Noel's Daily Check-In

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:50 am

The weekend was a weekend. I'm not sweating it. For me, I can't screw up on an S-day other than getting blind drunk and I don't do that. I'm damned if I'm going to agonize about a free day. If I stop losing slowly or gaining, I'l reassess. Right now, I'm losing slowly and that's good enough.

So for today:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

My husband has reached his goal, darn him. Hates the male metabolism, we does. I asked him if he wanted to stop No-Sing, and he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "Why would I want to do that? This solves my problem and I don't have to be a special snowflake. Besides, it's not like it's HARD."

I hadda laugh. He is a classic overthinker, but for some reason isn't going to overthink this one.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:38 am

No S
Exercise
Glass Ceiling

I was sitting down to do the check in when I realized I hadn't worked out, then jumped up and did fifteen minutes of Tai-Chi because I did not want to admit I hadn't done such a minimal workout. I do fifteen minutes rather than fourteen because I put on music on my iPod, then turn on the sleep timer so it shuts off after fifteen minutes. Saying one doesn't have time to do that much is too lame for words, so ya know, I do it. The cumulative effect is gonna be amazing, right? (Honestly? Probably not. But whatever. I'm getting the habit).

My feet are warm now and I have been cold all day. So, that's something.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:29 am

The end of last week was a string of silly failures. My challenge? Not to let the lost momentum screw me up as I often have let happen.

When going for lifetime habits, a few failures, more or less, are not as significant as making sure I don't get thrown.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:38 pm

As janie says... "Pick yourself up, dust off the crumbs, and start over." May not be exact - the "dust off the crumbs" is what stuck, because I (have such an amusing mental image from it.)

You are SO right that learning to keep small failures SMALL is one of the keys to No-S - one of my own "major takeaways" from this process.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:52 pm

Okay, today was a success. There. My failure was not a tailspin. All good. Thanks KCCC.

<sigh> My son's best friend stayed over to dinner. Well, sort of. I made diced pork loin with garlic, wine, rosemary, onion, garlic, broccoli, carrots and orange pepper served over rice. He asked me what I was making for dinner, clearly was astonished at the ingredients, and VERY politely at a baby portion, but certainly didn't like it. I doubt the child gets a real meal served for him very often, so his palatte is more tuned to pre-prepared food.

That kind of makes me sad. I know intellectually that a majority of the people in this country don't cook -- at least what I consider cooking! But, ya know, tonight's dinner was a quick half-hour (Well, 27 minutes from beginninng to cut up the meat to sitting down at the table) throw it together because I was too damn tired to make a fancy meal.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:33 pm

Another successful day. That's good.

I've been feeling tired and cranky and defiant. Finally I had to talk to myself and say, "Okay, fine. You can feel all those things. You've had an intense few days. But here's the deal. You have to want to quit No-S for seven days before you are allowed to quit. You have to follow it seven days AFTER the decision to quit before you do it."

Since you're never more than five days from an S day, this has a fantastic built-in prevention against quitting. Who even wants to quit after an S day? LOL. The desire to quit will pass by the time you get to an S day!

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:05 pm

Lol, Noel. Nothing like delaying gratification - either it's sweeter, or you realize you didn't want it after all!

Plus developing the ability to separate "feeling" from "doing." That's a hard skill, but useful. (If not carried to an extreme, like most things.)

Girl Next Door · Post by **Girl Next Door** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:44 am

NoelFigart wrote:Since you're never more than five days from an S day, this has a fantastic built-in prevention against quitting. Who even wants to quit after an S day? LOL. The desire to quit will pass by the time you get to an S day!

LOL - isn't that the truth? I started on a Tuesday - if I'd started on a Saturday I'd never get around to N days.

Good for you - sounds like your pep talk got you past an obstacle.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 1:54 pm

Trying to regain some focus here.

I've been green or its been an S-day since March 8.

I need to accept that I don't like going for walks, however, and I won't do it. I will go for a swim or lift weights.

So, for all that gyms aren't on Reinhard's Favorite Activity List, I'll hit the gym a lot more regularly than I'll take a walk. I guess I'm just a degraded beast *grin*.

I've been very good about hitting the gym every weekday morning. I swim three days a week and lift two days a week. It works for me.

I do have dumbbells at home in case I can't face getting in to the gym. I'm not lifting heavily enough that I absolutely HAVE to make it to the gym with the special equipment. But I'm getting there. I also have a bodyweight routine I'll do when I absolutely can't make it to the gym (like when I am on travel).

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:28 pm

Welcome back, Noel. Missed you, and wondered where you'd gotten to.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:50 am

I disappeared, KCCC, because I was working on a Social Networking class. Boy was that intimidating to write a manual all by my ownself! But the results were worth it.

Yesterday was all green, too. It's working out that's now more of a challenge than the meals part. That's cool. One habit at a time, right?

I do notice that if I work out faithfully and do No-S, the weight does come off. Just one or the other doesn't to a thing. It's the combination.

Grammy G · Post by **Grammy G** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:52 pm

Welcome to THAT club...where we must do both exercise and healthy eating to..stay healthy..mmmm

How cum smart ladies like us didn't see this before?? Did we think we were "special" and could eat like marines and never exercise and still keep the pounds off

Seeing that in black and white makes me wonder what am I thinking??? Naturally, I should be eating a reasonable amount of healthy food and also naturally, I need to be getting exercise

LIGHT BULB moment for me !! Thanks Noel I am upping the exercise ante from now on!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:57 pm

March 18

I wish there were something more fun and exciting to report. But, I worked out, I ate three one-plate meals and had one drink. Nothing extraordinary.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:39 pm

Boring is good when it means everything is going well.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:14 pm

March 19

I didn't do my planned swim, but went for a walk instead. I try to do cardio MWF and weight training T. TH.

I'm trying to be more conscious about my S-events on S days. I can't fail, but I'd just like to be more conscious. I thought clearly about what I wanted for treats. I got a really awesome chocolate bar for after dinner tonight, and also bought some good loose Earl Grey tea and some sushi for lunch today. Yes, I know, sushi and tea are fine for N-days, but it's what I wanted. Well, sushi may not be a diet S, but by damn it's a pocketbook one! I should keep that in mind for Friday nights, now that I think about it.

I'm also aware that while I'm certainly allowed to snack on an S-day, I'd like to aim for mostly a three meal structure by asking myself, "Is this really good enough to snack on?" If the answer is yes, why, yes indeed enjoy it. But I don't want boredom eating or to eat just because I CAN, if that makes any sense.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:08 pm

My weekend was a weekend. Had three meals and a couple of treats. Didn't go crazy.

March 22

I didn't work out this morning, so I have to lift this evening.

It's going to be a busy day, so I packed this for breakfast for this morning:

Yes, my bento addiction merges nicely with No-S.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:01 am

Okay part of today being green was a close thing.

4:00 AM Wake up and get ready to get to my morning job to open the gym. (I do this two mornings a week. I get paid and get a free membership).

5:00AM-7:30AM Open gym and check people in, sell memberships and talk about the weather.

7:30AM Realize there's no way I can really get a weights workout in, shower and eat before I can get out to the company where I have a computer class today. Ditch the workout, eat breakfast and put on makeup.

8:15AM Head out of the house, get some gas (tank was running low and didn't fill up the day before. DAMMIT, PREP, WOMAN!)

9:00AM-3:00PM Teach a class in MS Word 2003... Beginner.

3:30PM Get home. Find that the men of the house DID put the crock in the crock pot, so dinner WAS cooking. Okay, I have good men in the house. Spend some time being grateful for that.

4:00PM Realize that if I don't want to take a red day, I need to get my lazy ass upstairs and pump some iron.

5:30PM Dinner. I fill everyone's plate half with salad, half with spaghetti. Get pained looks from the men of the house. I ask them what's wrong with veggies. Have a glass of wine with dinner.

7:30PM Make bento for me and my family. Comment to my husband about the shockumentary about bad school lunches and say, "But I suppose the ones we eat are so healthy they could do 100 pushups."

8:30 PM Accept an Irish coffee from my husband.

So yes, today is Green!

marygrace · Post by **marygrace** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:49 pm

Good work getting the weights in that afternoon. I always find it next to impossible to exercise if I put off a morning workout til the afternoon. Seems I can almost always find some kind of excuse.

And a 6-hour class on MS word? Bless you. My family got our first home computer in 1995, when I was about 8 years old. Being exposed to computers and programs at such a young age made the whole experience feel pretty intuitive to me (kind of like learning a new language at a young age, I guess) but I imagine it's harder for adults to learn the ropes.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:06 pm

marygrace wrote:Good work getting the weights in that afternoon. I always find it next to impossible to exercise if I put off a morning workout til the afternoon. Seems I can almost always find some kind of excuse.

And a 6-hour class on MS word? Bless you. My family got our first home computer in 1995, when I was about 8 years old. Being exposed to computers and programs at such a young age made the whole experience feel pretty intuitive to me (kind of like learning a new language at a young age, I guess) but I imagine it's harder for adults to learn the ropes.

*chuckles* You might know most Office applications less well than you think you do. (My family got their first computer in 1980 when I was 12, by the way). I find most self-taught people, and I include myself, don't really understand the full power of what many computer applications can do. They use a word processor to get the effect they want, never realizing what the application can do structurally in a document. If you habitually format your document using styles, use the bibliography and reference features, and can import from a SQL database into a mail merge, you are definitely in the minority for the self-taught, even for the under 30 crowd. I THOUGHT I was an expert in Office applications until I started studying to teach them, and I've been using them since they were first released!

I started on computers, you will note, before a mouse or graphical interfaces even existed, back when word processors really WERE glorified typewriters rather than what they are today.

marygrace · Post by **marygrace** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:20 pm

NoelFigart wrote:
*chuckles* You might know most Office applications less well than you think you do. (My family got their first computer in 1980 when I was 12, by the way). I find most self-taught people, and I include myself, don't really understand the full power of what many computer applications can do. They use a word processor to get the effect they want, never realizing what the application can do structurally in a document. If you habitually format your document using styles, use the bibliography and reference features, and can import from a SQL database into a mail merge, you are definitely in the minority for the self-taught, even for the under 30 crowd. I THOUGHT I was an expert in Office applications until I started studying to teach them, and I've been using them since they were first released!

Haha, yes, good point. I think I know what I'm doing (and almost always know enough to do what I need to do) but I'm sure I don't take advantage of tons of the features the software offers.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:49 pm

March 24

There was some virtual plating involved. We had tea as we do every Wednesday night (food is on a desert plate). I had an onigiri while making bento last night, but I'd planned to do it, and that still wouldn't have really been a full dinner plate.

I don't really like doing that, and am not sure how to get around it. I think I may not eat when I serve tea to the guys, but just have a cup of tea, then eat a meal at my normal time. I find the lack of clarity on a REGULAR basis a bad idea and we do this every Wednesday.

We're having dinner quite late tonight. I had a rather substantial lunch, so I'm not hungry, but talk about wanting to eat! My body is really expecting dinner at 5:30. (That's nice, body. Dinner is late tonight. Have a cup of tea and deal.)

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:55 am

March 25

I really learned something about the power of habit yesterday.

We usually have dinner around 5:30. Yes, early, but that's what we usually do.

We were going to have dinner late last night, and I started really wanting dinner at my usual time. I'd had a substantial lunch, so this was more "It's time to eat and I want food" than it was genuine hunger. Though that kicked in before I actually ATE. Which is fine. I want to be hungry before meals.

I just told myself that yes, it was normally mealtime and I expect to eat at mealtime, but mealtime is going to be late, so have a cup of tea and do something else until then.

I actually consider this a good thing. I wasn't wanting a snack. I wasn't wanting to eat sweets. It was my usual mealtime and I wanted to have my dinner! This means that my three meals a day habit is quite strong, and I consider that a positive even if inconvenient last night. I don't like spending a lot of thought or willpower on whether or not I'm supposed to eat or how much. And 90% of the time, I really don't have to.

sophiasapientia · Post by **sophiasapientia** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:01 pm

Boy can I relate! We eat dinner at 5:30 as well and, while I don't normally have hunger issues, call me late to dinner and I'm ready to gnaw my arm off.

You're right, though ... I guess it means that the habit is well ingrained.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:56 am

March 26

I'm not losing weight very fast. Plotting my weight as a moving average I've lost about a pound in three weeks. While I'd rather lose faster, I'm also watching a friend on Weight Watchers who has actually commented that keeping track of points is like having a part time job. I asked her if she thought that was sustainable, and she said it was fun. Fair enough, and if it works for her, great.

What I'm really worried about though, and less than the scale, is still the idea of ingraining the habits of moderate eating and regular exercise to the point where I just DO it and rarely question it. I don't want to spend the mental energy, you know? I seem to fall off the wagon a lot with that.

On the other hand, the last few weeks have been mostly matter of fact. I eat three meals a day and really don't sweat it a whole lot unless dinner's late! So maybe all those tumbles off the wagon were useful steps.

Part of why I am probably losing slowly is that I've been lifting more than I have in the past few months. With great good luck, I might be putting on some muscle mass. I'm totally okay with that!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:38 am

March 27
March 28

March 29

I had to attend a meeting about my son going into high school. Now I hate my damn school system anyway (load of anti-intellectuals who don't value a classical education at ALL, damn them) so a meeting scheduled for 6:00 and lasting until 7:30 was irritating as hell.

I didn't have any dinner before that. So I was already cranky by the end of the meeting when people were asking questions just to make themselves look important, I wanted pick up my chair, beat them over the heads and say they have no business pretending to care about their children's educations if they were willing to send them to school in THIS school district anyway, since all the principal could talk about was how WONDERFUL it is to meet the state's standardized tests.

I restrained myself.

I think the rest of the world should have dinner on time, too. I expect the world to be convenient to me, dammit!

I'm finding the Glass Ceiling hard going today.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:53 pm

No S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

In the interests of strictness, I'm calling both No-S and Exercise a failure, though neither were all that bad. I nibbled on some bread that I'd made when prepping bento for tomorrow.

I also blew off weights, though I did do some bodyweight exercises -- just a few squats, nuttin' exciting. I'm calling this a failure mostly because I could have done a full dumbbell workout at home even if I wasn't into being at the gym today.

But I didn't.

Swimming tomorrow.

I'm wanting to be a bit goofily strict about food in the interests of habit, even if I know a sliver of bread is hardly a big deal in terms overeating.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:37 pm

March 31

B: Optimized Oatmeal
L: Bento with a turkey on focaccia, strawberries and pineapple
D: Chicken leg with artichoke dipped in garlic butter and a small piece of bread, glass of wine.

Today was incredibly difficult. I am not sure why. But I was HUNGRY, and I'm not talking wanting to snack but HUNGRY less than three hours after meals today. I was so starved before lunch that I made myself eat really slowly in the hopes that I would feel fuller after the meal.

I drank a lot of tea today. Yes yes, I could have had milk, but I'm really trying hard to make sure I'm having non caloric drinks between meals.

I ate a somewhat more substantial dinner than usual and I'm feeling fine now, but goodness!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 12:12 am

April 1

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 1:12 pm

April 2

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 10:51 pm

April 3

Since it's an S-day, other than drinking too much, I really can't fail.

That said, I found today amusing. I had my breakfast. Had my lunch. Both of 'em were pretty much normal.

Then I made brownies, and yes, I did lick the spoon!

I made the brownies in cupcakes rather than in a pan, just for fun, portion control and because I figure they'll freeze well until next week this way. I think I may start making cupcakes as treats more often, just for the portion control aspects of it.

But that's not the funny part. I had a brownie around 5:30, not giving much thought to what I was going to do for dinner. Well, it's getting on to seven and I'm full. That brownie may wind up being my dinner!

No, that's still not the funny part. The funny part is that one of my worst eating habits for most of my adult life was before bed snacking. I've noticed since doing No-S that once I'm full from eating early in the evening (say between five and seven), then I'm done. Oh, I might want my glass of wine, but that's it. This is a huge change.

And I know a brownie for dinner isn't ideal, but I also think that if you're full after a treat, there's no reason to cram in a "healthy" meal when you eat well the rest of the week.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 10:17 am

April 4

It was a very candy-intensive day.

marygrace · Post by **marygrace** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:43 pm

NoelFigart wrote:April 3

Since it's an S-day, other than drinking too much, I really can't fail.

That said, I found today amusing. I had my breakfast. Had my lunch. Both of 'em were pretty much normal.

Then I made brownies, and yes, I did lick the spoon!

I made the brownies in cupcakes rather than in a pan, just for fun, portion control and because I figure they'll freeze well until next week this way. I think I may start making cupcakes as treats more often, just for the portion control aspects of it.

But that's not the funny part. I had a brownie around 5:30, not giving much thought to what I was going to do for dinner. Well, it's getting on to seven and I'm full. That brownie may wind up being my dinner!

No, that's still not the funny part. The funny part is that one of my worst eating habits for most of my adult life was before bed snacking. I've noticed since doing No-S that once I'm full from eating early in the evening (say between five and seven), then I'm done. Oh, I might want my glass of wine, but that's it. This is a huge change.

And I know a brownie for dinner isn't ideal, but I also think that if you're full after a treat, there's no reason to cram in a "healthy" meal when you eat well the rest of the week.

Haha, you just licked the spoon? Whenever I bake at home, the batter ends up being more of a problem than the finished product. I just love the taste and texture of dough and batter. (I know a lot of people won't eat it because of the raw eggs, but my husband's vegan, so my baking ends up being egg-free. Considering my tendency to binge on the batter or dough, this probably is not a good thing.)

I too have noticed that I'm satisfied from dinner through the end of the night with NoS, which is very different than my pre-NoS days since nighttime snacking was also my strongest habit. By the end of the night on N-days, my stomach is pretty much back to neutral (not hungry or full), and I've found that's how I sleep best. When I disrupt this pattern on S-Days, it's never good. I always wake up in the middle of the night (and next morning) feeling a gross. If I know I'm going to have dessert at night now, sometimes I'll just skip dinner. It feels really unnatural, especially since I work to make sure I eat nutritious meals with lots of vegetables, but I'm starting to realize there's no point in stuffing myself with extra food I don't really want.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:05 am

April 5

For whatever reason, today was easy. I'll take it.

This is going to be my lunch tomorrow.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:23 am

April 6

My weight has jumped five pounds. Since a quick perusal of my habitcal will show that I'm not cheating on any habit, I'm chalking this up to hormones and weight training, unless it jumps again.

Please don't advise tweaks. If I have to do anything more complex than eat three meals a day (and they are healthy by almost any standard) and work out every day, then I'll stay fat, thanks. I am not into ordering my life around food and weight loss.

marygrace · Post by **marygrace** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:50 pm

NoelFigart wrote:April 6

My weight has jumped five pounds. Since a quick perusal of my habitcal will show that I'm not cheating on any habit, I'm chalking this up to hormones and weight training, unless it jumps again.

Please don't advise tweaks. If I have to do anything more complex than eat three meals a day (and they are healthy by almost any standard) and work out every day, then I'll stay fat, thanks. I am not into ordering my life around food and weight loss.

How long have you been weight training for? 5 lbs is a whole lot of muscle! Also, had you lifted recently before weighing? Your muscles might be retaining water. I remember when I used to lift, the following day my arms would always be sort of puffy.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:53 pm

Notice I said "chalk it up to weight training" and NOT "gained five pounds of muscle in a few days". That's impossible even if I were a male on steroids.

I am sore, and that's possibly what it is. I've been lifting off and on for about four years.

ShannahR · Post by **ShannahR** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:25 pm

I totally agree with you Noel. Keep on habbit and the rest will figure itself out.

dmarie710 · Post by **dmarie710** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:17 pm

Noel, you have a great attitude. I hope it can rub off on me. I'm sure the 5 pounds is nothing at all. Our bodies are very interesting and you know your doing the right things.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 12:11 am

April 7

Today was an interesting test of willpower. On Wednesdays because my husband has a class to teach in the evenings, I usually serve tea with little nibbles on the "good china". He doesn't like to eat a big meal before he teaches, but he does like for us to sit down as a family and reconnect. Since it's at 4 in the afternoon, I got the idea of serving an English tea.

I toyed with virtual plating for awhile, but I don't like that lack of clarity on a regular basis. I decided to eschew food and just drink a cup of tea with everyone, then eat dinner at my normal time.

However, today I was going to be a guest speaker in his class, so I didn't want to be really hungry while I was giving a lecture. I toyed with virtual plating and what have you, then decided since it was a slightly special occasion, I'd get some sushi for my husband and I (we love it. I made little sandwiches and sliced peppers for my son), just have a plate of sushi and call it dinner.

I don't generally like to eat dinner that early, but I'm not really tempted to eat tonight, so that's all good. I am, however, enjoying a nice cup of wine while I'm writing this.

I swam this morning. Tomorrow, I lift.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 12:29 pm

I lifted today.

Standing Calf raises 3x10 75lbs
Squats 3x10 75lbs
Romanian Deadlifts 3x10 75lbs
Bench press 3x10 65lbs (Which was being a bit ambitious. I was shaking at the end).
Seated row 3X10 70lbs.
Arnold presses 3x10 12lbs. (I know the weight looks light, but try it. The weight sneaks up on you).
Incline situps 3X10

I think I need to drop the upper body, and increase the lower body. To a lifter that might sound weird, but I swim for cardio, so I get a LOT of upper body work and not enough leg work.

As I look back over this post, the thing is, the REAL thing, I shouldn't be analyzing this. I went to the gym and tossed around heavy stuff for half an hour and got all sweaty. It's the habit that's REALLY important. I need to focus better on that. Making it all complex is geeky and fun. And that's all nice. But I need the habit so that when it's not geeky and fun for awhile, I'm still tossing around heavy stuff and getting sweaty.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 1:38 pm

April 8

God, this is going soooo sloooowww. But the trendline is doing what, boys and girls? That's RIGHT, it's going DOWN. (My weight bounces all over the place day to day. Hence the trendline).

I'm trying to remind myself that slow is good. Slow and permanent habit change is really the only sane option.

But I get impatient and think, "Well, maybe if I went on a "real" diet for a little while, I'll lose faster."

Yep. I probably would. Then I'd go off it and gain more. That's why I've chosen THIS method and I need to quit whining about the slow.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:28 am

April 9

We walked down to a local restaurant for dinner last night. T'was fun. I didn't really try to measure my plate against what a "normal" plate would look like. I just ate dinner and was glad to have it. It was late and I was STARVED.

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 1:58 pm

I like your chart!

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 4:16 pm

Kathleen wrote:I like your chart!

Me too. It's made me think (though I'll use my own thread for musings, so not to clog yours).

And I think you're very wise to recognize that slow and steady beats fast and lapsing... that is emotionally hard to acknowledge (at least for me, in many places in my life).

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:26 pm

Okay, so I can't fail on an S day.

Even so, today was the kind of S-day I like to have.

I had a normal breakfast.

I had a smoothie for lunch, because my daughter was visiting and that's what she asked for.

My son was being a poopy-head teenager and wanted to stay in his room all day making films. So, my daughter and I walked to the gym and went swimming for awhile, then after we swam, we decided to go shoot some hoops. IT WAS NOT EXERCISE. I was playing with my kid. So there. I haven't touched a basketball in 30 years, but I had enough fun I may NOT EXERCISE again shooting hoops just for the hell of it.

When we got back from playing, I had ONE proper-sized brownie. It was delicious.

Then we had curry for dinner. Also delicious, but not an S-day treat. Even so, I filled my plate as I would for an N-day. (Curry is quite filling).

I might have a nightcap this evening. I like to.

Not all of my S-days look like this, but this is the way I would like most of them to look. Three meals and a treat if I feel like it. I know I'm not failing even if I don't do it this way, and I don't want to put on excessive restrictions. But I do want to have an eye for my usual S-days to look more or less like this.

I think, though, that I may look up some recipes for really good cupcakes that freeze well. I like the portion control for the sweets. Being able to have a cupcake, then freeze the leftover for another time is nice. (I'd made brownies last week. This was from that batch).

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:13 pm

Yesterday was a successful S-day because you can't fail on an S-day.

Even so, it wasn't an ideal S-day. Not because I overate, but because I didn't eat much all day.

I was spending most of the day wrestling with a broken serger, a sewing machine that needs maintenance and trying to get a broomstick skirt done in anticipation of a vacation. I didn't take time to eat meals, which cannot possibly have helped my thinking processes.

This is not some sort of half-proud, "See I got distracted and didn't' eat, aren't I good?" Not eating enough is about as stupid as eating too much. Never mind what it does to my mood and cognitive processes.

I did get the skirt done, so that's a good thing. And I celebrated with serving the family pancakes for dinner, much to my son's surprise.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:28 pm

I think you're very wise to recognize that "under-eating" can be an issue too.

When I do it, I sometimes get a rebound effect... what Gretchen Rubin identified as "moral self-licensing" - the tendency for people to think that being "good" in one area justifies their being "bad" in another. A familar example (to me at least) is "I worked out, so I can have this brownie." Or, in this case "I've hardly eaten all day, so NOW...." Not productive.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:58 pm

4/12/09

4/13/09

I just could not face the weight room today. So I asked my husband if he'd like to walk to the grocery store with me after dinner to pick up a few things. He's almost always up for a walk, so that was nice. As far as I am concerned, a nice walk always counts.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 1:27 pm

4/14/10

I've been walking for exercise lately, instead of swimming and weights, just to enjoy the nice sunshiny weather, and to break in my new shoes for my Disney World trip next week.

I found these cute shoes from Champion that LOOK like cute little flats, but are built like sneakers on the bottom and inside. I've been walking in them to make sure that these will be comfortable all day in Mousetown. They are.

I have also rediscovered a new vegetable -- Brussels sprouts. No, not the frozen from a package and boiled gray monstrosities of my youth. No, no... FRESH ones roasted with olive oil and garlic till the outsides carmelize a bit. Little salt... Nom Nom Nom. My dinner was mostly this with a little chicken and pasta on the side to make it feel like a real meal rather than snacking.

marygrace · Post by **marygrace** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:56 pm

NoelFigart wrote:4/14/10

I have also rediscovered a new vegetable -- Brussels sprouts. No, not the frozen from a package and boiled gray monstrosities of my youth. No, no... FRESH ones roasted with olive oil and garlic till the outsides carmelize a bit. Little salt... Nom Nom Nom. My dinner was mostly this with a little chicken and pasta on the side to make it feel like a real meal rather than snacking.

Roasted Brussels sprouts are so delicious, they almost have a popcorn-y flavor to them. They're also really tasted when you slice them into thin ribbons and saute. Same flavor as roasted but it takes less time.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 10:56 am

4/15/10

4/16/10

I didn't work out yesterday. I spent all day re-imaging my computer because it had crashed and wouldn't boot properly to Windows. I needed to be able to take it on my trip with me, what with it being my office and all.

I wish I could be proud of myself for not stress eating. However, I'm considerably more of a boredom eater than a stress eater, so being proud of avoiding something that isn't a REAL problem is silly.

However, the computer is fixed, so that's good. I'm sitting on a bus going to Logan to catch a flight to Disney World. Huzzah!

sophiasapientia · Post by **sophiasapientia** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 11:58 am

I'm sitting on a bus going to Logan to catch a flight to Disney World. Huzzah!

Have a fantastic trip!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Apr 28, 2010 4:39 pm

Disney was great, though I don't even want to think of how I ate. (Though if you're a sushi fan, I highly recommend the Japan pavilion at EPCOT. That's some delicious sushi!)

It was easier than I thought to get back on track. Monday at home rolled around and I'm back to my old habits.

I did want to show off one thing I got though. At said Japan Pavilion, I indulged in a pretty bento box:

When you're speaking of dietary defaults, this is it for my lunches, as well as for my husband and son. It's just as easy to make three as one, and it assures a healthier meal than my son is able to buy at school. (I tend to make my hobbies WORK for me).

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 11:46 pm

Ive been great on No-S and Glass Ceiling. It's the Exercise I've been doing lousy at this week. I really only exercised two days and both of them I just took a walk. Not that walking doesn't count, but I prefer something a little more hard core.

The only reason I got in any sort of exercise today was because my husband and I decided to walk to a local grocery store rather than drive to another one. My son and a friend of his offered to come with us to carry groceries. I was shocked. I wound up carrying no bags. My crack of, "Men are so USEFUL to have around" got rather pleased groans from the boys (17 and 15).

Next week starts the usual summer 50 mile swim challenge at my gym. Basically you try to swim fifty miles over the course of four months starting in May. Because I work there, I'm signing up for it, but it's a pretty rigorous schedule. To make it, taking into account vacations and holidays, you pretty much have to swim 1500 yards (60 lengths of the 25 yard pool) every weekday. (Ahh for green hair!)

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun May 02, 2010 12:29 am

I'm feeling too grouchy for drinks or sweets. So, dandy on the glass ceiling, and I didn't go overboard for the S-day because I had no S events today. Just wasn't into it.

I know, S-events aren't compulsory if you're not into it, but I do feel like it's a waste not to have a small treat of some sort.

Ah well. The year has lots of S-days. If I feel like a treat tomorrow, why, I'll have one. Honestly, I've noticed it's not all that unusual not of feel like a treat at least one weekend day.

I did make Cornish Pastys for dinner, as that is what I'd been craving. I suppose that making something you're craving is that's okay for an N-day is fine, too.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue May 04, 2010 12:36 pm

I didn't feel like sweets all last weekend, so I didn't have any. I didn't feel like snacking, either. So I didn't.

I've been great on food and Glass Ceiling. Lousy on exercise.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed May 05, 2010 2:07 pm

Okay, that's better.

I had a failure on No-S yesterday (sliver of homemade bread when I was making bento). It was a bit of a DUH moment when I thought about it, but anyway. Small failure. Move on. It wasn't an excuse to eat a BIG piece of bread. I kinda laughed at myself when I thought about it. "Jeez, Noel, what are you, three? You're going to have a WHOLE SANDWICH with this delicious homemade bread tomorrow. You can wait till lunch, silly!"

And yes, I fully intend to enjoy lunch today.

Exercise is much better. I swam a mile. I know it's not that impressive or anything, but swimming such a specific and concrete distance is immensely satisfying to me. Every summer, my pool does this fifty mile challenge, getting people to swim fifty miles over the course of four months. I'm going to do my best to put in a mile every weekday. I suppose I also need to throw in some leg work, just to make sure I get the benefit of weight-bearing exercise. 50 squats every morning should be plenty, really. I'll get the bone benefit without wasting much time. Otherwise, swimming is a fantastic full-body workout.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu May 06, 2010 12:12 pm

All green yesterday. That's good.

My weight loss seems to be speeding up. Also good.

I'm on the horns of a dilemma, though.

I'm writing a fitness book for people who are very overweight and out of shape. Initially, I wanted to discuss and even recommend many of the systems that Reinhard came up with. They're good. They're effective.

But the way the message board is going lately, I just don't know if I can in good conscience recommend it for fear they're going to stumble across the board. The fat disgust isn't going to help most of my readers, and might put them off entirely. I'm pretty hardened to mistreatment (online. People just DONT in person. People apologize for swearing in front of me in person, as I rock that Grande Dame aura), but really, it's starting to get to me, too. It isn't stopping me from my good habits, but I find it unpleasant enough that I'm going to back off from the board again. I'm going to have to look for inspiration and support somewhere else and that makes me sad. I've stuck around for awhile because I really like and respect Reinhard. It bothers me that I feel like it might be detrimental in the long run to promote his work.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Thu May 06, 2010 1:41 pm

Noel, I'm sorry that this is bothering you. Just so you know, I will miss you if you back off...but I understand. (And I realize it would be selfish for me to expect you to stick around just because I like you and enjoy your writing.)

On the dilemma... perhaps you can recommend the No-S book, and leave it to individuals whether they find (or don't) the site?

Good luck with whatever you decide.