String Project Week 25 Goal

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The String Project

Week 24 Recap:

For week 24 goal (8/18 - 8/24), I did anotherSUPER CHALLENGE,represented by myblack string.I had to:

-Keep my room clean (red string)SUCCEEDED!

-Thoroughly clean my teeth (blue string) SUCCEEDED!

-Complete my facial routine nightly (green string) SUCCEEDED!

-Drink 1+ cups of water with every meal (black string) SUCCEEDED!

Wow, what a busy week! I just started school last Wednesday, and these goals kept me on track. Usually, when I browse the internet at night, I sometimes forget the time and could go on forever. However, since I have to spend about 30 minutes brushing my teeth and completing my facial routine thoroughly, I’d get myself off of my laptop by 10PM. I was really trying to get myself into these good habits, and I think I’m catching them!

My room is still clean. I always drink a cup of water before every meal. &I’m actually setting aside some time to complete my nightly routine before I relax in my bed. I’m loving these small lifestyle changes :))

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For week 25 goal (8/25 - 8/31), represented by my green string, I will:

-Make and drink at least 5+ cups of natural juice

I started researching about juicing and its benefits lately, and I’ve been interested in trying it out! As I was looking through different juicers that I could buy, I was discouraged on how expensive they are T^T I’m a college student on a budget, and I don’t want to invest in something that I might not use often. I also don’t much space in the kitchen for another machine, so I started to look for alternatives! Turned out, I can juice with my blender too (with the help of another item, which I shall reveal in next week’s update!) :D It takes a bit of more time, but it’s worth it!

I love my fruits, but I’m still struggling with my vegetable intake. Juicing will be a great way for me to get my micronutrients from veggies without having to actually eat them xD So I’m planning to drink at least 5 big cups of natural juice this week. I’m pretty sure I’ll go over that though, since I’m so eager to try new combinations! ^______^

If you don’t know what juicing is, you should definitely do some research and perhaps try it out!

*Excuse the super late update again! I just started school this week and it’s been pretty hectic!*

String Project Week 24 Goal

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The String Project

Week 23 Recap:

For week 23 goal (8/04 - 8/10), represented by my green string, I had to:

-Complete my facial routine nightly SUCCEEDED!

Time-consuming? Yes. Worth it? Of course! Putting just 15 extra minute aside nightly to care for my skin definitely paid off! I notice that my complexion and texture is getting better, and I really wanna keep this up! What I have to work on next is remembering to use sunscreen daily xP

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For week 24 goal (8/18 - 8/24), I’m doing anotherSUPER CHALLENGE, represented by myblack string.I will:

-Keep my room clean (red string)

-Thoroughly clean my teeth (blue string)

-Complete my facial routine nightly (green string)

-Drink 1+ cups of water with every meal (new goal - black string)

Like I’ve stated before, this month’s dedicated to cleaning and cleansing. Since I’m already working on the surface, I thought why not work on the inside too? Which is why I wanted the new additional goal to be about cleansing my body. We all know water is essential for our health, and it aids with detoxification! I want to drink at least 1 cup (preferably 2) of water with every meal to ensure that I’m getting enough of it. It’ll also help me digest my food better, so that’s another plus! Surprising as it is, I’m already catching the habit of this new goal :D I ALWAYS grab for my cup of water first before sitting down to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner!

*NOTE: Notice something different?! There’s only two strings on my wrist! Teehee, so I have decided to cut off all of the other ones. WHY? Because everything was getting too clustered and it distracted me from keeping my eyes on my current string/goal. I’m not throwing away my previous strings though. They were my victories, so I decided to turn them into friendship bracelets. I will be doing this from now on after every month!

I still have 3 more bracelets (each, representing one month) to finish, but once I’m done with them, I will be hanging them right above my bed. Every night, I will be reminded that I have put months of commitment and discipline in the journey of improving myself. I am super proud :)*

String Project Week 22 Goal

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The String Project

Week 21 Recap:

For week 21 goal (7/28 - 8/03), represented by my red string, I had to:

-Keep my room clean SUCCEEDED!

Whoo! It was a good week for me. Clean room = happy mood! :D

It took some practice at first since I’m so used to putting things off, but I always reminded myself to put away my hair tools or clothes as soon as I was done. Doing this everyday saved myself a few hours of having to clean my room on the weekend. Now, I just need to keep this up FOREVER! xD

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For week 22 goal (8/04 - 8/10), represented by my blue string, I will:

-Thoroughly clean my teeth

It’s all about cleaning this month, so I decided to dedicate this week to my oral hygiene! To be honest, I sometimes have those days where I’m so tired and lazy at night that I would actually skip flossing and just quickly brush my teeth. THAT AIN’T GONNA CUT IT THIS WEEK! I need to be spending about 5+ minutes to rinse, floss, brush, and repeat brush again with my tiny toothbrush! :3

I have a wisdom tooth that has been very irritating lately. I actually have trouble trying to brush my teeth because my mouth is so swollen and achy x______x BUT GOOD NEWS is that I’m getting it removed next Monday so my oral routine will be less painful :)

*Note* I’m thinking of creating a second Tumblr dedicated to my string project journey! It’ll be much easier for me to look back and track my progress (can you believe it’s been over 4 months now?!), and I’d probably post more there along the week. Stay tuned for updates :D*

String Project Week 21 Goal

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The String Project

Week 20 Recap:

For week 20 goal (7/21 - 7/27), I had to do a SUPER CHALLENGE, represented by my black string:

-Avoid all dairy products (beige string) 

-No cereal (bright pink string)

-Drink 2 smoothies a day (dark purple string)

-Eat with no distractions (new additional goal - black string)

All succeeded! It was pretty difficult (especially with the first two goals), but I did it! :D As of now, I don’t go crazy over cereal anymore. I still love it, but I’m finally able to resist eating 5 bowls in one sitting! I’m also glad I added the new additional goal to eat with no distractions. When I wake up in the morning, I don’t grab my itouch with me anymore. I go straight to the restroom to brush my teeth and straight down to the kitchen to eat my breakfast. It’s just oatmeal, me, and 2 cups of water. We have a pretty good bond when I’m not distracted lol. It’s usually during this time that I plan my to-do list for the day, and that already makes my morning that much more productive :D I don’t like to eat mindlessly, so I definitely will still practice and hopefully carry on this new habit!

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For week 21 goal (7/28 - 8/03), represented by my red string, I will:

-Keep my room clean

I love to clean other places, but when it comes to my room, that’s a different story. There’s always clothes, laptop, hair tools, and gym bag lying around the floor, and the pile adds up during the weekday. I’d then put that off and clean everything during the weekend, only to have the mess come back in the next few days.

I think my environment highly affects me, so when my room is dirty, it puts me in a bad mood. I wouldn’t get a good night sleep, and I can’t get things done. That’s why this week, I’m going to make a commitment to keep my room clean and fresh 24/7. I have to clean up after myself EVERYDAY, not every week. This is also a challenge to help me get rid of my terrible procrastination habit, so I’m all for it! (:

String Project Week 20 Goal

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The String Project

Week 19 Recap:

For week 19 goal (7/14 - 7/20), represented by my dark purple string:

-Drink 2 smoothies a daySUCCEEDED!

It wasn’t difficult at all, considering I already love smoothies! The only hassle was actually making the smoothies and cleaning up afterward… but hey, a cold fresh fruit smoothie is worth it! 

One new thing that I learned about myself from this challenge was that I surprisingly really really like tomatoes! When I run out of fruits to make smoothies or when I don’t want to work with my blender, I’d chop a big tomato, put the slices in a cup, and stab that with a fork until it becomes little chunks. &I eat that just as is.  I call that a “lazy smoothie” lol. It tastes so raw and refreshing; I like it as an after-meal snack/dessert xD

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For week 20 goal (7/21 - 7/27), represented by my black string, I am doing another SUPER CHALLENGE, which means:

-Avoid all dairy products (beige string)

-No cereal (bright pink string)

-Drink 2 smoothies a day (dark purple string)

-Eat with no distractions (new additional goal - black string)

I’m not gonna lie, this week will be difficult. No dairy means no ice cream, no yogurt, no pizza, no baked goods. No cereal means goodbye to my favorite food. Along with these goals, I also have a small side goal of limiting myself to only 1 serving of 1 “bad food” per day. That pretty much means I’m going to be living off of fruits and smoothies as my snacks. At the moment, I’m practically eating 2+ bananas, 1+ apples, 1+ oranges, 10+ something cherries and plums per day in between my meals. Mama needs to buy new fruits because I’m trying hard not to be bored with that. 

Anyway, I have a brand new additional goal this week that’s associated with the black string. When I eat, I’m just going to eat. No T.V., no iTouch, no reading. With no distractions, I’m hoping to focus on the food and my eating experience only. This will be interesting :)

String Project Week 18 Goal
Sorry for the late update! I keep putting this off and kept forgetting to write a blog post D:

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The String Project

Week 17 Recap:

Week 17 goal (6/30 - 7/06), represented by my beige string:

-Avoid all dairy products SUCCEEDED!

Right during this week, guess what mum brought home? CHOBANI GREEK YOGURT! I have been wanting to try them for months now but couldn’t find them at any nearby grocery stores. Ohgreat, what good timing that mum brought these home on the week that I couldn’t consume dairy products. I could only admire those cute little containers and fantasize about what a great post-workout snack they would be. In the end, I gave two to my Buifriend for a taste test and watched him eat them as he described how creamy and good they were D;

*Sigh* OHWELL, gotta do what I gotta do to keep my string! So as far as last week’s experiment went, it’s very highly likely that my acne could be correlated to my dairy consumption. After cutting it off for a week, my face was less inflamed and aggravated. I wanna try this experiment once again to confirm my results by slowly introducing yogurt back into my diet later on. For now, I’m good with limiting my dairy intake by only 5% or less (that percent is a sacrifice for my beloved pastries, of course ;D)

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For week 18 goal (7/07 - 7/13), represented by my bright pink string,I will:

-Not eat any cereal

I have no self-control when it comes to cereal. It’s my all time favorite after-meal snack, and I just don’t know when to stop. I will tell myself that it’s just one bowl, but 90% of the time, it becomes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8… When I whip out my cereal utensils (yes, I have a very specific and special “cereal bowl and spoon”), my mum would mentally take note that she would have to stock up on new cereal soon.

So last week, I pretty much ate about 10 in one sitting and my tummy nearly exploded. I had to go the restroom 3x after I fell asleep, and I woke up the next day with a full belly for half the day -_____-

It is hard to give up one of my favorite food in the whole wide world for a week, but I’m trying hard and doing it. I’m counting down the days until I can re-unite with cereal again, and I shall have a small side goal to work on my portion control!

P.S. If you’re wondering, I don’t have a specific favorite cereal. I literally mix 6-7 different kinds together to make my perfect crunchy combo blend!

String Project Week 17 Goal

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The String Project

Week 16 Recap:

Week 16 goal (6/23 - 6/29) - SUPER CHALLENGE (black string)

-Eat my meals in 3-4 hours intervals (mustard string)

-Only be allowed 1 junk food a day (deep burgundy string)

-Eat in proportions (blue string)

-Stop eating when I’m full (black string)

This SUPER CHALLENGE was no doubt the most difficult for me thus far. The days seemed to went by slower last week, and I actually had to encourage myself from time to time not to break the rules. I did give myself one cheat day and I used that  pass on the last day of the challenge. I was having crazy PMS cravings, and I wanted to swim in a pool of sweet chocolate ice cream and stuff 100 different kinds of pastries in my mouth. GIRLS, you know what I’m talking about! 

To cure my sweet tooth, I had some sweet corn dessert (che bap) and 6-7 bowls of cereal. I just can’t resist cereal. It’s my ultimate favorite D; I felt pretty uncontrollable on my cheat day, but I still gave myself a pat in the back for doing so well on the other days (I only had 1 cocktail bun the entire week as my junk food)! I denied pizza. I denied ice cream. I denied chips. That took a lot of courage  xD

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For week 17 goal (6/30 - 7/06), represented by my beige string,I will:

-Avoid all dairy products

I’ve finally confirmed the fact that dairy products are no good for my skin. It took a little experimentation to know - oh you know, just a sweet soft serve ice cream every other day and froyo along 2-3 weeks. My face was breaking out like it hasn’t done so for years… and it wasn’t just a break out - it felt like a painful skin allergy. I suspected dairy products as part of the culprit to my acne a while back. I had switched to soymilk and almond milk long ago, but I still ate yogurt, cheese, and ice cream from time to time. The result of my experiment was terrible, but at least it gave me an answer. I’ve been cutting out all dairy for about a week now, and no surprise, my skin is calming down and improving again. Eventually, I will introduce some dairy back into my diet, but for now, my skin needs to recover from the overload of ice cream I put into my body.

It’s a new month in the string project, and I figured it’d be fun to dedicate this time to detoxing my body. I’m not going to fast or go on some stupid “diets.” I’m going to concentrate on cutting out bad foods and replacing them with healthier foods that will provide my body the nutrients it needs.

I’ve learned from experiences that the more junk food I eat, the more I’ll crave for it. Hopefully after this month, I’ll be able to say no to most junk food - not because I know that’s better for my body but because I just plainly don’t find them enjoyable anymore :D

I’ve been getting some great feedback from this, and I’m glad I could inspire some of you out there! (: I’m also getting some questions, so I’d like to clarify them in this post. I really encourage many of you to try this out - it can be life-changing if you put your mind to it!

Rules:

The concept is very simple. Basically, every week, you would set yourself out to complete a realistic goal. It can be about anything, as long as the outcome is to help you be a better, happier person. You would tie a colored string (I use friendship bracelet strings) on your wrist, which will serve as your goal reminder and motivation. If you fail to complete your task, you must cut off the string. If you succeed, you would keep it on and tie on another string for another goal. You have to try your BEST to keep the strings on your wrist. They represent your victories, and you must win!

Tips/Motivation:

You can always make alterations to the rules. You can either extend your goal’s time frame to a month or shorten it to just a few days, depending on how hard or easy your task is.

I know for some of you, it may be difficult to follow through with a goal. That’s why loopholes are available. You may give yourself a day or two to slack off (it’s best not to), but you must try to redeem yourself afterward. For example, your goal may to be to sleep before 10PM for 5 days a week, but you accidentally forgot during the week. The next day, you should get yourself to sleep before 9PM.

This project is definitely better if you do it with people you care about. That way, you can motivate each other. I do this project with my little sisters, and we would check in every Friday to see if we’ve succeeded. We would also tie on the strings for each other to show our support. In a sense, I feel that I’m not only making a promise to myself but also a promise to my sisters.

It would also help if you blog about your progress. That way, you can look back at your week and see how far you’ve come. Who knows, you may also inspire your friends to join you!

Final note:

Just remember that you are doing this for yourself, and even though some weeks may seem impossible, YOU CAN DO IT. It’s all in your mind and attitude. After doing this for a few weeks already, I feel pretty invincible. Anything that I set my mind to, I will do it!

You want to have so many strings on your wrist that random strangers will stop and ask you about them. Then, you can tell them about your journey, point out to each hurdle that you’ve successfully jumped over, and inspire them to start changing their lives too.

If you’re going to start the string project, know that you’re doing this with me and with others as well. If you have any questions, feel free to message me. We’ll do this together. GOOD LUCK! (: