Should we do a 30 day challenge/makeover?

[Ganas]

I suggest this:

For the month of November we each pick three things we'd like to improve in our lives and try to do them every day.

Examples: go to bed on time, no sugar, exercise, meditate, whatever.

You get a point for each one you accomplish each day. Total possible: 90 points. In the event you feel you've done something truly spectacular, bonus points may be added.

You are personally accountable for tallying points, winners get nothing more than to feel better about themselves. We talk about it here for support and fun.

[svvdressage]

I'm game!!

[Ganas]

Whoohoo!!!

I have more than three things that need working on, but from experience three is all I can handle at once, lol.

Going to bed on time and getting enough sleep is HUGE for me! I need a babysitter.

[Chisamba]

interesting thought, and idea, i wonder if it would help me stay on track. i am willing to give it a try

[Imperini]

Ooohh yes, great idea! As I sit here stuffing a cookie into my face

[StraightForward]

I am planning to start a whole30 on November 8th (birthday is the 6th and I have a half marathon on the 7th). No sugar, no grain, no booze, no dairy. Should be fun.

[Ganas]

I am planning to start a whole30 on November 8th (birthday is the 6th and I have a half marathon on the 7th). No sugar, no grain, no booze, no dairy. Should be fun.

I love the Whole30! Have you done it before?

I have a trail race on the 7th and plan on over indulging that day, but this will be good to get me back on track the next day. I tend to extend my celebrating.

[Ganas]

interesting thought, and idea, i wonder if it would help me stay on track. i am willing to give it a try

I hope it will help! Overall it's supposed to help make changing habits a little more... fun.

[Ganas]

Ooohh yes, great idea! As I sit here stuffing a cookie into my face

Hee. Only one cookie? I've been eating like it's my job all summer. Oops!

[demi]

I'm in, too!!
Fitness and healthy eating certainly improves my riding experience and I think it will be fun to do this with other riders. The hardest part of staying fit for me has always been diet and I welcome the challenge of improving my eating habits.
I use a neat program on my tablet called Mynetdiary , or at least, I SOMETIMES use it...I plan to get back with it and track my eating.
Let's do this!!!

[demi]

Ooohh yes, great idea! As I sit here stuffing a cookie into my face

Hee. Only one cookie? I've been eating like it's my job all summer. Oops!

Cookies are a huge problem for me. Easy to eat, and so tasty...I need to get a grip!

[kande50]

Cookies are a huge problem for me. Easy to eat, and so tasty...I need to get a grip!

And they go so well with sitting in front of the computer with a cup of coffee (my favorite non-activity).

[StraightForward]

I am planning to start a whole30 on November 8th (birthday is the 6th and I have a half marathon on the 7th). No sugar, no grain, no booze, no dairy. Should be fun.

I love the Whole30! Have you done it before?

I have a trail race on the 7th and plan on over indulging that day, but this will be good to get me back on track the next day. I tend to extend my celebrating.

Yes, I did in in January this year, but unfortunately I got a nasty cold towards the end of it and so the reintro period wasn't very informative because I couldn't differentiate between feeling better from the cold alleviating vs. feeling any worse from adding foods back in. Here's to not getting sick this time.

Have fun on your trail race!

[demi]

I am planning to start a whole30 on November 8th (birthday is the 6th and I have a half marathon on the 7th). No sugar, no grain, no booze, no dairy. Should be fun.

I love the Whole30! Have you done it before?

I have a trail race on the 7th and plan on over indulging that day, but this will be good to get me back on track the next day. I tend to extend my celebrating.

Never heard of the Whole30 before. Just looked it up and it sounds good. I am not completely unhappy with the energy level I have, but I have slowed down over the years and there are times when I don't ride because I don't have enough energy. The Whole30 is very restrictive, but it sounds worth trying for 30 days. This 30 day challenge/makeover is about changing old habits, and my eating habits are my worst enemy.
I am going to order a Whole30 book and think about doing it for this 30 day challenge/makeover.
Just getting rid of this extra fat would be an energy boost for me, not to mention the increased energy I would get from clean eating...

[Artemis]

I like this. Which things shall I choose?
Last year I was waking up 1 hour early every day to mediate, exercise and read or journal. I found I was much more alert/energetic throughout the day. Then - I fell off the wagon.

My diet could use improvement. I felt sooo much better when doing a juice and a smoothie every day. I've always been on the slim side - so much so that I was called such choice names as "bones" and "wormy" as a teenager. Now, as I near 50, I find I have a gut. Nothing I do seems to get rid of it. It's been disheartening. This 30 day challenge might just be the kick in the pants I need.

It would be interesting (if one chooses to do so) to take a before and after pic. I suspect I'd look noticeably better having a healthy diet along with exercise.

[kande50]

IIt would be interesting (if one chooses to do so) to take a before and after pic. I suspect I'd look noticeably better having a healthy diet along with exercise.

If you take befores and afters put them up in random order without saying which is the before and which the after, and see if anyone can tell which is which. Ideally, the pix would be taken by someone who didn't know anything about the challenge, and they would take some care to try to get the perspective and lighting the same, but it would be interesting to see if any changes were significant enough to be able to see them.

[Rooney]

I could possible be enticed. I just started a diet Oct. 1 and lost 17 lbs so far. I already do a personal trainer 2x a week and spin class several times a week. I work as a barefoot trimmer so that's a workout in itself. I also ride two horses. Where do I start?

[demi]

I am planning to start a whole30 on November 8th (birthday is the 6th and I have a half marathon on the 7th). No sugar, no grain, no booze, no dairy. Should be fun.

I love the Whole30! Have you done it before?

I have a trail race on the 7th and plan on over indulging that day, but this will be good to get me back on track the next day. I tend to extend my celebrating.

...The Whole30 is very restrictive, but it sounds worth trying for 30 days. This 30 day challenge/makeover is about changing old habits, and my eating habits are my worst enemy...

I may have to rethink the whole30 thing. Bacon has sugar!! Who knew!? No wonder I like it.

I will still read the book, and do something (three somethings, actually) for the challenge/makeover, but I don't know if I can commit to whole30.
Thinking a bout it....I

[StraightForward]

It's only 30 days. I actually find the strict rules kind of refreshing because I don't eyeball the donuts or candy or whatever at work because I know they're strictly off-limits. No worrying about "moderation" turning into eating 6 fun-sized candy bars. With little bits of this and that, you never know what foods might be causing issues that don't even seem to be food-related. Seasonal allergies, aches and pains, menstrual cramps etc.

Also, I'm a pretty good sleeper already (I say while typing this after waking up in the middle of the night ) but I slept so profoundly on W30 - like hours of uninterrupted REM sleep good.

When I did it in January I was lackadaisical about the additives in bacon and sausages; just bought the "natural" brands and hoped for the best. Planning to be a little stricter this time around. This is my W30 Pinterest board if you're interested. There are a few items on there that need a bit of tweaking to be compliant, but they're mostly good as-is: https://www.pinterest.com/kapelakin/whole-30/

It is easiest if you can pick 30 days where you won't be traveling or going to major celebrations. Thanksgiving might be pretty tough depending on what you usually do, but at least turkey, salad and sweet potatoes are all allowed.

[Chisamba]

So on Halloween we announce our three goals on a new thread and check in daily to score ourselves?

It is my opinion, which may be unpopular, that no photos be allowed, or over boasting about how well you did or how much weight you lost, you score a zero, one two or three and realize if you score a ninety you probably made the challenge too easy.

I think that it will simply be unpleasant to check in and hear how some one lost 200 ilbs in ten days and ran a marathon every day. Yes I am exaggerating but the idea of a points system is to encourage, on a level field, not to make it a competition

I think

Am I wrong?

[Ganas]

So on Halloween we announce our three goals on a new thread and check in daily to score ourselves?

It is my opinion, which may be unpopular, that no photos be allowed, or over boasting about how well you did or how much weight you lost, you score a zero, one two or three and realize if you score a ninety you probably made the challenge too easy.

I think that it will simply be unpleasant to check in and hear how some one lost 200 ilbs in ten days and ran a marathon every day. Yes I am exaggerating but the idea of a points system is to encourage, on a level field, not to make it a competition

I think

Am I wrong?

Well, since it's not a competition at all why would you be discouraged to see someone else's results? There are people out there for whom running a marathon a day would be a set back in ability- and I feel for the person who loses 200lbs in 10 days because I know they struggled at first being 200# overweight. I'd worry that they lost too fast, but really, not my body, I don't get to vote about what happens to it!

Personally, if taking a before and after pic and sharing it helps you feel more accountable for the process, then by all means do so. I might take them and not share. I also don't mind if someone makes the challenge "easy" for themselves and scores a 90, if it helps them accomplish some little thing they want to do. And even better if by hanging around they cheerlead the rest of us as well!

[Ganas]

And yes, a new thread on Halloween to announce the 3 things and get the party started!!

[Ganas]

I could possible be enticed. I just started a diet Oct. 1 and lost 17 lbs so far. I already do a personal trainer 2x a week and spin class several times a week. I work as a barefoot trimmer so that's a workout in itself. I also ride two horses. Where do I start?

Start as in the new thread, or start because you're doing well already and don't know what else to do??

Other suggestions I'd have for things:

Gratitude journal
Journal journal
On the writing theme, NaNoWriMo... or practice with that site Write or Die http://writeordie.com/
Cleaning/Organization (every day put one thing in a pile that could be donated or sold in yard sale)
Use the Pomordoro technique for a while each day
A haiku a day...

[Chisamba]

Okay, well count me out then, because I have no desire to be shamed into living up to some one elses hype.

Measuring by other means obliterates the simplicity and level field of a point system. Be it weight loss, photos, or miles, immediately introduces an element of comparison that is a huge turn off for me.

I am sure it is just me, and I wish you all success and fun.

[Ganas]

Be it weight loss, photos, or miles, immediately introduces an element of comparison that is a huge turn off for me.

I am sure it is just me, and I wish you all success and fun.

I'm sorry to hear that Chisamba. For me it doesn't introduce an element of comparison, we all bring something different to the starting line, no judgement. Same with riding for me, but in particular things like running.

I feel you have to let people be able to talk about their milestones.

[Chisamba]

its okay, your thread inspired me anyway, i circled a day on the calendar, wrote down three goals, and will start scoring myself each day. they say twenty one days of success to make a new habit, so we will see how it goes.

i have on two occasions joined udbb health challenge threads, and each time it ended with locked threads and awful nastiness

and then the out and out fights about whether eating a potato was acceptable. this doctor versus that doctor, accusations of quackery, ....

lets not even talk about low carb versus high carb,

or p90x versus insanity..

anyway, it never turned out pleasant,

i thought this one would be, because of the simplicity of a point system,

and frankly, but it is exceptionally difficult to feel good about myself if I stuck to my goals and did not lose a pound when others have more advantageous milestones, and am not self composed enough have to explain details of my health that make my exercise and goal setting acceptable to the judgment of others.

there is a good reason why i am no longer a member of the UDBB weight loss challenge, the UDBB fitness challenge, or the UDBB runners groups on facebook

[demi]

its okay, your thread inspired me anyway, i circled a day on the calendar, wrote down three goals, and will start scoring myself each day. they say twenty one days of success to make a new habit, so we will see how it goes....

Yay! Glad you're in.
I for one, am not interested in before/after pics in this case, although, I did think I should get a handicap for my age

[demi]

It's only 30 days....When I did it in January I was lackadaisical about the additives in bacon and sausages; just bought the "natural" brands and hoped for the best....

Repeating to myself: it's only 30 days.
I really like what I've read so far about whole30 and was thinking that to do it right (I am one of those picky dressage people who obsess a bit about "doing it right"), I had to do it with NO compromises. But now my thinking is I'll try it with the exception of still eating those meats with added sugar. One of the reasons Whole30 is against bacon with added sugar is that there is the temptation of overeating. That won't be a problem for me because I never make more than 1 frying pan (6 slices) at a time, and my DH always eats it as soon as i take it out of the pan. I will have to fight him to get just two slices.

[demi]

I could possible be enticed.

Okay. I'll try to entice you...Please join us, Rooney, please?!? I have already been inspired by you. You are one tough old chick!!(I am older than you, so you can call me an old chick if you want too)

[Rooney]

I will start Nov. 1. I will make this not just a body thing. I can do that but I struggle for the making over my discipline for self advancement. Reading an inspiring / motivating article, writing a haiku, all those other nifty things normal successful people do.

[Chisamba]

my husband reminds me to look forward, not back.

i should perhaps make this a goal, so on thinking about it, its not fair to come into something carrying resentments from the past, so forgive me for my blathering

I am in.

[Moutaineer]

I'm carting around an extra pants size that I really need to see the back of in the next month, or else I've got some very expensive shopping to do, I need to commit to riding at least 4 times a week as the nights draw in and it gets colder without an indoor ring, and I have a knitting project I am never going to finish without an incentive to do so... How's that for starters?

[Ganas]

Yay Chisamba!

Mountaineer, I can relate to the shorter days/no indoor. I've wimped out on a couple of blustery, damp, dank, downright miserable days because I couldn't motivate. Horse is a gem in such weather, and partly that's it, I'm like "Oh, he could use a bit of a break, he's worked hard all summer, he doesn't NEED to school."

For me the going to bed on time is huge, and that's my #1. I tend to take a nap in the afternoon then prowl around the house enjoying the quiet at night. BUT, I feel better if I don't nap and go to bed at a reasonable hour. So I have to be in bed before the clock strikes 10. Unpossible!!!

I too need to clean my diet up, so I'm going to go with my modified Whole30 type diet that I know works well for me. I do eat bacon on it, as well as other processed meats that may or may not contain a bit of sugar, and I do eat one serving of oats a day. Otherwise I need to do it to break my bread and sugar and donut and peanut butter habits. I love the Whole30 because I do feel it changed my eating habits for the better overall and it makes me feel great.

Once my foot heals I'm more than motivated to run, so I think I won't bother with anything to do with exercise.

A biggie for me is my internet time. I constantly check my phone and read articles, watch videos, etc. I'm trying to decide how to limit that. Turn my data off on the phone during the day and limit my screen time to an hour is probably what I'll do. I anticipate getting almost no points for this!

[Racetrackreject]

I will try as well. November is a bad month because my SO will be here for 2 weeks and we generally spend that time eating!! Luckily, most of it is seafood, so I can probably get away with eating fairly healthy. My main goal will be to rein my carb habit back in. I probably still each much fewer carbs than the normal person, but I've kind of let it get away from my norm. I had rice for breakfast yesterday for goodness' sake.

Anyway, count me in.

[Chancellor]

I'm joining too! I started a weight loss journey in September but I need a little more motivation to get on that treadmill.
And I really want to start meditating again.

[demi]

I read the Whole30 book and really liked the concept, but I'm just not motivated enough to go for it. I will take some of the whole food principals from it, however. I was at first bummed out because it eliminates any refined sugar, which is a GOOD thing except that you can't eat meats like bacon which have added sugar. Now, though, I am interested enough in finding out if refined sugar is contributing to my joint pain so I am going to forego refined sugar, including bacon for the 30 days.

I have a plan now so I guess I'll move over to the actual challenge thread....