Each year at the beginning of November, I start to feel a little bit sluggish.
Halloween is over and it usually involved some sort of over-indulging in the form of food and drink. This year was no exception! The sun also sets a bit earlier each night and it makes me want to hibernate. While the past month was an awesomely fun and busy month, it also resulted in some poor eating choices along the way:
- Lack of veggies and fruit
- Not taking time for sit down meals
- Not taking time to cook
- Too much night time snacking/mindless eating when not hungry
Last week Caitlin declared she was having a Back On Track month to get back into her healthy groove. It is an awesome idea to make sure that our healthy habits stick over the colder months! I am going to declare this week my Back On Track week and get into a good groove again.
Many of you on Twitter said that you want to get back on track too! The lovely ladies from Eating Bird Food, Happy Go Lucky, Balance Is Beauty, Daily Goods, Running Around Normal, @maurat, and Britney Cardona are all ready.
We are uniting with Caitlin’s Back On Track month to get back into our healthy groove and re-introduce the healthy habits back into our lives!!!
Here is my game plan:
FOOD
1) At least 5 servings of vegetable servings per day
2) Two servings of fruit per day
3) Lots of water in the form of Sencha green tea or lemon water
4) Two green monsters a day (one in the AM and one in the PM to beat night time snacking)
5) Devote time to Meal planning/cooking
6) Have sit down meals. No more eating on the fly simply because I am busy.
7) Vitamins
These are some of the wonderful foods I plan on making…
Eating fresh and natural foods makes me GLOW!
EXERCISE
I am also including an exercise component:
8.) Re-introduce cardio sweat sessions DAILY!
9) Rise early to get cardio in before work- stop leaving it for night time! Minimum 30 minutes
10) Lunch time yoga (either Crunch yoga or p90X) 20-40 minutes over lunch
11) Reintroduce resistance exercises like core work
It has been a while since I have had a really sweaty workout (since the half marathon 2 weeks ago!) and I am ready to get my heart pumping once again. As much as I have been enjoying the yoga videos (I did Crunch yoga twice on the weekend), I am the type of person who requires my endorphins each day. I just haven’t felt myself since the half, but at the same time I realize that rest is necessary.
This weekend will bring a challenge. I am going to my brother’s for a get together. These get togethers always involve lots of food and drink. I am going to do my best to consume these things in a moderate manner and not over-do it. :) I have decided to not completely abstain from alcohol all together on Saturday night because I believe most things in moderation.
This morning the challenge started off great!
I was going to hit the treadmill, but it was so sunny out I decided to bundle up for Project Snow and get out there! I was warm in only a couple minutes. I walked for 30 minutes at a fast pace and I feel so good now. I also came back and did some core work (side planks and front planks)….WOW have I ever lost my groove with these!!!!! I haven’t been doing them on a regular basis since Summer Glow Boot Camp, so it is time to get my tight abs back!
~~~~
Does your eating and exercise routine tend to get a bit wonky during this time of the year?
Would you like to join us?
I would love to join! My roommate and I were just talking about “getting on track” last night- it will be much easier to continue good habits in the colder months if we start them now. :)
I am in Sissy! There is way too much Halloween candy in this house though! It has been getting the best of me, but that ends today! :) I am going to get bck on track with my elliptical and strength training 2 times a week as well. :)
Cold weather always makes me want to snuggle up at home. I have to remind myself how nice and warm I am after a good sweaty workout and how much the exercise affects my mood!
i need to get back on track too!! i haven’t been eating right/exercising as much as i used to. I’m in college and i was doing so well in the beginning of the semester..but now that its November, I’ve been slacking! I’m going to try to eat more fruits and veggies and well and try to take care of myself!! good luck!
I’m definitely nervous for the winter months and making it to the gym in the snow! I also work out in the morning before work, so I’m hoping that with daylight savings ending this might help? Still, I am definitely going to be an advocate for Back On Track Month! I’ll start promoting on my blog today :)
Ange – Your post today totally spoke to me!!! Thank you so much :D I am right there with you on the Nov-Dec lack of motivation and over-indulging. Last week I missed 2 of my 5 work outs (because life happens haha) & got up today thinking I wasn’t going to hit the gym because I had all these ‘very important things’ I needed to do and then read your post… THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Just what I needed to hear. Going to grab some breakfast and go get sweaty ;D
-Mary
I went home for a week (halfway across the world) 2 weeks ago, and last week was all about jet lag, back to cold weather (yuk!), work issues and basic life up the wazoo! So yes – could use a ‘get back on track’ post – thanks Angela! I need to figure out if I am going to join the Y or if I am going to try pilates at the nearby studio. First 1/2 marathon in two weeks so need to finish out this training too. Going to invest in some new running clothes for the winter as well!
I’m definitely on board with this challenge – as the weather gets colder and the sun only shows every so often I definitely feel like slowing down and hibernating with a big bowl o’ carbs. So this will be some great motivation to continue to stay healthy & happy through the winter months & holiday season.
I’m definitely going to join you in this challenge. My work schedule has been SO NUTS lately that my eating habits (let’s just say, the Halloween snickers bars are a problem) aren’t too great. Luckily, I’m still training for my half so exercise is not a problem. (T-minus 5 days and counting!!)
What a great idea! All these quick dinners and halloween candy has taken its toll. I’m on board. Off to the gym I suppose?
Agreed…back on track. This month has been a trainwreck or excuses and overindulgences!! Started off on the right foot today with a solid 50 minutes of cardio :) and a healthy breakfast.
Haha! I think we’ve all been thinking the same thing, especially after Halloween! I was up late last night, writing out my game plan. Lots of veggies, fruits, water, sweating and perhaps a yoga class for the first time! I am definitely IN! :)
Oh you know I’m totally with you!! I’m dreading another New Brunswick winter and I do NOT want to lose my motivation so early in the winter season! One thing that really helped me the last holiday season was giving myself THREE days of excess – Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Day. The gym was closed those days, and I enjoyed all the food that was around me with my family. All the other days were business as usual! :)
Im in with ya!! Ive been mindlessly snacking recently and Im ready to get back on track! I hit the gym this weekend, had some maazing workouts, cooked up some super healthy fabulous food and Im ready to rock!!! Im ready to a healthy clean fabulous November!=)
YES I totally need to get back into gear with this!! After this past weekend i DEF need a boost!
Yes and yes. My eating and exercise could definitely be better (and were in the summer). So yes, I’m in! :)
Your challenge came at the same time I decided to stir thing s up a bit-I am commiting to my health, not the scale-I planed out my exercise 5-6 days of running/weight workouts-I ma going to do a 1/2 marathon in May. I am moving toward a more plant based diet and clean eating. I already choose 10 days in the next 2 months that I will indulge more. I would like to be a vegan soon, but every time a labelmyself , I don’t fail. So, I amchanging my thinking to moving toward a plant based diet. My biggest biggest change is not to step on the scale until 2010 maybe lol-I don’t know if I can throw out the scale yet-but I am moing toward it- I am already a green monster fan-tx for all the inspiration!!!!!
Angela – I love this blog and your suggestions. I do feel like I give in and let my healthy habit slip during the holiday season. So I just joined a challenge called T’appy Holidays, which is a great way to be consistent with workouts and healthy eating through the holiday season.
I definitely have a hard time when it starts to get cold and dark out. I think it’s especially difficult in the north where we get really cold. I’m in Wisconsin, but I’m betting you probably get even colder in Canada. I seem to crave lots of comfort foods that are high in carbs. (Pasta, rice…) I think it would be a good time to try cooking the seasonal fall veggies. It seems like a perfect time to get back on track before the holidays really get kicked into gear. Thanks for a great post!
I ate more candy than I gave out on Saturday night – I felt so gross afterward. I wrote in my journal last night that I want to make exercise a priority and stop letting my school work get in the way.
Its so awesome that I look at your blog today and you have READ MY MIND!
I am joining you!!