Priyanka my friend and accountability partner for the BHH challenge shares her experience about the routine so far
by Priyanka Singh
I started the BHH (Being Habitually Healthy) challenge in September with a lot of excitement and mental preparation.
In a challenge, it is common to face disappointments, so I was glad that we had a support group to encourage each other. In my case, I have 2 different support groups, one with this challenge and one with another group of friends ( lucky me)! Somewhere in my heart, this has helped me to feel answerable to all my fellow members.
My focus in this challenge, however, was the physical activity factor. Regular exercise is after all a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle and I wanted to make it a habit and a lifestyle.
So how has it been till now?
IN THE BEGINNING
A few months back, I checked my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). I have a history of hypothyroidism and so I wanted to simply know if it’s at a healthy level. To my surprise, it was 5.9 which is above the maximum range of 5.5.
This was alarming for me because along with the other side-effects, hypothyroidism slows down the metabolism of your body, which makes it difficult to lose weight and can result in fatigue and weakness. It basically messes up with your energy levels.
I made up my mind to combat this and started paying attention to what I eat. I then took a 2nd test, just before the BHH challenge and I noticed that my TSH was down to 5.3, lower than the maximum range. Healthy eating had helped, but I still had a long way to go.
THE BHH CHALLENGE
Th first week of the BHH challenge was easy. I was already cautious about my diet and so I was motivated to follow the schedule, for all 7 days of the week.
For the physical activity factor, I chose walking. I’m comfortable with it and as I go on, I hope to change it to jogging and then running.
I keep 10,000 steps as my target on a daily basis, not because our Prime Minister launched the Fit India movement, but because research suggests that 10,000 steps a day is a good number to maintain fitness.
I also recently moved to a new city, so with hardly any friends here, I went on to convincing my husband, to be my walking partner. 🙂
Having a partner for your walks, again like the support group, keeps you motivated and challenged. Of-course it wasn’t easy to convince him but I tried in every possible way (including emotional blackmail). After all this is going to help him stay healthy too!
Coming back to the exercise schedule and my intention to follow it, for all 7 days, it was tough! I started getting exhausted with the regular walks, by every Friday.
As I mentioned before, I want this to be a habit, a lifestyle and so, I knew I should not over-do it or be too hard on myself. So I convinced myself to take a break during the weekend.
My average count for the first week- 7998 steps.
CHALLENGES WITHIN THE BHH CHALLENGE
Second Week of the BHH challenge started with enthusiasm again. This time I ensured I get enough sleep during the week, along with the other things such as drinking enough water or eating mindfully.
In the first week, I had struggled to manage a good sleeping routine because of my new commitment to walking. In the second week, however, I made one more change in my routine.
I decided to get up an hour earlier than usual, which also pushed me to sleep earlier. This way I ensured, I have 7 hours of beauty sleep and no less.
As a result, I did better than the previous week and my average count for the second week increased to 8344 steps. I was again exhausted by Friday but I took my 2 days off during the weekend and enjoyed it to the fullest.
TALKING ABOUT WEEKENDS
On weekends too, I am walking (in a way) since we go out for a movie or shopping or a day spend at some place.
Even on these days, I have noticed, I am conscious about my step counts and continue to track them with my app. It usually comes to an average of around 6000-7000 steps per day.
I sometimes wonder if this tracking behaviour, is a good sign of habit formation or a bad sign of app addiction!
MY GREATEST SETBACK SO FAR
The third week was a bit surprising. I was committed to my schedule but the excitement was low. This, I realized was because my body was still exhausted. I could sense some pain in my joints, at the ankle and knees and also started experiencing muscle pulls around my calf.
Confused as to why this was happening, I shared this with the group and a couple of my friends and everyone advised me to not strain much, but I knew in my heart, that I wasn’t. According to me, I was doing everything right.
I was walking just enough, taking the 2 days of weekend off, sleeping 7 hrs a day, eating and drinking properly.
Yet there was something that wasn’t suiting my body.
Therefore, in the third week I walked less, not intentionally, but because little was all that my body could support. In fact, I skipped my walk on Tuesday morning and compensated it with a short evening walk.
My ankles were still hurting, so I listened to my body and acted accordingly. Wednesday morning, I got up with pain but all prepared to take a short walk.
While I was waiting outside for my husband, I started to stretch out. I did the hamstring stretch, leg swing stretch and it suddenly felt SO GOOD. If you practice stretching you would know what I am talking about!
That’s when it struck me. It was the STRETCHES that was missing in my physical routine. This is why my joints were hurting and my muscles felt tight.
Stretching, I have realized, is one of the most important things for any exercise. That very day I significantly improved. Post the walk I spent an extra 15 minutes on stretching again. I performed the hamstring, glute and piriformis stretches and have been regular with these since then.
The third week, being my weakest one averaged to a count of 6806 steps.
POSITIVE CHANGES
I am now in the 6th week of the challenge and can proudly say that I am still committed to following my schedule with a healthy diet, drinking at least 2 liters of water, sleeping 7 hrs a day and walking.
I have now started meditation and keeping a journal too, for my own mental health, an important factor again in the route to being habitually healthy.
My friends from the 2 support groups keep sharing their progress over WhatsApp which keeps me motivated. I continue to keep a count of my steps with the help of an in-built health app in iPhone. There are a few other apps which one can use namely GOQii, Nike+Run and VeryFitPro
Oh and by the way, I got a full health check-up done, 4 weeks into the challenge. I am serious about my health and so I needed to know how I am doing.
Anyway, can you guess what my TSH level was this time? A 4.9!!! Yes, I got it down to 4.9!!!! My happiness knew no bounds!!!
I was once not allowed to donate blood, because of low hemoglobin, so you can imagine my joy, when I found out that my hemoglobin has gone up to 14 too!!
These developments have definitely made me excited and more determined.
My doctor was super impressed 😉 and so was I. All these changes are because of the many additions I made to my sedentary routine and not just one. I hope to continue this way till it comes to the point where I mindlessly do it- out of habit!
Are you ready to start your journey towards Being Habitually healthy???
Click here to read the 8th week update of the BHH Challenge 2019
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Hi! My name is Rubitah. I’m a Content Writer certified Life Coach, Counselor, Social Work professional and the Founder of Being Rubitah. Over the years through my professional and personal life, I have realized that prayers and love can do wonders to family life once you come to terms with yourself and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then you may like what I post here! Read more about me
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