About Esya

@Sosanya The social/competition part can be overwhelming. That is another reason for me to not participate in challenges anymore, as I am not looking forward to the stress that comes with it for me. It totally works as motivation for a lot of people, but it also does not work for a lot of other people (like me).   It is a bit like a gym maybe, where you might be a bit uncomfortable at first and find yourself comparing to others. But then you learn that everyone goes there for themselves and is at a different level. You do you and if you feel uncomfortable it is your account, so you can change the settings and pick your friends. ... View more

Yes, rewiring your brain will take a lot of time and patience. And it will be like 3 steps forward and 1 step back at times. It can be very frustrating at times because of that. Try to be kind towards yourself.   Regarding the meditation, I feel there is a huge misunderstanding about meditation in general (not just you). Meditation is not "having no thoughts" or emptying your brain. It is giving your brain something to focus on and focus on that (or multiple topics) for the time you want to meditate to the best of your ability; that could be your breathe or a scenery. Your mind will wander off, but with practice it will do so less and less. Some days it will be easier and some days it will be harder. I actually like to meditate on thoughts, to observe them to understand what is going on in my mind. Meditation is about the process and not win/success versus fail if you are able to quiet your mind yes or no. ... View more

@Nessa1234 I do that too, but last Saturday I just had too little time to myself to get it done. I just started hitting over 10K consistently since quite recent and so my streak was 39 days. Before that I always struggled and my average was 7K. Congratz on the 415, that is an awesome streak. ... View more

@McLoki Just because others are doing better, it does not mean you are not doing well. ... View more

Yes, you found a way to eat spinach! Awesome! And more awesome in my opinion is trying something new while it freaks you out. As well as speaking out about it, that is another step taken. I am no expert on eating disorders, but I do see similarities with my anxiety (despite for me it is not related to food). My advice would be to try to push your limits just a little bit whenever you feel strong enough and comfortable to do so. You don't have to eat a full plate of a new food, you could go for a small taste. If you try a taste on a regular basis, it will become less scary and you might find some more foods you can eat.   Ofcourse you could see a psychologist about it, but I never did for my anxiety and it will only help if and when you are ready to do so. You could journal about the foods you try and write down your fears and what you could think instead of those fears. For my anxiety yoga and mindfulness/meditation help a lot. All those tools basically help with recognising when your brain starts to "act up" and create a new way of thinking that helps you. ... View more

I heard of 1 death which was in a competition where you would win something if you were the one to drink the largest amount of water (the people involved were unaware of the risk). If my memory serves me correctly it was in Japan. And the amount drank was about 18 liters if I remember correctly. You have to drink a lot (way more than 3 liters a day) for it to happen and it is also less likely to happen if you eat in between as it is caused by osmosis. I think in the occurrences the people died they drank a lot without eating anything at all.   My body is pretty ok not mixing up thirst and hunger, but I recently stopped drinking alcohol. I realised this weekend that my body does mix up wanting alcohol and hunger. A small snack stopped the desire for alcohol right away. ... View more

@WendyB You made me think it might actually be better to call them treat days. I never liked the name cheat days either. It sounds so negative and it actually is treating yourself. How can you enjoy treating yourself when you give it such negative connotation by calling it cheating? It will become cheating only when you do it mindlessly and by calling them treat days they actually sound like special days and not every day.   1. I try to set a calorie goal for the day, but I noticed I get more hungry and eat more since I have become more active. So I guess that counts for eating my exercise back. But I am not really trying to lose weight, it is maintenance for me.   2. I eat what I want, but count the calories. I don't count calories and really eat all I want when visiting my family (still I don't overeat). I guess those could be considered as my cheat days. They are not weekly and very irregular though. ... View more

@Dominique I think I can give more detailed feedback now I have been using the app for a few days. While it still has its short comings, I think it is a nice app and especially for those wanting to track more data than you are able to with FitBit.   Positives: I like the split of calories burned between steps and workouts For most data min, max and average values are shown (don't know yet over what period, I expect a week) You can track more data than in FitBit including mood, body temperature, blood pressure, glucose, TC/HDL, oximetry, waist size and vaccinations If provided with enough information it will inform you about health risks It shows your activity level of the day based on steps (from sedentary to very active) and the activity level of your lifestyle based on activity minutes in a week (from inactive to very active) which you can then use as input for weight plans. There are target ranges and values provided (click on a tile and then click on data) and extra information (click on (i) icon) with references Can sync with FitBit (as already discussed), but also MFP and the health app etc. I don't use MFP, so for me this is easy access to macro nutrients on my phone. It also provides targets for those. You can create a PDF that contains an overview of all the data   Negatives: Some tiles don't show the number you want to see. For example for the calories tile it shows the amount of calories in for the first meal of the day. It does not sum up the calories of all the different meals. The tile still shows the colour and tells if you had insufficient, target low, target high or excessive amount of calories for the total of the day though. Something similar for active minutes. When clicking a tile all the data is there. The feedback given by the coaches is too simple in my opinion. However, you can enable and disable them per category. You can send a .csv file to your e-mail with the values, but when I tried it seemed to only send the latest values and no history data. Data syncing from your FitBit can be a bit behind. When you have taken steps and then open FitBit to sync with tracker and open Tactio not all steps might be there right away (same for other data).   I think it is a very good app to review your day at the end of the day and use FitBit to see where you are throughout a day. For people new to living healthy there is a lot of info available as well as feedback on health risks. For those who are healthy and don't want to track more than FitBit does, it won't have much added value than a different presentation of the data.   I hope I did not forget to mention anything. ... View more

It is easier to do the homework after you had sleep than with a tired brain. Try to remind yourself of that. You could do homework in the morning as you might wake up earlier when you go to sleep earlier. Try to quit doing homework at the same time each day and have an hour to unwind and then go to sleep. When that schedule for sleep is back things should get better. ... View more

@TJsJourney Sounds to me like if you eat little you lose weight but have a hard time working out and if you eat quite a bit you don't lose weight but can work out. Maybe try to find middle ground. Where you lose weight but can still work out at a decent level (maybe not the highest, but not the lowest either).   Decide what your goal is and go for a plan based on that. ... View more

It was not my intention to spark this milk discussion on a post about eating well on a tight budget. I mainly put my opinion there as that, my opinion, as it means I would not spend my money on it. @Emilyjean already replied she cannot bare the thought of having no milk. Let's try to keep this post about eating well on a tight budget. ... View more

Yes, take those recovery days. And also stay at a level until you are comfortable at that level for a few runs, then up the distance and/or intensity again. Don't do too much too quickly. ... View more

@Addy71 As @Dominique suggests it is caused by restless sleep, which in turn can be caused by snoring/sleep apnea. If you have any concerns it is best to discuss this with a doctor. You might get a sleep study done to see if you have apnea or if there is a possible other cause. ... View more

@USAF-Larry My parents were at home in their own bed when there was drug traffic in front of their house during the night. I mean, it just shows anything can happen anywhere and chances are low of running into them. Ofcourse be aware and alert, but I agree one should not stay at home because of that. ... View more

I can't remember, but I am such a person where that could happen 🙂 . I had similar dreams in the past where I dreamt about something that was on my subconscious level a lot at the moment. I like those dreams as they point me towards things my mind is busy with and help me realise. ... View more

Don't let those ladies get to you.   I am 35 years old, no dog, no kids and I go for walks by myself at times, but I am in The Netherlands. I just greet the people I come across who are walking their dog and they greet me back. It says more about those two ladies judging you than it says about you. ... View more

Hi Kenzie, as the others said, go slow. You are 13, so most likely you are still growing. That means your weight loss might be even more slow than for an adult person. Staying the same weight while growing also means you are getting more slim. If you go on a diet to lose weight fast, it typically gets back on when the diet is over. Try to make healthy choices that you can keep up with (like cutting the soda), so you create a new healthy lifestyle that can serve you for the rest of your life. ... View more

Just checked my food log and oatmeal is indeed high in fibre. If your stomache pains are caused by a lack of fibre it should go away rather quickly when you start eating enough of it again. For me there is typically big improvement within a day. Otherwise you might be looking at another cause. ... View more

I am not saying beans are high in fibre per se (can't remember from top of my head), but offered it as an option as it has more fibre than animal protein (all animal products have 0 fibre). I keep a stack of rice crackers handy as they are low in calories, yet high in fibre. Just Google for foods rich in fibre for ideas to fit into your diet. You might be surprised by some (like mushrooms). ... View more

@Mithras I get stomache pains and sick when I don't eat enough fibre. I am very sensitive to that. The advised amount is 30 grams a day, but I always try to eat more than that. Make sure that you are still getting enough fibre as there is none in animal products. You might want to add plant based protein to your diet like beans, lentils etc. ... View more

How recently did you start with lifting weights? When you are new to it, your muscles have to get used to it and typically hold water for a while. That will pass by itself. Other than that, stress and lack of sleep are indeed not good for health loss. Try to unwind an hour before sleep (no technology, read a book instead) and maybe try some guided breathing or meditation right before bed. ... View more

@TJsJourney Whenever you change something, how long do you try it before deciding it is not working? What is your current weight and how tall are you? How is your sleep? With the information you currently provided it is very hard to provide tips. ... View more

From that wikipedia page @Dominique linked: "During sleep, a slow heartbeat with rates around 40–50 BPM is common, and is considered normal" ... View more

This might not work, I never tried it, but maybe put a sticky note with your goal on the peanut butter jar? That way you could still have a little without binging. I had a tub of ice cream this week and I only ate a portion per day as my goal was on my mind whenever I took some. ... View more

@Dave001 Thanks, I might try that recipe! ... View more

@Emilyjean If you cannot bare the thought then by all means do not do it. ... View more

Burgers made from chickpeas and quinoa with vegetables. ... View more

Meat is very expensive. So consider not eating that or eating less of it. Personally I don't consider milk as healthy, but views might differ.   Dried beans and lentils are very cheap and high in protein. They do need a bit of extra planning as most will need an overnight soak. Buy vegetables and products that are in season as they will be more cheap compared to products that are not. Then there should be cheap grains (rice, farro, barley etc.) available too. Combine the three and you have a complete healthy meal that is cheap and that can be cooked in 1 or 2 pans (put the veggies with the grains when cooking or add them to the beans when they have the same cooking time left). I don't know how expensive quinoa and couscous are but you could use those instead of beans to up the variety.   Once you can work with this as a cheap base you know where you want to add extras yourself with the money you have left. ... View more

@Dominique Mostly the FitBit items, but I like how data is presented in a different way for different insights. Like activity does not show for the day, but for the week and averages are easier to read in my opinion. Next to that when you click on data (after clicking a tile) it shows what good values would be for an average person and some extra information when you press the i icon.   I do intend to track my mood. My heart rate really fluctuates with my anxiety. This time however it does not seem to come down, but then I can track when it is related and when not and if something else might be causing it.   I think it is also a great app for people with hypertension and diabetes as you can track values for that as well if I understand it correctly (not an expert on these topics). ... View more

I found it yesterday and it does sync with my FitBit. So far I am loving it, as you can add extra input as well (like mood, body temperature etc.) and I really like the way it presents the data. It will only sync new data though and not history data. ... View more

@emili What you describe is a form meditation 😉 . Meditation is not about shutting your mind close, most people cannot do that. ... View more

@TheKetoGoddess When you reply to someone it can be helpful to tag them. When you reply to a post simply type @ and a list will pop up with the posters with the person you are replieing to at the top of that list. ... View more

@Valarie03 There are plenty of recipes that are faster to cook than to go to a fast food restaurant. In 15 mins you can cook something. But I am glad your husband is taking good care of you by cooking for you. ... View more

@Valarie03 Here are my thoughts when reading through your list:   red meat I don't eat I could easily skip this as I hardly eat bread or pasta I cook fresh from scratch, so no need to worry about sugar I cook fresh from scratch, so I know how much sodium and fat I add I hardly eat fried foods, there are so many ways to prepare food: boiling, steaming, grilling etc. Try to eat the fruits you can have Go easy on the greens You might wonder what I do eat then. For animal proteins I eat a bit of fish, cheese (you might want to skip that due to the sodium) and eggs, but overall I limit them in my diet. I eat a lot of plant based proteins like beans, lentils, quinoa, couscous etc. They are easy to flavour with onion, garlic and stock to name a few examples. Then add the greens you can have (type and amount) and make it complete with a starch like potatoes and grains (rice, farro, barley etc.). That is a complete healthy meal. I also started using almond milk instead of cow milk. This might also be an option for you if you want to have anything like cereals or oatmeal.   And you are right that it is not just eating healthy, it is also about exercise 🙂 . ... View more