HabitCal on Steroids!

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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Ready2Win
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HabitCal on Steroids!

Post by Ready2Win » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:48 pm

I read LauraAnn's "Spin, Crash, and Burn" post with much compassion; her story is MY story. No S was like finding my religion the first week, the second week . . . well . . . not so much.

I picked myself up and started HabitCal-ing, only to find myself depressed to put up a red day for a single transgression of a carrot while cooking dinner (or, let's be honest, a full-on cookie raid in the afternoon). After a million years of trying to loose "the final 30" I'm can't allow yet another attempt to go down the all-too-familiar road of paralysis by perfection. So . . .

Here's what I did to to help myself realize:
One slip in one S category does not a full failure make;
I need to encourage my habits with as much positives as I can;
i need to see where my REAL problems are

My HabitCal (an index card) has 9 blocks for each day (3 S categories x 3 meals), rather than just one. This way I can track what happened at each meal, feel encouraged by the field of green, even if there's some red among it, and truly understand when/with what S I'm struggling. I'm doing this hyper-HabitCaling just for a few weeks, until I get back on my feet; after all, I've gotta agree with Reinhard that too much math is not sustainable long term.

Hope this helps somebody out there!

Bumpkyns
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Location: Middle TN, where there's no North or South!

Post by Bumpkyns » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:10 pm

I'd love to be able to do what you've done but don't have the first clue how. I did well to set it up as the normal calendar month. :oops:
Blessed are the cracked, for they are the ones who let in the light!

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Jaymiz
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Post by Jaymiz » Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:18 pm

Don't know if I'm understanding it right either, but I'm gonna try to see if I get it by trying to insert a sort of "picture":

Is it something like this on the index card?...
------------------------------------
breakfast | lunch | dinner |
-------------------------------------
snacks | sweets | seconds |
-------------------------------------

And, basically, you color the breakfast square green if you did okay with that, and color the snack square red if you had one on an N day, etc?

So, like this:

------------------------------------
breakfast | lunch | dinner |
-------------------------------------
snacks | sweets | seconds |
-------------------------------------

...meaning, you did okay with breakfast, lunch, and having NO sweets, but you had a snack mid-day, and had seconds at dinner?

Sorry if I'm completely misunderstanding.
http://jaymiz.wordpress.com (The 'No S' Life)
"The more you do a thing, the easier it becomes" ~ Anon.

kccc
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Post by kccc » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:10 pm

I do the "Daily check in" instead of HabitCal. I want to be able to EXPLAIN that the red is for five carrots and some crackers as opposed to a full-scale attack on the fridge.

I'm still calling it a failure, but it helps me to be able to say "I did this, but I did NOT let it escalate." Otherwise, I'm very prone to "in for a penny, in for a pound" thinking (or, red for a carrot... go for the carrot cake!).

It is hard. Some of us (like me) are prone to perfectionist thinking, and the word "failure" is almost intolerable. I know I want to rationalize it away. No-S has actually been very good for me in that regard, as I learn to distinguish between excellence and perfection. I am learning to accept that some failures WILL happen, and what's important is how I deal with them.

But being able to describe exactly what happened - and how I recovered! - is important to me still.

Ready2Win
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Post by Ready2Win » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:30 pm

You guys are lighyears beyond me: I never even tried to do my hyper-log on the real habitcal; it's literally an index card sitting on my kitchen counter! I love having it posted in my kitchen, near the sweets cupboard as extra incentive to keep on habit.

KCCC, I love your comment about "in for a carrot, in for a carrot cake."

Jaymiz, your picture looks great. I kind of made mine like a grid with

Sweets \ Snacks \ Seconds across the top and then made three columns within each category for breakfast, lunch, dinner. On a 4 x 6 card, I'm able to track 21 days this way.

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Jaymiz
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Post by Jaymiz » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:32 pm

Ready2Win wrote:Jaymiz, your picture looks great. I kind of made mine like a grid with
Sweets \ Snacks \ Seconds across the top and then made three columns within each category for breakfast, lunch, dinner. On a 4 x 6 card, I'm able to track 21 days this way.
Oh, okay! I get it now. :) Thanks for clarifying further. ;)
http://jaymiz.wordpress.com (The 'No S' Life)
"The more you do a thing, the easier it becomes" ~ Anon.

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MerryKat
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Post by MerryKat » Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:25 am

At the moment I am trying my utmost to follow No S to the letter, so I count carrot sticks or chocolate as the same thing - breaking the habit I am trying to build and therefore a red block.

For me the minute I start making distinctions between snacks (ie but that is healthy and won't hurt) I am opening the door for all the rest to squeeze in.

For me the habit of no snacking is worth having to face a failure and red square over a carrot stick.

I have tried about every possible variation of No S and the minute I change any part of it, I end up breaking all the habits, so vanilla No S it is for me.
Hugs from Sunny South Africa
Vanilla No S with no Sugar due to Health issues - 11 yrs No S - September 2016 (some good, some bad (my own doing) but always the right thing for me!)

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pinkmommy
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Post by pinkmommy » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:52 pm

This is what my habitcal looks like right now:

Image

A bit depressing. But some of those reds really are for a few nibbles during dinner prep. Yesterdays red went like this. I normally have 4 small meals but because of my schedule yesterday I tried 3 meals and did get very hungry between 2nd and 3rd meal (note: my meals are on salad size plates and I sometimes don't finish those meals though I really try). I intentionally ate a snack. It wasn't big or unhealthy, but it was technically a snack. I think I need a "pink" option in addition to the red. Pink is for smallish *failures*.

I'm rethinking FAILURE:

From Adversity I Learn Unique Resourceful Education

Ok, somebody do something better with it, but you get the idea. I want to learn from when I fail. Wednesday, I needed to plan better to keep to my 4 meals.

I know the thing is that I have to keep it as black and white as possible because the graying of the issue will be my downfall. I can just as easily justify a brownie as a carrot when I put on my creative thinking cap. As much as I hate to see that red failure, at least I know where I stand.

This reminds me of a question someone recently asked me regarding the idea in the Matric movies. Would you take the blue pill or the red pill. I'm a red pill kind of person. I'd prefer the truth however bad that is over a pleasant little deception.
Rondi
cherishedbirth.com

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Thu Apr 24, 2008 2:53 pm

One feature I've been thinking about adding to the habitcal for ages is a way to more specifically describe failures (and S-days), either with an option to add qualifying text ("I snacked.. but caught myself") or a simple number ("2" -- meaning 2 S-events). I don't think extra colors are a great idea, because sharp cutoffs are good for building habit, plus it gets less clear (the difference between success and faliure is very clear, but what's the difference between pink and red?). But having some way to distinguish a small slip up from a major disaster gives you some incentive to catch yourself before things get too bad.

I wish I could do without sleep... I'd have this done tomorrow :-)

What I personally do now, and what you can do if you want to "qualify" your habitcal without waiting for me to add features I may never get around to, is to keep a straight up vanilla habitcal, and then describe any failures in the daily checkin. That way you get the benefit of the simple, at a glance picture of your habit that the habitcal gives you, plus some incentive to catch yourself so you don't have to confess anything TOO awful in the check in. It's not perfect, it's a little tedious to gun between the habitcal and the checkin, but if you keep your failures rare (yet more incentive to behave!) it's not too bad, and it does basically give all the psychological benefits that a slicker, combined habitcal-checkin would (will?) give.

Reinhard

CrazyCatLady
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Post by CrazyCatLady » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:03 am

Would it be possible to add a letter or number? For example, a green day would be an A (or A+). :D A small slip might be a B. And so on down to "I blew it" being a D!

I'm not sure if that would help people or not...but I know that I would feel better to get a B or C than just pass/fail!

angelka71
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Post by angelka71 » Fri Apr 25, 2008 4:15 am

Personally, for me the Habitcal is perfect as is. I either failed or I succeeded period. All or nothing is just easier for me b/c I'll think, "Ok, is this cookie...only this ONE cookie WORTH a red block?"

Yes, it sucks to put in that red block...it makes me angry at myself, it's disappointing and a bit depressing but isn't that part of the deal? Besides, the red block is enough of a punishment for myself that I don't try to punish myself the next day...by not eating. (Or more accurately, trying to not eat until I get starved and then binge).

Besides, with me I have a tendancy to let myself off easy so it's better for me to be tough on myself. (If that makes sense). For example, when I was in college I'd let myself off the hook emotionally if I didn't do an assignment. Then I'd let myself off for not studying for a test. Then I'd let myself off easy for not even going to class for a few days...and then again when I'd invariably fail the test until I eventually failed the class. I had all kinds of excuses and reasons that made me feel better, but in the end, I was the one having to repeat the class when everyone else had passed and gone on to the next. And it didn't change what was objectively observed by others...I had failed the class. Period.

This is like a safety net for me. Or like my mom standing there with her hands on her hips giving me "that look" and knowing that I just got busted! "Yeah, you're right, Mom. Sorry, I'll get it right."

Laff
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Post by Laff » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:54 am

angelka71 wrote:Personally, for me the Habitcal is perfect as is. I either failed or I succeeded period. All or nothing is just easier for me b/c I'll think, "Ok, is this cookie...only this ONE cookie WORTH a red block?"

I agree with Angelka's way of thinking on this one. I have my Habitcal set up so that I can look at each of the 3 S's to see which one is the problem over a longer period. Like I don't know it is sweets! :wink: This morning after reading that a bit of cream and sugar was ok in coffee I made the leap and put some coffee cream into my java but. . . . it tasted like an S and I had to throw it out. I do know that was weird. My 4th Habitcal is to monitor my bedtime, I am now 2 hours past my deadline so this is me shrinking off to bed.
Goodnight everyone.
Gotta smile. Laff

Achieving begins with believing!

kccc
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Post by kccc » Sat Apr 26, 2008 4:24 pm

Laff wrote:
angelka71 wrote:This morning after reading that a bit of cream and sugar was ok in coffee I made the leap and put some coffee cream into my java but. . . . it tasted like an S and I had to throw it out. .
Isn't it funny where we draw our personal lines in the sand over sweets? I buy yogurt for my son's lunch - 2 oz in a tube. I think nothing of eating that as part of a meal if I wanted. BUT... I also freeze it for my son, sort of like a push-up ice cream. I won't eat it frozen, even though it's EXACTLY the same thing, because it feels too much like a dessert.

I do drink my coffee with a LOT of milk (I make cafe au lait at home) and one teaspoon sugar. No guilt. But I won't use the kind of creamer you describe either.

Sometimes, things that aren't logically rational make perfect emotional sense...

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Shirls
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Post by Shirls » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:22 pm

I've know for some time that I'm an all or nothing type of person which is why I've fallen off the wagon in so many diets. So for me the HabitCal is a terrific tool as it is. I either did the N day or I didn't. But a red today doesn't mean a red tomorrow. That's what is so empowering: you get a clean slate every 24 hours. One day at a time. :D
Don't wait for the storm to be over - learn to dance in the rain.

DianeA2Z
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Post by DianeA2Z » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:27 pm

I'm in with Shirls and the others who have either "green" or "red" days. I just thought of another way to view those colors!
Green: Successful, but also "GO", meaning "keep up the good work"

RED: Failed, but more importantly: "STOP" the inappropriate behavior so you can keep up the good work tomorrow.

Yellow: Yellow "S DAY" - Hooray. But also, "CAUTION", don't let your behaviors get carried away."

Whaddaya think???

Diane :idea:
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(Ok, a shameless plug). I'm just here to learn how to say No to the S!

kccc
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Post by kccc » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:36 pm

Diane, I like your take on it.

I've decided on May 1 to pick up the HabitCal. I've been reviewing my "backsliding" daily check-in, and I've had more failures than I would have expected. Would be nice to see the overall pattern. (I've liked the daily check in so I can explain how much failure - which keeps me from going off the deep end once I've blown it - but I would like an "at a glance" version too, I think.)

DianeA2Z
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Post by DianeA2Z » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:43 pm

KCCC wrote:Diane, I like your take on it...
KCCC, thank you. Sometimes a good idea pops into my head :idea: and I think, "wonder what took so long for that to appear?"

Personally, I try to limit my use of the word failure because of the negativity associated with the word. Also, because I happen to love the color red (to me it's a "power" color), I felt uncomfortable associating the color with a word that's kind of like a 4-letter word to me. I can live with red equating with "STOP" if I put a positive slant in there. After all, we have red "STOP" signs to keep us safe on the roads.

Diane
Visit www.MaximizeYourWellness.com
(Ok, a shameless plug). I'm just here to learn how to say No to the S!

CrazyCatLady
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Post by CrazyCatLady » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:24 pm

Ooh...STOP...I love it!

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Sun Apr 27, 2008 12:30 am

Diane,

This business with the "red=stop" (and the rest) is brilliant! And in retrospect, so obvious. It is a habit "traffic light" after all.

Making a note to quote you on the main habitcal page...

Reinhard

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OrganicGal
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Post by OrganicGal » Sun Apr 27, 2008 2:02 pm

That's a fantastic idea Dianne, as I to am an 'all or nothing' kinda gal :D
Creating and sustaining the No S habits are the only thing that will take me in the direction I want to go!

DianeA2Z
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Post by DianeA2Z » Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:27 pm

reinhard wrote:Diane,

This business with the "red=stop" (and the rest) is brilliant! And in retrospect, so obvious. It is a habit "traffic light" after all.

Making a note to quote you on the main habitcal page...

Reinhard
Wow! I am honored to have been able to make a good suggestion for the benefit of the community. 8)

I love this plan, and your book has helped me in so many ways! Thank you, Reinhard!

Diane
Visit www.MaximizeYourWellness.com
(Ok, a shameless plug). I'm just here to learn how to say No to the S!

blueskighs
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Post by blueskighs » Sun Apr 27, 2008 11:55 pm

Yes, Diane,

I have to agree, that is a great way to look at Habitcal and makes the information provided by HabitCal even more useful. And YES thank you for sharing your wisdom and insights with the community!

Blueskighs
www.nosdiet.blogspot.com Where I blog daily about my No S journey

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