I was sick of making zero progress with my weight loss and feeling like I had no willpower.

Let’s be honest here, I started NOvember on a whim.

I was sick of making zero progress with my weight loss and feeling like I had no willpower.

At the end of October, I was fed up with many aspects of my life.

I was overweight and not making any progress with losing it. I was trying to figure out what to do with my life after recently becoming a single SAHM. I felt very lost in the world but I have three kids, so I needed to figure out my shit, as quickly as possible.

I went away for a weekend, by myself, with the main intention of setting goals for myself. Long-term and short-term goals.

I was pretty proud of the fact that I actually accomplished what I set out to do. I set fifteen, ten, five, and one-year goals.

I knew that if I continued what I was doing, there would be no way in hell that I would get close to accomplishing the lofty goals that I had set.

Since I was not happy, physically or emotionally with myself, I knew that something would have to give in order for me to live a fulfilling life and accomplish my goals.

Now, my weekend away was about a week from the beginning of November.

This got me thinking.

What if I give myself the rest of October to be a shithead and do the things that I know are not serving me, and start new in November?

I then thought, wait a minute, NO-vember.

What is NOvember?

NOvember is when I say NO to habits that are detrimental to making progress with my goals.

I’m pretty sure that I did not make this up, but damn did I feel pretty clever coming up with it.

So, I brainstormed which habits are negatively affecting me the most RIGHT NOW.

Honestly, it was really easy to figure out which habits were the worst for my personal development.

Since I have some lofty goals that involve weight loss, personal development, and professional development, I came up with three bad habits to drop for the month of NOvember.

I did not originally plan on dropping three bad habits at one time, there just happened to be three biggies that were preventing me from reaching my goals that I wanted to drop immediately.

What bad habits am I dropping during NOvember?

The areas in my life that are the biggest pain points and quite frankly annoying me the most are weight loss and increasing my income.

The bad habits I dropped for the month of NOvember reflect these pain points. They are:

No Snacking Between Meals

I generally follow intermittent fasting for weight loss, and really in general, so I don’t eat my first meal until after 11 am. 

That part was fine but I found myself snacking between lunch and supper way too much. And it wasn’t because I was hungry. I eat enough at lunch to keep me satisfied until supper, it was out of boredom and being home in the afternoon.

I also live with my parents (a whole other can of worms) so there are always delicious baked goods that my mom whipped up to eat.

I knew that snacking between meals was one of the main reasons why I was not losing weight, so I wanted to stop that immediately.

No Skipping Workouts

I walk dogs for a living, so getting aerobic exercise daily is not a problem. However, I wasn’t getting any strength training. I know from the past that strength training is vital to weight loss and overall good health, so I wanted to incorporate strength training into my day.

I needed something that I could do consistently and without too much trouble. I decided to do kettlebell exercises for 10 minutes every day.

I felt like 10 minutes isn’t too long, I can fit it in in the morning or at night without too much hassle. I also love kettlebells and already own a 20lb kettlebell, so there was no equipment necessary for me to purchase. 

As well, kettlebell exercises do not take up too much space and I do them in a spare bedroom that is also used for storage and a tiny office area for me.

All I do is find a YouTube video, set a timer for 10 minutes, and go to town. When my timer rings, I finish the exercise I was doing and call it a day. Totally doable and I haven’t missed a workout yet this month.

No Recreational Green Stuff

We all know that this is, right? I found that I have been numbing myself for basically this whole year with the green. 

I mean, if I just used it recreationally on weekends or whatever, that’s one thing, but I was using it way too often. This year has been especially shitty, and I was definitely self-medicating so I wouldn’t feel all of the feels.

This habit was definitely detrimental to both my goals. I had the munchies and ate too much (hence the snacking between meals), and I was way less productive as I wouldn’t put my spare time to good use like working on my websites or learning new skills. Instead, I would scroll through TikTok and nap in the evening. NOT GOOD.

I am proud to say that I have had the opportunity to enjoy the green this month, and I have turned it down! 

Still green free heading into the last week of NOvember!

Why Did I choose these habits?

I think I already answered this question, but just to recap, I chose these three habits to drop during the month of NOvember because I determined that these habits were the most detrimental to reaching my goals. I was ready to get rid of them.

My Weight Loss results so far

Let me sum it up for you:

I started publicly documenting my weight loss (or lack of it) on August 23, 2022, with the hope that it would motivate me to actually take the steps to lose weight.

It didn’t.

From August 23 to October 31, 2022, I lost a grand total of 3 pounds. Keep in mind that I yo-yo’d the whole time. Losing weight then putting it right back on again. It was pretty deflating and I felt like shit.

From November 1 to November 25, 2022, I have lost 8 pounds! And this is consistent weight loss. It might fluctuate a pound or two here and there but there are no steep drops or gains.

I honestly didn’t know I had lost 8 pounds this month until now when I calculated it. I am pretty proud of myself.

I thoroughly believe that it’s because of the combination of all three NOvember bad habits being dropped. 

My thoughts so far

I feel so much better about myself. I am proving to myself that I actually have willpower and can do what I set my mind to. 

I was having a lot of trouble with that previously. I thought of myself as a failure with a real ‘woeth me’ attitude. 

It was really defeating and led me to bad habits very easily, and even willingly.

My hope was that I would feel so good not doing these three detrimental habits anymore that I would continue on not doing them even after NOvember.

And you know what?

I won’t.

I can confidently say that I will be keeping up my NOvember habits well past November and hopefully never look back.

Why you should try this (or something like it)

Easy, self-confidence. When you put your mind to something and actually accomplish it, in my experience, you get a boost of self-confidence.

Something I was sorely lacking during my feeble attempts to lose weight and better myself.

Also, by putting a time limit on it (30 days), it wasn’t a daunting task.

I thought to myself, “It’s only a month, I can do that.” And I am doing it.

I highly, highly recommend dropping a bad habit that you know is not improving your life in any way for a specified period of time.

If a month is too long, try a week, then two, and increase it in increments. 

Do what suits you and your situation. Just starting a self-improvement journey is better than staying in the situation that is bringing you down.

Just start.

Today.

Or in a week.

Whatever.

Just start.

And Always,

Keep going, keep going, keep going….

P.S. Since it is nearing the end of NOvember, my new goal is to either drop one bad habit or introduce one good habit each month.

Slow and steady is the key to success (I hope!) I’m not sure what my December goal will be just yet, but I will let you know when I figure it out.

PSSST, I figured out my December goals and I recapped my NOvember experience in this article here.

Wow, it’s 2023 already! Check out my goals for 2023 here.

Check it out if you want, or not, that’s cool too.