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When the Body Speaks


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Ola rebels!

So it's been over 2 years since my last challenge...

 

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First of all, thank you Mera for giving me the final push to get back on NF! 

 

 

 

This respawn challenge is centered around FOOD!

I'm suffering from an auto-immune condition and when I indulge in foods that don't agree with me for too long, my symptoms start to flare up or, as I see it, my body tells me "AHEM! THIS SUCKS!" So here we are!

 

 

 

Main Quest. Auto-immune friendly diet. Every meal, every day.

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 - That's basically no cereals, no legumes, no dairy and of course, the usual nasties, alcohol and coffee. But what CAN I eat you ask!

LOTS and LOTS of VEGGIES! As well as fruits, animal proteins (though for me that's mostly eggs, yum!), and nuts and seeds in moderation.

 - I get 1 cheat meal / week, but gluten, dairy and alcohol are off-limit.

 - This quest isn't pass or fail, I'm just aiming for the highest percentage.

 

 

 

Side Quest 1. Breathe and stretch.

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Stretching every evening helps me sleep better and it also improves circulation in my legs. So what am I waiting for?!

 - To get a complete I'll have to stretch at least 5 evenings each week.

 

 

Side Quest 2. Move a little.

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Although this challenge is mostly about getting healthier through diet, I also want to slowly ease back into my favourite exercises.

 - To complete this quest I have to practice yoga or ballet barre once a week (or try new classes in my neighbourhood).

 

 

Life Quest. Face the bureaucratic monster!

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I've recently moved to Portugal. I've had 3 holiday-like weeks, now it's time to get my health care status sorted!

It will take hours of queuing, desperate attempts at making myself understood (my knowledge of Portuguese is basically non-existent for now), and likely visits to all local administration offices.

I'm tired just thinking about it. But I need my medicine. So... let's do this?

 - To complete this quest, I *only* need to get A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

 

 

This time around I feel like adding some music to my challenge to stay motivated. Let's do this everyone! Good luck on your challenges!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=846cjX0ZTrk

 

 

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Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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40 minutes ago, Mera said:

Yes Nol, let's do this. I love the stretching. I feel stiff as a stick from the unfamiliar amounts of running I'm putting my body through.

 

 

After this challenge:

 

Thank-you-Disney-Moms-Elastigirl-The-Inc

  • Haha 1

Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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Oooh, bureaucracy scares me, too. It's always the last thing I want to do. But it's better to get it over with. Good luck wading through the admin! I'm also adding stretching into my challenge so I can fix my posture and have less pain. I always find myself neglecting the small things like stretching that don't seem to make a huge difference in the moment, but that's a mistake because the impact adds up over time.

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Let cheese and oxen and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination - Harriet the Viking

Just be bold, fluid and unapologetic, not small, hairy and indecisive - Harriet the Artist

You can absorb me! - Harriet the Contextless Guru

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Nice gifs, hahaha (and Aggretsuko is awesome, btw). Good luck on your challenge! :)

 

I'm not from Portugal, but i speak Portuguese (because i'm brazilian). There are some details here and there that are different between the two countries but, if you need some assistance with Portuguese (like practicing with a few messages or solving some doubts), feel free to ask! Boa sorte com o desafio! :)

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14 hours ago, Harriet said:

Oooh, bureaucracy scares me, too. It's always the last thing I want to do. But it's better to get it over with. Good luck wading through the admin! I'm also adding stretching into my challenge so I can fix my posture and have less pain. I always find myself neglecting the small things like stretching that don't seem to make a huge difference in the moment, but that's a mistake because the impact adds up over time.

 

Yes, the small things matter indeed! I used to focus more on more "active" exercises, but I found that I get the most dramatic benefits and overall well-being from gentler, more simple things like stretching.

 

13 hours ago, Exylem said:

Nice gifs, hahaha (and Aggretsuko is awesome, btw). Good luck on your challenge! :)

 

I'm not from Portugal, but i speak Portuguese (because i'm brazilian). There are some details here and there that are different between the two countries but, if you need some assistance with Portuguese (like practicing with a few messages or solving some doubts), feel free to ask! Boa sorte com o desafio! :)

 

Muito obrigada!

I will keep that in mind :)

 

11 hours ago, Bouchra said:

Hi Nol!

 

Love your goals, so simple! Well, except for the bureaucracy part lol

 

I live in Algeria, where bureaucracy is the stuff of nightmares, so I can relate. Also, thank you for stopping by my thread earlier :) Much appreciated and good luck with your challenge!

 

Yes, bureaucracy can really drive you crazy! Trying to gather up the courage!

 

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Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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So DAY 1 is over!

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Food was all good yesterday, I had about 6 portions of veg and fruits overall. Though I did go crazy overboard with dark chocolate, but that's for another challenge ^_^

I was worried about finding sweet potatoes here, but it turns out they have lots of locally grown sweet potatoes (unlike the UK where they mostly are US import) and they have the east asian variety, so gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood! That will make this challenge a lot easier!

 

Stretching also felt great. I focus on the lower body and my legs feel lighter right away!

 

So for Week 1

Food: 1/7

Stretching: 1/5

Exercise: 0/1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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8 minutes ago, Lady Amezan said:

I also find stretching so important! Being flexible makes me feel healthy just as much as strength or conditioning. I'm doing daily stretching this month to get my body functional again before I do more ambitious stuff. I hope you have a great challenge!

 

Your workout goals are amazing! You'll feel really great at the end of the challenge :D

As they say in traditional Chinese medicine, strength comes from healthy joints and flexibility, like the agile cat, as opposed to the sturdy cow who has muscles but no mobility.

(no hate for cows though, I love them)

 

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Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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Congrats on a successful Day 1! Do you use any videos our tutorials for the stretching? If so, can you share one? 

How's the Portuguese coming? I don't know anything about their bureaucratic system, but if it's anything like the French one you're in for a treat ;)

 

I attempted to learn Portuguese in university for a bit because I was totally getting into Capoeira. Most of the people in the course were studying Roman languages, so Portuguese was like their 2nd or 3rd language after Spanish and Italian. Both languages I do not speak. So the teacher was explaining Portuguese grammar like "oh yah, this thing works exactly like in Spanish, so you got it right? So let's practice using it in sentences" ... I never stood a chance :D It's a beautiful language though.

 

 

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Forever Respawning Rebel

CURRENT CHALLENGE

Previous challenges: 01, 02

"Just sitting here on the corner of awesome and bombdiggity..." - unknown

 

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50 minutes ago, Mera said:

Congrats on a successful Day 1! Do you use any videos our tutorials for the stretching? If so, can you share one? 

How's the Portuguese coming? I don't know anything about their bureaucratic system, but if it's anything like the French one you're in for a treat ;)

 

I attempted to learn Portuguese in university for a bit because I was totally getting into Capoeira. Most of the people in the course were studying Roman languages, so Portuguese was like their 2nd or 3rd language after Spanish and Italian. Both languages I do not speak. So the teacher was explaining Portuguese grammar like "oh yah, this thing works exactly like in Spanish, so you got it right? So let's practice using it in sentences" ... I never stood a chance :D It's a beautiful language though.

 

 

 

Fanks!

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I don't actually follow any specific tutorial for stretching, I just combined my favourite 8 stretches that I picked up along the way and I hold them for 30 to 60 seconds, depending on how I feel.

Some I got from various yin yoga classes (I don't know their names), some from Blogilates' Splits Challenge.

Blogilates and Yoga with Adriene are good resources.

 

From what I've experienced so far, Portuguese bureaucracy is even worse than French bureaucracy. Yes, it's possible... haha!

And they really, really love numbered tickets. Every single administrative office (and other places like the pharmacy, the post office...) have a ticket machine at the entrance. You take out your number and you wait. Emphasis on the WAIT. They also have stuff like, you need form A to get form B, but you can't get form A without form C, for which you need form B... which I think any self-respecting nebulous bureaucracy has ^_^

 

That Portuguese class sounds awful and dispiriting! From my super beginner perspective, Portuguese seems like someone took Spanish and then decided to complicate things by using French as a model, which makes me hopeful about learning it within a reasonable time-frame since I speak both languages xD

Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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1 hour ago, Nol said:

They also have stuff like, you need form A to get form B, but you can't get form A without form C, for which you need form B... which I think any self-respecting nebulous bureaucracy has

 

Hahaha, that is so Asterix & Obelix!

 

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Forever Respawning Rebel

CURRENT CHALLENGE

Previous challenges: 01, 02

"Just sitting here on the corner of awesome and bombdiggity..." - unknown

 

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3 hours ago, Mera said:

Ah man, it totally didn't click when I saw the map. But I'm glad I still got there in the end :D 
 

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Isn't it the best Astérix? I've seen the animated version about 20 times! And the bit about the house that drives you mad is just so good as an adult! :D

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Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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8 hours ago, Nol said:

 

Some I got from various yin yoga classes (I don't know their names), some from Blogilates' Splits Challenge.

Blogilates and Yoga with Adriene are good resources.

 

An Amen to Yoga with Adriene. Her videos start out really gentle and helpful. A great resource for anyone thinking of trying yoga! (And with lots of reminders about body alignment, frame of mind, etc., I get a lot out of her videos even though I've done yoga before.) I also found another 20-minute flexibility routine that combines well with the current YWA video I'm doing. My current things:

 

Yoga with Adriene 20 minutes for the COMPLETE Beginner 

Stretches for the Inflexible

 

Stretches for the Inflexible includes lots of great forward bends, which I love because the YWA routine is more of an intro/review of the key yoga positions. I love the YWA video for reminding my body how to do stuff I've forgotten, but I love the SFI video for actually increasing my flexibility. My feet already hurt a bit less in the morning.

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"Believe that a further shore is reachable from here." --Seamus Heaney

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5 hours ago, Lady Amezan said:

 

An Amen to Yoga with Adriene. Her videos start out really gentle and helpful. A great resource for anyone thinking of trying yoga! (And with lots of reminders about body alignment, frame of mind, etc., I get a lot out of her videos even though I've done yoga before.) I also found another 20-minute flexibility routine that combines well with the current YWA video I'm doing. My current things:

 

Yoga with Adriene 20 minutes for the COMPLETE Beginner 

Stretches for the Inflexible

 

Stretches for the Inflexible includes lots of great forward bends, which I love because the YWA routine is more of an intro/review of the key yoga positions. I love the YWA video for reminding my body how to do stuff I've forgotten, but I love the SFI video for actually increasing my flexibility. My feet already hurt a bit less in the morning.

 

Thank you for sharing! I'll check it out, I've only done a couple videos of hers and they were fantastic!

Forward bends are the best! I always start with one and I stay down a while, I love feeling the stretch in my spine and shoulders.

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Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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Day 3 quick update.

Food: 3/7 (but had my cheat meal yesterday)

Stretching: 3/5

Exercise: 0/1

 

Made some apple crumble with ground almonds and coconut flour.

Not there yet with crumble texture, but it was tasty for sure!

Still didn't stop me from devouring my usual 100g of chocolate. I guess job search is stressing me out a little xD

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Chococo!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLVSf_yI_r8

Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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16 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Mmm coconut flour sounds good. Were you aiming to exercise today or just once or twice a week?

 

Once a week. To make it easier to evaluate my challenge, I split it per week.

That's why my food is at 3/7, because that's everyday, my stretching is at 3/5 because I'm aiming for 5 days/week, etc.

It's more motivating than being at 3/28 and I just have to add up each week's result at the end.

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Dancing Sylph - Level 9 Monk/Druid

Former Captain of the Nerdians of the Fitalaxy

Current Challenge

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - We came forth, and once more saw the stars, Dante

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