[athousandwords]

Y'all - hold my hand. I'm doing something a little scary this challenge.

 

I'm going off-roading. 

 

I've spent the last couple days rereading my old NF challenges (which was a fun trip down memory lane) and realized that while I've done some kick ass challenges over the last 8 years, I consistently fail once I fall off the boards. And while I love the NF boards, I don't want to spend my whole life always replaying the same game: doing weight-loss challenge after weight-loss challenge. I want to win the damn game and do new things. Once upon a time, I thought that meant 1. Get to my goal weight, 2. Profit?? but I'm realizing that the challenges I do here on NF are challenging... but unsustainable for long term. I need to build organic habits and set up systems that don't come crashing down the minute I take a break.

 

Instead of starting anything particularly new this challenge, I'm going to set myself up for success by focusing on the big things that really help: meal planning and intentionality. For possibly the first time ever, I'm not doing a paleo/primal/grain-free challenge. Instead, I'm building up my recipe book with healthy recipes (and ok yes, those tend to be paleo/primal/grain-free for me personally) and let meal planning guide my diet. That's the scary part. I worry that I'm going to binge eat and go to donut town the minute the restraints are loosened. But letting go of the diet mindset is probably the only way I'll ever really get long term success. I am going to keep myself accountable by posting more often here on NF (plus I'm kind of an awesome cook, and I want to share what I make!).

 

Meal Plan and Share

- Meal plan 6 healthy recipes per week

- Add 5 recipes per week to Plan To Eat

- Log meals on NF challenge thread 5x per week – ideally with pictures!

 

I'm also going to keep running – but that's it. Rule 6 of the Rebellion is: We Don’t HAVE to exercise, we GET to exercise. And I realize I've been putting myself in a box trying out video workouts from home and ST exercises that I don't really enjoy. I'm never going to want to do that long term. For 2022 I have a goal to find some kind of active hobby I enjoy (in addition to running) in order to cross train and working more activity, but for now – when it's cold and dark and I just want to hygge and hibernate? – I'm going to take a step back and focus on what's sustainable.

 

Run

- 1 long run (Starting at 45 minutes and adding 5 minutes each week)

- Run 5k 2x per week

 

I'm going to take the habits that work and keep doing them – no point quitting something that works! This is a compilation of little habits I've been fairly consistent at over the last 3 challenges. My goal is to track here, rather than Habitica, since I'm going to be posting meals anyway (right?).

 

Continue Healthy Habits

- IF 16/8 5-6 a week

- Drink 8 glasses of water daily

- Floss daily

- Limit alcohol to 2x a week

 

Finally, one of my big goals for the upcoming year is to read more. I want to keep up with my monthly Book Club, I want to finish the books I've started, and I want to knock some books off my to-read list. For this challenge I'm reading Atomic Habits, which is something I think will help a lot in the year going forward, as I make healthy living more of a habit instead of a diet.

 

Read

- Read November Book Club pick, Talking to Strangers

- Finish The Starless Sea

- Finish Deep Work 

- Read Atomic Habits

[Rhovaniel]

Hey! Great to see you! 

 

6 hours ago, athousandwords said:

(plus I'm kind of an awesome cook, and I want to share what I make!).

fify

 

Can I just say how happy it made me to read that? I love love love it when we own our strengths. No kind of. I'm sure you are brilliant. 

 

6 hours ago, athousandwords said:

For this challenge I'm reading Atomic Habits, which is something I think will help a lot in the year going forward, as I make healthy living more of a habit instead of a diet.

 

Following of course. No spoilers, but Atomic Habits is very good. And totally mentions a *very* good website

[athousandwords]

5 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

fify

 

Can I just say how happy it made me to read that? I love love love it when we own our strengths. No kind of. I'm sure you are brilliant. 

 

Whhhy is owning our own strengths so hard?? You're 100% right and we should be blasting it from the mountaintops.

 

So: I am fantastic cook. I'm really good at cooking paleo/primal foods that don't taste like crap. Follow me for recipes, pictures, and one surprising ingredient that you should  be cooking with...!

 

Oop. Took it too far.

 

5 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

No spoilers, but Atomic Habits is very good. And totally mentions a *very* good website

 

[Chesire]

On 10/21/2021 at 11:35 PM, athousandwords said:

(plus I'm kind of an awesome cook, and I want to share what I make!).

oh yes please!

 

20 hours ago, athousandwords said:

Whhhy is owning our own strengths so hard?? You're 100% right and we should be blasting it from the mountaintops.

 

So: I am fantastic cook. I'm really good at cooking paleo/primal foods that don't taste like crap. Follow me for recipes, pictures, and one surprising ingredient that you should  be cooking with...!

🤣  Fine, but your clickbait better be pretty darn good if I don't get the magic secret to a perfect life from that ingredient.

 

 

 

On 10/21/2021 at 11:35 PM, athousandwords said:

meal planning and intentionality.

 

On 10/21/2021 at 11:35 PM, athousandwords said:

That's the scary part. I worry that I'm going to binge eat and go to donut town t

 

Maybe meal plan an intentional trip to donut-town?  Personally I know I can follow my plan today when I don't really want to if I know I have something special upcoming.   The only thing sustainable is something you like.

[Rhovaniel]

On 10/22/2021 at 4:10 PM, athousandwords said:

 

Whhhy is owning our own strengths so hard?? You're 100% right and we should be blasting it from the mountaintops.

 

So: I am fantastic cook. I'm really good at cooking paleo/primal foods that don't taste like crap. Follow me for recipes, pictures, and one surprising ingredient that you should  be cooking with...!

 

Oop. Took it too far.

Ha. I'll allow it, so long as there's not a 1000 word essay and fifty ads before we get the recipe....  

 

 

[athousandwords]

On 10/23/2021 at 8:17 AM, Chesire said:

Maybe meal plan an intentional trip to donut-town?  Personally I know I can follow my plan today when I don't really want to if I know I have something special upcoming.   The only thing sustainable is something you like.

 

Oh that's a good point. We typically get take-out once a week, so I could definitely see myself being able to stick to all my healthy dinners, knowing that on Thursday we're getting wings or whatever. I think it's just something I have to keep an eye on. 

 

17 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

so long as there's not a 1000 word essay

 

I mean... have you seen my username?

 

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

Love your goals and focus on what sustainably will work for you.

 

Very interested to see some recipe awesomeness.

[athousandwords]

Week 1, Day 0

 

Look, I don't start challenges on Sundays. My brain just doesn't work that way. But I am teed up for the week ahead and got my meal plan and shopping done on Friday so that I could start the week strong!

 

 

Buuut despite this, this weekend was a bit of a crap-shoot for food. There was a bit of that pre-challenge-start gluttony that I am mentally working through, but also a lot of social events with rich foods and I just didn't have my willpower charged up enough to avoid. The chili turned out good though, and we have leftovers for the week. My version* isn't strictly paleo/primal because I leave the beans in, but it is delicious and one of my favorite things to make during the fall.

 

Also today we went on a family bike ride and my 4.5 yo rode along on his pedal bike for the first time! 🥲 We didn't go far or fast, but we did manage almost 4 miles with him pedaling the whole time. I'm so proud of him, and so looking forward to when he starts building up more strength and we can take longer rides. My daughter rode on a seat attached to my bike and mostly tolerated it. We haven't done any bike rides since the spring, so I was glad the weather was nice and we had the time to go out today. This is exactly the kind of family activity I love doing. ❤️ 

 

* Linking to Plan to Eat isn't the greatest option for recipe sharing, but that's where I've been collecting recipes lately because I like their meal planning features. This one is based on a popular AllRecipes chili, but I've tweaked it considerably past the point of recognition. If I can figure out how to edit HTML within the forums I can share the recipe directly, but at the moment, this will have to do - unfortunately only the ingredients are listed, not the instructions. 🙄

[Silmarilliane]

I LOVE this challenge. I've been thinking over the last week how doing the last challenge really got me back on track, and how much it sucks that I do so well for the short term and then it all creeps back (largely because food is delicious and I have no off switch saying FULL NOW)

 

Going to be following how you do as I think I might have to do similar going forward. Carry on here to get myself back to a happy level, and then set challenges to 'phase' back into life so I don't have to overthink/count calories/focus on point scoring and all that jazz.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following.

[Sylvaa]

On 10/21/2021 at 11:35 PM, athousandwords said:

That's the scary part. I worry that I'm going to binge eat and go to donut town the minute the restraints are loosened. But letting go of the diet mindset is probably the only way I'll ever really get long term success. I am going to keep myself accountable by posting more often here on NF (plus I'm kind of an awesome cook, and I want to share what I make!).

 

So I can confidently say this was a game changer for me. Yeah, there are definitely times where donut-town is definitely a place we visit. But it's so much easier to get back on the healthy food train when that's your norm (also, you start to realize exactly how crappy physically those trips make you feel). Also, it's always seemed like less pressure to me. I don't derail a whole week just because I don't do "x, y, or z" by Tuesday. 

 

Also, yay to the running and the biking! 

[athousandwords]

7 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

I LOVE this challenge. I've been thinking over the last week how doing the last challenge really got me back on track, and how much it sucks that I do so well for the short term and then it all creeps back (largely because food is delicious and I have no off switch saying FULL NOW)

 

 

7 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

Going to be following how you do as I think I might have to do similar going forward. Carry on here to get myself back to a happy level, and then set challenges to 'phase' back into life so I don't have to overthink/count calories/focus on point scoring and all that jazz.

 

I've always had the mindset of "once I lose a bunch of weight, then I'll focus on sustainability." So it's a very new experiment to me to try and just make incremental changes. I know it means I'll lose weight slower/make fewer fitness gains, but I think it'll be worth it if I can find something I can keep doing long-term.

 

2 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

So I can confidently say this was a game changer for me. Yeah, there are definitely times where donut-town is definitely a place we visit. But it's so much easier to get back on the healthy food train when that's your norm (also, you start to realize exactly how crappy physically those trips make you feel). Also, it's always seemed like less pressure to me. I don't derail a whole week just because I don't do "x, y, or z" by Tuesday. 

 

Glad to hear it, that's really encouraging. Also, just saw you posted a challenge this round - following!

[athousandwords]

This morning during my run, I was listening to The Maintenance Phase (The Great Protein Fiasco episode, which, yikes.) and Mike Hobbes said something so stupidly simple that it nearly knocked me over: Eat what makes you feel good.

 

 And this is advice that probably gets tossed around all the time, but I've always thought of it from an emotional standpoint. What makes me feel good emotionally? Chocolate, usually. Cake. Bread. Cheese. Wine for sure.

 

But, maybe because I was currently (and voluntarily) making my body work harder for the sole purpose of feeling good physically, my brain took this simple phrase and reframed it.

 

What really makes me feel good? Not just the pleasure-centers of my brain, but my whole body? Food that fuels my runs, that gives me confidence, that provides vitamins, builds muscles, helps me sleep. Why do I so I often think of that as "diet food"? (Or, food that I'll eat on endless loop short-term cycles to reach a weight goal, then I can go back to "normal.") Why not think of it as food that just makes me feel good – not as a punishment for being overweight. 

 

And what about that so-called-normal diet – if there's nothing satisfying about having rice with my beef & broccoli or eating a mediocre sandwich or having a glass of wine while watching TV, then why keep doing it? Or if eating that slice of cake actually makes me feel good, then why the guilt?

 

I know eating fewer grains and carbs and refined sugars makes my body feel good. But I often feel happier when I don't have to think about my diet - don't have to analyze the menu or deny myself a craving right when it hits me. So those are the strategies I need in my toolkit: lots of healthy, feel-good meals I can make without having to think about it. And grace when my short-term cravings take priority over long term goals. It's okay to have the hamburger or pizza, as long as I recognize that's not the only way to feel good.

[Silmarilliane]

That's a very interesting way of thinking about it - like my initial 'what makes you feel good' is definitely in the fat/sugar camp, but then actually I end up feeling rubbish after especially if I've eaten too much of it. But sometimes it definitely is needed, and you're right, you shouldn't have to feel guilty afterwards  

[athousandwords]

Monday

 

Food:

• Lunch: Chipotle salad bol with: lettuce, beans, barbacoa, veggies, salsa, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, guac
• Dinner: Butter-seared cod with roasted asparagus and cheesy baked potatoes and onion (photo under cut)
• Other: 1 slice cake

Yesterday my husband and I went out to eat with a friend and I specifically picked Chipotle since I was wanting a lighter option after having a heavier meal on Sunday night. I got my primal usual but added beans just to see if I'd really been missing them... spoiler: I hadn't, I don't think they really add much and I'll probably skip them going forward. Dinner was a new recipe that had the advantage of being super quick and easy to make from frozen cod fillets. The kids loved it, which was surprising, since I thought it was just ok (a little bland and tough). I may try it again with a different kind of fish or cook it for less time. The cheesy baked potatoes were good - that's almost pure comfort food. 🤤 

 

After dinner I had a slice of cake with my 4 yo, which was a terrible idea because he was super hyper and wouldn't fall asleep. 🤦‍♀️ We're still getting through some cake that we got sent home with from my nephew's birthday, but thankfully after today it's finally gone.

 

Spoiler

 

Run: Long run: 45 minutes for a total of 3.86 mi ✅

 

Continue Healthy Habits:

• IF 16/8, 5-6x a week ✅
• Drink 8 glasses of water daily ❌
• Floss daily ✅
• Limit alcohol to 2x a week ✅

Whoops - just totally forgot to drink enough water yesterday! I had 4 glasses, but wasn't really thinking about it.

 

Reading: Read another couple chapters in The Starless Sea. It's starting to pick up (or maybe it just feels that way since I've forced myself to read it the last couple nights!) 😁

[Ann of Owlshire]

On 10/22/2021 at 4:35 AM, athousandwords said:

Finish The Starless Sea

- Finish Deep Work 

 

I love these books!

 

Good luck on your foundation-building challenge

[athousandwords]

Tuesday

 

Food:

• Lunch: Clam chowder soup, 1 slice cake
• Dinner: Nom Nom Paleo's Asian Chicken Thighs, balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, Thai cucumber salad (photo under cut)

Okay the cake is finally gone - no more cake! I mean, it was delicious and a nice treat, but after like 4 days it just felt like we were eating it just to finish it. And now I'm probably going to have intense sugar cravings in the afternoons for the next 3-4 days, so that'll be fun. 🙃

 

Dinner last night was a hit. It's been a while since I've made this recipe from Nom Nom Paleo and I'd forgotten how good it is.   The kids were requesting seconds and thirds of the cucumber salad and chicken, and 4yo even asked for more brussels sprouts. We also had rice, but I didn't bother taking any since I don't usually feel like it adds value to my plate. 

 

Spoiler

 

Run: N/A 👍🏻

 

Continue Healthy Habits:

• IF 16/8, 5-6x a week ✅
• Drink 8 glasses of water daily ✅
• Floss daily ✅
• Limit alcohol to 2x a week ✅

I did better with water intake yesterday, but still forgot to drink any until after lunch and then had to chug 4 cups after the kids went to bed to make up for hardly drinking any during the day. Today's already off to a better start, I've almost finished my first 2 cups.

 

Reading: Got absorbed in Facebook and fanfiction and didn't read my actual book ❌

[athousandwords]

Wednesday

 

Food:

• Lunch: Leftover sweet potato chili with Fritos, sour cream, cheddar cheese
• Snack: Club crackers with brie, havarti
• Dinner: Marinara and Meatballs over roasted zucchini, summer squash, and cremini mushrooms (with bowtie pasta for everyone else)

Nothing too interesting to say about yesterday's food. Dinner was my absolute favorite easy weeknight meal. The cheese and crackers were a bit of an indulgence because I was annoyed that I had to wash out the baby's cloth diapers (obviously it has to get done, I just didn't want to do it) and decided to #treatmyself after I got it done. Emotional eating, yes, but I did portion out a plate and stuck with it.

 

Spoiler

I'm having fun playing around with my food photography a bit!  

 

Before & After Roasted Vegetables

 

 

 

Veggie + Meatball Marinara

 

 

 

Run: 5k in 36 min (11'36" pace)

 

Continue Healthy Habits:

• IF 16/8, 5-6x a week ✅
• Drink 8 glasses of water daily ✅
• Floss daily ✅
• Limit alcohol to 2x a week ✅

 

Reading: Read The Starless Sea  ✅  

 

I'm about a quarter from the end now and it was so hard to stop reading and get to bed at a decent time last night! I think I'll finish it tonight. I'm angry that I put this book down for almost a month because the ending ties up so many threads from the first half, that now I'm having to jump around and reread early chapters to refresh my memory of what happened. 😩

 

 

Also, since I don't have much to say today in general, I'll share my top tips for roasting vegetables just in case that's something anyone struggles with:

• Preheat your pan so that both sides of the veggies roast evenly
• Use a high temperature (I usually roast at 425º) for a shorter amount of time (just 15-20 min for zucchini, 5-10 min for a more delicate veg like asparagus)
• Mix the vegetables with the oil/fat and spices in a separate bowl, don't just spray on oil once they're already on the pan
  1. You get a more even coating across all your vegetables
  2. It's easier to clean the pan after (if you spray on, the veg tends to stick to the pan)
  3. You can serve in the mixing bowl so you don't feel like you dirtied a dish for a uni-job
• Less is more when it comes to spices. I usually only use salt and pepper when roasting. Sometimes I'll add a little oregano or garlic - like for this meal, when the veg was going to be swimming in pasta sauce and could use some extra seasoning to hold their own. But using too many different spices and coatings just drowns out the natural caramelization you get when roasting and can overwhelm.

[Rhovaniel]

1 hour ago, athousandwords said:

Preheat your pan so that both sides of the veggies roast evenly

OOh, I am definitely taking that on board. I rarely bother to pre-heat my pan, but then I do usually do a mid-cook shuffle. This seems like far less work though!

 

 

[Chesire]

4 hours ago, athousandwords said:

Preheat your pan so that both sides of the veggies roast evenly

What is this magic!?   I mean, duh, I heat skillets so why not the pan? 

[athousandwords]

Food:

• Lunch: Leftovers – chicken thigh, cheesy baked potatoes, brussels sprouts, caesar salad
• Dinner: Enchiladas (similar) with fried egg, cilantro-lime rice, black beans, avocado

We were supposed to have these enchiladas with friends on Sunday, but our dinner got cancelled because one of their kids was coming down with a cold. So I made it up last night and we have enough leftovers to eat it it again tonight.

 

This is one of my most favorite meals. I made these enchiladas for my husband the first time I ever cooked for him, and he always jokes that he married me for this dish alone. Unfortunately, I took the picture before I remembered to top the enchilada with a runny fried egg, whoops. But trust me, it's way better that way. The recipe linked is similar to how I make them, but  I go off the top of my head from the way my aunt taught me when I was living in Colorado. It's essential that you burn your fingertips frying the tortillas and then drenching them in enchilada-sauce. She would always stand at the stovetop making enchiladas on demand and I would help load ingredients into them like an assembly line – you'd get your enchiladas one at a time and they were hot, fresh, and delicious. But I make mine up front and load them into a baking dish then heat them back up in the oven until the cheese melts. Way easier that way, even if the resulting enchiladas tend to fall apart. 

 

It's also not-at-all paleo (and I've tried - using egg tortillas or any other substitute just isn't the same) so I'm happy to be not "on paleo" this challenge and it gives me a little more leeway to eat some of my favorites. ❤️ 

 

Spoiler

 

Run: N/A 👍🏻

 

Continue Healthy Habits:

• IF 16/8, 5-6x a week ✅
• Drink 8 glasses of water daily ✅
• Floss daily ✅
• Limit alcohol to 2x a week ✅

Reading: Finished The Starless Sea!  ✅    I'm starting Malcolm Gladwell's Talking to Strangers next, just in time for book club on the 12th of next month.

 

It's a cozy, rainy day here. I lit a candle on my desk and pulled back the curtains to watch the rain while I work. My schedule had me running this morning, but I pushed it to tomorrow (after checking with my husband that he wouldn't mind watching the kids solo for an hour in the morning). I'm not looking forward to starting treadmill runs this winter once it starts getting snowy and icy, so I'll hold on to my outdoor runs for as long as possible.

 

I don't know how much I'll be updating over the weekend. It's Halloween on Sunday so I expect to be eating some candy and probably enjoying a pumpkin cider out by the firepit. Looks like we'll have a good night for trick or treating, though it might be cold. On Saturday we're babysitting for a friend and taking all three kids to our small town Halloween block party. We'll probably order pizza or eat out just to make life a little easier. Should be a good weekend though, I'm looking forward to all the fun!

[Tateman]

Great work so far. I also know that feeling of challenge starting on Sunday. My brain still tells me no

 

[Sparkle the Bold]

Following for delicious nibbly bits! What did you think of Starless Sea -- isn't it just exquisite? And have you read her other book, Night Circus? And can you tell I'm a hardcore bookworm?! 🤣

[athousandwords]

17 hours ago, Tateman said:

Great work so far. I also know that feeling of challenge starting on Sunday. My brain still tells me no

 

I mean, it turns Monday into this, but STILL 

 

 

16 hours ago, Sparkle the Bold said:

What did you think of Starless Sea -- isn't it just exquisite? And have you read her other book, Night Circus? And can you tell I'm a hardcore bookworm?! 🤣

 

I LOVED it! I already want to read it again while it's fresh in my mind. I really struggled to get into it because the "book" chapters slowed down the main plot in the first half, but now I want to reread them with the new perspective of how they're all tied together. It was beautifully done. And yes, loved Night Circus, that's another favorite!

 

I'm happy to talk books any time! The rest of my books for this challenge are more geared toward productivity (or picked out by book club) but fantasy/magical realism is usually my go-to. Last month I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January, which, if you enjoyed Starless Sea, you should check that one out! Next on my pleasure read list is The Cerulean Sea... though  The Vanishing Half just came available from my holds list so that might be first.

[athousandwords]

Food:

• Breakfast: half an avocado toast, 2 sausage links
• Lunch: Leftovers – mariana and meatballs over roasted squash and mushrooms
• Snack: 2 squares chocolate
• Dinner: Leftovers – Enchiladas with fried egg, black/pinto beans, avocado
• After dinner: 1 glass wine, bowl of ice cream

Run: Pushed to Saturday due to rain

 

Continue Healthy Habits:

• IF 16/8, 5-6x a week 5️⃣
• Drink 8 glasses of water daily  ❌
• Floss daily ✅
• Limit alcohol to 2x a week 1️⃣

Reading:   ❌ Still in book hangover mode from The Starless Sea so I watched Bake Off with the hubby instead

 

Yesterday was fine. A little weekendy/splurgy, which I think is going to be a continuing risk this weekend. Going to try to keep it under control and not go off the rails just because I "can". It's way too easy to justify that more and more as we get closer to the holidays. I'm already struggling to rein in the sugar dragon. I may try a no-sugar challenge of some sort for the first 3 weeks of November to try and rewire my brain a little. 🤔

 

This morning I'm putting together my meal plan for the week so I can put in a shopping order on Monday (when my grocery budget resets for the month 😆), then going for the run I skipped yesterday.