This is Day 1 of the 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge held in Jan 2015 where we work on improving our diet and fitness for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hi everyone!! :D Today is Jan 1 and I want to wish all of you a Happy, Happy New Year!! (For those of you in the western regions, it’s probably New Year’s Eve as you’re reading this, so hang in there!) I’m super excited about 2015 and what’s in store for all of us this year, and I hope you are too! :DToday is Day 1 of our 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge. Are you ready?? Let’s go! :D
Past challenge participants probably saw this coming as this was the first task for previous runs. :D In fact, my very first tip in 45 Tips To Live a Healthy Life is to drink more water!Why is drinking water the first task? Because water is life. Water is essential for our body to function. Did you know that over 60% of our body is made up of water? Water is needed to carry out our body functions, remove waste and carry nutrients and oxygen around our body. Since we lose water every day through urination, bowel movements, perspiration and breathing, we need to replenish our water intake regularly throughout the day.Not only that, drinking water aids weight loss (and this will be particularly relevant for those of you aiming to lose weight!). According to a Health.com study carried out among overweight men AND women over three months, people who drank water (specifically 16 ounces of water, the amount in a small bottle of spring water) BEFORE meals eventually lost 2 kg / 4.5 lbs MORE than the people who did not drink water before their meals. All of them consumed the same low-calorie meals pegged at 1,200 calories a day for women and 1,500 calories a day for men.Not only that, the weight loss appears to last. From the same article, “after a full year of the same regimen, the water drinkers had slimmed down by an additional 1.5 pounds, on average, while those who didn’t load up on water before meals gained about 2 pounds.” How crazy is that?!While there is no conclusive explanation for this extra weight loss, my guess is that (1) when you don’t drink sufficient water, your body retains water which then adds on to your body weight (and gives you a “puffier” look too, (2) drinking water helps you to feel fuller, hence reducing the need to eat more or to drink unhealthy sodas and calorie-heavy drinks, and (3) drinking water helps your body to remain hydrated and reduces unhealthy cravings that arises when we’re not in a high-consciousness state.Yet, many of us don’t drink enough water! Most of us (myself included at times) only drink once or twice a day (usually during meal times) and neglect our fluid intake in the other parts of the day. Guess what — if you have dry (even cracked) lips, a dry mouth/throat, and/or dark urine (and not because of medication or vitamins), you likely lack enough fluid intake.Today, your task is to drink sufficient water for optimum health. Let’s get started! :D
Hi everyone!! :D Today is Jan 1 and I want to wish all of you a Happy, Happy New Year!! (For those of you in the western regions, it’s probably New Year’s Eve as you’re reading this, so hang in there!) I’m super excited about 2015 and what’s in store for all of us this year, and I hope you are too! :DToday is Day 1 of our 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge. Are you ready?? Let’s go! :DOver 180 Participants!! Have You Signed Up Yet?
If you have yet to officially sign up for the challenge, please do so here now. As of this writing, we already have over 180 official participants! Note that signing up is compulsory to receive the daily tasks and participate in the challenge tasks.If you’ve already signed up, can I ask for your help to pass on the challenge to one person — just one person? Let’s say you have a friend who has been wanting to lose weight / be healthier. That’s perfect — invite him/her to join you in the Healthy Living Challenge! Let’s say your spouse/partner/sibling/child isn’t in the best of health lately and has been eating tons of junk food. How great will it be if he/she can join you in living a healthier life? Or say you’ve a colleague or boss who shared his/her new year’s resolution to be healthier. Perhaps he/she can benefit from having PE’s platform to aid him/her in the goal? Or how about simply passing on the challenge announcement page on your social media networks like Facebook and Twitter? :)While you can’t control whether others want to join or not, you never know the difference passing the word can make. Perhaps your loved one begins to take healthy living more seriously because of what you did. Perhaps your friend finally loses that final 5 kg / 11 lbs because of the healthy habits he/she adopts from the challenge. Perhaps your colleague starts eating healthily because he/she was first inspired by you.Maybe, your one simple action will help to plant the very seeds of healthy living in people who need it the most. Who knows? When I posted the Healthy Living Challenge announcement, I didn’t know who was going to sign up (or not). All I knew is that I’m simply posting this announcement and using it to plant the seeds in others to get them towards healthy living. And here we are now with over 120 participants, and more by the hour! :DWhile we can’t control what others will do, we can surely lead by example and rally others to join a positive cause. Spread the word today and invite others to join the 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge in 2015! A great health is necessary for a great life, so let’s encourage others to achieve their best health this new year!- Announcement and signup page: Join 14-Day Healthy Living Challenge!
- Day 0’s pre-work: Healthy Living Day 0: Create Your 14-Day Healthy Living Plan
Day 1: Drink 8 Glasses of Water
Past challenge participants probably saw this coming as this was the first task for previous runs. :D In fact, my very first tip in 45 Tips To Live a Healthy Life is to drink more water!Why is drinking water the first task? Because water is life. Water is essential for our body to function. Did you know that over 60% of our body is made up of water? Water is needed to carry out our body functions, remove waste and carry nutrients and oxygen around our body. Since we lose water every day through urination, bowel movements, perspiration and breathing, we need to replenish our water intake regularly throughout the day.Not only that, drinking water aids weight loss (and this will be particularly relevant for those of you aiming to lose weight!). According to a Health.com study carried out among overweight men AND women over three months, people who drank water (specifically 16 ounces of water, the amount in a small bottle of spring water) BEFORE meals eventually lost 2 kg / 4.5 lbs MORE than the people who did not drink water before their meals. All of them consumed the same low-calorie meals pegged at 1,200 calories a day for women and 1,500 calories a day for men.Not only that, the weight loss appears to last. From the same article, “after a full year of the same regimen, the water drinkers had slimmed down by an additional 1.5 pounds, on average, while those who didn’t load up on water before meals gained about 2 pounds.” How crazy is that?!While there is no conclusive explanation for this extra weight loss, my guess is that (1) when you don’t drink sufficient water, your body retains water which then adds on to your body weight (and gives you a “puffier” look too, (2) drinking water helps you to feel fuller, hence reducing the need to eat more or to drink unhealthy sodas and calorie-heavy drinks, and (3) drinking water helps your body to remain hydrated and reduces unhealthy cravings that arises when we’re not in a high-consciousness state.Yet, many of us don’t drink enough water! Most of us (myself included at times) only drink once or twice a day (usually during meal times) and neglect our fluid intake in the other parts of the day. Guess what — if you have dry (even cracked) lips, a dry mouth/throat, and/or dark urine (and not because of medication or vitamins), you likely lack enough fluid intake.Today, your task is to drink sufficient water for optimum health. Let’s get started! :DStep 1: Calculate the amount of water you need to drink
While our task is called “drink 8 glasses of water,” it’s just a placeholder recommendation to “drink the right amount of water needed for your body.” As all of us have different fluid needs, we need to first identify the optimal fluid intake for our body. Just as drinking insufficient water is bad, drinking too much water can lead to over-hydration, which may lead to hyponatraemia (abnormally low sodium levels, which is potentially fatal). Over-drinking water can be detrimental for people with health conditions like GERD/acid reflux as highlighted by reader Lauren as “it dilutes your stomach acid, reducing your ability to digest certain foods during meal times.”To estimate the amount of water to drink, use the calculator on this page: Human Water Requirement Calculator. While I don’t think there’s hard science behind the numbers, it provides a helpful gauge based on various factors (weight, exercise, and climate).For myself, I calculated two scenarios:- Not exercising: 1.7 liters / 56 oz of water, about 7 glasses
- Exercising for 40 minutes: 2.4 liters / 80 oz of water, about 10 glasses
Step 2: Drink this amount of water today
For today, drink the amount of water from Step 1. Space out your water intake throughout the day as opposed to drinking all at one go. After all, we’re not camels; we don’t have the ability to store and distribute water when we need it!Here is a possible schedule to follow:- When you wake up — 1 glass
- Breakfast — 1 glass
- Lunch — 1–2 glasses
- While working — 1 glass
- Dinner — 1–2 glasses
- At night before sleeping — 1 glass
- Total = 6–8 glasses! (Target met! :) )
- Carry a water bottle — You never know when you’re going to get thirsty! This way you can drink wherever you are. Knowing your bottle capacity will also help you keep track of how much you have drank and how much more you have to drink.
- Use a big mug and put it at your desk to minimize refill frequency.
- Have a jug/flask of water for the same reason as #2.
- Buy a large flask and fill it in the morning with the exact water you need for the day. Drink only from the flask for the whole day so it’s easy to keep track. At the end of the day, it should be empty! (This works best if you work from home!)
- If you have a habit of drinking insufficient water, set self-reminders in your phone/computer to drink your water. As it becomes a natural part of your routine, you can then drop the reminders.
Step 3: Match your daily water intake for the rest of the challenge
After Day 1, does it mean that you’re done drinking water and there’s no need to bother with your fluid intake anymore?Of course not! :D Having sufficient water intake is something we need to do daily for life. Add “Drink X glasses of water” (whatever your figure is) to the daily agenda of your 14-Day Healthy Living Plan. Follow-through with this task for the next 13 days! :DNext, Follow Your Plan for Day 1 (Take Pictures Too!)
What tasks have you set for Day 1 of your 14-Day Healthy Living Plan? Do them today!I encourage you to take pictures of your healthy meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and mid-day snacks if any — and share them in the comments section along with your progress update. :D After all, a picture tells a thousand words, and when you share photos of your healthy meals, it inspires others to eat healthily and gives them ideas on what healthy food they can have too!Post your initial comment sharing your results for today’s challenge task, then add on throughout the day as you have your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and/or if you’re doing any workouts. Attach photos of your meals by clicking the image icon on the bottom left of every comment box. As you add on to your comment thread, be sure to click on the reply button directly below your original comment so that you reply to your own thread (as opposed to starting a new thread).Share Your Results (and Photos!)
Share in the comments section!- Your daily water intake and how you plan to follow-through with it
- Your progress with your healthy living plan today
- Pictures of your meals
- Pictures of your workout (if any)
(Image: Women running, Water)
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Starting off the day at the moment, and here’s my brunch! :D A banana, a glass of water, and a grilled mushroom burger (from my favorite Cedele — they serve healthy handmade food without trans fat, preservatives, or no emulsifiers). Will update my post with photos of my meals as I proceed with the day.
PS: Seems like my WordPress is going a litle kooky — I set the post to publish at 7am on Singapore time but it seems to have msised the schedule! (For those of you in Asia i.e. already in Jan 1, apologies if you didn’t see the task when you logged onto PE.) Nonetheless, it’s up now — and future posts will be going up in a timely manner. Look forward to seeing you guys’ progress update! :D
Here’s my dinner! :) Mushroom + pineapple salad. It’s a HUGE serving, so I ended up sharing it with Ken. Then for supper, had grilled red pepper & tomato soup with bread and a banana. Photos as attached. :)
Also regularly drink a glass of water every couple of hours throughout the day today. I have a bad habit of forgetting to drink water, which is why I have a jug of water at my table. Makes it easier to refill and drink while I’m busy!
Day 1, complete! On to Day 2!!! :)
It is almost 1:00 in the morning for you right now Celeste. See you on your day two.
Hi Celes, you’re doing well! But just one thing. Your bananas don’t look ripe enough to get the full benefit from them. See here – http://healthimpactnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/10/banana_ripe4_n.jpg I never eat them until they’re like #8 in the photo.
Thanks for your Day #1 post! I used the water intake calculator to get 11 glasses of water per day.
1 glass – woke up
1 glass – during badminton
1 glass – during lunch
1 glass – after lunch (does fruit juice count? e.g. avocado)
Now is 4:30pm, I am now going to drink 2 more glasses of water to keep up with the 11 glasses goal!
turns out it’s not easy to drink 11 glasses. i had 7 so far; i go drink 2 more now.
also, below is my healthy dinner; mixed fruits plus a beef pastrami sandwich.
Got my 11 glasses yesterday, gosh it is definitely not easy. But the exercise raised my awareness that sometimes we may not know what our body needs and need to take conscious actions to let it run at its best!
Celes, I typically love your posts – so many helpful tips! Your advice about relationships, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance is what I love most about your content.
I did want to speak up about this particular topic, as I’m a prospective medical student who geeks out over nutrition and healthy lifestyle habits. There are no peer-reviewed studies with reproducible results that support the idea that humans need to consume an arbitrary amount of water every day. In fact, for sufferers of certain health conditions (GERD/acid reflux) it can actually be detrimental, as it dilutes your stomach acid, reducing your ability to digest certain foods during meal times. Perhaps a revision is in order, for the sake of your readers with fussy tummies? :)
Our thirst mechanism and hydration levels are tightly controlled by our kidneys (via electrolytes and hormones) unless there is some sort of disruptive agent like a medication that is interfering. You can drink 8 glasses of water a day if you feel that it helps you, but it is not necessary for good health. It’s one of those pesky health myths that won’t die.
Hi Lauren, yes I agree with you! In fact I already addressed this inside the post under Step 1 (not sure if you read the post), as this was something that was raised and discussed in the challenge during its first run several years ago:
Also, I mentioned the calculator to tabulate one’s own fluid intake is subjective, and that
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the quick response, Celes! The post title and a quick skim of the article led me to that conclusion. Hopefully some fellow acid reflux sufferers will read my comment and take it into consideration the next time they think of drinking a glass of water before or during their meal. Avoiding water consumption at those times gave me so much relief!
Looking forward to the rest of the posts in this series. It’s great that you’re building up a community for people who seek to be accountable for making positive changes to their diet and lifestyle.
It’s great to have you watching out for us re: the adequate water consumption, so thank you! I hope that the acid reflux suffers will read through the post (and not just the post title), because I agree that the amount of water needed for each of us is subjective!
Here’s an amazing 2015 to you and me Lauren! :D
It’s great to have you watching out for us re: the adequate water consumption, so thank you! I hope that the acid reflux suffers will read through the post (and not just the post title), because I agree that the amount of water needed for each of us is subjective!
I’ve updated the post with a new line referencing the importance of *not* overdrinking water for people with GERD / acid reflux (and crediting your name). Hope that helps and thanks again for taking the time to share your valuable thoughts! :)
Here’s an amazing 2015 to you and me Lauren! :D
Thanks for taking my feedback into consideration, Celes! Looks like the challenge is off to a good start, with lots of your readers joining in. Good stuff!
‘drinking too much water can lead to over-hydration, which may lead to hyponatraemia(abnormally low sodium levels, which is potentially fatal).’
Yes, it’s so true…i overdid it one time a few years back when i drank waaay too much water too quickly which lead to over-hydration and very low sodium levels, and I almost passed out. For real, and it was only by my friend quickly googling for information about what was going on with my feeling so faint and light-headed, and my having some salt, that i emerged from what was a very dangerous place!
I have, for decades, had water for my beverage of choice, I think drinking water has helped to keep me as healthy as I have been throughout my life. But I have a respect for drinking the right amount…not too little, but not too much. Again I have come to embrace, ‘Moderation in all things.’
Proper hydration is so important, I’ve heard more than once that if you are thirsty, that is a sign that the body is already dehydrated and needing to drink water…it’s a sign to be drinking water more frequently before it gets to that point.
I’m grateful this topic about drinking the right amount of water has come up. Thanks Celes and Lauren! (That info re GERD is helpful for those with that condition….didn’t know about that, but it makes sense!)
I’m in too.
Haven’t really been counting the number of glasses of water which I have taken so far but will be doing so from today. This is certainly doable :)
OK, I just got to know of this Healthy Living challenge awhile ago, and it was after i have eaten fast food LOL! Nevertheless, better be late then never! This day-1 challenge is pretty easy for me because I drink LOTS of water. My daily consumption can be more than 2.5L (pure water!), hahaha!
Hi Chloe, better late than never! Welcome onboard and look forward to seeing your daily meal photos! :D
I’m always good with water, drinking at least 2 litres a day. Which I would assume is around 6 to 8 glasses?
Off to a good start with the healthy eating. This morning I had some Golden Circle banana and mango puree (juice) for breakfast. Then for lunch a fruit salad with mango, kiwi fruit and blueberries, plus a smoothie with 2 bananas, blueberries and coconut sugar. I would have had more bananas normally, but only 2 were ripe. Photos below.
For dinner I had 2 small wholemeal salad wraps, and I also made nut balls, with gluten free spaghetti and a pasta sauce. Probably a bit fatty from the nuts (no oil though), but we wanted to use up some basil we had. No photo for that one.
Tomorrow won’t be so good, as I’ll be off to a family picnic for lunch, and then to our favourite vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant fir dinner. They have some healthy dishes, but it’s hard to avoid the salt in restaurant food.
Wow, these meals look great, Glenn! Did you make all of them yourself? I need to hire a chef with your talents one day! :)
Actually, no. Lydia chopped the fruit for me. Although I made the smoothie, and dinner too.
Lookin’ good, Glenn! Cheers!
I simply cannot drink water on waking up, I find it revolting! However, I limit my habitual wake-up tea drinking to one cup a day….one of my goals,…I also try to take breakfast as early as possible after my exercise, after which I start taking water. I am on 100ml as at posting, should comfortable do 1.5 or 2ml before bed today.
Happy New Year Celeste! It’s 7:00 a.m. in Southern California. Todays focus: lots of liquids. Thank you for the guided motivation.
Happy New Year Christine!! Welcome to the new year and here’s an amazing 2015 for all of us! :D
It’s 8:45 a.m. here in Sunny So. California. Here is my breakfast: parsley, carrot, celery, tomato juice. Then a shot of bitter melon, one chopped garlic clove, fresh clean water. Will drink lots of water today.
Looks fresh and clean to me! Way to go, Christine! So healthy!
It is great to start a year with fundation for a long term healthy lifestyle.
I drink water most of the time, no drinks with added sugar and tea, lemonade. I usually start a day with warm lemonade (half a lemon), mixed with “melasa” – I think it is treackle in english; it has minerals and vitamins (since I use it I am not anemic any more). Than I drink water through the day and sometimes a cup or two of tea. I drink at least 7 glasses every day (when I workout, the number is higher). In this challenge I plan to raise that number up to 9.
Day 1 in photo:
Greatly organized, Miss Elf! Continued success!
Wow, you’re all ready for an amazing 14HLC!! :D I love how you have a meal planner and the 14-day plan printed in front of you, because it does make for very easy reference.
I personally used my whiteboard to draw a weekly meal plan when I was switching to a healthier diet/lifestyle last year, and would tick against the items at the end of every day. It worked really well and after 2 weeks or so it became a natural habit for me to eat my desired meal items and drink enough water daily!
Hi Glenn, thanks! I didn’t know about this. Whenever my bananas get to #8 they start “disintegrating” and getting really clammy (plus attract a lot of fruit flies) so I never like eating them at that stage. I’ll do more research on this when I get the chance.
Yes, you need to eat them quick! Or apparently you can wrap some plastic wrap around them bottom end to make them last longer.
Wow, this is interesting one to share with my friends, who are “BANANA – MINDED” people.
We would usually use it for our banana cake, bread, muffin, or cookie recipes. Thanks Glenn.
Water goal has been accomplished!
Also a very strong cardio workout to start the year!
Cheers to a healthy new year to you Dan! Way to go on your water goal!
That sounds great and congratulations! You’re very welcome to share pictures of your workout and your meals in the subsequent days Dan! :D
I’m in the UK and quite a bit behind a lot of you, time-wise. I ensued I’ve drunk a lot more water today, the amount I need based on the water calculator from the article. I also went for a walk with my son, which was on my plan for day 1. Looking forward to day 2!
Water, water everywhere and a lot of drops to drink… I have a 34 oz. mug on my desk and that gets filled 3 times a day.
1. Water intake – I think I am going to finish this task today! :)
2. Progress with my plan – The day is still young for me here in Canada but it’s well on the way. I especially enjoyed the 2 minute meditation (plan to increase the time in the future) when I listened to sounds of nature while thinking about my life with gratitude for the things I have.
3. and 4. Sorry, no pictures today but plan on posting in the coming days!
I’m proud to say I finished all of my tasks today!! ^_^ I’m pouring all of my positive energy into this challenge. My only problem is my dislike for the flavor of meat. I *really* dislike tasting meat unless it’s white meat such as turkey, chicken breast and other meat such as eggs, liver or fish but that’s about it.
I feel like I’m being forced to eat meat I don’t like (and which is against my animal free cruelty moral) just because of how my body is. I really plan to find a local dietist as you recommended and have a serious talk if I can replace most if not all of this meat to a full vegetarian diet. I’ve been wanting to do so all my life and I have yet to be able to do this.
Water intake:
I calculated that 8 glasses of water equals 4 bottles (16 ounces each) of water. My body only requires about half of this so I drank half a bottle for each meal except dinner and lunch in which I drank the whole bottle bit by bit.
I was only aiming for 2 water bottles (32 ounces, 4 cups of water) but I ended up drinking the equivalent of 5 cups of water. The more the better :)
In my personal task, I was able to lift the weights and to not skip any meal and fulfill all my target protein and vegetable daily goals. I didn’t take a picture of any of my meals becase they didn’t look pretty enough to take a pic of haha but I do have a picture of my girlfriend working out yesterday!!! :) I’ll post it in her place.
I’m really happy I got her hyped into this Challenge. Her goals are similar to mine except hers are more fitness related and to maintain weight (She’s a fit person already but had been slacking off a bit lately. I know how much she likes to stay fit so I knew this challenge would be of benefit for her) and she decided not to drink soda (also a goal she’s been following as I’ve been a month or 2 now telling her the bad effects of soda as she drank too much and since half of Nevember quiting soda has been a part of her goals and she’s reduced daily soda to at least once a week)
Today she replaced most of the soda for water thanks to this Challege although she was tempted to one soda haha but only drank half of it. The rest of the day was water and that’s a first step. She barely drinks one cup of water a day but yestersay she reached 5 cups of water like me! We’re really following the day’s task together. I made sure to give my example to get her hooked too into healthy living and this makes me excited to keep on together.
Finally was able to post the picture.
Wow, that’s amazing, fufu!! Most ladies usually go for cardio workouts rather than weight lifting (myself included) so I think it’s so awesome that both of you do weights! How heavy is the weight, and how many times do you guys normally lift weights each time?
Thank you Celes :) I tried lifting weights before but never compromised. For her it’s rutine already which she had slacked off in but is working on getting back on rutine. And to answer your question this is the first tine we decide to do ths together but we always wanted to. We’re thinking of alternating lifting one day yes and one day no depending on recuperaring time. On day 1 she was lifting #16 weights. I’m still a newbie for weights so I lifted #5 and #8.
And lol I didn’t know most girls did cardio. I thought weight lifting was the norm haha.
And this is an advice my girlfriend gave me which I feel might help some people who lift weights? She told me the trick to gaining muscles is to lift heavy weights a few times at once. If you lift small weights and lift them many times you loose weight and since we don’t want to loose weight we’re lifting heavy ones.
And each time I lift like 10 times of #8 and some #5 for warm up. I’m not sure go many my girlfriend does? Probay lifts them 15 times or 20
Done with 7 Glasses of water…
I usually drink about 3 liters of water daily, because otherwise I just get really dehydrated. During summer months I drink ever more. So it’s amusing that the water calculator told me to drink 7 glasses of water with exercise regime included. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to post for today.
This is just what I need to start 2015 off. 2014 was a year of great things and a year of awful things – I just lost focus! I have put on excess weight and feel frumpy but I’m determined that will change in 2015! Good luck to everyone attempting lifestyle changes in 2015 – I know it will be a great year! Day one done and dusted
Thank you Tracey!, Good luck to you too! And happy planning as well! I relate to your post and feelings and glad for your positive outlook!
Hi Celes,
are you a mind reader? :) This is my New Year’s resolution (one of many). Yesterday I drank about 1,6 l of water. My goal is that first when I wake up I have to drink 0,4l and then through the day slowly sip water from a bottle until I reach 2l.
I recommend that before you swallow the water put the water under the tongue so the water will go directly to the brain;) And don’t gulp the water, sip it slowly so the body will absorb the water.
And last but not least…I wish you and your family Happy New Year :)
Hi Tjasa, happy new year! :D That’s awesome that drinking water is one of your new year resolutions so it fits perfectly with you being in the 14HLC! :) PS: I’m not a mind reader but definitely a heart lover (= I love all of you for your great hearts + love you guys with all my heart!). :)
I’m usually good with this, with the occasional lapse. I have filled my bottles this mornibg and placed them on the counter, in view, which makes it easier to track my intake during the day.
Indeed, what’s in our view will be reinforced in our mind!
Day One.. Adequate water consumption…Check! Morning started out with having room temperature water and fresh papaya with lime, yum! Also had one cup of decaf. It was A fresh and bright way to start out the day! Having breakfast out on the patio afforded the added feature of birds singing and the sound of the fountain. Loved it!
Throughout the day, I drank water, a total of 2 quarts + by the end of the day. Lunch was chicken salad wrap on romaine and a tortilla, and dinner was a chicken and veggie stir fry. Also had a couple T of pomegranate concentrate in water, with ice, but that was in addition to my plain water intake, not as part of it. The day was not perfectly healthy since I did have a few sips of a holiday drink they have here in Puerto Rico which has alcohol in it. Although some would say it was not ‘not healthy.’ But that is besides the point of being on a plan that does not include alcohol.
I refrained from negative thinking today, and wrote a friend about some matters of concern for her, so that felt good too. I also stayed in an attitude of gratitude, which always helps everything to go better! Reading some inspiring words today was uplifting. I am glad that I am becoming more clear about my physical health/dropping excess weight being helpful to me in terms of living my best life with more freedom of choice. I had become rather resigned to my fate of carrying excess weight, and I can feel a shift in that resignation. Which is progress, so yay for that! Onward!
It is encouraging and helpful to read others’ posts, so thank you everyone!
Hi Swann/Bette, I love that you also included positive thinking into your regime! Indeed, it’s about healthy living on the inside and out, so as we’re working on being healthy in our food intake, it’s also important to think positively as well. (And one can argue that our healthy lifestyle by way of the challenge will contribute to positive thinking too!)
If you have a camera, do take photos of your meals! They sound healthy and delicious!
I started drinking water late yesterday. I didn’t make it to 8. I got a bottle of water yesterday. I will do it this time after I break my fast. I am sometimes good at drinking water especially if I am cold. The colder the water the better.
Thanks Celeste for choosing this challenge it’s my goal this time. Perfect timing.
Hey Educate Yourself, welcome to another PE challenge and so great to have you here! :D I notice you haven’t post your official signup in the announcement thread, so do post a signup comment there as that’s where the signups are tracked. Then, join us in the daily threads with your daily progress. Look forward to seeing your daily updates! :D
Still in holiday mode, hence a few days late. I aim to drink at least 900ml of water per day (size of my water bottle) but often go to refill it. I *could* make myself drink more I suppose. And make sure I get it filled right away in the morning.
So far today: halfway through the bottle and had some fruit. Also ordered a yoga mat. Success!
Jadepenguin the same thing happened to me on day 5 and 6. I didn’t finish all of my day’s tasks because I was still in holiday mood those days due to local festivities.
Hi Celes…not an easy one esp, the Water Challenge coz I got an overactive bladder. Therefore, I would drink the last glass of water 2hrs before I go to bed or else my sleep gets interrupted. The veggie/fruits challenge are great coz I got to eat the 12 New Year’s fruits and veggies we got for Jan 1st before the fruit flies gets ahead of me. Lastly, your calorie counting is amazing…I like learning and counting at the same time…these stuffs are quite educational and fun…with my friends too. Thank you Celes.
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