Everyday Systems

Hello - I'm Spook. This is my check-in thread for my second attempt at NoS. I did try this a few months ago but I somehow got distracted and went back to my old habits. (I think the reason was that I made things too complicated, got on the scales too often and tried to do too much too quickly.)

So, as part of my plan to succeed this time, I'm going to keep things much simpler. Every non-S day I will:

1. Keep to the NoS diet
2. Do at least 20 minutes of exercise (normally jogging or cycling to/from work)
3. NOT weigh myself (until December 21, first day of winter)

I'm also going to log my progress here (and on my HabitCal) in the hope that a bit of accountability will help too.

Welcome. Good luck! I'm new to the system, but so far so good.

Day 1 (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Of course, it's day 1 so anything other than success would be a bit worrying!

Thanks for the welcome Finu!

Actually, thinking about it, the main mistake I made last time was being too obsessed with monitoring my weight. So the other thing I have resolved to do every day is NOT get on the weighing scales (until the first day of winter, December 21).

Day 2 (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Going well so far. Haven't been too tempted to snack yet - the worst time of day is about 11pm. I'd got into the habit of having a piece of toast or something similar at bedtime, so I think I'm going to start really missing that in a few more days.

Day 3 (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Think i overdid it with the running though - I can hardly walk now.

Day 4 (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

Got flu. Spent most of the day in bed feeling horrible

Day 5 (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

More of the same

Well, you're off to a great start-here's hoping you'll be feeling better ASAP!

Day 6: (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 7: (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

Thanks Jaxhil, it was going well, but I feel like a bit of a fraud having more yellows than greens on my habitcal! Hopefully that will change soon.

Still getting over flu this weekend, so didn't worry much about eating habits. Not going back to work until tomorrow (Tuesday), but I think I'm feeling well enough to consider today an N-day for NoS purposes. I'll get back on the exercise programme tomorrow.

Day 8: (N-day): NoS=FAIL Exercise=EXEMPT

The day was going fine until I absent-mindedly ate a piece of chocolate that was lying around in the kitchen. Only one square, though. Also while preparing my daughter's lunch for today I nibbled some bits of bread & ham. So no major transgressions but still a red mark on the calendar

Gave myself the day off the exercise plan as I'm still feeling weak from flu.

Back on track tomorrow hopefully.

Day 9 (N-day) NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=FAIL

Back on track with the diet but I just didn't have the time to walk or run to work today. Normally I would try and do some exercise in the evening to make up for it, but I didn't really have the inclination and to be honest I don't think it would have been a good idea, as I was still recovering from being ill.

Day 10 (N-day): NoS=FAIL Exercise=SUCCESS


No run to work again, but I had to go out in the evening so I made a special effort to park a mile away from my destination and ran there & back.

Did well with the diet all day, but my wife made a special meal in the evening which didn't fit in well with the 'one plate' rule (and part of it didn't fit in with the 'no sugar' rule either!) so I have to consider it a fail in the strict sense, as it wasn't an S-day. However I managed to resist snacking (which is my worst problem) so overall, I'm happy.

Good start, Spook. The good thing about marking days where you would have done fine except for social pressure as red on the habitcal is that you really don't want to blow any more in the absence of such pressure. And in time, you'll get good about mastering the art of positive excuses.

Best of luck getting a double green today,

Reinhard

Day 11, Thursday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise==SUCCESS

This evening we were both too tired to cook anything so had an indian takeaway, which meant 30 minutes' walk (there and back) - good enough for a green on the 'exercise' calendar.

Ordered only about two thirds of the amount of food I usually get, but it was still enough. I know it probably wasn't the healthiest meal, but I love the fact that this diet doesn't make me feel guilty about what I eat, just how much.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm pretty bad at saying no when someone offers me food anyway, but my wife hasn't been well lately so being able to cook dinner was quite an achievement for her & there was no way I could say no to it - even though she was quite upset when she realised that it would mean a 'fail' on my calendar!

Day 12, Friday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Another good day. Missed bus home so walked all the way, about 1 hour. Tired out by the time I got home. Very much looking forward to my first non-flu S-days!

Day 13, Saturday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 14, Sunday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

Ok, so after two weeks NoS is definitely NOT becoming a habit yet! I was straight back to my usual snacking this weekend. I'm sure it just takes time.

Day 15, Monday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Nothing much to say, except that the late night snack cravings are subsiding now, which is good.

Day 16, Tuesday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Day 17, Wednesday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Another good day. Funny stuff - had melon followed by pasta for dinner, on separate plates. A little hard to visualise plate size.

Why is it that I get hungry about 2 hours after eating pasta?

Day 18, Thursday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=FAIL

Took the car to work today as I had to be in extra early. Didn't have time to do any exercise in the evening, Back to square one again!

Day 19, Friday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Today went well until late in the evening. Really tempted to have a midnight snack before going to bed. Had to remind myself that S-day does NOT begin at midnight!

Exercise wise, I'm walking rather than running at the moment. Today's walk home felt very very tiring. My heart wasn't really in it.

Day 20, Saturday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 21, Sunday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

Enjoyed some very unhealthy Ben & Jerry's ice cream this weekend!

Day 22, Monday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=FAIL

Another car day today. Came very close to a fail in the No S. Feeling a bit down this evening and decided on some comfort eating, but managed to avoid it at the last minute...

Woo hoo! 12 days on habit for No S - half way to the 21 day milestone - that's more than I ever managed the first time I did this, back in April/May. The exercise is going to be tougher, but I'll get there.

I've just been looking back through my personal calendar from my previous No S attempt. I think I'm doing better this time, because I'm keeping it simple and not making up complicated rules and getting obsessed about progress tracking (and I'm NOT getting on the scales. Not until December 21st).

Anyway I've copied the greens/reds/yellows from the first time to my HabitCal for comparison.

• April/May 2007 HabitCal
• October 2007 HabitCal

Day 23, Tuesday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Getting my bike repaired so I can start cycling again. Rode it to the bike shop this morning and then walked from there to work.

I did eat a small amount of food while cooking in the evening (about 3 teaspoons of soup and a small piece of cheese that broke off while I was grating it). However, I've allowed myself a SUCCESS today because tasting the soup was just part of the cooking process, and the cheese was going to end up on my plate anyway.

I don't normally go for exceptions but I think this one is harmless; when I'm really snacking, I know full well that I'm doing it.

Day 24, Wednesday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

No problems at all today

Day 25, Thursday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Takeaway pizza for dinner. (They were doing a buy one, get one free which meant we had waaay too much pizza). Anyway, had a (virtual) plate of 4 (smallish) slices. I always find that I can't stop eating pizza until it's all gone, but managed to resist today.

Got my bike back from the shop. Taking it on vacation next week, and after that I will start riding to work again - I can't wait! Walking is good, and I like the urban ranger-y aspects, but I do enjoy the thrill of cycling much more. Plus, I think it's a better workout.

Forward planning: Days 27-28 (this weekend) will be N-days; days 29-33 (vacation) will be S-days; days 34-35 (next weekend) will be N-days.

Day 26, Friday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS
Day 27, Saturday (N-day): NoS=FAIL Exercise=SUCCESS

Let myself down today - my first N-day that wasn't a work day. Lunch at friends' house included dessert, so I had already failed by lunch time (this issue does seem to be a slight problem with this diet - what to do if social situations arise in which it would be rude not to accept an S).

After going out for a long walk in the afternoon, I somehow decided that having failed, I might as well not worry for the rest of the day. Ended up having 2 chocolate chip cookies in the evening.

Never mind, tomorrow will be better, then it's holiday time!

Day 28, Sunday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS
Day 29, Monday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 30, Tuesday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 31, Wednesday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 32, Thursday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 33, Friday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 34, Saturday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Feeling very relaxed after the vacation. I didn't exactly go overboard, but I certainly didn't eat enormously healthily either. There was at least one ice cream sundae, and more than one hot chocolate with whipped cream (the real stuff, not out of a can). But I did LOTS of exercise - cycling everywhere, and badminton & squash. Had a great time, I'm back and I'm ready to get NoSing again.

Saturday went well, no transgressions. Lunch was a bit rushed so didn't have time to load up a plate before starting eating, but I kept careful track and didn't overeat. Exercise was running after my little girl for a couple of hours at soft play and in the park!

Sunday isn't going so well so far, already failed by having extra toast at breakfast. I will try and make that the only fail for the day though.

Day 35, Sunday (N-day): NoS=FAIL Exercise=FAIL

Ugh, big fat fail. It was already going wrong at breakfast time. Got started on a packet of biscuits in the evening and ended up eating WAY too many. This is the second time I've failed early in the day and ended up going crazy later on. Annoyed.

Good luck tomorrow
Peace and Love,
Debs

Day 36, Monday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Back on track.

Had no time for breakfast so ate a banana on the way in, but was really hungry by lunch time and so lunch ended up being bigger than I would have liked (a large sandwich made with home made bread which is impossible to slice thinly!)

I really find it much easier to stick to NoS on work days, because the temptation to snack isn't there, and I'm busy all the time. Weekends it's easy to snack because I spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen surrounded by food.

Exercise today was cycling to work for the first time in months (after getting my bike repaired to take on vacation last week). It was fun!

Thanks for the encouragement debs, I needed it. I was ready to pack in the diet yesterday.

Day 37, Tuesday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 38, Wednesday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

Got a nasty stomach bug, having a couple of days off.

Day 39, Thursday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 40, Friday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

Getting sick of feeling sick

November is shaping up to be a very yellow month on my habitcal!

Day 41, Saturday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT
Day 42, Sunday (S-day): NoS=EXEMPT Exercise=EXEMPT

Pretty much recovered by Saturday, but still ate fairly carefully. Sunday was another story - we had a bag of donuts in the house to offer to a large group of people who were coming round, but then they didn't come round, so we ate them between us. Followed by takeaway pizza with an unexpected visitor at tea time, and then cake at a friend's house in the evening.

No guilt though - it's an S day plus I've probably lost weight due to being ill all week anyway

Monday is going well so far although I can't see myself fitting in any exercise today - too busy (had to take the car to work) & too tired (had to start extra early). Also I'm working very late tonight so dinner may be a problem too...

Day 43, Monday (N-day): NoS=FAIL Exercise=FAIL

A bit of a borderline day because I did well all day, but my dinner in the evening was more than a plateful (although I didn't go back for seconds, I had soup followed by a main course, and I didn't adequately make room for the soup on the main plate, if that makes sense). At the time it didn't feel like a fail, but in retrospect I can't allow myself to get away with it because it would set a bad precedent. (I'm being strict about the rules).

Unfortunately I couldn't fit any exercise in either because I had to work from 8am to 9pm, which meant taking the car to work, and I was unbelievably tired when I got back.

Day 44, Tuesday (N-day): NoS=SUCCESS Exercise=SUCCESS

Not a good day. Went to bed too late, got really hungry & made myself a snack but then didn't eat it. Feel like I've really earned the double green today!

Day 45, Wednesday

Exercise
A long, brisk walk home from work (about 1 hour).

NoS
Meals were sensible and didn't really feel tempted to snack, apart from the usual late evening hunger.

This was the first day that I've felt really happy with my No S habit for a while. I think I'm getting there at last.

I do find that getting a bit more exercise somehow makes it easier to stick to the No S rules. Something about feeling virtuous I think.

Going to keep these posts slightly shorter from now on, but I think I'll still post every day, at least until I hit 21 days on-habit.

Day 46, Thursday

Exercise
Walked about 30 minutes
NoS
No problems

Day 47, Friday

NoS
A good day, but dinner was too much of a rush and I didn't plan it properly. Wasn't a very filling meal - ended up ravenous by 10pm so ate some cereal. A fail but not a bad one.

Exercise
No time

Day 48, Saturday - S-day
Day 49, Sunday - S-day

Day 50, Monday

NoS
Some 'virtual plating' today but no rule-breaking. Still getting hungry in the evenings though.

Exercise
Walked 40 mins.

Day 51, Tuesday
NoS
No problems

Exercise
(edited) Got out of sync and wrote Wednesday's check in here earlier. Thinking back, my memory fails me about Tuesday, but I know I walked at least 20 minutes.

Day 52, Wednesday
NoS
No problems
Exercise
Two 30 minute walks. One of them in pouring rain

Day 53, Thursday
NoS
Had fajitas for dinner which for us is not usually a 1-plate meal, more of a help-yourself sort of thing. So I very consciously filled my plate before I began eating, and I definitely ate less overall as a result. Feeling pleased with myself.
Exercise
Again, had to be at work extra early so took the car, which meant no exercise, unfortunately.
I'm Wondering what I can do to get some physical activity on days like this - maybe shovelglove...?

Day 54, Friday
NoS
No problems
Exercise
Long, brisk walk from work.

Day 55, Saturday
NoS
Enjoyed my S-day treat today - shared a bag of yummy chocolate chip cookies with wife while out shopping.
Exercise
Although it's an S day, I did have to do a 20 minute walk/run followed by running up 10 flights of stairs.... (not through choice though really!)

Day 56, Sunday
NoS Exercise

Day 57, Monday
NoS
No problems, except a somewhat fragmented dinner due to interruptions from the little one.
Exercise
Short brisk walk to/from work (20mins each way)

Day 58, Tuesday
NoS
Another problem-free day.
Exercise
20 mins walk x2

Day 59, Wednesday
NoS
No problems. I'm now 10 days without a fail, and 22 days without a really serious fail. The habit is definitely forming... I was offered a cookie today and said 'no' without evenhaving to think about it
Exercise
20 minutes walking x2

Day 60, Thursday
NoS - no problems
Exercise - no problems

Day 61, Friday
NoS
A good day. Worked from home today, which in the past has led to failures, but not today
Exercise
Didn't manage it due to different routine.
Day 62, Saturday - NoS Exercise
Day 63, Sunday - NoS Exercise
Day 64, Monday
NoS
No problems
Exercise
2x20mins walk

Day 65, Tuesday
NoS - No probs
Exercise - quite a bit of walking to various places, but didn't make the 20 minute threshold

Day 66, Wednesday
NoS - no problems
Exercise - 20 mins walk x2
Day 67, Thursday
NoS - no problems
Exercise - took the car to work

Today is Friday, day 68 - if I can get through the rest of today I will have reached 21 days of success in NoS!

You can do it! Think how wonderful you will feel tomorrow when you celebrate an S day!

Day 68, Friday
NoS
I made it!! 21 consecutive days of NoS. Friday was a particularly tricky day as it was the first time I've had a non-work N-day, as I had a day off.

Usually all my days at home are S days and so I'm used to being able to enjoy a few treats without feeling guilty, so I was pretty worried that I would simply forget that it was actually an N-day - but the fact that it was day 21 helped me to make sure I didn't forget.

Exercise
As I was home I didn't get a walk today, although I did have a fairly active day around the house (rearranging furniture to make room for a christmas tree!)

Jammin' Jan wrote:You can do it! Think how wonderful you will feel tomorrow when you celebrate an S day!

Thanks, it does feel good! Now to decide how I'm going to celebrate...

I'm going to stop posting here as regularly now as I don't have much to say! I'll carry on using the HabitCal instead and only post here if I need to clarify something.

Thursday 20th Dec
NoS - allowed myself an 'S-evening' for work Christmas party, which was a 4-course meal. Resisted after dinner mints as a token NoS gesture

Friday 21st Dec
Weighed myself this morning for the first time since starting NoS. I was 183lbs. That's 17lbs less than the number on the scales 3 months ago!!!

I'm pretty sure that various factors, such as the fact that I weighed myself at different times of day, are responsible for a few of those pounds, but there's now no doubt in my mind that this diet is REALLY WORKING and I'm gradually getting back to a healthy weight.

I'm very happy today!

Congratulations, Spook! Well done!

I'm very happy for you too! Congratulations-well done!!

Gold star for you!!!

Thanks all! This forum is such a great source of wisdom and reassurance, I don't think I could have got this far on my own.

No more weighing until 21st March now! If I've lost more weight by then I'll treat myself to a copy of the NoS book

Thursday 27th Dec
NoS
Christmas has been a little bit over-indulgent (but better than past years) so I've probably undone a little of the good work, but I'm confident that I can get back into the No S habit next week. I just have to find a REALLY GOOD hiding place for all the sweets we've been given (or maybe just give them away).

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get back into the habit today after 5 S-days in a row. I'm off work all week so there's very little to differentiate S-days from N-days at the moment. Today my heart just wasn't in it, and there were too many nice treats around to resist.

Still, I managed 33 days without a fail. It's OK.

Friday 28th Dec

NoS
Phew, back on track It's been a supremely difficult day though. The snacks were calling all day, and I had pasta for dinner which for some obscure reason always results in me feeling hungry at bedtime. I'm glad I got through it though - haven't had a proper S-day for a week.

Forward planning (just for personal reference):

• Saturday and Sunday - S-days as usual
• New Years' Eve - N-day until 6pm - after that, I'm allowed snacks and sweets (New Year's Eve party).
• New Years' Day - N-day as usual.

Monday 31st Dec
NoS
Nearly made it to my 6pm deadline without snacking, but failed at 5.40. I'm being overly harsh, maybe, but I want to motivate myself to do better.

Tuesday 1st Jan
NoS
A very bad day today, permasnacked all day - was working very hard on a project into the early hours (didn't go to bed until 6am ) so I was pretty much just eating what I could reach without stopping typing. Plus there were crisps and sweets left over from the party last night too, so failure was pretty much guaranteed!

Exercise has been non-existent this past couple of weeks due to Christmas, family visits and workload. Back to normal routine on Thursday.

Don't think I'm going to do too well today (Wed 2nd) either, 3 hours sleep & major stress is a recipe for disaster I think. Having said which, I'm at work again which means no snacks/sweets within close proximity, so maybe I'll be OK.

Wednesday 2nd Jan

NoS
Had seconds.

Exercise
Didn't do any

Thursday 3rd Jan
NoS
Bad fail, won't go into details but it wasn't good. Well, it was good, but it wasn't sensible
Forgot about it, moved on.
Exercise
Life is still in a bit of a mess after Christmas / new year so haven't got back to walking to work yet..

Friday 4th Jan
NoS
Made it.
Exercise
No

Life is getting back to normal a bit now. Next week will be better.

Still keeping with the programme!

I haven't done quite as well as I'd like this month, especially exercise-wise, but it's been... adequate. I've had 8 fails on No S though, and some of them were really stupid.

On the bright side, there have been 13 successful S-days, which is still much better than nothing.

Wednesday 30th Jan

Today I had a chocolate biscuit for breakfast. I had just made porridge when I had a call about an urgent problem to deal with at work so I had to rush out and didn't get to eat it. By the time I'd sorted it out I was starving, so I had a biscuit at work and called it breakfast.

So I'm allowing myself this exception because it was basically the only food option available to me, and if I fail now I know that the rest of the day will be a disaster.

Last Monday was a big fail, the first time for a while that I've failed quite so spectacularly.

The last two weekends have been a bit overboard. I think I need to work on a bit more S-day moderation.

Tuesday 18th March

NoS - fail

Had a really hard day - an early start followed by a very busy day, and a late night. Spent the whole evening resisting hunger and finally gave way and had peanut butter on toast.

Aside from a couple of fails recently, generally it's going fairly well. My S-days are still pretty up and down, and I think I'm occasionally being a little bit lenient on myself as far as 'no seconds' goes, but I'm not too worried.

Hopefully I'll see some progress in the weight loss. This friday is my quarterly weigh-in!

Before NoS - 200 lbs
21st Dec - 183 lbs
21st Mar - 181 lbs

To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed that I've only lost 2 lbs in the past 3 months. However, it's still a downward trend, and I keep telling myself that even if I only lose 2 lbs every three months, I'll reach my target weight in 2 years.

Hopefully as the summer months approach, I'll be able to step up the exercise a bit and lose a bit more by the 21st June.

The habitcal says it all, really. I'm doing very badly, diet-wise. I'm going to do the clean slate thing, start a new thread and try and get back on track again.

Exercise isn't really happening at the moment either, as I've had lots of stuff going on that's made it very difficult to do my usual walks to & from work. Hopefully that will change soon too.

I've not given up on No S, but I'm on a prolonged hiatus.

I will start up again at some point. I don't know when that will be - it might be next week or it might be next year.

Still not finding myself able to get back on board with No S. I've been suffering from a severe lack of willpower over the past few months.

However, I've taken a (very) small step in giving up chocolate for lent. I need to "build up my willpower reserves" again...