Everyday Systems

Day 4 of No S for me. Success. I love this. It feels like the only way for me to be in control is to avoid the snacks and the sweets (and seconds). The "S" days will be interesting for me. (I started on a Saturday, but I pretended it was Aturday and Unday, because I really needed to get started, after consuming 9 HUGE chocolate chip cookies on the Friday before I began No S).

I'll try to check in every day.

Success today. I'm loading a lot on my plate, but right now my main focus is sticking with No snacks, no seconds, no sweets. Later, I'll deal with portion control.

KAxelrod,

please let us know your preference,

but personally I would not like people COUNTING MY CALORIES on my personal daily checkin - seems pretty intrusive to me,
I think if you want to count calories you should definitely "count your own" ESPECIALLY BECAUSE NO S IS ANTI-SAD (STANDARD ACCOUNTING DIET)

Blueskighs

Thanks for the responses, LA_Loser, and blueskighs. This is the first time I've participated in a discussion board (although with numerous other weight watching systems, I've lurked on the outside, and read lots of postings).

And, blueskighs - Thanks for checking. I'm okay with folks doing a caloric accounting of my personal checkin. I know the 9 huge chocolate chip cookies was outrageous, and I have a fairly humorous outlook on my past bad habits. But, I do understand the notion of this not being a standard accounting diet. By the way, I LOVE your blog.

Oh my goodness-never in my wildest did I mean my comments about the cookies to be intrusive or anything negative. It had just occurred to me that since Karen's post had indicated that she was going to get her habits ingrained before she ever tried to limit her plate size, etc. that she could be encouraged that she might not even have to worry as much about her "plate loading" (her words).

I do not count calories--and am much appreciative of this simple plan that gives us the freedom not to do so. And I guess the point of my comment was missed. . . when we eliminate the sweets, snacks and seconds, there's no need to count anything. We're all on the same team, believe me.

And Karen, no worries, you're going to do great, I'm confident of it!

Peace, please!

LA_Loser - I didn't interpret your comments as intrusive or negative. Don't worry. I feel very supported and understood.

Thanks to all for your comments!

SUCCESS today. It feels so good to get hungry. It's a feeling I've rarely felt before, since I usually snacked/ate constantly.

Another Successful N Day.

My first S day. It was nice. Today I did a long training walk for my marathon next week, so I was hungry. Had seconds at dinner. And dessert. But I didn't binge, or pig out. I wasn't an idiot. It all felt good. It was a successful S day. I might even have some fruit later tonight.

Another nice S day. I wasn't an idiot, but I certainly indulged. Went out for dinner and had tons of Caesar salad and a mussel appetizer. And ate bites of everyone else's desserts, but didn't feel like getting my one.

Looking forward to N day tomorrow.

Successful N day.

Successful N day.

Successful N day. Although that was a pretty loaded plate at dinner. But, I had just shopped at the coop and had a bunch of fruit that I wanted to have, along with dinner.

Successful N day. I like this repetition. As someone else posted on these boards, it's nice to be boring like this.l

Friday. Successful N day. And, it was a traveling day (flew to St. Louis for Marathon on Sunday). I thought that might make it more challenging, because I eat constantly when in airports and on airplanes. But, I did it. No S.

Saturday. An Okay S-day. The Marathon is on Sunday, and I tend not to be very moderate leading up to the marathon. It'll be nice to go back on N-days. I wasn't very moderate.

Sunday. Marathon in St. Louis. Lots of eating, especially after the race. Due to flooding, marathon got cut from 26.2 miles to 10. Ate the rest of the day as if it was 26.2 miles. Not moderate at all! Felt frustrated and mad at the organizers that they stopped us at 10 miles. I ate a lot today - lots of sweets, lots of seconds, lots of snacks.

I'm REALLY looking forward to N-day tomorrow.

Monday - success. Nice to be back on N days. And, this was even a day with airplane travel, where I tend to eat a bunch, not out of hunger. Just did my 3 regular meals, and no S.

Tuesday - Success. (and over 10 miles of walking/race walking today)!

Wednesday - SUCCESS. Yay. This is with a drive into Boston for a gig, and a late night drive back home. (2 hours each way) Normally, I would have snacked the whole time. This time, I drank water.

Now - some more challenges coming. Flying today (which is always a snacking challenge for me) and then Friday, I'll be doing prospective college visit with my daughter in Asheville, NC. Another opportunity for snacks and sweets. But, I'll NO-S it both days.

Thursday and Friday - successful N day.

Saturday - almost an idiot S day. Did a 10 mile training walk, but still didn't "deserve" all I gave myself.

Sunday - today. A total idiot S day. Ugh. Arrgh. Back into bingeing. It's bedtime now, so after I do my HabitCal I'll go upstairs. No more mindless eating. I'm glad that Monday doesn't begin with an S. I'll try to figure out, tomorrow, what I learned from my excessive eating today. But, right now, I'm too tired. But, no matter what....I'm NOT going to beat myself up over it. I'm not going to feel guilty about it.

Monday - N day. Success.

Tuesday - N day. Success. I did a slight modification that I feel okay about. Did a 20-mile training walk today, and had 2 packets of "Gu" during the walk (what I eat on marathons). It is a Sweet and it is a Snack. (Seconds on Gu? No thanks) But, the calories seem really necessary during the training so I don't hit the wall - and it doesn't lead to a binge (although not impossible, it is hard to binge on a 20 mile walk). Anyway - I'm going to allow myself this modification on training days, and still count it as a successful N day. If this starts leading to justifying eating after dinner, then I will re-think my modification. I just had a fairly large dinner, and I think I'll be hungry later. But, I can live with the hunger until breakfast tomorrow morning.

I AM LOVING NO-S.

Hi Karen, just wanted to wish you a good rest of the week
Just to let you know, I only read the first couple of posts.
If it matters to you at all, I wanted to let you know that prior to finding NoS in 2005, I could probably polish of 9 big cookies, no biggie.. Now I would be sickened by that much.. Maybe three cookies at one sitting or four..
So don't worry.. It gets better over time
Peace and Love
Debs

KAxelrod wrote:Wednesday - SUCCESS. Yay. This is with a drive into Boston for a gig, and a late night drive back home. (2 hours each way) Normally, I would have snacked the whole time. This time, I drank water.

Now - some more challenges coming. Flying today (which is always a snacking challenge for me) and then Friday, I'll be doing prospective college visit with my daughter in Asheville, NC. Another opportunity for snacks and sweets. But, I'll NO-S it both days.

Ooh I hear Asheville is really nice, enjoy!

Wednesday - success!

Tomorrow is prep day for colonoscopy. Normal breakfast and lunch. Then only clear liquids. And, then, the dreaded gallon of yeechy drink at 5 p.m. I guess I'll consider it an S day, since I'm allowed popsicles and jello, along with clear liquids. But, not a fun S day. By Friday, colonoscopy day, I should be able to do regular No-S (should be home and able to eat by lunchtime).

I have to have a colonosocpy next month and decided to expand S days to include Surgery days! I've heard that the prep worse than the surgery. Good luck!
Kathleen

Thursday - Exception (yellow on the Habit Cal). Colonoscopy prep day. Breakfast and Lunch I was no-S. I had a soda, and now I'm drinking the gallon of uggh stuff. Might have some jello later. I guess it's almost a legitimate N day. But, I'll rack it up to an "S" day (sick/surgery). Tomorrow, too, will be an "S" day, since they said when I'm done with the colonoscopy, they'll give me an English Muffin and juice. And, I don't want that to be my lunch!

Friday - managed an N day (didn't have the food they gave me post-colonoscopy)

Saturday - S day. A bit out of control, but not too bad.

Sunday - S day. Ok, but once again, a bit out of control at night. But 2 out of control days/week is much better than 7 out of control days.week.

Monday - N Day. Success. I am bending the rules a tiny bit. I had a huge plate of salad, along with dinner today. This seems to work okay for me. I'll continue to be mindful of the fact that I'm bending the rules here, and if it leads to any other rule bending, I'll make some changes. But, for now, I think it's okay.

Aw Karen give yourself a break
Surgery and "yuchy drink prep days" (I know what that tastes like BLEEEEECCCCHHHH!!!)
Are *definitely* S days.

Hope you only drink non blechy drinks for a long time to come!
Peace and Love
Debs

Thanks, Debs and Kathleen for your kind sympathy about my yeechy pre-colonoscopy drinking! Uggh. All over now. And, I did indeed count it as an S day.

Today - Tuesday. N-day. Success. And this, despite fighting my migraine aura late in the day. Usually I want pretzels, goldfish crackers, chicken pot pie and ginger ale post-migraine. But, I really didn't want to call it an S day. So, I was fine with chicken pot pie for dinner, once I felt like eating real food...and that was it. Nice to know that even battling a migraine, I don't necessarily have to chalk it up to an S(ick) day.

Wednesday - N-Day. Success.

Did a 16 mile training walk today, but didn't fortify with GU during the walk. I feel really hungry now, and I probably should have snacked a bit on the walk. But, I can go to bed hungry. Just need to figure something out for my training days in the future. I don't think 3 plate-fulls is enough when I'm doing this much walking, even if I make smart choices.

Thursday - N day. Success.

Friday - N Day. Success.

I'm losing weight (I get on the scale once a week), but I REALLY don't want to be controlled by that beast. I'd like to TRY to not get on the scale until Nov. 1. I like how I'm eating, I'm VERY physically active. I DON'T need the scale to tell me how I'm doing. I know that if I get on the scale and don't see a loss, that makes me vulnerable to giving up the whole thing! I am piling LOTS of food on my plate on N days, but given how active I am, I think I need lots of food. I LOVE NO S!

I know I'm not supposed to worry about S days yet, (just a bit over one month, now) but I'd really like to focus on enjoying what I eat - building in sweets and seconds and snacks (not hard to do at all), but not resort to mindless grazing, especially at night (that's what I did last weekend). I feel like because N days are going so well, I'm ready to be a bit more mindful about my S days. So, tomorrow - just a bit of mindfulness. And, a lot of enjoyment.

Saturday and Sunday - S days. Uggh. I fall into mindless eating, bingeing, etc. ALL the old, bad habits. I'll give it a few more weeks, but it might be time to have a proactive plan for S days (2 snacks a day, 1 sweet a day...something like that). I know my focus should be on enjoying myself on S days, and that enjoying myself is NOT bingeing...yet, I can't seem to reign it in. Next Saturday is Baltimore Marathon and Sunday is day after the marathon. So - they won't be typical weekend days. But, I'd still like to approach them with some sort of plan. At least, Sunday!

Monday - N day. Success. Felt SO good to have my N day.

Tuesday and Wednesday - N days. Success.

THursday - N day. Success.

Friday - N day. Failure. Shucks. Was at the Marathon Expo with all the free samples, got REALLY hungry and caved. Then I treated the rest of the day as an S day. But, since I didn't start out calling it a NWS day, seems like it's gotta be an N day "failure."

Saturday and Sunday - S day. Marathon day, and post marathon day. Did my usual over-the-top marathon and post-marathon eating.

Today is Monday. It's nice to be having an N day!

Monday - N day. Success, despite a migraine that started in the evening and was untouched by my meds. Okay...I threw up dinner at 9:30 p.m. Darn it - that dinner shouldn't have to count as one of my 3 meals. Just kidding. (I hope nobody is reading this. I know it's Too Much Information). I know I could have counted it as an S (sick) day, but the migraine came late enough at night, that I really didn't feel like eating anything during/post migraine.

Tuesday - N day. I had a very late breakfast, because my stomach was still sort of weird from the migraine, and then I got so busy, that I forgot to eat lunch. That has NEVER EVER happened to me before. Definitely related to new habits. Normally (that is, before No S), I would eat throughout the day, and eat all my meals. Today, I didn't really get hungry, so I forgot to eat. I have NEVER heard myself say that before and when other people have said it, I thought they were crazy. I certainly won't make it a habit to skip meals, but it would be pretty weird if I actually have to think about making myself eat a meal.

Wednesday - N Day. Success.

Thursday - N Day. Success.

Yet, another challenging weekend coming up. But, I'm doing fine with the N days. So, I'll just let the S days happen, TRY not to be an idiot, and if I am, mark it and move on.

Friday - N day. Success

Saturday and Sunday - S day. Nearly an idiot on both days.

Monday - N day. Success.

Tuesday - N day. Success. It is twenty minutes past Midnight. I am so hungry. But, I'm done working, so I'll go to bed, and NOT gonna eat.

Hi Karen,

Just thought I'd pop in and say "Hi".

I read about you forgetting to eat a few days ago. I did the same thing on Monday....isn't it an odd experience?! I've heard people say that they've forgotten to eat...they are probably the same ones who carry a candy bar around in their purse for a month before they eat it...and I've always thought they were nuts (no pun intended)! How could anyone FORGET to eat???? What an insane thing to do! And, in the same vein, how could anyone carry a candy bar in their purse for a month? In the first place, how would it even get IN there? That would mean it would have gone from the grocery store bag INTO their purse and not into their mouth! And secondly, they would have to forget about it for weeks....again, an insane thought. But what a wonderful feeling when one of those things happen....it's such a feeling of control over food....

Anyway....I read your experience & wanted to say that you're doing great Karen!!!!

janie

Nice to hear from you, Janie. Congratulations on forgetting to eat a meal on Monday! I love your take on the impossibility of walking around for a month with a candy bar in your purse!

Once my schedule eases up in November, I'll get to look at every else's daily check-ins and have more time to respond to things on the boards!

For now - Wednesday - N day. Success.

Thursday - N day Success.

Friday - planned NWS.

Saturday and Sunday - S days. Uggh. Still not liking the ways S days are going for me. More later on that. Got to go to bed, soon.

Good luck with that Karen. It takes time. Don't beat yourself up and in time you will see that S days become less overindulgent.
I usually shoot for two nice treats per S day. I know I am happier when I don't overdo it.
Have a great week
Debs

Monday - N day. Success.

Tuesday - N day. Success.

Thanks, Debs, for your words about S days.

I can't wait until my schedule frees up, next Wednesday, and I'll have time to post, and look at peoples' check-ins, and read all the threads....

Wedn. N day - Success

Thursday - N day - Success

Friday (traveling to Ohio - N day - Success

Saturday and Sunday - S days, with a fair amount of idiotness going on, on my part. But, I expected these days to be very challenging for me.

Monday - Failure (I knew it was going to be hard). Was canvassing and working very hard, until midnight.

Tuesday - I gave myself a Special day. There was no way I was going to be anything but an idiot today. I knew, however, that I could get back to N day-ness on Wednesday.

Wedn. - N day - Success

Thursday - N day - success (finally HOME, yay!)

And, now, I'll have more time to look at/respond to these boards. YAY.

Friday - N day. Success.

Sat and Sunday - S day. I almost wasn't an idiot, but...alas, I'm still an idiot on S days.

Monday - N day. Success.

Tuesday - N day. Success.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - N days. Success. (even challenging Friday, with traveling, and the Marathon expo)

Saturday - S day - Marathon. Ate lots!

Sunday - S day. Post-marathon. Ate lots again.

Looking forward to Monday N-day!!!

Karen,

you are doing great! and a marathon! WOW! that is tuff! way to go,

Blueskighs

Thanks, Blueskighs. Yup...marathon. (I race-walk and walk it, I don't run it). I still use it as an excuse to eat tons.

My S days are still out of control - marathon or not.

Monday - N day - Success.

Tuesday - N day - Success.

Both Monday and Tuesday, my one plate rule at dinner was a bit gray. I'm going to consider both days a success, but with the awareness that this is a slippery slope.

Wednesday - N day. Failure.

A day to learn from. I was making a big pot of baked beans mid-day. I had a tiny taste of it, just for spicing/tasting purposes. And then, another tiny taste. Somehow, that led me to more snacking. An apple. And then, I knew I was going to mark it a RED day. So, instead of just moving on, and having that be the only S event, I consciously decided to "go for it." Binge, binge, binge. Don't quite know why I did it, but I'm going to try to learn from this.

For now, I will mark it, move on, and try NOT to feel guilt and shame, and all those other things that could derail me tomorrow. I'll go to habitcal now, and then look forward to an N day tomorrow!

Thursday - N day. Success.

Ah...much better than yesterday. And, I forgot to mention, along with all the excess eating yesterday, I found some chocolate cake in the trash (mind you, in a nice bakery box, in the trash). I fished it out and ate it. I had a feeling it was something my daughter bought when she was in town that day. Well, yes, it was something she bought. But, it was a week old.

And, THIS is why being on no S feels SO good. Because, when I'm not on it, I have no control. And, when I'm on it, I almost always have control. (except on S days and failed N days...and there aren't that many failed N days)

Friday - N day. Success.

KAxelrod wrote: I found some chocolate cake in the trash (mind you, in a nice bakery box, in the trash). I fished it out and ate it. I had a feeling it was something my daughter bought when she was in town that day. Well, yes, it was something she bought. But, it was a week old.

Hahahhahah!!! That's priceless!!!
Well I have done the same thing on occasion with stuff thrown in the garbage, but fortunately not a week old! LOL
It's been a pretty crappy day for me overall and that's the first real laugh I've had all day!
Thank you!
Have a great weekend and stay positive!
I really respect your honesty here
Love
Debs x

I fished it out and ate it.

Has anyone heard of Claim Jumper's the restaurant with ridiculously huge portions especially their desserts? A few years ago, I had one that I threw away and then got back into the garbage to fish it out. Standing there in the kitchen, I thought "Oh my gosh, if my husband walked in and saw me doing this he would be so completely disgusted."

I realize now that was my way of expressing my complete disgust with myself. I found this kind of behavior really emotional painful.

And, THIS is why being on no S feels SO good.

I agree wholeheartedly. Having some "healthy structure" works miracles.

Blueskighs

Saturday and Sunday - S days.

Monday - N day. Success.

And, I didn't fish anything out of the trash on any of those days, Debs and Blueskighs!

Good for you!
LOL
Have a great week Karen!
Debs x

Tuesday - N day. Success.

Thanks, Debs. Have a good week, and a great Thanksgiving. I'm hoping that soon, soon, soon, I'll have enough time to be on the boards a bit more, and read daily check ins of all you folks who have such wonderful, supportive posts!

Wednesday - N day. Success. Challenging, but I did it.

Thursday - NWS. Fun.

Friday. N day. Success. Challenging, but I did it.

Saturday - S day. BIG IDIOT.

Okay..I know I'm not supposed to "worry" about the S days, but I really do binge uncontrollably on my S days. And, I don't like it. So, I'm going to today, Sunday, an S-day, PLAN the day - just a bit. I'll have 3 meals, and also, at most 2 snacks, and at most 2 sweets. That would be far less than I have on all my IDIOT days. I'll see how that goes. I also have a big exercise day at the Y today.

And, on Monday, I'm going to fall back into strictness with the "everything fit on one plate" rule. I've been in the gray area there, lately, and that's not working for me. (for example, I'll have lunch, and then I'll think, I want an apple, and the apple WOULD have fit on the plate....no more of that! If I want the apple, I need to put it on the plate).

Okay...time for breakfast and then some exercise at the Y!

KAxelrod wrote: Okay..I know I'm not supposed to "worry" about the S days, but I really do binge uncontrollably on my S days. And, I don't like it. So, I'm going to today, Sunday, an S-day, PLAN the day - just a bit. I'll have 3 meals, and also, at most 2 snacks, and at most 2 sweets. That would be far less than I have on all my IDIOT days.

This is a great strategy Karen. I wouldn't equate doing a little planning on S days, to "worrying" about them.. It's being proactive and that's good.
There's no reason not to structure your S days if that keeps you from overdoing it. That is what we do. We don't decide on what we want till the weekend, but our basic guideline is to have no more than three S's per day, whether they are a snack or sweet or seconds.
Have a fun workout!
Love

Debs x

Yes, Debs. I guess planning S days isn't the same as worrying about them. And, I like the guideline of having no more than three S's per day.

So, I did a bit better today - Sunday (S day). Not an all out binge, but more than the 2 snacks and 2 sweets that I was going to allow myself. Next Saturday and Sunday I will aim for no more than three S's per day. Actually, Sunday is marathon, so I let myself do anything on marathon days. But, in the future, MORE planning for Saturdays and Sundays! Initially lost about 10 pounds on No S, over the course of a month, and now am slowly gaining it back. I think it's a combination of my IDIOT S days, and my "fudging" single plate servings at lunches and dinners. Back to Vanilla/Strict No S!!

Monday - N day. Success. Had to Virtual Plate my dinner, because I ate food from Trader Joe's, on the way to a gig. But, it would have fit on a plate. So, success today being more strict with my one plate meals.

What gig?? Are you a musician too??
Good luck this week with straight NoS Karen.
Debs x

Hi Debs - Yup, I'm a musician. (and also a dog-walker when I'm not off at gigs). I play folky stuff - improvised English and contra dance stuff. And you?

Today - Tuesday - N day. Success.

That is sooooo cool! I love that kinda stuff
I was a Bachelors of Music at Queens College and studied voice.. Graduated in 1989.. Did a lot of semi professional chorus stuff in NY for a few years.
Been a casual guitarist since I was about 9, and mainly these days just do folk/rock and reggae stuff which I record at home. Nothing really pro, but have done some very fun collaborations, and some songs have been put online on Itunes recently by a small promotion group for independent reggae and dub musicians.
Mainly I do backing vox on those collabs..
Feel free to check my little home demos of my acoustic stuff by going to my myspace (link at the bottom here) and also you can check my page here at my collab site.
www.reggaedubwise.com/debstar

One of my good friends is a great producer, and he lives in Northampton too.
So if you ever need to record, I can point you to him.

Funny you mention dog walking... I have considered doing that. Unfortunately I am very allergic!

If you have any links to recordings or youtubes please post em!
Love,
Debs

Debs - I loved going to your myspace page and hearing your music. Thanks. More later on music and dog walking and life.

For now...Tuesday - N day. Success. My dinner plate had some fuzzy real estate dealings. I didn't put the concord grapes and pomegranate on the plate, and if I had, it would be a mighty full plate. But, I did put the fruit out at the same time that I filled my plate. I'm calling it a success, but I need to be careful about this. I love to eat tons of salad and tons of fruit, but I don't want it to be at the expense of my dinner. I want to have my cake, and eat it too. I mean, have my fruit/vegies, and eat everything else, too.

Thursday - N day. Success. At dinner, I allowed myself a big, full plate of salad (just greens), and then my plate of dinner, but I'm still counting it a success. I was doing this in September and October, when we had great greens from our CSA, and it felt like it still worked for me. Where the fudging gets bad is when I eat a few apples after lunch and say to myself "Well - there would have been room on the plate for them." That's less conscious. My salad plate at dinner is more conscious.

Friday I head to Las Vegas for Marathon #10. Flying and not eating tons is always challenging for me, but I've had quite a few successes this fall, since starting on No S. So I think my travel days (Friday and Monday) will be okay. Saturday and Sunday (Marathon day) are S days. As always, my goal is to NOT be an idiot. Although on marathon afternoon and evening, I tend to give myself permission to eat a bunch.

Salad is good for you Karen.. Nah worry
Have a great weekend!
Love,
Debs x

Friday - N day. Success. (air travel, but kept it to 3 meals)

Saturday - S day. I wasn't a total idiot.

Sunday - S day. Marathon day. Once again - not a total idiot. Did Gu and other stuff like that throughout the marathon, but didn't totally pig out afterwards, like I usually do. (but even if I did, I wouldn't feel guilt!y).

Monday - N day. Success. Air travel back home, but once again, managed to keep it to 3 meals.

Tuesday - N day - Success.

Making the mistake of getting on the scale lately. The scale is up, but I'm ignoring it for now. I can't tell if clothes are looser or tighter at this point. I'm just going to stick with vanilla no-S for now, and hope I'm not gaining.

Wednesday - N day. Success. And, a solid one hour of elliptical. I've been treating all my walking as exercise, and it is. But I really need a more aerobic workout, if only for my mental state. So, I'm going to try to be better about fitting that in, even if I've walked three hours during the day (which is not uncommon on some days, if I have a bunch of dog clients).

Thursday - N day. Success.

And, Nautilus at the Y, and 1/2 hour of cardio. Yippee.

Friday should be no problem.

Saturday and Sunday - here's my plan. Each day: 3 meals, up to 2 PLANNED snacks and 2 PLANNED sweets. I know that seems like a lot, but it's MUCH less than my idiot S days. I would love NOT to perma snack the whole weekend away.

Great plan!!!
Have a nice weekend Sis
Debs

Thanks, Debs!

Friday - N day. Success.

Saturday and Sunday coming up. I'm looking forward to trying my new technique. Instead of being an idiot, and disregarding the "sometimes" in S days, I'll plan at most 2 snacks and 2 sweets on Saturday and the same on Sunday. *And 3 meals each day* I'm really looking forward to a weekend of non-bingeing. Let's see how it goes. I do have a big workout on Saturday (10 mile race-walk and Nautilus), but that doesn't mean I have to permasnack and binge.

Hi Karen,

I just read that you're a musician! How fabulous is that???!!! I have a friend whose kids are professional musicians...do a lot of folkish music, contra dances, folk festivals, etc.

This is their website....they are in their early 20's and have four CD's out. I just love listening to them.

http://www.vfiddle.com/vwelcome.html

I love your plan for "S" days. I'm a permasnacker too and weekdends have definitely been holding me back from losing what I want to. I'm trying to limit my "s"s too...I like the idea of deciding how many to allow before the day even gets started! I think I might steal your idea!

I'm so in awe of your marathoning....is that a word? I doubt it. I can't imagine running that far but I sure do admire you!

Take care...janie

Hey Janie - Thanks for the message. I actually know those kids. Played at an Ann Arbor festival with them last spring. (well, we were both hired...They played in one hall, I played in another). They're great. Small world. I don't think they'd remember me, but probably if you say to their mom (who I think is your friend?), that I'm the other pianist who was at the Ann Arbor Dawn dance festival, she'll probably remember me. By the way, I love your glass beads. I looked at Itsy. Beautiful, beautiful work.

And, to myself (and anyone else who reads this!), I did it. So far. It's 8:20 p.m. on Saturday. An IN-CONTROL S day. Wow. I had one snack, and one sweet (a flourless chocolate torte that I made). Might have popcorn tonight as a second snack, might not. I stopped after one piece of the torte. I feel satiated, not deprived. What a wonderful day. As long as I don't turn to permasnacking until I go to bed, I've done it. YAY! I think that I'll make S days just like N days, except with some treats. That attitude is different from my eat-everything-in-sight mentality, and it feels SO much better.

And, before anyone gets too impressed with my marathoning, I walk/race-walk the marathons - don't run 'em. Takes me over 6 hours (although this spring I'm trying for a 6 hour personal best). I love doing it. 10 states down - 40 more to go!

Karen,

It IS a small world! Noah & Andrew are the nicest kids....I know their mom 'cause she married a friend of ours a few years ago & we all instantly loved her. She's wonderful. My boys know them as they go to our church & whenever they do a contra dance around here my teens go & have a great time. Not sure you know, but Karen homeschooled both the boys while being a single mom. I homeschool too, but I don't know if I can even compare to the terrific job she did. They are not only great musicians, but wonderful people. Can ya tell I think the family is terrific?

And whether you walk/run or crawl through a marthon, you are still to be admired! Well done!

After I read your post yesterday about limiting your treats on "S" days, I realized that was EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I wasn't sure how to do it, but your post sent me in the right direction. I hate that I'm doing so well on green days and reverting back to permasnacking on yellow ones. I've decided to allow myself one of each treat on "S" days. And now that I've decided to have just those three items be okay, I rather doubt I'll choose all three on any one day. So...I'm keeping the freedom part, but giving myself some parameters. Thanks so much Karen....I had a great day yesterday with just dessert & no grazing! You sharing your thoughts helped me a lot!

Have a great day! janie

So glad that my S day ramblings could be helpful to you, Janie.

So - Saturday went well. 3 regular meals. 1 snack between lunch and dinner. 1 sweet after dinner. and, finally, a huge bowl of popcorn at 10:00 p.m. or so. That popcorn felt a bit permasnacky. It was big, and lasted a long time. But so much better behavior than other S days.

Today also went well. 3 regular meals. 2 snacks. 1 sweet. (and seconds at dinner). I'm less concerned about seconds on S days than I am about stopping the binge/permasnack/eat everything in sight mentality. And this weekend was MUCH better.

I'm learning. I think I'll continue to allow myself 2 snacks and 2 sweets on the weekends. Plan something good. And, if I want seconds at meals on S days, I'll let myself have seconds. I suspect with my level of exercise, this will work. It is SO much less than I used to have.

Happily, back to an N day tomorrow!

Karen,

I'm so glad the weekend went better for you! Mine was also. It felt wonderful to have the freedom to eat, but not give myself the freedom to graze all day. I think this is exactly what I needed right now. I'm so ready to move on...to take what I've already learned & go one step further. It sounds as if we're both starting Monday morning much more encouraged! Yeah for us!!!

Have a GREAT day Karen! janie

Monday - N day. Success.

Tuesday - N day. Success.

Both days, I had more hunger during the day than usual. But, it felt sort of good. Although, tonight, it didn't feel so good to feel physical hunger one hour after what I thought was a good, sufficient dinner (roasted roots, and steak!. we never have steak, but we got some organic, grass fed stuff from our CSA). Anyway, I'm having a bunch of tea now.

I'm tempted to grab an apple, but I won't. Before No S, grabbing an apple usually led to grabbing 3 more apples (I love apples, especially in the fall). And then I transition to eating just about anything else that's in the house. Until I go to sleep. Now, I just don't grab the apple, because I don't eat after dinner.

Wednesday - N day. Success.

Yeah girl! Rollin wid da Success days!
Have a good one!
Debs x

Thanks, Debs.

Thursday - N day. Success. I even did a Blueskighs, peppermint stick variation (2 meals, instead of 3). I really didn't mean to, though. I just never got around to eating breakfast. By the time I had a moment to eat (and awareness of hunger), it was noon. So, I called it lunch. I won't make it a habit. I feel like I do need my 3 meals/day. But, it was interesting to "forget" and not be hungry.

I walk tons every day (dog walking), but it's been great to add back in cardio at the Y, and Nautilus. Especially in the winter with icy, slushy stuff underfoot, I can't do my dog walking fast enough to be aerobically challenged. Doing cardio again is really feeling good! And, Nautilus now seems to be a habit (2-3 times/week). All these great changes.

The weight loss is VERY slow. And sometimes there seems to be weight gain. But this new food habit feels really good.

Once again, with Friday and Saturday approaching...my plan is each day have 3 meals, plus at most 2 snacks, and 2 sweets. If I do a long (3 hours or more) training walk/run at the Y on one of those days, I can eat during my training and not have that count as a snack. Otherwise, I like working with some guidelines for S days.

Ugh, ugh, ugh...Dec. 27 until today was one big binge, permasnack, overindulgence. I went back to my old ways. But today, an S day, I'm back on track. Even though it is an S day. I'll allow myself some S's, but not an S feast with no control.

Nice to be back.

Well - I continued to have a giant "S" fest until today. And, today was a successful N day. Phew. That feels good. Now, I get to go mark my habit cal with a bunch of reds, and finally a green for today! This feels MUCH better than what I've been doing.

Thursday - N day. Success.

Karen,

I've enjoyed reading your blog. Very inspirational!

buttercreampillow

Oy, oy,oy....many days of not doing No-S. Or trying to do it, but then Sing at night. Anyway, here I am again. It's harder to do it than it was in September. But, I've had 2 success days in a row. I am back. I prefer the sanity of No-S, to my other way of eating (bingeing).

So - Tuesday, Jan. 27 - N Day. Success
Wednesday, Jan. 28 - N day. Success.

Now, to my habit cal. I guess I've got to mark a ton of reds first.

Way too many "false" re-starts.

This time, it'll be a not false re-start. I'm going to go with vanilla - no mods, no changes. NO virtual plating, NO taking an apple after lunch, because it's "just" an apple. One day at a time, but I'd really like to get 21 days done. It feels so good to do this. It feels so not good, not to. So, today, Monday - Feb. 2. N Day. Success. And, I'm even hungry now, but going to bed.

Tuesday - N day. Success.

Ah! It feels good to get even this far again. 2 green days in a row!

Double post

"I'm learning. I think I'll continue to allow myself 2 snacks and 2 sweets on the weekends. Plan something good. And, if I want seconds at meals on S days, I'll let myself have seconds. I suspect with my level of exercise, this will work. It is SO much less than I used to have."

Vanilla No S means allowing S Days to be S Days.

My 9 year old calls this "The S Day Diet", and I think she's right. The way to succeed in following N Day rules is to allow no rules on S Days.

Kathleen

Thanks, Kathleen. I read those words, and I thought they looked familiar. So, at this point I'm not even worrying about S days. Back to getting the N days right. I'll let the S days take care of themselves for awhile (that means no rules for now).

So - a delight to be back. Monday, Feb. 16. N Day. Success. I'm hungry. It feels okay to be hungry. I'm going to bed now. I'll eat in the morning.

Tuesday - N day. Success.

I remember all fall how I would frequently enter this into my daily check in, and it seemed so boring. Then, I got WAY off track. It's nice to be boring. I'll be happy to enter "N day - Success" for every N day, and I promise not to say it's boring.

Wednesday - N day. Success.

Yes, I remember what this repetitive success feels like. MUCH better than the past 6 weeks of out of control behavior!

Succeeding is *never* boring!
Great to hear you feel back on track!
Today is my first full day feeling that way after a long rough patch.
Have a great week Karen!
Debs x

Karen,
Wonderful! The N Day habits really do affect S Day eating. You just have to give it time. I even got sick of Haagen Dazs bars! Of course, my 14 year old had to point out that I got sick of them long after everyone else in the family got sick of them!
Kathleen

Thursday - N day. Success. Despite a migraine aura this morning (and some successful meds make it not turn into a real migraine!), I stuck to it.

I'm traveling out of town tomorrow for a weekend gig. Friday will be a bit challenging, but I intend to keep it an N day.

I like doing my daily check in after dinner. That way, once I've written that it was a successful N day, I can't eat. Seems to help!

Exercise was not great this week. I do a lot of walking outside with my day job (dog walking), but I haven't been doing it very aerobically in the winter. Last went to the Y on Sunday. But at least the eating is now under control - 4 green days in a row. Getting to the Y is usually not a problem, so I'm not going to give myself a hard time about it.