Fitness: Chloe Ting’s 2021 Hourglass Challenge – Week 1

Image screenshot: Chloe Ting 2021 Hourglass Challenge

This post will be updated daily for days 1 – 7 of this challenge.

So it begins… Honestly until today I wasn’t certain I’d be committing to this challenge because I’d previously been interested in trying Chloe’s Get Fit Challenge for quite some time. However, I realise at this point that I don’t really have enough strength to use equipment, neither am I interested in overall muscle growth as a focus. Plus, this Hourglass challenge is only 21 days. That is literally my sweet spot, so I can’t really say no to it right now. I’m committed now.

In terms of what I’m looking for: again, just to keep working out. If there are any physical changes, fantastic. If there aren’t, that’s totally fine too because I’m just enjoying exercising. Supposedly this one isn’t as challenging, which I appreciate as I’m fairly sure I’ve lost a little strength, or haven’t been engaging some of the right muscles in the past.

In case you’re interested in before photos, you can see them in my Flat Stomach Challenge Results post. I took those photos this morning, so they would be the best indication for ‘before’ this challenge.

This challenge is 3 weeks long, so I’ll be creating a new update post each week to avoid a single post getting too long and thus intimidating to read. I did the same with the Flat Stomach Challenge and I liked that format a lot. As before, dates will be written in US format since I live here now.

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Fitness: Chloe Ting’s Flat Stomach Challenge Results

Alrighty, I wasn’t expecting to do this, because I wasn’t expecting any major (or any, full stop) changes in my body. My weight did not change whatsoever, which is nice because it looks like my weight has settled comfortably, and is something I’m currently easily able to maintain.

I took update photos today, and you can definitely see a difference before / after the flat stomach challenge, especially in my legs. My waist measurement remains the same, but I know that I’ve slimmed down because I’ve had to tighten the straps of my sports bra and my pants now sit higher on my waist. I’m wearing the same clothes to alleviate one more degree of inaccuracy when looking at before/after.

I’ve just realised you can also see more definition in my upper abs too. And that thigh gap that I wasn’t even aiming for has become pretty prominent. Apologies for the mess in the background, we’re due to clean the apt today.

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February Resolution: Check In #2

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The week’s reading did not go well. I wish I had a good reason for it? But I don’t. There were multiple times during the day, or even in the evening, where I’d thought, “I should read.” But I just didn’t do it.

I ended up only reading on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Again, it wasn’t that I didn’t have devo time on other days, but it does show an issue with my heart that I did not prioritise something as simple as reading an additional 21 verses at some point during my day.

It shows an idolatry problem. It shouldn’t be a burden to read an extra chapter, but rather an opportunity to spend more time with my Creator and He who should be my first love. There is nothing more I can say to this, it is sin. But, thankfully, God does not hold it against me, for my sins have already been paid for by the precious blood of Christ.

He remains faithful, even when I am faithless, and thank God that His love for me is not dependent on my behaviour or who I am, but because of who He is. What’s more, equally thankfully, God’s not finished with me yet, and He does not leave me where I’m at. May God work in me, that He should take His rightful place as King.

Blessings,

Crystina

February Resolution: Check In #1

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I decided to read Romans 12 after all :) It’s a shorter chapter than 8, so it works out well that I have fewer days to read it in for memorisation. I did my reading of it 4 times this week: I did not read on Friday and Sunday as previously decided, but unfortunately also missed reading it on Tuesday.

It was my bad for not prioritising it. It is a wonderful chapter that I am not as familiar with as I’d like to be, so I’m glad I have a chance to read it more this month.

This week I managed to get a lot of my to-do list complete, which I’m thanking God for. But I do notice that a lot of my faith-related to-do’s (i.e. record and upload, reading, evangelism) remain incomplete. There are some reasons for this – most relate to being really tired and working more, but I really could have gotten them done if I wanted to. It shouldn’t be a comparison, but a lot of personal things that I wanted to do were also neglected due to lack of time or energy.

That said, Jacky and I discussed some of the things that were eating into my time that was also causing me to become more tired than usual, and we’ve already made changes to combat this, for which I am very grateful.

Next week, I shall make it a priority, as it should be.

Blessings,

Crystina

Bullet Journal: February Setup

Wow, am I posting this spread on the first day of the month for once? Goodness me, it has been a productive start to the month! You may notice a couple of new pens below… that’s right! Last week the Zebra 15ct Mildiner Brush Pens that I’d been eyeing for months went on sale (still on sale right now for only $23+tax; they used to be $42) so I took the plunge and purchased them.

It’ll take me some time to get accustomed to using them I’m sure, but so far I’m liking them. The red colour isn’t as vibrant as I was expecting/hoping but it’s fine. I probably should have tested it before just going ahead and drawing but what’s life without a few risks.

I really enjoyed setting this up actually. I didn’t really have anything planned when I drew it out and it looks a little empty from the above picture, but I’ve already almost filled the two pages to the max with the things I want to accomplish during this period.

Essentially on the left side I have my monthly to-dos, which are just high-level things I want to accomplish at some point this month, and on the right I have a weekly spread.

I’m still using the rolling task list I learned from Plant Based Bride here to track my weekly tasks. This will be to assign my monthly to-dos to a specific day of the week, and also break down high-level tasks into smaller action steps where necessary. When I complete them all of the action items for that task, I’ll also tick it off my monthly to-do.

I date some of my monthly to-dos if I know they need to be accomplished within a certain week so that I can make sure I assign it when that week comes along.

Finally, my February mini-resolution tracker will be done on a weekly basis, since I plan to post weekly updates on my blog, so I’ll track them on my weekly spread.

I’m probably making a pig’s ear out of this description, but I know what I mean and it works for me haha. Sorry if it’s really confusing, but it is basic and I really like it. It’s been a while since I had to break down my monthly to-dos to a weekly task list, so this is kind of exciting for me.

Muchos love,

Bobbie