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Celes · 01-21-2012 08:09 PM

This is round-up post for Live a Healthier Life in 21 Days Challenge, Jan 2012 run. Subscribe to the free newsletter for lifetime access of personal development articles and future challenge announcements like this one.

Hi everyone! This is the round-up post for the entire 21DHL challenge.

First off, I want to THANK YOU all of you for taking part in this challenge. When we signed up, we did it because we wanted to achieve our best health and fitness, and to live our best life ever. Because if our health is sub-par, if we eat lousy, crappy food, and if we don't workout/exercise our bodies, our experiences of life will be limited. Our body is our physical shell in this world, and if we don't take care of it properly first, we can't hope to live the life that we want to live.

Rather than say no, all of you have gamely signed up for the challenge to live your healthiest life ever and put in your best effort for the entire 21 days. I'm extremely proud of all of you.

In rounding up, I'd like to share some thank yous. Specifically,

I'd like to thank all of you for being here and being a part of this special 21-day journey. As with all previous challenges (30DLBL, 30BBM, 21DMC, 21DJC), special connections have been forged. Lives have been touched. New friends have been made. Without you being here, none of this would have been possible. Without your active sharing, your participation, none of this would have happened. Because of that, I thank you.
I'd like to thank all of you who created your 21DHL journals to share your 21DHL journey with everyone. Thank you for opening up on your life and sharing your precious learnings, journals and experiences with everyone.
I'd like to thank all of you who, beyond just journaling in your own journal, have been so proactive in reaching out and commenting in others' journals, showing your effervescent care and support. Because of you, lives have been touched, seeds have been planted and nothing will ever be the same anymore.
I'd like to thank all of you who have duly attempted/completed the daily tasks for the 21 days. All these tasks are important in helping you live a healthy life and in doing them you have planted your own seeds for your future.
I'd like to thank all of you who have taken the extra step in your journaling and taken pictures of your healthy meals to share with others. You have inspired others to live a healthy life too.

Now that the challenge is over, it’s time to do a final round-up. For all the time you've spent here for the challenge, I’d really appreciate it if you can spend a few minutes to provide your feedback on the 21DHL experience. This will be invaluable for me in planning future challenges ahead. Whether you’re an active participant, a passive participant or someone who’s still halfway through 21DHL, I’ll appreciate it if you can answer the following (the more detailed your feedback, the *better* and more useful it’ll be for me):

How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?
What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL? What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?
What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?
Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?
What do you like to see moving forward?

21DHL Recap
Here's a recap of all the tasks for the 21 days (and Pre-Work):

21DHL Forums Closes on 23 Jan

Since 21DHL is a 21-day challenge, the 21DHL forums will be closed on 23 Jan, 10:59am (EST) / 7:59am (PST) / 3:59pm (UCT) / 11:59pm (GMT +8 / SG time). I've set aside an extra 2 days for everyone to regroup and create their healthy living plans ahead.

What's Next?

So what's next? It certainly doesn't end here.

Personal Excellence Forums

After the challenge is over, we will continue to be in the main forums, so don't worry about losing touch. Many of us here were already regulars here before 21DHL started and it was great to see so many new members from the latest run of 21DHL!

Join in the other forums and post freely as you have here. Use the different sub-forums to post about anything that you're experiencing/going through/thinking in life right now. PEF is our home to grow and learn together, so make yourself all comfortable here.

Upcoming Challenges

There will be more challenges on Personal Excellence (once every month or once every 2 months), so stay tuned on the Personal Excellence Challenges for details. Be sure to subscribe to newsletter to be in the loop of all updates, all latest articles, plus notifications of any future challenges and campaigns.

Personal Excellence Articles

And of course, I'll continue to write new articles at PE. All latest articles can be found on the main page, at Personal Excellence.

Thank You!

Once again, thank you for being here, and I'll see all of you in the next challenge!

zingfairy · 01-21-2012 10:11 PM

Hi Celes,

Thanks for providing this wonderful place for us to congregate and support our healthy-living changes.

1. How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?

I've really enjoyed doing the 21 DHL challenge! And it appears to be paying off!

Am sad to see the challenge is over now, too!

The only 'negative' (wrong word but it'll suffice) is that I haven't always been able to do the daily challenges on top of the goals I set myself. Perhaps if these challenges were every other day, I'd have felt more able to do them wholeheartedly. Would rather change a few key things at a time, than try to change everything about my lifestyle in just 21 days and be unable to maintain it.

2. What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL? What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?

I've lost some weight, reduced cravings for unhealthy food, and am modifying how I respond in various situations to food.

Key learnings: I quite enjoyed working through the emotional eating exercise.

3. What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?

Supportive forums are great. Just having a decent place to come and 'report in' to is fab!

Also appreciate the fact that you provide some direction during the challenge, and motivate us periodically by saying we're doing well in keeping on with the challenge.

4. Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?

The weekly reviews are good, as with feedback you can iterate towards something a lot quicker than blindly trying to pursue it without thinking how it's going.

5. What do you like to see moving forward?

This may sound kinda lazy, but, I'd be interested to know what you eat day-to-day (and any recipes), and if you have a weekly shopping list, what's on it! (All the diet magazines in the world seem to cater to meat-eaters, and even if you find a helpful veggie one, there's nothing for vegans to help with planning!)

Thanks again for everything!

:happy:

ChuckA · 01-21-2012 11:36 PM

21 day challenge results:
Exercised 19 out of 21 days. Rowed 91 Km on the Concept2 rower.
Down 8 lb from my starting point of 184 to 176.
Improved consciousness to avoid eating junk.
Revived many of my healthy habits to put me well on my way to my target weight goal of 170.
Met some interesting people online with common objectives.
Thanks!

Shirls2012 · 01-22-2012 02:17 AM

Celes, thanks so much for creating this 21 day challenge. I learned these things:
I am capable of eating within my calorie range and getting the proportions right and tracking what i eat.
I enjoy drinking water as along as I studiously avoid diet coke.
I am not good at the exercise thing - it has been so hot and humid.
I have met some great people along the way who gave me some excellent advice.
I am committing to continuing the habits I formed and am determined to get on top of the exercise.

Netta · 01-22-2012 07:16 AM

Celes,
I posted my round up thoughts in my journal but I wanted to take the time and post here to say thank you so very much for the time and effort you put into this challenge for everyone. I enjoyed it and have learned a lot that I didn't know coming into this, such as the amount of water intake I need, that though I wasn't signing up to lose weight but rather to maintain my weight and have a healthier lifestyle, I learned that even counting the calories and my TDEE can help me to maintain this weight while getting great exercise to tone up.
These changes I have made and things I have learned will be with me the rest of my life and it's also helping my 9yr old daughter also because she may be a bit over weight and it helped her not to worry so much about being over weight. I shared with her things we could do together, such as meal planning and exercise, and it has benefited us both.
You are a very inspirational person! Looking forward to reading other things on Personal Excellence!

Celes · 01-22-2012 10:23 AM

Aw, thank you so much for your kind words everyone. I didn't do anything really - it was all of your hard work and combined energy of the participants in this challenge that made this challenge such a success. PE will never be the same without all of you. Thank you for never stopping to work on your growth, always pushing yourself, and being such amazing souls. It's my joy to serve all of you here.

genevere · 01-22-2012 12:16 PM

Hi Celes thank you so much for providing this incredibly worthwhile challenge. I would recommend it to anyone.

Feedback
How has the whole experience been?
It''s been a great experience, I've thoroughly enjoyed it even when some of the contemplations were emotionally painful. This is an experience I will treasure. I see it as a gateway to much more – to limitless possibilities.

What are the biggest things I got from 21DHL?
Discovering how successful I can be. Gaining confidence about what I can do.

What are the biggest things I liked about 21DHL?
Meeting an amazingly supportive, friendly, creative and encouraging group of people.
Having a structure to the challenge – the daily tasks.

Which are the most helpful tasks for me? Why?
Challenges for Days: 2, 3, 4, 6 – the diet related ones helped me focus on my diet goals and probably helped achieve them.
Challenges for Days: 7, 14, 21 – the reviews helped reinforce, refocus, recharge and plan thereby increasing the likelihood of progress.
Challenges for Day: 11 – this was a great exercise. It assisted me to focus on what held me back.
Challenges for Days: 12, 13 – these were particularly useful for me. Although emotional eating is something I've largely overcome of the years, there is a vestige left.

What do you like to see moving forward?
I'm not sure. I have plans and goals that should keep me pretty occupied. Ongoing support from others is probably the one thing I may well find useful.

VickiB · 01-22-2012 03:18 PM

How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?

It was a good experience. Coming at the beginning of the year, when everyone is thinking about making resolutions about diet and exercise and self care, even if we don’t actually make them, this was a great help for actually doing something instead of just thinking that I should.

What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL? What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?

The very most important thing for living a healthy life is paying attention to what you’re doing – what you eat, how water much you drink, how active you are, and to less obvious things like breathing properly, cleaning your teeth properly, good posture, and especially “hugging” yourself.

For me, the biggest thing was the realization on Day 19 that I had a lot of anxiety about something that I had covered over so well that I didn’t even realize I was feeling it. But it triggered an eating binge and that was a key thing for me to know. Because I can use that knowledge to recognize anxiety attacks and short-circuit an eating binge, and look for ways to nourish myself that don’t undermine my well-being.

What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?

The forums! Not only was it helpful for me to record things in my online journal, but it was also helpful and inspiring to see how others were doing and what they were doing, and the recipes and menu ideas were great too. But the best thing was the support and encouragement that participants gave to each other.

Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?

Most helpful were the posts about your (my) relationship with food, and the Day 1 post about drinking the right amount of water. It was very useful to know how to calculate that accurately, rather than one-size-fits-all prescription like “8 8-oz glasses. The review and planning on Days 7 and 14, as well as today, are good too – I always like to look at what worked and what I could change to make things work better.

What do you like to see moving forward?

For myself, I’d like to see a continuation of my efforts to live a healthier life. The healthier life guide book that you suggested in Day 20 looks like the most useful thing for me to use to continue on this path.

What makes sense to me is for me to create a week-by-week record/checklist or record (how much water each day, how many servings of fruits and vegetables, how much and what kind of exercise and other activity, etc) followed on Saturdays with a check-in and review, and planning for the next week.

I really want to thank you, Celes, for offering this challenge, and I want to thank the participants, whether you hung in till the end or not, because the things you posted were interesing and inspiring.

Scorpionsage · 01-22-2012 07:24 PM

How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?
Beautiful!! I see it as my first ever true step towards building myself up. I'm so thankful to all the ppl I have met cuz of it whose encouragement helped me through it all!!

What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL? What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?
My body already looks so toned. I feel active and simply more alive!! I have learnt that I have so many things to discover about myself. I realized I just took other people description of me and thought nothing more of it... until NOW! I've always intellectually known I could be anyone I wanted to but now I truly KNOW it on every level of being. This is gonna help me with any challenge I take on in the future and I'm betting there'll be many!!

What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?
What I loved the most was the constant support and encouragement. It was my fuel!! I loved how structured and well-timed the tasks were. It helped me be serious about the challenge.

Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?
EVERYTHING!! Especially the ones where I couldn't avoid planning. I think its a skill I have begun to learn because of this challenge.

What do you like to see moving forward?
Probably consistency! Yup...., I'd like to continue until following these tasks seem like second-nature to me. Then I'd like to slowly add one thing at a time to my goals list

Until, I start adding more stuff, I guess I should set aside some time to think about my life and how I want it to be.... Lots of thinking and pre-planning.

Finally, thanks, Celes. This was a brilliant idea. I'm truly grateful!

bfhpierce · 01-22-2012 08:08 PM

First of all, Celes, please let me thank you for providing the 'frame' for such an amazing, eye-opening experience. Not only the tasks and guidelines but also the amazing communitiy made those last 21 days extremely helpful and meaningful.

How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?

It's been quite a journey. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but overall I am very happy with the experience. I had some difficulties keeping up with the official task during the last week b/c I was ill. And I am quite sure that I wouldn't made it to the end if I hadn't had so much support during the challenge.

What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL? What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?

I learned to stick to my diet and my caloric goals, how to avoid and ignore certain cravings and trigger situations and to listen to my body. I got a whole new perspective on eating and all the emotions connected to it. I stopped beating myself up for every slip-up, because there's always tomorrow to fix things and start fresh. But most importaintly, I learned to love myself and my body more.

What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?

I like the aim of 21DHL. Get a kick start for the new year by not just making new year's resolutions, but actually start forming habits through action.
I also like the structure of 21DHL. There is a golden thread running through those 21 days, which makes it easy to stay on track and keep organized.
The thing I love about 21DHL is the amazing supportive spirit in the forums. There are a lot of caring, encouraging people which make the experience really special.

Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?

Most helpful were the tasks on emotional eating. I never thought about the backgrounds of my eating habits, so those tasks opened my eyes. I learned a lot about myself those day, too.

What do you like to see moving forward?

I realized that a vegetarian diet is easy to stick to, so I will definitely hold on to that. Some habits are not fully formed yet, so I move on doing that. I think the most importaint thing for me became the communication with other participants, because it keeps me on track and is encouraging. So that is something I will seek for the future.

fireflyz56 · 01-22-2012 08:09 PM

Hi Celes! Just want to say thank you SO much for creating these challenges. While in the end I was unable to keep doing the daily tasks every single day, I really learned a lot from 21DHL, and made some new good habits over the course of this month!

Here's my feedback:

How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?
Fun, informative, and motivating! I really learned a lot from this one, especially in terms of diet, how much water I should be drinking, etc. It taught me that no matter how busy I am, I still have time to make positive changes in my life related to my diet, health and exercise.

What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL? What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?
I learned to actually THINK about what I was eating. While I wasn't able to go completely vegetarian (I am saving this challenge for after we move), I started eating smarter and healthier. I rediscovered fruits and vegetables, tried new meals, and became aware of my bad eating habits. I don't think I have had a chip for a couple weeks actually, even though this wasn't a goal of mine. Just realizing what I was doing to my body was enough to make me stop, I guess.

I was also able to get myself back on track in terms of eating breakfast, which prior to this (and before 30DLBL in December) I had completely taken out of my eating routine. From the last two months, in making sure I ate something every day before work etc., I am happy to say that this has most definitely become a habit again!

What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?
I loved the community, and just knowing that other people around the world were participating in the same challenge as me. I really liked having a different, informative task every day as well. Like zingfairy mentioned, it was not possible for me to incorporate every single task into my regular routine, but I did make a valiant effort to try every one for a day and if I liked it, I stayed with it.

Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?
The most helpful ones, for me, were the ones that really got me doing stuff. The drinking water one is the task that I started and kept doing from day one. Before that, I think I maybe drink only a glass of water a day, and some days none at all. When I realized how important it was from the day's task, its one I promised to keep doing every day after (and I have!).

I also enjoyed the day of exercise... again, it got me away from the computer and having fun!

The relationship with food challenges were quite thought-provoking as well. If you had asked me if I had a great relationship with food before reading those posts, I would have said "absolutely!". And if you can call the ability to eat everything in sight great, then I would be right lol. It really woke me up and realized that it is not healthy to eat more than you should, and to constantly eat sweet or salty junk food almost every day. I am lucky that I have a high metabolism but I realized that if I kept it up, one day I will be very sorry for these poor food choices. So that one also really got me to change what I was doing in terms of meal and snack choices.

What do you like to see moving forward?
I am really happy with everything I accomplished from this task. At the beginning of the challenge, all I really wanted to achieve was eating a healthy breakfast every day. I did that and so much more because of 21DHL. I am really looking forward to the rest of 2012, to creating new habits and enjoying my healthier life!

Next month, after we move (in two weeks, this is one of my 30DLBL goals almost completed, hooray!) I want to try a whole month as a vegetarian. I was trying it here and there already throughout this challenge, so I am confident I can keep up with it. I think I ate red meat three times, but mostly it was chicken or no meat at all. When I did eat meat, it wasn't because I was craving it... it was just there because someone had cooked it, so I ate it. Again, its that "I can't waste food" mentality I have that I still need to work on. But because I wasn't craving it, I am positive I can easily give it up, so that will be my next goal!

I'm sorry this challenge is coming to an end, but I do want to say congratulations to everyone who kept up with 21DHL! Thank you Genevere for posting such beautiful photos of your meals - they truly were works of art! And congratulations ChuckA for your weight loss achievement - that's amazing! Once again, thank you so much Celes for everything... I have learned a lot from you (I always do!) and I can't wait for the next challenge!

--Kimberly

Success · 01-23-2012 05:30 AM

Hi Celes,

Thank you for being a great leader to us all.
A leader's sole objective is: to empower people to be their best, to make them believe and to facilitate positive change in their lives.
You did it by creating a spark that lit the fire within us.
This spark had fueled a drive within us to change, to overcome obstacles, laziness, to persevere and to succeed.
You gave us the tools and the method to crawl out of our comfort zones towards more healthy selves in year 2012 The Year of Celes and beyond.

The best I took from this experience is conviction I can achieve ANYTHING I put my heart to. The sky is no limit.
Further I learned that wishfull thinking is a waste, excuses are pathetic and harmful to my growth - everything starts with an honest look into the mirror.
What is required to accomplish any change is a plan, a method and accountability.
I learned great tools: chunking the process into smaller achivable pieces, sharing my goal with others so my ego is cornered and paralyzed into submission (no cheating is possible when others are watching\the ego has a great utility in our lives), putting my goals and plan into writing to give it flesh (even if ink thin), tricks to deal with urge to gorge, new receipes. As a side effect to the DHL process I discoved I enjoy writing a lot so I intend to take a writing course in the near future, perhaps poetry - anything to do with playing with words. In the meantime I will play with cutting various words from the paper and puzzling them into whacky combinations - so I learned a more productive activity instead of food consumption (I often ate when bored) - this is huge for me: finding other activities than eating!

I forged a new habit: to eat for the right reasons, the right food and in the right quantities. However I still read while eating, well perfection is impossible and time is precious.

I learned to enjoy veggie dishes which I did not especially liked before and met new interesting people on my path that were willing to share their time with me - THANK YOU.

Wise men say that each of us has all the answers to our questions within us but we need others to help us scrape the gunk of self-doubt out of our eyes and hearts so we can finally see The Beauty that we are.. someone who helps us grow the wings so we can soar. Celes - you started it. The rest is up to us.

Most of all I learned that I love myself! Life is fun. Every day is precious and baked beets taste like candy.

xoxo
Success, very sad it is over

smile0826 · 01-23-2012 05:31 AM

1) How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?

Very enlightening. It really made me think about the types of food I eat.

2) What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL?

I realized that my calorie intake is out of wack. I've got to get that under control if I am going to maintain/loss weight.

3) What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?

That I have to watch what I eat, focus on nutrition, and that hugging myself is important.

4) What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?

The tasks were doable and did not require a ton of planning.

5) Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?

Calculating your TDEE and the food list.

6) What do you like to see moving forward?

A combination of 30DLBL and 21DHL.

Matt · 01-23-2012 02:22 PM

The whole challenge has been fantastic. Once again we had a great group of enthusiastic and very driven people for this challenge.

I did very much enjoy this challenge because usually it's easy for people to make new years resolutions about getting in shape. Most give up on their goal after a week or so. Having daily tasks and the journals bring a little more accountability to these goals. Also it's just fun!

I think I really learned that just adopting new habits and following them consistently for a few weeks will really help to integrate them into our lives. Then they just become second nature.

I like that we had review days or catch up days each week. It's nice to just have a time for everyone to get up to speed. Also there were a few tasks from last years 21DHL that were not essential. I think these years tasks were well chosen though.

The conscious eating task was my favorite. I have only recently heard about the concept. It has helped me to realize that most of the time I am not even paying attention to what I'm eating.

kfenato · 01-23-2012 10:46 PM

I really enjoyed it. The support in the forums was really great. I probably wouldn't have done nearly as well had there not been so many people with similar goals. I loved reading about everyone's progress. It was surprisingly easy to get out of my habits of eating junk.

The most helpful tasks were days 1 (water), days 4-6 (ideal meal plan days), 9 (5 fruits/veg) and 20 (health journal). I think I would have preferred if day 9's task was a little earlier but I think that's about it that I can think of.

Thank you so much for running this challenge and I excitedly await the next one :dance:

JadePenguin · 01-24-2012 01:57 AM

1.How has the whole 21DHL experience been for you?
Fantastic!

2.What are the biggest things you've gotten for yourself from 21DHL? What are the key things you've learned for yourself and about yourself?
Knowing I can always do better and that I'll feel great doing so

3.What are the biggest things you like about 21DHL?
Daily tasks, helpful links and hints, the supportive community

4.Which are the most helpful tasks for you? Why?
Calorie counting/TDEE, cause I didn't know much about it before. Dental health - same story.

5.What do you like to see moving forward?
As someone said, more easy recipe/daily meal ideas.

ahmed.akber · 01-24-2012 01:15 PM

Hi Celes

I would like to congratulate you and all PE community for successfully concluding the challenge. Overall it was a fabulous experience

The biggest learning for me during these days was the practical exposure of how a new habit can be adapted when continuously being practised for few weeks. During the challenge, I was able to reduce my weight by 1 kg. Additionally, I was also able to regularly meditate and my stomach is also at peace

The overall arrangement of the forums was great. It would be great if in future we can also see Celes to participate in the challenge.

I would like to see 30DLBL as next challenge :dance:

Thanks

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