Josh's 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.

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JoshT
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Josh's Check In

Post by JoshT » Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:39 pm

Today was day 4 for me (started No S diet this past Monday), and it was a success. There was one bit of "funny" stuff, namely - do waffles count as a sweet, or not? They were made with fresh blueberries, and I'm used to such things being a "standard" breakfast occasionally, but I really struggled with it today.

Other than that, then, a success.

Adagia
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Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:12 pm

Post by Adagia » Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:39 pm

Hey Josh - it looks like we both started on the same day!

I'd probably not count waffles as a sweet - if I was rational on the amount of butter and syrup used. I'd say it's not much different than the cereal I'm still eating for breakfast. I did cut back on the amount and added a little fruit instead. It too is my norm for breakfast.

Having said that, as I establish new habits, if it looks like I need a little more push to make progress on the scale, you can bet that my cereal choices will be changed to something with less sugar in it. But my first goal is to develop new healthier eating habits, and snacking is by far my worse offense.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:24 am

Hey Adagia,

Yeah, snacking is my major offense as well. I'd say I'll be able to lose a good bit of weight simply from the "no snacking" bit of the No S diet.

Today was a success. One bit of funny stuff: we went to the county fair today, and I had 2 items of food from there for "dinner", even though it wasn't my usual dinner time. Item 1 was eaten about an hour and a half before item 2. However, I'm confidant that if I'd had a plate, both items would have fit on said plate quite nicely, perhaps even with a bit of room to spare. So, I counted the 2 things as my dinner.

Long story short: today = success. 1 week down, for both No S and shovelgloving. I must say - after this all week, not shugging tomorrow is going to feel *weird*.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:32 pm

An S-day. I noticed that, despite it being an S-day, I didn't rampage through the kitchen, shoveling food into my mouth. I snacked a bit, but it wasn't even close to how I snacked pre-No S.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:52 pm

Another S-Day. Had a few cookies between breakfast and lunch, and a sensibly-sized bowl of ice cream between lunch and dinner. Both were enjoyable, and neither made me feel gluttonous.

Strangely, I'm looking forward to getting back to N days tomorrow. I've also been looking forward to Monday shugging all weekend. I almost shugged today, but Reinhard has stressed to be "extreme with your moderation", so I decided to just wait.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:56 pm

Another S-day. No, I've not lost my mind; today's my birthday (24, for those interested).

I've had a couple pieces of zucchini bread, but otherwise, it's been an N day thus far. Still, just to keep things straight on my calendar, I am marking it as an S-day, as I have snacked.

Adagia
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Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:12 pm

Post by Adagia » Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:46 am

Happy Birthday!

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:23 am

Thanks. :)

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:03 pm

I forgot to do my check-in yesterday; oops! So: yesterday was a success, both for No S and shovelglove.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:32 am

Today was a success, both for No S and shovelglove. Lots and lots of appreciation for my meals, especially for dinner.

edit: Not sure what's up with the timestamp, so to clarify: this entry was for Wednesday.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:40 am

Thursday: Failure. I went out to dinner with my nephew as a late birthday gift from him. While I thought what I ordered would have fit on one plate, after thinking about it some more, I don't think it would have. Maybe, but it's iffy, so in the interest of being brutally honest, I'm going to say: failure.

Friday: Success. Today marks the end of my second week on No S, and I noted that while today was a "success", more than anything, it felt normal. I've found that unless it's a meal time, I don't even really think about food. In fact, even if there is something I'd really like to eat, the idea of eating at a non-meal time strikes me as a bit weird. What, eat when it's not breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Absurd!

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:31 am

Saturday: Exempt. Saturday starts with S! ;)

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:59 am

Sunday: Duh. Exempt.

Monday: Success, both for No S and shovelglove. Monday was the beginning of week 3 for me on both systems.

I was concerned when I first got up that I wouldn't be able to do shovelglove properly, as one of my back muscles was a bit screwed up. I pulled it, ironically, by turning an odd way while eating at my brother's house on Sunday evening. Go figure - I injure myself while eating, not while slinging a sledgehammer around. Anyway, a bit of (required) yardwork seemed to fix my back muscle, so I was able to do shovelglove. (If I had to, I'd planned on just standing / walking around with the shovelglove for 14 minutes, just to keep the habit strong.)

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:07 am

Tuesday and Wednesday: Success. I had a meal from Captain D's tonight, but measured it all out onto a real plate to make sure it'd fit. It did. :) Obviously, I wouldn't feel comfy in having fast food for every dinner, but when I AM going to have it, I'm still going to stick to the 1 plate thing.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:38 am

Thursday: Success.

Regarding shovelglove, I'm still rather amazed. I can't believe I've found an exercise program that I *want* to do every day. I genuinely enjoy it, even if my neighbors probably think I'm insane. (The curtains were parted a bit a few times when I've been shugging, so who knows what they think I'm doing inside...)

Of course, the exercise program making my arms look more and more like Popeye's isn't hurting matters...

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:38 am

So much for daily. :oops: Anyway, since the last day: success on every day, for both shovelglove and No S.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:30 am

I skipped shovelglove on last Thursday and Friday, so I would have 4 days to let my wrists / hands rest. I wanted to see if it would help with the tingling / pain I've been having; it did.

I started up shovelglove again yesterday, and am now being very careful to make sure I'm not twisting my wrists in any strange ways. So, success for SG Monday and Tuesday. Also, success for No S since my last update.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:14 am

Success for shovelglove and No S, for Wednesday and Thursday. Wrists have been irking me a little, but after observing some more, it may simply be too much computer time. Shovelglove might exacerbate the problem, but I'm confident that it's not the cause of my condition.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:01 pm

Success for Friday / Monday.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Wed Sep 24, 2008 1:42 am

All success days up to today except for:

1. September 11th, due to poor planning on my part. I didn't take enough lunch with me to the college, and so had to resort to buying a lemon poppy seed muffin to supplement. It wasn't even that *good*, but it still counted as a sweet in my book.

2. September 23rd: exempt. The family went out to dinner, which is a real rarity for us. I decided to count it as an S day for that reason. Ironically, after having dessert, I felt extremely stuffed, and indeed, felt rather miserable. Apparently since starting No S, my stomach has shrank drastically. :) I suppose that's a good thing, though.

That's for No S. No failures at all for shovelgloving since my last update.

JoshT
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by JoshT » Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:23 am

Just wanted to post a note here: I've not abandoned No S or shovelglove. It seems the habits are pretty well planted at this point, so I've stopped updating my daily thread here. I'm still using the HabitCal, though, so if anyone wants to take a looksie:

http://everydaysystems.com/habitcal/vie ... hovelglove

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