~*~nutrition, Exercise And Water For Hair Growth Challenge 2018~*~

Finally took a pic: left is when I got my hair done, right is when I straightened yesterday. My hair is thick af but I think it's because I can't straighten it as well as that lady did. Sorry for the awful pic quality, I used my potato android.

I also went to the gym yesterday. I have a 25 pg final to write so that'll be the first time in two weeks and maybe the last time in two weeks. I really need to achieve balance in my life. So tired.

I decided to review my goals posted at the beginning of the year. I'm not too far off even though it has taken me a minute to get here. I said I would make BSB this year. I'm not sure where I got that from. I must have been optimistic. It is going to take everything in the universe to get me to APL. I have about 3 inches before I am grazing. If I get beyond this I will know it was definitely due to the changes here.

I'm do weekly washes and protective styles. I haven't decided to increase my water rinses since I color my hair with a semi-permanent color. But I have increased the number of times I spritz my scalp during the week to keep it hydrated. This seems to have decreased my shedding and helped the thinning area in the crown start recovering. I am clipping splits and dusting every 4 months. It's a work in progress. I can see myself getting there by the 3rd quarter.

Exericse Goal Update
I'm still the same weight. I'm having a hard time dropping weight and getting serious about dropping weight. When I do finally get serious it should only take me 2 months to get to my weight. I have started working out and have gotten serious in the past 2 weeks. I have started my cycling training which is 3 days a week and I have added tabata 2 to 3 days a week. I'm in better shape than last year but not in shape. But I can already see the progress in the past 2 weeks. I've decided to focus on strength and fitness first and weight loss second.

I have increased my fruit and vegetable consumption but I want to up my vegetable consumption more. I bought a juicer but not yet juicing every day. I made one last night and it was so delicious. I had a smoothie bowl with spinach, carrot, banana and blueberries for breakfast and it was really satisfying. I want to move towards a plant based diet but I need to be patient and work my way to it. I need to work on my sugar intake. I have cut out the sugar with my coffee but still do the cream. And at the end of the day I get candy from one of the managers candy bowl. I need to stop this.

Water Intake
This is easy for me especially when I am at work. I bought a 32 oz tumbler and I drink 2 of those while at work. I drink water before I go to work. I drink water while working out and after working out. I also drink coffee. If I didn't drink coffee in the morning I could probably drink more water.

Nutrition/Supplements
I am slowly increasing my servings of fruits and vegetables. I think I do OK with fruits. I really want to increase my vegetables to at least 2 servings with lunch and dinner. I would also like to add some serving of vegetable with breakfast.

I am taking algae supplements as well as a liquid turmeric and coq10 or whatever that is. I actually think the turmer and coq10 are working for me. I started taking them on Monday and I already feel like I have more energy and I'm getting up earlier.

Observations
I noticed with the improved eating and water intake my eyelashes are getitng thick and full. I find myself staring at them when I wash my face. I'm not sure when they looked like this last. My skin is also starting to look better and the wrinkles decreasing just slightly. I'm not sure if I have noticed much difference in my hair.

Overall
Overall I am headed in the right direction and making progress. I will continue with baby steps until they become routine.


Original Goals
Exercise Goals
Current Weight: 153
Height: 5'6
Goal Weight and/or Inches to lose: 145
How will you achieve this goal?:
--Workout 3x a week
--Start doing the steps at work and take more desk breaks
--Increase my fruit and vegetable consumption and decrease my sugar consumption

Water Goals
Daily Intake Goal: 60 oz

Nutrition Goals
What are your Nutrition Goals?: Eat 6 servings of fruits and veggies
How will you achieve them?: Have fruit with breakfast and as a snack.
Eat 1 to 2 servings of vegetables with lunch and dinner
Drink 4 oz of vegetable/fruit juice

Today I had planned on doing my cycling training but when I got on the bike I just didn't have the energy I needed. I think the 2 previous training sessions on the bike and the tabata caught up with me. So I rode for a few minutes and then ditched that idea. I did a HIIT video instead. I haven't mastered it yet but I can see my improvements already in just a week. This video is by Maggie Binkley and she has quite a few series. I'm only doing this one. I want to work up to her 5 day a week program. Let's see if I can get there by the beginning of July.

I took my turmeric shot and the CoQ12 (I will look up what this really is). I had a smoothie bowl. Yum and I feel satisfied.

I put a Kerastase mask on my hair last night. I will rinse that out soon and then find some way to style my hair.

Weighed in at 153.4 this morning, so no weight loss but getting a little stronger and a little more fit.

So... totally not doing well with this challenge. I haven't hopped on a scale but I noticed I definitely lost weight when I looked at myself this morning - and not in a good way. I had basically stopped eating for one week due to a wave of depression after a fallout with a friend. I had thought I had a stomach bug because I was physically unable to eat even when I was hungry. The next two weeks I was so stressed and tired I also had no desire to eat. My fridge has been pretty much empty the whole time, I had no energy to go shopping or even order food. I obviously wasn't working out because my body couldn't handle it. Thus the weight loss...

I grabbed a bit of groceries today and made myself breakfast, then went to the gym for the first time in that three week span. I could not lift nearly as much, minus 15-20 pounds on arms and legs, and my form was awful. I hate starting over like this. I know I feel amazing when I exercise, but when I get like I was the last few weeks I just can't. Plus I still have so much work and studying, the stress hasn't gone anywhere.

I think I've been alright with drinking water, but not as much as I was before. I used to be sure to drink at least 2 liters a day, haven't been as good since I haven't been working out, which forces me to drink more. Plus I don't like drinking when I haven't eaten or I'll be running to the bathroom every 5 minutes and I can't do that while I'll bouncing from office to office trying to stand up network gear.

I've been perfectly fine with my vitamins (sugar bear hair), but not drinking water makes them pretty pointless. Also added in a collagen supplement but I don't notice any difference. I'm really going to have to push myself to get back to a routine, I have tons of travel coming up that'll make it more and more difficult, but I really do gotta take care of myself. Hoping to put on some healthy weight and muscle leading up to August so that my vacation and training don't mess me up all over again.

sunflora said:

So... totally not doing well with this challenge. I haven't hopped on a scale but I noticed I definitely lost weight when I looked at myself this morning - and not in a good way. I had basically stopped eating for one week due to a wave of depression after a fallout with a friend. I had thought I had a stomach bug because I was physically unable to eat even when I was hungry. The next two weeks I was so stressed and tired I also had no desire to eat. My fridge has been pretty much empty the whole time, I had no energy to go shopping or even order food. I obviously wasn't working out because my body couldn't handle it. Thus the weight loss...

I grabbed a bit of groceries today and made myself breakfast, then went to the gym for the first time in that three week span. I could not lift nearly as much, minus 15-20 pounds on arms and legs, and my form was awful. I hate starting over like this. I know I feel amazing when I exercise, but when I get like I was the last few weeks I just can't. Plus I still have so much work and studying, the stress hasn't gone anywhere.

I think I've been alright with drinking water, but not as much as I was before. I used to be sure to drink at least 2 liters a day, haven't been as good since I haven't been working out, which forces me to drink more. Plus I don't like drinking when I haven't eaten or I'll be running to the bathroom every 5 minutes and I can't do that while I'll bouncing from office to office trying to stand up network gear.

I've been perfectly fine with my vitamins (sugar bear hair), but not drinking water makes them pretty pointless. Also added in a collagen supplement but I don't notice any difference. I'm really going to have to push myself to get back to a routine, I have tons of travel coming up that'll make it more and more difficult, but I really do gotta take care of myself. Hoping to put on some healthy weight and muscle leading up to August so that my vacation and training don't mess me up all over again.

Click to expand...

I hope you are feeling better.

I did tabata on Saturday. I took yesterday off. I should work out today but I don't feel like it. And I am definitely not eating according to plan. Today I've eaten nothing of substance just yogurt, granola with bananas and coffee and some cashews. I will regret it tomorrow. I just don't feel motivated today.

I actually fell off this month. Worked out in April making up my own routine. Have to get back to it this coming month.

So I thought I would regret my fattening Monday diet but I actually lost weight So I'm guessing I wasn't getting enough fat in my diet. I eat pretty lean. So I will add full fat yogurt in on the weekend and see if that helps.

I did work out this week. I did tabata on Tuesday and Thursday and I cycled for an hour on my trainer on Wednesday and Friday. My legs are tired so I will be taking today off. Not sure if I will work out tomorrow or give my legs another day of rest. I may have to build up to being able to cycle 3 days a week along with the tabata. My arms are getting stronger :yeah: which should make my cycling easier. I still have a ways to go.

My water is on point. I easily go through 64 oz at work and then drink water before and after work. I ate lean and mostly fruits and vegetables this week.

I'm still caving in to the candy in the afternoons at work. I'm working on it. I get into these spells where I have to have candy every day and then it passes and I don't do candy for months.

I refuse to weigh myself because the scale was just going up. I will weigh myself next Saturday. But without weighing myself I can see the weight loss. My stomach has gone done. I'm hoping I can drop below 150 by the 15th.

I'm still taking my supplements. No changes there.

I don't see anything going on with my hair.

Feeling a bit better, but the weather is getting to me. Its been overcast and thunderstorming in NOVA for almost an entire month now. I have SADD and I'm surprised I haven't gone off my rocker, but I'm getting there.

I did my long run and core work out Sunday, then got in weights Wednesday. I don't think I'll make it to the gym today since I just got out of bed , but at least I'll go Sunday for the long run and core work out. I'll try to work gradually to get back up to speed.

Still working on the water. I did drink three beers yesterday. That's another thing I really need to quit, stat.

I averaged about 1.6L/day for the month of May. I still have a bit of room for improvement.

My weight is good and I don't need to loose anything now, but my mommy stomach is still here due to lack of exercise. I managed to exercise 3 times this week after not doing anything for a long time. I bought some resistance bands which really steps up the simple floor exercises that I was doing.

I really need to cut down on the sugar. It's not benefiting me at all. Half the time I eat it just because it's there and not because I actually want to eat it.

Whoa, I totally forgot about this thread .

I will be back on track soon since I invested in a treadmill and will be going back to purchase a workout bench to get my body back on track. My water intake is very low too so I have to work on that as well. Checking in here will keep me accountable.

I'm still following and using this thread even though I am not posting.

Update:

The habit tracker app HabitBull has me hitting all sorts of consistency targets. Yay!

Exercise:
I'm getting my exercise in (must do so, no choice), and I'm having a blast with it. I'm line dancing (for hours, twice a week), I'm doing kettlebell workouts, I'm doing YouTuber Beautiful Brown Baby Doll's arm routine (and LOVE IT), and more. I dance with our oldest to Just Dance (a workout, man!), and we do other highly physical Xbox games.

I'm jogging in the morning if I don't do something list above. I jog early while it's still cool, listening to a Christian playlist of my favorite, heart-swelling songs, and it's like a sweet, calm, peaceful prayer and personal worship all rolled into one. I thank Him for the day, my health, my legs, my body, my sight, His love and protection and covering, people who love me, supply, financial health, and on and on.

Eating, Drinking, Supplements:
I'm eating healthy. Lots of salmon, fruit, veggies, grape tomatoes, apples, greens (cold and cooked), chicken burgers, protein, whole grain, low-fat cheese and yogurt, etc.

I'm typically drinking lots of water (unless my schedule gets interrupted). I seem to almost have that on lock but not quite. It's getting there.

I'm drinking a new morning drink. It helps me with intermittent fasting, and it lets me get my marine collagen in. I find it delicious. Here are the deets: https://blossomingfitnatural.com/20...urmeric-and-collagen-bullet-green-tea-recipe/

I'm consistently taking the Camille Rose Naturals hair vitamin, and so far so good. No breakouts. I love, love, love the ingredients.

I'm consistently taking chlorella and spirulina tablets. I'm taking my iron pill as needed (I no longer need it every day as my iron is up and I'm getting it through my diet, which is awesome!).

I'm going to look into what liquid oxygen drops in my water might do for me. Someone highly recommended this, so I'll do the research.

Hair:
Hair is just fine. It's growing. Wearing it heat straightened has been wonderful and very low on time, manipulation, and tension. I'm doing a personal 3-month mini-challenge to reduce the splitting of my ends and "concise-ify" wash day . . . and I'm excited about my regimen building, stash, and hair.

Let's keep up the good work, ladies! It's great to have company on this health journey and hair journey.

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@Evallusion, thank you SO much for having started this thread. I can't see my beloved health-related threads when logged out (I'm on a social media break and am only allowed to log back in if something is time-sensitive or I have an important question). As a result, this thread is the only health-related thread I can usually see, and it's so helpful to see it. Thanks, again.

Had a birthday celebration over the weekend so got a little off track with my eating. I cooked yesterday so I was able to eat better today. But some of my favorite food trucks show up this week so I will be eating out for lunch but will reel it in for dinner.

I took Saturday and Sunday off for working out but got back on my bike today. Will aim to do tabata tomorrow, cycling Wednesday, tabata on Thursday, off Friday and hopefully cycling on Saturday. We shall see how that works out.

I plan to refrain from weighing myself until the 15th. I am firming up but not sure I am dropping pounds.

I signed up for a cycling training team to do a 63 mile ride. The training is 13 weeks. This is going to be interesting. I struggle to do more than 20 miles. I am super excited though and ready to give it a try.

Got up and got my cycling in at 6:30. It didn't go as well as I would have liked but it is done. Hopefully, I can keep this trend going and get my workout in before work. I did really well last summer. I hope to do it again.

I think I will just do a smoothy for breakfast and food truck for lunch.

Didn't do gym last Sunday, but went Monday. My core is the worst - too much beer, I'm thinking. Had plans on going today but I have a terrible sore throat. Figures! I'll be out of town for the weekend so the next viable day is Tuesday. I'm going to get a yoga mat at some point and get in the habit of doing a full core workout anytime I can't make the gym.

Hi all. I haven't checked in for some time.

I'm trying to tighten up on my eating. I'm one of those people who can eat whatever and pretty much stay the same size. As a result, I eat a bunch of junk but I'm noticing that although there aren't many external consequences, there are MANY INTERNAL CONSEQUENCES. I've been feeling like crap lately and I truly believe its because I eat junk. Anyways, I bought a NutriBullet and this thing is AWESOME. Cleanup is AWESOME. Literally just rinse the blade and go. Love it. I've been experimenting with recipes.

Still working on increasing my water intake. Water is truly gross to me. The taste makes my mouth feel wet and dry at the same time if that makes sense. Mind over matter, Eva.

I started working out again. I was going hard until about a week ago and then got overwhelmed and stopped.

I've been Marie Kondoing the heck out of everything and now that the clutter is gone, I'm feeling a lot more balanced and energized. I feel like I can "think" now. Gonna try yoga for the first time tonight.

As for my hair, I took out my senegalese twists and had a mini crisis. My hair had grown more than I thought it would and I was a bit overwhelmed. Told myself I would wash and blowdry in the morning before work. I should know by now that this is a no no. 1 hour into the process I new I was gonna be late to work. I was about to shave my head when my aggy convinced me to skip work and get some cornrows. Let me tell you something about what this lady did to my hair. Raking through it with a comb without hold the roots down. All I saw was her removing my hair from the comb and dropping it to the floor. But I didnt care at the time becuase I was gonna Amber Rose this hair. I just wanted it done! The braids were so tight my scalp was bleeding and had scabs. I could not deal so I took them out. I'm now back under my trusty wig until my hair gets out of this awkward teenager stage.

Cold is just about gone, monthly has arrived. Going to get some good groceries tomorrow and see if I feel good enough for a light core workout (my cramps are literally crippling).

That near two weeks of sickness means I'll be starting over AGAIN on my gym routine. It's almost impossible to keep up.

sunflora said:

Cold is just about gone, monthly has arrived. Going to get some good groceries tomorrow and see if I feel good enough for a light core workout (my cramps are literally crippling).

That near two weeks of sickness means I'll be starting over AGAIN on my gym routine. It's almost impossible to keep up.

Click to expand...

Those days weren't wasted. Every workout contributes. Keep going!

I have a wedding party to attend on the 30th.

I need to lose about 5 pounds by then.

This week I got in a good kettlebell workout and elliptical machine workout. I will eat better over the next few weeks (groceries bought already ).

Hair Goals
Current Length: TWA (2.5-3”)
2018 Goal Length: 6”
Relaxed, natural, texlaxed: Natural
How you will achieve goal: Moisturize daily w glycerin & water mix. Wigs with hair braided underneath

Exercise Goals
Current Weight: 167lbs
Height: (for those looking for body buddies) 5’10”
Goal Weight and/or Inches to lose: 7lbs
How will you achieve this goal?: Weight lift 3-4x week, cardio 2x week, cut out sugar

Water Goals
Daily Intake Goal: 1.5- 2 gallons, I currently do a gallon

Nutrition Goals
What are your Nutrition Goals?: Eat plant based Whole Foods.
How will you achieve them?: no soy, bread, rice or pasta.

I've been doing well with my water intake and alright with my exercising. For exercising I'm only working in my core with a bit of a booty workout. I was pretty good lady week but salvaged this week. I decided to force myself to do it yesterday because 1 day is better than no days this week. Going to try to make time this weekend so that I calm finish the week strong.

I REALLY must do better with my diet, though. I'm hanging on to an inch of fat. Not sure if it's because I'm still breastfeeding or because I'm eating crap. I'm skinny fat. My weight is great though, but I know that I have to with inflammation internally. I've been taking collagen green powder (almost) daily for the past month. I'm not sure if it's helping. I'm going to try adding protein powder and more coconut oil to my diet since I believed this has helped me before.

Also, I like to make my own granola ants I've finally got around to soaking, then roasting some almonds. I still need to do it to the sunflower seeds. I found that when I dos this a few years ago my bloat disappeared within 3 days. I also switched to organic grass fed yogurt (and milk) and that helped reduce/ eliminate bloat as well.

I've been eating a lot of junk. I've been eating candy every day at work. And Monday, I worked from home and ate the whole bag of cookies. Now, they are gone so no more tempation. Today, I made it through the day with no candy. So from here on out, not more candy.

I've been working out 4 to 5 days a week. I joined to cycling training team to ride 63 miles in September. So I have a training ride every Saturday with increase mileage every week. So that should help me drop the pounds. I have been cycling and doing tabata. I am getting stronger and more fit.

No clue as to what is going on with my head. I'm just sticking with weekly washing and conditioning and putting it up in flat twist. I am hoping that August gives me good news.

I think I was 154 this morning. That is definitely going in the wrong direction. I will be more committed to posting in this thread to be accountable.

Gym tomorrow and Sunday, no excuses.

Starting from zero again since that cold took me out. Gotta keep getting on that horse....

^ did as promised. Went yesterday, too. Going Friday and Saturday to round out 4 days this week.

Diet is looking good. I started shopping at Giant, which has such a good selection of fruit. I bought plenty of fruit and had enough to slice it and make fruit bowls for every day this week. I'll chop the rest either tonight or tomorrow and try to finish it all over the weekend - I appreciate fresh fruit enough to not waste it! It definitely makes a great breakfast with oatmeal, so that'll be a staple.

I also have the Dole smoothie packs for when I don't have time to chop fruit, but I haven't even touched them. They'll stay good in my freezer until the winter, I suppose.

Feeling pretty good overall. Just gotta keep it up this time.

ETA: Ended up only doing Friday, not Saturday, so that was three days but it's still better than none. Starting off Sunday again, hopefully I get those 4-5 days in there!

I've stopped the candy. I've made it a week But last Friday, I bought a smallish bag of trailmix and ate it all by Monday. That's a problem. It confirmed though that I have a reaction to almonds. When I eat too many my back itches. That has helped me to reduce my intake of them. I need to make my own trail mix.

I'm still working out 4 to 5 days a week. My training schedule calls for 6 so I need to keep working towards it. Haven't lost any way but I am definitely more toned. I am starting to see more definition in my arms and my legs. I am definitely stronger.

Next week, I plan to go back to a diet I did last year. I need to keep my carbs at breakfast and then have vegetables for snack and for lunch and dinner. I will modify it a bit and have a piece of fruit for my morning snack and a piece of fruit or something else before I do my cycling workouts. When I did this last year I was able to get down to 145. I already have all of my vegetables. I just need to get a meal plan.

I've been doing daily planks and can now hold a plank for 1 minute and 10 seconds. I do a walking plank with my tabata and I am still struggling with that.

Nothing going on with my hair.

Got day 1 in Sunday, but haven't gone today or yesterday due to the heat wave (today is 106 real feel). I was only outside from 7 - 9 am and ended up dehydrated. I'm still trying to get my water level back up. The holiday will probably just be spent lounging indoors and trying to stay alive (note: do not buy a townhouse that faces the sun. AC won't do ish for you).

I'll try to commit myself to some push-ups, squats etc but what I should be doing is studying. If I can get in Friday and Saturday and make that a 3 day week, I'll feel extremely accomplished.

Yesterday was my first day back in the gym! Felt messy but I did it. Gotta keep getting on the horse. We're enduring a heat wave so it'll be a rough week. My main focus is staying hydrated. Now that I'm less busy, I can also focus on a healthy diet. Today was a cheat day since it was my birthday (I still regretted it, pizza is not ok for any reason), but besides the cold leftovers for breakfast I'll be back to my Mediterranean/pescatarian diet.

Tomorrow is 1/2 iron infusions. I'm curious of what different I'll notice. I don't feel lethargic like I always used to when I was anemic - honestly since I started my diet back in December, I feel amazing - but I'll try to monitor any changes to energy levels or hair if I can notice it.

I weighted in 130 after my cruise, which is a comfortable weight, but I need to lose some pudge and tone it up. I don't pay much attention to the number on the scale as the fat-muscle balance makes it stay pretty constant, but when I put on my skater skirt today I had some flab hanging over and that's when I knew it's core time

My hair just needs help in general. I'm back to trying to figure out what products work. Ever since my hair rebelled against coconut oil I've been lost.

I've dropped off of everything. I didn't start the diet. I have been on and off the candy. I haven't done planks in a while.

I am keeping up with my water and vegetables. I decreased my exercise but I am still cycling. I have increased my cycling miles from 23 miles to 53 miles this past Saturday. The scale hasn't budged but I have definitey toned up and gotten more muscle.

I had been regular with my upper body work but slacked off. I have a little less than 3 weeks until my bike ride so I will refocus myself and see if I can keep getting stronger and at least drop a few pounds.

As far as my hair, I've been too busy to worry about it much. It is still doing OK but nothing special going on here. I thought exercise might increase my growth but it hasn't. Improving my eating nor drinking more water has done anything. I will just hold course and accept whatever retention I get. Not trying to drive myself crazy trying a million things.

Hi ladies. Just renewed my subscription. I'm on vacation now until October. Going to take this time to get into a routine. I was exercising sporadically for the first 2 weeks but now I have a workout guideline to follow. Slipped up in my intake of water. My hair is in 3 strand twists to be kept for 2 weeks.