Andreamuse's daily check-in

[andreamuse]

Hi,

I just started no-S because I'm nearly 40 and for some reason I've started to struggle with keeping my weight under control for the first time in my life. I realized that my problem was primarily because of snacking when I was bored/thought I was hungry and eating more of food that I found delicious and basically just too many treats whenever I felt like having them without any limits. So this "diet" seemed like a good way to put boundaries on my natural hedonism when it comes to food.

I'm 5'2" with a small-medium frame, so even if I put on five pounds, it's significant on me and all the sudden I found myself looking at 145 a few days ago. That's about ten pounds beyond my usual "red zone" number, so it was time to do something, but to do something livable for me. I really am not good at traditional diets and tend to last maybe a week on any given diet before I get bored or frustrated. Also I tend to be a secretive dieter, that is I don't want people to think I'm on a diet (and most people think I weigh a lot less than I really do and thus don't think I need to be on any kind of diet).

Anyway, I started no-S on Monday. I think it's absolutely brilliant and common sense, which is exactly what I've been looking for, so thank you, Reinhard. So I started on Monday and have been very strict about it (no slip-ups so far). Also I've cut out wine temporarily (I often have one glass with my dinner), but that's not so much because of the weight loss but just because I decided to cut back this summer anyway and just have it occasionally, like when meeting friends out.

Also, with summer comes my long, epic walks, so I can put in anywhere from 3 to 10 miles of walking on a daily basis (mostly somewhere in between, like around 4 miles).

So 3 meals, no seconds, no sweets, and lots of walking lately and my weight has gone down to 142.8 in three days. (And yes, I realize that some of that is just bloating from before and not real weight, but it's still encouraging to see the number go down on the scale).

[~reneew]

Welcome!

[sophiasapientia]

Welcome! Congrats on your weight loss so far. I've found No S (plus walking ) to be such a sane and enjoyable way to live and hope that you continue to enjoy it as well.

Hope to see you around the Board lots,

[idontknow]

Hello and welcome!
We are similar builds and weight with similar amounts to lose - I'm a bit older than you (45) . I've been doing this only for a few weeks but like the results so far. I've lost a few pounds but am more pleased with the habits I'm building. I've found other people really helpful, so make sure you ask for support if you need it. I'm looking forward to reading your check-in to see how you get on.

Good luck!

[andreamuse]

Thank you for the welcome! I am going to look back on the forum and have fun diving into everyone's adventures in NoSing!

Already my body has adjusted to not snacking in between meals. That's really been the hardest thing to get used to. I can do without sweets, especially if I know there are days to look forward to when I can have them. In fact, on Monday, there were some cupcakes at work. Oh, I wanted one badly. But I thought, you know what, if I still want one on Saturday I can go and buy one at the grocery store and enjoy it without guilt. Whereas before, I probably would have just given in and eaten it, even if I was supposed to be off sweets.

[oolala53]

Welcome! You might want to introduce yourself on the general discussion board, too, and let people know you started a check-in thread if they want to keep track and cheer you on.

I think you are the type of person this program will work for with the least amount of trouble. You don't have a terrible attachment to food, see that weight loss for someone at your weight is best to start with attacking the worst habits first, and you're already adding exercise. Give yourself a few months of 90-100% compliance and see where you're at. If you have to get more drastic to get slimmer, you'll already have mastered a lot of the necessary skills and will be able to tweak a lot more easily.

[andreamuse]

Thank you, oolala, for your encouragement!

(I've changed my subject line to make it a check-in post).

So, this five-day week, my weight has gone like this:

Monday: 145.4
Tuesday: 145.2
Wed.: 144.0
Thurs.: 142.8
today: 142.6

I've really found this surprisingly easy! One thing I'm not doing (which I notice some of you are) is eating perfectly healthy food during my meals. I mean, I do have some healthy food. For example, my morning breakfast plate had the following on it:

1. a few strawberries
2. a chunk of sour dough bread with some cheese
3. a boca burger without bread
4. a tiny piece of a leftover thin pizza.

I hope to move toward more veggies in general on my plate, but right now I'm working on just being compliant with the No S part of it!

[oolala53]

Okay, you thoroughbred jockey, you, careful about trying to jump ahead! That is what makes a lot of people fall down. Get N days down.

May I gently suggest that, if you can't give up weighing yourself, you give it a lot less prominence for a few months than you do to getting to strict compliance with N days. Commit to habit first, weight loss later. Fiendish moderation now. If you've got N days down, having mastered not snacking, not taking seconds, not eating sugar, then altering your food choices or decreasing your amounts is going to be infinitely easier, and weight loss will come, if it hasn't already by then. And by later, I mean most likely a few months.

Enjoy all those "unhealthy" foods- in moderation. Later, you will be able to look back on all those experiences and see how you don't have to fear never having them again or having them take over. Then it will be easy to say, "I think I'll have only half of the serving of lasagne I've been having and more green beans," because you'll realize you've had plenty of wonderful experiences with lasagne--you don't have to keep going out on such extended dates out on the town. You can get away with snuggling in your sweats a lot more now that you're settling in for the long haul.

Oh, you're going to have so much fun!

[andreamuse]

Hee! It IS totally fun. Like today for lunch, I was really hungry by lunch time. I wanted to try this new take-out Indian restaurant nearby and I realized that I had no food restrictions that would prevent me from going there and eating anything on that menu that wasn't a dessert! It was so liberating...So I brought the food home and I only put as much on my plate as would fit. Everything else would have to be put away to eat later. Before, I would have kept eating because it tasted so very good and then felt gross later. I was totally satisfied with the amount I ate AND I didn't feel disgusted and bloated afterwards from eating too much! I felt like I had eaten just the right amount. For the record, I had a samosa with chutney, some paneer curry, and some curried chickpeas and wee bit of basmati rice.

Good point about the weight. I will probably start weighing myself weekly instead of daily. I think I just wanted to see if there was an immediate effect from especially cutting out the sweets and just eating less in general...

[oolala53]

I LOVE Indian food. I had my own version of bhartha today for lunch. I also have packaged palak paneer and a few other dishes in my pantry at all times. I'm visiting a friend in northern Calif. next week and we will go ooh and ahh over some Indian food there.

[andreamuse]

oooh, it's my very first S day!

I had two halves of two different donuts this morning. Tasted divine but almost a little TOO sweet!

I did a perfect five days of No-s during the week. Found it very easy. The hardest times for me were probably the hour and a half before the next meal time when my hunger pangs would start up and I wanted so badly to go get something to nibble on. But I just pushed through it or I had some seltzer water.

I did mention before that I will probably not weigh myself every day now, but am dropping down to once a week for awhile. But I did weigh myself today to finish off the week and I was down to 143.2

[oolala53]

S days are Yes days for sure!

My hardest times before No S were the 2nd and 3rd hours just after a meal. If I could get past then, and actually get to true hunger, I did better, but it took No S's structure to help me do it consistently. Not that hunger was easy!

It will be interesting to see how those times just before your meals feel to you after a month or two.

Congrats on your first green N week!

[andreamuse]

Thank you, oohlala! I'm excited that I made it through that first week, which is supposed to be the hardest!

This is a daily check-in even though yesterday and today are S days. I do feel that I went a little over the top yesterday in my eating, but considering it was my first S day, it probably wasn't that bad after all. But today I feel naturally moderated, no urge to binge on anything.

I'm going to be meeting with some friends and family today this afternoon, so it's nice to have the option to eat whatever and whenever they are today!

[oolala53]

I don't want to bring down your high, but I also want to caution you to just experience this as it comes for you. Some people have a hard time in the beginning, then it's a breeze for awhile, then it gets hard, etc.; others, it's easy and then they hit a wall and get discouraged because they thought it was going to stay the same. Learning to deal with all the body's changes as the routine becomes ingrained is part of it. It might get tougher before it gets easier and fluctuate over several months. It is going to shake out and become normal. Don't worry; you have found it.

Ah, such a great feeling when you know you could eat, but you don't care if you do or not.

[andreamuse]

Definitely it's good to be realistic! Will keep that all in mind! Also, Im going to focus on NOT weighing myself until next Saturday! I will do it weekly for a few weeks, and then I think I will go to monthly weighing!

Heh, it might be harder than I think to get back to business tomorrow, lol! Especially because I'm supposed to meet a friend for lunch on Wednesday and I have no idea how distracted I might end up being (and accidentally overeat). But this way of eating DOES make those situations so much better. I mean, all I have to do is make sure I don't eat anything more than what's on the plate...and not eat dessert (which is easy since I almost never order dessert at a restaurant! )

[lbb (Liz)]

I hope your "S" day rounded out well with family and friends!
I like oohlala's comment because last week I felt "on-top-of-the-world" about my S days, but not so much this week.
GOod luck this week. Wednesday should be fine for you if you order exactly what sounds good...leaving you not craving anything else!
Take care.
Liz

[andreamuse]

So back to a regular N day!

I've made a mistake already that may make this morning miserable, but am trying not to think about it. I decided to experiment with oatmeal and so I made oatmeal with a bit of salt, raspberries, strawberries and cinnamon. It just tasted bad to me, bland, and yet I kept eating it because I had already prepared it. I had that and 1/4 bit of pita bread with cheese on it. I'm afraid that it won't sustain me through noon. But whatever, it won't kill me to be hungry (I'm used to more protein, I guess, and that's a lot more sustaining for me).

Also I ran 2 miles this morning (stopped to walk on and off since I haven't run in several months). It was nice to get moving that early before it gets hot. That way if the weather doesn't cooperate with my walks later, it's not the end of the world as I will already have done 2 miles at least.

[oolala53]

I know what you mean about your so-so oatmeal. Not only the lack of protein, but the lack of pleasure. For me, finding food pleasurable seems to be part of satiety. But we don't always get that. I've had to fight my tendency to feel cheated and use it as an excuse to eat when I shouldn't. Luckily, I have many meals I love and it's worth experimenting to find something new, too. Good job having a plan for dealing with it.

[andreamuse]

Actually it's been better than I thought! Good reminder, oohlala. I hope I'll remember not to use the lack of satiety to eat when I shouldn't be eating! (I know the thought did pass my mind this morning at some point).

I've been busy this morning (and knowing that eating is not an option, even if I get hungry, has helped me focus on what I need to focus on this morning)! And now it's already almost lunch time, and I'm hungry but not ravenous and I can comfortably wait for it. (And I picked up some yummy salad ingredients to have with my lunch, so I'm looking forward to lunch quite a lot for the taste factor! )

[andreamuse]

So, yesterday was a green day, I'm proud to say. The only time I was uncomfortable was around 2 hours before dinner when I got ravenously hungry. But it passed and I just made myself super busy.

Also I exercised a total of 8.4 miles (walked/ran 2 miles in morning and then went on 6.4 mile walk with husband later).

I think for me the hardest thing for me is not the sweets and not the seconds, but rather the snacks. I'm so accustomed to rooting in my refrigerator or cabinet whenever I'm in need of some sort of stimulation or a little bit hungry. Or when I go to my favorite cafe, I'm so used to being able to get a muffin or scone, but even so, it's so easy to say, "hey, if I really want it on Saturday, I can have it".

[andreamuse]

wow...

This is the hardest afternoon I've had yet! I started to feel the hunger pangs around 3 p.m., and my usual methods of distracting myself and drinking lots of water, etc. are not working.

I mean, this are hard-core hunger pangs! I wonder if I didn't eat enough at lunch or if I need to make sure that a big portion of my meals are protein rich! I did notice that I didn't feel very satisfied from my lunch, like I wanted to lick the plate clean.

I've got about 40 minutes left until my usual dinner time, so I can do this! But man, this was a rough one and my green day today will be WELL earned!

[andreamuse]

Okay, so I made my green day yesterday, despite some major suffering in the afternoon. I don't think I'm going to have that problem today because I'm going to an Indian buffet today with a few friends and I do intend to enjoy myself there (just fill one plate and eat SLOWLY so I'm not tempted to go up for seconds)

But today I went against my plan to wait until Saturday and I weighed myself. I couldn't help it. I justified it by explaining to myself that on Saturday I'm going to be VERY close to getting my period and thus the weight would likely be skewered. But it was disappointing in that I had actually gone UP a .5 pound since Saturday (the last time I weighed myself).

My theory for not having lost even a pound since Saturday, considering how active I've been and how vanilla I've been:

1. S days? I don't think I went wild, especially on Sunday, but maybe I need to watch things a bit more carefully...I have to make sure I'm not eating MORE sweets/snacks than usual just because I can but rather I'm eating things I might normally enjoy on a regular day...

2. Around 5 days from my period, so the climb in weight might be starting (I always put on about 3-4 pounds every month around that time).

I wonder if I should start a No-S blog...this daily check in is kind of fun.

[andreamuse]

So I just now started a No-S blog. We'll see how long that lasts, lol, but it's a start at least.

[andreamuse]

Back to weighing myself again. I just can't not do it. Too many potential nasty surprises.



But I am facing female monthly weight gain issues that are clouding everything and making me feel a bit insecure like how can I know I'm doing things right. I am totally being vanilla. I haven't failed yet in following the three rules on N days.

If anyone's reading this, do the women on this list have issues with weight gain that time of the month? I know that I have this problem and I know that it's not real weight gain and yet it makes me incredibly insecure every single time it happens...[/quote]

[idontknow]

In answer to your question, I also have weight gain around the time of the month - about 4 pounds usually. I think I've read similar issues on other people's check-ins, too. I wouldn't worry too much about it - it will come down in a few days. I know most people say not to weigh every day, but if you continue to do it and to plot your weight then you will see that it's a natural gain which disappears quickly and regularly.
(I too have tried not to weigh every day, but I just can't do it. I like to know how much I weigh. I know it's a habit, but it's not one I'm bothered about breaking at the moment.)

Your blog is really interesting - it's a shame that the 'island paradise' turned out to be quite different to what anyone's expectations would be of living somewhere like that. It must have had a big impact on you in more ways than just thinking about your eating habits. I'm looking forward to reading more so keep going

[andreamuse]

aww...thank you, idon'tknow, for reading my blog and for saying it's interesting! I hope to feel more motivated to continue by feeling "accountable" to my blog! )

Today was SO much easier than the last few days as far as wild hunger pangs! I mean, I still felt a little weird and light-headed just before lunch today, now it's 40 minutes or so from my usual dinner time, and I'm just fine! A little hunger, but it's a good hunger, a bearable hunger.

I didn't get to go on my long walk today since husband and I were running errands literally all afternoon, but I did do my 2 mile run this morning and I walked to and from a cafe nearby for maybe another 2 miles total (or close to it), so I feel good that I did something!

Oh, and I bought a few treats for the weekend, a few things I was craving over the week, a chocolate cupcake and some brownies. YUM! I don't intend to go overboard with either of them, and will give any leftovers to my family when they come for father's day on Sunday!

[lbb (Liz)]

You go girl. I, too, feel the same way about the scale. I try to avoid it, but curiosity gets me and I'm on it more than I prob should.
I'm with ya on the hunger thing. I keep trying to tell myself, "hunger is good"! And, it is. But so hard at the same time.
MM...excited about your treats. I better get thinking of some yummy ones myself!
Good luck.
Liz

[andreamuse]

Well, my weight was up a .2 of a pound this morning, but I'm not surprised, stupid hormones!

I feel good that I've nearly gotten through a second green week! Unless I totally lose control today, which I doubt! My theory is that if I could get through the wild hunger of Tuesday and Wednesday, then I can get through anything!

Liz, good luck on finding some delicious treats! Mine are safely in the refrigerator. No temptation for me to eat them today.

[andreamuse]

Okay, that .2 I was up yesterday? Is gone today.

I'm having brownies for breakfast. I've been craving them all week.

[andreamuse]

I'm pleased with my S-day yesterday. It felt crazy to me, but it really wasn't any worse than any other previous weeekend day where I felt I could indulge in whatever...

[andreamuse]

Ugh. Very grim weigh-in today.

It's bad to weigh oneself on Mondays, I know, but I had to know.

Knowledge is power and this week is going to be awesome.

[andreamuse]

I accidentally compromised my own privacy on my blog so I privatized it, for anyone who was reading it. :-p

I may move it somewhere else and I'll let you know...but it was pretty boring anyway, just my stats and occasional rants.

Today I was down 1.2 pounds, so that was good!

[andreamuse]

whew, down another 2.4 pounds. (I know, mostly water weight and bloating).

Amazing, was 147 on Monday, now 143.4. Definitely that extra weight was just water weight.

Am proud of how disciplined I've been for the past three weeks!

[andreamuse]

Down to 142.4, so I think I'm rid of all my extra water weight! Five pounds in three days? Definitely not real weight, what a relief!

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with friends and am going to use my one-plate rule! No seconds and nothing sweet! Having meals with friends doesn't have to be a minefield (as I've always thought of it before while dieting).

[sophiasapientia]

Hi Andreamuse! It sounds like you are taking to No S very well. Keep on doing what you're doing ... It is obviously working for you.

Have a lovely weekend,

[andreamuse]

thank you!!

I have gone down to 142 flat today, so I'm pleased! I've got no desire to go wild this weekend, and I really haven't...

[andreamuse]

yay, 140.2 today!!

Perhaps will break that 140 mark by end of the week. That would be awesome. Am also walking a lot, a lot.

[andreamuse]

SW: 147 (technically 145.4, but then I went up even before I went down)
CW: 139.8
GW: 110-115

Today I hit 139.8.

Now, I should say as a disclaimer, that while I'm using the No-S techniques, I am carefully considering the food I'm putting on my plates. It was the only way to get the scale moving downward in a consistent way. Also, I'm only taking one S day a week. I know that's not really in the rules, but I have found that I simply don't want more than one. Really. I am ready to go back to no sweets, no seconds, etc. after one day of indulgences. The one day prevents the pressure and boredom from building up and lets me sample foods I was missing over the week.

[sophiasapientia]

Congrats on breaking into the 130s! Very exciting!

There's nothing wrong with being mindful of what's on your plate, btw. Thankfully, No S let's each of us make those decisions for ourselves which is important given that we all have different calorie needs, tastes, etc.

It sounds like you've adapted No S to work for you and that's terrific.

[andreamuse]

Thank you!! It is exciting to break back into the 130's (I WAS there back in April)

[andreamuse]

SW: 147 (as of June 21)
CW: 137.8! (as of this morning)
Total loss: 9.2

My version of No-S is really working for me! I take 1 S-day (now I'm doing it on Fridays) and on the other days, I focus on eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and no junk or sugar. My logic of being a little bit more strict is that I'm small and have to make some allowances for that...At any rate, I'm not feeling deprived.

I'm also working out a lot. I walk 6.5 miles still most days, I am starting to run again, and I've joined a gym recently so I am taking dance classes and starting weights!

[sophiasapientia]

Wow! You are totally rockin' this! Way to go!

[kccc]

Congrats on your progress!

[andreamuse]

Thanks, guys!!! I'm so grateful I've found all this! This is the easiest "diet" I've ever been on! And basically I plan to do it lifetime. Once I reach goal, I"ll switch back to two S-days on the weekend (or on Friday/Saturday) and not be as strict about what's on my plate during the week....