Day 29 & 30: Meditation Challenge Update

Today is the last day of the 30-minute meditation challenge for this month. I am really happy with the way this challenge went. I was able to consistently meditate for an hour on most days except for a couple of days when I was super tired or got delayed. On those days, I did 30 min only.

Yesterday, on day 29, I managed to complete one hour of meditation before sleeping, and today, I completed another hour of meditation in the morning.

What I have learned is that I enjoy meditating at night before sleeping. Initially, I found it hard to incorporate meditation in the morning. But as I have progressed through this month, I have found it easy to meditate in the morning also.

These are some of the benefits that I have noticed

First, it really helps me sleep better. It slows down my mind and helps me unwind from the chaos of the day. Spending some time with my thoughts in the quietness, helps me sort out the unwanted thoughts and keep the ones that are important for me. It’s almost like cleaning up my mind before sleeping. I have noticed that my sleep has become better. I didn’t really track my sleep on the app via my smartwatch, because I like to remove my watch while meditating. Mostly, I didn’t wear it after my meditation so I slept without it. Hence, it is difficult to track.

Second, I wake up refreshed. Eating low-carb has already reduced my morning lethargy. When I used to eat high-carb, I used to feel stiffness in my body upon waking up. I accidentally discovered this a few years ago, that’s how I got interested in the low-carb way of eating. I will write about it in another post, someday. So, while lethargy was not there, meditating at night before sleeping made me realize that my mind also felt rested.

Third, it has helped me reduce my tech usage. I didn’t watch Netflix or use technology for one hour before sleeping. I think this is a great way to wean away from the tech habit at night. Usually after my meditation, I don’t feel like checking my social media or watching Netflix. Even if I do, it’s for a minute or two before I am fast asleep.

Fourth, I have better focus and concentration during the day. Even during the day, I am less prone to check my social media apps than before I started this challenge. I don’t get caught up in conversations that don’t add much value to my life.

Fifth, it turns my thoughts in a positive direction. I mainly do Vipassana-style meditation, which I learned a few years ago. This month I have used a guided Vipassana meditation for an hour. Usually, when I have a break, I prefer starting with guided meditation, otherwise, I find it difficult to sit through it. Listening to the meditation tape, helps me to practice being in a non-reactive, balanced state of mind.

Sixth, I have better control over my hunger levels & am fasting with more ease. In the last month, I have felt that meditation has had an effect on balancing my hormones. As my response to stressful situations has improved, so is my response to food.

Seventh, I feel that the time has expanded. Earlier, I used to feel that there is not enough time to do anything. But now, I feel I have extra time and can do much more than before. I don’t feel a sense of urgency so much. I am more relaxed and at ease with my workload.

Eighth, I think meditation goes very well with a low-carb, time-restricted eating style I practice these days. Meditating in the morning & then going for a walk, similarly, walking & then meditating at night is a better way to begin and end your day. It allows our body to prepare for the day and end the day with a relaxed, stress-free attitude. Even when I am working till late or early in the morning, a short meditation changes my attitude toward my work and provides a good transition between bed and work.

These are a few of my observations from the monthly challenge of 30-minute meditation every day for April 24. For the next month, I want to focus on writing every day for 30 min. I do free journaling on and off. But this time, I want to do it consistently for a month as a challenge. I will write daily updates on my blog. Writing here daily has helped me track and observe my progress much better.

Day 24: Meditation challenge update

Wow! I am on day 25, I can’t believe that I am towards the end of the month. It’s been tough but very rewarding to do this challenge. My mind seems calmer, more organized, and happier. These challenges are helping me to see the value of each of these habits I have always lived by.

This month I have realized the value of meditation. It is so important to give our minds nothing to do. All day we keep thinking but when we leave our mind free for some time, it gets relief and settles down. Otherwise, the pressure keeps our brain on & it can never do the sorting out it needs to do.

Today has been a good day. I am looking forward to tomorrow as the Metabolic Health Conference is starting. I am so excited to be hosting a session in which we will be talking about PCOS and how low carb can help women deal with PCOS.

Tomorrow morning, I have a gym session too. So, it is going to be a packed day. Next week, my work project is starting, and possibly a few other clients for health coaching.

So, until tomorrow.

Day 23: Meditation Challenge Update

Yesterday’s meditation was good and I slept peacefully and well after my meditation.

Today, I woke up quite early at 4 am. But I slept for a little while as my gym session was canceled today. So, I went for a nice long walk. I also cooked, so that I don’t need to cook a lot for 2-3 days.

I also had to make another shopping trip. This is my annual ritual because I get a good discount on stuff that I buy.

I am pretty sleepy already, so I will end here

Day 22: Meditation challenge update

Today, was an easy day. I woke up around 4 am so I did go for my usual morning walk as it is not a training day.

I did fast for almost 23 hours. Yesterday, I finished my meal around 2pm and today, I had my lunch at 1pm. I really enjoy longer fasts these days, but I don’t do them often as it is still difficult to have my required food during a short feeding window. My digestion has improved, but not completely healed.

Today, I am making bone broth. It will cook in a slow cooker for 24 hours. It’s super healing that’s why I drink it. Sometimes, I think that it’s because of bone broth that I am not in a hospital but at home leading a normal life. It has been a long healing journey, which is still continuing.

Yesterday, I had a good meditation. But not a single day has gone by when I haven’t slept during the meditation. It seems that I needed to rest, so this was a good challenge for this month.

I am still thinking of what activity to take up for next month as a challenge. I have quite a few in mind, but I want to take up one by one so that they become a habit.

Now, I am going to sit for my meditation

Day 21: Meditation Challenge Update

Yesterday, I slept well after my meditation. However, it was very late, almost midnight, by the time I completed my meditation & went to sleep. I had a phone call with a client so it delayed me.

Despite sleeping late, I was able to get to the gym on time. I am enjoying starting my workouts around 6 am. I am usually back home by 7:30 and start my work early.

Today, at the gym we celebrated our gym trainer’s birthday. While I practice low-carbs, the others in my gym group don’t. So, they arranged a cake. One of the girls is a home baker, so she baked a cake & quiche. Now, it was difficult for me to say no, as I am also new to this social group. After my workout, I did have a taste of both the cake & the quiche. I only had tiny pieces, but my fast was broken.

So, I came home and had my breakfast early and then had lunch. So, since 2 pm today, I haven’t eaten anything except for some fluids & butter coffee. I still find it hard to fast without some butter coffee. However, I am feeling good, no real dip in my energy levels. This is the first time I have had my last meal so early. I usually prefer to eat during the middle of the day.

My early morning predicament about whether to eat or not to eat the birthday cake made me think about all of us who want to eat the low-carb way. It is difficult when the social environment doesn’t support our choices. So, we have to be more strong to make this work.

Instead of sitting at home, I went for some shopping today in the afternoon so obviously I forgot all about food. This is a good strategy, I adopt sometimes. I plan my shopping trips on the days when I fast. I bought a new dress after a while. I don’t like to buy a lot of clothes these days as I am still working through the pile of clothes in my wardrobe.

But as I came back from shopping, I had an interesting chat with Auto Wallah who dropped me home. He told me that his son has topped the 12th boards exams and he is now studying for the IIT entrance exams. He was concerned about how he would manage the finances to support his son’s education. But he was definitely very excited about his son’s achievement.

It was really a very mixed day. Life certainly gave me variety & a lot to think about today.

Day 18: Meditation update challenge

So yesterday, I had a very good meditation. After my meditation, I slept well & woke up early in the morning around 4 am for my workouts.

However, I didn’t have as good a day as I had hoped it to be. I felt a little exhausted throughout the day, probably because it was too hot. I hate sitting in AC all day. But don’t have much choice these days.

By evening, I felt so tired that I watched a movie on Netflix for a bit & also tried to sleep. I also didn’t eat properly today. I was in general a bit miserable. I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

Today, I am going to keep it short.

Day 14: Meditation challenge update

Yesterday’s meditation was good. I managed to do it a bit earlier too so I got a good amount of hours of sleep.

But today didn’t go as planned. I gave in to an occasional impulse to go shopping for some workout clothes. It was almost a year since I haven’t bought any workout clothes, so it was time. But I am not sure if I should have gone today. Tomorrow is another busy day as I have planned to go for my haircut. These are the mundane aspects, which I have never bothered about. But ever since I started working from home, such activities have become an occasion, which don’t bring me joy anymore. I do them as a chore.

Until the pandemic changed my life, I used to find such activities very routine. But now things have changed. I spend more time at home and I enjoy it. The last two years were difficult as my productivity slowed down quite a bit. But now I am aiming to get back to my usual self. I keep telling this to myself every day. Sometimes, I think it’s good to remind ourselves about things we need to do.

In the last few years, I have painted & learned about health. Both these are very different from the kind of activities I used to engage with. So, while I have discovered a new side of me, I now, want to reconcile my two sides – one side, which was forever engaged in work in a competitive world and the new side, which wants to venture out into unknown areas of life. Is it possible to reconcile yourself? Sometimes, I wonder.

Have you ever faced such a situation?

I think I will sit for my meditation with this thought. Maybe I will find some answers

Day 13: Meditation challenge update

Yesterday, I completed my meditation a bit earlier than usual, so I was happy. I slept well & woke up early enough to go for a nice walk just as the sky was changing colors. The dawn colors of the sky are my favorite time of the day. The city is usually quiet so I really enjoy looking at the colors changing from dark blue to light blue.

Although the day started well, somehow I was a bit tired by the afternoon & almost sleepy. This was a busy week as I started my workouts & I exercised for 3 days a week, so was somewhat tired by the weekend. Yesterday, I had one meal after a 24-hour fast and today also I ate after an 18-hour fast. So, I think eventually, my body needed time to recover. I wanted to sleep early but I had phone calls to make so got delayed. I have a lot of pending tasks to complete that I am finding it hard to even get started on some of the pending stuff.

My life will get more busy from tomorrow, so I will need to remain more focused. Today, I was talking to a friend & she is also interested in trying the low-carb diet with me. In fact, both she and her daughter may do it together. It feels good when people want to make efforts to better their life. In my view, everyone should try this way of eating, because it brings benefits only. I will write more posts on this topic later.

Today, I want to remain focused on my meditation. One thing is true, meditating every day almost always changes my life and it is doing it this time too. I feel that if exercise is necessary for our body, meditation is for our mind. Today, I ate my dinner a bit later than usual, so I was a bit worried if I will be able to meditate. But it was very light so I think I will be able to. Every day I worry, if I will be able to complete the challenge. But then it happens. That is the beauty of this life. Things happen, we just have to believe in them.

So, now I am off to meditate.

Day 12: Meditation challenge update

Yesterday’s meditation was good. I again slept halfway. But now I am beginning to enjoy them, even if I sleep through some of it. I definitely get ready for my sleep & even if I am tempted to look at social media & Netflix, I don’t feel as interested. So, don’t waste my time.

Even during the day, my engagement on social media & apps is getting less. I remain more focused on my goals/ tasks for the day. These days I am helping another client transition to a low-carb diet. Although it’s not tough, some people face more challenges than others.

Transitioning from a high-carb to a lower-carb diet can be challenging as many people are addicted to sugar & or carbs. What I have also noticed is that most people have diets that are deficient in proteins. So the tricky part is to convince people to stop having carbs & focus more on proteins. Once people understand & start seeing the benefits, they sincerely make an effort to adapt to the low-carb way of eating.

I really enjoy the process of helping people make this transition. Because the impact of such a way of eating is life-changing for some people especially those who are dealing with a metabolic syndrome.

Now, I will sit for my meditation. So, until tomorrow.

Day 4: Meditation challenge update

So, yesterday I managed to do 1-hour meditation at night. Meditating at night has many benefits

• First, it helps me calm down after a busy day
• Second, I notice an improvement in my sleep quality. I tend to have a deeper sleep & wake less often at night
• Third, I don’t need to look at the screen before sleeping
• Fourth, when I wake up in the morning, I feel refreshed & in better mood

I have many times tried meditating at night before sleeping. But found it difficult to do so as I would feel heavy & full of food. But now that I am eating the low-carb way, I don’t feel heavy so easier to meditate.

However, I must add that I am easily distracted during my meditation. it is not as easy to meditate yet. But I am hoping that as I continue to meditate every day, I will get better.

The more we do something, the better we get at it, even meditation. So, if you struggle with meditation, just try with 15 min meditation every day. Slowly, it will become easier.

Meditation really helps me center & organize my thoughts, which I find are usually going in all different directions.

I am just happy that the low-carb eating is helping me meditate well.