RAWR It Up! Challenge Time :)
Quasita
Posts: 1,530 Member
Hey everyone!
It's a new week, and a new time to find a path to follow for the next several days
It may have become obvious so far that my tendency is to base the smaller challenges and prompts on things I know I can handle myself. It's a little selfish of me, but I'd hate to be a bad example. If anyone has suggestions for ideas to introduce to the group, PLEASE message me! The more input the better, and the easier it is to generate ideas and challenges for the group that everyone can enjoy!
This past week, I've been struggling due to an unfortunate car accident. There's a lot of drama surrounding it, and I got lost in the fray of it. Having just received my new workout shoes, it's been a sad time. I want to put those kicks on and get some steps in, at the very least! Looks like it's not going to be something I can do for a little while due to accident-related injuries... But I will try.
As for the challenge, I'm putting it to this. I'm going to ask everyone to take a critical look at the choices you make regarding the food you put into your body, and the quality of sleep you achieve.
The first one may be simple and easy for many... That is, a lot of people working on MFP are already doing this. However, I very much believe that because of the social aspect of MFP, we are often tempted to disguise or hide our over-indulgences or the choices we make that we know full well are outside of our plan. Don't get me wrong, I'm not into shaming. I believe you should always embrace what is going to work best for YOU, and if that means having a sugary cappuccino or a candy bar or whatever, then so be it! But the reality is, many of us still feel shame, even when we make the active choice to incorporate these things.
So the question for the week is, if you have a sense of shame regarding these things.... Why? What compels you to harbor guilt or shame about the choices you make? If the feeling is so profound that you elect to hide the truth, why do you continue to make those choices? What is the driving force? How can we use this week as an opportunity to forgive ourselves of the shame we've attached to these choices, or to make changes to bring the choices out of our lives?
Secondly, the question I ask is, what kind of focus have you given (or not given) to your sleeping habits? Research has shown that inadequate sleep can significantly impact one's success when it comes to a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. The body needs the recuperative process of sleep to not only process healing needs, but also to filter waste products and restore body reserves of energy and water. They also say that adequate sleep is necessary for psychological health. Seeing as many people have psychological influences that lead them to making counter-intuitive choices when it comes to eating and exercise, the question I have is, how do you think your sleep habits may or may not affect your success? Are you willing to make a promise to yourself, to get consistent sleep? Why or why not? A friend of mine stated that if you say you are "too busy" and you're not a single mom working 3 jobs, maybe it's not that you're too busy, but rather that you have poor time management skills. Do you think this is true?
I guess it's more food for thought this week than a challenge of any specific sort. Perhaps the challenge is more, let's look at our habits for fulfilling our most basic needs. Food, sleep, and maybe even water. Are you achieving the fulfillment of your needs? If yes, how do you make sure you do this, and what advice would you give others who may be struggling? If no, how would you be willing to change your life to achieve these basic needs?
Respond if you like, and again, let me know if you have any ideas.
RAWR on!
Lynn
It's a new week, and a new time to find a path to follow for the next several days
It may have become obvious so far that my tendency is to base the smaller challenges and prompts on things I know I can handle myself. It's a little selfish of me, but I'd hate to be a bad example. If anyone has suggestions for ideas to introduce to the group, PLEASE message me! The more input the better, and the easier it is to generate ideas and challenges for the group that everyone can enjoy!
This past week, I've been struggling due to an unfortunate car accident. There's a lot of drama surrounding it, and I got lost in the fray of it. Having just received my new workout shoes, it's been a sad time. I want to put those kicks on and get some steps in, at the very least! Looks like it's not going to be something I can do for a little while due to accident-related injuries... But I will try.
As for the challenge, I'm putting it to this. I'm going to ask everyone to take a critical look at the choices you make regarding the food you put into your body, and the quality of sleep you achieve.
The first one may be simple and easy for many... That is, a lot of people working on MFP are already doing this. However, I very much believe that because of the social aspect of MFP, we are often tempted to disguise or hide our over-indulgences or the choices we make that we know full well are outside of our plan. Don't get me wrong, I'm not into shaming. I believe you should always embrace what is going to work best for YOU, and if that means having a sugary cappuccino or a candy bar or whatever, then so be it! But the reality is, many of us still feel shame, even when we make the active choice to incorporate these things.
So the question for the week is, if you have a sense of shame regarding these things.... Why? What compels you to harbor guilt or shame about the choices you make? If the feeling is so profound that you elect to hide the truth, why do you continue to make those choices? What is the driving force? How can we use this week as an opportunity to forgive ourselves of the shame we've attached to these choices, or to make changes to bring the choices out of our lives?
Secondly, the question I ask is, what kind of focus have you given (or not given) to your sleeping habits? Research has shown that inadequate sleep can significantly impact one's success when it comes to a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. The body needs the recuperative process of sleep to not only process healing needs, but also to filter waste products and restore body reserves of energy and water. They also say that adequate sleep is necessary for psychological health. Seeing as many people have psychological influences that lead them to making counter-intuitive choices when it comes to eating and exercise, the question I have is, how do you think your sleep habits may or may not affect your success? Are you willing to make a promise to yourself, to get consistent sleep? Why or why not? A friend of mine stated that if you say you are "too busy" and you're not a single mom working 3 jobs, maybe it's not that you're too busy, but rather that you have poor time management skills. Do you think this is true?
I guess it's more food for thought this week than a challenge of any specific sort. Perhaps the challenge is more, let's look at our habits for fulfilling our most basic needs. Food, sleep, and maybe even water. Are you achieving the fulfillment of your needs? If yes, how do you make sure you do this, and what advice would you give others who may be struggling? If no, how would you be willing to change your life to achieve these basic needs?
Respond if you like, and again, let me know if you have any ideas.
RAWR on!
Lynn
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Replies
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I am quite happy with my diet. I eat healthily 80% of the time but allow myself to eat cake, ice cream, dessert and sweets if I want to, and usually I do. I rarely go over my calorie allowance but if I do I never feel guilty about it.
Sleep is a big problem for me, I average about 4 1\2 hours a night. I go to bed at a reasonable time, I just wake up really early. I've tried changing various things to see if it will help, but no luck. I have never tried any sleep aids and don't really want to but it is something I might have to resort to one day. It doesn't help that my husband is a shift worker and we only share a bed half of the month. Also since he broke his nose he breathes really heavily and that sometimes keeps me awake. I also went caffeine free for 2 years and that made no difference. I think my problem is that I am a night owl and forcing my body to be awake when it wants to be sleeping upsets my body clock. When I used to go to bed at 3am I could sleep for 8 hours no problem.0
