Wednesday Wellbeing Club | 11 August - 24 November | Week 2: Wednesday 25 August 2021

Welcome!

The Wednesday Wellbeing Club is for anyone who, like me, wants to make some lifestyle changes. It will run every week for fifteen weeks until Wednesday 24 November 2021.

I'm aiming to lose 6kg in that time with the intention of improved health benefits and the opportunity to reduce medication. You might have other health goals - being more active, giving up smoking, getting more sleep.

Each week, we'll check progress against the Rule of Fives I set out in the launch post. You can write your own post each week, or you can just leave a comment on each week's post about how things are going for you.

I've taken the idea from the Saturday Savers Club over on the @eddie-earner account where a group of savers come together to support each other every Saturday.

The Rule of Fives

I'm using the Rule of Fives as my framework through the time that the Wednesday Wellbeing Club is running. By the end of the fifteen weeks, I am hoping that these will become habits - things I do anyway, without thinking too much about them.

Here is my Rule of Fives for each week:

• Lose 500g.
• Enjoy 5 x 30 minute sessions of physical activity.
• Eat 5 x 80g portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
• Get 5 nights x 8 hours sleep.
• Spend 5 x 30 minute sessions of connecting or creating.

(You'll find more detail in the launch post and the back story).

Let's Check In

Here's a handy little chart (I got the idea from @justclickindiva - extra EDS heading your way):

Goal	Cumulative	This Week	Overall
Lose 6k	1k	.5Kg	1.5k
5 x 30 mins activity	❤️❤️	❤️
5 portions fruit and vegetables	❤️❤️	❤️
5 nights x 8 hrs sleep	🙂🙂	🙂
5 creative/connecting sessions	🙂🙂	🙂

1. Achieve a more healthy weight

This is working nicely for me ❤️. I lost .5k this week - my weekly target. I wasn't expecting this as I've found in the past that it takes two or three weeks to get into a groove, but I'll take it! So far I'm not noticing the big change in my midriff (like getting one) that I found on the low carbohydrate approach.

On target 😍

2. Enjoy physical activity

Walked every day and did three PIlates sessions - one especially was very energising. I did notice a difference a couple of days this week, I felt more energised. I am definitely starting to look more healthy. It will be great in a couple of weeks when I've settled into the routine and feel good every day.

On target 😍

3. Eat well

I've had a very good week with a brilliant range of food, lots of variety and met my minimum target of five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. I've usually eaten between eight and twelve portions. This coming week, I'm going for a bit more fruit and fewer portions of vegetables.

I feel less hungry. I was planning two meals a day, but I seem to be settling into one large meal late morning, a slice of home made bread and butter and jam in the afternoon, and then a light meal in the early evening. On Monday I had planned a full-scale evening meal, but didn't fancy it when the time came. I enjoyed a glass of wine, a few olives and some hummus and that was it.

On target 😍

4. Sleep more

I have been in bed earlier this week. But also waking earlier. I've been concentrating on food and exercise, so I haven't really started working on this yet. I really enjoyed the days I felt more energised.

Room for improvement 🙂

5. Connect and create

I have done stuff - some knitting and designing and thinking about a creative project using bark as inspiration (one for the winter when the leaves have fallen). I've also enjoyed chats with some friends. Again, I haven't concentrated on this yet - getting into my groove with the food and exercise.

Room for improvement 🙂

How's your week been?

Where are you up to in your wellbeing journey? Just starting? On your way? Achieving lots or wondering how to change things? Let us know in the comments.

Showing up is where it starts - everything else follows 🙂

2. Hot Wellbeing Tip

Each week we'll explore an aspect of the Rule of Fives. In previous posts we've talked about setting goals and tracking progress. This week we're going to talk about:

Walking is Good, Brisk Walking is Better.

Any walking is good and is better than no walking. It's cheap, easy to do and you can do it anywhere. A good pair of shoes helps and several friends use Nordic Walking Poles. I record my walks with @actifit and WalkMeter.

The ideal for health benefits is thirty minutes a day (this can be broken up into two or three short walks for added boosts) and to walk quickly enough to get breathless - so you can still talk, but you couldn't sing.

I learned this week that any walking is good, but brisk walking has more health benefits (about twice as many), especially for cardiovascular health. So I'm aiming over the fifteen weeks to up my average pace - nothing crazy that will cause injuries, but gradually week by week, build my stamina.

The benefit of early walking is exposure to the sun and morning light. The recommended time for walking is within two hours of waking up. This is good for anyone, whenever they wake up (great for shift workers), but even better early in the day when there is more "blue" light. Blue light waves help to reset our internal circadian clock, prompting a decrease in melatonin (the sleep hormone) and an increase in serotinin (the wakefulness hormone).

Resetting your internal clock helps you get ready for the day and interestingly also get ready for sleep at the other end of the day and to sleep better. A kind of virtuous circle. I'm trying it - let's see what happens.

As we say about saving in the Saturday Savers Club - start small and start today. I've chosen a Rule of Fives that set out my plan and will help me - but you might have a Rule of One or any number up to Five. The only thing you need to do is to show up, the rest will follow.

I'll be back next week with my check-in. See you then!

EDS for Comments

Each week there'll be an opportunity to win EDS tokens for comments. I like EDS income tokens, they're a great way to build an extra pay-day for yourself each week.

Last week, we had comments from @old-guy-photos. @raj808, @justclickindiva, @stav, @chocolatescorpi and @bearmol.

This week's winners are @stav and @bearmol - check your wallets!

^{Wednesday Wellbeing Club
Back Story}

^{Saturday Savers Club
I run a savings club every Saturday over on the @eddie-earner account. We're aiming to save £670 ($800) by the end of the year using the 365 day savings challenge. You can join any time of the year and set your own goals and plans (some people are saving Hive, others Bitcoin, some their local currency). We share savings tips and there's a free giveaway every week.}

^{Three things newbies should do in their first week and, for most things, forever afterwards!}