Outstandingly October!

AustinRuadhain
AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
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It's a new month! Hurray for October!

Do you have any particular health and fitness goals for October?
Any particular habit or action you are focused on?

Wishing you all a wonderful day, week and month!
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Replies

  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Say YES to planning! yesssmileyf.gif

    black coffee
    oatmeal with the usual suspects
    veggies and Bitchin' sauce
    plant burger with the works
    taco salad (dark leafy greens, onions, tomatoes, roasted corn, cilantro, kidney beans, avocado, lime, salsa, air fried corn tortillas)
    dessert: tea and lots of lulu love ... Nubz for her, small gala apple and PB for me!

    Wishing everyone a beautiful fall 1st of October day! witchyshoesmiley.gif

    Great start to our new month, @AustinRuadhain My goals for this month is to lose 5 pounds! I keep trying...I think I have a good system going now. I am thrilled with my WOE...my knee pain has significantly lessened to allow me to do more things than before going WFPB/Vegan. Three days a week, long walks with Lulu dog.gifand cabanasmiley.gif time for me! Specifically, swimsmiley.gif!

  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    I love your goals, Magic! Those long walks with Lulu sound healthy and fun!

    So let's see, my goals for the month:
    - Continue with ETL for food, and continue logging
    - In the realms of both exercise and study -- focus on martial arts. I created a little grid for myself to track several related actions, and will work on moving those into the realm of daily and weekly habits. These include resistance training. I want to build some muscle!
    - Fit in writing 3 times a week. It's a stretch, but I will try to get more regular.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Hello all... where did September go so quickly? I enjoyed my day off yesterday, and after dealing with things I was so tired and went to bed so here I am up in the wee hours of the morning and debating on whether to try to go back to sleep at all or just get ready for work and head in early.

    I am going to get more consistent with exercise this month for sure. I did manage to hit the treadmill a few times in the past week and want to get to where I'm doing that or walking outside every single day. I want to get to at least 7500 steps on a daily basis and my work is so sedentary it can't be done without some concentrated walking time.

    <3 y'all
  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    Today's Plan:
    black coffee
    oatmeal with homemade almond milk, oats, cinnamon, flax meal, raisins, frozen blueberries
    kimchi ramen salad (new recipe) OR plant burger with the works
    veggies and Bitchin sauce
    one more taco salad...yesterday's was so good...gotta repeat tonight.
    dessert: Lulu Love and chaiwala chai...Nubz for LML, honey crisp and pb for me...or rice cake with PBandJ

    Have a super day everyone!

  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    edited October 2019
    Good morning, all!

    Mihani, wow, you were up super early! I hope the rest of your day went well! 7500 happens to be my daily step goal as well. As with you, I find that's enough to have me work at moving, but not so much as to be unreasonable (or, for me, hard on the joints).

    Oh, and I keep meaning to tell you that I came across a nutritionfacts podcast episode that talked about best ways to cook mushrooms to preserve nutritional benefits. Microwaving is mentioned, and is a good method! Here's a link (go to 1:30 for the discussion of microwaving mushrooms): https://nutritionfacts.org/video/best-way-to-cook-vegetables/

    Magic, if you went with it, how was your kimchi ramen salad? It certainly sounds exciting!
    Losing weight takes work, but for me, it has made a huge difference in terms of happy knees. So worth it!

    Today's plan:
    B-green smoothie (broccoli, spinach, blueberries, lime, with turmeric, cinnamon & ginger); goji berries, smidge of almond butter DONE!
    L-steamed greens; steamed squash with pickled onions & grape tomatoes; microwaved mushrooms; black beans; steamed squash and apples
    S-apple slices and a few walnut pieces
    D-huge salad with roasted beets and kale; steamed savory squash dish; butternut and apples for dessert

  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Hi Ladies... home early because I had a dentist appointment to get my permanent crown. Glad that's over with. I skipped novocaine for this and it wasn't too bad. A few twingy moments.

    I will take a look at the mushroom link, thanks Austin. Those are always my most difficult of the GBOMBS. Not that I don't like them I just forget about them or they go bad before I use them up. I think I read that 10,000 steps is pretty arbitrary and that 7500 is a very decent goal.

    I want to know how your ramen salad turns out too Magic. Sounds delicious!

    Tonight will be a wrap with hummus (E2 recipe with my own twists) and loads of veggies. An apple or some melon. Breakfast was my usual oats with additions, and lunch was a Dr. McDougall soup and a few Mary's crackers. Since I had to leave early I didn't want to spend a lot of time on eating lunch, and let's face it a huge Dr. F style salad takes a while to chew!

    I think Donna was going to be back this month. Hope to see her soon.

    Going to hit my desk and get some work done from home. No point in going back to the office.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Taking a day away from the office to do some laundry and prepping. I just got back from the grocery. I am going to make a batch of the white bean and collard greens stew that I made up a couple weeks ago. It was so good and with the weather cooling down I'm definitely craving more warm and savory foods. I'll also add mushrooms this time so I know I'll get those in.

    Also on the agenda, Dr. F's cabbage and kale casserole, a salad dressing of some type, and bake some garnet sweet potatoes. The store didn't have any of the Japanese sweet potatoes which I am now addicted to. Once they are baked and sliced, it's like eating a cookie to have a slice.

    I will also make up my salads and oatmeal for the week. So convenient to have it all done. I freeze the oats and all with the berries, spices, chia seeds and some chopped greens, then take to the office to add hot water and eat. The only things I don't add to my salads ahead of time are pickled onions, tomatoes and salad dressing, but that just takes a minute in the morning.

    Will hit the treadmill today. I also have a stationary bike which is a little hard on my bad knee, but I moved it into my bedroom and will put in 10 minutes in the mornings this week. My treadmill goal is at least 40 minutes every evening and work on building up speed and incline before I worry about more time.

    All in all, I feel ready for a very good healthy week!
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    Wow, Mihani! Your Saturday is most inspiring! The garnet sweet potatoes sound especially lovely!

    I have company coming on Tuesday, so I am going to be doing a bunch of food planning and prep today and tomorrow. I started with a trip to Costco to restock on a few basics. I am about to work on plans, do some kitchen decluttering and rearranging, and then I will go do some shopping. So much to do! I am thinking abotu including a couple of things they might like that I can also eat, like maybe the Eat Your Greens Soup.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Austin, if you have the Oh She Glows cookbook there is a Crowd-Pleasing Tex Mex Casserole recipe that is awesome. It's not on her website but if you google it there are a few sites with the recipe. I leave out the olive oil, and it does have some daiya but you could probably leave it out too, but if you aren't worried about it since it's for company leave it in because it is a nice addition. It is always a big hit when I make it. When serving to guests I have avocado, sliced green onions and cashew sour cream for toppings.

    I didn't get the laundry done, and I decided to put off the cabbage and kale casserole until later in the week since I will be eating the stew for the next few days. Forgot to add the mushrooms! My salad prepper gave me broccoli so I think I'll pick up a red pepper and green onions on my way back from the office to make a quick stir-fry with the mushrooms that should last a few days.

    I'm heading to the office early this morning so I can get in and out. Bringing home a bunch of files to work on at home.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    edited October 2019
    Hey Mihani, thank you for the Crowd-Pleasing Tex Mex Casserole recipe recommendation. I just added that to my food plan for the days they are here! (And, yes, made a note about the sides!)

    If you want a quick mushroom option, something I often do is microwave them, top with some black beans and sprinkle with onion powder, black pepper and nooch.

    I am having a great ETL day:
    B-black coffee; green smoothie (broccoli, spinach, blueberries, lime, with turmeric, cinnamon & ginger); goji berries, smidge of almond butter
    L-turnip greens; steamed zucchini with pickled onions, grape tomatoes, parsley & spices; microwaved mushrooms; black beans; steamed squash and apples
    S-apple slices and some almond butter
    D(planned)-huge salad with roasted beets and kale; tomatillo-based dressing; steamed savory squash dish; butternut and blueberries or apples for dessert

    If anyone else likes sparkling water, I will say that unsweetened coconut flavored sparkling water is a current thing of mine. So tasty!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Austin, I have been using your microwave tip for mushrooms for a while. So easy to eat a couple mushrooms a day that way. I will try them with the black beans soon. I drink a lot of sparkling water, usually La Croix.

    I really love this cannellini bean and collard greens stew. I didn't have any banana peppers this time so I threw in some red pepper flakes instead. Cayenne would work too. Just needs something to give it a bit of heat.

    Magic, hope all is well with you... you've been quiet.

    Oh, I managed to remember to jump on the stationary bike for 10 minutes this morning. I can't pedal too fast because of my messed up knee (old injury from high school days) but at least I got in some movement this morning. Will hit the treadmill tonight and play around with dumbbells a bit.
  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    edited October 2019
    Morning all...

    Somehow, I missed posting for several days...but everything is ok.

    today

    black Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice coffee
    Avocado toast
    taco salad
    veggies and bitchin sauce
    veggie soup and loads of veggies (carrots, onions, celery, bok choy, cauliflower, mushrooms) with gf noodles
    chaiwalla chai ... Lulu Love (birthday girl today...Little Miss Two Year Old)
    orange good pop
    fallsmiley2.gif
  • LizLovesVeggies
    LizLovesVeggies Posts: 39 Member
    Hi everyone - sorry I ghosted you all for a bit. I'm in the candy industry (did I mention that before? not etl at. all. Hope you still like me!) and it's my busiest time of year.

    Mihani - I also read that 10K steps per day is arbitrary!

    Magic - good for you & good luck!

    Austin - I currently have mushrooms in the fridge - thanks for the tip!

    Also I just completed the veganfitness.com true strength challenge which I do recommend if you want to hit the gym & lift weights. I did find it difficult to hit their macro goals (for me it was C 51% P 29% F 20% and I was more like 50 25 25 but I digress...).

    All going well here. Meal prepping breakfast and lunches with more flexible on the fly dinners has been good.

    Breakfasts have been protein overnight oats (add protein powder to them) & smoothies
    Lunches are generally beans, tofu/seitan and lots of cooked & raw veggies, some grains
    Dinners - if I had my way, tacos every night! (tacos for me is a big taco salad bowl on top of a corn tortilla lol)

    I'm also re-assessing my goals. Do any of you have new goals you want to share in addition to the above?

    Hope you all are doing really well and looking forward to hearing how things are going with you!

  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Glad to see you Magic! Wish Lulu a very happy birthday from me!

    Liz, I forgot about that veganfitness thing... I have been so busy lately I don't know if I would have followed through anyway. I'm really happy if I manage to get in treadmill time. Your taco salad sounds wonderful. I went through several months a few years ago where I think I ate taco salad almost every night. If I recall it was romaine, black beans, onions, red pepper, chopped avocado and mango, salsa.

    Austin, how's your writing going?

    B - sweet potato (nuked in the microwave and took to work to eat)
    L - big ol' salad with cashew based dressing, a couple wasa crackers
    D - going to eat the last of the white bean and collard greens stew, an apple

    I'm having a rough week at work, but staying WFPB if not full on 6 week plan strict ETL every day. Liz, speaking of goals, that's kind of my goal right now... to stay 100% WFPB even if I don't meet 100% ETL every day. I was eating too many crackers, pretzels, convenience (frozen) foods, etc. during the work week.

    I am planning to start the 6 week plan again on Monday though. It's just about 6 weeks until Thanksgiving and I'd like to get a few more pounds off and get myself focused before the holiday season starts.
  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    Today's Plan

    coffee
    oatmeal
    roasted sweet potato in air fryer
    plant burger with the works
    grapes
    left over soup
    tea and Lulu Love...probably and good pop for me...Nubz for Lulu
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Morning, y'all. Anyone have fun plans for the weekend? Except Magic because her weekends are during the week.

    I have someone coming to take a look at some issues with my house today so I'm going to take time while I'm home to do some cleaning and plan my meals for next week so I can start the 6 week plan on Monday. I will have my salads for lunches of course, but need to decide on dinners. I am thinking another batch of white bean and collards stew, a huge batch of sauteed greens, and some cheezy chickpeas. That should get me through dinners for the week. Breakfasts will continue to be my oats.

    Last week was rough with our secretary on vacation and covering for her so I was staying late most days, but this week I will get the treadmill time in every single night. No excuses!!! Dinner out at a favorite restaurant tonight with lots of vegan options.

  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    Good morning, ETL peeps!

    I am kicking back a bit after having company all week. Phew! Right now, I am doing some meal planning preparatory to going shopping. I promised my husband I would make him a German chocolate cake for his birthday (not all ETL!), and need ingredients for that.

    Other exciting plan: long outdoor walk, as it is cool outside!

    The other big weekend plan is Cleaning My Messy Office! I had made some progress and then backslid with company this week, so gota do some catch-up.

    @Mihani, I did make the Crowd-Pleasing Tex Mex Casserole, and it went over well!

    Thanks for asking about writing, and it was on hold while we had company. So I am hoping to do some of that today and tomorrow.

    Today's plan:
    I am having a great ETL day:
    B-black coffee and my standard green smoothie along with goji berries and a smidge of almond butter
    L-steamed greens; steamed zucchini with pickled onions, grape tomatoes, parsley & spices; microwaved mushrooms; savory baked tofu; steamed squash and apples
    S-apple slices and walnuts
    D-huge salad with roasted beets and kale (assuming the store has beets, as I am out); homemade dressing; steamed savory squash dish; butternut & apples for dessert
  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    Today

    black coffee
    oatmeal
    grapes
    plant burger Sammy
    veggies and bitchin sauce
    homemade veggie soup

    I would love to go home after work and NOT EAT A THING...why can't I do that? I would be at goal by now...it's almost two years I have had this schedule...and I still go home and eat something that blows my whole day out of the water.

    I will try again tonight.

    Sweet dreams all.
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Hi Magic, what about just some fruit and herbal tea when you get home? Tea really helps me distract from eating sometimes.

    I am debating whether to go to the office today. Yesterday was so busy that I didn't get any of the work done that I brought home so I could just stay home and work here today, plus do my grocery shopping and cooking. I'm leaning toward staying home.

    Glad the tex mex was a hit Austin. Good luck with your office cleaning.
  • mbforfree
    mbforfree Posts: 13 Member
    Hi all, been away from mfp for a while (and good wfbp food), and gained again. Now knowing more about the reasons I keep gaining (having an ADHD brain - bad impuls control), I'm now back trying to regain my life and healthy choices! Nice to see your inspration for the daily routine!

    Today my routin isn't perfect, but

    oatmeal
    blueberries and strawberries and soy milk
    3x bread with not whole food things (sorry)
    coffee (also with soy milk)
    dinner will be maisleaf (like pizza, no idea if they have it in other countries also) with vegan meat replacement...
    Apfelstrudel we call it for the birthday...

    So first trying to get back up in more and more healthy choices, but gonna eat a lot of processed stuff first to empty my fridge (and at this occasion: having my mums birthday with her a little influence on her dinner choice)

    I want to try to get next week more reading and getting inspired by my wfpb books! This week is about setting up... :smiley:

    No problem to be friends! It is a dutch page if you wonder what the silly words are about ;)
  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    edited October 2019
    Morning all...welcome back @mbforfree

    Still eating when I get home from work Fri - Sun...I'm a mess.

    Today's Plan

    black coffee
    oatmeal
    plant based sammy bread Ezekiel sesame
    grapes
    Last of My homemade veggie soba noodle soup
    Chaiwallachai ...I have a great tea for night time...I just need to USE IT!

    Have a great fall day everyone.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    @mbforfree - Welcome to the ETL group! We are so delighted to have you!
    I do not know about maisleaf (is it something with corn?), but apfelstrudel is lovely. I can totally get easing into things so as to get to finish that up!
    Enjoy your week of setting up!

    @Mihani - Did you go ahead and stay home yesterday? I hope you got in a little bit of down time, if your schedule allowed it!

    @magic71755 - You have all my sympathy. I have had to be careful about how much I eat as well as what I eat to lose the weight I wanted to lose.
    Is what you eat in the evening something triggering? Maybe play around with things a bit to figure out if you are month hungry or stomach hungry when you get home? That is, try having that you can eat but it has to be something nutritious but not super tasty? So allow yourself to eat, but only something you would never crave? (only steamed greens or salad?) Only have something light, as Mihani suggests?
    Have you taken a look at the work of James Clear? He writes about both building good habits and extinguishing bad ones. Here's something that might provide some inspiration:
    https://jamesclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TransformYourHabits-Edited.docx.pdf
    Anyway, hang in there, and keep experimenting with behaviors and foods. You have done so much to improve you health. It is truly amazing!

    @LizLovesVeggies - I was just working on my big goals for this quarter -- to build a little more muscle and improve my martial arts skills.
    Measure: rank up at December exam (or at least be up for the test).
    Action to get me there: Keep up with my ETL diet daily.
    Action to get me there: Attend 23 martial arts classes by year-end.
    Action to get me there: Complete 30 resistance training sessions at gym.
    Action to get me there: Complete 100 Kicks practice on 70 different days.

    If anyone else is thinking about a goal for this quarter, I found this article inspiring:
    https://girlsnightinclub.com/posts/a-modest-proposal-make-a-q4-resolution-you-wont-regret-it/
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Hi mbforfree! I am so curious about maisleaf and google isn't helping me. Can you post a picture of it? I think easing into it can be really helpful sometimes. When I've been off plan at times I usually start back by just concentrating on lots of whole foods.

    I'm very into soups and stews right now, Magic. With the weather cooling off I'm craving things like that.

    Great action plan for your martial arts, Austin! I'll try to check out those links this week. I did stay home yesterday and was quite lazy actually. LOL

    Almost 100% day, no mushrooms since I forgot to grab some at the grocery yesterday.

    B - oats with berries, a couple slices of banana, chia seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper
    L - BIG salad, had to bring part home to have before dinner
    S - coconut milk yogurt
    D - rest of my salad, white bean and collard greens stew, a pear and some grapes

  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    Good morning, ETLers!

    I got through yesterday with good food choices and all my GBOMBS, but ate a bit too much. I did some meal planning this morning to make sure I keep the calories down on the tasty sweet things I keep wanting a bit too much of.
    Also on the plus side, I got my kicks practice in this morning, and crossed it off on a little log sheet I printed out and posted on my wall (checkboxes for all those martial arts action items).
    Today is a busy day and I likely won;t find time for any writing, but am looking to fit some in on Wednesday and Thursday. Fingers crossed.

    What are y'all up to today? :smile:
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member

    Hey guys... Just a quick update. Turned out, I had kidney cancer. I had my right kidney removed on Sept 27, spent 5 days in the hospital, and have been home, recuperating for a couple weeks now. I seem to have gravitated to a pretty much SAD diet, so far... and I'm in no hurry to alter it. I hope, once I feel much more 'normal' again, to get back to eating more plants. But, as one of my favorite memes says...
    3ddn3m.jpg

  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    Holy Crap! That's crazy, @sloth3toes

    Really sorry to hear that. So where are you now? What is your protocol going forward?

    I am a bone cancer survivor. Ewings sarcoma. I truly believe it was because of my diet prior to being dx that I survived. I was a big-time juicer. Carrot/apple was my favorite. Anyway, I am a 20-year survivor.

    I would get off the SAD diet as soon as possible. Cancer cells love all that junk. Just in case any are still wandering around. Flood your body with the good stuff. Just my two cents.

    ***********************

    Today's Plan

    black coffee
    carrot/apple juice
    oatmeal
    big salad
    tostadas
    chai and toast for a nighttime snack with Lulu Love.

    @AustinRuadhain thanks for the inspiration and direction. I have James' book. I need to read it.

    Have a great fallsmiley6b.giffallsmiley6b.giffallsmiley6b.gif day, mates.

  • magic71755
    magic71755 Posts: 3,971 Member
    edited October 2019
    The Game Changers movie is now on Netflix.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,595 Member
    Hey @sloth3toes - I am so sorry to hear about the kidney cancer. It sounds like you did a great job getting the medical people mobilized to act quickly. Be kind to yourself as you recover. If you want to make dietary changes later, you can.

    @magic71755 - Wow. Your story of surviving bone cancer is impressive. Next time I juice, I'll raise my glass to you!

    @Mihani - I unexpectedly managed to fit in some writing yesterday, and thought of you. Thanks for asking about that! Little nudges do help.

    @LizLovesVeggies - Have you had time to work on your goals? We'd be interested in hearing more!
  • Mihani
    Mihani Posts: 4,100 Member
    Glad that you are on the road to recovery, Sloth! Hope you are back to "normal" soon.

    Magic, when reading How Not to Die, it was really interesting to learn more about how plants fight off cancer and the junk feeds it. Not to mention all the other health issues. It really helps me stay on track to re-read portions of that on a regular basis.

    Woohoo for getting some writing in Austin. How is your martial arts training going?

    It has been a crazy couple weeks at work, but I did manage to get on the treadmill twice this week. It's progress at least.

    B - lara bar (I forgot my oatmeal)
    L - big ol' salad
    D - white bean and collards stew, an apple and some grapes

  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    I am just about 3 weeks post surgery. I have about a 10 inch map of the Oregon Trail carved into my belly. It looks like a railroad track, with the staple marks on the outside. I think I am recovering OK... I can actually walk ( a bit slowly ) around the block, as opposed to shuffling, like I started out. But, it's slow going. The surgeon says there is no metastasis... and he gave odds of recurrence at 5-10-%. He doesn't want to see me for 6 months and said, just go back to work in 6 weeks from the date of surgery. That, I think, might be slightly optimistic, and I hope to extend the time off a couple of weeks anyhow. I get a bit dizzy when I get up off the couch, especially if I've been lying on it, or if I bend over to pick something up, when I straighten up. I tried driving the other day, and it wasn't so bad... but, I still feel a bit disorientated. The wife was on me for awhile to try to walk the dog, but I think I might have her understanding that having 75 lbs of crazy, suddenly pulling to go chase a cat is NOT something I'm up for just now. We walk around the block after dinner, the wife hangs onto the dog. :)
    So, as far as I know... I am cancer free as we speak. I'm just on the watch list... 6 months a chest X-ray... another 6 months something else...
    @magic71755 I have a sudden respect for cancer survivors. 20 years is impressive.
    I do believe that a SAD diet is a bit of an invitation for cancer. But currently, I am just trying to get back to somewhere around where I was before... I am just eating what my tastes lead me to right now... I swear, I'm eating more now than I was a few months ago... that my appetite has increased. Yet, I think I am still losing weight, very slowly. I'm OK with that, for now... I have 20 lbs to spare... but, it's weird.

    oregon-trail-map-postimage.jpg