beccadango

I guess we're a month into the challenge. It's been rough for me! I dealt with feeling very down, the rainy season in Japan sapping my energy and a death in my family back home. This last week (week 4) I started to really figure out the root of my problems. I was teaching a class and it mentioned a guy called Carl Honoré who started a movement of "slowing down". I was thinking about it, I had a quick look at his TED talk and I realised that I'm always trying to do too much. And when I fall short I feel like I didn't do good enough. My previous challenge was hard, but I managed to make a new routine that was sustainable for me. Gym twice a week, run once a week, cooking every day and enjoying my free time. With this challenge I thought "more is better" and tried to up all of those numbers, and take my original routine for granted. I stopped enjoying what I was doing, tried to do too much. Focussing on how much I was doing and not really being present. It led to this kind of fatigue and depression. So, in the last week I've been to the gym, I've been out walking a lot and I've been cooking. I feel like I'm finding myself again, but it's an improvement from before, not reverting back to my old ways. With that said, I'm letting go of my goals in this six week challenge. It's been a big learning curve for me and one I don't think I'll ever forget. I feel like I really figured out the root of a lot of the issues in my life. My only goal right now is slowing down and savouring the moment. Thanks for the support!

Thanks again! I cooked all my meals for myself the last few days and I did yoga twice. So, I'm feeling a lot more like myself! I was reading a little this week about being introverted, and it resonated a lot with me. My job is teaching, so I have to use a lot of energy entertaining but also teaching students all day. Chatting with co-workers. And I share a house with two other people. So I think it's wearing me out a little! Taking time out for yoga and meditation and looking inward has helped me a lot this week.

I really appreciate that. I needed to hear it. If I mention to those close to me that I didn't eat well, or didn't exercise they're supportive but just saying "it's okay, don't worry!". But, I think I do need to be concerned about it. I'm focussing on making each day better than the last one. Improving compared with the me yesterday. Yesterday I went somewhere quiet and meditated. I cooked a little. I went for a walk. You're right, though. Taking care of myself will make me happy so, even if I don't feel happy or motivated right now, I just need to try it and I think everything will fall back into place.

Week 2 Update. I had a bad week. I went on a vacation for 3 days. Going out of my routine always makes me feel sort of messed up. I felt really down while I was away, even though it was supposed to be a few days off work, travelling and celebrating my birthday. That sort of feeling continued all week. I went back to work and I was feeling really bad all week. In retrospect, at the end of the week now, I can see by not exercising, cooking, studying or doing anything, I'm causing my own unhappiness. But at the time I didn't have any motivation to do anything, talk to anyone or do anything. I still don't feel like doing anything at all. But I'd feel like a complete failure if I didn't at least write my update here and admit it to myself. I also binge ate. It's been a long time since I did that. I wasn't hungry, and I had a stomach ache. But all I could think about was eating another snack or something. It's Sunday today, and my day off work. I always sabotage myself when I feel like I'm doing really well. But also my whole life is focussed around being healthier, or finally being a "goal weight" or "goal body image". I think that's causing my unhappiness too. I'm always looking at the past or the future and I'm never really happy with the way I look or feel. Like I said before, I always feel like it's not enough. Or I haven't really changed. So, I'm in a bit of a bad place at the minute and my mind is just going backwards and forwards.

One thing I did notice, is that I often think "What's the point?" or "there's no difference" and I feel like I should just quit. This is a feeling I'm really familiar with. But, I reminded myself this week "what is the alternative to keeping on cooking, doing yoga every day, trying to fit a workout in before work?" What would I realistically do instead? What actually is quitting the routine? If I really think about it, eating some junk will give me a stomachache. Sitting at home for 20 minutes won't bring me that much happiness, but a 20 minute workout will make me feel awesome. Also, I've lost over 100lbs.. but I still feel like I haven't changed or made any progress. It's really weird.

Thanks! Ganbarimasu

Thanks guys! It's a little early, but I'm going away for three days for my birthday this weekend. So I'm gonna give my update for the first week. I'm planning on doing some yoga and meditation in my hotel room in the morning or at night while I'm away. Week 1 Update: Main Quests1) Weekly routine - Run 5k twice, go to the gym twice, go climbing once a week.I caught a cold midweek and because I'm planning to take a three day overseas trip I had to take it easy on the exercise.I didn't get out to run this week, the days I scheduled in I just felt really weak and achey from my cold so I thought it was better to rest.I climbed once this week. They have a levelling system at the indoor gym I go to. You follow the colored stickers on the walls for each climbing problem. I levelled up this week from orange to light green. (I think there's 7 levels, so I went from level 6 to level 5). That was awesome! I managed to do some weight training once this week at the gym. 2) Daily Routine - Do yoga and meditate every dayI've done this every day. I'm taking more time out for myself and trying to focus on a mantra or just the breath while meditating.I always have a lot of mind chatter, but I noticed I could feel irritated but just sit with it and then when it passed I could think logically yesterday. It was a big deal for me. 3) Don't overindulge or binge (in inactivity, food or negativity)I didn't have any problem with this at all this week. Except I bought some nuts and ate them with my lunch. But within two days I'd finished the whole bag between snacking. That reminded me of my old habits... but it's way better to have eaten nuts than candy or sweets.I think I just can't leave the nuts in my locker at work! Just portion them out and take them to work with me and leave the bag at home. Side Quests1) Finish the N3 books I bought and add the information into my flashcard decks on Anki.I have 4 books - grammar, vocab, reading and kanji. The books are divided into 6 weeks, so I completed the first week for all the books. (I'm gonna finish the grammar one today).Yesterday I considered not doing the grammar book because that's my weakest point, and the book didn't explain in too much detail. I'd already put the book away in my locker. But, instead I reconsidered. Took it out again and stuck with it. I wrote up all the example sentences in my anki deck, and I googled any grammar I didn't know. I'm really proud of myself for that.2) Practice a new kendama trick every week.I've been working on the "Nihon isshuu" trick this week. I practice maybe 10-20 minutes a day. I can do it.. sometimes. Haha!3) Practice bass guitar at least once a week. I'm playing in two bands at the moment. And I got the recordings from my practice on Sunday last week and jammed along with them one night after work. I feel like I made something that sounds good - my new band is really inspiring and a lot of fun.

Thanks for the advice! I'm glad to hear some ideas for what to do. I'm pretty new to all this! I had karate lessons with my family when I was a kid but that's about it! I can't remember them much now.

Hi guys, I'm Becca. I'm living in Japan and trying to build a healthy new lifestyle that I can maintain, develop and carry with me in my life. I've been slowing building up a routine through my last quest (here) so I want to continue that. During the last six week challenge I started yoga and meditating almost every day and it made a really big difference to my life. I'm a total beginner for both, and I've been using Youtube's 30 days of Yoga with Adrienne and some Deepak Chopra meditations. I already started to run at least once a week, go to the gym for a weight routine once or twice a week and go indoor climbing once a week. So I want to keep that routine and make it my every day life. Also, doing yoga and meditating every day is an important part of my day. I cook every day and I have a healthy diet already dialed in. And if I'm exercising my motivation to keep my diet clean and natural is high. But an issue I had with food, even during the last six week challenge, was that when I got sick or felt down I binge ate/stopped tracking/stopped exercising. I want to break out of that routine. So, when I feel uncomfortable and my mind is telling me to just buy loads of junk or just throw in the towel - that time, I want to observe the feeling, really feel it, but without indulging it. Also, my moods go up and down a lot and I can get grumpy and I end up being sullen and withdrawn. I want to figure out how to balance life, work, health and everything without taking it out on the people I love around me. I've also made a daily routine of studying Japanese flashcards I've been creating over the last two years. So, during these 6 weeks I want to finish the books I bought for the N3 test (which I passed at the end of 2014) to add lots of new vocab to my decks and help prepare for my N2 studies for the test in December. Main Quests1) Weekly routine - Run 5k twice, go to the gym twice, go climbing once a week. 2) Daily Routine - Do yoga and meditate every day 3) Don't overindulge or binge (in inactivity, food or negativity) Side Quests1) Finish the N3 books I bought and add the information into my flashcard decks on Anki. 2) Practice a new kendama trick every week. 3) Practice bass guitar at least once a week.

CONCLUSION! My first 6 week challenge is over and it's been awesome! Quest 1: Run 5k once a week. Before this challenge I've only ever run 5k when I entered a charity race. In the last 6 weeks I ran 5k 5 times! I enjoyed every single run and I've gained a confidence to know that if I have a free hour I can run 5k any day of the week! During the 6 weeks I haven't seen any improvement in my speed or how I'm feeling or anything. But I've managed to fit it into my routine. I'm definitely going to keep this up as part of my routine for good. Quest 2: Go to the gym twice a week to do a weight routine I went to the gym to do weights 9 times in the last six weeks. I also started indoor climbing and went 6 times in the last six weeks. The indoor climbing was a revelation for me and something I will continue to do once a week definitely! I also am seeing improvements at the gym. I often would go to the gym everyday for a week or two, then not go for ages. So, keeping up the routine of going sometimes and not worrying about being "perfect" has been eye-opening for me. Quest 3: Finish 30 days of yoga on Youtube I did 20 days of this routine in the last six weeks. I'm at 23 days total. So I didn't quite finish! But, I've started in the last week or so to make yoga before or after work in my house part of my daily routine and it feels awesome! It's made such a big difference to how I feel. I'm planning to finish all 30 days before the next 6 week challenge starts on June 8th! Side-Quest: Japanese study every day I have studied some Japanese every single day. I've made huge leaps with my flashcard decks and I finished a workbook. I kept thinking before "I can't study this new thing until I finish this old workbook to review what I learnt before". But, during the 6 week challenge I just did both. I studied old material but also started learning new kanji characters and doing more. I wanted to really sit a focus like a student but even when I didn't do that I'm still reviewing and learning and it's been good! Overall: The biggest change over the last six weeks is I've learnt how people fit exercise into their daily lives. It isn't the main goal or focus of my whole life, but something I fit into each day. I've started waking up earlier and enjoying the world and appreciating the people around me. I've stopped calculating what's the most "effective" way to lose weight and only trying to do those things. But, just doing what I enjoy. Yoga makes me feel relaxed and confident. Going to the climbing gym feels like a challenge and I get a little better every time. I finally feel like I'm building a healthy lifestyle. And doing a little bit of activity every day stops me from going off into a complete binge eating and not exercising cycle that I've been struggling with. I'm planning to keep up the routine I've built even after the challenge is over. Definitely! Results: Weight stones -- 10st 5lbs -> 9st 12lbs Weight lbs -- 144.95 -> 138.23 Weight kg -- 65.75 -> 62.7 Body Fat -- 30.5 -> 27.1 Water content -- 51.4 -> 53.9 Muscle mass -- 26.3 -> 27.1 Basal metabolism -- 1584 ->1545 Weight chart in kg:

Week 6 Update: I had an awesome week this week. I met all the targets and I finished one of the Japanese workbooks I've been trying to finish for ages. I've learnt a lot in the last 6 weeks and it's been awesome. 1 - I want to run 5k once a week. I ran by myself near home for a full 5k one morning before work! 2 - I want to go to the gym to do some weight training twice a week. I went to the gym twice for weights this week. My form is getting better and I've improved! 3 - I want to finish the 30 days of yoga videos I started on youtube. I did the videos every day this week! SideQuest- I want to study with a textbook/materials for Japanese for an hour a day. I have continued to study and learn 10 kanji every day and I'm still making progress. The scales say I gained 0.5kg this week.

It's a tough question and everyone's gonna give you different advice and different things work for each type of person. In general, the quality of what you're eating makes the biggest difference. Calories in vs. calories out is over simplified. Just like "fat makes you fat" is misguided too. For example, if you are eating a lot of sugar or you drink alcohol your body will burn that energy first instead of burning fat cells. The calories could be the same, but the kind thing you're consume is more important than the calories. I lost over 40kg without writing down or over-stressing about calories. Tracking stuff definitely doesn't work for me. My diet is mainly vegetables and protein from meat, fish, tofu, natto and so on. I occasionally eat rice and bread and I avoid sugar most days. You should be able to get to the weight you want, while exercising and not feeling hungry or deprived. So, I'd say to focus on the quality of what you're eating. If you're cooking lots of vegetable based dishes, eating more protein and fat and avoiding sugar/alcohol/sweets on most days then you should see progress. If you're already doing that then it could be that the calories you're eating are too low. Sometimes eating more (especially protein, veggies and fat) can speed up weight loss.

Week 5 Update: I had to rest this week. I'm was still sick and I'm not fully recovered yet, even after a week. Also, my finger was injured from playing basketball so I couldn't go climbing this week either. But, I walked a lot and cooked healthy foods. I wasn't able to do any high-intensity activity like running, the gym or climbing. I slept in a lot to try to recover but it lowered my mood more and I still felt just as tired at 7-9pm at work. I also noticed my mood and my feelings weren't good from the lack of exercise and free time in the mornings. 1 - I want to run 5k once a week. I didn't do this week. 2 - I want to go to the gym to do some weight training twice a week. I didn't do this week. 3 - I want to finish the 30 days of yoga videos I started on youtube. I did two days this week. SideQuest- I want to study with a textbook/materials for Japanese for an hour a day. I have continued to study and learn 10 kanji every day and I'm making progress. The scales say I lost 1.5kg. (I'll post exact stats and graphs at end of the 6 week challenge).

Week 4 Update: This was a hard week! I caught a cold and so I had to rest more than I had planned to. I also felt like eating sweets and junk food a lot and had snacks from the convenience store and didn't cook as much. My diet wasn't promoting my health this week. Although, before if I ate something that wasn't so healthy, like chocolates and dessert, I'd often throw my whole exercise and cooking meals out of the window too. But, now I kept on cooking and eating healthy meals and kept on exercising. So, that's definitely progress and one of the reasons I'll never gain back all the 47kg I've lost so far. I feel like I need to refocus on my goals this week and see how I can fit them in around being sick/injured and working full time. 1 - I want to run 5k once a week. I ran 5k. It was just around the park and the neighborhood. It wasn't as relaxing because there were stops and crowded areas, but it wasn't too hard! 2 - I want to go to the gym to do some weight training twice a week. I went to the gym once this week for weights and I'm getting stronger! I can feel some exercises (like the inverted rows) are getting easier and I did goblet squats with an extra 2kg this week. I went to the climbing gym once this week. I also played basketball yesterday but I injured my hand and now I've still got a cold I have to take it easy and I can't go climbing or to the gym for the first few days of next week. 3 - I want to finish the 30 days of yoga videos I started on youtube. I only did one day so far this week, so 13 days out of 30 done. I know I can fit this in in the morning or at night so I'll make this more of a priority. SideQuest- I want to study with a textbook/materials for Japanese for an hour a day. I've kept on studying a little every day. I'm keeping up with my flashcards and writing and almost finished one of the workbooks I was working on. The scales say I gained 2.5kg but lost body fat and gained muscle. I don't think that's true or accurate but anyways (I'll post exact stats and graphs at end of the 6 week challenge).

Week 3 Update: Another awesome week. I'm starting to feel like my body is looking different. My tummy is less bloated and people are commenting on how I'm looking. There were some national holidays in Japan so I went to a big event - lots of workshops, outdoor activities, discussion groups and so on. I was a little worried I'd slip into "out of routine" mode and want to drink or eat a lot. But, I kept to drinking water, tea and coffee and I didn't eat any junk food and kept to my values. It felt awesome to prove to myself that it doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, I can be true to myself and my goals. Sometimes my mind is telling me to just quit and what's the point but I just ignore it. I remind myself to trust the process and if I keep doing these tiny things every day that aren't difficult on their own it'll add up to something big. 1 - I want to run 5k once a week. Ran around the imperial palace again after work on Saturday! It was a good way to transition into the weekend (my days off are Sunday and Monday). I felt like I'd forgotten all the weeks stress after the run! I'm not any faster or better. It's still feeling a little hard and a little long 2 - I want to go to the gym to do some weight training twice a week. I went to the gym to do weights three times this week and went to the climbing gym once this week. I ripped off some skin on my hand so I only went climbing once but I solved some new problems. And I'm getting stronger again. I'm also enjoying doing a little cardio on the bike and stretching/yoga in the gym I wouldn't have done before. 3 - I want to finish the 30 days of yoga videos I started on youtube. I did 5 more days this week so I've done 12/30. Doing planks and balancing is actually a hard workout! But it's super relaxing and feels awesome to do on a rest day. I tried to fit it in, even when I'm not at home. Using my mobile phone and a friends floor. It's surprising how much you can fit in if you think you can! SideQuest- I want to study with a textbook/materials for Japanese for an hour a day. I haven't been as diligent with the textbook as I wanted because I often study during downtime in the office or at home but both were super busy last week. I kept up with the 10 kanji a day and I'm making big leaps in my reading already. I lost around 1kg in the third week. (I'll post exact stats and graphs at end of the 6 week challenge).