90 Day Challenge Nutrition Plan

I designed this one for the busy stressed out hustler who doesn't have the time or mindset to cook for ages just to get the proportions and calories right. These recipes are what I found to require the least effort without succumbing to take-aways or unhealthy alternatives. 

The 90 day challenge I designed was for myself, but everyone is welcome to download these. There are also empty templates at your disposal, if low-carb is not your thing. 

The meals are obvious from their names, assuming the person reading them knows the basics of cooking or food. All the meals that have a picture next to them are the more complicated ones (by complicated meaning not obvious) with recipes below. Otherwise let your imagination run wild. ( if you wish to follow this plan, add low carb recipes). 

This + intermittent fasting is, I believe, all you need without having to resort to calorie-counting, or hours of cooking. 

10 Days worth of easy meals (all different) that can be mixed and matched. Spread into 90 days for the challenge, add more recipes in the empty templates for your own use. 

Download here

The calories are only mentioned for the purpose of not eating less than your BMR (what your body burns at rest). In my case it's 1440 cals a day. Eating less than that would trigger survival mode and mess up your metabolism. You will burn less calories than your potential, so do not resort to extreme diets. 

#nutritiongoals #dietplan #lowcarb #90daychallenge 

Beauty is within the Eye of the Beholder?

To my readers: This is based on beauty and the superficial alone without regarding intellect, behavior or any other aspects that contribute to attractiveness. This is a journal about the superficial, which is also important.

'Beauty is within the eye of the beholder' is the biggest cliche and yet the most accurate description of the concept of beauty. In my observation of different cultures and through living in the moderately-sized city of Cologne, I found one definition to be true. I will tell you what it is before the end of this journal, but before getting there I have to state the process that gave me the answer and that I think every young person beating themselves up in our modern society (and on Instagram) should know. For those who do not wish to read the long reasons behind the answer, you can go straight to the answer marked below and think for yourself at what level it was proven true in your own life experience. 

You are also welcome to read my personal study in this journal.

How beauty is perceived is completely different from your standard model.The superficial society would look at a tall, slender, long-haired, symmetrical woman and categorize her as beautiful. It would also look at a muscular, well-trained, symmetrical, tall man with a beard nowadays, enough hair on his head and categorize him as handsome. While these attributes may be true to the average person (it's what defines standard beauty), there are other points of observation that we have completely ignored in our obsession to fulfill what mainstream culture dictates (no, I'm not talking about personality or the whole package deal... this journal is completely about outer appearance. I am discussing the superficial because it is important to discuss) 

These points that had nothing to do with standard beauty happened to me more than once. For example, when I was chatted up by those I believed to be out of my league, which confused me (I am not your conventional standard beauty) or when I heard comments like 'your hair is like my sister's'. They proved that there was something else I was ignoring that negated standard beauty altogether (I am not talking about personality even though it is a part of it, it is not the compensation that you believe it is). That's why I think it's important to share it, especially to models or young people trying to reach perfection in a superficial city.

Did you ever see a couple together, where he or she is attractive, and the other one is not? You automatically think of all the other possibilities of why these two came together, whether you admit it or not, you do. In some cases you would be right.

They include reasons such as: the other one probably had a great personality, or... the other one's rich, maybe an arranged marriage or the attractive one has low self-esteem. 

   If it's a woman, many think she's sick of immaturity and chose to settle for someone who may not be a model but is decent. Even though this case happens to men too. Parts of these arguments may be true (especially if the other person barely ever makes an effort to be presentable, it increases the likelihood of these thoughts). However, If we are judging someone who is just average in standard beauty in comparison:

 - these points may be completely wrong because all these arguments function under the assumption that it cannot be the other person's outer appearance that attracted him/her in the first place. It's because we never understood perceived beauty. Are you starting to understand the definition of beauty that I am getting at? 

It's not a cliche answer, it's a psychological one that will apply to each and every one of you. The first indication of it is when you find someone attractive (who may even match the standard beauty category) that completely does not agree with your friend's perception. That's when they use the phrase 'They're ok, they're just not my type.' 

How often did that happen to you and made you wonder how your friend could disagree?

 To understand what qualifies me: As someone who is a keen observer of people, I had perceived my surroundings as my personal social window to understanding them 'based on their decisions'. I have been doing this for years, and concluding the patterns, because that's where the answers lie. Anyone who knows me would know about Thuraya's weird social interactions. I had to admit that I was convinced of the mainstream ideology, and believed that if I trained more, grew my hair longer and fixed my imperfections, I would be more desirable and 'finally' beautiful (all my other beautiful aspects didn't count when there was a part of me I didn't like. I know many reading this know what I'm talking about). By the way, yes, obviously I would be more desirable! I am not negating any of that and I think anyone who does is living in denial. Working on your appearance is never a minus. I am not a poor ugly soul with a personal agenda of trying to convince the world to accept me or accept themselves. I do believe in and love the power of beauty (and yes I do value intellect, but for the sake of argument let us focus on the superficial. It's what this journal is about). I know I could find beauty in me, but I've gone through the failed experience of trying to be 'perfect'... which everyone knows does not end well, yet they still strive for it because it's better than doing nothing about it. Right?

Through that, their confidence is shattered when they believe they're failing or having a bad day, some even blaming it on their hormones, but the actual fact is, you are following an ideal that doesn't exist, and you're failing at it because the moment someone does not find you as attractive as someone else, you question your beauty and start from 0, requiring your friends to build your confidence back up again by telling you to ignore people like that etc. (it makes you feel a little better, but the fundamental problem is still there, and all you're thinking is, I'll work harder to prove them wrong)

 As someone who passed that stage of worry and finally gained confidence that seized to be affected by mainstream beauty, that is exactly what I want to address, because it's a misunderstanding of beauty's concept. That's why I think anyone going through this now needs to read this.  I am not writing this because I got myself out of the 'game' and accepted myself the way I am. That again, is ridiculous none-sense and another misconception. People who strive to be better are not going to just accept themselves and stop improving, nor should you. It's a lazy excuse.

The answer: 

The mainstream expectations are true... but (I cannot emphasize this enough) only to a certain extent. That is because there is a difference between mainstream beauty and perceived beauty. 

'If someone's perceived beauty is different from the mainstream, it overrules it.' 

Yes. Why? And why does it negate mainstream beauty? Because of this quote that I experimented on. It is from Sherlock. I was always a fan of the books, but this quote explained something crucial I observed as a pattern. 

Definition:

"Beauty is a construct based entirely on childhood impressions, influences and role models"

I tried applying this quote to myself and thought of all the people I believed were attractive or beautiful. Who did they resemble to me? Did they resemble people I grew up idolizing as a kid? Or people I was amazed by? The answer was yes. What amazed me in them were reasons other than appearance, but their appearance makes us associate people that look like them with them. Make sense?

If I was amazed by an uncle as a kid, or my parents, or by friends, or by friends of friends, chances are I will find people that look like them or have similar appearance features very attractive. They become the familiar. On the other hand if I found certain people disturbing as a kid, those who did not give me a good impression, I will find people that look different to them appealing. Think of that.  (Please remember to leave personality out of the people you know today when you are testing this theory. This is about beauty. 

Think of people that made an impression on you as a kid. People you idolized. You are allowed to think of personality here, that's what creates our first impressions as kids. Then tell me if those you find physically beautiful today resemble the admired ones of your past in any way. That's when you have your answer)

P.S. some of you may not have grown up with idols. You're the ones who are not attracted to specific types. But you will, because you're experiencing it still. 

Of course there are other aspects to beauty that have to do with aging that also applies to everyone, including the fact that our perceptions change. But that's a discussion for a another time.

Test that on yourself and gladly leave a comment.

___

My conclusion to all our youth in our modern age trying their best to reach for the stars and losing confidence in their appearance no matter what they do. Men and women that require constant outside validation. This is for you. This is the formula you should think about because mainstream will only help you to a certain level. It will however, shatter you if it is all the feedback that you rely on in the beauty world. The one you want to attract already has a perceived type of appearance they find attractive. If you do not resemble that type (I am not talking about being overweight and not caring for yourself... that you can change... sometimes you don't even have to, but for health reasons, should) I'm talking about those who already work hard on themselves, even though you work on your appearance and have reached a reasonable level, nothing you do with it (speaking superficially) will change his/her perception if they do not respond positively at that point (you could focus on other aspects at this point and stop blaming your appearance). There is no sense in believing you are not pretty or handsome, because this study proves that it is not about that, it is about that person's perception. If they do react positively, then take it as a given that you are their type and don't obsess over it. This is the time to work on personality instead.

 You may be appealing to one but completely not appealing to another, no matter how well trained and groomed you are. Master this formula, and superficial rejection will never affect you the same way again (unless it happens that often when people don't show any interest before knowing you, then revise the reasons). One person's perception is rarely about your overall beauty value. It is more about their own perceived beauty. You may not attract one person at some point in life, but you are going to thank the bejesus out of your genes for making you appealing to someone else that you admire. That's the beauty formula that should make you embrace who you are and work with it.

As Matthew Hussey said: 'I know that not everyone is my audience, that does not mean that I am not a good public speaker, it just means that not everyone is my audience.'

If anything, I hope this is what you take away from this.

Your social observer,

Thuraiya 

#beautydefinition #confidence #beauty #study #instagram #models

Capitalism Vs Alain de Botton

There's a subject I've been tackling in my head about achieving life goals. I wish to tackle it here so that my mind gets a bit more rest.

I am going to compare and contrast the mindset of achieving goals between Capitalistic Mindsets (Romantic? Idealistic) and Alain de Botton's Seminar on Pessimism.
The Capitalistic world has people working their guts out to reach their materialistic goals, because they believe that is how they'll get love and a perfect life.
To some extent.... I believe it to be true. High achievers (or relatives of them) do have a better quality life (why dismiss that fact?). They're not content with it, but that's a different discussion. Now in our population of 8 Billion people in this world, how many of us would actually be able to reach a content life? It was never a problem before,
1. Because there weren't so many of us before and
2. We didn't have crazy expectations like before Capitalism and consumer culture reached its height.
3.The goal was to survive, being happy was for heaven.

That's what helped create Philosophers such as Alain de Botton, to try and shed light onto what is really going on and how to remoderate the constant discontent and unhappiness as well as the overwhelming pressure of achieving what Capitalism has brought unto us. So yes, I am aware of the necessity of moderation.
However, I am too far into the game to stop. Because going back is a life I do not wish to live. And the dreams I wanted to reach are a grasp away. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for them. I know romantics exaggerate everything but it is also a part of the truth, that constant optimism and trying and retrying achieved wonders... what is the goal of trying to convince otherwise?

I wish I could have a discussion with Alain de Botton on how he proposes the future mindset should be in answer to the Capital mayhem happening today. I cannot stop and be content with what I have because I know it is not what will make me happy. Reaching my goals will make me happy. That is the case with everyone. As long as those goals aren't deluded. And you would be surprised with how humble most people are in everything except in matters of love. We actually do not need much.


I actually always thought there are too many of us anyway.... survival of the fittest happens in other levels aside from the jungle. Communism wanted to put a stop to that so everyone is content. But we all know how that went... I do believe Alain de Botton is doing the world a favor, and he speaks the truth. I am someone who actually believes in the Merit system. Botton's point is that it will never be fair because there will always be those who are undeserving of the merits that they get. I agree, but doesn't that mean we should work harder to eventually outdo them?

This is mind wrecking.... I do not like not having answers. This'll be it for now.

A Matter of the Soul

A note to myself.
So as I am not in the mood to finish writing my Term-paper at the moment I thought I'll use the time to write myself a short note. It's my take on what a Soul is and how it functions. Inspired by a book called 'Pandora's Brain' by Calum Chace. I've come to the conclusion that the Soul does not exist as an independent entity. (To some a shock, to others a given)
So the question arised, if this statement were true, what makes us who we are? The answer is it is all in the brain (the most complex organ in the body, for a reason) how we are is decided by our brain, our personalities, reactions, impulses, likes and dislikes...everything. It's all determined by how the neurons in our brain are connected to each other. So if they were to be connected differently we would no longer be us but someone else.

So in short, what does that mean?
It means that these neurons are activated when we're alive and functioning. The moment our organs no longer cooperate, we lose the connection and get deactivated. The electric waves in our brain...the neurons get deactivated too... resulting in our deaths (non-existance)

The bad news is... there is no soul left behind floating... however the good news is... if the connection of the neurons in our brains and the construction of our brain could be copied into a different body...we could be brought back to life. Ofcourse all this is explained in simple terms... it's far more complex than that but I believe I got the gist of it.

Till my next note...

Love/Life Coach (Matthew Hussey)

   Literally, the most learned, logical and intelligent guru I've come across, which is the reason he's successful I believe. This is not a post to promote Matthew Hussey, it's a post to project my thoughts on his views and what I learnt from him (which by the way I still only partly apply where I can in real life... shame on me, because I am momentarily in a learning process and in the wrong situation)

 The reason I am able to relate to Matthew is because I faced very similar situations to him, as a child, in the way I thought. The difference is, he managed to make something out of the lessons he learned and I got stuck in a loop not being able to get out of it because I had to get over many obstacles in my life first (not an excuse, it's what Arab girls have to go through, though I must admit, in comparison to many I consider myself privileged).
   One of the similar stages I went through was when I started writing my own novel. In one of his Youtube videos, Matthew mentioned wanting to be original and therefore not polluting his own originality by reading other books. I had the exact same thoughts when writing my fantasy novel 'The Exes', and I was 16 at the time. I was afraid to use other ideas because I was worried I would be accused of plagiarizing. Moreover, I wanted my story to be exclusive. I do not regret it, I mention this because I was literally surprised at Matthew's comments, that he was thinking the same way.

   Another thought is him analyzing the teenage mentality, that teenagers at some stage worry so much about what others think that they try to fit into the perceived ideals in school. It wasn't as bad as that in my school but it was still noticeable. If I went back to school (with the adult mind I have now), I do not think I would have been popular either way, because I would not be dealing with mature adults to begin with. Matt might have a different opinion but I feel the environment you live in has a way of slightly forcing you to adapt in order to avoid conflict. That was one of my problems. I resent unnecessary conflict, especially those concerned with my own personal life and me constantly having to justify what I'm doing or why I do what I do, especially in the Arab world. There is a slight difference in culture here, since this may not be an issue in the west. People do whatever they feel like doing and when they misbehave they are given genuine reasons why it is not ok to act in a certain way (e.g. because it hurts people, because it's not polite, because it's counter-productive, because you won't grow from it...etc.) I consider all those good reasons not to do something. The moment one says, (because people will say this about you,  because you have to remain low-profile, because the culture looks down on such things, because you are the soul person responsible for your family's reputation), that is when you shut down. It gives no way to opinion, you may have an opinion but you are not allowed to act on it.

   I know I think independently, and this sort of resentment builds up in someone who constantly has to play pretend, But that is not what this post is about. It's about the psychological effect this creates when one is forced within a long period of time. You get scared internally so that even when you are no longer in that environment, you are psychologically programmed to still believe that other people's opinions hold high value. You become your own prison. This happened to me.... me... the person I thought thinks independently. At least I thought I did. I realized I was pulled into a situation I did not want to and most importantly (did not need to) be in, simply because I was scared of conflict and what someone else may think. Now I am momentarily stuck and the resentment is building up in me again.
   I wanted this to be an eye-opener to anyone stuck in a loop. Do not believe that holding low profile until the time is right would not affect you in the long run. It is important to be aware of that, because it's something the west cannot relate to. It is the environment Arabs live in due to the rules in their culture. You are a still developing country, you are 100 years back in some respects whether you wish to admit it or not. And it is not just women who are forced to adapt but men too.

   Matt is sadly hard to reach from a distance but his rules of achieving core confidence is something I still have to learn.
I  just felt like writing this personal note to myself.

Good day to you all.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

This is the second post regarding this topic. Whatever I write here has more to do with getting my thoughts straight than actually holding any arguments for or against.

Let's just say writing it down helps me keep track of my thoughts.

 I remember complaining about people who believed in robots that would be able to do as humans do and perhaps overrule them one day. I believed the speculation to be ridiculous. Reasons for that were basically the fact that they needed to be programmed by humans in the first place. Programming is basically a set of calculated formulas or codes that give out orders for the machine to carry out. I find the word calculated to be crucial here. To me humans have too much of a free will to be calculated. That is not how we seemed to function to me until my brother mentioned that maybe we (humans) are programmed as well. In the beginning my reaction was 'what in the blazes are you saying we're programmed?' I'm trying to lead a reasonable conversation here. Then it dawned on me.... genetic coding? Are we genetically programmed to act the way we do?

And if that is true, does that mean that our free will (decisions and choices) is limited? Is there only so much we can wish for? Or is our free will infinite? Or we ourselves biological robots?

I could wish for anything that could randomly pop up in my head right now. But perhaps the only things that would pop up are memories already registered. I could wish to jump like a frog, or be burried underground deep under the ocean, or wriggle like a scubbledubble (whatever that is). Or I could try wishing for something no human wished for before by being creative..skwiggle like a skiddlefiddle.  Just for the heck of it... just because I can. Or were those wishes programmed into me as well? Let's say my choices are finite and I would then not be able to wish for something I know nothing of... what I mentioned here were just word games and bringing letters together to form an unknown word. Again, nothing special. 

We apparently don't get born with a blank page waiting to be filled with experience but rather as a negative waiting to be produced to bring out the picture. To me that does make more sense...What if that means that all the choices we make or don't make are all a set of probabilities? What happens in me when I say to myself "My mind tells me to do this but my heart tells me otherwise"..Is it a mystery or simply a complicated thought process all stimulated by the mind? Why do I sometimes feel sad and not know how or where it's coming from? Does that mean I can actually control who I love? Or am I genetically programmed to love only certain types of people who meet my genetically preferred criteria? Or would anyone else manage to make me love them if they find out what the genetic formula built in me is? Perhaps love is not unpredictable as people think. 

Does a variety in choices and personalities necessarily negate this phenomenon? Or does it simply mean that the genetic coding in their bloodline developed differently from mine?

Does everything I do and say have a historical ancestory background? (Which means I would not be able to pull off anything my ancestors haven't pulled off before because it is not a part of my genetic code. And that the only evolution and progress I make becomes more apparent and developed due to the intermingling of different races (thus genetics)..which create new formulas, which render humans either more developed by time, but not in the meantime. Therefore we are a complex embodiment of codes.... codes that developed throughout millions of years. Civilisations lived and died to come to our point today. 

If our codings and choices truly are finite.... then I find it not at all impossible to create a digital equivalent. only instead of using food for fuel it would be using electricity. And maybe... just maybe. Once a formula could be thought of that understands the concept of our free will (that is) probability... a robot might be given estimations of its own. Which is only theoretically possible if it undergoes growing up and learning in time...just like we do. Am I beginning to understand the concept? ... Are robots beginning to sound more human?

Suddenly I'm thinking it's possible. Though the fact of our very being, our existence, our individuality. If that could truly be preserved by uploading our minds as Calum Chace imaginatively describes. If my sense of existence only comes to life if my individual neurons remain actively intact the way they always were. ... then perhaps I could be digitally reborn. Perhaps my brain neurons are as unique to me as my fingerprints. 

Perhaps there could be two of me.... this thought still needs to be processed in my head. 

Independent Artificial Intelligence

  Yes, I do believe Robots and the machine would be developed to assist Mankind to a certain degree (Or harm depending on how the machines are used), but for the last time and for the love of Pete my fellow humans, they will not develop their own sense of judgement or feelings. It is technically impossible, because the command: go out in the world and learn. Is too vague a command to give a machine. It is not the way the formulas work. Programmers can pitch in here as they like and explain the process if I failed to. 

  If you wish to give a robot the command to go out and learn (so that it would develop as a human), you'll also have to define the command 'learn'. What does learning entail? How will it be programmed to learn? If you program the machine to pick the right choice, there will have to be a set of rules it would have to be programmed on in order to make its decision. These rules are calculated, not blindly (randomly) picked through intuition (because that sort of thing cannot be instilled in a machine)(unless the commmand was pick randomly, but even then there is certain to be a probability formula involved)... not only because machines are technical material.. but because we humans ourselves do not know what feelings are or where they come from. 

I believe feelings come from the brain...and that the brain is a complex organ that still needs to be studied. But until the complexity of feelings is cracked, robots will not feel. End of story. 

Robots will calculate and be programmed to possess human-like qualities. But these qualities will be programmed qualities instilled into them by humans. Of course one would like to believe otherwise... humans never sieze to dream but well... try to be logical about it.

I just rolled my eyes enough in the past few weeks. I had to express my annoyance here.