betty's Friday check in

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

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Betty
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: London

betty's Friday check in

Post by Betty » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:45 am

Started No S for the third time on Sunday. Weight: 138 (Gak!)

My hope is that in six months I will have the habit down AND be at my fighting weight of 125. Maybe not. I'd settle for having the habit down and being 132.

But habit, ah, and will power. Short of supply around here. In my notebook I wrote down what I expect from every week of the next 6 months, and it looks like this:

Week 1-3 Extremely hard (training myself to get hungry 3 times a day instead of every 3 hours) but with the benefit of novelty to get me through.

Week 4-6 Extremely hard (seeing small success and feeling better seems the most dangerous time to slip into old habits. I applaud my efforts too early or get scared (yes, I do) of succeeding at all. There's a part of me that wants to fail, for some reason.

Weeks 7-9 Super duper incredibly back breakingly hard (the novelty has worn off and I just want to quit having to have something in my life be so hard)

Weeks 10-12 extremely hard (see weeks 4-6)

Weeks 13-15 Easier

Weeks 16-18 very hard

Weeks 19-21 pretty darn hard

Weeks 22-24 really hard

Weeks 25-27 hard

You get the idea. This is going to be hard for a long time, and for different reasons as I go. But it just has to happen. I have, for the first time in my life (with the exception of being pregnant, which doesn't count) become fat. Not just a little round with no negative health effects, but actually, genuinely fat.

Let's call a spade a spade: IM FAT AND I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. My lifestyle is fat. My weak snacking-for-comfort self is fat.

So here's my commitment: No S for 6 months. I don't see myself losing gobs of weight-- one pound a month would be fine if it is consistent. I mean, that sounds paaaaaiiiinfully slow. Can I really be satisfied with that?

But look, if I'm honest with myself, would I rather be 6 pounds lighter after 6 months or just the same? The answer is, duh, 6 lbs. lighter. If I stick with No S I will be at least 6 lbs. lighter and out of the danger zone again, health wise. It seems worth the effort.

So I'll check in every friday (N days: Sunday-Thursday). See you in 3 days.

franxious
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:00 pm
Location: New Jersey

Post by franxious » Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:23 pm

Hi Betty,

How have things been going? I hope it's not as hard as you predicted.

Lisa

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gettnbusy
Posts: 326
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Location: Corona, CA

Post by gettnbusy » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:10 pm

Make sure your self talk is positive. I talk myself out of thing constantly. Your mind can only keep one thing in it at a time - make it something GOOD!
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

Betty
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: London

Post by Betty » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:21 am

Yes, I do seem a bit negative. But it's part of facing facts for me. The status quo is not really acceptable any more. And, to me, knowing that something will be hard makes it easier to do, because it's often not AS hard as I think. If I go into something thinking it will be easy, and then it gets hard, I tend to give up :?

Anyway, week 1 was more or less sucessful. Wednesday WAS hard, though. I was so hungry mid morning and resorted to virtual plating. Then, after dinner I had a small bowl of ice cream. No Binge Failure, then, because I didn't have more, even though my mind was screaming "You've failed anyway, why not go and make yourself a sandwitch."

In some ways, not binging after a failure is more difficult than sucess.

Sunday: Sucess
Monday: Sucess
Tuesday: Sucess
Wednesday: No Binge Failure
Thursday: Sucess

Betty
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: London

Post by Betty » Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:02 am

Down one kilo: 62.2 kg
Goal for next weigh in (Feb 15): 61.7 kg

Sun: success
Mon: s day
Tues: failure
Wed: sucess
Thurs: (no Binge) failure

Kind of a spotty week. But I'm spurred on by seeing the scale move. Next week will be a success!

Betty
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: London

Post by Betty » Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:53 pm

Didn't lose any weight this week, because I got sloppy. Had two failure days, and another day with some funny stuff (had to tend to the kids in the middle of dinner and then came back to it later).

Sunday: success
Monday: success (+ funny stuff)
Tuesday: Success
Wednesday: failure
Thursday: (no binge) failure

Weight: 61.8

Betty
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: London

Post by Betty » Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:54 pm

Hey, wait a minute, I did lose weight!!!

Goal for next weigh in: 61.4

Betty
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: London

Post by Betty » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:17 am

62.5 KG

Oh Woe! For the first time I didn't lose weight, but gained. I did get a little sloppy this week, but a whole kilo's worth? I know weight isn't supposed to be the point, but it still really bothers me. A motivational downer.

Sun success
Mon success
Tues failure
WEd no binge failure
Thurs success

Betty
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: London

Post by Betty » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:42 am

62 kg

Sunday: S Day
Monday: Failure
Tuesday: Failure
Wednesday: Success
Thursday: No Binge Failure

Not a sparkling week in terms of habits, or weight loss (last week must have been a water-retaining blip.)

Luckily I maintained, now it's back on track, girlie. Next weigh in I hope to be 61.7. It will be hard cause I'll be on vacation.

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