No __________ November or Nutrition November
brisingr86
Posts: 1,789 Member
I'm not normally into restricting, but I thought this could be interesting for us. Pick a bad habit you want to focus on avoiding this month (dietary or otherwise). For those with good habits (or that need those bad habits for sanity), consider making this Nutrition November: pick a macro that you want to focus on meeting and a goal of days/week or month that you will meet it or just general focus on nutrition to cut back on (not necessarily eliminate) something unhealthy. [edited 02NOV2015 to add italicized text as another suggested focus for the month]
Although it scares me a bit, I'm going to try a no scale November. I've had several people comment to me in the last few weeks that I've lost weight, but I keep saying I really haven't. I want to try focusing less on the scale and more about how do I like the way I look. I'll be taking measurements and trying to push myself on the workouts. I also want to make this no excuses November. Workout 3x/week at least 60 minutes; morning or night, no excuses. I start with such good intentions, but I let other things get in the way or use things I want to do more as excuses. I have to start really prioritizing my workouts so that I can feel better all the time and not just the immediate gratification of other things.
Although it scares me a bit, I'm going to try a no scale November. I've had several people comment to me in the last few weeks that I've lost weight, but I keep saying I really haven't. I want to try focusing less on the scale and more about how do I like the way I look. I'll be taking measurements and trying to push myself on the workouts. I also want to make this no excuses November. Workout 3x/week at least 60 minutes; morning or night, no excuses. I start with such good intentions, but I let other things get in the way or use things I want to do more as excuses. I have to start really prioritizing my workouts so that I can feel better all the time and not just the immediate gratification of other things.
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sw 158
goal 153 (so i can get to my goal of 147 by xmas)
hmmm, my bad habits are weekends, but i dont think i could make it through the week without a naughty weekend0 -
SW: 131
GW: 125
I'm going to go with "No cheat November". I'm ok with slipping a bit or going over a teeny bit on my cal goals, but I want to avoid those times where I'm just like, screw it..and gorge myself. This week my fiance is going away for work Tues-Thurs and for some reason that it super hard for me always. I actually fantasize about buying junk food and vegging out while he's gone. Throw back to single girl days, I guess. But I'm getting so close to the wedding that I really can't afford to do that. I'm going to make sure that I have plans each evening (hopefully a class at the gym), to help avoid that temptation. Even writing this now, I am having a hard time believing that I will stick to it
This month I'm also trying to go Low Carb-High Fat. I started on Friday and have already dropped a couple pounds while feeling really satisfied. I still need to learn what I should be eating, since loading up on bacon isn't a very healthy option. But I've been doing a lot of reading and it seems like something that might help me stick to my weightloss goals in the short term (2 months)...after that I think I'd need to go back to a more sustainable way of eating, but for now I think it's a good solution since it should help me feel full and avoid cravings. It's just going a few steps further than my current plan to avoid refined sugars. Better than a juice fast or something, which I was also tempted to do.
No Scale November is a great one! I weigh every day, so I know that would be super hard for me, too. I've done it before but slip back into the habit again. So good to remove that focus though! Good luck
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Jools, totally understand (like I said, I need those breaks too so I never do well with restrictive diet requirements); could you do a Nutrition November? Pick a macro you want to focus on and set a goal to reach that at least 3/5 weekdays or really stretch for every weekday and then you can still have your "naughty weekend".
Thanks for the encouragement on the no scale Jill. It's going to be weird, but I think I'll probably just try to put the scale in a cupboard so the temptation isn't there (or the habit). I've done some of the low carb-high fat in a less formal way before and it did seem to work (I usually had a higher carb day every 3-4 days). Glad you're seeing results.0 -
Oooh! These are all GREAT ones! GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!
I think I will do the No Excuses November!
-No Excuses to get me out of my fitness plans! (gonna shoot for 1300 minutes this month!)
-No Excuses on breaking a menu plan without at least a 3 day buffer!
-No Excuses for being lazy and eating out rather than cooking at home!
-No Excuses on not drinking at least 64 oz of PLAIN water everyday!
and especially (Like @fitfor30th )
-No excuses for naughty weekends that aren't PRE-planned! (I have a monthly girls night, oh and Thanksgiving isn't a weekend, but I know I may have a couple glasses of wine that night)
Finally for Nutrition November I am going to actively try to reduce and restrict PROCESSED foods from my menu planning!0 -
You guys are awesome! I like where this is going. I'm going to try:
-No icecream November
-No eating in bed November
-No sleeping in late November (that way I have time for my morning workout)0 -
MsMarlaJean, curious...what do you mean by "No Excuses on breaking a menu plan without at least a 3 day buffer!" ? Great goals! You are going to kill those 1300 minutes!
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Hi Alioth! I think your goals are great. Clear and achievable Especially no eating in bed! I had a goal of no eating in front of the TV because if I could stop that it would cut down on a huge amount of snacking. Haven't stuck to that at all tho. Good luck with your November goals! 0
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Great goals Marla Jean and Lizz.
Marla Jean? You did 1900 minutes in October, why only 1300 goal this month? Keep pushing yourself. If you can't do as many minutes (holidays and other fall happenings), make sure you're finding ways to push yourself in your workouts in other ways. What kind of stuff do you cook at home? I know it can be tough coming home and cooking something that isn't out of a box. I find it helps me to do a lot of cooking over the weekend and then eat leftovers, and my crock pot is my friend. (One of my most gratifying moments was my fiance saying he actually doesn't enjoy the frozen meals the same since he's gotten used to me cooking fresh ingredients.) Great that you have your "naughty" nights pre-planned.
Lizz, great goals! What kind of workouts do you like to do? I'm trying to get back into morning workouts. I've gotten better about waking up earlier, but it's still a struggle to get my butt to the gym at 5:30 or 6. Guessing the eating in bed is late night snacking? That kills me. My fiance used to always have a bag of m&ms or chips or candy on the coffee table in the evenings and it was too easy for me to help myself. Fortunately, he's gotten better about keeping it in bags on the other side of the room so I can ignore and don't munch out of boredom.
Good luck all! Let's have an amazing November!0 -
Well I generally plan out my menus for the week about 4-5 days in advance and it kinda ties in with the not eating out because sometimes M'Luv and I would not want to mess up a clean kitchen or felt to lazy to cook so we would change plans and go out to eat...giving myself a "3 day buffer" means we can't pull those excuses unless it's 3 days before we do it--therefore it's pre-planned! LOL! I probably could have simplified that one!CostaRica120 wrote: »MsMarlaJean, curious...what do you mean by "No Excuses on breaking a menu plan without at least a 3 day buffer!" ? Great goals! You are going to kill those 1300 minutes!
Oh and I love the idea of not snacking in front of the t.v.! I had to wrestle an urge to make popcorn last night! The popcorn is not so bad, but I would've smothered it in butter and salt! AHH!! I luckily stood strong! 
brisingr86 wrote: »Marla Jean? You did 1900 minutes in October, why only 1300 goal this month? Keep pushing yourself. If you can't do as many minutes (holidays and other fall happenings), make sure you're finding ways to push yourself in your workouts in other ways. What kind of stuff do you cook at home? I know it can be tough coming home and cooking something that isn't out of a box. I find it helps me to do a lot of cooking over the weekend and then eat leftovers, and my crock pot is my friend. (One of my most gratifying moments was my fiance saying he actually doesn't enjoy the frozen meals the same since he's gotten used to me cooking fresh ingredients.) Great that you have your "naughty" nights pre-planned.
Yeah, I was going to start with 1900 because of last month, but then when I got to looking at the calendar, I started to see it wasn't going to be as easy to get it in this month AND I don't want to burn out...gotta keep going strong and steady through the New Year. With Thanksgiving and some travel I have for work this month I came up with a realistic number of approximately 1250 minutes and then bumped it up to 1300. December I'll kick it up again and that is a great idea to challenge me in other ways for some of my elliptical/treadmill/stationary bike workouts, I can turn up the resistance and/or the incline and etc! Thanks for that idea!
I also cook some things over the weekend, like pre-prep stuff for my lunches as I will usually have the same and/or a similar lunch all week, but since I was gone this past weekend, I'm kinda wingin' it! I do much better when I pre-plan stuff!
@Alioth I LOVE your goals! especially the NO eating in bed! Yikes! I'm guilty of that one for sure!
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Totally binged last night! Ugh! So much for that But motivated again and I got this 0
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@CostaRica120 I feel for ya and know you'll turn it around for your binge night! I wasn't gonna make excuses for not working out, but there I was not working out on the 2nd and 3rd!
Granted, not feeling well is a semi-decent excuse, but all I could think is "what a crummy way to start out NO EXCUSES November" I did manage a 25 minute walk yesterday and got my rear to the gym this morning so I've gotten 140 minutes done so far, leaving 1160 to go on my goal to 1300 minutes.
Doing well on the other NO EXCUSES areas although just barely on the water one! Getting headachey again this afternoon-BOO! Have a Great Evening BTBSG Palz!0 -
Jill, i'm dying too on the binges. Ok, from today I'm on with the no excuses for binging! Your dress looks amazing btw.
Thanks for the ideas Sarah, i'm pretty good on macros now, that was the big thing I learnt from MFP, I always hit the protein which I never did before! My problem is I am a binger, but if I can keep tat under control most of the time it should even out, managing to stay a healthy weight and workout, just not losing at the mo!
We also have a bonfire party this weekend at ours, where everyone is bringing food, and we have toffee apples etc. But I'll let that evening slide if I've been good all day, and try to get back on track on Sunday!
Wow Marla, your workout times are huge! if you ever dont want the pressure of so much time, shorter HIIT workout have been shown to be just as effective, raising your calorie burning for up to 24 hours after the workout, and can be done in 30 mins. I used to do long workouts but now dont have the time, and still seem to be getting just as much, if not more in terms of muscle definition (now hitting the protein macros) with shorter workouts.
All the best everyone!
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Today was not a healthy day, too much junk food stress eating, but I've been doing pretty well on calories and workouts so far this week. Not the hour long I had planned (and I flaked Sunday), but I found a 10k training program in my fitness mag (mostly 30-45 min workouts) that I've stuck to M-today (rest day), so I'm pretty proud of that. Real test will be tomorrow (always the most trouble getting back after a rest day).
Shake off the binges Jill and Jools. You totally got this!
Sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well Marla Jean. Hope the headaches went away.
Jools, any tips on hitting the protein? That's what I often struggle with.
Good luck everyone heading into the weekends!0 -
Chia seed cold porridge for breakfast, love it! tuna or eggs and hummus at lunch. lean protein at dinner. I also have a chocolately protein bar as my snack so I get a treat, but protein too however, I'm not sold on all the unnecessary additives in them, but it works for me, for now.0
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@fitfor30th thanks for the tip! my workouts generally tend to range from 15 minutes up to 75 depending what I am doing, but I tend to go through phases with the HIIT, Circuit and regular Interval Training and just straight out cardio. I like variety and living on an island the things "to do" are fewer in the fall/winter so I sometimes workout a couple times a day (sometimes even 3 times) but when I enter them into MFP I combine them all so it does look like REALLY LONG workouts I LOVE HIIT! I especially Love some HIIT jump rope workouts I do and will probably be doing those when I am traveling for work if I can find my darn jump rope, it seems to have gone missing!
@brisingr86 thanks I am feeling better!
I got in 176 more minutes over the last couple days-YAY! 316/13000 -
Whups, sorry the no eating in front of the TV didn't work for you, CostaRica. Keep trying!
Brisinger>> I like doing about 5-10 minutes of stretching, 5-10 cardio dance or kickboxing, 10-15 pilates/abs/back/legs/core toning.
Good job on getting all your minutes in on all those work outs!
Week 1 Update:
-No ice cream November--I failed this on Saturday. It was the lesser of two evils. I picked ice cream over pumpkin cappuccino cheesecake at a catered dinner.
-No eating in bed November--Totally failed! The problem is that I get off work late at night. Then I pile whatever's left in the fridge into a big bowl or huge plate and march it upstairs to eat in bed in my pj's before passing out. I tend to overeat because I'm waiting so late in the day to have anything. I also keep chocolate in my bedside table and will reach for that when I'm peckish.
-No sleeping in late November (that way I have time for my morning workout) --SO far so good!0 -
Thanks for the protein tips Jools. I tried the chia seed porridge, but it didn't really seem to keep me very full or have as much protein as I had thought. Not a tuna or hummus person. I need to start hard boiling eggs so I can bring them for lunch. It sounds so easy when you put it that way; maybe I just need to focus a little more.
MarlaJean: Hope you find your jump rope. Or maybe get a new one for Christmas/winter holiday? Glad you're feeling better. Sounds like you're right on track for the 1300 minutes this month. Great job!
Lizz, I think one slip up on the ice cream is respectable. Sounds like the eating in bed is a pretty hard habit to break. It's tough later in the day, especially if you're really hungry. Can you keep some granola bars or fruit or veggies in bags that you can have for healthy snacks during the day/evening (can you eat munchies during work or on breaks?) so you aren't so hungry? Or let yourself eat in bed, but look closer at the over-eating. If you're staying in your calories, less of a big deal whether you eat it in bed or at a table. Congrats on the not sleeping late and getting in the morning workouts!
So, it's odd for me to do an update without recording my weight progress, but so far so good on no scale (I did weigh in on the 2nd thinking I might stick with a challenge I was part of with a weekly weigh in, but ended up leaving and haven't looked at the scale since). Realizing how much of my reinforcement was coming from the scale, even on short term when I know there can be substantial fluctuation day to day. I think it's forcing me more to just take the system at face value and then I'll see if it worked next month rather than trying to make adjustments day to day or skipping a dinner if I'm not that hungry to get a low weigh-in the next day. I'm really hoping I can sneak under the 150 mark without seeing it, as that has always been a plateau point for me. If I don't know I'm around there, maybe I won't think about it and I'll just keep moving.
I didn't do the 60 min 3x/week, but I started following a plan for first 10k that includes 6 workouts/week and got all of those with the exception of "30-45 minutes of cross-training" recommended for Friday only being about 20 minutes of strength work. I did an extra 1.5 miles on my long run Saturday and a full hour on Sunday to make up for it a little. Overall, considering it a success and hoping I can stick with it.0 -
Quick update with my weight from Sunday.
SW: 131
GW: 125
W1: 129.8
Things are going pretty well with eating. Trying to stick to low-carb but had my wedding tasting last night, so def didn't worry about it. Dress fitting tomorrow. Not where I wanted to be exactly, but that's ok. I feel pretty skinny
Sorry I'm not here much to read, post and support. It's really getting to be crunch time for my wedding now and still have so much to do! Getting super excited though just busy.
xo
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Hi all.
My No in November is basic around drinking. My water consumption is not good at the moment so I have decided to not drink alcohol or carbonated soft drinks (soda) etc and drink more water, fruit teas (no sugar) and squash.
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Great goal Chezzie! While plain water is always best, if you find yourself really craving that stronger flavor or the fizz, I use Mio (and store brand equivalents) for a couple bottles of water a day that give me that and I've heard of a number of people who use carbonated water/seltzer to give them that fizz when they're craving soda, but don't want the calories or the tons of artificial stuff in diet soda. Good luck!0
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Who here eats when they're stressed and who loses their appetite? My fiance is the type that will completely forget to eat if he's stressed or busy. When I'm feeling stressed, I definitely think about food more. I think it's because if I'm eating, then I'm avoiding whatever is stressing me out. Just wondering what you ladies experience!
I have been finding that I have been so busy in the evenings with wedding-related stuff that it just leaves a whole lot less time to think about/eat food. So that's a good thing 0 -
I definitely crave the junk when I'm stressed and have the bad habit of thinking about it as a reward or pay-off for the stress I'm being put through. If I'm physically busy (running around to meetings or what not), then I can more forget to eat and it's ok, but if I just have lots to do but I'm sitting at my desk or on the couch trying to get myself to do it, I have a tendency to snack out of almost boredom/procrastination. I'm getting better at recognizing when I'm just in a munchie mood and when I'm actually hungry, but still definitely a stress snacker.0
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This week is a major hit to my workout goals. I skipped Tuesday because I thought my fiance and I had plans (which he bailed on). I was going to make it up last night, but got home way later than expected and then had to get things done to prep for our marriage preparation retreat this weekend. Had to finish prep this morning and will leave pretty much as soon as I get home from work, so probably no workout today. I'm going to bring my stuff and hopefully will find time to do a run tomorrow and maybe Sunday morning. Disappointed in myself, but hopefully can use it to drive myself to do better next week instead of just giving up until next month.0
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SW: 131
GW: 125
W1: 129.8
W2: 129.80 -
Really stressed, or heartache, no appetite. Moderate stress, munch munch , munch!0
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I tend to agree with Jools on levels of stress and correlating munchies. Hope stress reduces to low, manageable levels soon.0
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I thought it did really well this week and last weekend, but I'm still at 1580
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Just stick to it! If you know you're sticking to your calls, it might just be water weight hanging on.0
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Might be, I always find when you try to break new weight i.e. I havent been below 158 for a long time, it takes longer, just thought I'd cracked it last week! However, I have a definite indent now between my upper abs so thats good! 0
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That's awesome! And yes, I find the same thing. I'll dip and then kinda bounce around forever but then eventually work my way down.0
