Day 30: 5 minutes of deep breathing

Here's what to do:
Day 30

And so we come to the final task of our challenge - 5 minutes of deep breathing. A fitting end. An interesting method - a 4-count in, a 7-count hold and an 8-count out. Having practised yogic breathing techniques and the so-called "Satanic"breathing (6-count in, 6-count hold and 6-count out) I found this count quite challenging. I even hyperventilated slightly.

Deep breathing is an excellent practice to use along with meditation to get you focused as you go into a meditative state. It is also an excellent practice to guard against stress and anxiety.

Day 29: No snacking

Here's why:

Day 29

 Frodo would be horrified!

Ah at last! A task that was easy! I don't snack, I follow the hobbit eating plan:

As you can see, there is no time for snacking. And hey, you know, it worked for Bilbo and Frodo, so it will work for me!

All jokes aside, I don't snack. I divide my meals up into smaller portions and spread them out over my day. No? Still no good?

I have suffered from hypoglycemia in my life, and eating small frequent meals seemed to help me over come this. But what has really helped me to overcome both the hypoglycemia and the urge to snack has been eating a decent breakfast. Until I started on a Paleo lifestyle and fused this with the low FODMAPS diet, breakfast just made me hungry 2 hours later. But not just hungry; starving, crazy, murderously hungry. Since I have started having a Paleo style breakfast this has abated. I now am able to eat breakfast at around 6:30 and then can last until lunch at 12:30. I eat a good, solid lunch. I pack protein and salads, a zucchini muffin and some fruit, and some almonds as well in case I still feel like something else. Which is not often these days. I eat in the staff room, chatting to my colleagues. I eat slowly and mindfully. I might sip water with my meal. But I have 35 minutes and I usually take the full time to eat. And I usually still feel full when I get home at 16:00.

I do have to eat when I get home though - usually at about 16:30 because the next time I can eat is about 19:00, and that would be extremely difficult to attain, not to mention that I might actually murder little Ahmed, the boy I tutor, or Ibrahim, my Arabic teacher. I alternate what I eat at this time though - sometimes, its popcorn, sometimes toast and almond butter, and sometimes a banana. Which I have with a cup of tea before I go out. I know I shouldn't be eating so late, and I shouldn't snack carbs at 16:30, but this works for me. Hey, you know, it used to be biscuits and tea! But I've stopped eating the biscuits.

I have cut down on my snacks since I started this challenge, and if I'm going to be home I don't have the 16:30 snack, I have my supper at 18:00. This is a practice that I am going to continue and work on after the challenge, because it makes sense to me.

Day 28 -30: No snoozing

To understand why click here:
Day 28

Ok I have read the thinking behind this task, but I find this one particularly challenging. I am a snoozer. I sleep well, and since I started this challenge I have been sleeping even better. But, I reiterate, I am a snoozer. I like to postpone getting up until the absolute last minute, although that being said, I don't linger in my bed after the third snooze, and I get up early so that I have plenty of time to get going in the morning.

The usual morning routine goes like this:

5:00 - alarm goes off. Press snooze and doze. Need to wee so going back to sleep is actually not an option.

5:05 - 1st snooze. Radio comes on, Because radio has this annoying setting where it gets louder and louder unless you switch it off, lean over and switch off radio and switch on again. Need to wee becomes pressing as I become more awake.

5:10 - 2nd snooze. By this time kitten is cuddling and trying to get me out of bed. Takes my mind off needing to wee.

5;15 - 3rd snooze. Up and at 'em. By this time I am desperate to wee, and the cats follow me into the bathroom and wait patiently while I do my business. I think they are keeping an eye on me to make sure I don't get distracted and forget to feed them.

I guess if was sharing my bedroom - and bed - with someone, snoozing would be annoying. But I don't, so it's my way of getting a slow and gradual start to the day. I am one of the fortunate ones who is able to go back to sleep, but seldom actually go back to sleep on the snoozes. It has been known to happen though, so I can vouch for the fact that it is possible. I didn't realise how badly that messes you up though. 

For the three days of this task I did not snooze once, and although I don't think 3 days is enough to see any difference, now that I understand more about the mechanics of sleep and our circadian rhythms I will make more of an effort not to snooze, but I am paranoid about oversleeping. Because I live alone, and I do have this ability to go back to sleep, and my natural wakeup time is 7, I am very nervous of falling asleep if I don't get up immediately. So snoozing has been my safety net. 

My strategy will be to switch off my snooze function on my alarm but set a backup alarm in case I doze off again - until I get a new routine going.

Like all the tasks in this challenge, this was a challenge, but I will do my best to incorporate it into my daily life.

Day 27: Set 3 health goals

View the guidelines here:
Day 27

Ah, goal setting! That ethereal method of getting a headache. For those of us who are OCD, or even just a little anal, goal setting is like opening a can of worms.

Anyone can announce goals like:

I want to lose weight and get fit and get more sleep.

Really?

Goal setting requires thought. Planning. And goals have to be SMART. And this where most people fall down. You can fool some people some of the time, but you won't fool yourself if you don't make those goals SMART. And that is part of the challenge for us - because we have to analyse those goals and pick them apart and make sure they are ATTAINABLE as much as anything else. Baby steps, baby.

And so, with no more ado:

My health goals are:
1. To incorporate squats, pushups and fire hydrants into my morning routine at least 3 times a week.

I didn't specify how many squats, pushups and fire hydrants I'm going to do because I exercise for a certain length of time each morning, and the aim is to increase the number of each exercise over time within the time limit. I'm also going to try and plank once a week until I can plank for a minute.

2. To try a new healthy recipe once a week.

This is a very important one for me. I get stuck in a rut with my eating habits way too easily. I find a recipe I like and I eat it to death. Then I get tired of it and can't eat it any more. Not a good idea. If I'm meal prepping regularly I tend to do the same tried and tested stuff every week. BORING! Even with my restricted diet, I have to find variety. and I will.

3.  To make sure I get a good night’s sleep every night.

This is another something I have learnt on this challenge - I feel better when I have slept better. So I have incorporated the sleep mask into my life, and I have been using binaural beats to help too. And making the effort to get to bed at a decent hour so that I can get those 7-8 hours. And I know that the effects will contribute to my overall health. 

Day 26 - Plank for as long as you can

Just read this:
Day 26

When I signed up for this challenge I expected it to be just that - a challenge. And I had no illusions about which days would be the most challenging, and the planking day obviously was one of them. Or so I idly thought as I glanced at the challenges. "Planking will be a challenge."

This is me planking...

So, it went like this:

I got up, got dressed and put on my trainers. My trusty Reeboks that have been all over Europe, the UK and Egypt. And I got down on the mat in my bedroom. And assumed the position. And pushed. And... nothing happened. I could not lift my body as much as a mm off the floor. All I got for my efforts was a t-shirt covered in cat hair and fluff.

Sigh.

So I now have a new personal challenge: to be able to plank for 1 minute.

How am I going to achieve this?

Well I'm going to do pushups, squats and fire hydrants every second day. Then once a week I'm going to try the plank. And I will keep trying until I get it right.

I'm aiming for level 1.

Then we'll look at level 2.

Level 3? I don't think so.

People like this should be shot...

Nah. I'm kidding. I know I'll never get to this level, but I'll be happy to be able to keep my torso off the floor for a minute.

As my Dad aged he became very stooped, to the point where he couldn't lift his head up. I know this comes from poor core strength, and I really don't want that fate for myself, so I'm determined to get this right.

So I'd like to express my gratitude to Elan and Eric for this challenge and showing me how to improve my quality of life.

Day 25 - No sugar

Read why here:
Day 25

No sugar for 24 hours should strike fear into the hearts of most people, unless you, like me, are on a very specific diet that eliminates just about every form of sweetener or sugar known to man. I have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) and my food intake is restricted to food that is low in FODMAPS. What are FODMAPS? Well they are:
fructose - the no-nos include fructose, high fructose, honey, fruisana and corn syrup, but also include a lot of fruit that is high in fructose such as apples, mangos, watermelons and any tinned fruit.
lactose - no milk from animals (cow, sheep, goat), or products made with this milk, no soft unripened cheeses such as cottage or cream cheese.
fructans - many vegetables such as onions and broccoli, no wheat products, no pistachio
galactans - no beans or legumes
polyols - anything that ends in -ol such as sorbitol, mannitol, isomalt, maltitol, and xylitol and more fruit and vegetables - including the Banting staple cauliflower.

I carry my infographic around with me in case I need to check what I can have to eat...

So, as you can see going 24 hours without sugar really was no hardship for me. Going without mangos - well now, that is just a travesty! Giving up avocados would have been difficult if I was still living in South Africa where they are plentiful and delicious, but in Egypt they are difficult to find, extremely expensive and not very good. So I have come to terms with that one. Luckily, I can still bananas. I don't know what my digestive system would do without its banana a day!

My continuous challenge is to combine a low FODMAPS diet with a Paleo diet, and I think I'm doing quite well with that.

I love trolling the interwebs for recipes. There are lots and lots of websites with Paleo recipes, so in honour of this challenge I had a look around for sugar-free recipes. I was very disappointed. Most of the so-called sugar-free recipes and websites use lots of sugar substitutes like stevia, mashed dates, and applesauce.

I wanted to find a truly sugar-free recipe, but the only one I could find was for granola. Go figure. It seems that the human desire for something sweet is overwhelming, and people must have it.

I did find some interesting information though, about sugar and how bad it is for you - never mind the obvious effects of obesity and caries.

My sugar intake is relatively low, I'm proud to say, and it seems to be helping my gut heal, so I will be keeping it that way.

Day 24 - 10 minutes of meditation before bed

Read here why this is so important:
Day 24

At last! A task that is not actually a challenge for me!

I love meditating, advocate it to many people,

and have even taught people how to do it. I know that I should probably meditate more often than I do, but I do it as often as possible - probably 5 times a week at night, and three or four times a week in the morning. I'm having a hard time getting up at the moment, so the morning meditations are not happening too often, but I will get back into it.

There are many different ways to meditate, and the trick is to find the method that suits your mind. It is difficult to quiet the mind, and all our minds are different, so find a method that works for you. Some options are:

Breathing Meditation

Chakra Meditation

Candle Meditation

Walking Meditation

Mandala Meditation:

A labyrinth meditation:

And my personal favourite, a guided visualization.

There are many apps available to help you to meditate, try them until you find one that works for you. You won't be sorry. And if you want more information about meditating, or want to do a course, I can help you with that too!

Day 23 - List 3 things you love about yourself

Here is why we have to spend time on introspection today:
Day 23

This is what I posted on the Sleek Geek Challenge group:
I love that I'm tall. I carry myself tall and wear shoes with heels. I enjoy reaching high shelves and looking over people's heads in crowds. 

My sons are also tall - Mike is the tallest, then Duncan, then Richard. They are all taller than me - and taller than average. Of course, all three of them have short girlfriends (or wife in Richard's case). I dated a couple of guys who were shorter than me, and I didn't like it, so it became one of those not-negotiables when meeting a man for the first time. I think being tall is a huge advantage, and have always loved being tall. I can't remember ever wanting to be short. I did want to be like my friend Lucy when I was a little girl though. She was beautiful and dainty, she was tiny - a Tinkerbell to my Wendy. She had this long beautiful hair that she wore in 2 plaits that reached to her bottom. I guess I didn't really want to be like her though because I just couldn't grow my hair long enough without having it chopped off in annoyance in the swimming season. I have had tall thin friends in my life, not many though, but most of my friends have been shorter than me, and that is fine. My sister is also tall (fractionally taller than me - a fact she never ceases to remind me of), but my Mum is a little shorty and always got very annoyed if we called her short. She used to say we were Amazons, Giants, Abnormally Tall and such. Water off a duck's back, I tell you! Unlike many tall people, I carry myself tall and proudly. My daughter is not as tall as the rest of us, but despite what we're always telling her, she's not short. She also carries herself proudly, maximizing her height.

I love that I did a good job raising my four beautiful children. They are all successful and independent adults and not a day goes by when I'm not proud of their achievements. 

                                               Some of my wacky, zany Grade 8 students.

I love that I'm a good teacher able to spot potential in my students and draw them out to be the best they can be.

I love this affirmation from Louise Hay. I have mentioned her before, and I cannot emphasize enough how she can help you with any aspect of your life that is presenting a challenge. I thank Elan and Eric for including this task in the 30 Day Challenge, because we do forget to love ourselves. As I get older and my ageing body is starting to fail me in small and big ways, it is becoming harder to love it.

This new challenge I have with my digestive system is most unlovable. But I am learning to be disciplined about what I eat, which I guess shows that I do love my body because I choose to eat food that nurtures it and heals it.

I had a rough weekend. Sometimes I just don't want anything to do with anyone, and that's how I felt this past weekend. Having suffered from depression I know that I have to allow myself time alone to heal. My self-talk has been harsh lately, and I have had to re-evaluate many aspects of my life to keep it positive.

This is, I think, one of Louise Hay's most well-known affirmations, and it relates to mirror work. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and say this a few times. Look right into your own eyes and say it until you can say it without feeling uncomfortable saying it. Doing this challenge made me realise that I need to do some mirror work - I know that I accept myself, but I'm not so sure that I love myself. And I know that for me to be successful on this journey of discovery that I'm on, I need to love myself. 

But not the way Justin Beiber means...

Day 22 - do 50 burpees

Really?
Well, you can read about this diabolical task here:
Day 22

So when this sadist called Royal Burpee (and yes, that's his real name) had far too much time on his hands, he sat around trying to come up with a way to torture people that would be accepted as a legitimate form of exercise. Obviously, he was a tortured soul. His unfeeling and misguided parents had given him a name that must have been a life-long burden, and he had to find a way to get back at humanity at large, and his parents specifically. I mean, look at this face. He looks particularly peeved at the world.

So what did Mr Royal Burpee do? He rubbed his hands together and laughed an evil laugh and thought about the exercises that people hate to do. Which are (in no particular order):

1. squats

2. pushups

3. planking

4. jumping jacks

And then his twisted little mind came up with an exercise that combines these 4 actions - kinda like the salute to the sun in yoga - but this is more like the salute to hell.

When I was at high school, you know, back in the dark ages, we used to have to do burpees. I think Mr Royal Burpee had just invented the buggers, and everyone was getting onto the bandwagon of torture. Certainly they were used as a cruel and unusual punishment for us at school. 

So now, Eric and Elan of the Sleek Geeks also had far too much time on their hands and wanted to make people do burpees because secretly they are sadists. But they couldn't just go "Hey everyone has to do 50 burpees". They had to come up with a sneaky plan to lull people into a sense of false security and then BOOM! BURPEES! So they came up with a 30 day challenge that looks gentle and kind on the outside, and then just when you think you're doing so well BOOM! 50 BURPEES!

I must say I was impressed by how many people actually did complete their 50 burpees, and I take my hat off to them. I did not even try - I have no illusions about my level of fitness. I did pushups and squats in lieu of burpees. I am now adding fire hydrants to my workout too, because they also hurt so they must be effective. Jokes aside, Eric and Elan have done a fabulous job of putting this challenge together, and I have enjoyed ever challenge. Except for the burpees...