November ETL thread: No nonsense November

tdh1991
tdh1991 Posts: 511 Member
edited November 8 in Social Groups
oh my!
I don't log in for a week and everything has changed. Hopefully, everyone will find the group and we all figure out how to navigate the new MFP. Will see.

Halloween was a good day for me no candy or junk food. I think that is the first time in my life I made it thru this holiday without any sweets.

so far today;
usual oatmeal breakfast
lunch: butternut squash soup and salad.
now off to the gym

check in later.

have a nice day.

Terri
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Replies

  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    edited November 2014
    Hey Terri! I started a November thread too, but I deleted it and we will go with yours. :) I am happy we have our group back! The prior owner was very sorry she accidentally deleted it. But what the heck, new starts are always good right? November goals, keep up the momentum from the past couple weeks and head into the holidays strong!

    I could use some opinions and input from the regulars. The announcements thing is kind of a pain as there is no way to see if new posts are made unless you bookmark them. Then they only go unshaded if there's a new post and it is kind of easy to miss. I think we should probably have new sticky threads for recipes and resources, but I'm hesitant to put introductions up there as it would be easy to miss someone new posting and I don't like when people post and get no response. Thoughts?

    ETA: no Halloween candy, Terri? Woohoo! Me either, but I worked late so secretary could go home early and didn't even buy any haha!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    I added the basic nutritarian guidelines to the announcements part, let me know if I missed anything or if any of it seems unclear.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    I'd suggest no stickies until they fix that issue, then you can probably sticky certain threads after the fact? Stupid travel laptop..... Glad to be back, though.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    I agree Scott... glad you are back too!
  • UtahWI
    UtahWI Posts: 257 Member
    Yippee! Here we are! I have been having really pretty good ETL days, just diet in general feels pretty good this week. I feel like I have been making really pretty good choices this week, while allowing for some "other" stuff...like the pumpkin pie they gave us at conference yesterday! I have had two pieces of Halloween candy, and I am OK with that. At least, they were really good ones that I deem "worth" the calories.

    I am really low on calories today...work was ridiculous. I had my oatmeal/chia/fruit for breakfast, but then I didn't get to eat til almost 6pm, and I had my bean/veggie soup that I had brought. It is filling but low in calories, so when I got home I wasn't really hungry but had had very few calories. I just finished a bowl of popcorn with nutritional yeast as a snack...still low but now I am not having any more.

    I have overnight vegan oats from OSG brewing in the fridge, I hope they turn out yummy!

    It would be nice to have stickies or something eventually...the go to information for people with common questions. But I can see the problem with not getting notifications. Hmmm. I think in a few places I have seen where stickies were locked? So that they couldn't be posted on any more, but the info was there. That way we wouldn't miss posts in those areas. But for an intro post or something, that doesn't solve the lack of notifications of new posts. Hmmm...
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Hi folks!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    Mornin' all. I am going to the office again today. Sigh. Yesterday was not nearly as productive as I hoped it would be, mostly because my boss showed up and I lost my quiet work time. He promised he wouldn't be there today. I am taking tomorrow off though. The EMG on my hands is scheduled for tomorrow morning and I decided to just turn it into a day off since I think I've only taken 3 days the entire year so far. I assume the results will be sometime next week and I'll find out if my doc is right and I have to have carpal tunnel surgery.

    Plan a good day. I am going to treat myself to a good breakfast since I got up early. Here's the menu for today:

    B: tofu scramble with loads of veggies, hash browns
    L: hummus and lettuce in a spinach wrap, carrot and celery sticks
    D: white bean pita pizza topped with roasted red pepper and caramelized onions
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    edited November 2014
    Jean, that's a crazy day at work! Hope you get some R&R today, or are you working again? I like the attitude of eating things you deem worth the calories. I try to do that too, if I'm going to blow my calorie budget it ought to be on something worth my while. I can't remember, are you still in the cast at work?

    Hi Sabine :)
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    UtahWI wrote: »
    It would be nice to have stickies or something eventually...the go to information for people with common questions. But I can see the problem with not getting notifications. Hmmm. I think in a few places I have seen where stickies were locked? So that they couldn't be posted on any more, but the info was there. That way we wouldn't miss posts in those areas. But for an intro post or something, that doesn't solve the lack of notifications of new posts. Hmmm...

    IMHO, without notifications, currently, the stickies are more trouble than they are worth. If we stick to a monthly thread, + the very few other sitcky-worthy threads, like introductions, recipes, whatever.... there won't be enough threads to clog things up. Then, if one day, MFP fixes the sticky notification issue, those threads could be stickied then.

  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    Scott, I think you are saying we could just add introductions, recipes and resources into the general discussion area for now, since we are starting over and there isn't a lot going on to make them get lost, and if it gets to the point where we have more threads filling up the page we'll figure out something then, and hopefully MFP will have caught up? That makes sense. Sound good to everyone?

    I do like having a separate recipes thread, because sometimes I will remember a recipe someone posted but I can't remember how long ago and I can't find it.
  • tdh1991
    tdh1991 Posts: 511 Member
    Hi All,

    I agree. Hold off on the stickies until they get all the bugs sorted out. But I do think we should eventually have a few for the rules, introduction, and recipes.

    Everyone seems to be doing well right now. I had a pretty good day today.

    Finally, some energy for the gym today. Lately, I have been dragging thru my workouts. Only 1 1/2 more months till I can start lifting weights again.

    Mahini: sorry you were at work again today :frowning:

    Scott, Sabine, and Utah glad you are here :smile:

    Have a nice night
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    Mihani wrote: »
    Scott, I think you are saying we could just add introductions, recipes and resources into the general discussion area for now, since we are starting over and there isn't a lot going on to make them get lost, and if it gets to the point where we have more threads filling up the page we'll figure out something then, and hopefully MFP will have caught up? That makes sense. Sound good to everyone?

    I do like having a separate recipes thread, because sometimes I will remember a recipe someone posted but I can't remember how long ago and I can't find it.


    You're the boss. B)

  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member

    You're the boss. B)

    So am not.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    I'm a bit keyed up tonight, going for my EMG tomorrow morning to test for carpal tunnel. My guess is my doctor wouldn't have told me I have it if I don't, but the EMG will confirm and assuming my doc is right then surgery. This is why I'm working even more than usual. Trying to get on top of things. Which isn't helping the pain in my hands of course. I am turning tomorrow into a day off though. I need some me time.

    I don't do well with doctors/tests/medical stuff. So this won't be fun, but I do know the doctor as it is the same guy I saw a few years ago for my sciatica, and he's super nice. Plus he fixed my back problems so I sort of worship him lol.
  • tdh1991
    tdh1991 Posts: 511 Member
    Good luck today Mahini. Hope your doc can fix you again this time. Our bodies always have a way of telling us to slow down.

    goal this week is to be pretty strict ETL. Up a couple of pounds so need to get right back at it. I would like to lose 5-6 lbs by Xmas. So, thankful it is only a few pounds to lose not 50-60.

    Last night I felt pretty good exercising again. I was feeling burnt out there for the past couple of weeks. Wish the gyms that I went to would get some other type of cardio machines. Need a little more variety. Oh, well wishful thinking.

    Made homemade vegetable broth yesterday. Plan on making a few dishes for the week.

    goals Nov. 3-8

    Make:
    Three Sisters Harvest Stew
    West African Lentil Okra
    Curried Chick pea and Sweet potatoes.

    take a few dishes out of the freezer for lunches.

    exercise 3-4 x
    Log my food


  • UtahWI
    UtahWI Posts: 257 Member
    Back from the war! :smiley: My overnight oats were/are very tasty, am having serving #2 right now, with some blueberries and raspberries. I worked both weekend days, although Sunday I did get to take a lunch, and had some veggie chili. Also two fun size kit kat bars from somebody's left over Halloween stash, totally worthwhile. We went out for our usual dinner/drinks after Sunday's shift, but I changed things up drink wise, only had one, and had a salad that I have been wanting to try for dinner, and it was terrific. Not a low cal salad, really, but veggies still rather than a bar burger or some such thing.

    So good news!!! Since I weighed in after my pretty-normal thyroid tests, on October 23, I have lost 3 pounds! Yay! I was hoping for good news this morning, because for me, good news is positive reinforcement, and it had gotten so discouraging. And it was a challenging week to start with, with multiple 12 hour shifts in a dangerous food environment, some dinners out, and a two day conference with food provided. So I am very happy, and am planning to continue to eat in the calorie range I have been aiming for, and hopefully next week will be good news!

    Some exercise planned for today, and getting out to ride later. Lunch is planned, soup/salad, but not sure on dinner yet...hope everyone here is having a good day, and we continue to grow and welcome people back.
  • ilovetoeatsweets
    ilovetoeatsweets Posts: 36 Member
    Good morning all. I am new to the group and am looking forward to finding out more about ETL...
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    Welcome sweets... glad you are here. :)
  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    Glad the group is back!!

    At some point last week, the juicing just fizzled out. You remember my busy schedule leading up to Halloween? I got nearly everything done - except that I didn't have time to make juice, and I ran out on Wednesday. So then I started just eating scraps of whatever was around. Mostly starchy carbs... Sigh...

    My goals for November are basically all in an effort to stop feeling so tired. The lack of workouts and too many starchy carbs really has me feeling pooped!

    November Goals:
    - ETL back-to-basics - really focus on the nutritional targets -- Most importantly I have to really pay attention to my starchy carbs and make sure I really only eat 1 cup per day. I know I've been eating way more than that...
    - Morning workouts! I've been lazy and I can FEEL it. I NEED to get back on the treadmill!!!
    - Go to bed at a decent hour!!!
    - Wake up as soon as my alarm goes off - no more being lazy!!!

    That's it! Sounds simple enough, right?!?!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    Excellent goals Karrie. I could just copy/paste those for my own goals lol.

    I ended up NOT getting the EMG this morning. Started looking into the insurance co-pays and deductible and such, and I have not met ANY of my $1,000 deductible yet this year so the EMG would be totally out of pocket. Since the surgeries couldn't be until next year because of time constraints and the end of the year being so busy that I can't contemplate being one-handed during November and December, I just decided to wait until January to get the EMG and then it and the surgeries will all fall under next year's deductible as it resets on January 1. What a complicated mess medical/insurance stuff is.

    I did go ahead with taking the day off though. Went to the grocery and stocked up on stuff to make this an awesome ETL week, and going to go have lunch with a friend as planned. I haven't got together with him in a long time and really looking forward to catching up. Then when I get home I think I will do some laundry and tackle the piles of dog and cat hair that are in every corner.
  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    Good for you for taking the day off anyway - and rebooking in January makes perfect fiscal sense.

    I went out to grab lunch and I was going to get a sinfully delicious veggie sandwhich that I just *love*, but instead I bought a week's worth of veggies and a tub of red roasted pepper hummus. Lunches at work for the week are now taken care of. Point, ETL!

    Now I just need to buy some groceries to make some soups and salads for my evenings and I think my first week back to 100% ETL will be all set!! Soups: Acorn Squash & Roasted Veggie, and then I think I'll do the OSG Tortilla Soup. :smiley: Salads: Roasted Beet with Dijon Mustard Dressing (from my nutritionist - soooo tasty) and maybe a greek quinoa salad... mmm!!!
  • tryingvegan
    tryingvegan Posts: 79 Member
    I'm not cheating again! About 3 weeks ago, I had a piece of cake with cream cheese frosting from Whole Foods. I think some people who don't eat plant based try to sabotage your eating style. Anyway, I got shingles; not real severe (thank God). I swear the cheese & sugar started the shingles. I'm better now, but no more SAD food for me! I feel posting what I eat here is a duplication; my diary is open to friends. I'm in the healthy zone on the BMI calculator!!!!!!!!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    tryingvegan awesome accomplishment getting to a healthy BMI, congrats! Sorry you had shingles, I have heard that is extremely painful.

    Karrie, good job avoiding the sandwich. I would like the acorn squash and roasted veggie soup recipe when you have a chance please. It sounds delightful. I love squash, especially when the weather starts to get colder. I have the OSG tortilla soup bookmarked, I don't know why I haven't got to it yet. All of my cookbooks have dozens of post it notes sticking out of them for recipes I want to try. I tend to cook more often in the winter though so I should be getting to more of them.

    I took an inventory of my refrigerator and planned out dinners for the week. The store had cauliflower on sale this morning so I got two and going to make some of the red lentil cauliflower curry from Veganomicon this week. I am really going to try to get up a little earlier and put in 20 minutes on the stationary bike before my shower in the mornings. My days so often get out of control and I am so worn out that I don't get to working out in the evenings. At least if I do something in the mornings I've got some exercise in no matter what. And like Karrie, I'm going to get to bed earlier this week. When I'm tired everything is harder to do.
  • Well here you are :) Been a crazy several weeks and my ETL has sometimes been more "ish" than not, but all in all still good. I'm down 74 pounds right now. It's going slow and steady, so I'm happy. What I am most happy about is our local ETL group -- We've been meeting for 10 weeks now and as of last Thursday night, the 7 regulars who were present had lost a total of just short of 112 pounds as a group! Go them :) I'm loving being able to be a catalyst for change by the information I share. Tonight I met one of our group regulars in the store and she proudly showed off to me her entire shopping cart FULL of fresh fruits and veggies :) Loving it.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    Wow, some real success getting through Halloween for most of you. And me, too! I'm so proud of myself. We still have some mini-Snickers in the freezer and I'm not even tempted. I'm feeling pretty solidly ETL these past few days. Glad to see the group arise from the ashes. (No, I don't like this new format, but I'm slowly getting used to it.) [Bump for later]
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    Squiggy and Lisa, glad to have you back :) Squiggy that is awesome your group is still doing so well and going strong. Lisa, glad the snickers aren't tempting you.

    Jean, that is great news about your loss and that your thyroid meds are getting adjusted. Excellent restraint at the bar! I need to try the overnight oats.

  • cherrima
    cherrima Posts: 30 Member
    Hi, I'm new to ETL. I did go shopping a couple days ago and loaded up on lots of veggies and fruits. I also got a few items that I will avoid in the future like dried fruit and extra dark chocolate.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,104 Member
    Hi cherrima, good plan! I use frozen berries in my oatmeal rather than raisins now.
  • tdh1991
    tdh1991 Posts: 511 Member
    We off to a great start for November.

    Squiggy congrats to your group what an accomplishment!

    Welcome to sweets and cherrima. This is a great eating plan and all of us do it to the best of our ability.

    Tryingvegan hope you are feeling better from the shingles. I had one time 20 years ago when i was under a lot of stress. No fun :frowning:

    I am hosting Thanksgiving this year as always. So, it is time to start planning. I am not sure if I want to do both vegan and traditional dishes or just go traditional and just take 1 day.
    I was thinking of trying Dr. Fuhrman's stuffed pumpkin recipe and see how that turns out. It received a lot of pretty good reviews on line. Will definitely need to do a practice run before the actual day.

    Yesterday was a pretty good day and I made it to the gym. :smiley: I made 2 of the 3 dishes I had planned to make.
    three sisters harvest stew
    curried chickpeas and sweet potatoes

    The recipes made more then enough food for the whole week.

    today:
    usual oatmeal
    three sisters harvest stew, pear lunch
    dinner; salad curried chick peas
    gym: 40-50 min.

  • whats_her_name
    whats_her_name Posts: 716 Member
    Mihani, the squash soup is really easy (and so delicious!!) This quantity makes about 10 servings.

    Fill a big roasting pan FULL of
    - carrots (4+ cups),
    - yellow onions (2 medium), and
    - celery (2 celery hearts)
    Drizzle with a little olive oil (just a bit) and some pepper.

    Then, cut 2 acorn squash in half, remove the seeds, then brush them with a bit of oil and add pepper to those as well.

    Put the squash on a cookie sheet and put that and the roasting pan in the oven at 375ºF for about 70 minutes.

    Then, scoop the squash out of the skin and put all the veggies in a big pot on the stove. Add 6 cups of veggie broth.

    Use a submersible blender to make a smooth soup, then add:
    - 1.5 tbsp cumin,
    - 1 tbsp coriander and
    - a little more pepper (to taste).

    This is one of my favourite soups of all time. I just love it! (And it always tastes better on the 2nd day - which is today!! Mmmmmm...)

    Enjoy!
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