letomoon daily check-in

[letomoon]

Hey everybody! Starting the No-S diet tomorrow... I actually planned to start today, but I think I was thinking too much about "no sugar" and kind of went on an ice cream binge. Lol.

But I have done the 5-factor fitness diet before - they have a "cheat day" and I responded very well with that, so I'm not sure what my problem is now... probably because I just recently moved to Japan and living by myself for the first time. I definitely know that I eat sugar to alleviate the loneliness. And I have been a "sugar-holic" ever since I can remember!!

Also I've always snacked (on sweet things - forget chips, give me chocolate!) so I'm not too sure how it's going to turn out. In fact my mom (who is a nurse) used to wonder if I was hypoglycemic because if I don't eat for several hours I get really shaky and irritable, weak and dizzy. But she always checked my blood sugar levels and they were within normal ranges, so... perhaps I'm just not eating enough at meals? I could never eat very much in one sitting, but I'm going to try starting tomorrow!

As for exercise, although shovelglove looks really interesting, I think a sledgehammer would be kind of out of place in my small Japanese apartment. I couldn't even imagine the looks I would get walking home with it... lol. So I have been doing the Ladder Exercises from the Hacker's Diet (a really awesome system, I suggest you google it... but the diet requires counting calories, and it was driving me crazy!!), and it's been working pretty good for me!! Same sort of premise as shovelglove - 15 minutes a day of progressive calisthenics/aerobic exercise.

Reasons for doing this: I realize eating sugar every day like I do is not healthy... and my parents are both fine unhealthy examples of what will happen to me if I don't change my habits now. (My dad is worse than my mom - he had quadruple bypass surgery! He's doing fine now and eating healthier though... my mom eats like crap but gets a lot of exercise at her job so she's in better shape.)

Another reason is my weight. I look chubby now - I'm about 5'3" with a large-ish frame and weigh 140lbs (64kgs). A lot of people say they would never guess I weigh that much, maybe because of my large frame, but I definitely see the excess fat, esp. in photographs. ugh. So it's partly for looks, and also because I want to feel better in my own skin, if that makes sense. I want to feel light and energetic like I used to when I was about 16. I weighed about 120~125 lbs then, so that's my long term goal.

Wow, this post is kind of long - more of an introduction. Well, starting tomorrow they'll be check-ins!

Thank you Reinhard for creating this! It's very common sense, and I could really use some of that. I'm looking forward to doing it!

[letomoon]

SUCCESS!!

B: instant plain oatmeal with cinnamon and soymilk, 1/2 large apple with peanut butter
L: big somen salad w/ veggies and tuna
D: "Japanese" Mexican food - cheese enchilada with Mexican rice, hash brown, and egg. Also had some chips and dip and a Corona!

I actually made it through the lunch~dinner stretch! I was so surprised! And my office always has snacks that someone has brought as a gift, and they passed them out today, and I didn't even eat them! I really wanted to, but then I realized that I wanted to because it was habit, and because everyone else was eating, and not actually because I wanted to eat it.

I think I can do this! My first sugar-free day! Yay!

[mel1974c]

Hi letomoon,

Great job on your first day! Sweets are the toughest part for me. I am not big on seconds, but am a "finish your plate" person. But I am 41 days into No S and I really enjoy it. I have had a few days where I was craving sugar, but, I made it through without giving in. Each day is new, keep that in mind.

As for the oatcake, I haven't ever made them much more than 1-2 hours before eating them. I suppose if you refrigerated it once it cooled, then it would stay fine. I recently started adding blueberries before cooking it and it is a great addition. I am sure any fruit would work. Using oats vs packaged oatmeal has gotten mixed reviews so you might have to adjust the amount of each ingredient to find out what works for you. I also add ground flax now to add Omega 3.

and chocolate chips would be fantastic for S days! Especially with the banana bread package that I use often. Great idea!!

Best of luck,
Melissa

[letomoon]

Hey Mel! I tried the 'oatcake' and it was delicious! Thanks for your post!

So, I know I have not been updating my daily check-in. But you didn't lose me, lol. I just discovered something really awesome about No-S and how it works with me...

I tried the strict No-S but it just didn't work... I was still actively thinking about food too much (i.e. obsessing). BUT, I noticed that if I do No-S for just a couple of days, it's natural for me to wander into 'normal' eating habits - I'll explain what I mean:

- I listen to my body and give it what it wants, even though sometimes that means it wants a donut and ice cream! Though I've discovered that I want these thing much less now than I did when I was obsessing over not eating them.
- I actually stop eating when I'm full - or if I eat too much, I won't eat a lot at my next few meals.
- I have stopped weighing myself daily... I do it when I remember to. And in the past week or so, I have lost 1 kg and I can tell my body looks a little fitter.

Basically I am doing all this without thinking about it!! That's the amazing part to me, because every time I've decided to not obsess over food before I started eating loads of crap and felt/looked worse. But this time I actually feel normal! And although I'm not following the No-S diet, I think that it's what is helping me... when I feel myself start to obsess over food/weight again, I do two things: 1) I don't try to block the obsessive thoughts but I let them go right through my brain (sort of like letting them in through the front door but opening the back door so it just leaves right away? lol), and 2) I do the no snacks, no sweets until I stop thinking about food, and it just sort of happens naturally!!

I think this is going to continue to work for me, and if not I feel assured that I could do a strict No-S... it's really great, I am concentrating more on work and important stuff, instead of food. Because being healthy is important, but other than changing small habits it's not worth worrying about!! So I can say thanks to No-S for that.