My November Challenge:
Stay in my maintenance weight range by enjoying small portions of the great holiday food and cutting back the days surrounding the holiday.
Walk my 35 to 40 miles per week to maintain my distance walking fitness.
Lift weights 4 days per week.
Enjoy the holiday season with my husband and family.

OK, I am changing up my November challenge a bit to focus on really getting a few more pounds off this month.

1. Minimum 45 minutes of exercise daily, including:
2. Do 12 laps of stair climb at home every day - just in the hope it will get easier!
3. Get to the gym at least twice a week.
4. Finish eating last meal or snack no later than 9:30 p.m.
5. Get in bed by 11:00 p.m. nightly.
6. Report on success with above and weight change, each Sunday.

I have been *toying* with the idea of trying C25K but, I don't dare include it on my list yet. We'll see...

Happy November, friends! ~ Kathy

More than ever I will need to be focused on my goal, which is eat healthy and move, whether it be at work or just outside walking. I have purposely not weighed myself. I will do so when I can " feel that I have lost". Frankly weighing myself is bothersome. I'm never where I really want to be. BUT I plan to get there eventually!. I would actually like to lose 5 lbs. by November 30 th. I think I'll wait and record my weight on that day!.

Happy November

Yesterday I got brave and did a few yoga stretches. I feel sooo much better every day so I really don't think there is a rotator cuff tear. Just those few stretches made me realize how important some flexibility exercises are at this point in time.

Ringos I know all about that love of sweets thing! As far as the splenda though, you said the chemical kind may not be a lot better, actually the chemical kind is a lot worse! I have fought this battle with my diabetic husband who has been told he cannot eat sugar, but ate sweetners until he thought he was gluten intolerant because he started having so much gas and bowel problems. I said, ok, before you start down that road, you need to give up ALL artificial sweetners and dairy products for one month!!! He did and his digestion returned to normal (thank God I did not want to be cooking everything gluten free). I do use sweetners, but only maple syrup, honey, or stevia. Personally, my love of sweets has never gone away, but like everything else, I go with the moderation route!

I am a verified sugar addict, so I stay away from sugar and refined carbs AND artificial sweeteners, as I have read some reliable sources that say the body can react to artificial sweetener in much the same way it does to sugar. (NOT staying away from them, in my case, leads to bingeing and taking days to weeks to get it back under control.)

Up until now I have done completely without but, I am thinking of giving stevia a try - for holiday baking only - and see how that feels. I will be doing very little baking, just for a couple of family events, and would like to be able to eat a SMALL piece of low-carb pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving - if I can settle on the right recipe.

November Challenge report so far this week: doing very well. I have been to the gym once and plan another trip before my reporting day on Sunday. I have been finishing my meals all nights except one so far, by 9:30 p.m. I have gotten in bed every night but one, by 11:30 so that is not at goal (11:00) but much improved from my usual practice. I have gone beyond 45 minutes of exercise every day.

Now about those 12 stair laps - yes, I'm doing them, but by the time I'm done I'm gasping as if someone should call an ambulance. WILL this ever get easier?? Last night as I was doing them I found myself thinking about Alexander the Great. It's reported that when he was traveling with his army and the hordes of supporters (cooks, slaves, wives, children etc) that kept the travel process at a slow pace, he would repeatedly jump on and off his chariot for exercise while they were on the march. I dunno, I don't really have a desire to conquer the world but I would at least like to conquer those 12 stair laps! HOW did he do it??

Okie Dokie, It is Nov. 6th. Today I was not working, I made a point to weigh and measure all foods. Then went out for a bit a broke down and bought a Mc Donald's Pumpkin Spice Latte. 12 ounces for a small, however I only consumed 6 ounces, threw the rest down the drain. Never was it my style to be wasteful, however the long term goal is where I'm headed

sharondtd wrote: »

Kathy, Never thought to call them stair laps. Liking the term VERY much !Really would like to know how you arrived at that 12 lap goal. It sounds formidable and wonderful.

Sharon, one lap is down the stairs and back up again. I started doing this to increase my activity when the weather was bad last year. When I started out, I could only do this three times. I worked my way up to ten and that seemed to be my limit and I was done after ten.

So now I am determined to get stronger - hence I added two more and hope I will adjust, then I will add another one or two and so on. We'll see how far I can go with this.

Meanwhile, I found an article on why this is so hard:

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/why-stair-climbing-is-good-for-runners?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-Training-_-StairClimbing

three quarters of my report disappeared ¡?
Mostly met goals, but missed ankle pt one day.

mxchana wrote: »

Had a pretty good week; here are my goals and my actual accomplishments:

1. Minimum 45 minutes of exercise daily, including: averaged 131 minutes of exercise per day (lowest day was 87)
2. Do 12 laps of stair climb at home every day - just in the hope it will get easier! I did this 6 out of 7 days... and one night it actually felt a little easier than usual
5. Get to the gym at least twice a week. Very busy with yard work this week is my excuse - got to the gym just once
6. Finish eating last meal or snack no later than 9:30 p.m. I did this 5 out of 7 days
7. Get in bed by 11:00 p.m. nightly. 6 out of 7 days I was in bed by 11:30 p.m. So far this is the best I can do
8. Report on success with above and weight change, each Sunday. Here I am! And my weight compared to last Sunday is down 1.8 pounds

As always, I owe a LOT to the accountability I enjoy by having all of you folks here sharing the journey.

Have a beautiful day! ~ Kathy

November challenge:
1. Walk 1 hour every day (Hope it doesn't rain ALL month!)
2. Stay within my daily goal of 1,200 calories.
3. Be strong and eat healthy throughout my sisters' visit and Thanksgiving!
4. Weigh less at the end of the month ...
Life is GOOD!

Thanks, sharondtd! By the way, I have a P.S.
5. Log in on MFP every day!

Dancing to the oldies - sounds like fun! I may have to bust a few moves myself this week.