Tracy's Daily Check-In

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

Post Reply
snowwhite
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:06 pm
Location: Ohio

Tracy's Daily Check-In

Post by snowwhite » Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:25 pm

My name is Tracy. I am 37, happily married, mom to an 18 month old little boy. I have been on diets since elementary school when my mom noticed I was getting chunky and wouldn't let me eat sweets for a few weeks. She had to order my jeans for school from the Sears "Pretty Plus" collection. I have gained and lost 20+ pounds every few years of my life. Most of my adult life, I have managed to keep a healthy/normal weight (140's-150's, I'm 5'7 ). When I was pregnant with my son, I was also finishing up nursing school. Stress and the excuse of "I'm eating for TWO!!!!" caused me to gain 55 pounds. My BMI is currently 0.2 away from being considered obese. It's time to stop messing around and get healthy! Diabetes runs rampant in my family. In the past year, I have tried Atkins, low fat, no sugar, gluten free, dairy free, Paleo/clean eating, and most recently the 24 day challenge from Advocare( expensive and the products made me dizzy and my face swell. Yikes).
I actually discovered the No S diet in May of 2011 while I was pregnant, and told myself that would be a good thing to do when it came time to lose my baby weight. Well, here I am. Finally ready to stop looking for a quick fix and change my habits permanently. My only fear of the No S is that I get really hungry(light-headed) between meals sometimes, AND I'm used to eating a small snack at night when I take my medicine. I have multiple sclerosis, and give myself injections 3 nights a week at bedtime, so I may have to allow a small snack on those nights so I don't get sick at my stomach. Maybe I'll try drinking a glass of milk?
I have my shovelglove all ready to start tomorrow! I also love to walk, so that won't be a problem, especially now that spring is almost here.
Well, now that I've told my life story, I'll go enjoy my day and mentally prepare myself to start No-S'ing tomorrow! I can already tell by reading the posts on this forum that you guys are a supportive great group of people. Looking forward to being a part of the No-S community!
-Tracy Ann

osoniye
Posts: 1257
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 2:19 pm
Location: Horn of Africa

Post by osoniye » Sun Apr 06, 2014 3:57 pm

Hi Tracy- Welcome! And thanks for telling us a bit about yourself. This is a lovely community to be a part of!
That sounds good- to try a glass of milk with your injection and see how it goes. If that's not ideal, a "small meal with medicine" mod would certainly be reasonable! You will likely find that if you pile enough on your plates at mealtime, the light-headedness will take care of itself, or can be mitigated by drinking milk when needed. Of course, that is subject to Dr.'s advice, or whatever else you know you need for any medical conditions.
Wishing you the best as you get used to this very sane way of eating.
-Sonya
No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sun Apr 06, 2014 4:32 pm

Welcome, Tracy! Thanks for sharing your story, I'll be following your thread with interest!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Strawberry Roan
Posts: 1208
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:51 pm

Post by Strawberry Roan » Sun Apr 06, 2014 6:41 pm

Welcome to the forums, one of the friendliest - most supportive - places you will ever find.

Wishing you well on your journey to a happy, healthy lifestyle to share with your lovely family.
Berry

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Mon Apr 07, 2014 10:57 am

Welcome Tracy! Looking forward to reading your thread and can only echo Sonya's advice.
Last edited by eschano on Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

snowwhite
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:06 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by snowwhite » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:42 pm

Today is Day 1.... did 5 minutes with the shovelglove this morning, and loved it! I've had 3 meals today, no snacks! I didn't realize how much of a snacker I am. I am used to snacking from the time I get home until dinner, and just now I was thinking, hmmmm we could go get some ice cream. My night time snack used to be a bag of popcorn and some pop and maybe a few cookies. Just constant snacking all evening. So far, so good! Looking forward to my glass of milk with my meds tonight. :lol:
-Tracy Ann

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Tue Apr 08, 2014 8:54 am

Well done snowwhite! I know your name is Tracy but I love your screen name. Hope it's going well with your meds and the milk.
Last edited by eschano on Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

snowwhite
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:06 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by snowwhite » Wed Apr 09, 2014 12:59 am

Day 2. Successful! NO snacks! Did 5 minutes with my shovelglove this morning and walked the dog after work. I was starving but made myself wait until dinner to eat. Forgot to record my starting wait yesterday...191.0. According to the BMI chart, I am too short. It says the highest I can weigh and be in the normal weight category is 158. So, that will be my official goal weight for now. The milk worked fine with my medicine last night, Eschano. Thanks for asking! As for the screen name, friends have always told me I resemble Snow White. A few years ago, I actually went as Snow White for Halloween, and someone ended up hiring me to show up at her granddaughters princess-themed birthday party! So much fun! [/img]
-Tracy Ann

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:42 am

snowwhite wrote: A few years ago, I actually went as Snow White for Halloween, and someone ended up hiring me to show up at her granddaughters princess-themed birthday party! So much fun! [/img]
How awesome!! What a great story. You should make it your second career. Also, delighted the milk worked and great work for your second green day!
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

User avatar
MerryKat
Posts: 786
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:35 am
Location: Sunny South Africa

Post by MerryKat » Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:06 pm

Welcome & so nice to meet you!

Glad the meet you!
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!)

snowwhite
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:06 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by snowwhite » Thu Apr 10, 2014 1:54 am

Day 3 was a success! Bumped up the shovelglove to 6 minutes....working my way up slowly because I am so out of shape! I can't believe how quickly I can feel my habits changing. I got home from the hospital this evening, and didn't even think about snacking before dinner! That's a huge success for me. Loving this way of life. :D
-Tracy Ann

User avatar
MerryKat
Posts: 786
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:35 am
Location: Sunny South Africa

Post by MerryKat » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:24 am

Yippee for the habit starting to kick in!!!!

Each day your stick to it the easier it gets!!!
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!)

snowwhite
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:06 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by snowwhite » Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:46 am

Day 4. Success. Just barely. I'm struggling today. I didn't work, so I was home and doing a lot of housework, so I was really hungry. Plus work called, which always stresses me out. It's my day off...I don't want to know how overloaded I am going to be tomorrow!!! I'm a stress eater, for sure. Wanting to snack so bad all day, but so far I've stayed strong. Took a long walk after dinner plus all the housework (carrying laundry up and down stairs, vacuum/vaccum...I can never spell that correctly).
-Tracy Ann

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:36 am

Glad you made it through the day green. :) In time, you may notice thoughts of snacking, but it will be automatic to wait until mealtime. I promise. :)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:15 am

Hi Tracy, don't worry if you have a hard time or even have a red day. It took me a year and a half to be able to spend all day at home and have a green day. Until then I used my NWS days for those situations. Anyways, well done for staving off snacking most if not all of the day!
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

snowwhite
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:06 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by snowwhite » Sat Apr 12, 2014 12:22 am

Day 5 success.. I'm hungry now and would love to snack, but gonna stay strong. At least I get to have a glass of milk later. :)
Took my mom shopping and she wanted me to take her through Starbucks for a frappucino, and I only got a water for myself!!! I wasn't even tempted. I used the shovelglove this morning. Still loving it. Did a lot of walking at work today just taking care of patients, so I'm too tired to walk for exercise tonight. Thanks for the encouraging words, everyone!
-Tracy Ann

snowwhite
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:06 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by snowwhite » Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:05 am

It's been a week since I've posted anything. Last Friday morning, I weighed myself and had lost 1.2 pounds after only 4 days of No S! I was so excited. Hopeful that Ihad finally found something I could do. I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I weighed myself again Saturday morning. I weighed 191.8! More than when I started! I told myself to not freak out, that I probably had something salty and it was water weight.Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...the scale still said 191.8! I was so frustrated that I gave up and have been eating horribly. For example, lunch yesterday was M&M's, a snickers, and a can of cherry coke. I checked my blood sugar at the end of last week and it was good! My fasting blood sugars had been in the pre-diabetic range for a while now, but it was actually normal. That alone should make me stick to it. I just booked a trip for my family to a hotel that has a water park. Which means BATHING SUIT!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Now I'm in panic mode. Gotta get motivated to start again. I'm starting to worry that some day I won't be able to big to find clothes that fit. I'll have to start sewing my own moo moo's.
-Tracy Ann

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:37 am

moo-moos. How can you be so funny when you are truly in distress about this? :) Anyway, hang in there. Glad to hear your blood sugars were a little lower--that's huge in terms on long-term heath.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

osoniye
Posts: 1257
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 2:19 pm
Location: Horn of Africa

Post by osoniye » Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:04 am

Hi Snowwhite- Wow, if you're blood sugar levels were lower, definitely go back to NoS, and I would say consider keeping your S days kind of tame, like a small sweet only after meals.
If you can keep your blood sugars in control, that is so much more important than how you look in a bathing suit, from the perspective of long term health. And I'd recommend you put that scales somewhere hidden and check only once a month. NoS is notoriously slow for weight loss!
Best of luck.
-Sonya
No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

Post Reply