week is to not be so lenient on the weekends… I didn’t eat enough because I slept in too much, which threw off my schedule.
By the time I take my vacation at the end of May, I have no doubt that I will have acheived what I was hoping for. Horray!
Hello everyone!
I’ve been hideously bad at commenting, even though I read religiously, so it’s high time to change that! (I think I was partly awed by how amazingly everyone seems to be doing – kudos to you all for that!)
I was a bit half-hearted with iTC last week (bad, I know), and had a definite blip about midweek… but since then I’ve made a real effort (tapping regularly etc) and it’s looking up. I’m a complete EFT newbie, but I had to post today because I’m really impressed with it – I had an appalling lecture this afternoon, by a lecturer who always makes me homicidally angry (she’s making a hideous mess of a subject that I love to bits, so it’s really disappointing and generally annoying), but I came home and tapped on it all, and I really feel a lot better about it! So massive thanks to Gala for introducing me to EFT!
Anyway, best of luck to you all and I hope you had better & less irritating days than I did!
T_T I still haven’t caught up on posts!!! Tonight! (hopefully, maybe anyway)
Day 6,7, & 8/27 ~ Whoa!
Ok so Friday I actually did really good till dinner which I didn’t eat unless a handful of granola on the way out the door and rum and diet coke counts(I sound a bit alcoholic, but my daughter was with her father this weekend and I went to see my dad play anyway yeah…) I danced A LOT and walked a lot of friday so that will count as my exercise! Gots more compliments on my new hair
Saturday I walked almost all day… Me and my boyfriend-ish person(lol) went outlet mall shopping which ment like 8 hours of walking around stores and the plaza’s. Had a Caramel Frappucino thing from Starbucks for breakfast EEP! It made me so sugar high I’m fairly certain I started to drive boyfriend-ish person nuts lol. Only ate lunch/dinner we had Thai mmmm… and we had Mojitos at home
Sunday we actually had real breakfast! Eggs and veggie bacon(I snuck it in the house, he hardly noticed the difference!) half a bagel each with cream cheese and orange juice. More outlet shopping so more walking, we had some fudge and root beer he said it would cheer up my mood after an argument with my ex =\ finally we had dinner, I had a really yumm yummy veggie burger. I loved it and I want another
Today I had yogurt and granola for breakfast, water cuz I was out of smoothie =\ lunch was morning star buffalo wings with ranch dressing, a salad and a piece of 75% pure dark chocolate with pecans and raisins!
Kind of been a vegetarian weekend for me. But I feel all hyper today(could be the chocolate lol)
On the EFT front I’ve been slacking a little this weekend cuz I wasn’t home so yeah anyway. Though I have showed a few people at work and my boyfriend-ish person where the points were and directed them to sites(including here!) It’s been helping me in leaps and bounds lately. So fantastic
Katy
You should tap on the fear you’re experiencing… but on changing, you should change when you feel comfortable(or the inclination) Change really should be for you and to make you happier with yourself (inside and outside) not anyone else :-)
8/27
Oh my goodness, I am feeling so good today! I have done 30 minutes on the Wii Fit, I had uni and walked for 5 miles. I am on fire! :o)
I am looking forward to my next weigh in, and I have never said that before!! I have been drinking loads and my face is benefiting, it is so clear and pretty much glowing!
I hope that everyone else is still going strong, and if not then use the Monday mentality (I view it as a whole new start, sometimes smaller goals help!)
Sunshine & Sparkles
xxxx
DAY 8
woke up early, ate well but no exercise what so ever. oh well.
I’m not sure what number day this is – i think it is 9?
The official report – i’ve eaten dairy once! Otherwise, i’ve been taking to the whole vegan thing really really well, with huge temptations in front of me – girl scout thin mints, pizza, etc. that i resisted!
I’m proud of myself for sticking to the vegan thing – i know it will take awhile to get in the groove, so i’m not being really hard on myself when i am eating some vegan junk food. Baby steps!
i haven’t managed to reach my goals of exercising daily. Both days i was supposed to attend my yoga class, i was so wiped out that i couldn’t bring myself to make the effort. I’m just pleased with myself that i’m able to commit to eating vegan again. No stomach cramps! I feel much better after eating meals, since i’m not bogging myself down with allergy-triggering foods.Staying pretty positive about the ITC – i think it is about taking a step toward a lifestyle change, and i think if i even just stick to ONE of my goals, i’ve done spectacularly.
I wish everyone else out there luck with the ITC! Go Gala!
love & ninjaberries,
Mary Bee
Day 8/27
I started off strong last week, but the past few days have not been so good. Among other things, I caught some random virus that’s been floating around my school, so I’m not allowed to go running around or anything exciting… on the other hand, I have an excuse to stay in bed all day and read :)
I can feel myself shaping up, though… so hopefully, I’ll jump back into the challenge tomorrow with full force!
this is harder now that I’m back at uni. the class I had yesterday was pretty bad because we had a different teacher and I had lots of things to ask our normal teacher, also there was a model due which no one knew about. I did some homework last night but I now have a lot to do before tomorrows class. I need to buy some art stuff for class this morning, do some reading sometime during the day and work on my concept board tonight
So…my challenge is to make one mix cd a day.
atleast a playlist
my goodness, Gala, its been so great
i forgot how much i love my music taste
and i have been sending people mix CDs.
do you think it would be ok if i sent you one?
I mean, your the reason i am so inspired…
haha.
kisses
Last week recap:
Pretty well considering. I didn’t get a chance to go grocery shopping which haltered my healthy eating somewhat, but I managed to just get Subway or soup during the week. Saturday was a mini-roadtrip so I let myself have a burger, I figure it’s protein that my body needs anyway :), and movie popcorn which I never ever have.
Today has been good. Had some fries at lunch but I have my first meeting with my personal trainer tonight !!!
I’m really excited. I hope she kicks my butt in a good way. I’m planning on grabbing groceries after my workout, but it might have to wait until tomorrow depending on how late I am at the gym.
Great progress everybody! Keep it up!
Arrrrrgh! I completely bummed out in my first week of the iTC! I ate chocolate and meat and I am not even a bug fan of meat! Why is it so hard? Did the EFT not work? Were my goals too high (I don’t think so). Can anyone give me advice or suggestions?
On the plus side, I exceeded my final health goal, in that I went running four times instead of three and I also walked my circuit once. Yay for exercise, at least.
Help?!
tuesday – day 9
i’m going really, really well. i can’t explain why, it’s just something that clicks every now and then and you go with it.
today i did a fortnight’s worth of grocery shopping without buying any junk food. i got a small treat – some cashews and dark chocolate – that i’ve already rationed out. i have NEVER rationed chocolate before!! haha.
i’m just feeling motivated with everything at the moment, not just the itc. i’m starting to repaint my room tomorrow and i’m seriously planning my trip to fiji after graduation next year… so i want to save money and look good for that. everything’s connected i guess.
Day 8/27 wrap up
I had shocker of a day personally yesterday but on my goals I did OK… Gotta try harder today! No lollies for me today! I did Cook yesterday! How proud of me am I!
Day 9/27
I am looking FAB today people! I am wearing Grey Short Pants, Red stockings under black patterned stockings, Black boots, Red jumper with a black top underneath, Grey Cardigan over the top of it all!with a black head band AND my red Positivity reminder bracelet! I feel fashionable and warm (cause god dammit its cold!) Gala would be so proud!
Food Wise, I have my healthy snacks!, I am trying to drink my water and not coffee and from right now I’m being a positive cheerful human being today (even if it kills me) Today is looking hard but hopeful! Sends Loves to everyones We rock Peoples!
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Page 2: 47
I’ve been doing ok. I’ve been exercising everyday, doing different things, and enjoying it, even though it’s kicking my ass and I’m sore the next day!
I’ve been eating healthier too making sure to have my fruit intake everyday and drink plenty of water. Lately I’ve been having strawberry yoghurt with weetbix and blueberries which is delicious.
I do have to motivate myself though and make myself exercise and eat healthy which is a struggle. But I appreciate reading others thoughts and everyone’s progress. Oh, and I’ve been very much enjoying getting your emails Gala. It keeps things interesting, and they are inspiring!
I started my challenge last Thursday, hehe.
I am currently 90% raw.
I can’t get enough of my giant green smoothies!
After the first two days of headaches, I started to feel strangely alert and emotional. Looking forward to that big burst of energy I’m expecting to arrive any day now….
bec – You achieved half of your goals, that’s pretty good if you ask me!!
Have you told your family, or whoever you’re living with what your goals are? Maybe then they could give you some support and remind you to not eat the chocolate or meat, etc. Maybe you could write little notes for yourself around the house to remind you too..? Maybe you need to prepare earlier what you’re going to eat – did you eat the meat/chocolate when you were starving? Just remember to not be too hard on yourself, you can always try again! Good luck, toots :)
my goals: exercise X times a week; go to bed before 2 AM every night
last week, I had a final paper due in one of my classes. I was a big procrastinator about it, and I was barely in bed at all — let alone before 2 AM.
on Thursday, I left for Coachella. I was so tired after every night that I was definitely asleep before 2, but I didn’t get the chance to do a lot of real exercising. I did walk quite a bit, and there was some dancing involved, but I don’t think I got a solid hour’s workout any day.
additionally, I seem to be allergic to something in the Coachella Valley air, because I had trouble breathing the entire weekend. this happened when I went last year, too. unfortunately, this means that I am still recovering and will be more short of breath than normal for the next week or so. this will make it hard to get any exercise.
I haven’t really made any progress with either of my goals, and I’m a little dejected.
Today was good, but frustrating. Very, very frustrating. I’m doing well on my goals, actually- putting away my clothes as I wear it, so there’s no gigantic pile of mess building up. Ate vegetarian all day, vegan (or very close, damn chocolate chip cookies!) lunch and dinner. Did a freewrite, been mostly positive if somewhat on edge. At the very least, apologetic when I’m not positive.
But I’m just stressed by finals, and particularly by my Comp Sci homework from hell. I don’t know what’s going wrong, especially since the method that is messing up works earlier in the program! Ugh.
Bec I think that your goals are fine, you just need the motivation to get really stuck in. I am trying to lose weight so I try and imagine myself in bikini, looking Fab! Maybe this could help?(not an image of me in my bikini, I mean a picture of you!!) I agree with Ivy, keeping motivational quotes or pictures or just anything to inspire you around the house might help. If you say you don’t want to eat meat, then maybe a couple of pictures of cute animals about? I’m a strict vegetarian so am really proud of anyone wanting to not eat meat!!
9/27 I had a bit of a rubbish start to my day, I ended up putting on a the bit of weight I lost, (damn my baking. My cookies were just too good!) however I am not letting this get me down. Having unlocked the ‘free step’ on Wii Fit, which means I can just do step exercises whilst watching the tv! It’s so much fun it doesn’t feel like exercise so I shall be getting stuck into that today.
I am looking forward to today, the sun is shining and that always makes me feel better. I am working on a poster (crafty things always make me smile!) and have some cleaning to do. Fingers crossed this day and week goes well.
I hope that everyone else is still going strong! Get on the wagon again if not and put your best foot forward!
Sunshine & Sparkles!!
xxxx
Day 8 report
a) 60 mins exercise 5 days out of 7 YUP
b) 1 litre of water a day YUP
c) mindless ab crunches as part of a)day off
d) take a break outdoors during the day YUP
e) pep talks YUP
f) something in my sketchbook every day
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48/ (page two)
Tough day today but I did it. I guess others are finding this week a bit more of a slog too as the comments have slowed right down!(unless you’re all off sexifying your world a-la-Gala’s post today – hee)
Onward and upwards peeps tish, boom, rah etc.
bec – don’t beat yourself up about chocolate – just make sure you have the best stuff (80% cocoa solids and organic if poss) – it’s good for you. As to the meat avoidance (and this isn’t a slam on carnivores – each to their own) go google pix a hog roast or similar. I’m working on a bit of publicity that features a picture of a pig on a spit and everyone that has seen it so far has said it makes them feel a bit squicky about meat. Might work for you?
Is it just me or are things slowing down around here? We can do it team!
9/27
I’ve been doing really well with lowering my meat consumption. Really, it’s not all that hard, it’s just a matter of finding something else. Oh, and my nails look awesome. Yay me!
In other news, my man and I finally got it going on last night after a two-week lapse (!!). Not sure why, but it was sort of new again, we were both shy and quiet and that made things really lovely. And then I see this post from Gala…there’s no such thing as coincidence!
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I have fallen so far off the wagon! I haven’t exercised for ten days. I have many excuses for this but the truth is I am too lazy to take a half hour out of my day to do yoga. I wish I had a buddy to give me that push.
Luckily though, my writing has been going great throughout the challenge.
9/27
well…. college really isnt the best place for eating healthy. I’ve been doing pretty well though, and trying my best. I find that eating with certain people will cause me to eat less, I know this isn’t healthy, but it’s true. Also, I’ve been doing a decent job of working out. Generally I get in five days out of seven. Some times I just need a break.
I still haven’t gained the courage to talk to my boy yet. . . I like him so much and am ultimately afraid of rejection! I’m such the typical girl who waits for him to make the first move! (why!) And, I guess I’m just not sure how to go about telling him how I feel without scaring him off…. idk.
PLUS i just happened to hook up with one of my friends who the other boy dislikes. I don’t regret it, but this new character isn’t who i want. It was more an act of convenience. I want BOY 1, not BOY 2.. but i know that BOY 2 wants me, whereas BOY 1 im still not sure of.
Day 9 of 27
Just got back from lunch! I had brown rice and asapragus it was yummy yummy! Breakfast again, soy yogurt and granola but I tossed in an apple for good measure! A piece of dark chocolate after for a dessert.
Since I started eating organic I noticed 2 things: 1. Things not organic in nature taste chemically and rather icky… meat is the absolute worst anything not free-range taste metallic. 2. Since a major reduction in my sugar I like foods I didn’t really like before (dark chocolate and melons that I thought were too bland) and any granulated sugars make me so hyper I can’t sit still… not in a good way but jittery and annoying
I was reading thru the posts and felt compelled to respond to one…
Ellen –
I have to tell you, I have been in your situation many a time. I’ve been so afraid of rejection too. But let me tell you this… the first time you just say “screw it” and go after what you want, it feels great. There was this guy I was interested in and I didn’t know what to do about it, so I sent him an xmas card saying I’d like to get to know him in the upcoming year… really short and sweet. Although that situation didn’t work out (he had a gf I didn’t know about) it felt so good to have simply taken a chance. And now I feel much more comfortable speaking up to guys when necessary. It was a huge step in gaining confidence for me.
I pro