My Story & Joining In on 2/1!

anna418 · Post by **anna418** » Wed Jan 22, 2014 8:45 pm

Hi All! My name is Anna, I am 30 years old and love my wine and sweets. I am a normal, healthy weight and have always been - but I know I could stand to drop a few pounds, which I hang on to due to my vices (wine and sugar). I would be happier in my body and with myself if I was about 8 pounds lighter (still in the normal range). I would classify myself as "skinny fat" - little muscle tone, a smaller clothing size, but definitely some extra pounds around my middle. I tend to gain weight like a man, all in my stomach.

Every January I do a "cleanse" which mostly consists of no alcohol and eating super-healthy, unprocessed foods. I don't starve myself but I definitely eat less calories than I normally do (in fact, I'm counting them this month to make sure I don't accidentally under-eat). This year my cleanse consists of no simple carbs, no sugar (besides fruit), no alcohol.

After January I always return to my bad habits: wine whenever I feel like it, and trolling for candy at work. I don't eat candy at home but I scope out people's candy jars Monday - Friday. Someone at work has mini Reese's cups available at all times, and another coworker regularly bakes jumbo gourmet cupcakes and brings them in. All of which I never turn down. Anyway, I really want to make my lifestyle healthier and not have to do a "cleanse" every year to try to undo my previous year's damage.

My husband & I regularly make pretty healthy dinners (and eat leftovers at lunch), with minimal eating out/happy hours, and eat fast food perhaps four times a year - so I just need to tweak things and start incorporating more mindful habits: keeping myself out of the candy jar and cutting my liquid calories intake. I also need to focus on eating more sloooooowly. I only take about 5 minutes to eat any meal. It's shameful.

I started researching lifestyle changes and came across the No S diet. I really like the concept and am looking forward to joining y'all in February, when my cleanse ends! I plan to have a daily check-in thread going for myself and will report regularly on how I'm doing.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:02 pm

Welcome!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:08 am

Your prognosis is very good! I think you'll like the effects.

Do slow down and enjoy your meals!

Anoulie · Post by **Anoulie** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 4:52 pm

Welcome!

For your wine consumption, you could check out Glass Ceiling, another Everyday System developed by Reinhard. http://everydaysystems.com/glassceiling/

anna418 · Post by **anna418** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:27 pm

Thanks, guys! I'm excited to join in. I will definitely listen to Reinhard's Glass Ceiling podcast. Last year I tried to limit myself to no more than 2 drinks, 2x/week, and some weeks were more difficult than others. I think the 1 drink on N days, 2 drinks on S days rule would work great for me. I wouldn't have a drink every day, but it's nice to have a self-imposed limit for the days I *do* have a glass of wine. And the older I get (I know, I'm only 30), the more sensitive I am to the effects of alcohol. Long gone are the college days of partying and waking up pretty much fine. Even 2 glasses now make me sleep pretty badly, with at least one wake up in the night. I am getting great sleep this month!

I can't wait to start working on my moderation in February. I am a very "all or nothing" person to my detriment. I need to get serious about learning moderation. (Even my cleanse is pretty "all or nothing" this month - no simple carbs, no processed/added sugars, no alcohol.)

Everything in moderation - including moderation :]

noni · Post by **noni** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 12:50 pm

Implementing the no sweets rule M-F should keep you out of that co-workers candy jar!

anna418 · Post by **anna418** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:50 pm

After drinking water while cleaning my house on Friday night, I decided I was boring even myself with my cleanse and declared it officially over. I got 75% through January and am giving myself a (barely) passing grade. I am now on the No-S bandwagon!

Saturday & Sunday I enjoyed some indulgences but was careful not to binge. I had a delicious cheeseburger on Saturday with 2 glasses of wine (my glass ceiling on S days) and on Sunday I had a chocolate chip sea salt cookie (yum) and a beer while watching the Grammy red carpet show. I did get a workout in on Saturday - ballet - and went for a quick walk on Sunday.

I will continue to track my calories at least for a little while, so I can make sure I am not going over and gaining weight. We cook a lot at home so I like to put the recipes into My Fitness Pal to calculate my intake.

Today is my first N day! I am interested to see how difficult this week will be. I didn't do any sugar for more than 3 weeks, so I am hoping it won't be too bad. I have gotten used to walking past the mini Reese's cups without looking at them!

I'll be creating a daily check-in thread to keep myself accountable.