Breeze-at-Dawn's Daily Check-In

[breeze-at-dawn]

Okay, I'll give this a try.

I started No-S last week, & had five successful N days, Monday through Friday. A good start.

I'm never hungry in the morning, just want green tea (with jasmine)... so I've been having my first meal at noon, and then two other meals about 4 and 9 p.m.

I used to eat/graze/snack all evening until bedtime, so the big change for me is defining each meal (the plate technique) and stopping when my plate is empty.

This feels good. I used to end up with a tummyache late at night, often, from being over-full, and then a sour tummy in the morning. None of that during this past week.

Yesterday was my first S-day. I overate... From what I've read on this board, that's not unusual and not a cause for alarm.

Now it's after 6:30 p.m. on my second S-day. I haven't overeaten. I've had two meals and a snack (trail mix w/ nuts & some dried fruit). I intend to have a serving of ice cream later tonight... This feels different, much less frantic than yesterday.

Someone handed me a bag of popcorn earlier today. I didn't want it, felt like the ice cream I'm planning to have later was a sufficient "treat" for today. I handed the popcorn to someone else without any regret.

Happy Trails to all...

[~reneew]

You're doin' great! Wow... you handed back the popcorn. That's tough, especially if you smelled it!!

[breeze-at-dawn]

Thanks, Renee. I appreciate the encouragement.

Having three S-days in a row at the end of my first week was not great. Too much time without any of the new structure, and I was back into my old ways... Felt like a relief to get back to No-S yesterday.

I overdid the snacking at night on both Sunday and Monday; woke up with a sour stomach on Tuesday morning. I see from elsewhere on this board that it might take a while for my S-days to settle down. I sure didn't like feeling yucky and over-full.

One positive: I went to the movies on Monday (Memorial Day holiday), had a planned sweet and enjoyed it without feeling I was doing something wrong. That's just lovely!

Yesterday & today were both No-S days. I feel comfortable with them, and I especially like waking up in the morning with a calm tummy.

As to my weight, I dropped a pound or two during the week last week, then put it/them back on over the 3-day weekend. Didn't like that, either... I have about 20 pounds to lose. I won't mind if the weightloss is slow, as long as there's a downward trend. I've lost fast and then regained s'cazads of times, including recently.

Looking to the long haul, here. Want to be healthy, keep blood pressure down, get slim and stay there.

[breeze-at-dawn]

Successful No-S day today.

Pretty easy.

Thought about a particular sweet... and just reminded myself that I can have it (without any guilt!) in two days. Very cool.

That is so much saner than "Never again!"

[mimi]

Oh yeah! Thank goodness for those S days!

[breeze-at-dawn]

Successful No-S day today.

Feeling a little trepidation about the weekend, my 2nd weekend on this way of eating... I need to learn more about "Don't be an idiot!"

[mimi]

Remember Breeze, that originally the *rules* said *sometimes on days that start with S*
So you don't have to indulge on S days, but if you do, maybe try to plan ahead what it is you're going to have. Some folks go out and buy the special treat rather than keeping it in the house for future temptation.
I know I can't handle ice cream in the house, so having an ice cream treat means going to Dairy Queen or somewhere else and getting it. And when I have it, I get what I really want and enjoy it!
Good luck this weekend!

Mimi

[~reneew]

Yea, that word "sometimes" is the big kicker for me!

[breeze-at-dawn]

These two S-days were less crazy than last weekend, but still it feels too extreme. I ate many times each day, only one or two mealtimes and the rest a lot of snacking... Some sugar yesterday, none today...

It's only been 2 weeks, still early days. And I am very aware that I don't like feeling over-full, don't like extreme eating.

Be glad to go back to No-S tomorrow.

[breeze-at-dawn]

Successful No-S day today. With ease.

For my first meal, I filled up my plate... Soup, salad, fruit... then I realized that I didn't want to eat it all. I ate just the soup and fruit, felt satisfied, and was fine until my next meal.

For the first time, I wanted to stop eating before the plate was empty.

It felt good, not to keep eating just because the food was there.

(I'm quite unlikely to under-eat, so I think this is a very positive thing, part of learning how much food I actually need to feel good all day.)

[breeze-at-dawn]

Tuesday & Wednesday, both successful No-S days.

Feels easy...

I'm also doing well with my goal of working out at Curves at least 4 times per week.

I love how I feel when I work out early, before my teaching day. It seems to help me feel good both physically and mentally throughout the day... But now that summer session has begun (I go to law school at night) and I have some late classes, it's harder to make it work without getting exhausted... I'm still figuring this out.

This way of eating feels so sane! I'm grateful to have found it.

[breeze-at-dawn]

Another successful week.

I notice my plates were very full at my 3rd meal on Thursday & Friday... Old habit of eating a lot in the evening. As Reinhard says, I can see the excess.

My weight was down 2 pounds on Friday. Have to see what it looks like after the S-days this weekend.

I think it's still early days, settling into the new habits. I'm willing to be patient about weight loss (most of the time), but I do need to see it get going eventually...

[mimi]

Congratulations on joining the 21 Day Club

You go girl!

Mimi

[breeze-at-dawn]

Thanks, Mimi.

My weight this morning was up 3 pounds - in other words, net gain of 1 pound in the 3 weeks.

Not what I want.

If the excesses continue on the weekends, I may put some limits around my S-days. I'll see.

I have had years and years of craziness around food... I realize that it may take time to get truly sane.

[mimi]

Oh, don't get discouraged! In his book Reinhard cautions against using the scale as your sole metric and suggests to focus more on establishing the habits. When you do weigh, he advises to weigh on three consecutive days and then take an average. This gives you a truer picture of your weight due to day-to-day weight fluctuations. I recently went back and reread those sections to help me out because I have such hang-ups when it comes to dieting and weight loss...I tend to get impatient - but not this time. I'm going to do it right, no matter how long it takes. After all, NoS is so painless - almost effortless as time goes by. What other weight loss diet or diet program do you know of that can top that? None, that I'm aware of and I think I've tried, or thought about trying, most of them!!
Hang in there Breeze!

Mimi

[breeze-at-dawn]

I've been extremely busy and haven't checked-in for a while.

Thanks for the encouragement, Mimi! I do indeed want sanity in this arena of life, that's the most important thing.

Okay: One Failure, on Monday the 8th, my 22nd day. I ate a snack late at night, cheese and some trail mix which included sweet bits.

Since then, Success each day.

No change in weight... and I have been meeting my exercise goal, working out at Curves 4 days a week.

I'm not going to do anything different because of weight at this point. I want to establish my new habits... Am thinking of this as a time to relax and allow myself to heal from years (decades) of self-abuse.

S-day tomorrow!