Everyday Systems

Well, I've decided to try the daily check-ins -- hopefully it will help me get rid of the REDS.

01- MAY18(Mon): GREEN only 20 non-red days to go
02- MAY19(Tue): RED well, the green didn't last very long -- here we go again...
01- MAY20(Wed): NO COMMENT

GOAL: 21 DAYS NO REDS -- OCCASIONAL WHITE ALLOWED Oops: changed my mind, won't call it white if I have healthy snack; will mark it yellow instead (I'm visual, and I like to see the colors).

01- MAY21(Thu): YELLOW (snack)
02- MAY22(Fri): YELLOW snack=1 fruit + 1 S event
03- MAY23(Sat): YELLOW
04- MAY24(Sun): GREEN
05- MAY25(Mon): YELLOW snack=bowl of cereal
06- MAY26(Tue):RED
07- MAY27(Wed):
08- MAY28(Thu):
09- MAY29(Fri):
10- MAY30(Sat):
11- MAY31(Sun):
12- JUN01(Mon):
13- JUN02(Tue):
14- JUN03(Wed):
15- JUN04(Thu):
16- JUN05(Fri):
17- JUN06(Sat):
18- JUN07(Sun):
19- JUN08(Mon):
20- JUN09(Tue):
21- JUN10(Wed):

Well, day one, May 18 is done and it was GREEN! It was tough, especially after supper. I would have easily gone for a bowl of cereal (or something else with more sugar) - but I didn't. This morning I was really hungry and had breakfast at home instead of at work, so because I ate earlier than usual, I was hungry at 11:00 (lunch is usually around noon). I waited, and really enjoyed my sandwich.

Let's see how the rest of the day goes -- I'm aiming for green number 2.

Good luck! I like the way you've set up your 21 days on here. It doesn't matter when you start. Remember that it DOES get easier the more you do it!

Yes, I like the planning in advance too ... Good work, Butter.


It's like on my Habitcal, I usually plan it one week in advance
and then I adjust the green/yellow/red squares based on what has been going on ... Once I am at the end of the week I plan the next week as well ...

Cheers !

Marc

May 19: Well, the second green didn't happen -- it's discouraging, but tomorrow's another day, right? Can't give up ... I've been trying for so many years (every diet in the book), not succeeding, getting discouraged and giving up -- I can't give up this time

I was doing well until mid afternoon, and then I got hungry, so I ate a handful of soy nuts (I know, I wouldn't have died of hunger had I not had a snack) That wouldn't have been too bad, but having that snack meant a RED day, so I figured, "what the heck!", might as well have sweets as well, since anyways, it's a RED day. I know, it makes no sense, and there is no logic to that -- but somehow, when it comes to food, logic often goes out the window with me.

I guess tomorrow is day 1 again ...

but having that snack meant a RED day, so I figured, "what the heck!", might as well have sweets as well...

Butterfly - see! Sigh. That's the kind of "stinkin' thinkin' (I referred to in another post somewhere) that gets us into trouble! I too have succumbed to that line of thinking more than I care to admit - to the point where I was starting a new diet every day! For me it's either all white or all black - no gray areas...perfectionist way of thinking, I guess. Such a difficult mentality to live with in regards to food and eating habits. NoS has helped me with that problem.
If mid-afternoon is a problem for you then maybe make a mod to your NoS? Have a small snack at that time each day until you feel you can get by without it.
Marc saves fruit from breakfast and eats it later. Maybe you could do the same? Read through his posts and see how he does it. We're rooting for ya!
Mimi

I think you're right Mimi! I rarely eat fruit (I'm not a big fan of fruit) -- so if I were to allow it as a snack when I really feel the need to eat something, it's not a food that I would abuse.

I agree with your comment about our way of thinking of it being black or white -- I know it's not a good way of thinking because I end up putting a lot of pressure on myself, and it results on feeling like I fail on a regular basis. I know that by eating a handful of soya nuts yesterday afternoon, wasn't a reason to mess up the whole day -- but I did it anyways.

I'm going to give some thought on making a mod to my No S days.

Thanks,
Butterfly

butterfly1000 wrote: then I got hungry, so I ate a handful of soy nuts (I know, I wouldn't have died of hunger had I not had a snack) That wouldn't have been too bad, but having that snack meant a RED day, so I figured, "what the heck!", might as well have sweets as well, since anyways, it's a RED day. I know, it makes no sense, and there is no logic to that -- but somehow, when it comes to food, logic often goes out the window with me.

That's just how it's always been with me. If I wasn't perfect, it gave me license to eat whatever I wanted. Here though, I learned that just because your car hits a post doesn't mean you have to crash into a brick wall (or something like that anyway).

That's why yesterday, after wanting to eat all afternoon and having had a largish amount of hummus with dinner (it did fit on my plate but I ate it out of the container), I decided NOT to call it a red day, because I was afraid that would mean, in the same kind of logic you mention, that I may as well have a sweet and a snack too.

Yeah, when you have more control, you are less likely to fall off the deep end ... sometimes you can fail too but it's not totally out of control, you may have cheated a lil' bit but your whole day is not entirely ruined ...

That's why when I have a 'Yellow' day, it's not as good as a green of course but I still made some effort. It was not perfect but the day was not a total loss either. You can have several yellows in a month and it won't hurt you too much compared to the 'red days' ...

I try to avoid those red days as much as I can cos' they're the ones causing the problems. I had 2 in may so far, hopefully none until the end of the month. Avoiding red days is a key part of my diet.

Avoid the reds and try to stick to yellows and greens and you'll do much better ... Butter.

Cheers !

Marc

guadopt1997 wrote: That's why yesterday, after wanting to eat all afternoon and having had a largish amount of hummus with dinner (it did fit on my plate but I ate it out of the container), I decided NOT to call it a red day, because I was afraid that would mean, in the same kind of logic you mention, that I may as well have a sweet and a snack too.

I actually thought about calling it a green day since the snack wasn't really bad, but I felt as though it was cheating -- but now that I look back at it, I should have stopped right there and still called it a green day (or maybe an "almost green day)".

I've been thinking of maybe just concentrating on the No Sweets for a couple of weeks -- it's my biggest challenge, and every excuse in the book is good to allow myself to have some. Seconds is rarely a problem. With snacks, I'd have to give myself specific allowable snacks so that I don't abuse.

I don't know what to do -- I'll have to think about that one.
Butterfly

I use yellow for S days in my HabitCal. Maybe a day that can't be called totally GREEN but where there was only a slight glitch that will certainly not matter in the long run (or even in the short really)--unless it gives one license to go way overboard--could be white.

Great idea Quadopt -- I'm going to try that.
Thanks!

marcdesbiens wrote:That's why when I have a 'Yellow' day, it's not as good as a green of course but I still made some effort. It was not perfect but the day was not a total loss either. You can have several yellows in a month and it won't hurt you too much compared to the 'red days' ...
Marc

Quadopt1997 wrote: I use yellow for S days in my HabitCal. Maybe a day that can't be called totally GREEN but where there was only a slight glitch that will certainly not matter in the long run (or even in the short really)--unless it gives one license to go way overboard--could be white.

I'm going to try that -- a day with just a slight glitch I'll call it white (and that glitch CAN'T be sweets, because until I get more control over sweets, a small glitch will turn into a red day). I'll still try to do the 21 days in a row of no reds, but it won't go towards being a member of the 21 day club if I have whites in between -- I'll keep the 21 day club challenge for a later time.
Butterfly

Thu MAY21:

The day wasn't too bad -- could have been much worse if I didn't allow a snack to be a yellow instead of a red.

Had cereal for breakfast, chicken & vegetables for lunch, smoked meat sandwich for supper. I was home from work, so the food was very tempting throughout the day: snacks were banana and soya nuts.

I tried Marc's system of calculating percentage of success, and it could be a very revealing system. Since I don't have a full month of data yet, I took the last 3 weeks and calculated each individually: a 74% success rate resulted in a little weight loss for that week, while 26% resulted in none (NOT SURPRISING!)-- it's interesting to see the link. Having high success rate for a particular week may not always result in a positive change on the scale, because there are other factors that affect our weight, but it'll be interesting to see the trend. I like using charts (whether it's for weight, exercise or other) -- so I think this is one I'm going to continue using.

HOPEFULLY FRIDAY WILL BE GREEN

Butterfly

Isn't Marc's idea great?! I love it too! It IS very revealing and one that I think I can continue to use too. If you lost weight at 74% compliance, Butter, just think what 80% will do for you! For once, maintenance, should become very easy - all the mystery will be gone from the age-old question of how to keep the lost weight off for good. I'm excited! You keep up the great work - sounds like your NoS mod is working! Talk again soon!
Mimi

Wow, nice ! I didn't think people would be willing to do a chart like that, I hadn't even mentioned it before.

I have been tweaking my chart and system since early february I think. I finally came up with the right system for me, one that seems to work and that I can follow as well. It's no use aiming for 100% compliance to your habits, it's extremely hard to do and there will always be something that happens, people coming over, going to a party, that sort of thing ...

At first I was trying to have 85% compliance but I thought that was really hard to follow and discouraging when you were struggling to make it all the time. Besides I see I am losing weight on a regular basis just using the 80% rule so it's all good.

How it works, I do this both for the diet and the exercise separately but I try to have 80% for each one every month.

Green is worth 1 'unit' ... yellow, 0.6 unit, Red, 0 unit.
(I used to count 0.5 unit for the yellow days but I changed it to 0.6 later on, 0.5 just seemed too harsh, losing half the unit because I had a bagel for example.)

Exercise, A green day would be one where I exercised for at least 60 minutes, (often it is split in two sessions, morning and early evening. If I am too busy, it's raining or I miss a session I can do 60 minutes straight of course but most times I like to split. A yellow would be a day where I only exercised for 30 minutes. Red, no exercise.

Nutrition, Green day, I've been good all day long, following my diet closely, only eating what is written down on my piece of paper ... A yellow, mostly good but I may have added some things, a bagel for example (Yeah, I like bagels !) ... I wasn't 100% good but I wasn't bad either, there was still some effort during the day.... careful not to cheat too much though, cos' your yellow day will turn into a red one ! (You have to be honest with yourself too using this system, if you cheat too much, it's worth a red.) Red day, those I try to avoid as much as I can, days where I am bad (I only had 2 red days for the nutrition this month, my lowest number so far since I've been tracking this ...) Avoiding red days is the key to success. It is really hard to recover if you have too many red days.

For example you start the month with 4 red days in a row ... this gives you 0 unit and you still have to get 80% for the month ?? This means for a month that lasts 30 days, you have to get 24 out of the next 26 units ... to get your 80% compliance ... REALLY hard to do !! This is why avoiding the red is important, you can even get 2-3 yellows in a row and it won't hurt you as much as a red in the end.
...

A double green counts as a day where I am living a 'Monastic lifestyle' ... Green for the exercise and the diet, those are the most productive days, I have them regularly, especially in the 2-3 days following a red day ... or near the end of the month trying to make my monthly objective, it should be no problem this month since I limited the red days a lot, I am confident I'll be under 216 by may 31st, maybe even below 215 the way it's been going. I used to have an objective related to the double green days too, something like 60% of the days had to be double greens, but I stopped doing that after a while.

Anyway, you can count the days by hand or use a chart to track your score, make stats, my program compiles all that in seconds, I just have to indicate the numbers for this month and all the previous months remain in there, so I know what's been going on in the past month, the past 2 months and since I've started tracking this ... about 110 days ago ...

Using the Habitcal it is pretty easy, once in a while I update my chart to make sure I have at least 80% this month. If I am a little below or even above, I adjust, taking an intentional yellow for example if I am at 83%, lowers my percentage a bit ... I am fine this way and losing weight by being 'mostly' good ... at least 80% good, heh ! I never take an intentional 'Red' though, an intentional yellow once in a while is good to avoid getting too tired of following the diet and training regime.

Of course, this program is adjusted for me, if you want to do something similar you can adjust it for you, lowering or raising the %, lowering or raising the number of minutes to exercise, all that ... this is the program that is tailor made for me after a lot of tweaking, 80%, 60 minutes, etc.

Cheers !

Marc

Marc:
Thanks for the detailed explanation.
Butterfly

That's what nice about it - it's taking Reinhard's "traffic light" system and making it personal on a daily basis, one month at a time. I'm going to take a look at the past three weeks also and calculate my compliance. Interesting and valuable feedback, huh, Butterfly? I've only weighed twice since May began, so maybe I'll need to weigh weekly. I've got to think about doing that - I have a negative relationship with the scales...sigh!
I mark each day on a hanging kitchen calendar (on the side of my refrigerator, very visible - very helpful too, to keep me on track!) with great big X's - green, yellow, and red. I could never get the Habitcal to work on my computer, maybe because I use a MacBook. It's a good visual for me, and I'm a very visual person - plus every time I enter the kitchen, I see it! Oops - better not eat
So, good luck Butterfly and thanks for all the detailed help Marc!
Mimi

SAT May 23 - S Day

Didn't go overboard, but meal choices could have been better.

SUN May 24 - S Day

GREEN on an S-Day, YOUPIII -- didn't even have a snack!

Good work, Butterfly. Some days are easier for some reason, huh ?? Others you really have to fight hard not to get into trouble ... strange !!

Youpi ?? Do you speak french ??


"Youpi is the French word equivalent for Yahoo! or Yippee! .
With an extra p (Youppi), it is also the name of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team's official mascot and the Montreal Expos now-defunct baseball team's mascot between 1979 and 2004. With one p, it is also the name of a popular children's magazine in France."
Wikipedia.org



Youpi !!

Marc

Marc:

My first language is English, but I do speak some French.

You're right, it's weird how some days are easier than others -- I'll take them whenever they come around!

Oh nice, c'est très bien ! 'Youpi' is definitely french. I noticed it too the other day but I forgot to mention it.

It comes and goes really, sometimes there's a stretch where I am struggling, usually that doesn't last too long 2-3-4 days that are harder and then I get focused again and I am fine and doing well for a week or two. (That's the kind of time I'm having since may 15-18.)

Working hard everyday. I have just gone cycling and everything went well. Tonight, shovelglove and jumping jacks, besides the diet of course. It's the usual 'Double green' day for me.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds - - - 05/23/2009 : 216.2 pounds
6 months 23 days / 63.8 pounds

Hillarious disclaimer, Marc! Yea, we wouldn't want anyone thinking that your mods might actually work...

You're doing great butterfly!

Hum, yeah, that would be a surprise !!

I have all the favorable conditions to be more extreme though, people who have kids and are married have to deal with a lot more things that can disrupt their diet and exercise programs.

I can do what I want when I want most week days. I have control over what I'm eating, when I exercise, all that. Plus being a young man I can train harder and lose weight faster than a lot of people too. The training really is a key part of the whole thing.

I am not as extreme as an Olympic athlete of course. Just today in the paper's sports section I was reading the training schedule of a young canadian woman who will complete in the triathlon at the next Olympics, it was basically 3 times more training than what I do on a daily basis, maybe even 4 times.

Once a month on average I babysit my nephew for a couple of days straight, Saturday/Sunday ... and that 'disrupts' my usual training schedule and my diet too, making me more subject to have red days, so it'd definitely be harder if I was in charge of a lil' kid on a daily basis, you see. He's not even a lil' devil either, just a regular kid, you know !

I like to go out once or twice a week, friends, family reunions, that sort of thing but the majority of the time I can do as I please and that certainly helps to have 'double greens' on a regular basis of course, not as many temptations.

Cheers !

Marc

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds - - - 05/23/2009 : 216.2 pounds
6 months 23 days / 63.8 pounds

Yea, maybe I'd do better in a convent. JUST KIDDING!

Monday May 25
YELLOW day because of snack -- I'm anxious to start seeing more greens, but I guess yellows are better than reds for now. If I weren't allowing myself yellows for snacks, yesterday would have been a red because there was cake at home, and I decided to go with the cereal instead in order not to have to report a red.

Haven't posted in a while -- May wasn't a very good month. In June, I'm just going to concentrate on one S -- the No Sweets. I'll try to do the other two as much as possible also, but the No Sweets is the one who does the most damage for me. We'll see how it goes ...

June 1
GREEN for no sweets. Had 2 snacks -- would like to bring it down to 1 and eventually none. Didn't go for walk -- was exhausted at end of day.

June 2
A.M. update: Did 15 minutes of treadmill -- was really hard to get out of bed, but I wanted to be able to post that I had done it. It was more of a leisurely walk on the treadmill, but at least I did it. Hoping today will go well as far as the food is concerned.
P.M. update: GREEN for no sweets. Had too many snacks -- have to learn to say "no thank you" when someone offers me something to eat.

Woo Hoooooo! You go Butterfly! You're meeting your goals - June's looking great for you already!

Mimi

Hi Butterfly! Good to see you are having some good days
I just wrote you a lengthy post on Marc's check in thread, so go there Debs x

Yep, I agree with Deb. I thought I could experiment a bit too with the yellows and reds etc, but after listening to the latest podcast... I changed my mind. I think that it's hard to get used to not snacking at all, but I think that is the key. I'm working on that. I do however plan on trying to "bank" an S day as Reinhard mentioned. It's still following the rules. If you haven't heard the podcast... I recommend it. Good luck with what you decide. My daily check-in was crazy experementing for a while, but marc does way more exercise than I do. I'm crazy busy active and do at least an hour a week, but I think men can loose faster too. Let us know what you decide to do... we're rooting for ya!

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Hi Butterfly! Good to see you are having some good days
I just wrote you a lengthy post on Marc's check in thread, so go there Debs x

Debs: I read your post, thanks. I'm still experimenting (and sometimes it gets discouraging) -- it's true that yellows (unless it's an S Day or an S event) tend to be ambiguous. And having modifications can result in not seeing results. With snacks, I was finding that if I had one, which resulted in a red day -- I was out of control for the rest of the day, because the day was red anyways. On the other hand, if I let snacks be yellow, I'll end up not seeing too many greens and it also gets discouraging (funny what a color can do to our motivation). Ultimately my goal is not to have snacks (or maybe just 1 healthy one) -- I just made a mod in 1 sentence, I guess I'm still not sure what my plan should be LOL. Anyways, hopefully I'll find a system that works for me .... soon I hope.

Renee: I read the latest podcast -- very interesting. It's nice to hear that your Daily Check-Ins were also "crazy experimenting" for a while -- I feel I'm not the only one. Sometimes, when I keep changing my mind I tell myself "I won't post it, because the others will think that I can't make up my mind". I guess this is a trial and error process.

Butterfly, it doesn't matter what the *others* think because you have to find out exactly what will work for you...so if you have to experiment or change your mind, then you do it. Maybe just make sure when you do make a change, that you give it a fair chance to work...that's the most important thing I got from the podcast. I'm beginning to see that a *fair chance* might be several months, from what I read of other folks' experiences.

Mimi

mimi wrote:Butterfly, it doesn't matter what the *others* think because you have to find out exactly what will work for you...so if you have to experiment or change your mind, then you do it. Maybe just make sure when you do make a change, that you give it a fair chance to work...that's the most important thing I got from the podcast. I'm beginning to see that a *fair chance* might be several months, from what I read of other folks' experiences.

Mimi

You're right about giving change a fair chance. I think that sometimes I'm still looking for the quick fix even though I know that that approach has never worked.

Butterfly, an idea of LA-Loser's that I adopted was a second-level "non-idiot" habitcal.

Here's how it works: My main No-S habitcal is pretty strict. An apple away from mealtime would be a red, unless I had chosen to have a non-weekend S-day. Chosen S-days, like weekend ones, are yellow.

The second habitcal is only completed for days that are yellow or red on my main No-S habitcal. There, the color is for how much of an idiot I was. An S-day where I had a reasonable number of treats and felt in control is a green. A red day that I got because I had an extra thing, but I STOPPED after that and didn't "total the car", is also a green. A weekend where I inhaled food from dawn to dusk is a red. Somewhere in between is yellow. (I think of this one like a traffic light - green is good, yellow is caution, red is "gotta stop this!")

This secondary habitcal helps me a lot. I still have a lot of reds on weekends (meaning idiotic S-days), but any weekday slips usually end up green on the non-idiot scale. And I am able to take great pride in that, and see it as progress.

I totally understand the "oh, well, I've already blown it" mentality! It's a hard one to shake! Perhaps this idea will work for you too...

Best wishes.

Thanks KCCC: I can see how that system can be helpful. For example, yesterday I was in a meeting where they had cheese, fruit, and CAKE. I had some cheese, even though I felt like having cake. Under the very strict No S, the cheese would be a red, however, having resisted the cake would be a green in the second habitcal.

One other thing I've been trying since last Saturday, is breaking the Habitcal into 3 parts for each day (Bkfst to lunch, Lunch to supper, and Supper to bedtime) and assign a color to each section -- this way, even if I have a red in the afternoon, I can still have a green in the evening.

I'll keep working at it. Thanks again!

June 3 (Wed)
GREEN for no sweets (that's 3 days in a row )
Went for 10 minute walk this morning.
Almost had a snack this evening, but decided to have a cup of warm milk instead.
Seconds are not an issue.

SO IT WAS A COMPLETELY GREEN DAY!

Woo Hoo Butterfly! Look at you!!

June 3 (Thu)
GREEN for no sweets
No walk today -- should have done it in the morning -- evening was too busy and by the time I finished my evening chores, it was 9:00 p.m. and I was exhausted.
Had a handful of nuts as snacks, so it wasn't too bad.

I've been feeling a little more in control since Monday (it's a good feeling, I hope it lasts). I'm a little worried about the week-end because I'm having a party at my house with lots of people and lots of food which means leftovers (I give some away, but if I were to give all the leftover desserts away, my kids wouldn't be very happy ...). It's going to be a challenge not to let the week-end be totally out of control, and then to get back in control for Monday. We'll see ...

You're doing it! Turning green...

I love the colors Renee!

June 5(Fri)
GREEN for no sweets
No walk today -- got up too late and after work was too busy organizing tomorrow's party. I know, I should have been able to find 15 minutes in my day, it's really not that long.
I hope the week-end goes well and that I don't overdo it.

We'll be thinking about you!

Mimi

June 6 (Sat) & June 7 (Sun)
Well, managed to get through the week-end without too much damage (I think), even though I had a big party with lots of food. I was hoping to get through the week-end with only 1 dessert, but I ended up having 2 desserts + chips. However, this was much better than it usually is when I have parties. I tried not to make as many desserts, this way there would be less leftovers -- this worked out because as of today, all desserts are finished.
I'm hoping this week will go well, and that soon I can start getting a little more strict with myself so that I start seeing significant changes on the scale.
Still working on the walking habit (not very successfully, unfortunately ), but I'll keep trying.

What a great report! Aren't you proud of yourself?! I am!

Mimi

Thank you Mimi. Yes, I did feel good about the week-end -- I felt a certain amount of control, contrary to the other times where it was non-stop eating.

June 8(Mon)
GREEN for no sweets
Went for a walk in the evening
Had seconds at supper -- first time since starting NoS. I still had leftovers from the week-end party: pizza, chicken, rice. My plate consisted of chicken, rice and salad (even though I was more in the mood for pizza -- but I thought the other choice was healthier) -- finished my plate and still went for a slice of pizza -- I should have taken it in the first place.
No snacks

June 9(Tue)
GREEN for no sweets
No walk
Had snacks
No seconds

Wow, today was a really tough day with food -- if I had given in to my cravings, I would have eaten junk all day. I had a few snacks (cheese with a couple of crackers, and nuts) to see if I woudn't cave in to the sweets because I know that when that happens and I'm feeling bummed out like I am today, it's hard to get back on track. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and as I was waiting in line the chocolate bars seemed to be calling me -- it took all my willpower not to buy any -- I just kept thinking that I would be going home to have supper and then I'd feel better. Well, I had supper -- there were no seconds -- but there was a huge plate of pasta. Now I'm going to brush my teeth and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Actually, tomorrow is an S day for me (a special event) and I'm going to do my best to have only 1 piece of dessert and stop there.

It's like an emotional rollercoaster -- one day I feel optomistic and the next I feel discouraged -- but I'm determined not to give up.

You're doing so well Butterfly! When you get down, go back and read through your thread at all the great things you've accomplished...I'm sure you'll feel better in no time. There's also a great website full of all kinds of motivational and inspirational stuff. I often go there and *get lost* for awhile until I feel better and a little more empowered. Here it is - maybe you'll like it too:

http://motivateus.com/

Hang in there and enjoy your desert tomorrow! Talk to ya later!

Mimi

Thanks for the link Mimi -- I'll take a look at it later. Also, thanks for the encouragement!

Well, I haven't been on this site for the last while because I've been having red days on a regular basis and I kind of got discouraged. I've been tempted to go back on other diets that I've tried in the past (doesn't make sense, I know, because I had no success with them).

So today I decided to log on to No S site and read some of the posts and I want to give it another try. Like I've read several times on this site, it can sometimes take several tries before getting it right -- so I'm going to give it another try.

Yes, you should think long and hard about it since you were doing good before, no reason why you shouldn't succeed really.

You should do as I do, 'Quitting' is not an option you can even consider, lol ! Doesn't that make it easier, instead of asking yourself if you should quit or not, you don't even consider it ?!!?

You write down what you have to do and then you do it, hard work is required, of course it'll be hard, it's hard from day one, and then each day after that too, you get used to it.... but then when you improve slowly but surely and you are so motivated there's no stopping you ... I am 100% motivated everytime I look in the mirror or when I am going up stairs running like a bat out of hell and not even that tired when I get up there unlike before where just going 3 flights of stairs I was out of breath right away.

Good luck, Butter. Remember, 100% motivated and no quitting, right ?

Cheers !

bluebunny27

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds - - - 06/16/2009 : 211.6 pounds
7 months 16 days / 68.4 pounds

bluebunny27 wrote: Remember, 100% motivated and no quitting, right ?

Right! No quitting! Make a plan, stick to it, and stay motivated!

Thanks Marc! Reading about your great results encourages me to keep trying.

It's been almost a year that I haven't posted here. I've been back reading the posts for the last couple of weeks (tried other diets in the last few months -- none of which I was able to stick to). I heard that it can take a few tries before NoS becomes a habit, so I'm trying again.

Tuesday April 13
Complete & Total Failure -- I'm even too embarrassed to write down all the junk I ate. I messed up at lunch time with sweets and it's as if it gave me permission to continue the day in the same trend.

Butterfly - I'm sooooo glad to see you back! Now - get a hold on yourself...you will be successful once again. You know, I have been NoEssing since last May, this time around, and did fine up until February - that's about 8 months! I stuck with it through a broken ankle and being laid up for 15 weeks, I stuck with it through the holidays, and then came January and returning to work...
I started having one or two red days each week. I know it is how I deal with the stress in my life - I eat - and I eat all the wrong things. I continued in the downward spiral during February and March. I didn't totally abandon the NoS way of life, I had green days here and there, but usually not more than 2 in a row. All the while I knew that NoS is the only way of eating that totally works for me. This month I am doing MUCH better. I feel back on track. I am just taking one day at a time. I will never be perfect - but I do need to perfect the way I deal with stress and emotions. I'm working on it.
Please don't get discouraged...tomorrow will be a green day. Maybe plan a little type of reward for yourself for making it through one day successfully. Then try for two.
Keep posting!
Mimi

Thanks for the encouragement Mimi!

I know that I have to take one day at a time. Also, I can't let one small slip destroy the rest my day. I know that No S is the way to go for me -- I've spent most of my life counting something (calories, points) or measuring food -- I just can't do it anymore. I don't want to be obsessed with food anymore, I want to enjoy it -- I find that sometimes, when I buy a chocolate bar for example (out of habit more than anything else), I finish it and realize that I didn't even really enjoy it. If I can look forward to the meals, I think it will help me not to eat junk in between.

In the last while I've been really tired and discouraged. I came back to No S a couple of weeks ago because I love the support here and it's something I can see myself doing for the long haul. I also joined a gym 2 weeks ago -- I am so out of shape -- I'm trying to go 2 times a week. I exercise at a really slow pace compared to the other people, but my goal for now is just to make a habit of going, and with time I'll get better (I hope)

Wednesday April 14
Still FAILURE but not as bad as yesterday

Here we are, Friday, and so far this week it's all been red. Gotta keep trying, can't give up!

My week hasn't gone too well ... lots of red. I'm going to try to be reasonable this week-end. Next week I really have to get some green days in -- WHY IS IT SO HARD ????????????

A new week is starting, hope to have a few greens this time!

Mon Apr 19:
It was ALMOST a complete success. I was doing fine until supper. Around 9:00 p.m. I thought I was starting to feel hungry (not sure if it was really hunger because I had a reasonable supper at 6:30). I managed to hold off until 10:00, but I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I was feeling hungry. At 10:00 I had a bowl of cereal. After I felt too full, so probably just a cup of milk would have been a better choice. Anyways, compared to last week, it was a good day.

Tue Apr 20:
Still not perfect -- had once again a bowl of cereal around 10:00 p.m. yesterday night, but it was about half the portion of the previous day -- so, even though not a perfect day, the last couple of days have been much better than last week.

Wed Apr 21:
Well, I've gone from almost green to red -- not good. I was doing good until mid afternoon when someone offered me a piece of chocolate -- I hesitated, and then said yes. If it would have stopped there, it wouldn't have been so bad, but after supper I ended up eating 2 big oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Was I hungry after supper?? Noooooo. Was I really in the mood for the cookies?? Not really. Did I feel better after eating them?? Nooooooo, I felt crappy before and even crappier after. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING

Thu Apr 22:
... need I say more ...

Fri Apr 23:


Sat Apr 24:
It was an S day, but I was hoping that it would go better considering my week wasn't good.

Sun Apr 25:

WEEK OF APRIL 26

Mon Apr 26:
It was an almost green day -- I took a small piece of cookie that was offered me... but on the upside, I went to the gym. So, overall, not a bad day.

Tue Apr 27:
Had 4 marshmallows and a big bowl of cereal in between meals. Not doing too well, but I want to keep posting so that hopefully, eventually I'll start getting some green days. I'm trying to do Vanilla No S, but maybe I need to incorporate some MODs, such as allowing some things in No S days, and putting some restrictions on S days -- I'm going to think about it.

Wed Apr 28:

Thu Apr 29:

Fri Apr 30:

Sat May 1:

Sun May 2:

I'm going to do my Daily Check In on an Excel worksheet for the next while because I want to incorporate some personal comments that I might not want to share online. But I do plan to return regularly to read and post on general discussions.

I've been feeling really discouraged lately, but reading the posts on this board and receiving personal encouragement makes me realize that I can't give up. I'm realizing that at this time strictly vanilla No-S isn't for me. I'm not able to stick to it, and then I get discouraged and binge. I'm trying to figure out what will work for me -- is it No-S with mods, No-S with another system? -- I have no idea.

For now, I'll just focus on the following:
-- Take one meal at a time and do the best I can.
-- Break down the total weight I want to lose in 10 lb segments, so for now, I'll focus on losing 10 lbs.
-- Incorporate regular exercise on most days.

Thu May 27
B: Muffin (not the best choice)
L: Cafeteria meal (fit on one plate)
O: 1/2 cup of hot chocolate (was craving something sweet)
S: Lasagna (reasonable portion)
O: Taco chips (wasn't even hungry -- feeling frustrated and wanted to munch on something)

Went for a small walk.

Fri May 28 9.5 left
Went to the gym 30 min.
B: Cereal with milk
L:

Haven't posted since Friday (crazy week-end), Friday was and week-end went overboard.

Mon May 31 9.0 left
B: Cereal
L: Cafeteria (fit in 1 plate, but still feel hungry -- probably because there was no protein)
O: Applesauce
S: Pasta (reasonable portion)
O: Sugarless jello

Went for a 20 min stroll.

O.K., my day would have been pretty reasonable if it had stopped here, but unfortunately it didn't. I was feeling restless/anxious and felt like eating everything in the house ... ended up eating a bowl of cereal and 2 other snacks ... ahhhhhhhhhhhhh !!

Tue June 1
B: Cereal
L: Fit in 1 plate (I was full before finishing the plate, I should have stopped eating when I was full )
O: 1 cracker & cheese (someone offered -- wasn't hungry -- should have said no )
O: Banana (worked until 6:30 and was starting to get really hungry)
S: Salmon salad
O: Small bowl of cereal (was a little hungry, but could have toughed it out )

I'm looking back at the day, and there was major snacking, but none of it was sweets ... so it's a start ...

Wed June 2
B: cereal
L: soup & muffin
O: small handful of nuts
S: 2 bowls of cereal (strange supper, I know, but I was at the office from 8 in the morning to 8 at night and by the time I got home that's all I was in the mood for)

After such a long day at work, I still went for a little walk after.

Thu May 3
B: 2 toast with butter
L: sandwich & a few sun chips
S: healthy meal which fit on one plate
O: cereal

I almost had a No-S day ... I just can't seem to get rid of the 10 pm snack habit ... even when I have a good supper, I still feel the need for a snack.

Went to the gym, that's a good thing.

I'm feeling really discouraged today. I've increased exercising, been more careful in my choices of snacks (I haven't been able to eliminate them completely yet), and when I got on the scale this morning, no change. I was hoping for at least a little decrease. I've been reading the intermitent fasting posts, I might give it a try.

Fri June 4
B: Muffin
L: Various (fit in one plate)
O: Sweet
S: Reasonable portion (wasn't very hungry because ate sweet before)
O: Cereal (bad habit !! I know)

Maybe just give it a little more time before you begin adding mods? I have read the thread dealing with fasting with great interest, but don't feel it's something I should think about doing at this point. Of course, that's what's right for me at this time...I wouldn't begin to tell you what's best for you. Right now I feel that my habits are in very fragile condition and it wouldn't take much to push me over the edge. Because of that I am trying to be very cautious and very forgiving with myself. It seems to be working - and I'm doing it one day at a time, one meal at a time.
You know yourself best and because of that, you'll make the best decision for you Butterfly.

Mimi

You're probably right Mimi, I should give No S a chance (without mods) before trying something else, but there are some days that I get so discouraged , I have several events coming up this summer and I have nothing to wear (actually I do have stuff to wear, but it doesn't fit me). When I go shopping for clothes, I don't like how anything fits. I wonder sometimes if I tried something that's a little more drastic to lose the first 20 lbs that maybe then I would be motivated to do better. I just don't know what to do anymore. If I think about it, if I'm not able to do No S, how can I expect to fast for 24 hours ... It's really discouraging ...

Trying a new tracking system ...

Week of June 7:


Mon: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= ..... Snack= .....Ex=
Tue: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= ..... Ex=
Wed: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= .....Ex=
Thu: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= .....Ex=
Fri: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= .....Ex=
Sat: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= .....Ex=
Sun: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= .....Ex= .....

Tue:
Was doing reasonably well until late evening. Got home from running errands around 9:30 p.m. -- was in the mood for a bowl of cereal but resisted. Around 11:00 ended up having chips and 2 other snacks . Should have gone to bed instead.

Wed:
Couldn't resists dessert at lunch meeting.
Had a cup of milk instead of something else for evening snack.

Thu
Supper was an "allowed" failure because of special occasion.

Fri
Went out for supper -- ate way to much + dessert. Felt sick afterwards ... have to try and remember this in future.

Sat
Had a special event to go to on Saturday with supper at a restaurant. Overate & felt stuffed (how quickly we forget ). The cookies in the evening while watching TV didn't help either.

Sun
Totally out of control -- I feel as though I take 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards -- motivation really low today

Week of June 14:

Mon: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= ..... Snack= .....Ex=
Tue: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= ..... Snack= .....Ex=
Wed: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S=..... Snack=.....Ex=
Thu: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=..... Snack=.....Ex=
Fri: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=..... Snack=.....Ex=
Sat: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=..... Snack=.....Ex=
Sun: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=..... Snack=.....Ex=

Mon
Well today was a total failure. Whenever I get discouraged I end up doing worse (vicious circle).

Tue
Really terrible after supper -- but I have to tell myself "mark it and move on" ... not easy for me, but I'm trying ...

Wed
Lunch was a special event.

butterfly1000 wrote: Well today was a total failure. Whenever I get discouraged I end up doing worse (vicious circle).

This is a good insight. Most people feel that if they punish themselves, they'll lose faster. But it's not true - as counter-intuitive as it seems, if you encourage yourself and refrain from "beating yourself up," you'll actually get better results.

So... be gentle with yourself, and celebrate every accomplishment!

KCCC wrote:
So... be gentle with yourself, and celebrate every accomplishment!

Thank you for the encouragement KCCC. I really have to work on the "mark it and move on" habit, instead of "I messed up ... well, let's just sabotage the rest of the day, or days". Like you say, I need to celebrate the accomplishments instead of dwelling on the failures.

Haven't been doing well with food & exercise lately -- here goes another try ...

Week of June 21:

10 lbs at a time:

Mon: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= .....Ex=
Tue: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= .....Snack= .....Ex=
Wed: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack =.....S= ..... Snack= .....Ex=
Thu: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= ..... Snack= .....Ex=
Fri: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= ..... Snack= .....Ex=
Sat: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack= .....S= ..... Snack= .....Ex=
Sun: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=..... Snack=.....Ex=

Comments
Fri: Not doing to well, when I mess up I mess up really badly -- but I can't give up. One of these days it will get easier.
Snack in the afternoon was a small handful of nuts, not too bad so I didn't put a red smiley for it.

Here we go again ... to re-start tracking on Thursday ...


Week of July 12:

10 lbs at a time:


Mon: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=.....Snack=.....Ex=
Tue: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=.....Snack=.....Ex=
Wed: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=.....Snack=.....Ex=
Thu: B= .....Snack= .....L= .....Snack=.....S=.....Snack=.....Ex=
Fri: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=.....Snack=.....Ex=
Sat: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=.....Snack=.....Ex=
Sun: B=.....Snack=.....L=.....Snack=.....S=.....Snack=.....Ex=

Comments

Been gone for a while ... lost a few pounds in the last couple of months by counting points ... during last week got tired of counting and tracking so I gained back a couple ... quite discouraged.

No S came to mind ... read some of the recent posts ... impressed by how long some people have been doing No S ... would like to give it another try.

Welcome back, Butterfly!

Week of May 23 (but started on Thu):

Mon:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Tue:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Wed:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Thu:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Fri:.....B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Sat:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Sun:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...

Thu
Had way too much to eat for supper (it fit on one plate but I felt stuffed).

Fri
Bought a muffin for breakfast and stopped eating when I felt full.

Weekend
I know the week-end is exempt, but I want to track it anyways because I tend to get out of control with food when I give myself permission to eat whatever and whenever I want.

Butterfly.. I'm back again too for the maybe third or fourth time! I'm trying to remember "baby steps" and not compare my progress with anyone else and their journey. I'm finding that giving myself one goal for 21 days and then evaluating what went on those 21 days is helpful to me. For instance, I discovered that I do much better with eating on S days if I plan to keep my morning walking and a bit of yoga going on those days. This leads me to feel better about myself and my attitude. I'm coming up to the end of another 21 and will be posting my "findings" soon.
I wish you good luck on your journey. I will be checking in to see how you are doing!

Week of May 30:
(objective of the week -- work on eliminating snacks)

Mon:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O=...S=...O=...
Tue:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Wed:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Thu:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Fri:.....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sat:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sun:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...

Hi Butterfly..I have the same goal..those %$#! late evening snacks are really hard for me to resist. Here is the bummer.. I know what I need to do and yet...I don't do it. Yep, I do myself in!
Good luck to you! I hope you find what will keep you from snacking..and then (I think the most important thing) just do it!!! Why are we making this so hard for ourselves???

Week of May 30:
(objective of the week -- work on eliminating snacks)

Mon:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Tue:....B= ...O= ...L= ...O=...S=...O=...
Wed:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Thu:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Fri:.....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sat:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sun:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...

Mon
No reds today, which was good. However, my food choices weren't that great. I don't think I'll lose any significant weight unless I also work on choosing lower calorie foods but I'd like to try and stay away from calorie or other kind of counting. Hope I have enough patience to give No S a real chance before going back to tracking food (which I hate doing).

I know what you mean about food choices. i think we should be able to use our heads and figure out what we should be putting on our plates daily. Several "shoulds" in that sentence which kinda bother me but...I agree, we either figure it out or "count", and I can't do that again either! We are, in reality, pretty healthy eaters... we (hubby and I) just have been in the habit of eating too much..too often! I kept track of snacks between all meals too (in my little paper notebook) Now I pretty much don't have to chart those anymore. My only issue is night time and..I'm getting there! You will too! Habits take awhile to change.. keep going and keep tracking.

Week of May 30:
(objective of the week -- work on eliminating snacks)

Mon:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Tue:....B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Wed:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Thu:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Fri:.....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sat:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sun:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...

Mon
No reds today, which was good. However, my food choices weren't that great. I don't think I'll lose any significant weight unless I also work on choosing lower calorie foods but I'd like to try and stay away from calorie or other kind of counting. Hope I have enough patience to give No S a real chance before going back to tracking food (which I hate doing).

Tue
Did pretty good during the day (food choices were a little better than yesterday), but messed up really badly in the evening very discouraging.

Wed
Did pretty good during the day and messed up really really badly in the evening ... was feeling very frustrated and crappy ... would have eaten everything in sight.

Try not to worry about the food choices until you get the "3 plates" down pat. I know this is something I tend to do: I'll decide on the habit I am going to focus on ... and then I start adding , "well, while I'm working on the three plates a day, I'm also going to be sure I drink a gallon of water and exercise at least 30 minutes and meditate..... Really..just one baby step is enough.. then add one more baby step and then another. Not doing this has gotten me off track so many times...I just can't keep all those balls in the air at once. Think about it and do what is best for you. We all want you to succeed!

Week of May 30:
(objective of the week -- work on eliminating snacks)

Mon:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Tue:....B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Wed:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Thu:....B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Fri:.....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sat:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sun:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...

Going to try and take Grammy's advice and work on one thing at a time -- i.e. no snacking (I'll still track all though). Not always easy because I'd like to see fast results -- I've been fighting this food battle for so long, sometimes I feel really tired of doing it ... but at the same time, the status quo isn't an option, so I have to continue my battle with food ... hopefully at some point it won't be a battle anymore, but a way of life.

Thu
Still messing up terribly with evening snacking.

I think you are making a good choice charting what you want to track but working on changing just one habit at a time. I track several things but I focus on changing only one habit at a time. Take heart.. keep going.. this is a healthy choice you are making!

Week of May 30:
(objective of the week -- work on eliminating snacks)

Mon:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Tue:....B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Wed:...B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Thu:....B= ...O= ...L= ...O= ...S= ...O= ...
Fri:.....B= ...O =...L= ...O=...S=...O=...
Sat:....B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...
Sun:...B=...O=...L=...O=...S=...O=...

Butterfly, If working on eliminating all snacks is too overwhelming, choose to eliminate the one between breakfast and lunch or the one between lunch and dinner. Make the goal achievable for you. If you are usually snacking between each meal, it is asking a lot of yourself to cut that all out at once! If you eliminated one snack every 21 days, in 64 days (a little over two months)you would be snack free! Be kind to yourself.... baby steps in the right direction will still get you to your destination!

Hi Butterfly,

I posted a reply to your question in my check in thread, but I wanted to come by and see how you were doing.

Welcome back!

I'll reiterate the one step at a time advice you've already gotten. What's that old store about the hare losing the race? Be the tortoise

If evening snacking is a problem for you, you might try to identify why. Are you eating dinner too early? Perhaps because you are hungry from the break between dinner and lunch? Are you not really hungry, but bored? Maybe even a little sad that your next meal isn't until the next day (I feel this way sometimes)? If you can determine *why* you want to snack in the evenings, you may be better able to figure out a way to stop snacking in the evenings.

Just one more evening until S days!

It's wonderfull to hear everyone's encouragement ... the support is incredible!

Mon June 6
Another week starting. Have to try not to get discouraged and give NoS a real chance.

B:
O:
L: (no seconds, but ate too much)
O: (not starting the week too well -- can't give up though)
S:
O:

Not a great day, in many aspects. Hope tomorrow is better.

Don't get discouraged - take one day at a time and you'll do fine. We'll be cheering you on every day

Butterfly, remember that if letting go of more than one snack right now is just too overwhelming..give up the snack between breakfast and lunch only...make it possible for you to have success. If you are basically eating 6 times a day and now are going to do only 3 times..that's a big change. I'm in your cheering section no matter what you decide to do!!

Wednesday June 8
The last couple of days I've been eating anything and everything. Going to try another approach. I like Grammy's advice to take baby steps, but instead of trying to eliminate snacks I think I'll try to eliminate sweets. Often my snacks are sweets and it's not necessarily because I'm hungry -- most of the time it's just because I feel like eating something sweet. Maybe if I'm able to eliminate the sweets -- even if I have a non-sweet snack because I'm hungry, I won't feel as guilty. We'll see how it goes...

I'm also going to try and log on to No-S once a day to read posts (I don't have too much time so I don't always get around to it).

Can't give up ...

That sounds like a sensible plan! Try and reduce those 'sweets' cravings but still giving yourself permission to snack sounds like an excellent start.

Good luck

What a great choice! There are so many healthy snacks out there..I'm thinking about all the wonderful fruits that are in season! A "sweet" treat that is good for you! A good first step and one I know you will be able to do! Stay focused on the prize!

Wednesday:
Had some snacks (about a tsp of nuts, some crackers & a yoghurt) ... had seconds at supper ... but was successful in the No Sweets department. I have to try and concentrate on the successes and not on the failures because even though I say I'm tackling one S at a time, when I took my second serving at supper or had a healthy snack I still felt I shouldn't be doing it.

Good for you! I, like you, "think twice" about things I am not tracking but know somewhere down the line I will need to address.. I see that as a good think. It means you (and I) are thinking "in the right direction".. getting ready to make more good decisions in the future. You are not eating mindlessly..you are thinking about what you are doing. Steps in the right direction in my book!