Another newbie - made it through the first 5 N-days!

[LadyCheshire]

Hello everyone!

I have had my first set of weekdays of green, and am very pleased with how this is going, since it has not been without its challenging moments (dinner with friends for which my husband made a favorite dessert, the monthly "breakfast day" at work, etc.) but every challenge leaves me thinking, "Is it worth losing a green day for this?" and the answer is NO.

I think part of what helps with that is that my four-year-old is on a "rainbow" level system based on her behavior - Green is where she starts in the morning by default if she hasn't earned something higher. Blue is where she starts after a full day of Green. Sometimes when she's made it to Blue and is being non-compliant, the easiest way to get her back on track is ask, "Do you want to lose your Blue over this?" Amazing that it works on 32-year-old me almost as well as four-year-old daughter.

I used to be reasonably thin and active a long time ago. Then I was hit by a car and broke my leg - I was 14, and got the cast and crutches treatment, but was told if I had been two years older I would have had surgery. Five years later, I seriously sprained the same ankle, and it seemed to trigger a vicious circle of pain-decreased activity-increased weight-more pain-decreased activity-increased weight...that in the end landed me a little over 300 pounds, and with a nasty case of heel spurs and an inflamed hip joint.

Complicating this, I have some blood sugar "weirdness" that is sub-threshold for even pre-diabetes - I was told when I was 12 and underweight that I had hypoglycemia (which probably got me in the "feed a headache or any other icky feeling!" mode in the first place), and I had gestational diabetes with one of my pregnancies. (My doctor's current suspicion is that I have polycystic ovarian syndrome.) I also have the inattentive form of ADD, and have just started medication (Strattera) for that.

I have a bad history with diets - it's a very rare diet that I have managed to comply with perfectly for more than two consecutive days anytime. I tried Atkins for a day on two occasions and both of them left me physically ill - since then, my response to inquiries about whether I've considered low-carbing it is, "No, because I don't think inducing bulimia is an acceptable diet plan." I had some success with the DASH diet before my first pregnancy, but never really hit my stride with it or anything else afterwards. I would lose weight while the babies were nursing, then they'd quit and I'd gain it back plus some.

I set out my "customization" of No S in advance. I'm doing a four-meal variant: breakfast (around 8:30AM most mornings), lunch (a bit after noon), afternoon tea (around 3 PM), and dinner (somewhat variable, usually around 7 PM). Afternoon tea is planned in advance and involves sitting down with an actual cup of tea and a bit of food - this week that's usually been a few whole wheat crackers, about 1 oz of nuts, and a piece of fruit.

Given the common meals here, "one plate" can mean either one dinner plate or one small plate plus one bowl. Appetizer-like salads (just veggies and dressing like the salad course in a restaurant usually is) in a small plate or bowl are exempt.

I have an S-days and S-events system, though I haven't had to use it quite yet (no relevant S-events have happened). S-days are weekends, holidays, familiy/close friend birthdays, and any day I am physically ill enough to call in sick (in which case, give me my ginger ale darnit). A single S-event at a meal OR between meals is allowed in workplace situations that don't involve close friends (cake for retirees, holiday party), vacation days that would otherwise be N-days, or date nights (meaning we actually get a sitter and go out without the kids, which happens once a month if that often).

My "borderline" foods break out like this:

- If it's a cereal my mother would have allowed in the house during my childhood, it's not an S. If she wouldn't have allowed it, it's an S.
- Sweetened milk-based beverages (lassi, mocha, chai, hot chocolate, warm milk with a dollop of honey) are not-S, and as beverages may be consumed outside of meals (in practice, this usually means milk or hot chocolate at bedtime, if I want it). Whipped cream IS an S and as such may not be added on N-days.
- Sweetened yogurt is not-S. Frozen yogurt, ice cream, and sorbet are all S-foods.
- Granola bars (not the candy-coated kind) are not-S. Anything more cookie-like than a granola bar is an S-food. Chocolate bars, even 88% dark chocolate, are S-foods. Energy bars are S-foods, and at this point are banished: if I want candy, I'll have candy (on an S-day) and if I want protein, I'll eat foods with real protein. White bread is not technically an S-food, but I'm trying to avoid it because I learned it triggers blood sugar spikes when I was doing post-meal testing during my last pregnancy.

Having "the decision already made" seems to be helping me, this time around. Of course, I think one of my snacking problems is that "getting a snack" gave me a socially acceptable excuse to wander away from my desk at work, which is something my ADD seems to drive me to do a lot. I'm replacing that with getting water or just taking an honest walk for a couple minutes. It helps.

[clarinetgal]

It sounds like you've done really well at getting No S to work for you. Good job!

[mrsj]

Congratulations of your 5 day succes!

[Kevin]

I think that the "decision already made" aspect of your effort, along with the "planning" aspect are important. I hope it works out well for you.

[Starla]

Congratulations - you're off to a great start!

It took me a while (maybe 3 weeks or so) to get in "decision already made" mode, but that's led to one of the biggest benefits of No S - the disappearance of "diet head," as mimi puts it. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

[BrightAngel]

Looks like you have really thought it through.
Hope to watch your progress.

[LadyCheshire]

(Can't tell we've watched Lady and the Tramp recently, can you?)

Thanks for the welcome and well-wishes!

So I was a little worried that my first weekend would be all-binge-all-the-time.

Nope!

I kept the basic structure (except on Sunday, when every meal happened later than usual) of breakfast-lunch-tea-dinner. The extent of my S-indulgence was as follows:

- Tea on Saturday consisted of a cup of tea, a bowl of raspberry sorbet, and a few small pieces of 88% dark chocolate.

- I had a gourmet ginger ale with dinner on Saturday.

- I had maple syrup on my pancakes on Sunday.

That was *it*. That was all the S-stuff I wanted, and I even ended up giving some of the chocolate I planned to eat to my daughter because I had had enough!

Right back to N-day on Monday without a hitch. I was at a meeting where someone was passing around homemade chocolates that looked so so good, but I didn't take any.

I'm looking forward to some apple pie on Thanksgiving (my husband makes the best pies ever) and maybe sitting down at Panera with some shortbread or an orange scone for a weekend tea.

I think part of why the 4-meals is working is because they all have meal-type names. It's not a mini-meal, not a snack - it IS "afternoon tea."

Oh, and one thing I should add - I'm weighing in every morning so I can plot a moving average. I was fluctuating right around 300 pounds - 299 one day, 302 the next - and I've been consistently under for the last week. Now that's motivation!

[connorcream]

Howdy,
Weighing every day at the same time will be very helpful. I put my scale a way for a long period of time and lived to regret it. Now I am weighing every day, and coupled with knowing what I am eating, it doesn't set the mood of my day. I am also losing pounds.

Enjoy your holidays!