iCiNG Transformation Challenge: 3/28
[ 3 February 2009 ]
Hey baby.
Reminder! Perfection is not the goal! (It’s actually desperately boring, darling — the ultimate crime!) All you have to do is make a little bit of effort every day. Just stretch a bit further, push a fraction harder, smile a little wider, & remember that every step brings you closer to what you really, really want.
I send you on your way with sparkly, sticky kiss-marks on both cheeks! Go & make yourself grin!
Love letters & feather headdresses,
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i just did yoga behind my desk at work! such great fun, i feel very alert right now, so bck to work!
this is working! last night after work i had to take of so much stuff: grocery shopping, doing the dishes, putting away what i had taken with me on my weekend trip, changing the sheets, catching up with my dad, my mom and my boyfriend over the phone. i was done at 10:30 p.m. and reallly tired. but i remembered the iTC and stepped onto my crosstrainer for 40 minutes anyway. how proud i was of myself when i went to bed after that. and how cozily tired and exhausted.
you really do get rewarded for pushing yourself! getting over the laziness is so much easier than beating yourself up for not doing it all the time.
Yay! Good day today! Ate raw twice – lunch and dinner! Feeling awesome!
Did some meditation yay! oh, I mean om..
Making more genuine contact with people!
Many other small steps but overall I am feeling content & happy that I am not killing myself with expectations but allowing the flow! If it happens – it happens & if it doesn’t just adjust & keep going!
Thanks for the tip mish! I am tragically lacking in cute sportswear, and the thought of schlepping my way to the gym in my daggy trackies is one of the biggest deterrents for me!
My goals are to exercise more and be more prepared, I feel like everyone’s positive energy is making it easier to get through. That being said…
I slept in today :( I usually leave my house at 7:30 to get to work by 9:00 but I woke up at 7:50 and felt like I was in a rush all day.
I did manage to have lots of tasty food, and all my colleagues commented on how colorful, fresh & organized my lunchbox was so today wasn’t all bad.
Pizza for dinner (oops) I’m not staying at my house tonight and had to go with what everyone else was eating, which makes it a whole lot harder! I tried a new flavor which went down well though chicken, avocado, pinenuts & walnuts very yummy!
Not as good as days 1 & 2 but I am back at home tomorrow night so I should be able to get my routine going again.
I think of it as progress, not perfection.
Apart from my own iTC, there is something I’d be intrested to know about Gala’s iTC. I’d love to read the daily raw menu you are Gala enjoying!
I always feel eating raw seems too much work and time so I’d love to read how it really is. How often and how much do you eat or drink and what you are having?
Good luck to all with your iTC’s!
One of my favourite quotes is from Tim Rogers, of You Am I – he said once in an interview “It wasn’t about being perfect; it was about capturing the spirit”.
My iTC isn’t going too well, but this post made me smile and remember that tomorrow is a new day, a new start and everything’s possible. Thanks Gala!
I went to the gym for a good stretch of time last night, and followed it up with a relaxing session in the sauna, so I’m really ready to go for this today!
it’s been going great over here so far. My goal is to get more involved with educational things. I am flying through books and staying right on top of class. It’s getting me really pumped.
Awwww Gala thankyou!
Kisses back to you my dear!
I’ve not been doing too fab in my ITC challenge, I’m meant to be doing regular gym sessions but I’m really sick with a head cold so I’ve been trying to rest up and get better. I did go to the gym for 1.5 hours on monday though, and I’m going to go thursday and friday :)
Thankyou Gala!
Thanks for this one! I was feeling a little bummed about laying in bed for the extra 10 minutes. I didnt hit the snooze, but I feel like laying there almost-but-not-really going back to sleep defeats the purpose. I have plans to eat out for my last allotted day of the week, so we’ll see how the rest goes.
Also my mood and positive energy was a bit diminished yesterday by all the scrambling I was doing…but I think everything got sorted and today is sunny! So no more dreary and abysmal rain!
I went to the gym this morning, and eating my favorite cereal.
^ ^I’ll try my best to make as many people as possible feel good about themselves. And I’ll find someone who looks stressed and give them a shoulder massage!ahh i needed this! thankyou!
Bunny kisses? oh, how cute XD
my challenge is to improve my vocabulary …. okay stop the gutter mouth trend. A way to remind myself is that words paint pictures.
So i will be creating a Wordle every day for the challenge.
www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/50…
I woke up at seven a.m. and went for a walk/jog. It was freezing but worth it. Now I’m having breakfast, later I have an exam.
I’m feeling happy, I’m starting to understand that it’s about small efforts and not a big one.
And you know, I might even buy a hoop!
lots of love to everyone!
PS. GALA: now you’re coming to austin you should come down to monterrey, mexico:)
i’m late to join, but my goals are to wake up on time for all my classes, start keeping a written budget, keep going to the gym at least once a week, and staying happy and in love with life. that one is the most important. so far i am doing well :)
Ive been so annoyed at myself! I haven’t been able to do any of the things I planned as I have been struck down with flu! :(
But I got this in my inbox today and it cheered me up!
Keep going people! x
Definitely keep going, everyone! Even though I’m not taking part in the challenge officially, it helps to read replies from those of you who are to get me through my own changes that I’m trying to make this year. And Gala, this whole idea of a Transformation Challenge was a great one.
Yesterday, I had a bit too much ice cream. But other than that, I’ve been eating much healthier this week, and I’ve realized my small goal of allowing myself one cup of coffee in the morning, then drinking nothing but water the rest of the day! So, I’m proud of that!
Perfect timing on this one! My challenge is to stay on top of all of my studying for my college courses and I just turned in (online…about one minute before I clicked to icing) my statistics homework and it wasn’t done! I spent forever on it and I just couldn’t figure it out, so irritating. I was feeling really bad. But this post put it in perspective for me!! Smile, move on. Do better next time.
Thank you Gala!!
i had two goals: stop washing my face, and stop eating after 10 oclock.
Unfortunately i just broke up with my BF so when i’m crying all alone at night i really want to eat something. normally chocolate :/
i dont know what to do about that.
I’m awake before noon, just had a huge yummy goodforyou breakfast, and I’m about to get some espresso and get all my homework done and go to all my classes. This is a huge change for me and I’ve only been awake for an hour and a half!
Amelia — that sucks :( I suggest going for a walk or taking a hot shower. (Preferably all three!) Often if I feel like stress-eating, if I hop into the shower and do some pampering (lotion, painting your nails, etc.) I feel instantly renewed. If you gotta have the chocolate, try a couple squares of dark chocolate along with a talllll glass of water. It’ll help your sweet tooth and make you feel full.
i started out kind of panicky this morning, but i got up, took a bath, had a long hard think, and i made a bit of a breakthrough.
I AM GOING TO DO THIS.
I published my 25th blog post – 15 more to go! It’s a vegan recipe for red coconut soup. You can read it here: localizing.wordpress.com/2009/...
I’ve also been playing around with flickr mosaics, and I am smitten! It makes me so happy to see all that color on my blog – lots of oranges and curries and funny little scallion-trolls.
Thank you! A good lesson I pass on is REMEMBER SEAM ALLOWANCE! Or your clothes will end up tiny! ;P
today was much better than yesterday, but the perfection reminder was definitely needed due to a small incident with being told the wrong way to do something. who knows, it might end up more interesting once i’ve fixed it.
wise words from my adorable yoga instructor emily:
“we dont go through life finding ourselves, we go through life creating ourselves”
i think this is a lovely thing to think about because who decided we become lost in the first place? good luck this month ladies im rooting for all of you. find what makes you happiest and chase it and capture it.
Morning, everyone!
I stayed up until 5am last night lurking around online… bad move.
But I forced myself out of bed at 10, did a short burst of cardio (10 minutes of an exercise show! my new PVR is great, I can record all the early morning exercise shows on TV and do them later at my convenience, no waking up at 6am for me!), ate a healthy vegan breakfast, and I’m ready to go!
I’ve got a yoga class later today, I will attempt a few more workouts (I do things in 10-20 minute bursts throughout the day, I haven’t got the attention span to exercise for more than that at a time! I get in an hour, just not all at once), and I hope everything will be good.
I’ve been overwhelmed by a sense of sadness and loss these last few days. I’ve spent time meditating and thinking on it, and I can’t figure it out. I just want to cry for days! Bizzare. Hopefully I can sort this out today.
I’ve also decided to tackle a specific eating problem!! Once everyone in my house goes to bed, I cannot stay out of the kitchen and I am starving. Last night I had a brownie and half a pudding cup. Yeah, it’s not much, but I still do not need the sugar and the carbs and I feel like crap about it! I’m always hungry. I eat well, and LOTS during the day… so I don’t know what my problem is. I’ll think about that too.
Keep up the good work, everyone!
xoxo
i love that i’m enjoying this challenge, and not seeing it as a chore! i went swimming today and came home to a healthy lunch, and i felt great. i like mish’s tip about the excercise clothes, i think it’s time for me to go and buy some sassy little shorts to do yoga in.
I managed to avoid all the sweets counters at the supermarket and knew i was eventually heading somewhere to make myself feel better! It felt like a small victory. I’ve also stuck to my meditation plans which so far is working.
This is the third night in a row that I’ve slept for more than 5 hours. Last night was 9 and a half!!!! I love this itc thing… IT ROCKS!!!!
Still going strong with my vegetarian diet – though my mom is making her famous lasagna tonight. I’ll play chimp and pick out the meat. LOL.
But, you keep my inspired! I hope I accomplish this. I know I will.
xoxo
OMG Gala!!! I have an oral presentation on thursday! And I am public panic to the point that I get all nervous and heart going fast since I was told I have to do this, is my last semester on the college and it requires 2 presentations… They are very very technical too! Any help? please!!!
Wow, how did you know I caved today and bought a baggy of BBQ potato chips? And I was feeling all bad and stuff? Good thing youre psychic!
Oh my God. That photo just made my day.
Thanks for the insirato :)
I feel GREAT! I love getting these updates in the morning, it really helps set the tone for the rest of the day. And today I did stretch a little further, push a little harder, grin a little wider. I ran three miles, spent some time stretching, some time hula hooping, and some extra crunches. The whole time I just felt like I was dancing. And even when I was done and just doing chores, I had such a spring in my step going to do laundry, and my simple lunch tasted amazing, and laying down for a quick nap felt like such a joy. Oh, natural highs. I’m doing my best and I’m so glad.
Thank you for this one! Today pretty much sucked for me, except that I did half an hour of yoga and drew a little.
And thefishanddelilah, I did the same xD
But tomorrow is another day…
Day #3 didn’t go so well for me, I am beginning to question why I am striving for one of my goals (giving up caffeine) when I don’t really see that it’s having an effect, negative or otherwise, on me. I think a better goal would have been to minimise my daily caffeine intake or to cut out sugar in my tea. And obviously, when I can’t see the benefits of the goal.. well, it’s hard to stick to it, and the others, too. Hopefully today will be a better day. On the plus side, though, I have gotten a major water habit! Hopefully this will last for after the challenge too.
Taking a day off from hooping today to give my tummy a rest! I think tomorrow I might do some yoga instead because I have been over-doing the hooping a bit. It’s just so fun I can’t stop!
You’re awesome Gala, and the encouragement is very sweet and much appreciated!
I didn’t wake up earlier this morning, but later. I had a late night. :/
I did however bring my lunch and eat breakfast. And I’m proud of that. I didn’t even want pizza after eating my yummy sandwich and goldfish.
:)
And while last night was a hard one, and today was not perfect, I feel content. I can do this. And so can everyone else.
Hi Gala,
Thanks for the reminder, I really needed to hear that just then. I’m not officially taking part in the Challenge but I am an avid follower of your blog, and what you have to say resonates very strongly with me…
Thanks x
I’m so proud of myself!
First because I’m not an exerciser. At all.
But I’ve been keeping it up!
But really, I’m proud of myself because
last night I was on the phone with a friend listening &
well, time got away. Then directly after we got off, I ended up on the phone with another friend…I was slowly missing my workout window. I was getting comfortable in bed…I started to accept that I was just gonna have to get the ball rolling again tomorrow (today).
But once I was finally off the phone. I was restless & well, I JUST WANT TO GET MY WORKOUT ON! So, I made me a little playlist, put on my mp3 player…& I did. I didn’t half ass it either. So I was really proud. I could of just stayed in the bed & put it off. [I’m a big procrastinator] But I WANTED to. =) That’s so great
Had a bit of a rotten day three — felt nauseous all morning & ended up taking the afternoon off from work. Spent the rest of the day trying not to be sick, bundled up on my couch. I had planned on going swimming tonight, but I haven’t eaten anything since this morning & still don’t feel very good.
Will try to write before bed, if I can muster the energy.
Maybe my body is trying to tell me something? Argh, I feel awful. Vivement demain!
Day three has been kind of eh. I was late to work this morning thanks to the snooze button, I was late to class because the blood drive took FOREVER, and I’m just kind of out of it because I donated blood.
I haven’t eaten healthily today (Odwalla bar, pizza, soup, no dinner yet), I can’t work out because I donated blood, and I’m frustrated with the boy I’m obsessed with again. I think he’s not worth it and I need to just get over him.
I did get a decent chunk of work done while sitting at the blood drive though, which is good.
Today feels like an unhealthy day in terms of the challenge (i kinda sorta had two lunches… :-(!) but really, if i think about how i was eating last week its still phenomenally better. I’m going to the gym for the first time ever today, I’m nervous but hopefully it will do away with this guilt kick!
Also, not biting my nails has been inexplicably and confusingly hard. I haven’t gone more than a few hours since the challenge started – and its a biggie! Will try rubbing my nails on a bell pepper tonight, they are the grossest taste ever!
Mannn. Going vegan cold turkey isn’t working. I think I’ll just take baby steps or wait until there’s not an oreo cheesecake in my fridge and a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies on the way XD
Also, apparently quinoa is delicious! Who knew?!
Katelyn — Haha, eep! Yeah, having non-vegan treats around that you enjoy is always going to make it about a billion times more difficult!
Oh & Kayla, I recommend giving yourself a manicure tonight! galadarling.com/article/hand I think it was one of the ways I stopped biting my own nails was because if they look really beautiful, you’re less tempted to do it. Plus, who wants flakes of nailpolish between their teeth?! Blehhhh! Good luck!
Today has been somewhat better. Unfortunately, did not wake up as early as I’d hoped-(tossed and turned all night). However, I had an awesome workout at the gym & probably the BEST yoga class I’ve taken in a while! I left feeling like I was walking on air & bursting with shiny,happy vibes.
Kicking my split end habit is hard, though. I still feel compelled to pick,pick,pick! I’m trying, though & if I catch myself doing it subconsciously I can usually stop quicker.
It’s about 9 pm now, so I am going to try and tidy up my room some more & work on some writing before going to bed at a decent time so I can wake up EARLY!!
Since it’s still the third day for me, I’ll post here.
Hm. Woke up pretty late this morning, ~8 AM. Considering I have class at 10 AM and I get out of the house by 9:30 AM, 1.5 hours to take care of my dog + cat, walking the dog, feeding myself, showering, etc is not a lot of time!
Ate the regular fruits today and found myself sleepy in the afternoon. A lot of my day is pretty much just class, munching on something, and studying.
Hope tomorrow is better for me.
:-) Thanks for the manicure link gala! You are ever the sweetest, i’m going to do it as a reward for the positively hardest pilates workout i’ve ever done!
I’m behind on updating! But I’ll post anyway, as I’ll be out of town for the next couple of days. So yesterday was in terms of the main bulk of the day a disaster – I’m turning into an old crone and got very worked up about the washing machine. Long story. But despite the bad weather, I forced myself out of the house (as per the challenge) to go to choir, and I feel so much better for it!
So yes, the next couple of days I’ll be away, but still keeping iTC going – after all, I can do most of it wherever, and I do kind of have to go away to keep an appointment, so…
I might have to try the manicure idea as well – I’ve been biting my nails since forever. I gave up partially a couple of years ago (by taking up knitting) but it hasn’t solved the whole problem, so maybe having lovely shiny nails will do the trick completely!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)
my goals are:
listen to better music
and
go to bed before 10 pm every other day (i needs mah buh-yootee sleep!)