Mada's Daily Check-in

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:14 am

Hi, my name's Mada and today is my first "real" No-S day. SUCCESS!

I was a little restless in the afternoon, kept wandering into the kitchen, then made myself a cup of tea and it seemed to do the trick. I went for a long walk with my daughter this morning.

I've been lurking here for months now and have made a couple of unsuccessful attempts at No-S. Last week I managed a trial week where I ate 3 large meals a day with absolutely no snacking and no sweets, and only one real failure. My weekend tactic was to stick to my three meals and bake a cake! I want to hold out for the very best treats on S-days, instead of wasting them on cheap thrills like chocolate bars and assorted all-day-long grazing on junk. I kept busy and I'm happy to report that I really enjoyed my S days and didn't, for once, eat until I was sick.

A few years ago I lost 20 pounds and was so darned pleased with myself that I just went and gained half of it back within 6 months. It was a very sensible, conservative eating plan but counting all those points was tedious and took way too much of my time. I don't want to have to think about it, I want it to just be a habit, as automatic as brushing your teeth. I think No-S gives me the best chance.

~Mada

david · Post by **david** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:17 pm

Welcome, Mada!

Your weekend cake idea is a good one--maybe I'll give it a try!

--david

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 3:50 am

Thanks, David.

I should have been a pastry chef, but instead I tried line cooking after chef school. I was bad at it, and truly, it was one of the hardest jobs I ever took on. That job, and trying to diet off my chef school pounds, nearly killed my love of cooking.

The cake was a carmel-nut chocolate by the way, and I'm considering an old-fashioned apple pie with homemade vanilla ice cream for next S-day. I'm very lucky to have two young men in the apartment upstairs that are more than happy to help me make sure there's none left around for N days.

~Mada

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 3:55 am

Day 2: SUCCESS!

It's almost eight o'clock here on the West Coast, and I've flossed and brushed my teeth, and shut down the kitchen. I've eaten just enough dinner, I hope, to hold me until I get to bed.

I hope every day will be as easy as this. I feel great!

~Mada

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:32 am

Day 3: SUCCESS

Long walk in the snow today and sensible eating with only a moment or two this afternoon when I had a few crazy thoughts about chocolate. Good thing there's none in the house.

~Mada

mrs.cummings · Post by **mrs.cummings** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:14 pm

I'm totally impressed that you went for a walk in the snow today! Wow!

I live in TX and it's in the 40s today and I could hardly manage the walk to and from my car when I went to school today. Brr...

Congratulations on getting out there and doing it. You've encouraged me to do some kind of workout today (probably inside).

Post by **reinhard** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:39 am

Welcome, Mada! Nice start. This "brushing your teeth" comparison has come up a few times... I'm going to have to use that. It's really how it becomes.

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:02 am

Thanks, mrs cummings. I've always been a walker, but the thing that gets me out these days is my daughter. We homeschool and if I didn't kick her little skinny butt out the door everyday, she'd bury herself in a stack of books and not come out--unless it was for a trip to the library.

Thanks for the encouragement Reinhard. Today I realized that I need to develop another very important habit. That is, doing my grocery shopping. Although I did well at no snacks, no sweets, no seconds, the quality of my meals was anything but healthy. And considering I'm a tiny, tiny bit hungry right now at 11 p.m., I'm going to call this day a SUCCESS!

But I'm sending the husband out for some fruits and vegetables tomorrow morning.

mrs.cummings · Post by **mrs.cummings** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:19 pm

Mada, it's great that your daughter is a reader. That's how I was when I was a kid (except for the skinny little thing part

) and it's really been a good thing for my life.

I didn't, in fact, workout last night (mostly because my husband discouraged me from going to an extra martial arts class this week and, frankly, I was just too lazy to do anything at home. What did i do? Read, of course!)

Congrats on another successful day!
jesslyn

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:50 am

Day 5: SUCCESS
Day 6: S-Day
Day 7: S-Day

Day 8: SICK DAY!!

I guess you could say today was a success, because I was so sick I only ate a bowl of rice and some tea for lunch, and a piece of toast and an egg for dinner. I'm still a little shaky but I think I'll be OK tomorrow.

It was a little scary because I'm never sick, and we've had a boil-water advisory here until last week. I had visions of e-coli or crytosporidium, or some such bug, in my system.

Tomorrow I'm going to eat soooo healthy!

~ Mada

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:15 am

Day 9: SUCCESS

How could it not be, as I'm still a little iffy from yesterday's GI upset. But I ate healthfully, if lightly.

~Mada

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:23 am

Day 10: SUCCESS

I'm getting rather fond of placing that big green checkmark on the calendar to indicate a successful No S day. It's a terrific reinforcement.

I'm having no trouble with hunger; as a matter of fact, I'm enjoying the sensation as I prepare my meals. I had a bit of an emotional upset today--I badly burnt a huge pot of "refried" black beans that took ages to soak, cook and then cook again with seasonings and onions. It's lucky I didn't burn the whole house down. (I'd gone out for a walk and left the stove on.) Now usually I'd be so annoyed and down on myself for something like this, that I'd start eating everything in sight. Today I took a deep breath, meditated for short while, and then went back into the kitchen to clean the whole mess up. I felt much more capable of dealing with it reasonably without letting it get under my skin.

Was it the meditation or No S? The meditation is another new habit I'm trying to cultivate and I've been adding a minute at a time every few days. I'm up to 8 minutes and I'm aiming for two 10-minute sessions a day. One day. It seemed to do the trick today. Anyone else tried this?

~Mada

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:23 am

Day 11: SUCCESS
Day 12: SUCCESS

Things are going great and I think I'm beginning to learn to put food in its proper place. I managed to go shopping in the mall yesterday, past the popcorn and ice cream, through the brand new fancy food court, without once being tempted to snack. And today I made a banana bread, without eating any of the toasted walnuts or coconut I was using. The banana bread will still be there tomorrow and I can wait until then.

As a matter of fact, one of my big weaknesses has always been baking ingredients. When I was a child I used to love to climb up on the kitchen counter and help myself to the chocolate chips, sprinkles and walnuts. There'd be hell to pay if you were caught! But right now I have a large bag of shelled hazelnuts sitting on my open shelves and I haven't once fallen to the temptation to have a handful, then another, then another.

All the best to everyone!
~Mada

mrs.cummings · Post by **mrs.cummings** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 5:01 pm

Mada

Congratulations on your success; you're closing in on 21 days!

I've done some meditation off and on throughout my life, but haven't gotten into the habit of it yet. I do find it helpful in conjunction with No S though. I mentioned it just a couple of days ago in the main No S discussion on the thread about what you do when you're hungry between meals.

Do you just meditate to clear your head or do you have a mantra or visualization that you focus on? What's been working for you?

jesslyn

British Chap · Post by **British Chap** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:47 am

Fantastic progress and learning Mada - keep going!

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:44 am

First order of business:

Day 13: S-day
Day 14: S-day

Day 15: FAILURE
Day 16: SUCCESS

Ah, well, it was bound to happen. We're not perfect! What happened was that I spent the morning and early afternoon at a friend's house. No lunch, just coffee and one homemade muffin, because there just wasn't anything else! When I got home at 3, I was so hungry that I started in any old thing with no holds barred. I managed a proper dinner, but the damage was done.

So do I have to start at Day 1 again? I did, for once, get right back on the wagon the next day.

Jesslyn, thanks for your encouragement. I am a novice at meditation, but I think it helps silence that pesky little voice that says, You've not done enough, you're not pretty enough, smart enough, etc. etc. I just aim for peace and quiet for 8 minutes.

And thanks British Chap. Learning is central to my life and mistakes are great opportunities to learn.

~Mada

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:28 am

DAY 17: SUCCESS

I seem to be back on track.

I had a bone density test the other day that came back "significantly declined" since my last. Now I really have to eat healthier and exercise!

~Mada

Mada · Post by **Mada** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 1:24 am

Day 18: SUCCESS
Day 19: SUCCESS
Day 20, 21: S-DAYS

Well, I've had a very good run here: 21 days, and only one "failure." I've only lost 2.5 pounds, but I'm very happy with that. I am continuing to follow No-S and I'll let you all know when I've reached my goals.