Milly's new daily check in!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 9:59 am

Well folks, I am back after a long absence!

I think I was last around in early 2013 and a lot has changed since then... in April 2013 I signed up to do a Tough Mudder with my boyfriend, so had to get serious about health and fitness. I completed it in September 2013 much to my surprise - it's a 12 mile obstacle mud run and before then I'd only managed to get up to about 5 miles in training!

Anyway since April last year I've lost over 20 pounds and mostly kept it off. My lowest weight has been about 149 pounds and I'm now at approximately 154. I lost the weight by a combination of calorie counting, running and weights workouts which worked pretty well for me. However I'm sick of calorie counting but I still need some accountability as I've been eating terribly lately! I've always liked the NoS way of eating, although it didn't work for me to lose a lot of weight it definitely helped me maintain.

So here I am

My aim is to check in daily about what exactly goes in my mouth and try and stick to the plan. Luckily I'm starting on a weekend!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 12:25 pm

Saturday November 1st

S day

Breakfast - 2 slices toast
Post gym snack - quest protein bar
Lunch - crayfish salad, sausage roll, chocolate bar
Dinner - all you can eat Chinese buffet (4 plates!)

Ate a looooot at that buffet. Oh well, it's an S day and I'm just working on being accountable for now!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:36 pm

Sunday 2nd November

S day

Breakfast - 2 slices toast with fruit spread
Lunch - gammon, carrots, roast potatoes, 2 krispy kreme doughnuts
Dinner - pie, new potatoes, broccoli, sugar free jelly
Evening snack - cookies

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:30 am

Welcome back!

MerryKat · Post by **MerryKat** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:41 am

Well Done on your loss and completion of the Tough Mudder!

Welcome back to No S!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:24 pm

Thanks both! I always liked the NoS way of eating but just wasn't disciplined enough on S days to really lose significant weight (and for the race I had to really focus on losing weight and getting as fit as possible to even have a chance).

I do have a mod though related to exercise - depending on when I am able to get out for a run, I will allow myself a banana beforehand for energy and a protein bar or drink after a weight session in the gym.

Monday 3rd November:

Success!

Breakfast - strawberry and banana porridge
Lunch - broccoli and stilton soup, toast, yoghurt
Dinner - chicken teriyaki and rice, sushi, miso soup

There was a certain amount of virtual plating going on today. I often eat meals that involve various components though, so as long as I have everything in front of me before I start eating and it would all fit on one fairly normal sized plate, I'm happy.

Anyway I'm going to post this and mark a green to keep me motivated for the rest of the night, I'm a little hungry and need to avoid the usual reach for an evening snack!!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:58 pm

Tuesday 4th November:

Success!

Breakfast - porridge
Lunch - broccoli and stilton soup, bread roll, yoghurt, raspberries
Dinner - sausages and roasted onion/butternut squash, slice of bread

Also went to the gym today so had a protein bar afterwards. I think my dinner portion was a little small, I need to readjust to eating enough on my one evening plate so that I don't get hungry later on.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:21 am

Wednesday 5th November: Success

Breakfast: porridge with blueberries
Lunch: broccoli and stilton soup, slice of bread, yoghurt, crisps
Dinner: beans on toast with cheese

I was in a rush to go out in the evening so had another slightly small dinner, I was hungry by the time I got home but managed to resist the temptation to snack!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:51 pm

Thursday 6th November: Success

Breakfast: porridge, protein bar
Lunch: bacon pastry, baguette
Dinner: cottage pie, butternut squash, broccoli

I'm pleased with how this week has gone so far, I am definitely noticing the hunger but you know what, hunger is probably OK! I need to look into getting some kind of milky drink for the evenings or afternoons to tide me over perhaps.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sun Nov 09, 2014 2:53 pm

Friday 7th November: Success

Breakfast: porridge
Lunch: sausage roll, yoghurt, cashew nuts
Dinner: chinese takeaway (one plate)

Funny stuff - due to some bad scheduling on my part I didn't really have time for a proper lunch break, so my virtual plating was even more virtual than usual! Had the sausage roll on the way to one meeting, cashew nuts on the way back and the yoghurt when I got home. I was pleased I managed to stick to one plate of chinese food though, not the healthiest choice but within the rules at least.

Saturday 8th November: S day

Hooo boy and what a day, I think I'm just going to list what I ate... rugby international season has started and that often means heavy weekends!

porridge
protein bar
cheeseburger and chips
2 beers
g&t
chocolate bar
small toffee sundae
cottage pie, mixed vegetables
plum crumble with custard
2 glasses prosecco

Yikes. No wonder I felt uncomfortably full after the crumble!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 4:20 pm

Sunday 9th November: S day

Let's see if I can remember what I ate...

2 pieces of toast with lotus spread
protein bar
pepperoni pizza slice
plum crumble with custard
chicken tikka roll
yoghurt
small portion of pick and mix at cinema

exercise - running (1 hour)

Not quite as heavy as yesterday - no alcohol at least! My fiance slaved away yesterday making a lovely looking vanilla cheesecake but unfortunately it wasn't cooled in time for me to have any before I left for the cinema and I was late coming back. So today I am having a 'planned fail' - I will have one slice of that cheesecake. Not sure whether to call it an 'S event' or a fail... hmm will ponder that one this evening

I'm also going to try and remember to log my exercise too.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:14 pm

Monday 10th November: Fail

Fence around the law and all that, I could have decided not to eat the cheesecake. No regrets though, it was freaking delicious.

Breakfast: porridge with blueberries
Lunch: soup, 2 slices toast, yoghurt
Dinner: sausages with onions and apple, mashed potato, gravy
Dessert: vanilla cheesecake

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:27 pm

Tuesday 11th November: Fail

It's strange how green days spiral into green weeks and a red day can so easily spiral into a red week...

Breakfast: porridge
Lunch: mackerel on toast, yoghurt, banana
Dinner: pizza
"Dessert": lotus biscuits, protein bar

Exercise - 30 min run.

I think having pizza was a trigger as it feels 'naughty' (despite the fact that it was one plates worth) and put me in a mindset of eating 'naughty things'. Also had a rubbish run with lots of calf cramp so was feeling sorry for myself!

Wednesday 12th November: Success

Breakfast: porridge
Post gym: protein bar
Lunch: thai butternut squash soup, bread, yoghurt
Dinner: chicken, chorizo and potato stew

Exercise - 1 hr weights

r.jean · Post by **r.jean** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 1:54 pm

Good to see you back! Your journey sounds similar to mine. Exercise, including weights and running, has been a key component. A half marathon was my goal, and I have done two now. I was always a failure at calorie counting or tracking points and never lasted more than a couple months when I tried to track. However, this year I have used a nutrition app in addition to No S and found it quite enlightening and much easier than previous tracking attempts. I realized how high my salt intake was and how low my protein was among other things. (I always thought I ate a lot of protein!) The app also provided calories of course and made me realize where a lot of my extra calories come from. I tried not to be stuck on a calorie number, but I learned to avoid high calorie, high salt items whenever possible. I have lost 16 lbs since I started tracking, but like you I do not want to track forever.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:02 am

Thanks Jean! I lasted quite a while tracking using the myfitnesspal app, and it was definitely useful as a learning tool for judging calories. I am possibly lucky in that my mindset never swayed into the dangerous 'I have to stay below X number at all costs' mentality that I think can be pretty damaging, so I saw my calorie goal as a target to get as near as possible.

Anyway, been pretty crap at logging daily this week I'm afraid! Not too bad of a week though:

Thursday 13th November: Success

breakfast: porridge
lunch: prawn sandwich, apple
dinner: japanese bento box (didn't eat the extra rice that came with it, although I did have the miso soup that couldn't technically have fitted on the plate...)

Friday 14th November: Success

breakfast: porridge
lunch: brie and grape sandwich, apple, crisps
dinner: homemade beef and chicken curry, naan bread, onion bhaji (a very loaded plate but stuck to one!)

Saturday 15th November: S day

breakfast: 2 slices toast with lotus spread
lunch: mackerel on toast, a few leftover jelly sweets
dinner: pulled pork burger, onion rings, butterscotch milkshake

Although I had a large meal for dinner and felt pretty overstuffed (I blame the milkshake!) the day was much saner in terms of eating - I stuck to three meals and no snacks.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sun Nov 16, 2014 8:48 pm

I'm still trying to work up the motivation to exercise regularly. Knowing you do might inspire me. Sounds like you are maintaining your loss. Congrats!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sun Nov 16, 2014 10:15 pm

Thanks Oolala, nice to see you are still checking in here

I am maintaining, I'd ideally like to be a little lighter but I do wonder whether I need to accept that this (around 70kg give or take) is my 'default' bodyweight when I don't spend an awful lot of mental effort trying to lose weight. It's 10kg lighter than my heaviest, and juuuust in the healthy BMI zone, which are both good things.

I am about to hit winter-mode for my exercise - more gym time and less running for me, it's dark and cold out there! Luckily I live 5 minutes walk away from my gym which gives me no excuses

I have to remember that I only exercise if I enjoy it, which means regularly changing my routine. Certain times of year I love to run and will do so 3 times a week no problem. Other times it's a chore, so I just switch to something else (usually weights or exercise DVDs). It means I'll never get super good at any one thing, but that's not really my goal so it's okay.

Sunday 16th November: S day

breakfast - 2 slices toast
lunch - pulled pork and mashed potato, maple pastry
dinner - squash and prawn curry with rice
evening snack - chocolate bar, maple pastry

Not too shabby today, no real permasnacking although did not need the evening sweets. Then again, it's an S day so

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Tue Nov 18, 2014 3:45 pm

Monday 17th November: Fail

I stayed at a friend's house and she made pineapple sponge for dessert - I didn't feel I could say no, and didn't really want to!

Breakfast: porridge with peanut butter
Lunch: cheese and onion pastry, half a cheese sandwich, orange, gooseberry fool
Dinner: cheese twists, mince and vegetable pie with broccoli
Dessert: pineapple sponge

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:07 am

Tuesday 18th November: Fail

Not a big one, but I was really hungry in the early afternoon and ended up eating a protein bar to tide me over until dinner. Pleased I didn't use it as an excuse to overeat for the rest of the day!

Breakfast: bacon, eggs, mushrooms, beans, bread
Lunch: prawn sandwich, crisps
Snack: protein bar
Dinner: chicken bhuna and rice

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:27 pm

Just curious. Did you end up eating the same amount for dinner that you normally would?

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 2:07 pm

oolala53 wrote:Just curious. Did you end up eating the same amount for dinner that you normally would?

Yep, served myself out a reasonable sized portion, in fact probably a little more than I sometimes would and scarfed it all. I wasn't particularly stuffed after the meal either. I do genuinely think I was hungry!

Wednesday 19th November: Fail

And a pretty spectacular one at that. Probably triggered by a combination of two things - a heavy exercise day so I was pretty tired by the evening, and I inadvertently ate two chocolates in the afternoon! Was shopping with my mum and had popped two tasting samples of chocolate in my mouth before I even realised properly what I was doing.

Strangely I woke up this morning half a kilo lighter than I weighed yesterday, and 1.5kg down on where I've been sitting at weekends... bodies are weird.

Breakfast: porridge
Lunch: tacos/quesadilla/tostadas (ate out with my mum and shared 5 small plates between us. Lots of salad and veggies, probably would have been one large-ish plate of food in total)
Snack: 2 squares of chocolate
Dinner: pizza, mac and cheese bites (!) and doughnuts...

Exercise - 1 hr gym session, about 3 hours walking

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 1:10 pm

You really have your exercise down - I'm impressed.

It's hard not to let it all go after one slip-up, and there are so many temptations this time of year. Maybe thinking in terms of "not wrecking the car" would help? And if you catch yourself, instead of calling the day a Fail find a term that acknowledges the recovery? (I think learning to stop the spiral is a key skill for success, and should be recognized more!)

Good luck!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:51 am

Thanks KCCC, I do tend to be able to reign myself in after a slip up, but sometimes don't - probably on days when I'm stressed/tired etc.

Thursday 20th November: Success

Breakfast - porridge
Lunch - burger and chips
Dinner - chinese (duck wraps, satay chicken, rice & stir fried vegetables)

Friday 21st November: S day

This was due to a birthday meal out with my mum, a big family do - involving a 7 course tasting menu! I did manage to keep the rest of the day on track though.

Breakfast - porridge
Lunch - steak baguette
Dinner - tasting menu (and a lot of wine!)

Exercise - 5km run

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 10:18 am

I ended up going away for a few days with my fiancÃ© so the last few days have been S days. I honestly can't remember what I've eaten but they have been pretty wild, and involved more alcohol than usual... We did do a lot of walking along the national coastal path though which was lovely, although my calves have been complaining a lot - too many hills!

Today will be an N day, with an exception of homemade birthday cheesecake as it's my fiancÃ©'s birthday today

Exercise today - 1 hour weights

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 7:24 pm

Oof so much for daily check in! Life has been pretty crazily busy. Last week I had 2 S days, 2 fails and one success. Not so great. Whenever I have more than 2 S days in a row I struggle to get back on track - knowing that is hopefully motivation not to take unnecessary S days.

New month new start! I may struggle to log the next few days as I'm away with work for the rest of the week, but hopefully will manage to get on and keep it green.

Monday 1st December: Success

Breakfast: protein bar
Lunch: ham and cheese sandwich, yoghurt, crisps
Dinner: salmon, sprouts & chips

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Fri Dec 12, 2014 9:13 am

So apparently it's easy to get out of the habit of accountability!

Anyway, the week I went on training was a bust, Tuesday was fine but the rest of the week was all red. I wasn't perma snacking by any means, but with eating out every night and socialising I definitely ate more than I wanted to, and dessert!

This week has been a bit better:

Monday 8th: Success
Tuesday 9th: Success
Wednesday 10th: Success
Thursday 11th: Sick

Friday 12th: S event

There's a nasty cold virus going around work that I've managed to pick up so yesterday, although I ate sensibly for the most part, I didn't resist the cookies my fiance got me to cheer me up! Today I'm struggling into work as we have our Christmas festivities.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sat Dec 13, 2014 11:48 am

Ugh still sick!

Yesterday was OK though - planned S event for my work Christmas meal (3 courses - soup/steak/apple crumble). Outside of that (and the wine!) I ate pretty well. Smoked salmon sandwich, apple and orange for lunch and that was pretty much it. I avoided all the chocolates and snacks that were around all day.

I have also discovered the delights of mulled cider, delicious!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Mon Dec 15, 2014 6:01 pm

Sunday 14th December: S day

Pretty reasonable all told, particularly for being ill.

Breakfast - none
Snack - small chocolate bar
Lunch - prawn curry & rice
Snack - 2 mince pies
Dinner - toad in the hole, potatoes, broccoli

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:36 pm

Hope your holidays have gone well. Happy No S-ing this New Year!