Weekly Progress

Week 1: Beginning of the Journey (Sept 19-25)

Introduction

If you have read my about section, you will already know that I created this blog to challenge myself to be more consistent with my self-care and general health & well-being. However, before I start this journey, I will be doing some research on how to build healthy habits more effectively. So here are some of the things I have learned from my research:

1. You don’t need to make a massive change in your life to see a difference, so be realistic in setting your goals

Minor changes to your habits can compound over time to have a significant result. This is why I am trying to build one habit per week and not trying to do everything all at once. All the habits I choose are also not very time-consuming or extremely difficult.

2. If you want to cultivate good habits, you need to first become aware of your bad habits in the first place

So for one day, I observed myself and wrote down whenever my bad habits occurred and what caused me to do them. This helped me pinpoint exactly where I was messing up or what conditions caused me to fail. For example, I find it extremely hard to work out once I come home from a long day of school, so I opted to schedule my workouts for the days I work from home. 

4. Environment is very important

If your environment constantly reminds you of your goals, you are much more likely to do them. Subsequently, I wrote tons of sticky notes with my goals and posted them throughout my house to remind me to complete my daily tasks. I also set a lot of reminders on my phone. On the days I need to do yoga or work out, I will put my yoga mat in my hallway, where I will see it first thing in the morning.

 

5. Scale it down if you are struggling to find motivation

Just do your task (working out, reading, meditating, etc.) even if it’s only for 2 minutes. It is much better for you to do it for 2 mins versus not at all. Sometimes simply starting is the most challenging part; once you have started, you will feel compelled to complete the whole task. 

 

6. Set punishments if you don’t complete the task

 I have agreed to pay my friend $5 if I don’t complete all my tasks for the week. 

Reference

Week 2: Drinking 2 Litres of Water Every Day
(Sept 26 - Oct 2)

Introduction

This week I challenged myself to drink 2 litres of water every day. However, before I dive into my experience and outcome, I would like to highlight the perceived benefits of drinking enough water. According to Healthline and MedicalNewsToday, drinking enough water can help with the following: 

 

1. Increased energy levels
2. Better memory and focus 
3. Prevent and treat headaches
4. Prevent and treat hangovers
5. Help with weight loss
6. Help maintain healthy and smooth skin.

 

Experience 

I successfully drank 2 litres of water every day from Monday, September 26 to Sunday, October 2. I think this goal is the easiest one on my list, so I am not surprised I completed it successfully. I specifically choose to tackle it first because of this too. However, I drank the water somewhat sporadically throughout the days and sometimes ended up drinking a bunch of water at the end of the day to complete the challenge. I also took pictures every time I filled up my water bottle and finished it, which helped me stay a lot more accountable.

Effects

I’ll be honest; I did not see that much of a change in my general health or well-being at the end of the week. The only difference I noticed was that I ate fewer snacks throughout the day because I was full of water.

References

 

WEEK 3: Taking My Vitamins Every Day

(SEPT 26 - OCT 2)
Introduction

This week I challenged myself to take all my vitamins and supplements consistently. I am currently taking Iron, Calcium & Magnesium +D3, Zinc, Omega-3, and Vitamin B-12. The reason I take so many supplements is because I am a vegetarian (who rarely consumes dairy or eggs), and I have also been diagnosed with iron deficient anemia. 

Iron Deficient Anemia

According to Medical New Today, Iron deficiency anemia can cause fatigue, heart palpitations, pale skin, and breathlessness. So this is the reason why I take Iron supplements. However, you should not take Iron supplements if they are not Iron deficient.

 

Challenges of a Vegan Diet 

Vegans or people who don’t consume animal products regularly like tend to be deficient in Vitamin B 12, Calcium, Iron, and Iodine. According to Medical News Today, a diet deficient in vitamin B12 can cause fatigue, lethargy, light-headedness, heart palpitations, weight loss and a host of other health complications. Additionally, they discuss how a diet deficient in calcium increases the risk for osteoporosis, bone fracture and heart failure. I am at little risk for Iodine deficiency because I use iodized salt in all my cooking. Omega 3 fatty acids are another substance that vegans are likely to be deficient in. Omega 3 fatty acids may reduce inflammation, decrease blood triglycerides, and even reduce the risk of dementia. So those are all the other reasons why I take so many different vitamins/supplements every day. However, I must make a disclaimer and say that many of these vitamins can be found naturally in foods, and many vegans/vegetarians do not need to take as many vitamins as me. I am just a super busy broke college student, so taking supplements is much more convenient. 

 

 

How did it go?

Well, to put it short, I failed. I took the majority of my pills, but I wasn’t able to take all of them every day. I have a pill box that I use to help me remember what vitamins I need to take. However, throughout the day, I tend to leave my house a lot as I go to work, school, etc. So sometimes, my pill box would be at home, and by the time I got home in the evening, I didn’t have much time to take all the pills I needed. 

 

Effects

Though I failed this challenge, I was a lot more consistent than I usually am with taking my vitamins. Therefore I did notice a few positive effects on my general health and well-being. I felt slightly more energetic, and I also felt like my head didn’t hurt as much as it usually does too.  

 

Strategies for the Future

  1. Set an alarm on my phone to remind me about my pills,
  2. Take a few of them with me in my backpack, so I can take them throughout the day 
  3. Get a drinkable version of some of these vitamins so I can just put them in my water bottle and drink them throughout the day.  

 

References

 

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