carolejo's daily Check in

[doulachic]

Hey, it's chocolate...sometimes ya just gotta have it! (emphasis on "sometimes") Especially if it is TOM...that's killer. Just get yourself back on track at the next meal...you're an expert at this, i'm preachin' to the chior.

[3aday]

Maybe you can look at it as extra "calcium"

I don't care what people say TOM causes some crazy cravings!

I still think you are doing great

[gratefuldeb67]

also badly need to go shopping cos there's next to nothing left in the house apart from crisps, chocolate and beer

Aren't those three of the five major food groups???

The other two being Hamburger helper and prunes???

Big Hugs to CJ!!!
For some reason I can't open my email, so I just want you to know

ICH LIEBE DICH BABY!
ICH LIEBE DICH!

NOW LIEB ME ALONE....

You better tell Steve to get well soon or you better get your period soon, or you may just both have to be removed from the premises!!!

Tomorrow is a new day..
Kiss and make up
Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

Well, the boy returned from his meal out feeling much more chipper and optimistic. Apparently what I said on the phone must have sunk in and he's happier about it all. Honestly, if he expended less time and energy on flapping and more on actually doing the stuff we have to do... Oh well.

At least with the 5th load of laundry in already things are starting to get better. I'm working at home today so I can mind the washing machine too. I aired the place out good and proper - Brrrr! it was cold! - so at least it doesn't smell bad anymore.

And today is another day. It's 10am and I haven't even eaten breakfast yet. I think that's going to be my next action.

Thanks for listening yesterday folks. I really appreciate it.
You're all FANTASTIC.
C.

[3aday]

You are not so bad yourself!

[gratefuldeb67]

We love CJ!!!!!

Deb and Richard!

[carolejo]

So...

On friday night "the committee" (carole and steve together ) had a meeting and decided that we need to renew our vows to NoS and re-commit properly.

This means, no more random 'cheating' during the week!
Starting today, I'm going for a full 5 days of proper nossing, no noshing, no joshing. Whilst 80% is good enough to see some very slow results and to prevent backsliding, it's not really good enough to break back out of my sugar-junkie head. I can feel myself gradually going back there, and I don't want to, so I'm putting a stop to it.

This morning I had a proper breakfast consisting of an ardenne pate sandwich. I'm in the office today so I've brought 2 ham and cheese sarnies and some fruit with me.

I've deliberately skipped my morning weigh in today, cos I've really not been very good this last week and don't want to get into a funk about it. So. That's that. I'll let you know how it goes.

C.

[carolejo]

So far so good. I've made it to lunch and eaten my 1 plate's worth of food (two rounds cheese and ham sandwiches, an apple and a clemantine).

Nothing else to report... except that I *really* don't feel like doing much work today!

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Have a nice day CJ!
Going out for a while to shovel!
See you later alligator...
Hugs!
Deb

[carolejo]

ROCKIN!

Score - one perfect NoS day.

Right. It's time for breakfast.

C.

[3aday]

You go Carole!
You can do it.

[carolejo]

Thanks Becky! I can hear that strawberry cheesecake haagen daaz calling to me from the freezer.... but I ain't listenin'!

S and I decided not to take today as an S day, cos he's got his Dutch course straight after work until nearly 11pm anyway, so I'll most likely be asleep by the time he gets back in any case. I bought me some sushi-making equipment and ingredients at the supermarket though, so we're going to have an honory 'late' valentines dinner on thursday or Friday night instead. To be honest, I'm not a big valentines day person - probably because I'm lucky enough that the Boy doesn't seem to need any excuses to bring me flowers or little presents at random times anyway Actually what I'd *really* like for valentines day is to come home from my Dutch lesson late on Wednesday night and find that the house has been vacuumed from top to bottom So... There's a tip for all you guys out there! What does the woman in your life REALLY want...?

So far so good on the Nossing side today. Can't seem to work up the energy to pick up the 'glove though. Oh well. Got aerobics class tonight anyway so it's not a killer.

Happy Valentines day to you all, and especially happy anniversary to you, Becky!

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

I'm lucky enough that the Boy doesn't seem to need any excuses to bring me flowers or little presents at random times anyway

That is terrific!!!
I'm sure you bring much joy to the boy too!!!

Sushi for Valentines sounds pretty good!!!
I used to date this guy and he was convinced that sushi made him into a major love machine!
I must confess, there's probably some kind of chemical in sushi which does something... Or maybe it was the wasabi???
LOL...

Memories!!!!!
LOL..

Don't listen to your freezers siren call!!! It's only Tuesday!

I always buy Richie some kind of Valentines thing!
I think I'll just go with the traditional heart shaped box of chockies..
But I think it won't be the five pound box!
LOL..

Hugs to CJ!
Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

Any tips for nice ingredients to put in my first ever attempt at making California rolls...?

I thought some cooked green asparagus would go well, as would roasted red pepper with the skin peeled off. Gerkins are a classic I suppose, and I could try a little rare beef - our local store does some great peppered beef that is nearly raw enough to be sashimi style! I might put some smoked salmon in, but S is not a big fish eater, so I'll not do very many like that... although I bet he'd eat some with sashimi tuna steak if I could find a fish store with tuna fresh enough.

HA! just had a great thought - I could make some containing my favourite food of the moment - AVOCADO!

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Hi CJ!

Whenever I have California rolls they consist of crabmeat (usually it's the fake kind!) Avocado, and the meat of a cucumber, without the seeds...
Wrap it with the seaweed and rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds...
Of course you must have killer spicy wasabi and soy sauce and pickled ginger as condiments...

Hope it turned out yummy with whatever you tried!
Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

Haven't tried it yet. That's for Friday evening. I've got a good wassabi paste and will get some pickled ginger tomorrow from the store.

So, yesterday was another TEXTBOOK good day!

score now, 2 perfect days.

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

I am really proud of you Carolejo!!!!!!!!
I'll be at an interview this morning, so see you later alligator!
Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

Hi Deb. Hope your interview went well and you get lots of nice new clients and a ton of work and money and everything

So, score to date, 3 perfect N days
No shovelglove though It seems I can only concentrate on one thing at once at the moment. I think I need to step up my rangering a bit too, but the weather is so manky - sideways rain and hail - that I just can't work up an enthusiasm. At least I'm still 'forced' to walk or cycle to the tram station and then walk from the end tram stop to my destination as I don't have a car. That in and of itself is a ranging improvement over last year!

Can't believe it's Thursday already. Tomorrow will be an odd and challenging day again, cos I'm travelling. Leave the house at 6am to catch a flight, land at Leeds-Bradford around 9:30, hire a car and get to Wakefield, meeting at 10:15 until 3:30pm. Drive back to LBA and fly out at 6pm. Home at around 9:30pm. Bleh. I think it's going to be a '4 small meals' day cos it will be so long and all my usual mealtimes will be messed up. Oh well. I'll do what I usually do and try to stick to the rules but be extra tolerant for mess-ups. At least once that's over it's the weekend again! Yay!

C.

PS- oh, and there goes our belated Valentines day evening plans for Friday night There's no way I'm gonna be up for making sushi on Friday when I don't get back until so late! I guess we'll have to do that on the weekend instead then.

[carolejo]

I also forgot to say that one of my classmates was handing round a HUGE bag of M&Ms yesterday during Dutch class. They all thought I was quite crazy when I took them, gave them a really good sniff (chocolate sure *smells* nice and that's not against the rules! ) and said (in Dutch) "Ah. M&Ms. I love these! Unfortunately I can't eat them on a Wednesday night. But thank you all the same". I had to explain then that I'm 'allowed' to eat candies and chocolate *only* on Saturday and Sunday, but that over the past 6 months I've managed to lose nearly 20lbs just by not eating snacks or sweets during the week. They were really impressed, but also convinced that I'm complely crazy! (All is as it should be, then )

Much as I like M&Ms, they're not my all time favourite - although I might have to get me some this weekend unless I can find a packet of smarties...

AH! I'm in the UK tomorrow!! I'm gonna buy me a tube of SMARTIES for this weekend. YAY!

[3aday]

Thanks for the anniversary well wishes!
Sushi making sounds like fun (I wouldn't go there since you know I destroy everything!)
I am so proud of you for not eating the M&M's.

However, they probably look at you like you are crazy because you are!
Just kidding!

Enjoy the Smarties!

[gratefuldeb67]

Ah! Smarties for a smart a,,, uh I mean, lady!
LOL...

Have fun in Ol'Blighty!
Drink some warm lager for me and drive on the wrong side of the street!
LOL..
Love ya CJ!
Great job sniffing the goods..
You must have reincarnted from a bloodhound!
Have fun this weekend!
Hugs,
Deb

[carolejo]

Oh Deb!! Of course we drink our lagers COLD! It's the real ales that get served at between 8 and 12 degrees C (that's about 10 or 15 degrees below room temperature, so not even warm) Sadly I won't have time for any drinking - but I will be driving on the left of course.

Becky - it's OK. I know I'm a bit on the whacky side. Generally it works out in my favour though

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Oh lagers, ales, stouts!!!
What do *I* know of this????
LOL...

Thanks you lovely limey! LOL..
Deb

[carolejo]

Score to date: 4 perfect N days!

Even though I was travelling and yesterday was a very long day, here's what I ate:
1 croissant with a little butter and jam with 1 apple and a glass of OJ.
A small chicken and mushroom pie
3 slices of italian style pizza with rocket on top.

I drank 4 cups of tea, a caffe latte, about 2 pints of water and a pint of skimmed milk.

I picked up a bag of smarties at the airport on my way home. Usually, Steve and I allow ourselves to have a small S treat on Friday evenings after 6pm, but I didn't really want to eat them so much, so I managed to wait completely until after breakfast today. I think the week of solid Nossing as started to curb my inner sugar junkie again and things will soon be much easier.

Hee. Happy weekend everyone. I'm off to go swimming, then I'm gonna make Sushi rolls from scratch for dinner tonight.

C.

PS The boy did the vacuum cleaning on Wednesday so the house was clean when I came home. He's reading this over my shoulder and insisting that I tell you all!

[gratefuldeb67]

You and Steve are so cute CJ!!!!

Good for Steve!
That was so romantic! Hee!!

You rock Carolejo!!!!!
Hugs!
Deb

[carolejo]

Swimming was fun, and so was the sushi-making. My rolls weren't very professional-looking - the fillings were definately off centre in the rice and the first few were rolled too loosely, but they got better with practice. fun to make and fun to eat too - unfortunately it's a very labour intensive way to do things so although I will cheerfully make them again, it's a special occasion food for real. Some of the best looking ones were where one edge of the nori sheet got rolled into the sushi roll by accident, rather than the nori just forming a ring around the outside. Not greatly authentic-japanese-looking, but it helped the whole thing to stay together a bit better and it was easier to get the filling in the middle properly that way.

Today it's off for a little light running around city centre with the hash, followed by some not-so-light drinking. Yay!

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Look man!!!
Lay off the hash you junkie!!!!!
LOL...

Have fun Sushi girl..
Love,
Deb
XO!

[carolejo]

Deb, you crack me up!

Weighed myself this morning. I'm now 2 lb below where I was before Christmas! Yay! Although it almost certainly isn't the lowest weight I've been during that time, it IS the lowest number I've seen on a scale since I stopped judo when I left grad school. So, certainly my lowest measured weight in 4 years. 20 lb down in a little over 6 months. I'm also down 2 dress sizes and am nearly at the point where I need to buy some new clothes as my trousers are getting dangerously loose!

Nice, S-filled weekend days. Heavy by many people's standards here, but dispite a total lack of restrictions placed on them, good habits from during the week carry over anyway and I'm still eating less than I would have done on a normal day before I started No S. That, I think is the key to it for me. Some people didn't used to eat so much junk anyway even before they started doing this, so for them what I eat on an S day might seem really over the top. For me though, it's a definate improvement on before, even if I go 'crazy' by NoS standards. I'm still losing weight and although it might not be particularly quick, I really don't care about that at all. As long as it's going in the right direction, and it's sustainable (which this IS) I have the rest of my life for my body to find it's proper level, without any fuss or worry on my part.

Thanks Reinhard, for sharing your deceptively simple ideas with the rest of the world. And thanks to all my fellow Nossers for all the help and encouragement on this board.

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Yay Carolejo!!!!!!!!
You lost a lot!!!!!
Wow!!!

Rock on with your apple syrup eating hash smokin, I mean hash brown eating, "overdoing it on S days but still losing weight" ways!!!!

Awesome!!!
Glad you will have more time for fun in March..

Love and Hugs
Debny!

[3aday]

THAT ROCKS!
YEAH!
I am so happy for you.
Congrats.

[carolejo]

Thanks Guys.

At the very real risk of my diet checkin becoming boring, yesterday was another TEXTBOOK success day with no funny stuff

That makes 7 spot-on days. I'm a third of the way through my second ever block of 21 days straight. In 7 months, I've only managed 21 straight days on habit ONCE. Yet I'm still losing plenty of weight. So, for those of you who fell off the waggon and are lurking (and I know there are probably quite a few out there ) what are you waiting for? Jump back in! The water is lovely

C.

[carolejo]

Hey, can I just say, I got some really cool ads on my checkin! "make your own sushi" etc

Sometimes the ads are really worth it. It's pretty clever how google does this ad matching thing.

C.

[3aday]

Congratutlations on a text book day with no funny stuff!

[carolejo]

A little light funny stuff yesterday - I ate an avocado with a little black pepper and balsamic vinegar on it before I went to my aerobics class. It's not a failure though as a small 'mini-meal' of fruit or veg is allowed on my version of things. I had planned for it too, so it would easily have fitted on the plate with my evening meal (small portion of pasta with pesto and cheese). It was the first time in over a week that I felt I 'needed' to eat the fruit though, so that's good.

Tomorrow will be a test again, cos we have visitors arriving tonight. I have Friday off on holiday so will take that as an S day, but Thursday is a work day, so that has to be an N day, really. Afterall, I can't keep breaking the rules every single time it gets a bit challenging or every time people come to visit. Thinking ahead to April, that would mean pretty much the whole month was written off, as I've got 2 lots of visitors, a residential project management course for 4 days, Easter, 2 return trips to the UK, a wedding to attend AND 3 parties!! I think I need to find a better way to cope with holidays & travel, apart from the 'just don't go crazy' option I have been using up til now.

Score - 8 successful days NoS in a row.

[gratefuldeb67]

Tomorrow will be a test again, cos we have visitors arriving tonight. I have Friday off on holiday so will take that as an S day, but Thursday is a work day, so that has to be an N day, really. Afterall, I can't keep breaking the rules every single time it gets a bit challenging or every time people come to visit.

Hey CJ! You can do it!
Really, if you think about it, NoS is a pretty socially friendly plan..
Plan your meals with your guests.. Don't have seconds, don't eat dessert and if you feel the need to imbibe, just stick to one drink or two..

You will love yourself later!!!
Congrats on your great run of successful days!
Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

I just looked back at my calendar with its little 'NoS' symbols scrawled all over it. If I count the weekends (which OF COURSE count ) and the friday 10th February, which was also a success for NoS, then I'm up to 12 successful days in a row so far, not the 8 I was counting before!



Good surprises are GOOD. I'm doing even better than I thought I was!

C.

[nonskanse]

Wow, you are a site veteran! You are a real inspiration now that I've read some posts.

I've noticed the "20 pounds, 2 sizes", that is my goal!!! If I can lose 10 pounds in 6 months, I would be incredibly happy.

YOU ROCK! Keep it up to inspire us n00bs.

[carolejo]

Thanks Noskanse! It's like bulletin board karma, or something. Everyone was so helpful and kind when I started out, and in return I try to be as helpful and kind as I can be when new folk are here too. Afterall, it's a message worth getting hold of.

Yesterday was another textbook NoS day. That brings my current run up to 13 days. I think this is the second longest time I've ever been consistently good! (the longest being my one single successful run of 21 days) Good job red wine isn't an S though - I think I drank the best part of a bottle of that with our guests last night I had some funky-ass dreams too - themed from firefly where the "two by two, hands of blue" where coming to get me and also a really wierd one where I had this hard black growth on the outside of my left breast! *shudders* I was most relieved when I woke to find that the only lumps on my body are the ones that are supposed to be there!

Today will be a challenge to stay NoS. but first I need to take a quick stroll to the bakery, as we are out of decent bread!

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

I just had some freaking weird strange dreams too! But sadly not from drinking wine!
LOL...
Sorry about that scare in your dreams... Must have been something on your mind or something...

Have a great day Carole love!
Debny Dev!
LOL..

[3aday]

Have a great weekend!

[carolejo]

Awooooga! Thursday was a TOTAL SUCCESS. I had my 3 meals, and nothing more.

Friday was a nice, planned S day but I didn't go too crazy. Ditto Saturday. Today I had green & blacks maya gold chocolate for breakfast but hey, you only live once.

Yesterday I went to a great farmers market in town. Good job this is only held on a Saturday, cos there were loads of yummy samples to test out. mmmm! Salamis and cheese and shortbread and raisinbreads and fresh pesto & tapinade & lots and lots and lots of yummy scrummy goodness. I think I'll be going back there quite a lot!

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Awooooga!

LOL!!!!!!
Great to hear you had a great week CJ!!!
Running to Yoga soon..
Wanted to say have a great day!
Love,
Deb

[3aday]

Sounds like you are doing great!

[carolejo]

thanks guys. You're the best!

Back to normal monday goodness today. I'm in the office again, so there aren't very many opportunities for snacking as there's virtually no food here apart from the sandwiches and fruit I brought in with me *grin*

So far so good. Breakfast & lunch have been successful so I'm more than halfway through the day now. Whatever happens I score at least 3/6 today. I think it will be an OK day though. I don't feel like it's going to be a problem at all.

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

I'm just waking up CJ, and a bit groggy now, but I wanted to wish you good luck with the other 3/6ths!
Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

Yay! 6/6. (Breakfast no seconds or sweets, nothing eaten between Brekkie & Lunch, Lunch no seconds or sweets, nothing eaten between Lunch & Dinner, Dinner with no seconds or sweets, nothing eaten until Breakfast the following day:- 6 mini-successes = 1 wholly sucessful day)
Textbook SUCCESS with no funny stuff.

That makes 18 days on habit in a row. For me, this is big news. Writing it on the calendar seems to be helping as it's easier to see and most pleasing to have a row of little crossed out 'esses' in front of me most of the day.

I skipped my weekly Monday morning weigh in yesterday, partly by accident and partly by design. I just don't feel like the scale has anything useful to tell me at this stage. Maybe I'll weigh in every 2 weeks from now on, or even every 21 days. The scale doesn't rule me, or generally 'make or break my day' (fortunately, unlike so many other people out here), but I can see how that might become a problem so I'm not going there.

Right. I need to wander off to the bakery, cos we don't have any bread for my breakfast. At least it's stopped snowing quite as hard now.

Have a good day, everyone!
C.

[carolejo]

I just realised it's PANCAKE DAY today. I just posted a question on the general board, cos I really want to have pancakes with lemon juice and sugar for my evening meal tonight.

Do you think this is allowed? Can I take this as a special S day or am I kidding myself?

C.

[juniebumble]

CaroleJo,

I hope you don't get two of these messages from me, because the one I was just typing dissappeared off of my screen.

Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions I posted on the general question board. Information from veteran No Sers is very valuable to a newbie like me.

What intrigued me initially about this diet was the premise that you could eat real food (not that low calorie diet crap with who knows what in it) and lose weight just by following a few rules. Then I read that post about the person who was eating (in my opinion) very little (and very bland) food and not losing weight. And, to top it all off, people were advising her to eat less. De ja vu for every other diet I have been on, starved myself for, didn't lose weight, and had the experts tell me to just "eat less". I couldn't live like that.

I am so excited to read histories like yours that sound realistic and have fantastic results. You know, real life eating, enjoyment, the occasional slip up, and ultimate success. It is an inspiration.

Thanks again

[carolejo]

I told myself severely to stop being so daft. Of COURSE Pancakes on Pancake day are allowed. Shrove Tuesday does begin with an S, afterall.

So, I just had me a plate of French crepe-style pancakes with lemon juice and sugar. And they were yummy and definately S-Worthy.

And of course just because it's a special S meal, doesn't mean that I'm gonna turn this into a free-for-all so it's really not going to do me any harm! Bet I had less sugar on my pancakes than a lot of people here add into their tea & coffee on a daily basis, anyway.

I'm still going to call this a total success day - provided I don't go off the rails between now and bedtime, of course.

Ha. Onwards. I'm off to my Aerobics class in about 90 minutes time.
See you later.
C.

[carolejo]

Hey Lou! You just cross-posted with me.

You're welcome, by the way. So many people FORGET that the most important factor in any eating plan is sustainability. I wish more people were able to realise it and honestly try to be sensible about it all. Starving yourself generally and / or gorging yourself on 'magic foods' are definately not going to work. Yes, short term, it works - but what happens afterwards? I'm surrounded by people amongst my friends who lost 20, 30, 60 pounds doing Weightwatchers or somesuch, hit 'goal', stopped having to pay money and then gained it ALL back over the next year, AND THEN SOME MORE! Why? How is this sensible? Adkins - same story, but with the added health problems (constipation, hair loss, sore gums, foul-smelling breath etc etc) that go with cutting out major groups of foodstuffs. At least WW goes some way towards teaching people how to eat healthily! Although why anyone would consider consuming gallons of yucky-tasting, sugar-free stuff with lots of nasty artifical chemicals in it to be heathier than just eating a little natural sugar once in a while, I'll never understand.

Sorry! I seem to have landed back on my soapbox! I just wish we could convince the whole world... but people don't want to listen. As Reinhard rightly points out on his website, lots of them don't even really want a solution, they just want an excuse! They don't want to take any responsibility for their own actions and for what they cram into their own mouths.

Glad I was able to help you. I wish you as much success with this as I've had.

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Loved your rant CJ!!!!

LOL..
Love,
Deb

Recovering Crammer of Food!

[carolejo]

So, I didn't go off the rails last night and therefore yesterday was an official SUCCESS!

Thats day 19 down for this assault on the 21 days solid 'on habit'. I almost can't believe it. 2 more days and I'll be back in the 21 day club again.

Now all I have to do is pick up that sledge again.

C.

ps: I did my first batch of 25 ab crunchies this morning for lent. One day down, 39 still to go.

[carolejo]

I just had a contender for the yummiest lunch EVER. I had a couple of Nori sheets left over from my susi-making, so I cooked up a batch of nice sticky rice, added a little mild vinegar, a pinch of sugar and a twist of salt, then put that on the nori sheets with a little bit of wassabi paste and a dash of soy sauce, added some gherkins (that's a dill pickle to you Yanks!) which I'd sliced lengthways into sticks and a rolled up thin slice of rare roast beef. I then rolled the Nori sheet round the whole thing, tucking in the bottom too to form a kind of loose cone (like wrapping a wheat tortilla around some chilli beans & rice to make burritos) and then ate the whole thing whilst the rice was still hot. Wow. I shall be doing that again! Sort of like a california sushi-roll but without the faffing about and a hot dish, rather than cold. I bet they'd work with all sorts of fillings. The beef & Gherkins where just what happened to be in the fridge.

Mmmmm. Happy!
C.

[carolejo]

yesterday was day 20 ON HABIT for NoS. And that means for the 20th time in a row I get to write that it was a SUCCESS!



Did the second day's worth of 25 crunchies before getting out of bed this morning. My abs are really SO flimsy that I can actually feel the 25 crunchies working I'm hoping though that by easter they'll be a total breeze.

So, if I get through today without stuffing up then I'm back in the 21 day club. This time though, I'm not going to go hog wild on the chocolate and sweets to celebrate - at least not until Friday evening 6pm when I shall have my usual ONE small treat to celebrate the week. I'm gonna weigh myself again on Monday morning as usual so we'll see how it goes.

Yay!
C.

[carolejo]

So.... I'm 20 and two thirds days down, well fed (delish lunch about 3 hours ago - more sushi nori sheets with vinegar rice, an avocado and a couple of slices of cooked ham in them this time - Japanic wraps, I think I'll call them), generally happy, got too much work to justify feeling bored....

....so why do I *REALLY* feel like p*ssing it all up against a tree and running off to eat the half tub of strawberry cheesecake icecream in the freezer?

There must be something really perverse in my psyche somewhere that doesn't want me to do a straight 21 days without screwing up and falling off the waggon again.

Well, guess what subconscious...? I'm in charge here. And I ain't listenin' to any little whiney voice pleading with me to go get some icecream.

Boy oh boy, It's HARD though. It just seems to be one of those days where my willpower is being sorely tested.

C.

[flsunshine]

CaroleJo, You've been so encouraging to me. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for all of us watching you. Ha. Then again, maybe you did so well with a concrete goal that you're just wanting to start over on 21 days again tomorrow! Good luck, regardless.

[carolejo]

Thanks, oh shiny person! So far I've resisted the siren call of the freezer

I've just had a nice filling, healthy and extremely tasty dinner (homemade chickpea & sunflower seed burgers with baked sweet potato chips & steamed broccoli). It's coming up to 7pm for me and I'm normally in bed by about 10:30 anyway. The nice postman delivered my copy of Serenity today, so I think I'm gonna sit down on the sofa with a cup of green tea and escape the world for the next 2 hours. Maybe by then the Boy will have finished work (it's month end and he's a project accountant - so he could make it home anytime between now and midnight! ) and he will be able to distract me further if necessary.

I'm now 5/6 of the way through day 21. It would be really stupid to chuck it all out of the window now.

Thanks so much for writing to me. I really like it when I get replies and for some reason I could really use the encouragement tonight.

C.

[Hunter Gatherer]

You can do it carolejo! You rock!

[gratefuldeb67]

I know you did it CJ!!!

ps.. I can't handle the siren call of the shiny freezer too well...
Hence, we eat as much strawberry cheesecake icecream or some other flavor, as is satisfying, and then don't have it in sight during the week..
Why torture yourself?

Eagerly awaiting your results!
Debstar

[carolejo]

Yesterday was a.....
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SUCCESS!!!!!!

So, 21 days on habit. Lets see how long I can keep this going.
Nice breakfast of leftover chickpea burgers. Yummy. I'm gonna make those again. In fact, I think I might adopt them as a breakfast food option. They're very tasty, healthy, protein-packed, low fat, contain 2 portions of my 5-a-day Fruit & Veg and can be made up in advance and frozen. Yeah If you want the recipe, let me know.

C.

[Lil Mouse]

WhooHoo! WTG CJ!!!

I hope to follow in your (and others) footsteps one day!

::

[flsunshine]

Very well done & very inspiring!!

[gratefuldeb67]

w00t w00t w00t!!!!
Love,
Deb

[Hunter Gatherer]

Go carolejo!

And I, at least, want the chickpea-burger recipe.

[carolejo]

Thanks everyone!

Chickpea burger recipe -

1 can chickpeas
1 can kidney beans
1 small carrot OR 1 small parsnip
1 small onion
big handful of sunflower seeds
3 dessertspoonfuls of sesame seeds
1 peeled garlic clove
handful of fresh herbs (coriander or basil work particularly well)
a spoonful of veggie stock powder.

Stick everything in a food processor and blend together until mixed but still quite coarse (this took about 20 to 25 seconds in my processor). Take out the blades, rinse your hands in cold water and shape into burgers. Place on a baking tray that has been lined with greaseproof paper and bake at 400 F / 200 C / Gas mark 6 until lightly browned on top (about 20 minutes). Take out and stand them on the tray for 5 minutes before serving.

Mmmmmm! You can make them up and freeze them between sheets of greaseproof paper and wrapped in foil for cooking another day too. It's a good thing as this mixture makes about 10 burgers worth.

C.

[3aday]

The chickpea burger recipe looks delicious!
Congrats on doing so well with No S!

[carolejo]

Yummy S days!


C.

[Jammin' Jan]

Looks like a wonderful recipe, Carolejo. I'm going to have to add this to my collection! Looks like it has good texture, good taste, and it's baked and not fried, so good nutrition, too.

[carolejo]

So, yesterday the Netherlands, today and tomorrow I'm back in the UK office. Bleh. Oh well.

So far so good though.

C.

[carolejo]

Travelling is going well so far. Yesterday was another SUCCESS! Despite not being at home.

So far I've also done my 'Lenten crunchies' every morning without fail too.

Yay!
C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Hi CJ!!!
Big Hugs!
Sorry about the "Bleh" office stuff..
You'll be back and hashing with the raucous runners in no time!

Hope you had a good day girl!
Love,
Yer Debs...

[carolejo]

Thanks Deb. It's nice to be back again.

Yesterday was DAY 26 in a row of perfect NoS behaviour!

Yay!

C.

[ceu]

great job!

[carolejo]

Thanks Ceu! I'm pretty pleased about it all myself too. As you've probably gathered from reading some of the backlog of posts, I've been doing this for a fairly long time now, but am the queen of 'half essed' such a long spell of completely virtuous behaviour is unheard of for me. I'm excited about my new-found self control.

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

such a long spell of completely virtuous behaviour is unheard of for me.

*Completely*????

Heh heh..
Just kidding....
I am really thrilled for you girl! It's amazing what a good run of days does for our Spirits!

Hey CJ.. Soon you will be Whole-S'ed and your daily checkin thread will be as boring as Reinhards!

::wink Rein::

Peace and Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

Kind of bent the rules a bit last night, but I still think it was a SUCCESS.

In our Dutch class, people often bring sweets & chocolate to share. To counteract this, I usually have some fruit with me to munch instead (I allow fruit as a small extra mini-meal on long days or if the alternative is caving in and going for a load of things that are much worse). So, the grapes I had were fine within my version of NoS rules, BUT I didn't really need to eat nearly half a pound of them . Oh well. At least I managed to turn down BELGIAN CHOCOLATES, Haribo gummy bears, M&Ms and pecan nuts.

C.

[ceu]

sounds like a pretty good strategy to me, and you stuck to your guns. So you had a few extra grapes. I wouldn't worry about grapes.

[gratefuldeb67]

I agree with CEU..

Grapes are a far better choice than candy...
That is worth being proud of!!!
Did you "smell" the chocolates???
LOL

Love,
Debny!

[carolejo]

BUSTED.

Really rebelled and broke out of the diet yesterday afternoon. Man, I ate what counts as a mini-binge by today's standards!! Shortbread, chocolate, Yakitori sticks on the side with dinner... Not even a normal day's worth of junk by pre NoS standards though. Still, it's *definately* against the rules.

Oh well. Today is another day. AND I still made a new NoS record with 27 days solid on habit before I crashed and burned last night!

Tonight I'm going on holiday for 10 days. w00t w0000t! Back to Blighty to visit friends and family and hang out. Also need to sort out a few thousand chores, like scrap our old car, talk to the bank, make sure our lodger is happy, buy some things we can't get out here and buy some things that we can get out here but are more expensive. Oh well. I knew anyway that it wasn't going to be much of a holiday really! Will be a change though, even if it's not a rest. So, if you wondered where I went to, don't worry. I'll be back before you know it.

love to all,
C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Have a bloody great time CJ!!!!!

Hey...what's in the air?
I had a binge of potato chips last night!!!
Really pissed at myself for a little while, but as you say, today is another day.. I'm over it...

Thanks for writing on Yoga Journey.. The old manager, at that club, actually transferred about one month after I left.. So I can't thank her....
But I will thank the Universe!

I've been reading posts these days CJ, but not posting much..
Not feeling like it... But I always read yours!
I'll be looking forward to hearing how your holiday was...

Hugs!
Deb

[ceu]

ooh enjoy the uk!

I think we're all antsy for spring to come. Well at least up here we're antsy for spring to come.

[carolejo]

I'm BACK!

I've been very naughty for the whole week of my holiday though! Oh well. Tomorrow is Monday again, so it'll be time to get back to it.

I will try to skim through your posts as far as possible, but there's just been so much traffic on here recently, so sorry if I missed something.

Hope you all had a good week and an even better weekend.
love C. xxx

[gratefuldeb67]

Welcome back naughty CJ!!!
Hope you had a great time!!!

Love,
Deb
xo!!!

[carolejo]

Day 1 post holiday - SUCCESS.

It was a hard fought one though. I REALLY wanted to eat lots of junk last night but managed to resist, so go me!

I'm not going NEAR my scales or my tape measure for at least 2 weeks though. That'll give me 2 weeks to undo the damage I did in 1 week of unrestricted naughtiness on holiday. This doesn't worry me overmuch though cos I know it will ultimately be fine.

C.

[carolejo]

Overloaded yesterday's dinner plate (small bowl of minced lamb and boerenkoolstampot - Anglo-duch home cooking again ), ~200ml of joghurt and an avocado but it all fitted even though there was a bit of stacking and virtual plating going on, so I didn't feel like I did too bad really. I was a little over-full though so I need to watch it. I no longer like the way that feels at all! I also ignored the siren call of chocolate.... Mmmm. Yummy cadburys chocolate!

Went to my aerobics class too last night, the first 'exercise' I've done in about 2 weeks, although I've been walking about some during that time so wasn't totally sedentary. Phew. I really felt it. Betty (our instructor) was on top form and ran the class with a combination of 'dance-icise' and upper body weight training, followed by about 15 minutes of abdominal work. We have some types of crunchies where we lie on our backs with our feet in the air, knees bent and ankes crossed, then try to lift our butts off the ground. I always end up rolling about with laughter cos I'm transfixed by a mental image of 20 'person-beetles' all stuck on their backs and unable to turn over , well, yesterday I managed to explain the joke in Dutch to the rest of the class so go me!!

On other news, a friend of ours has decided to come over in October to do the Amsterdam half marathon and asked if I'd be interested in running it (or the 10K instead if a half marathon is a bit much to start out on) with her. S and I have decided that we're both going to give it a shot. I'm currently wondering what the hell I've let myself in for, and keep reminding myself "but you always HATED running most of all exercise! You must have lost the plot!" but I think it will be a cool thing to try. Afterall, I'll only be doing it for myself and not because anyone else thinks it's a good idea. At least Amsterdam is FLAT so that's a good one for me to start out on. Plus the marathon course runs very close to my house, so I'll even be able to walk to the start of it.

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Hey CJ!!!
Good luck with your race!!!
Thats a wonderful goal!!!
Go CJ!!!!!!!!!

As far as overdoing it, I have slipped back in to my seconds pattern at dinner, and it's really upsetting to me..
I don't like the stuffed feeling either....
I think I've been fairly depressed these days what with all the endless job searching and worrying about food money etc..
You would think it would cause the opposite reaction, but I think part of my stuffing is just out of some ancient worry in my subconscious, that this might be the last of the food... Very weird..

I'm going to start posting a success failure thing for myself again on my thread (not yours!!! Ooops! Thread hogger here! LOL)...
Glad you are having fun in your class!
That's awesome!
I have Ashtanga Yoga tomorrow again and then on Sunday..
Have a great week girl!
Love and Hugs,
Debny!

[ceu]

awesome news about the marathon. my sister used to run, and it seems it's all about training in increments. good luck!

[carolejo]

We-ell, it's not quite the marathon yet I'm gonna register to run the 10K and take it from there.

The funny thing is, the boy S is really fired up about it all. I've never seen him so excited about exercise! I expect what will happen is that I'll kick his butt to get him out of the door in the first place, and he'll kick my butt to keep me moving once we get out. First training run is planned for this saturday. I'm gonna take it really S L O W though, so don't worry.

Yesterday was a Success with NoS, by the way. Even though I went to my Dutch class and didn't get home until nearly 11pm, I still only ate my 3 meals.

Yay!
C.

[ceu]

sounds like you two have a great way of motivating each other. I've noticed my fiance and I are having the same effect on each other as well. It makes me happy.

thanks for the congratulations! *hug*

[carolejo]

Well, I was right! I kicked him out the door and HE kicked me all the way round when I was about ready to quit!

First training run was Saturday morning before breakfast. Did a half Km jog, followed by a 4 minute rest, followed by another half K jog.

I. Nearly. Died!
But I didn't afterall and I'm still here. And you gotta start somewhere, right? S was trying to tell me that's the worst it will ever get, but I'm not convinced yet.

Yesterday I went out with the hash again and spent a good couple of hours walking mostly and jogging a little. Tonight when S gets back from work, there's another training run like Saturday's, only this time we're going to walk for half a Km in between running our 2 half K's. We're going to keep doing the same route for a couple of weeks until we can run out of the door, to the start of our current jogging stretch, up, round and back to the house without stopping. According to the map (and my new pedometer), that will be about 2.5km. As our hash courses are typically about 3-5km long, at that rate it won't be long before I can jog most of that instead of walking most of it.

On NoS front - very (possibly over-)indulgent weekend of S days. But you can't fail on an S day, so SO WHAT. Didn't enjoy yesterday evening's 'stuffed like a christmas turkey' feeling though. Bleargh! The curry I ate wasn't even anything to write home about either. Oh well.

C.

[carolejo]

And, I think SPRING might be in the air. I picked up my sledgehammer again just now for the first time in MONTHS and did a slow, but full 14 minute workout. It got the blood pumping and now my fingers are all toasty warm rather than icy cold like they were half an hour ago. I had forgotten how good that feels. I figured that just because my legs were tired from running about so much ("marathon" training! - Marathon is in quotes cos I'm *only* doing 10km, but for me, that might as well be 200km as things stand right now ), didn't mean I shoud neglect my upper body. Besides, if I'm gonna be running around in the summer wearing an 'ittle-bitty T-Shirt, I'd like some nice-looking arms to show off . I really like the shape that SG gives to my arms - not muscled, but 'sculpted', defined, toned.

RAAAHHHH!!!
C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Yeah baby yeah!!!!
Raaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go CJ!
Love,
Deb

[ceu]

awesome! you're inspiring for my post-work walk.

[carolejo]

Hi ceu, deb, everyone,

Well, I also did my Monday evening training run. I was jogging so SLOW that if I'd gone any slower I'd have been going backwards, but I did it.

Yesterday was a success for NoS too.

Today I'm not doing any training, but I am going to my aerobics class this evening so I'm not taking the day off completely. Funnily enough, I can feel the SG in my arms much more than I can feel the running in my legs. Not crippling, not particularly sore, just tight and heavy. Like my arms doubled in weight overnight or something.

Feeling goooooood!

C.

[gratefuldeb67]

Hey CJ!
I think it's time for a during photo!!!
Maybe on the day of your marathon!!!
I hope you have fun!

As funny as your plant lady pic is, people should really get to see your cute smiling face girly!!!

Miss NoS during the day, somewhat, but also having fun getting some projects done which have been on the back burner..
Spring cleaning started in our place today and I'm de-cluttering our place.

I'm really thrilled for you that you are getting into an exercise groove and feeling so good about it CJ!!!
I remember reading some posts only a few months ago where you talked about going to the aerobics class like it was akin to an hour of torture!
LOL...

Hugs to you and see you tomorrow!
Love,
Deb

[carolejo]

Ooopsie!

Yesterday evening, I have mostly been eating CHOCOLATE.



Oh well. Time to get straight back to it.

This morning's breakfast was leftover homemade sushi rolls with avocado and tunafish, swilled down with a gallon of English Tea. Not a chocolate bar in sight.

Why is it that I can do the whole 'consistent exercise' thing OR the 'consistent NoS eating' thing, but for some reason can't manage to do both at once...?! I can do 21 days on habit for NoS, but in that time I didn't pick up my SG once!! And now I'm training for this 'marathon', I seem to have taken my eye off the ball as far as NoS goes.

....will ponder on this some more. But for now, it's time just to get stuck back in!

C.

[carolejo]

One meal at a time.

That's my thought for today. Lunch was a bit large (an avocado, 2 big fat sausages and 2 slices of nice dutch soft dark multigrain bread with seeds and stuff in) but then I couldn't finish it anyway and left half a sausage and half a slice of bread.

Huh. Pause for thought.... last year I'd have considered that to be a fairly small meal! I'd have had a couple of eggs and half a tin of baked beans with it as well. So my portions really have reduced without me trying to fix it.

Done my SG just now (as a distraction from eating chocolate). Seems to have worked OK for the moment.

C.

[ceu]

sounds yummy. I love dark bread.

[carolejo]

Well, I went shopping yesterday evening so now we have FOOD in the house again!

Yesterday was a SUCCESS. I was totally NoS and I also did 14 minutes of SG. W00t! w000000t!!!!

This evening it's time for my third training jog for the "marathon" 10k. Right now, I'd be doing well if I could run a single kilometer without stopping. Oh well. Still got about 200 days before the actual event, so there's enough time.

Have a nice day, folks.
C.

[Lil Mouse]

Well, I went shopping yesterday evening so now we have FOOD in the house again!

Oooooh! Don't ya just HATE when that happens! LOL

WTG on the training, CJ!
AND on having a "totally NoS" day - plus SGing! WOW!

Have a great day!

::