A CUNNING PLAN TO UNFUCK YOURSELF
28 DAY PLAN - *DING DING ROUND ?*
Welcome, welcome, welcome! I'm really hyped that you're here to join me for this Cunning Plan. Firstly, this is NOT a weight loss or fitness challenge, although it's very likely that you will lose weight/inches and you will become physically fitter. You're also likely to become mentally fitter and emotionally secure. I devised this Plan to encompass all the things that we should be doing, but don't. It takes 3 weeks to develop a habit, so my theory is, that if you do all of these things for 30 days, they will become part of your daily routine. After the 30 days, you can repeat and give yourself bigger targets or get a taste for bigger challenges. These 7 tasks are a good foundations to start with... it is the first rung on the ladder to get you out of the rut you're in. There is a private support group on Facebook if you'd like to join, it's not compulsory to join or share. No fees, subs or newsletter to sign up to, completely FREE!
What do you want to get out of this? Be honest with yourself, what do you want to change, to improve, to achieve? Write it down. How are you going to reward yourself after the 30 days are up? A new pair of shoes? Clothing? A bottle of your favourite wine? There has to be a reward for your hard work, be kind to yourself!
Two rest days before the new moon (next cycle). Remember, you can adapt this Plan to YOUR needs.. it's here to pull you out of the rut and enable you to get going again. There are no shame tactics here, you aren't failing, you are accountable to YOU.
What do you want to get out of this? Be honest with yourself, what do you want to change, to improve, to achieve? Write it down. How are you going to reward yourself after the 30 days are up? A new pair of shoes? Clothing? A bottle of your favourite wine? There has to be a reward for your hard work, be kind to yourself!
Two rest days before the new moon (next cycle). Remember, you can adapt this Plan to YOUR needs.. it's here to pull you out of the rut and enable you to get going again. There are no shame tactics here, you aren't failing, you are accountable to YOU.
Energise *beam me up Scotty*Follow a healthy eating plan/diet:
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Can you remember how to enjoy your food? Have you been told your whole life that certain foods are bad, then the next fad diet comes out and they aren't bad after all. Imagine this toxic message brainwashing you from an early age. Imagine 30+ years of always feeling guilty when eating, always confused. You think the £7billion diet industry care about you losing weight? You're a repeat customer because you've been convinced you're not good enough as you are, that you're ugly because you're fat. You lose weight, you regain weight, they get your money. Want to end this toxic bullshit? Deal with the 'why', then unfuck yourself. This isn't a weight loss challenge, it's a RESET from all the crap you've heaped on yourself.
NHS weight loss plan
NHS weight loss plan
Hydrate - 8 pints a day
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'I can't drink that much!' yes you can! It doesn't say water does it? Coffee/tea is fluid consumption, so include that. Caffeine is a mild diuretic and is processed by your liver and shipped out via your urine. Alcohol is a diuretic and can make you dehydrated. You need fluids to help your kidneys and body function. Being dehydrated causes all kinds of health issues. If you drink lots of tea/coffee, you will pee more, it's more effective to reduce caffeine so you hydrate properly. Sparkling water is great for that refreshing hit. You can add fruit, add mint leaves and cucumber to sparkling or bottles of tap water. Sugar free and healthy too. NHS info here
Get some sun on your face. The benefits of Vitamin D are off the chart, the sun does this, as well as your diet. Your mental well being will greatly improve from just leaving the prison you've created yourself. Not everyone can exercise properly but you can leave the house for at least 30 minutes a day. If you are already exercising, fantastic. Set yourself realistic goals to complete. Try and do a bit more each day. Find an exercise plan that suits you. Is there a charity challenge you can take part in? There are a lot of excellent keep fit channels on YouTube and even yoga and seated workouts for disabled people. There are so many free resources to use and with the UK coming out of lockdown, the pools/gyms will be open again soon.
Creative - play dateFor at least 30 minutes every day, complete a creative activity.
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You have forgotten how to play. You have forgotten how to take time to ‘off’ to be creative. Escape - create. Find that sparkle! This is so important!
Social media dietThis one is going to hurt!
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I don't know about you but I get up and the first thing I do is I check my FB. Without realising it, 3 hours have gone by and I've achieved nothing but muscle tension in my arm from holding the phone. I log off and set my mind to do something else... and within an hour, I've logged back in! Those little red notification flags tempt you find out what you've missed and then you're back into the void of dullness and algorithms. That's without even getting into the toxicity of hate, division and news created to instil fear and anxiety. They know they have us by the short n curlies because we use this platform to connect with family and friends; to share pictures and stories of our lives; to run our businesses and creative ventures. Use it, don't let it use YOU! Psychologically, it also creates a narcissistic response when you post something and don't get the reaction you wanted. This is mostly down to algorithms but you think that you're being ignored and feel invalid. Cue the mental health nose dive. Scrolling eats time and is soul destroying. STOP IT!
Did you know that 8 hours sleep burns over 600 calories? That's right, you body uses energy 24/7, even when you're unconscious.
Rewind your tape
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I heard that, the little gasp you just made. Is the prospect of self-praise so awful? Why is that? Why can't you tell yourself how awesome you are? Other people think you're amazing, why don't you believe them? Why do you struggle with self-worth? Why is accepting compliments so damned hard? This is the answer to the why in #1. You know I'm right. I've had enough counselling to know this is true. It's also basic cognitive therapy. Rewind your tape, wipe that terrible message you left yourself and record a new one.
Diary
I've created this diary page for you to download and use (not my drawing).
Alternatively, you can use a note pad, diary or exercise book to track your progress. In the past, I have done a video diary and discussed how I felt about the day and saved it on a secure folder on my phone (for privacy). No one is seeing this but YOU, so be honest about how you feel - the highs and lows. The group is there for support, so please feel free to share and ask any questions.
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Helpful resources
- FREE British Heart Foundation nutrition guide
- SUBSCRIPTION RH Fitness - straight talking, no BS, knowledgeable and inspiring. I have subscribed to this in the past.
- FREE Physical therapy videos. Ask Dr Jo YouTube channel, lots of great exercises for injuries, disabled and basic physio exercises. There are a lot of professional physio therapists and personal trainers on YouTube, use the search bar to find the perfect one for you.
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I suffer with CPTSD, although technically it's not a disorder, it's a response i.e a learned behaviour that can be altered. I discovered Richard Grannon following a YouTube recommendation. I watched hours of his videos explaining what CPSTD is and how overcome it. This download was free on his website, it's worth reading, also check out his CPSTD videos on YouTube.
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We've all met one... this might interest you. Half the battle is recognising it's in your life. Those ugly things you say about yourself, come from somewhere.
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How I came up with the plan...
Last year, I attempted to do the #75hard challenge, which is described below (I'm providing that information as you may decide that you'd like to do it, which is cool with me). If you didn’t complete any of these, you had to restart from day 1. I kept a diary for each day, ticking off the tasks as I completed them and the only thing I struggled with was the exercise as I have chronic illness and always in pain. I tailored the challenge to my needs and did complete the 75 days but didn’t restart to day 1 when I ‘failed’. I lost over a stone in weight, I felt better and got outside for walks. A year of lockdowns and declining mental health, I find myself faced with feeling even worse than before and I’ve observed many of my online friends are also suffering. Several have had a full melt down and I'm worried about them. A couple have fallen so far into despair, that they took their own life. Selfishly, I don't want to go to anymore friend's funerals or know that they slipped through the cracks right under my nose! I got thinking and devised this cunning plan! It’s harder than #75hard because it’s forcing you to free yourself from the prison you’ve created – you are your own prison guard with the keys to free yourself at any time.
Why don’t ‘diets’ work? Because they fail to address ‘why’ you’re overweight, ‘why’ you don’t fuel your body properly, ‘why’ you keep going back to the old you – your mental health is why. When you feel really good about yourself, these things aren’t an issue. When you feel bad about yourself, you hit fuckit, you spiral into bad habits. I’m 45, I’ve had every diet you can think of stuffed down my throat since I was 13 years old. At my lowest ebb, I even considered taking a tape worm tablet to help me lose weight! THAT IS SOME TOXIC THINKING! I didn’t do it, but that’s how desperate you get. Back to this cunning plan! Firstly, I’m not trying to sell you anything. I’m creating this for me and inviting you to join me. You don’t need to hashtag anything, share or even tell people you’re doing it. If you do this, it’s for YOU because you are lost, you have lost your passion for life and you feel awful about yourself and life in general. There’s many forms of depression (grief is a major one), if this sounds like you, then it’s likely to be an environmental type of depression, i.e. forget taking magic pills, change your environment and you will feel better. It’s as simple as that but hard to achieve! (Let me explain that last sentence: if you are unhappy in your job, relationship, home etc, you can become depressed. This depression is 'environmental' i.e when you quit the job, leave the relationship or move, you will feel better and the depression will lift. Pills for that type aren't necessary. Of course, there are the types of depression that are caused by imbalances in the brain chemistry or due to complex trauma etc. Those are diagnosed and treated by medical professionals, which I am not. However, that doesn't make my own experiences with my mental health or family and friends, invalid. I've had a lot of counselling over the years, which helped. There's nothing wrong with taking medication but as the saying goes, "before diagnosing yourself with depression, first make sure you're not in fact surrounded by arseholes".)
You feel burned out, you have nothing to lose and yourself to regain.
Why don’t ‘diets’ work? Because they fail to address ‘why’ you’re overweight, ‘why’ you don’t fuel your body properly, ‘why’ you keep going back to the old you – your mental health is why. When you feel really good about yourself, these things aren’t an issue. When you feel bad about yourself, you hit fuckit, you spiral into bad habits. I’m 45, I’ve had every diet you can think of stuffed down my throat since I was 13 years old. At my lowest ebb, I even considered taking a tape worm tablet to help me lose weight! THAT IS SOME TOXIC THINKING! I didn’t do it, but that’s how desperate you get. Back to this cunning plan! Firstly, I’m not trying to sell you anything. I’m creating this for me and inviting you to join me. You don’t need to hashtag anything, share or even tell people you’re doing it. If you do this, it’s for YOU because you are lost, you have lost your passion for life and you feel awful about yourself and life in general. There’s many forms of depression (grief is a major one), if this sounds like you, then it’s likely to be an environmental type of depression, i.e. forget taking magic pills, change your environment and you will feel better. It’s as simple as that but hard to achieve! (Let me explain that last sentence: if you are unhappy in your job, relationship, home etc, you can become depressed. This depression is 'environmental' i.e when you quit the job, leave the relationship or move, you will feel better and the depression will lift. Pills for that type aren't necessary. Of course, there are the types of depression that are caused by imbalances in the brain chemistry or due to complex trauma etc. Those are diagnosed and treated by medical professionals, which I am not. However, that doesn't make my own experiences with my mental health or family and friends, invalid. I've had a lot of counselling over the years, which helped. There's nothing wrong with taking medication but as the saying goes, "before diagnosing yourself with depression, first make sure you're not in fact surrounded by arseholes".)
You feel burned out, you have nothing to lose and yourself to regain.
#75HARD DAILY RULES
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