Renee's blog

Project 21

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21 day fasting - Day 4 & 5

Day 4 & 5

Day 4 Weight: 62.5kg 

Day 5 Weight: 62kg

Nothing happened much for 4 and 5, I basically carried on and felt great being able to detox myself with liquid :)

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21 day fasting - Day 4

Day 4 April.14th

Today's weight: unknown (as I am still travelling and cannot access a scale)

Water consumption: 

Foor consumption: Vegetarian Thali, Strawberry juice, Ice cappuccino

Cannot believe it is already day 4, yet with M coming, it is becoming more and more difficult to function while studying on CFA today.

Light-headedness 

When I woke up today, there was quite a strong light-headedness followed. I did not have a strong urge to eat, yet the constant dizziness remained after I got up and started my study today. My concentration level was quite low and I had to constantly rest by closing my eyes to gain strength. The symptoms worsened when I took a warm shower (I remember that taking a more-than-trepid shower would result in more dizziness, and tried my best to avoid more dizziness). I did not faint or black-put during shower, yet the sense of going to faint/black-out prevailed during shower and I had to sit down to dry myself after shower.

I also found out that I am starting my Menstrual today, and this could have added an extra effect of light-headedness or low blood pressure in me. 

Adopting easier version of fast during MC

After deliberate thought-through, I decided to slightly relax the "water -fast" restriction to compensate for 1) the slightly frail state of my body during my M-period and 2) the level of work my brains has to go through today (CFA study), Tues-Thursday (work).

For Tues-Thursday, I will try to limit the fast to only 2 bottles of juice/day before sunset. 

Food intake exception today

Thus, I went to the hotel restaurant (I am still travelling in Yangon, Myanmar) and ordered for a fresh strawberry juice (which I sensed the hotel has put some soda water in to boost taste ....) and a Indian vegetarian Thali. I avoided eating too much carbs (rice and nann) as carbs will be hard for my stomach to digest under fasting.

Half physical, half psychological, I became instantly energised after the meal and my brain started to function.

Later in the afternoon, I ordered a ice cappuccino which further sustained my productivity (still low against my usual standard, but much an improvement from this morning) throughout the afternoon.

Going forward

Unlike past fasts I have done, I do not see today's slight detour of taking food as a failure point of my fasting diet, but a practical adjustment I made according to the external environment and internal conditions. I think it is extremely important to listen to my own body, when it is actually craving for food to support its functions and when it is actually sufficiently charged and any excess food is just a waste that would be added to my body fat.

I believe the most important thing during fasting is to work everything toward the goal of detoxication and forget about weight-loss or fat-loss (in my case). Thus, there will be no fuss when I take in some food to support my body instead of sticking to purely water.

Looking forward, it is a journey of purification but not self-torture, a journey to find inner peace and realise a clearer visage at of this 21 days.

Looking forward to be in Hong Kong tomorrow and continue with my Day 5. Exciting :D

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21 day fasting - Day 3

Day 3 - April. 13th

Today's weight: unknown

Water consumption: approx. 4L

Exception of water-fast

Due to extreme hot weather and outdoor walking, drank tea with milk (tea cup) in the morning, and vegetarian soup without eating much vegetables.

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21 day fasting - Day 2

Day 2 – April. 12th

  Today’s Weight: unknown  (because I am in Myanmar and there is no scale in my hotel room, I was not able to do a scaling today. )

Water consumption: approx.. 4L

  Exception of water-fast

Due to the intensity of travel, I took 3 packs of almonds, 3 brown sugar candy, and one pack of jackfruit.

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21 day fasting - Day1

Day 1

Starting weight: 64kg (140.5lb)

Water consumption: ~10 glasses (approx. 4L)

Overall 

Though I had such a big momentum, my first day is actually not as easy as Celes has gone through. She did not have any moments of hunger, while I did experience moments of stomach grumbling (according to Celes not really hunger) in the afternoon. My day became longer and there were moments when i thought of food. I tried to let those moments pass by focusing on other things I do.

Should I let my friends know?

There is one element I would like to raise up particularly on my Day1 -- friends and people around you.

A lot of them will become concerned when you tell them you are going on a fasting diet. One of my colleague was like, so before you only eat vegetables, and now you are eating nothing?! One of my colleague went very scientific and actually read all the blogs i sent him and said, "you should not be doing this without supervision. we are just very concerned about you."

Though there are concerns, I knew that they all stem from the love these people have for me. I told them I realize going on water-fasting could be dangerous, especially in the later stages. And I would stop fasting at once if I have any conditions or a certain intense urge to eat (signal of entering into the stage of starvation). Telling friends and people who care for you these would give them certain amount of comfort, but the concept of fasting would still shock most people as it is contradictory to what we all raise up to believe - people need to eat three meals a day!

But still, I felt I have made the right decision to tell people around me openly that I am on a 21-day fasting diet. It helps me to avoid making up awkward excuses everyday to not join for lunch with colleagues and it gave me all the more motivation to stick to my plan -- because people now know about the plan, and I have more external drivers to keep me going!

Does eating means loving?

On the same topic yet another scenario -- catching up with loved ones always involve certain amount of eating (dinning out, having a drink over somewhere). And not taking days off and totally shutting myself out, I face the same amount of social activities I would have face without going on fasting. Right now, I am caught in a slight dilemma when my boyfriend asked me if I could resume to eating when going on a Taiwan trip with him during Easter (my fasting Day 8-10). I came up with two options for myself, but could not decide yet:

1) Stick with original plan: I could stick with my original plan and avoid all food during my trip to Taiwan. This would probably be one of the biggest challenges during my fasting process.

2) Adopt juice/liquid fasting: I could also change my plan and adopt a juice/liquid fasting period for three days. Since there are so many liquid goodies in Taiwan, and I would be travelling instead of being in a sedentary state, this plan would be justifiable as a part of fasting if I control my intake to less than 2 times /day.

I have still not quite decided yet on which path I would take, I will leave it now here and figure out when I have to.

An exciting Day 2 awaits me in Myanmar. :)

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Sweet home (at home)

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It's time for self exploration. Not a time to use relationships as an excuse to stay stagnant.

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The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adopt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionists

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Love life, love chances, love animals, love people you are with, love moments like now. To a better me and better world.

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China’s Loveliest Mountain: Huangshan (黄山)

Want to see more photos from Huangshan? Visit the Huangshan (黄山) location page and check out the #huangshan and #黄山 hashtags.

Huangshan (黄山), or “Yellow Mountain,” is situated in east China’s Anhui province. It’s known for sweeping views of jutting granite peaks that emerge just above the clouds, sturdy pine trees and must-see sunrises over the North Sea. As a result of its scenic beauty, the site is a major tourist destination in China. Over 15 million tourists visited in 2007 alone.

Those who visit Huangshan have the opportunity to stand on the world’s highest bridge, known as The Bridge of Immortals. Visitors can also climb several hundred steps past mysterious caves to Lotus Peak—Huangshan’s highest summit at an altitude of 1,837 meters (6,027 feet).

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But sometimes a woman's love of being loved gets the better of her conscience, and though she is agonized at the thought of treating a man cruelly, she encourages him to love her while she doesn't love him at all.

--p222, Jude the obscure

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What a ride #骑掉半条命 #sawnudebeach #woohoo (at Potsdam)

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1.5year a meet. #我们是大口喝酒大口吃肉的酒肉朋友

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AIDS/LifeCycle 2013

Follow along with the bicyclists by following @aidslifecycle on Instagram and browsing the #alc2013 hashtag.

Today, thousands of bicyclists embark on a seven-day ride along 545 miles of the California coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Originally founded in 1993 as the California AIDS Ride, AIDS/LifeCycle (@aidslifecycle) celebrates its 20th ride this year. The event, supported by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, is now the world’s largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser and is expected to raise up to $13 million from the 2013 ride.

Are you biking AIDS/LifeCycle this year? Be sure to share your photos with the #alc2013 hashtag and add your location to your photos so friends and followers can watch you make the journey!

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I remember me visiting this senior girl I liked so much when I was a freshman in Uni, in my very first summer at HKU, in this very room, Starr Hall 1902. And now three years passed, it is time for me to leave as a senior. Goodbye my Starr Hall, I did not expect you would have created so much memories for me.

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Anybody wants books? #生不带来死不带去 (at Starr Hall 施德堂)