Everyday Systems

* * * I'm issuing a challenge for you to have a perfect month * * *


This is for those enthusiastic people and for those that need encouragement and accountability. After all, the world can see this. We will all keep tabs on eachother.

I am thinking green this month. I have been looking at snow for so long... I miss grass. Spring is green. And successful habitcal days are green... So, think green!

- your personal "perfect" is defined however you wish.
- *Remember* to only post once at the top and edit that first post all month.
- Please re-read that last one, some people don't get it.
- after March 3rd we will continue posting at the bottom for encouragement and fun, and this month, lets all really try to get into commenting on others'...
- good luck and have fun with it!

I am so in!

...and my birthday is St.Patrick's day and I have always had green birthdays: green decorations, everyone wears green clothes or they get pinched, green cake, green beer etc.
I'm going to try for perfection! "Perfection" for me will be vanilla No S with the possibility of "banking" S days. I may also take an extra S event on the 17th.
My goal is to get back to "26 pounds lost" by my birthday (I gained over the holidays).

March
1 I feel on track... I haven't for a while. Go green!
2 I'm doing SO well so far.
3 I'm still on a good track, let's hope it's not my old rollercoaster track that goes up every weekend. I have new plans for that.(See my daily check-in for more details)
4 I'm still waitng for my ring from Marc too Emily!
5
6 s day
7 s day
8
9
10
11
12
13 s day
14 s day
15 very good day
16
17 B-day
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19
20 s day
21 s day
22
23 barely
24
25
26
27 s day
28 s day
29 good grief girl, get a grip!
30 why is it that every single event anywhere has to have food?
31
I think I'm tryng for too much... I think I'm going back to vanilla no S next month.

I'm in, too! Dd's birthday is also the 17th, Reneew!! She'll be 11 this year and I'll have an S day that day, too.

I'm excited about starting! I've been doing okay since starting this program, but want to do even better. This month's goal is to work on the quality of my diet, cut out more of the processed foods and make homemade items more often.

March
1 Monday Success after a struggle.
2 Tuesday Success
3 Wednesday Success
4 Thursday Success
5 Friday N / S Day TGIF!! Success
6 Saturday S Day Success
7 Sunday S / N Day Success
8 Monday Success
9 Tuesday Success
10 Wednesday Success
11 Thursday Success
12 Friday N / S Day
13 Saturday S Day
14 Sunday S / N Day
15 Monday
16 Tuesday
17 Wednesday DD's Birthday S Day

Ugh, I totally fell off the ball in these last two weeks. I was on a break from University, and went to my parent's and grandparent's house. Lots of homemade goodies and not wanting to offend, plus very little internet access meant I wasn't keeping track.
I will do it this time!

1st - Success!
2nd - Success! Massive chocolate cravings, but I had some hot cocoa instead.
3rd - Success!
4th - Success
5th - Success!
6th - S-Day
7th - S-Day
8th - Success. Funny stuff, but officially green.
9th - ARGH. Minor slip up, but red it was.
10th - Success
11th - Success!
12th - Success - ate at weird times, but still only three meals.
13th - S-Day
14th - S-Day
15th - Success. I'm getting sick though. Blargh.
16th - Could've counted as an NWS as I'm very sick. Stayed home from school, only ate one bowl of oatmeal and a couple pieces of toast all day.
17th - Taking a NWS day. Still sick, but unlike yesterday where I had no appetite, I'm very very hungry. So I figure my body is trying to regain all the energy it's lost being sick. Homemade chicken noodle soup here I come! Still not eating sweets though.
18th - My best friend's birthday. Could've taken a NWS day, but after being sick, I didn't want to and didn't need to. Feels good to be back on track!
19th - success!
20th - S day
21st - S day - went for a picnic with friends, and I was happy that I didn't have to explain any eating habits because it was an S-Day!
22nd - Success!
23rd - Massive cookie craving. Went for a walk, drank tea, etc. Didn't go away, so I just ate the damned cookie. It was good (home made chocolate chip!)
24th - using my pmS mod >.< When I have this problem, I might as well be sick, if I don't eat often. The mod is just splitting up my lunch, half before my class, half after, so I don't start keeling over in pain during class
25th - pmS mod again. Otherwise good.

I really think I can manage it, just had to get over the first few speedbumps starting out . I think it'll also help setting a goal of doing it for a whole month, so theres a little more perspective.

One mod to my no-s: 6 exempts throughout the month, partially to deal with spring break, partially to deal with sundays being damn easy to do as no-s compared to most weekdays due to stress, etc.

1 No-S / Exercise
2 No-S / Exercise
3 No-S / Exercise
4
5
6 EXEMPT
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16 EXEMPT
17 EXEMPT
18 EXEMPT
19 EXEMPT
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27 EXEMPT
28
29
30
31

I think I'm going to skip documenting whether I go to bed before 1 am...exercising and no-s are just much more important to make sure I get right before I start working on little things like that.

I'm in!
Mar 1&2, Days 13&14 for 21 Day Club: Still felt a little bad. Started to eat again, but only a small amount of real food. No junk here!
Mar 03, Day 15 for 21 Day Club: Green! Saw a tiny patch of my lawn and it was GREEN! Did some light gardening. The weeds are GREEN!
I'm so tired of white (snow) and brown (mud) that I did a happy dance when I saw GREEN!
Mar 04, Day 16 for 21 Day Club: Green. I'm getting Spring Fever!
Mar 05, Day 17 for 21 Day Club: Green. Winter's back, and everything that thawed is now frozen. It's downright dangerous to range now.
Mar 06, Day 18 for 21 Day Club: Green. Still icy out. Blah!
Mar 07, Day 19 for 21 Day Club: Yellow. Went a little wild.
Mar 08, Day 20 for 21 Day Club: GREEN!
Mar 09, Day 21 for 21 Day Club: GREEN!
Mar 10, Day 01 for 21 Day Club: GREEN!
Mar 11, Day 02 for 21 Day Club: Green.
Mar 12, Day 03 for 21 Day Club: Green.
Mar 13, Day 04 for 21 Day Club: Green.
Mar 14, Day 05 for 21 Day Club: Forgot to take my S day! Green.
Mar 15, Day 06 for 21 Day Club: Treating today as an N day with one exception: I'm having a piece of cake for dessert this evening. Taking my treat today as I forgot yesterday.
Mar 16-22, Days 7-13 for 21 Day Club: ? Really, really sick. Walking pnuemonia. Living on O.J. and H2Orange. Just the thought of ANY food is revolting. DH started work today so I HAVE to walk Doggie. Then back to bed. I'm starting to HATE my bed!
Mar 23&24, Days 14&15 for 21 Day Club: Feeling better. Green. Ranging more with Thor.
Mar 25, Day 16 for 21 Day Club: GREEN! Feeling better. Still congested, but can function. 9700 steps. YAY! Spring has sprung!
Mar 26, Day 17 for 21 Day Club: Green. It's almost balmy so I garden ranged!
Mar 27, day 18 for 21 Day Club: Green.
Mar 28, Day 19 for 21 Day Club: A Green Yellow. Without even thinking about it I logged over 6000 steps on my pedometer. My treat was dried fruits mixed with nuts.
Mar 29, Day 20 for 21 Day Club: Green.
Mar 30, Day 21 for 21 Day Club: Time flew! Green
Mar 31, Day 01 for 21 Day Club: Very Green! Ranged a lot-9800 steps!

OK I'm in too. I restarted NoS last week after a few months of being off the wagon (won't bore you with details) so a whole month of pure greens will be great, with the normal S days.

1 Green
2 Green
3 Red (big mistake: I went out for a dim sum meal with a friend. NOT a NoS friendly thing to do...)
4 Green
5 Green
6 S day
7 S day
8 Red
9 Red
10 Red (The problem for the last 3 days has been sugar sugar sugar & this has to STOP NOW).
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12
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31

I'm in!

My goal is to check in every day and get back on track! Thinking Spring and Reneew's birthday on St. Pats Day

MARCH

1 Going for green and it WILL be green! Spring is coming, I'm looking for robins.... IT WAS GREEN
2 Going for another green, I'm feeling back in control and loving it! No S Rocks!! GREEN
3 I am making today a great day ~ focus, making good choices and drinking lots of water, thinking GREEN, I'm still waiting for my ring from Mark! Did anyone else get one??
4 GREEN
5 GREEN

GREAT WEEKEND, even tho' the weather was a little crummy!

8 The month is flying by! Going for Green, feelin' all springy!!
9 GREEN
10 GREEN
11 I'm thinking green! I am very busy preparing to leave on vacation!!! I will enjoy my s days thoroughly and I won't over do it!!! LOVE No S!! I'm also planning on hiking and staying very active! Hoping to come home without a weight gain, and many stories to tell!
12 Green ~ Off to enjoy spring break and all those wonderful s days!!!

I'm IN! I love the title to this thread, and the signature "The best spice is hunger."

I am going for a stellar month My first month has been a success and I am really wanting to focus on the glass ceiling and my daily wallk . No snow here late summer.Will check in tomorrow
1. Success
2. Success
3.Success
4.Success
5.Success
6 S day
7 S day
8 SUCCESS
9 SUCCESS
10 SUCCESS
11 SUCCESS[/color
12 SUCCESS
13 S
14 S
15 RED only fruit but snack it was

February was a tough month and I didn't do so well with No-S. Never say die! Tomorrow begins a new opportunity for success!

I am doing Vanilla No-S, the only frill being that we are meatless for Lent.


1 Snack
2
3
4 Welcome, Grandson #2! (Definitely taking an NWS day today!)
5 Snack I am beat right down to my socks and seem to be getting calories and caffeine for energy in lieu of sleep.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Happy Birthday, Husband!
13
14
15
16 Celebrating one year on my job!
17
18 Celebrating 32nd wedding anniversary!
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24
25 Graduation Day from our Community Emergency Response Team training program!
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31

I am pretty new to this but IN for the challenge.....Here's to a green month!
1.
2. Staying green and staying off the scale.
3. Just not sure today. All good but for dinner I had cereal and I am
sure if cereal was an okay choice. I feel too full. Dont know.
4. Still on track but feeling fat!
5. Fell off the wagon today. Lost my job!
6. S day.
7. S day.
8. Ran today too.

I'm in!

Been on No S for 2 weeks with 2 reds, so now it's time to go for my 1st full month of greens. As luck would have it , all my special days this month happen on the weekends this month.

1 I got a killer migrane in the evening due to too small of portions so I has a 4th meal to help
2
3
4
5
6
7
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31

I'm in. I had a pretty crummy February, so now it's time to have a better March. I think I want to take the plunge and do all-out Vanilla No S this month. My only modification will be that I will start my S days after 6 PM on Friday and end them at 4 PM on Sunday. I have one NWS day that I know of (March 11), but that should be it.
Edited to add: I don't think Vanilla No S will work for me. However, I will go back to doing No S Lite, so I'll have a moderate portion of dessert each day and it will have to fit on my plate. My main challenge will be to see if I can stick with moderate eating and a moderate amount of sweets on the weekends.

1. Success!
2. Mixed. I wouldn't call it an outright failure, since my eating was almost perfect. I did have a moderate amount of sweets when I realized I really want to go back to No S Lite, so doing just that makes the day not a complete failure for me.
3.Success!
4. Success!
5. Failure
6. S Day
7. Success!
8. Success!
9. Success!
10. Failure
11 NWS day
12 Failure I've issued a new challenge to myself, to see if I can fully commit to my No S Lite plan (see my introductory paragraph) for the next 21 days. I've been doing fairly well with it during the week, but I've been allowing msyelf to get way too lax with it on the weekends, and I've been overeating at social gatherings. As of this point, I'm not going to have any more true S or NWS days. If I have a social gathering, I'll just make my meal plate that's before the gathering smaller to help adjust for it and not allow msyelf any other sweets.
13. Success!
14. Success!
15. Success!
16. Failure
17. Success!
18. Success! I was 128.2 today. I haven't seen that weight in a couple of months!
19. Failure HOWEVER, I was 127.4 today. I haven't seen that weight in 3 years. Woo hoo!!! I decided today that my new goal will be to maintain a range of appx. 127-129. If I hit 130, I'll start getting stricter with my eating. I don't know why there's such a huge difference in my body between the high 120s and the low 130s, but there really is. Maybe because I'm only 5'1.
20. Success!
21. Success!
22. Success!
23. Success!
24. Success! I had a bad reaction to some cheese I ate (I'm sadly very sensitive to dairy now), so my weight was up, but I've been extra careful the past two days, so it's heading back down again.
25. Failure
26. Failure I suspect that since I'vel lost weight this month, I'm getting a little cocky. I need to stop it now. I can maintain this way of eating for now since I exercise and I'm fairly active, but if I had to cut back on my activity level for some reason, I know I would start putting weight on. That's why I need to keep working on my eating behaviors and make No S the foundation for my eating.
27. Failure
28. Failure
29. Success!
30. Failure, but a mild one. My eating for breakfast and lunch was perfect. I slipped up at dinner, by dishing out my husband's wonderful turkey stuffing onto a small plate and having a small salad with chicken and pine nuts on the side. I realized, after eating my stuffing and salad, that I was still hungry, so I got some seconds of stuffing. Tomorrow, I'll just dish my stuffing onto a bigger plate and virtual plate the salad.

I am in.

I had an ok January and a good (green) February and want March to look like February not January. The blue is for days where No S was perfect, but the other items were not. No S is my major thing to track and the others I would like to achieve daily but I will not beat myself up if I don't.

01 - Quiet Time / No S / Water / Exercise
02 - Quiet Time / No S / Water / Exercise
03 - No S / Water / Exercise - I was so pleased with myself. We had a birthday at work and the person was really sad that I would not have cake, so I took a slice and thanked him and popped it behind some books in my office. 2 hours later when no one was watching, I put it in the kitchen for someone else to enjoy!
04 - No S / Water - No quiet time for the last two days as I had disrupted sleep due to thunderstorms and battled to get out of bed. I got totally sidetracked when I got home and forgot to do my exercise.
05 - No S / Water
06 -
07 -
08 - No S / Water / Exercise
09 - No S / Water
10 - No S / Water
11 - I am feeling so pleased with myself, I received an order of easter eggs which included a taster packet and my first thought was "Those will be yummy on Saturday". I did not even contemplate eating them today - in the past I would have pigged out! - Yay No S!!!
12 -
13 -
14 -
15 -
16 -
17 -
18 -
19 -
20 -
21 -
22 -
23 -
24 -
25 -
26 - My eldest son's 12th birthday
27 -
28 -
29 -
30 -
31 -

Hi everyone,
I'm back in for the challenge this month. I'm adding a new resolution for March that I've entitled 15 minute beachbod. Basically it's shovelglove without the shovelglove, I'll be doing various 15 minute toning routines and trying to build a little muscle! I'll also be keeping with my vanilla No S of course. This is going to be a great month, I can't wait for spring!

1 No-S, upper body 15minbeachbod
2 No-S, lower body 15minbeachbod Monthly weigh-in yrs:mo No S/lbs change 0y:2m/-10 Check out my story in the testimonials forum
3 No-S, Exempt 15minbeach bod (Danced at concert instead), Planned S-event: Dinner and BEP concert!
4 No-S, core 15minbeachbod
5 No-S, upper body 15minbeachbod
6 S-Day S day treat: Tuxedo cheese cake
7 S-Day S day treat: Lavendar essence and wild bluberry dark chocolate bar
8 No-S, core 15minbeachbod
9 No-S, lowerbody/core 15minbeachbod
10 No-S, chest,arms, shoulders 15minbeachbod
11 No-S I made my 3 plates but had a totally unheathy dinner and definately feel bad about it! I've noticed that if I don't eat starch, vegetables/fruit and protein at dinner than I feel like I failed even if I keep it to one plate---ugh! , core 15minbeachbod
12 No-S, 15minbeachbod FAILURE-I drove home to my parents house (4 hours!)and was too tired to exercise by the time I got there
13 S-Day Treat: Cotton candy and chocolate cake
14 S-Day Treat: Baklava
15 No-S, 15minbeachbod I was so tired that I let myself use that as an excuse not to exercise. I'm going to try my best to do better tomorrow.
16 No-S, thighs 15minbeachbod Okay I admit it was more like 10minbeachbod but I have had a string of failures and I was proud to just get back in the groove of it.
17 No-S, Upper body/core 15minbeachbod I'm back to 15 min!
18 No-S, hips, thighs & butt 15minbeachbod
19 No-S, arms, shoulders, chest 15minbeachbod I have to take a NWS event for lunch because my group at work is going out to eat for a colleague's good bye party. The sad part is we're going to a Thai resturant with a very small menu (the default is to get 3 courses: appetizer, soup and entree), and I hate Thai food!
20 S-Day S Day treat: chocolate croissant
21 S-Day S day treat: Gourmet chocolate
22 No-S, hips, rear 15minbeachbod
23 No-S, EXEMPT 15minbeachbod -Tweaked my back yesterday and decided not to push it. Good thing I have an injury clause in 15minbeachbod!
24 No-S, Upper body 15minbeachbod-My back felt normal again this morning, I don't know if the day off helped or not but I don't regret it!
25 No-S, abs, back, waist 15minbeachbod
26 No-S, rear and core 15minbeachbod
27 S-Day Treat: Flourless chocolate cake (too much dairy), malted milk balls
28 S-Day Treat: apple strudle, more malted milk balls
29 No-S, total body 15minbeachbod
30 No-S, FAILURE 15minbeachbod--Maybe I could have called today exempt because my whole body was sore from yesterday's total body work out-I should have added the total body workout on Friday so I had 2 days rest!
31 No-S, 15minbeachbod Still sore today, I'm not sure what to exercise tonight!

Count me in - I've never done one of these challenges, but I'm in for March. I will be doing vanilla No-S, Glass Ceiling, and any exercise for 14 min. per day.

March 1 - Success
March 2 - Success
March 3 -
March 4 -
March 5 -
March 6 -
March 7 -
March 8 -
March 9 -
March 10 -
March 11 -
March 12 -
March 13 -
March 14 -

In, though I track on my Daily thread.

Had a 2-day conference at the end of February which completely derailed me for some reason, on multiple fronts. The derailment lasted through last weekend. But it's a new month, and I'm getting back on track.

In addition to the usual No-S and exercise, I'd like to recommit to my special focua areas: reasonable bedtime (which has been slipping) and my Lenten resolve to meditate.

Kenpo Dave wrote: I got a killer migrane in the evening due to too small of portions so I has a 4th meal to help

Welcome new guy!!! I get those too, but for me at least I think it's dehydration that does it... when I eat less, I drink less. When I eat a lot less, I stay on the lookout for migrane symptoms and pop an Ibuprophen right away.

Hey everyone... I'm seeing loads of green!!!!!

Hi, everyone! Keep Green!

What really helps me stay green is whenever I'm tempted to eat junk or snacks I put money in a jar. About what that craving costs. At the end of Lent all the money will go to charity. I use this also for other things that I really don't need but want. Like a DVD film or stuff like that.

I think I will continue this after Lent. Every time I want candy or cake, put what it costs in a jar and give to charity.

I never have any cash on me. Now if I could swipe the card on that jar, I'd be all set.

What a cool idea Mrs J! I might have to try that sometime.

It does kind of kill the cravings! But, instead of stuffing my face with all those calories, I'd rather use the money for charity. I somehow found the money for garbage food before No S.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!! I'm ready for another week of No S days.

just checking in with you all . I am very happy with March so far all green yah !
Have a my nieces wedding this wekend so yah for S days

WTG Gemma!! Hope you have a great time at your niece's wedding.

I've been good, all S's so far. I'm really looking forward to my S days this weekend, though. I've been craving homemade ice cream milkshakes and popcorn.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Yay for a normal weekend despite going to my parents/grandparents! I had a piece of cake and felt so bleh after it that I barely ate any sweets all weekend. I think this means my body's starting to adjust to less sweets

Each and every one of us is doing just fantastic! When March is finally over, we should all reward ourselves with something GREEN! Yay!



Sorry for the rambling, I'm still kind of foggy!

I seem to have hit a wall. My first six weeks went really well now I have some failures ! I weighed myself and have put on weight !! It’s a combination of not walking , not keeping to the glass ceiling and little deviations from the nos days HUMP !
Back to the beginning for me. This is when I would usually give up !

gemma52, hang in there! Walls are for climbing or knocking down. Try using housework for excersize. You'll see instant results in your home-kind of gratifies the instant gratification needs. It's great excersize. Throw your scales in the closet and use a tape measure instead. If you have a red day, take it on the chin and start green again. That's what "normal" weight folks do.

Good luck, and happy shrinking.

Aleria wrote:23rd - Massive cookie craving. Went for a walk, drank tea, etc. Didn't go away, so I just ate the damned cookie. It was good (home made chocolate chip!)

I feel for ya! Sometimes I fight it so bad, then cave. I always feel bad after. If you must bake those goodies on an N day, I recommend labeling it for yourself and hiding it in the freezer to eat on your next S day. If all else fails, I have what I call my panic button. It's a jolly rancher. If I KNOW I'm going to cave in and eat the stupid thing, I pop in a jolly rancher. It gives me a sweet, it's got powerful flavor, and it's so hard and sticky that you can't chew it fast or you loose a filling. I let this be my panic-button-mod. If I only have 1 and it saves me from disaster, I call it good! It's helped several others too.

Gemma... keep going, it takes a while to get your mind wrapped around it sometimes and besides, you were doing it! You know this works!

~reneew wrote:

Aleria wrote:23rd - Massive cookie craving. Went for a walk, drank tea, etc. Didn't go away, so I just ate the damned cookie. It was good (home made chocolate chip!)

I feel for ya! Sometimes I fight it so bad, then cave. I always feel bad after. If you must bake those goodies on an N day, I recommend labeling it for yourself and hiding it in the freezer to eat on your next S day. If all else fails, I have what I call my panic button. It's a jolly rancher. If I KNOW I'm going to cave in and eat the stupid thing, I pop in a jolly rancher. It gives me a sweet, it's got powerful flavor, and it's so hard and sticky that you can't chew it fast or you loose a filling. I let this be my panic-button-mod. If I only have 1 and it saves me from disaster, I call it good! It's helped several others too.

Oh, I wouldn't bake on an N-Day, these were made two weeks ago! The jolly rancher thing is a good idea though, I'll try that next time.

Thanks so much for the support and yes I know it works and I am back on track feeling much better and am pleased that I did not throw it all away. (my usual pattern) .

Hang in there... 3 days left!

Well, the end of the month is here, and I have to say that I'm on a bad streak! Little snitches here, little snitches there, and there, and there... I have a plan and I'm taking a break from these challenges that I've been doing since last April. I may start them again when I need refreshing.

Good luck all and feel free to check in on my daily check-in.

Renee--
Thanks for all setting up these challenges, they have been really great and super movtivating! I'm interested to read your daily thread and see what your new plan is.

Good luck and happy No Sing!

Thanks for the challenges, ~reneew. Hope your break from them is refreshing and gets you where you want to go!

I haven't done as well as I would like on this challenge, but I have done better than I think I would have without it. So, thank you for this specific one, as well as the series.

Thanks so much for your challenges, renew. They have really helped to keep me motivated. What will I do without them? Hopefully, your well earned break will be short...



TRA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA (to the tune of Stars and Stripes Forever)

We did it!

Mrs. J, Haha! I've played Stars and Stripes Forever seemingly forever in so many different band concerts, it's not even funny.

Yes, thank you for creating these challenges! Because of it, I started regularily recording it and finally getting on track with No S.

My eating certainly wasn't perfect this month, but I did manage to lose 4 pounds, and I broke through the weight plateau I'd been stuck at for over a year. Woo hoo! My goal for next month (and beyond) will be to really work on more consistently following No S principles. I've got the no snacks and seconds down just fine, it's just the no sweets that's still a real challenge for me.