So after considering it each of the last two Januarys, I’m finally going to give Health Month a go. What is Health Month? Glad you asked! You can read all the details on the Facebook group but the high level rules are as follows:
No Alcohol
No Smoking
No Caffeine (Exception: Unsweetened Green Tea)
No Illegal Drugs
No “Big Breads” or Refined flour (Exception: Whole Grains)
No Meat (exceptions: Fish, Chicken, Lean/Uncured Pork)
No Pasta (Exception: Whole Grain Pasta in Small Amounts)
No Dairy, Butter, Margarine, Cheese (Exception: Yogurt with no added sugar or sweeteners)
No refined Sugars
No Artificial Sweeteners
No Fried Food
No Fast Food
Very Limited amounts of salt, olive oil, salad dressing
No Rice (Exception: Brown Rice)
Exercise 2-3 times a week
Add 1 Custom self-improvement pledge
Monitor your weight, mood, etc., and report back to others / blog it.You get one amnesty day from ONE rule, not all of them.
The start date is midnight on Sunday January 4th, and the end date is midnight on Sunday February 1st. Feel free to start earlier or end later if you want.
Take on something that’s challenging. I believe that the spirit of the month is to take on a few new behaviors that are totally contrary to your normal routine. So, even if you think you can’t survive without coffee in the morning, give it a try for the first week, and drink a green tea when you have a bad headache. It might not be as bad as you think. Our habits aren’t as immutable as they might seem, and getting out of your routine can be remarkably refreshing. You can always go back after the month is over (the first coffee after Health Month is amazing), but you’ll have the added benefit of knowing that you can survive without something you thought you couldn’t before.
What tools will I use to track data?
I’ll be leveraging the data that I’m capturing with my new FitBit to track calories in/out, exercise, sleep, weight, etc. I’m only getting started with the FitBit (and plan to write a review after this month) but so far I’m liking it and I’m really excited to see how my data looks in aggregate over time in nice-looking charts like these:
I’ll also be using Runkeeper to track the running I do during this time. After being a long time Nike+ devotee (with over 1,000 miles clocked), I’ve recently made the switch to Runkeeper and I think I’m here to stay. I’m also in the midst of a post about why I made the switch that I hope to have ready in the next week or so. If you’re on Runkeeper, you can add me as a friend here.
I may occasionally post updates to this blog throughout the month but I’ll definitely post a recap at the end to capture how it all went.
What am I hoping to get out of this?
My main goals are threefold:
1) to see how putting healthy things in my body for 30 days straight makes me feel
2) to see if I can carry over any of these habits beyond Health Month or make me reconsider habits I currently accept as normal
2) to hopefully kickstart a little weight loss as I’ve put on about 10-12 pounds since I hurt my should in August 2008. Now that surgery is behind me, I’m ready to go. Also, with the baby due in March, I feel like I have a small window of opportunity to whip myself into shape before my focus changes.
What do I think will be the hardest?
Right off the bat, my gut (literally) tells me these will be the hardest:
1) No coffee – Normally I consume the following on a daily basis: 2 espressos first thing in the morning, a large coffee on the way to work, 1-2 coffees in the afternoon. Going from that to green tea will be tough because I’ll miss the caffeine but also because I enjoy the whole coffee routine.
2) Eating out – It’s very easy to stick by the rules when we’re making food for ourselves at home but at restaurants it’s going to take a bit of work. As someone who also really enjoys the theater of eating, this is going to be difficult.
Those are really the two I think I have to look out for. Apart from that I think
I should be ok but only time will tell.
Anyway, if you want to learn more about Health Month or join the Facebook group, go here.
See you in February!
a
