Heliz' daily/weekly check-in

[heliz]

Day 1:
I've been working on eating more sensibly, by not overeating my daily calories, for the past few weeks.
I tried to simplify things by eating the same breakfast and lunch, so I only have to count dinners. But that is becoming quickly annoying.

Today I start "No-S", and will try ditching the counting. I'll focus on eyeballing my portions instead.
Luckily I'm not much of a snacker. My extra calories have mostly come from seconds, beer, and sugary deserts after dinner. I've lost ~4 lbs with counting, so I'm looking forward to trying this simplified version!

I'll mark the last few weeks as: SUCCESS

[doglady]

Congrats! I'm from Northern CA too! This is my second week. I'm really trying to resist weighing myself until the month is over and just follow the rules as is. So far the second week is easier. Good luck!

[heliz]

This week has gone really well. SUCCESS
I tend to skip breakfast, and just have coffee with a splash of milk. So far, that hasn't bothered me.
I eat a smaller lunch while at work, and a cup of tea later if needed.
Then have a larger dinner. I was able to avoid snacks, but I realized how many times I probably would have reached for something.

When I wanted a beer or glass of wine, I kept it to one. Today we had pizza for dinner, and I managed to not go overboard, which is a big achievement for me. I just kept reminding myself... NO seconds! It's tough but doable.
I plan on weighing myself once a week, on Sundays. We'll see if there is any noticeable difference.
I haven't ramped up my exercise yet.

[RAWCOOKIE]

I understand the rationale of weighing once a week - but Sunday is the day you are likely to be heavier if you have extra/different kinds of food on your S days.

On the No S diet (and for many people who eat 'normally') you will find that your lowest weight will usually be on Saturday morning, and your highest weight on Monday morning - the weekend weight will be gone by Wednesday.

You quite probably know this already - it just jumped into my head when I read your post!
You're doing well 'on habit' which is the key to success long-term. Well done!

[heliz]

Week 2
Excellent point Rawcookie, and I realized the same thing come Sunday.
I weighed myself Monday morning, keeping that in mind. But I think Saturday morning will be my new day.

I ate quite a bit over the weekend, but managed to not have seconds, and stick to just one drink a day. Not easy as I'm still getting into the habit. I've been drinking tea and decaf coffee when its hard to not have "something".

My weightloss is looking good so far. Even better, I'm feeling happier and just overall more content.
"No S" is feeling normal to me. It reminds me of how I used to eat as a kid.

[RAWCOOKIE]

Well done for binning the cookies that were 'pushed' at you! It's very empowering to throw them in the bin, isn't it?!

Have a great week.

[heliz]

The 14th was an 'S' day for me. I enjoyed some chocolates from my sweetie.

The day after S day is always hardest though. I kept it together though <whew>

[Amy3010]

I totally agree - an S day during the week is a hard act to follow...but you did! Good job!

[heliz]

Today was a little , and a little .

It became an unplanned pizza night, and I had a harder than usual day at work. I did well in that I didn't go overboard on calories. I didn't go out and buy more beer when I knew I was out.
In the past I would have totally had two or three drinks.

But I did go back for more pizza (seconds). So not a complete win, but also not a complete loss.

[noni]

We eat pizza every Sat night. Many times I'll make it, because 2 large pizzas every week is costly. I always ate two slices of pizzeria pizza or 3-4 slices of homemade, because they are smaller. It's an S-day, you know? But it was a weight saboteur for me. So now I select a goodly size slice and cut it in half for 2 slim slices. Homemade, I'll eat 2 pieces,only. So far it's working out, because getting up for another piece does good for my "head".

[RAWCOOKIE]

Today was a little , and a little .

So not a complete win, but also not a complete loss.

I've found these 'little fail's' are more likely to appear in my weeks these days - rather than large fails of the past! It's progress - and that's good.

[heliz]

Absolutely Rawcookie! Having "little fails" are almost positive in that they aren't the large ones they used to be.

I'm trying to keep my S-days from going full S crazy. It made last Monday more difficult.

Saturday I had some nice successes. I got invited to play board games, with lunch beforehand. But I had already eaten. In the past I would have just eaten another meal, but this time I stuck to just having tea.

It's making me chuckle now how often during the day I'll have the automatic thoughts... "Hmm, I want a beer." or "Where are the cookies?" All I can do is laugh, and treat my brain like a 6 year old. "Not till dinner honey".

Once dinner came around, I had my beer, and I had a few cookies afterwards (thanks girlscouts). And they tasted better because I waited, and it wasn't too tough to stop at what I had eaten. I like how this feels. I just hope it's sustainable.

[RAWCOOKIE]

Brilliant! Good parenting of your 'hungry' inner child!

[heliz]

Good

For the past 3 weeks I've been sticking to 2 meals a day, and it seems to be working okay. It's natural for me since I'm rarely hungry in the morning, and I prefer to have a bigger meal at the end of the day.

I figure that still fits into No-S, as long as I'm not snacking.

Apparently this is a type of intermittent fasting. So far its working for me, though articles have mentioned this isn't always good for women. I guess time will tell.

This week I've started parking farther away from my office, to give me a little more exercise during the week. It involves many stairs, and hills. It's not much, but its certainly better than the nothing I was doing before.
I'm curious if I can keep this up long enough to make it habit.

Notes on typical diet this month:
Breakfast - coffee with splash of milk
Lunch - meat sandwich with spicy mustard and wheat bread, apple and serving of cheese or dried fruit
Dinner - Mail-order dinner (Blue apron or Marley spoon). 600-900 calories + glass of beer

I'm shooting for min. 1200 to 1500 calories daily. I don't track too closely.
I have this idea that I should eat like I'm already at my goal weight. Since I'm short (5' 3''), with a small frame, and do little to no exercise... I technically don't need a lot of calories, and I want to prepare myself now.
I'm probably eating over a bit, but that's okay. I don't want to push it too much.

[heliz]

FAILURE
Oops, not the best last day of the month. Overall, I had 3 slip-ups for my first full month on the S-diet. Even with the slipups, I'm feeling a difference.

I actually jogged some distance with my dog, up an incline. The increased walking is paying off. And my dog loves it too.
I don't feel as tired in the mornings. And I've been able to reduce my drinking by quite a bit, which has made my evenings much better.

Even after layoffs were being announced at work yesterday. I made a point to NOT use food/drink to "deal" with the emotions. I did end up having seconds today, but I certainly reacted 100% better than I would have in the past.
I'm feeling positive about March, and moving forward. I'm working towards a gold medal this next month.

[heliz]

FAIL
Okay okay, I spoke too soon.
Get it together heliz!

NoS is going okay, but I've been having one more drink a night than I should be. I know that can escalate for me, if I'm not careful.
Staying focused. Being mindful.

[heliz]

I wanted to make a note that I'm extra dedicated to NoS this upcoming week.
My spouse is going to be on a business trip for a few days... and I really want to stick to things, and not eat a bunch of junk since I'll be home alone.

I also have a habit of doing really well for a couple months, then dropping off. I'm sick of that.
It's time for change.

[Elizabeth50]

Heliz, I'm with you on wanting to quit after a while. Let's vow to not give up this time! Let's keep going, one day at a time!

[heliz]

SUCCESS
I had a better week this time, after not doing so well. I can feel a difference when I eat better.

[oolala53]

Did things fall into place? If so, let us know. If not, come get a hug! Finish the year with Team 2017!