kaalii's 21 day challenge

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Fri May 06, 2016 10:05 am

im almost 3 weeks into the nos to retrieve some sanity into my eating habits...

i have never dieted in my life except for the past year (calorie counting and intermittent fasting 16/8 ) and i arrived at my goal weight slowly but surely and succesfully maintining for 4 months...
but i feel i have picked up on some dieting mentality that i am weary of and that i observed in others with horror all my life... i guess part of me is horrified of myself now...

so, while ultimately id love to maintain what i have achieved, id wish to develop a more sane approach to eating even if it means gaining some of the 8-9kg lost back, initially or permanently...

i have always been in the super healthy bmi range so i dont think health is much of an issue here... just the bloody looks... (deep down i think i have to deal with accepting aging... and any advice, links, ideas on that are welcome, too from those who can relate to me, im 38yo)...

so, i am almost 3 weeks into the nos, with all in all 4 failure days behind me...
im starting today anew with encouragement from listening to the "strictness" podcast and not losing the enthusiasm...

i really feel that 21 day challenge in vanilla noS is the way to go from where i am now...

wish me luck!

cedar · Post by **cedar** » Fri May 06, 2016 12:23 pm

Good Luck kaalii!
My mother in law is Swiss and lives in Winterthur..do you know it? I always find when we are there I lose weight as it seems to be very much 3 meals no snacking and lots of walking, so perfectly fits with no s..although they love chocolate and alcohol!
It's a lovely supportive forum here, you are in the right place. All the best!

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Fri May 06, 2016 1:17 pm

thank you!

haha, yes, of course i know winterthur... it feels like it is on the other side of switzerland (im in biel/bienne) but that means less than a couple of hours drive...

yes, we walk and hike loads... and bike...

still, in school system they encourage children to 3 meals + 2 snacks a day but by the time they are adults people boil it down to 3 meals a day...

yes, land of cheese and chocolate - cheese part i loooooove... chocolate and sweets in general are not my things so much... but i must say those who love their chocolate are real conaisseurs and dont overindulge necessarily...

alcohol - teetotalling is rare and looked down upon... but i have noticed that people who more love their chocolates drink less alcohol and vice versa...

glad you like it here when you visit your mother-in-law!

MaggieMae · Post by **MaggieMae** » Fri May 06, 2016 1:25 pm

Good luck! You've inspired me to think about doing this for" sanity" and not just weight loss. If you are horrified by the diet mentality, I'm your worst nightmare. Haha. I have many years of that inanity to undo. I haven't listened to the podcast on strictness. I'll check that out!

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Fri May 06, 2016 7:59 pm

hey, maggiemae, thank you! yes, sanity... sweet sanity...

so, the day 1 of the restarted challenge is green...

tomorrow is S(atur)day and my son's 11th bday party... looking forward to that... we are going bowling with his friends...

his real bday is on monday but im not sure it will be also an s day for me because the main partying will happen tomorrow... monday will be partying at his school and presents shopping with me... if we take any food while shopping im reserving that as a meal... and it is not going to be sweet, that is not much of a challenge to me...

Post by **reinhard** » Fri May 06, 2016 8:48 pm

Welcome and good luck, kaalii!

You are definitely in it for the right reasons!

Reinhard

cedar · Post by **cedar** » Fri May 06, 2016 9:38 pm

Of course cheese! How could I forget the cheese? I'm not a huge cheese person or chocolate but I do enjoy a little of both (dark 70% Lindt..perfection).
Yes I really love visiting Switzerland, it's such a clean crisp stunning country..but it's really seeing my husband (and our children) meeting with his family, that is the most beautiful thing for me to enjoy

. As I get older I can really appreciate how special those moments are and to have lived most of my life in diet head craziness..it makes me sad and I have come to No S for sanity and peace like you..if I lose a few kilos in the process, great, but I'm really trying to focus on habits and my present actions rather than results and living in the "when I'm thin everything will be perfect" lie.
Again all the best and it's lovely to have you here, the fact that you haven't been caught up in diet head for too long is fantastic and you are definitely in the right place.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat May 07, 2016 1:44 pm

It's definitely a sane way to live. Reduced appetite as I age has led me to some IF, as it's easier than tiny meals for me. I honestly don't think most people can escape being at least a little more aware of their eating after any purposeful eating changes for just about any reason. But No S principles can help cut that way down.

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Sun May 08, 2016 12:39 am

thank you reinhard, cedar and oolala53!
cedar - i love the wisdom the age has brought to you!
i have a kind of opposite thing going on - as age seems to be bringing the changes to the body (slight weight gain, among them.. but wrinkles, undereye circles...) i have the feeling im going to lose the happiness i have been having... and although my experience tells me that all the happiness- as well as misery - i have created myself - i need to get to the level of wisdom where i can clearly feel that that is the case, that fearless place... i hope im getting there slowly but surely...

oolala53 wrote: I honestly don't think most people can escape being at least a little more aware of their eating after any purposeful eating changes for just about any reason. But No S principles can help cut that way down.

yes! cut it down or put it in the right perspective... awareness about eating and obsessing over food are not the same thing at all!

anyway, what a lovely, truly S(pecial) day it was!
my son's 11th bday party... bowling with him and his friends (one of them came dressed up as a panda!! we had a panda bowling!!

)... seeing him happy! and winning the bowling, too! my little hero!

2 lovely S events eating wise... sharing some heart-shaped chips with him while driving... and a piece of lovely strawberry cake we chose together for his party!
la vita e bella!

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Sun May 08, 2016 10:45 pm

lovely s day:
walk (pretty fast coz my son was with me on his bike and i didnt want him to have to come back or wait me up too much) in the forest that is right next to our house...
playing with my son on gymnastic rings, double bars and single bar on the outdoor parkour, also next to our house... nice strength training, i can feel my arms...
walking to the pond nearby and watchin tadpoles (yuck

) and highland cattle next to it... cycling back home because my son wanted to stay a bit more with some kids catching tadpoles... and asked me if i could take his bike home, he would walk back with the kids...

s events:
snacking from the pan while passing through the kitchen (fried tofu sticks, yum)...
pbj sandwich and greek yoghurt for dinner...
lovely special day again and i feel light, anyway!

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Mon May 09, 2016 9:50 pm

monday, nos-day - success

i feel lighter already... i might have lost a pound or so... but im also reducing weighing myself... for now, once a week... wednesdays... then i plan to switch to once in 2 weeks... etcetc... and eventually ditch the scale...
i never owned one untill a year ago..i might aim for that... plenty of free scales around to weight myself when necessary...
but im not there yet...
mere one year of dieting really messed me up...

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Mon May 09, 2016 10:58 pm

With just one year of dieting, you've got a good prognosis...

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Tue May 10, 2016 9:27 am

i hope so, oolala53.. especially if i tackle what i percieve as the underlying problem - accepting aging...

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Tue May 10, 2016 8:37 pm

tuesday, day 5 of the challenge - success!!

actually, i just had 2 meals so far and it is soon bedtime here for me... but the plates were generous...
im still kinda full...
but im having a protein+ raw cocoa+ honey+ cinnamon+ coconut milk... with some grapes...

i had a very active day at work and then also went to our forest trail and speedwalked and exercised for at least an hour...
i have seen a doe again!!

im really starting to notice them when none is seeing them, i got my eyes used to look for them coz i love it so much when i do... just like my son pays so much attention to the birds when he joins me in the forest walks/jogs...
i can feel my arms and stomack muscles from the last 2 forest trail walks... cool!

Jen1974 · Post by **Jen1974** » Tue May 10, 2016 9:44 pm

Welcome to the board. I love reading your posts!! I wish more people did daily check-ins like this!! It's fun to read how others are doing (:

I'm Jen & am not too much older than you. 41 (: I too don't have a lot to lose, mostly vanity weight but have spent much longer than you on all sorts of diets repeatedly losing & gaining the same 10 lbs LOL!! I'm trying to find a better way so I am setting a good example for my kids & just feel less crazy with food & could hopefully finally KEEP the 10lbs off for good & just maintain it. I ended up finding No S & have been here since early Feb.

noni · Post by **noni** » Wed May 11, 2016 11:00 am

Jen, Go to the top of this page, and under 'Everyday Systems', click on 'Discussion Home'. Click on the second topic, 'Daily Check-ins', from multiple nos-ers

cedar · Post by **cedar** » Wed May 11, 2016 12:02 pm

Yes love your posts kaalii..although it makes me jealous thinking of your forest walks

You are doing really well,that's great.

Jen1974 · Post by **Jen1974** » Wed May 11, 2016 3:08 pm

Thanks Noni!! I didn't know that existed (: Love it!!!

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Wed May 11, 2016 9:26 pm

ohh, thank you jen1974!! and yes, nice to be in the challenge together!! ooops, i have also started this thread in the wrong place and i dont know how to move it to the daily check-ins... so,unless someone can help me do that i will keep going here untill i succeed and then open the daily check-in to continue... it seems that people find it helpful even after they get the habit flowing... so i'll trust that...

cedar - thank you for your support <3 yes, living with the forest with trails for joggers literally across the street from our house... and other nice things around the house are amazing... and the price of our appartement is dirt cheap for switzerland... im sooo lucky... but, actually, the owner will renovate our beautifull swiss farm-style house, the rent will shoot up and we will have to move out in a year time,... i'm already looking for other options, preferably close to our forest... that makes me sad and afraid a bit... but life puts me in perspective always (im originally from croatia, SE europe, lived through wartime there) and i think i can handle losing my forest to another nice piece of roof over my head...

but i cant promise i wont cry about it if/when i have to leave it...

so, day 6 of the nos, n-day - success!!

again, 2 big meals and one lighter one...
i never felt stuffed... and, like many that write here about their experiences with nos - being a bit hungry between meals is somehow even enjoyable... it even energizes me in some ways... and food tastes delicious.. and i tend to look for more nutritious food - not because of the nutrition but because i somehow know that it will satisfy me better...

exercise - almost 1 and 1/2 hours of swimming: today i was lucky to be able to leave work earlier and join my son in the swimmingpool during his swimming practice... great for my back... and great to see his progress!! and his saltos and how much he is enjoying water!! im so proud of him! swimming is such a beautiful sport!
at work i got to play some badminton with the kids... they already know i cant say no to badminton so they come and ask me to play with them and whenever i can - i do!

oh, and today was weigh and measure day... lost 1 kg... but body fat reading the same, so could be loss of muscle or just imprecise readings... whatever... nice thing is also, 1 cm off the waist size... but these are my normal variations... and im trying to wean myself of the numbers and scales... i will try not to do it now for 2 weeks... acceptable failure is to do it in 1 week... anyrthing sooner is unacceptable...

wow, this was long!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Thu May 12, 2016 4:20 am

I know it seems you are losing a lot, but this thread represents only about a week of posts, right? I don't think there's a way to move the whole thread, so might be better to cut the cord quick and get started in the check-in forum. Assume you will be at it for awhile. Some of us there have been at it so long we don't post every day, but there are lots in the past to read over!

Keep having fun and keep going!

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Thu May 12, 2016 7:05 pm

ok, since it seems there is no way to move the whole thread i'm opening the new one under the same title in the daily check-in... and i'll copy into it my posts so far...