Challenges for The Following Weeks
During the last few days, I have been watching multiple videos and articles about different types of challenges.
Some of them include trying specific diets, others are focused on practicing meditation and breathing exercises every day for a certain amount of time whilst others focus on the goal of reading 5 books a week.
I love challenges. I love to study and investigate the effects on my body and mind when following different routines and diets, which brings once again to the decision to push myself and try to meet new challenges that got my attention.
I know most of them are going to be easy to achieve whilst others will be an absolute pain. After hesitating for a while, these are the ones I have decided to undertake:
24 Hours Fasting
24 hours of fasting is considered a short term fasting. I have checked multiple articles about fasting and the effect that this refrainment from eating has on our bodies.
I read about the way our stomach and intestines function when there is nothing to digest, how eating multiple times a day can fatigue our intestines, making them lack the time to kill germs and complete on other important functions.
Anyway, there seems to be a different theory about this practice in every corner of the web. Most people that enjoyed doing it were able to refrain from 48 to 72 hours, which sounded pretty insane to me. I want to try something I know I can achieve, and I have never tried fasting before, so I will start small.
Each and every single theory about fasting is, as always, very accurately supported by some scientific proof and data, which leaves me to the conclusion that I should try it myself and see the results on my own body after my first 24 hours without eating or drink anything at all apart from water.
And because I have a terrible night’s sleep, I will start after dinner (8pm).
Internet Detox
I am confident this one is going to be, by far, a lot more painful to meet than the fasting challenge.
I use the internet all the time every day, and despite applying some technology/internet detox practices, I always go back to my old bad habits.
I see the news online, I read my email on my smartphone several times a day and use social media to find out about the latest news and updates. I often open Twitter and Instagram apps when waiting to pay in the supermarket and sometimes even use it to make the grocery shopping online.
Oh, and I can spend a ridiculous amount of hours on Youtube, watching videos that range from food content to clothing hauls, self-development, and even financial education.
I always forgive myself for my addiction because, at the end of the day, it’s not my fault that everything I need is on the web!
However, a few weeks ago, I started noticing a decrease in my attention span. I struggle to focus on a single task for more than an hour. Sometimes I only need background noise. I need to listen to a song or a video whilst doing something less important.
I feel that my productivity has decreased and that makes me feel horrible about myself.
I am doing an Internet Detox week where I will be writing down everything I feel and experience. I will only allow myself to get inside any social media platform or website after 7pm.
And because I know I am going to feel lost, I have written down a list of activities that I want to engage in (aside from my daily tasks) in case I have that awful “and what now?” moment when I have finished everything I needed to do.
There are a couple of exceptions to the rule:
- I can check my email when I am waiting for an urgent message.
- I will allow myself to open the browser for job-related tasks.
- I will allow myself to open the browser only and exclusively for food websites when I need to find a new recipe, which brings me to the final challenge.
5 new recipes
I want to discover new easy-to-prepare dishes. I am going to have some extra time, as I won’t allow my time to go down the internet pit anymore.
My rules for the new recipes are:
- They need to be very fast to prepare.
- Few ingredients
- Healthy and tasty
I have already found three of those recipes that I want to cook and I will make sure to find some more until I can try at least 5 different dishes.
Are you going to try any challenge?
19 Comments
John Malone
What you are doing is a fantastic idea for these days! Let us know how these challenges go 🙂
Kiira Smith
Thanks John, I will keep you updated!
Jamie
The 24 hour fasting sounds brutal, I have heard from people that say that intermittent fasting is great (like the 16/8 hours method) but you must have a lot of power of will to pull off 24 hours or even more!
Kiira Smith
I wanted to do something more drastic to see if I could perceive the results 😆
Karen
I did start reading a few months ago about internet detoxing and dopamine and I tried to do full 24 hours. It was great and a very liberating experience. It made me feel better! I look forward to see what you think
Kiira Smith
That’s amazing! Technology can really drain our minds 📱
Lucy
Very interesting topic. What are your thoughts on programmes/extensions to control browsing? I use sometimes:
DF Youtube – This blocks out all of the ads, suggested videos and the comment section so all you can see on Youtube is the video you clicked on from searching.
StayFocusd – This extension allows you to block sites, dictate how long you’ll allow yourself to spend on sites per day etc. I use this allll the time!
Limitless – This extension tells you how long you spend on each website per day, with a little ticker type thing at the top of the window. It haunts me haha
Kiira Smith
Thanks for the helpful suggestions! I have an app similar to Limitless that tells me how much time I spent on my phone every week.
I should install some extensions on my computer too 🙂
Thomas
It will be very interesting to see how do you feel after these experiments.
Regarding the fasting,. I’m Jewish so I tried to do the 25 hour fast for Yom Kippur a lot, but it was a failure. I couldn’t focus on the holiday because I was so hungry hahaha
Kiira Smith
Hahaha I hope I can make it, will keep you updated!
Lau
I got into Intermittent fasting for a while, and the biggest tip I have is to ease into the fasting. The first time fast 6 hrs, then increase to 8 hours, then 10. Increase your fasting window in increments. Every study I read was positive for health and longevity. I personally didn’t lose weight doing it. I did notice my digestive system appreciated the break.
Kiira Smith
That’s a great tip for long term fasting, that way the body doesn’t suffer the shock of not having anything at all for too long👍
Sharon
I do 24h fasts frequently lately. Tuesdays and Thursdays I eat under 300 calories. I definitely see gains in weigh loss. A few pounds per month. What I really enjoy is the clarity of mind I have on those fasting days. I really feel sharp.
On those days I don’t do heavy, strenuous workouts but I do reserve those days for big mental tasks.
Kiira Smith
Wow, you have amazing willpower! One of the reasons why I want to try it is the mental clarity effect, everyone that has done it mentions it.
Jess
I’ve done both the 16/8 routine and the 5/2 fast days (Tues and Thursday). Both produce results. Psychologically, the 24 hour fasts twice a week were harder for me. I’d do Tues pretty easily but then I’d be dreading the Thursday fast all day Wednesday. No idea why but it almost felt like being a kid again and hating Sundays because you had to go back to school on Monday. Illogical but there ya go.
Kiira Smith
I really need some of that willpower! Twice a week sounds really painful, I hope that at least you felt some positive effects.
Sarah
I’m 5’2″ 181 pounds (44 pounds lost so far!) and I’ve done plenty 24 hour fasts. It’s definitely easier when you have a busy day; staying at home with easy access to food can be tougher. I’m definitely not superhuman. I’m super lazy and I love food. The greasier the better. I think the key is to just drink a lot of water and to keep yourself busy. Obsessing about how many hours you have left to eat is counterproductive.
If you can’t make it the full 24 hours, that’s fine! Work your way up to it. Do 20:4 for a week or two and see how that goes. Nothing superhuman about it, it’s just changing your relationship with food!
I think all these types of fasting are very good, not just for weight loss. Let us know how does it go!
Kiira Smith
Congratulations on your journey! I hope I can can have half your determination to complete at least the 24th. I am particularly interested in the clarity of mind that some people experienced. Will keep you updated 😁
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