Everyday Systems

Today marks two weeks of No S. I've been pretty vanilla, with the exception that I eat a cup of yogurt at 3 PM on weekdays, because my lunch and dinner meal are far apart (I hope to be able to eliminate that as my stomach shrinks and gets used to normal portions). I fill up my plate, but I often leave some on it at dinner (the idea of stopping when I'm full, not when the plate is clean).

The past two weekends have practically been N days: three meals, no snacking, no seconds, one or two sweet treats the entire weekend. This isn't me being hardcore; it just seems natural already. (Don't worry, though; when I go to one of our medieval re-enactments, I'll definitely be doing multiple plates at feast.)

I don't know how much I weigh because, I'll be honest, I haven't wanted to look. The last time I was at the doctor's, I closed my eyes when they weighed me. I just got a Wii, however, and my Wii Fit is in the mail, so I'll be confronted with it soon enough.

BUT, I've already noticed a slight loosening in my pants and shorts! It's just in the waist so far (I am slow, slow, slow to lose hip fat), but it's a difference I can see. My short-term goal is to get back into my jeans (one size too small); I might be there in another month. I also hope to lose enough weight I can get back into my engagement and wedding ring (fingers got too fat for them ). That will probably only happen when I get down to my goal weight, which is what I was when I got married (two sizes smaller).

I have a 30 mile commute to work, so I can't walk or bike it, but last week I started parking at a nearby park and walking to work (nearly 1/2 mile one way). I did that three days last week. I'm not against walking on the treadmill at home, but I tend to have a lot of excuses first thing in the morning (need more sleep, don't want to put on my socks and shoes, etc.), and I have no energy at all in the evenings, so my adherence to walking is a yo-yo.

I really like parking several blocks away and walking because I'm guaranteed to get the walk in, and it's walking with a purpose. I'm not walking in place, staring at the wall. It also brings back good memories of when I lived in Ireland and walked to and from work or to the grocery store every day of the week (1-3 miles a day).

I've also had a standing desk at work for over 3 months, and I really like it (a post about it on my blog: http://keripeardon.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... eet-again/). I think I would have been losing weight earlier if I hadn't been overeating. There's a noticeable connection between standing long periods every day and being smaller than people who sit.

What a great start! You're doing great!!!

janie

That is so great that you park you car far enough away from work so you can walk..brilliant idea. And I love the standing desk idea...I have a bad back and that surely might help.

You are doing great with your S days..hope to join you in that soon!!

Keriamon,

I love the stand-up desk idea!

Since you are clearly into trying "unconventional" (but traditional and rational) ideas, you might be interested in barefooting or minimal footwear to help your feet. If you google around, you will find tons of information about the footwear debate. Of particular note is something written by the heir to the Clark shoe fortune:

http://nymag.com/health/features/46213/

Good luck -- and thanks for the fun blog.

I've heard of the barefoot debate before. Funny enough, there's a barefoot movement among horseowners. We had a horse who had never been shod, and in the 2+ years we owned her, she never saw a farrier; she kept her hooves naturally trimmed. Of course horses need shoes if they are doing a lot of work (that's the original reason why they were invented), but the success we had with her does make me wonder about our own feet.

Although, as a Southerner, I'm not sure if I like playing into the stereotype that we don't wear shoes because we're poor! LOL

I put on one of my skirts today and noticed that it's no longer tight in the waist. I can also wear my second wedding band, which had gotten a bit too tight. Still aiming for my jeans and original wedding band!

Last night was the first time that it was really hard to not snack. I had a Subway sandwhich and some chips for supper. That's a bit light for my dinner, normally. And after doing some physical work yesterday evening, I was starving at bedtime. But I made myself go to sleep without eating anything else. I was a little hungrier than usual this morning, but not terribly so; I had oatmeal at my regular breakfast time and I've been good until lunch. I feel extra successful!