Noel's Holiday Checkin

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:14 pm

I'm only doing this between now and New Year to keep me from going off the rails.

Now, my workouts are more than the 14 minute things. That's because swimming is a hobby. I'm training for a marathon swim next summer and I'm going to swim from Alcatraz island to Aquatic park, too. I may repeat my Boston harbor swim, but I am not as sure about that one.

Swim -- at least five miles a week

No-S

My NWS days will be:

Thanksgiving, Day After Thanksgiving (we traditionally make a party out of decorating the tree that day), Office Holiday Party, Christmas and New Years.

There are other events scheduled, but they're on weekends, anyway.

Glass Ceiling... Well, in fact, that's a zero right now (*growls*). Training. After my marathon swim this summer, I'll revisit. Until then, it seems I'm downing a lot of Raspberry Zinger at night.

This week has been normal. Easy. What I'm used to. 3 meals. Breakfast of bacon and eggs or oatmeal. Lunch generally a sandwich and some fruit or veggies and hummus (nom!) Dinner is usually meat, a carb (rice, pasta or potatoes) and veggies. Berry flavored tea after dinner to be all warm and comforted.

One change I have made is that I've been slipping and buying lunch at work rather than bringing it in. No-S okay, but a foolish waste of money.

The weekend? Dunno. I mean, honestly, I'll probably have a treat of some sort, but my mind is a lot more on Thanksgiving as my son has finally agreed not to have pumpkin pie (hate the stuff) and I'm going to make French Silk Pie. Or as we call it in our house Cholesterol Roulette Pie. (It has six raw eggs and three sticks of butter) Awesome stuff!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 1:47 pm

Hi, Noel! I'm in awe of your swimming regime. I still have many days on which I do almost nothing. And days when I do something, it's often only 8 minutes of intensity. I think swimming five miles a week is amazing. I guess you have short hair?

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 2:08 pm

oolala53 wrote:Hi, Noel! I'm in awe of your swimming regime. I still have many days on which I do almost nothing. And days when I do something, it's often only 8 minutes of intensity. I think swimming five miles a week is amazing. I guess you have short hair?

In fact, my hair is butt-length.

I wear damp buns a lot.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 9:38 pm

Double amazing.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Nov 22, 2015 4:38 pm

Yesterday was an S-day, and it was the kind I like. Ate three meals, had a treatish meal for lunch (BLT and fries), did have a small snack because dinner was late (an apple. You know you're hungry when an apple tastes like the most amazing thing evah!) and had dessert with dinner (a dark chocolate cupcake with raspberry filling... oh MAN it was good)

Also took a nice, long walk.

Today? Did an hour-long swim. Had breakfast. Have no idea if I am going to have a treat or not. Might not. Can't think of anything I really WANT, ya know? At least, any S type stuff. Though when I go shopping later, if my attention is caught by something, I'll totally get it and enjoy it. (Those single-serve Ben and Jerry's ice creams are da bomb!)

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:40 am

LOVE chocolate and raspberry.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 12:06 am

No-S

Breakfast: Steel cut oats with dried blueberries and walnuts
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich with broccoli florets and sliced carrots with a hummus dip.
Dinner: Vegetable beef soup and a peanut butter sandwich

Exercise

Swam 1650 yards.

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 9:36 am

It's nice to see you back. I'm with your husband... better to eat 3 delicious meals per day than lesser meals with the freedom to snack. Just not worth it.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:00 am

No-s

Breakfast: Boiled eggs, sausage links and apple
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, apples, celery, and peanut butter dip
Dinner: Vegetable beef soup, mini bagel

Exercise

We skipped going to the gym this morning. My husband's back was bugging him and I chose not to go alone. I thought about walking at lunch. Thought about it...

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 11:07 pm

No S

Breakfast: Oatmeal, dried blueberries and walnuts
Lunch: Ham and Cheese sandwich, broccoli florets, carrot sticks and hummus to dip them in
Dinner: Chicken leg and pasta. I felt lazy.

Exercise

While my swim isn't until June, I really shouldn't screw around like this.

Tomorrow is a feast day, and yes, I intend to feast. I am going to admit, the one thing that has started to get me kind of impatient is restrictions on legitimate holidays or traditional feast days. I recall in the past in the gym during a post-Thanksgiving workout that someone was flipping out because she *gasp* had some whipped cream on her pumpkin pie. *FACEPALM*

The problem isn't a feast day. It's feasting on non-feast days.

(Though I am going to have to say, while I consider the general Saturday and Sunday a day when it's okay to have a treat, they're not feast days to me)

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Nov 27, 2015 1:16 am

NO-S

Breakfast: egg and cheese mini bagel sandwich
Thanksgiving Dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, dressing, and cranberry sauce. Had seconds on the dressing... NOM

Supper/dessert: French silk pie. We didn't have it immediately after dinner (too stuffed), but decided to have it later in the evening while watching Dragonheart.

Exercise

It's an S-day, so I didn't have to work out. But the weather was nice and we were all stuffed after dinner, so we did take a walk.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:39 am

No-S

NoelFigart wrote: My NWS days will be:

Thanksgiving, Day After Thanksgiving (we traditionally make a party out of decorating the tree that day), Office Holiday Party, Christmas and New Years.

I forgot that I had declared this this morning.

I ate peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate today and nibble on snack food most of the afternoon.

Exercise

I am really worn out. Not sure why.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 3:16 pm

Saturday

No-S

Wasn't a brilliant S-day or a bad one. I ate three meals, though one of those meals had pie. It was eating leftover party food and Thanksgiving food.

Breakfast: Turkey Sandwich with cranberry sauce
Lunch: Leftover veggies (broccoli, carrot sticks and sliced red peppers) with hummus for dip and tortilla chips
Dinner: Turkey Sandwich with cranberry sauce, slice of French silk pie.

OTOH, no permasnacking. The food I had that wasn't as healthy as I think I should be eating did go on a plate at a discrete meal.

Exercise

I'm really not feeling the love for working out, and this can't continue to happen. I've spent a LOT of money signing up for those swimming events, as well as the travel to get there (train trip across the US, woo-hoo!) So, the swims really gotta happen and gotta happen regularly.

gingerpie · Post by **gingerpie** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 8:47 pm

Hi Noel,

I'm feelin' your lack of motivation. I train for endurance hikes and I'm getting older not younger so the training hikes absolutely must happen. Sometimes I go purely on discipline not motivation. When that happens I accept any (and I mean a.n.y.) effort to be "good enough" for today. I know that eventually the enthusiasm will show up again. I'm imagining it must be harder for you to reach that minimum amount of effort since you actually have to go someplace special to train. (I can just step out my door - way easier than driving to the pool.) Can cross training count until you get back in the groove? Not perfect, I know but it deff passes the "better than nothing" test.

Hope all goes well this week.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 9:37 pm

AS far as the better than nothing test, yes, I often go on walks or lift weights.

It helps in terms of sheer cardio endurance and strength, but swimming is a skill-based as dance or martial arts. So, I do need the sheer physical practice of the movements on an extremely regular basis for my sport, if not for my physical fitness. My swimming is certainly more of a hobby or an interest than any sort of "exercise", ya know? It has the exercise benefits, and that's awesome, but I spend far more time on it than one would really need to for simple health benefits!

I freak out people who've hurt themselves running and are swimming to try to keep their fitness levels up. They choke and sputter and get winded after a few lengths, then they see me gliding along hour after hour (and let's just say nothing but ballet-level dieting is going to get me skinny, but I am a thinner fat person than I would be were I not No-Sing) and they freak, thinking I'm some sort of weird freak of nature or something. I'm not, but I have what swimmers call a "feel for the water" and they don't. When that comes to them, they'll probably be faster swimmers

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:46 am

No-S

Breakfast: Turkey Sandwich with cranberry sauce
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich with cranberry sauce (Don't laugh at me. I like that as a sandwich, and anyway that was the last of it)
Snack: Vanilla yogurt and blueberries
Dinner: Turkey n Dumplins, Cholesterol Pie for dessert

Exercise

Tomorrow, I swim.

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:16 am

Cholesterol pie? 😅

gingerpie · Post by **gingerpie** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:00 pm

Did you swim?

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:10 pm

gingerpie wrote:Did you swim?

1650 yards 46:44 (there's a reason my swim blog is Slow as Christmas....)

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:12 pm

lpearlmom wrote:Cholesterol pie? 😅

French Silk Pie. It has half a cup of butter and three raw eggs. It's a somewhat obsolete joke from the late 80s when all forms of fat were evil.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:11 pm

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon, eggs, apple
Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwich, apple
Dinner: Steak, green beans, baked potato

Exercise

Swam my Olympic Mile.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:01 am

Tuesday

No-S

Breakfast: Steel cut oats with dried cranberies and walnuts
Lunch: Turkey Salad
Dinner: Chicken, Rice, mixed veggies

Exercise

Skipped my swim.

I have a class I am taking online for work (Principles of KCS, for anyone who works IT) Looks like I might be getting another Life Eating Project and those fifteen minute a day workouts may be the extent of it after this summer's swims.

Because the class is online and is four time zones away, lunch and dinner were very late today. I did have to have some orange juice before lunch, but otherwise, I was fine. I rarely drink calories, but this was an exception.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:22 am

No-S
Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs
Lunch: Leftover Spaghetti
Dinner: Turkey Fried Rice

Still on Pacific time because of a class I am taking, so meals were later in the day.

Exercise

I am wondering if I really do need to do fourteen minutes of calesthenics or something separate to my training.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 11:57 pm

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Turkey salad

It's a green but doesn't feel like one. I don't feel like eating and I think that skipping meals isn't really a positive. But I'm not hungry.

Please don't cheer me on about that. It's a rotten habit.

Exercise

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:07 pm

Friday:

No-S:

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Chicken Caesar Salad. Bad planning and I bought lunch. Still, I'm fond of Caesar salads. Almost had sushi, but restrained myself. (Budget, not No-S)
Dinner: Turkey burritos.

Exercise:

I think I need to get into a "No-Excuses" mindset...

Work is about to go into Life Eating Project mode again, and since this isn't really a condition of my employment, but a desire to take on a project I believe in, I have got to maintain my swim training or I am either going to lose a lot of money on the event I paid to do, or I'm going to no-kidding, get myself killed in SF Bay. No excuses. I think that maybe the most I will permit myself is the "half-workout."

If I am not feeling it, I can swim half an hour and get out. But I have to get in.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Dec 06, 2015 12:34 am

Saturday

NO-S

Breakfast: Egg Sandwich

Snack/Sweet: Chocolate Truffle

Lunch: Pizza

Dinner: Steak, baked potato, Broccoli

I really hadn't planned a treat, which is unusual. I usually do. But that truffle was excellent.

Exercise

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sun Dec 06, 2015 10:20 pm

I think I've missed what a life eating project is. Is there a previous post on it that would be easier to refer me to than tell me?

I humbly say the 14 minutes is a good habit because then it is more likely you will do something regular even if you can't swim. As you say, it's more of a hobby than an exercise regime. Our bodies seem to respond well to regular vigor that's not drawn out.

Besides, if you do it, I might do it, too.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sun Dec 06, 2015 10:22 pm

I also think it makes perfect sense to put cranberry sauce on a turkey sandwich.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 1:17 am

Life Eating Project:

I'm introverted enough that a full time job in an office is a major mental stress for me. It's difficult and painful.

What I usually do is work from home for some portion of my time. Right now that means working as a part time teacher/documetnation specialist in an office, and then an editor/web publisher from home for the rest of the time self-employed.

But sometimes something interesting enough or lucrative enough or both comes along and I will consent to 45-60 hours a week in an office to get something done.

When I do this, it's office-home-office-home, and I spend a lot of time at home locked up in a solitary room recovering from having to smile and be nice and try to pretend I'm a normal person who can interact with people for 40-odd hours a week and not go insane. So, a social life is utterly out of the question during these times (it's small enough even at the best of them) and I sleep a lot of it because I'm so worn out from pretending to be a normal human.

I'm not saying this as a pity party thing. I'm lucky. I have the option to take off or go back to part time after this stuff is over, instead of a hungry family to feed an no hope of respite.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:48 pm

Sunday.

No-S
Exercise

It wasn't the most brilliant S-day ever, but it wasn't the worst, either.

I ate more cookies than I might have, but I didn't eat proper meals. Still, I can recall more insane days.

Monday

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon and scrambled eggs, apple

Lunch: Cranberry-Walnut turkey salad wrap.

Dinner: Burrito

Exercise

Swam 1100 yards

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 11:42 pm

Tuesday

No-S

Breakfast: Oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit
Lunch: Turkey, ham and cheese wrap
Dinner: Curry

Exercise

I swimmed.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 11:07 pm

Wednesday

No-S

Breakfast: Yogurt, frozen strawberries, water and protein powder in a smoothie. Tasty as these are, they're really only something I use when I am extremely busy. I prefer to eat my food, ya know?
Lunch: Curry and rice
Dinner: A bowl of chili

Exercise

I swimmed again

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:17 pm

Thursday

No-S

Breakfast: Small yogurt, blueberry, protein powder smoothie and a half a serving of oatmeal with nuts and dried blueberries. Nom.
Lunch: Quesadilla with sour cream and salsa
Dinner: Spaghetti

I did something I do from time to time as a reality test. I checked how many calories I was eating. My meals today came out to 1776 -- a nicely patriotic number and perfectly on track for losing at a moderate rate with substantial exercise. (In fact, as my marathon training ramps up, my plates may need to be more loaded)

But even better, they were yummy, I'm not eating in any disordered way, and I have a clear knowledge that I am not eating to excess.

Exercise

I swam. Oh god.... it was beautiful today, and it's why I swim. It's been months since I've done a swim and gotten into the zone -- psychologists call it "flow", where you're pleasantly challenged, know you're competent to perform the task, you're not interrupted and you're experiencing that floating feeling of timelessness. THIS is why I swim and what I love. I need it more.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 12:46 am

Friday

No-S

Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried cranberries and walnuts
Lunch: Quesadilla with sour cream and salsa
Dinner: Pizza

Exercise

Swam.

This week is the kind of week I prefer.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 11:25 pm

No-S

Breakfast: Strawberry and yogurt smoothie with protein powder. My husband is very fond of smoothies, so I ran with that.
Lunch: Oatmeal pancakes.
Dinner: Apple Crumble. I had intended it to be a snack late in the afternoon, but it's well into my normal dinner time and I am not hungry. So I'm declaring that dinner. I'd eat a small supper if I were actually hungry.

But as far as S-Days go, I really enjoyed that apple crumble!

Exercise

Not a damned thing. It's an S-day.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:10 pm

Monday

No-S

Breakfast: Strawberry yogurt smoothie and bacon, egg and cheese breakfast burrito
Lunch: Curry and rice
Dinner: White chili

Exercise

Swam

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:22 pm

Tuesday

No-S

Breakfast: Strawberry yogurt smoothie, breakfast burrito
Lunch: Turkey club sandwich
Dinner: Taco stew

I was teaching a computer class today. They always have snacks for the students. I didn't. No-one commented. I loved that. Sometimes, when I decline the cookies or pastries there's a "you're so GOOD" comment, which drives me right up the wall. There is neither sin or virtue in a cookie.

They do serve coffee which is good enough to drink black. I did overinduge on that and now have a tension headache.

Exercise

Swam. Actually a PB for speed, which was nice, but I pushed too hard and my shoulders hurt a bit.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 12:23 pm

Wednesday

No-S

Breakfast: Smoothie, breakfast burrito
Lunch: Biscuits (as in American-style, not English). Don't judge me. They fit on a salad plate and it was what I wanted and it wasn't a sweet and it still wasn't excessive by bending the rules because I even used a smaller plate.
Dinner: Burrito

Exercise

Swam[/b]

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 1:16 pm

Thursday

No-S

Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito, smoothie
Lunch: Taco Stew
Dinner: White Chili

Exercise

Swam

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 3:37 pm

Looks like you're doing great and that you enjoy Mexican food as much as I do! Hope that shoulder is doing better!

Btw, I also hate those talks about food being good or bad. Ugh!

Linda

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:14 pm

lpearlmom wrote:Looks like you're doing great and that you enjoy Mexican food as much as I do! Hope that shoulder is doing better!

Btw, I also hate those talks about food being good or bad. Ugh!

Linda

I do enjoy Mexican food. But I'm going to admit at least part of the heavy rotation of burritos and such has been about the ease of preparation. I often will freeze up a batch of burritos of various sorts to use for when I do not feel like cooking.

Shoulders are better, thanks! I realized that I'd increased yardage too quickly for my swims and that a moderate increase each week will still get me to the training volume I need at the proper time.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:38 pm

Friday

No-S

Breakfast: Breakfast burrito, yogurt smoothie with raspberries
Lunch: Burrito, apple
Dinner: Cheeseburger, fries

This is where I like No S so very, very much. I got a wild hare across my butt to go out after work with my husband, and do some Christmas shopping. I texted him with two words - Five Guys.

Is a small cheeseburger and fries at Five Guys a low calorie, "diet" meal?

Don't be absurd. Of course it isn't. Nor would I say this is a great meal to have every day. It totally isn't. But it's not a sweet or a snack, and if you order a small of both items, it's not seconds, either.

I was thinking about something at dinner last night, though. No-Sing is awesome because you get a better handle on appropriate volume. I didn't finish my fries because I was pretty full after the cheeseburger.

I think one of the things, and I think it's one of those subtle, long-term things, is how you get in touch with actual hunger and satiety better over time. I mean, "eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full" isn't inaccurate, but it's terrible advice to someone living in a culture that doesn't really sensibly acknowledge either sensation.

I was HUNGRY before dinner. I enjoyed the cheeseburger very much, and the fries, but as I was eating, the training I'd been through over the years about how full to load a plate to carry me through to the next meal told me that I was reaching appropriate capacity for dinner, so I stopped. I mean, yeah, the fries were delicious. I adore french fries. But I was full. So I stopped.

I think that a lot of us really don't train our appetites well. Certainly I didn't for most of my youth. Feast or the self-imposed famine of dieting, but certainly nothing moderate that had anything to do with either appropriate boundaries around food, nor listening to my body's signals.

Exercise

I swam. Two weeks solid of being on-habit. Much MUCH better!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:11 pm

Can't fail on an S day weekend.

This is not one of my more moderate S-days.

There was this tin of cookies my husband and I bought. You know, the Danish Butter cookies? I'd joked with my husband if we saw a tin of them, I was going to get them.

We went to a lot of stores shopping for other things (weekend before Christmas and all) and we did run across them. I bought the small tin, which is still a lot of cookies.

Between my husband and I, we've polished that tin off, as well as some candy he brought home.

No, I feel neither guilty nor freaked out. It was a weekend, so I can't fail. I didn't eat enough to feel physically ill, so that's okay, too..

But it's not what I like best on an S-Day.

Why is this not the S-days I like best?

1. I didn't eat three proper meals a day.

I do best when I stick to that. What with one thing and another, I didn't. I grazed a lot, which really meant grabbing a cookie or two every few hours.

2. I didn't make a specific plan for S treats

I mean, fair enough, I'd been talking about the cookies we had for a week or two. And that's okay. But I didn't plan for it and make it special and serve it on a nice plate after a meal or something.

Am I upset with myself? No. I know I do best when I have a plan. I didn't. It's an S-day and I can't fail.

But I think I am going to make a reminder to myself to plan better. I like planning a treat and looking forward to it better.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 1:43 pm

Uh, didn't check in, but everything has been green since Monday.

Monday

No-S

Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Cranberry chicken salad sandwich.
Dinner: Taco Stew

Swim

Tuesday

No-S

Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Leftover taco stew
Dinner: Bacon and eggs with cheese

Swim

While I've declared tomorrow an NWS day for purposes of working out, chances are good I'm going to keep it to three meals tomorrow even if I have a sweet.

LoriLifts · Post by **LoriLifts** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 4:37 pm

Happy Holidays Noel!
I enjoy reading about your swimming. Learning proper swimming technique is on my bucket list. I would love to do laps. I want to glide through the water. My current swimming technique is a combo of doggie paddling and thrashing about. It ain't pretty.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 8:52 pm

@Walkerlori, swimming is definitely HIGHLY technical. It's on up there with ballet or martial arts for needing a proprioceptive sense.

Anyway, I'm calling the holidays a success. I did not gain any weight over the holidays and I'm finding today a totally comfortable N day, even after a week of goodies at my mother's house. Not feeling guilty or horrible, and feeling happy to have my three meals today.

Didn't make it to the gym this morning. I could cry snow, but honestly? Slept in.

Oh, and y'all gotta check out Reinhard's Konmari podcast.

Everyday Systems

Noel's Holiday Checkin

Noel's Holiday Checkin

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