//Min : 2020

[//Min]

Hello there, I’m //Min. 

 

I joined the nerdfitness community hoping to find others to journey along and celebrate with. My resolution for 2020 is to improve my physical health. Each month, I focus on one aspect of physical health to explore and build habits that will hopefully become second nature to create the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. It's a pretty organic process with constant tweaks. By the end of 2020, I aim to have routines build that will continue for the long term and help me progress forward. I will end this battle log at the end of 2020.

 

If you’re doing anything similar, or just want to share, give a shout out. (ˆ_ˆ)v

 

//////////////////////////////// 2020 HIGHLIGHTS REEL 

 

 Jan // Dietary // Change body fuel

General rules of eating three meals a day, increase protein (veg and non-veg sources) and reduce carbohydrates. My tastebuds changed and my body started rejecting higher concentrations of sugar. Also bought an Applewatch and weighing scale that measures body fat. Mental struggles in the second week but saw steady fat loss approx 400g per week. 

 

 Feb // Exercise // Build muscle

Hired a personal trainer, gym session once a week. Focussed on bodyweight and free weights exercises to build stronger body to prevent knee injury. Introduced to foam rolling. Fell sick mid-Feb for one week, however still saw same steady fat loss as dietary change going well. Started to drink kefir and increased veg and fruit intake from 3 to 4 servings daily. 

 

 Mar // Hygiene // Improve external appearance

Updated skincare, haircare and teethcare routine. Cut and permed my hair. Gym twice a week, once with trainer, one alone. Veg and fruit intake fluctuate between 4 to 5 servings daily. Weight loss, brighter skin and new hair got noticed by some people. Same steady fat loss and feeling lighter till near end month where I backtracked on dietary due to work stress. 

 

 Apr // Massage // Increase blood flow 

I'm still clear as mud on this, so deciding to follow self-massage routines outlined in the book "Deskbound" by Kelly Starrett for "body maintenance" to enhance mobility. Veg and fruit intake maintained at 5 servings daily. Changed gym to daily morning 30 min exercises and evening 20-30 min dog walks. Did my 1st nerdfitness challenge. Working from home is helping my fitness level. Stagnation in fat loss. 

 

 May // Stretching // Increase flexibility Refinement 

Fat loss still stubborn and barely moving so decided to refined previous habits of dietary (increased veg and fruit intake to 6-7 servings daily), exercise (changed to harder 30 min morn exercise, experimented HITT on stationary bike) and massage (trying to make this routine). I  read up on heart rates - resting heart rate (58), heart rate recovery (30), heart rate training zones - and started some 5 min breathing exercises after workouts. Got better acquainted with Apple's activity app. In the progress of 2nd nerdfitness challenge.  

 

 Jun // Breath // Increase oxygen flow

Finally saw movement in fat loss and broke 70. Begun Tummno breathing exercises (a form of focussed meditation) 5 mins in the morning and evenings. Foam rolling became regular and more focussed. Dog walk became a social event. Stressed with work at the end month which caused some anxiety. Habits created from last few months all on track. In the progress of my 3rd nerdfitness challenge. *update 4/7/2020*

 

//////////////////////////////// 2020 FUTURE REEL

 

Other aspects of physical related activity to work on (in no particular order) that I intend to work on: - 

• Stretch - Flexibility
• Sleep - Deep rest
• Medical - Resources
• Make-up - Image projected
• Sport - lifeskill (swimming / running / self-defence) 
• Flow

 

 

[//Min]

 How my life feels like daily XD. Battle song... KEEP FIGHTING THE TITANS IN YOUR LIFE!! FREEDOM!!!

 

 

[Team 7]

Hi //Min!

 

Welcome to Nerd Fitness! I'm fairly new to the site myself. I highly recommend exploring the huge variety of topics on this site; I've found threads dealing with all sorts of subjects beyond physical fitness that interest me as well (books, art, current events, etc.). And if you can't find a subject, start one! Odds are you will attract others that are interested in it as well.

 

Lots of luck to you with your challenge!

[//Min]

I'm a bit late to reply, that thanks to your post, I felt brave to start a topic thread and was able to be lead to someone who recommended a book that has helped me with my progress which I'm grateful for. So a big THANK YOU @Team 7 ＼(≧▽≦)／

[//Min]

April 2020.

 

First 5 week challenge completed! I dove right in and finished my first challenge (here) at nerdfitness! It was an interesting experience I must say, I didn’t really have much expectations of it to be honest. My weekly updates turned out to be mini checkpoints where I’d checked my compass and see if I was going in the right direction. Also I suppose some vanity part in me had something to prove by completing it, even if it was only to myself lol~ I’m glad I did it.

 

To commemorate the completion of my first challenge, I award myself a badge of Eren Jaeger, whose single minded focus on his goal reminded me never to give up. 

We sing and dance when our fighting is done. I will not give up hope.

 

 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Nice job. Which guild are you headed for?

[//Min]

On 5/3/2020 at 4:53 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Nice job. Which guild are you headed for?

 

Thank you (^_^)v.  I haven't quite decided between Ranger and Rebel. mmm...

 

Edit: Decided on Rangers! -> Challenge 2 from 10 May to 13 Jun begins!

[//Min]

May 2020.

 

May passed by in a blur. I had originally intended to start researching and building habits on stretching but since I was seeing a stagnation in my fat loss, I decided to try enhancing the other habits I had build in the earlier months to change this. I also wanted to take advantage of the extra time I get due to working from home. Time passed quickly as I tweaked my routines and my days were pretty full. My typical weekday looked like this: -

 

Wake up, drink water, exercise, breathing/meditation, wash up, breakfast, work, lunch, work, journal, dinner, walk the dog, time with family and friends (cam or text messages) wash up, foam roll/massage, sleep

 

On the weekends, I would replace work with daydreaming, researching topics of interests, reviewing my goals and unwinding.

 

It was good having a baseline and know that every action counted towards some of my goals. So even on bad days, I would just stick to my routine and know that I am moving forward. Music has played a big part in triggering and rewiring my brain to do things I previously wouldn’t have. I did realise that there were times I would fall back to some old habits (spending hours reading comics and youtube) which had its function (distraction, escapism) but didn’t serve a good purpose of bettering my life to where I want it to be. It was a conscious effort to try to do these activities in moderation.

 

It’s hard staying the course, but I will not back down. My goal is not just the end of the year, but it is for many years down the road.

[//Min]

June 2020.

 

June was a hectic month with work which consumed most of my thoughts and stressed me out a lot. It’s just as well I decided to focus on researching on breathing this month, as one aspect of it is to help reduce stress levels. In May, I had just started a simple breathing exercise according to the Applewatch app, so now it was time to up it a notch.

 

This are objectives I hope to achieve through breathing and meditation: -

1. To achieve focussing abilities
2. To achieve optimal physical performance
3. To achieve a positive mindset and be calmer

 

After research, this is the type of meditation I am doing to achieve my objectives: -

1. Focussed meditation: Tummo breathing - focussing on a single point (fire and body) will help me concentrate better. This is a top priority as I am having difficulty focussing at work. I am glad I found out about Tummo breathing, its cool to think I am practicing like a monk from the Tibetan temples. It is a struggle but I do find that my focussing abilities are improving slowly.
2. Movement meditation: by focussing on my breathing while I do my morning exercise. I do find that helps a more consistent physical performance.
3. Mindfulness meditation: I haven’t started this yet, but it is something I am going to use in future to change my thinking patterns.

There are other meditation types (e.g spiritual, mantra) but I won’t be touching those any time soon.

 

Overall a good new addition to my daily routines. Oh and woot to breaking the stagnant fat loss and 70.