Noel's 2011 Check-In

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 1:29 pm

MysteryLover wrote:I hear ya on the hair color. Had to bite the bullet and start dyeing recently too. Just wanted to say that I love the idea of a shot glass of ice cream. Usually just a small taste of something sweet is all that is needed after a meal.

How to make dessert shooters

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 1:32 pm

Monday:

No S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

I swam half an hour today as well, but I'm noticing that I'm REALLY BAD at not wanting to push for progress. Last week I'd been swimming 900 yards in 30 minutes (Yes, you real swimmers, I know that's slow).

I swam 1000 yards in the same time today and starting finding myself plotting a training plan to get to a mile in half an hour. *headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk*

No. Half an hour. I swim half an hour, not push to swim a certain distance. Yes, I'll get faster naturally and that's dandy. But NOT ALLOWED TO PUSH FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN DOING THE HALF AN HOUR AN N DAY.

This is REALLY hard....

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 1:35 pm

Swimming is hard work. Is it bad that I don't even know how far 1000 yards is? A half hour of nonstop swimming sounds exhausting to me! ha. I'm kind of that swim across the pool once kind of gal! Gonna have to try lap swimming. It's probably way better on the joints. Any advice for a complete non-swimmer to get started?

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 2:03 pm

Yes. Take lessons, preferably from someone who understands that you're working on technique for cardio. That lap that exhausts you means that your technique is making you work a lot harder than you need to.

Swimming is so skill based that you can take a marathon runner with a knee injury that he's trying to rehab and put him in the lane next to me and I will FREAK him out and make him wonder what's wrong with him that the fat lady can glide on by with so little apparent effort (those sleek seals who look like they're zipping by without really working are actually working VERY hard). I have had this happen more than once at the gym where I work out.

It's not about fitness or strength. The marathon runner IS fitter than I am, no doubt at all. What I have is the skill, which takes time and tedious practice.

1,000 yards is a little over half a mile in "swimmer" yards. A mile is 1780 yards, but most pools that are laid out in yards are either 25 or 50 yards, so someone who has said she's swum a mile has probably swum 1800 yards.

I do swim because I have arthritis.

I started lap swimming again several years ago after a hiatus of almost 30 years from my swim team as a child. My first workout was mostly a sloppy breast stroke with a bit of back stroke and pitiful attempts at crawl. I swam for 20 minutes, and I think I managed 400 yards. (16 lengths of a 25 yard pool).

I kept adding yardage (but not time, as I was swimming on my lunch break back when I had a "real job") and was doing pretty well by the time I had my knee operated on to repair an ACL rupture from attempting a flying side kick. (Women over 200 lbs who are in their mid-30s should not try flying side kicks in martial arts classes. They have to struggle too hard not to swear in front of the children when they get hurt).

The pool work was bliss, sweet bliss when it came rehab time!

Google Total Immersion Swimming to take a look at some videos about good swimming technique. TI is a bit controversial as they claim speed advantages. I'm not so sure that's so, once you get past getting your feel for the water up to speed. But it is DEFINITELY a great technique for lap swimmers, which I am.

MysteryLover · Post by **MysteryLover** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:00 pm

Thank you for sharing your post on dessert shooters. I am definitely going to give that a try this weekend. Great job with the swimming. I'm almost 41 and have never learned how to swim.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:58 am

Monday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich
Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwich with bacon
Dinner: Bowl of Spaghetti

Not a stellar nutrition day, but I'm not sweating it. I put a pepper in the spaghetti sauce, but I don't think that makes up for no veggies or fruit at other meals. I could have added them to my sandwiches. Didn't.

Swam for half an hour this morning.

I'm facing a conundrum about exercise and habit. You see, I have a job opening the gym twice a week (5-7:30). Normally I take my swim after my shift if I'm working in the morning or at 5:30 if I'm not. This usually leaves me ample time to get on with my day.

Next month I'm going to be teaching some classes that mean on Tuesday and Friday, I am not going to have time to get my swim in. These classes are going to be going on for a month. So, out of 20 exercise sessions, that would mean eight can't happen the usual way.

I also know that if I plan to work out at the gym in the evening, IT WONT HAPPEN. I just won't do it.

Realistically, I'm probably going to shovelglove the mornings I open the gym. I prefer swimming, but I don't want to break the habit of doing SOMETHING every day.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:52 pm

Tuesday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exericse

Wednesday:
No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exericse

I seem to be getting mixed up what days I ate what. Ah well. I didn't snack, have sweets or seconds, so who cares?

I've asked my husband to knock me upside the head if I try to go hammer and tongs at exercise. I must be consistent. I will be INTENSELY consistent if that's what I need. I won't push.

That said, I'm up to 1000 yards in the pool in half an hour. I'm working out well, but not pushing THAT hard.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:54 pm

Thursday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich, yogurt
Dinner: Curry, delicious Malaysian curry. And REDNECK WINE! (White Zinfindel. You'll never manage to make me like the "good stuff" as much as I like a glass of the pink stuff).

Managed to stick to a resolution this morning in the pool. For the past week, I've been doing 1,000 yards in my half hour (40 lengths) as opposed to the 900 I'd been swimming the week before. Now... Normally any improvement at all would be an occasion to push myself and plotting how I'd do BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER.

I swam 900 today. I'm tired after a long and difficult week. Professionally satisfying, but exhausting. I'm a computer instructor, not an athlete, so my athletic performance only needs to be, "Did you show up and DO a half an hour of exercise? Yes? All good."

Believe it or not, NOT pushing and permitting myself just to show up was HARD. I've always been of the "Go hard or go home" mentality. Well, that's all fine and dandy, but Go Home is a bad option for long-term fitness. It's just that Show Up Consistently just doesn't look all cool and macho on a t-shirt.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 6:22 pm

NoelFigart wrote: I've always been of the "Go hard or go home" mentality. Well, that's all fine and dandy, but Go Home is a bad option for long-term fitness. It's just that Show Up Consistently just doesn't look all cool and macho on a t-shirt.

Oh, I don't know... I'd totally wear one of those to a gym. Especially in January.

Everything you're saying about the need to set maximums as well as minimums in order to avoid burnout really resonates with me.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:28 pm

KCCC wrote: Oh, I don't know... I'd totally wear one of those to a gym. Especially in January.

That's incredibly apt. Our "Resolution" overcrowding at the gym rarely lasts out the month.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 1:54 am

Yup, it's universal at all gyms.

"Shows Up Consistently" would also be a great faux Indian name. You know, "Dances with Wolves", "Shows Up Consistently" like that.

ellgee · Post by **ellgee** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 3:10 am

Or Dances with Chocolate? Though I might hesitate to wear that to the gym.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:30 am

ellgee wrote:Or Dances with Chocolate? Though I might hesitate to wear that to the gym.

I wouldn't. But I'm a smartybrat and the patrons know it.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 11:21 am

Friday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Quesadilla
Dinner: Stir fry (made by my son)

Got on the scale this morning and saw a very dramatic drop in weight. If it's right, I'll have lost almost ten pounds since the beginning of the year. Sllloooww.

But my goal is to lose 10% of my body weight a year until I get to my fightin' weight. This puts me right on track weight wise.

By the way, anyone who says that swimming isn't good for weight loss is a jackass. Just sayin'.

I'll concede that it might be bad for a woman trying to get below 18% body fat. (i.e. Model, ballerina or weight lifter trying to get competition ready). For a very heavy woman trying to get down to "normal" weight? Not so much. I am sure that dramatic loss was at least in part spurred on by swimming half an hour every day.

I'm gonna have a cookie today. YA!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 4:12 pm

I just post these graphs from time to time to reassure people who don't have a linear weight loss that it can be okay. I weigh every Saturday morning.

The yellow line is the trendline. That's the important one. As long as it's sliding down to the right, we're all good.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:48 pm

Saturday:

S-day

I wound up having three cookies all told in addition to normal meals. Well, okay, dinner was plateful, but it was Delicious Sushi, so I can't say it was "normal". But in terms of volume, quite usual.

So, that's a good S-day.

I was just debating with myself about whether or not to have a snack because I feel hungry when I looked at the clock and realized it was getting on to noon. No, no snack. But lunch, I think I will have.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:18 am

Sunday:

S-day

Had some cookies yesterday, as well as some buttered toast as a bedtime snack. I try not to do that too often, even if it's perfectly fine on S-days. I like it a bit too much and I'm afraid of re-instituting the habit.

Swam this morning. Thank goodness I was out of the door and in the pool before I could think too hard about it, as I am feeling very sluggish and blah. Headachy, mentally slow, feeling like there's too much stuff packed into my lower abdominal cavity. Menstrual symptoms. Normally my period isn't a big deal, but as I'm approaching menopause, I get the occasional cramps. I feel sorry for women who had to deal with that crap their whole fertile lives! But anyway, I swimmed! Ya! It doesn't have to be a hotshot workout. It just has to happen.

mime · Post by **mime** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:06 pm

Like your graphed weight loss! You've done so well and really have been sticking with your plan.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:00 pm

Monday:

No-S
Exercise
Glass Ceiling

Breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich
Lunch: Fried eggs on toast
Dinner: Veggie-laden spaghetti sauce over noodles.

I've been getting my swim out of the way every morning. Which is good, because I've been busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest.

In fact, I should be putting on my face to go to a meeting right now.

ellgee · Post by **ellgee** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:12 pm

NoelFigart wrote:I've been getting my swim out of the way every morning. Which is good, because I've been busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest.

Thanks Noel! Taco salad all over my keyboard! Too funny!

WTG on the swimming. I would love to get up early and work out but I'm lazy. I work out in the evening when I'm drained and tired.

And just where do they have these ass kicking contests? I'd like to sign up.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:56 pm

It was my maternal grandmother's expression. She was rather an extraordinary character. I'm quite shy, retiring and reticent next to her. (And have a better vocabulary, but I had something of a posher education).

If you WILL work out in the evenings and don't struggle to do so, it's probably the best time for you to do it. I don't because it gives me too much time to think up an excuse why not to. I'm GOOD at excuses.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:54 am

Tuesday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich
Lunch Salad. (I can see I'm yearning for summer if I'm willing to put up with the out of season stuff available right now)
Dinner: Pasta puttanesca

Iâ€™ve mentioned before that my fitness goal is to show up every weekday for half an hour. Ideally this means a swim first thing in the morning. There is a class schedule coming up that means that either I swim after I teach, or I do something else before I open the gym. It may mean something else, because I tend not to want to work out after being around people a whole bunch. Weâ€™ll see.

So, the goal? Show up, get blood pumping for half an hour. Thatâ€™s it. This is not to make myself work out, per se. Itâ€™s to contain my enthusiasm for days like today and prevent burnout.

After a couple of weeks, Iâ€™ve gotten to the point where I hit that endorphin high in a swim. Iâ€™m swimming about 1,000 yards in half an hour on more days than not, and I got to thinking:

Me: Hey, if we could do 1,000 in half an hour, why not do another 20 minutes and swim a mile? Weâ€™ve got time this morning, because our meetings donâ€™t start till later!

Myself: No. Half hourâ€™s up. Out of the pool.

Me: Aw come on. Letâ€™s prove to ourselves we can swim a mile.

Myself: You already know you can swim a mile. Thatâ€™s not a great athletic feat for you; it just requires patience. Stop it. Out of the pool.

Me: But itâ€™s cool and intense and stuff! And we feel good.

Myself: Yes it is, and yes, we feel good. Youâ€™re not here for cool and intense. Youâ€™re here to learn consistency. Get out of the damn pool, right now. Youâ€™ll feel good from a workout again, I promise.

Me: But lots of people here are working out for a whole hour and do every day.

Myself: OUT. OF. THE. POOL.

Me: Fine! (Gets out of the pool).

Myself: (Softening a bit) Your problem isnâ€™t whether or not you can swim a mile or work out for an hour, or reach an athletic goal or any of that. Youâ€™re pretty good at dramatic, short-term effort. Your problem is consistency of moderate effort. You have not yet proven you will be consistent over the long term with exercise. Thatâ€™s your goal. Giving in to swimming that mile would interfere with that. After youâ€™ve solved the consistency problem, and thatâ€™s going to take at least a year, we can revisit athletic goals. (Muttering) As if you wonâ€™t be swimming a mile in half an hour after a year of this, anywayâ€¦

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:54 pm

Yay, Noel!

(You're applying "the perfectionist cure" to exercise!)

I love your conversations-with-yourself.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:15 pm

Wednesday

Exercise
No-S
Glass Ceiling

Breakfast: Poached eggs on toast
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich with bacon
Dinner: Chicken, green peppers, onions, ginger and carrots stir fry over rice

Glass of wine with dinner and another relaxing after dinner.

My son made dinner last night, which was a blessing. I have been insanely busy the last few weeks.

I did not get up and swim this morning. My husband needed the car and I chose not to walk to the gym before the sun came up. I did a yoga video instead. (By the way, Netflix DOES have some exercise videos on Watch Instantly, for anyone who likes that kind of thing).

I'm NOT experienced at yoga at all. I find new age ANYTHING (or religion anything) a bit off-putting. But that's not to say that yoga is a poor workout! My inexperience means it's VERY challenging, but it does leave you relaxed and today is going to be a day where I will need to approach it with a serene mind. Several difficult meetings are in store for me as well as a challenging class to teach. I'm realizing I don't stretch out nearly enough, but what I did sure did challenge me and feel good.

So, I suppose what I'm really doing is "30 minutes of ANYTHING" as an exercise system. Swimming is my preferred default, but it's the habit of doing half an hour a weekday no matter what that is the real issue. And goodness knows needing to change it up sometimes can't be harmful.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 12:53 pm

Thursday:

No-S
Exercise
Glass Ceiling

Brunch: Scrambled eggs, bacon, mini bagel
Dinner:Beans-n-rice, salad

I don't ordinarily only eat two meals a day, but I had a bunch of meetings and a class to teach, so eating a good-sized brunch (still only one plate) and then dinner worked out better for timing.

I feel terrible today. I have a headache no painkiller will touch. I did have a swim, though. I didn't push hard, but I think at least getting in the water and getting moving helped make me feel better than I otherwise would.

It's stress, I know. Professionally, I have some huge stuff coming up, and while I'm thrilled to be doing it, it's still stress. I hate teaching a class on a headache, but I'm one of those teachers who could do a class on a broken leg and the students wouldn't guess. Acting training is coming in handy after all.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 7:11 pm

Sorry about your headache. Congrats on swimming anyway, and glad it made you feel better.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 1:23 pm

Thanks, KCCC.

Friday:

Exercise
No-S
Glass Ceiling

Breakfast: Peanut Butter toast
Lunch: Cheese sandwich
Dinner: Pizza

Not the world's healthiest day, but OTOH, a headache that would have had me stay home if I had a "real job" with actual leave probably constitutes as "sick", so the fact that I stuck to vanilla No-S was certainly plenty good enough.

I weighed this morning and have gained two pounds from last week.

However, my graph, let me show you it:

Bouncing up and down, with a downward trend is how this diet is working for me. That goal line is that I want to lose 10% of my body weight a year until I get to my fightin' weight.

I'm relaxed to the bouncing as long as the trend is down. The idea is that this is just How Noel Eats, so it's not like this is a project with an end date, and it isn't like any of the heroic measures I ever took in the past have ever stuck. No-S is a plenty decent workable solution, even if it doesn't look dramatic enough to put on TV.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:09 pm

Sunday

S-day

I didn't eat a proper breakfast so I nibbled a great deal of the day, but in looking back, it probably would have fit on three plates. I also had some chocolate truffles.

Today has been fine.

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: leftover red beans, brussels sprouts (These roasted are a bit of a treat for me. My credit card number was stolen today and I figured something treatish for lunch was fine. While seriously vexed, the helpfulness of my bank made me feel a lot better. Good customer service is a balm to the soul, it really is).
Dinner: Clam chowder.

I also swam this morning, though I freely admit I was not into it at first. Still, I felt better afterwards, which was more or less the point. I wish I could have more days when I feel all glorious and powerful in the water, but whatever. I doubt my body cares as long as it's moved.

I'm cranky, but am deciding that it's okay to count one's blessings in the face of crankiness. I have a work respite this week, but for one class. I'm using it to relax, since my teaching weeks are so intense. I'm happy that I have my gym job, and the gig doing the gym's website so that my family also has gym access. I have a helpful, peaceful family, which ANYONE would consider a serious positive.

Oh.. Wow. I didn't want to snack in the face of the cranky. Yeah, that's good, too.

So, in spite of feeling grouchy about having my debit card number stolen, I can hardly say All Is Bad. I might not like it, and I don't, but there's good things, too.

(I feel childish letting one bad thing color my day so).

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:17 pm

Tuesday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, walnuts
Lunch: leftover chicken puttanesca, strawberries, mini bagels
Dinner: Chicken stir fry with broccoli, carrots, onions, ginger and garlic. Over rice.
2 glasses wine.

I swam this morning.

Going to have a long day tomorrow. Teaching Outlook and I'm having to travel to do it, so I think I'm just going to do my swim and go from the gym. A bit nervous about it, but I suppose it'll be okay.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 9:00 am

Wednesday

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Leftover beans, toast
Dinner: Chicken puttanesca, pasta Ate a little piece of chicken before it got to the plate. I count nibbles while cooking in the interests of strictness on being vanilla.

Wine: 1 glass while cooking, one while having dinner and another after dinner because when my husband offered to get me a glass, I forgot that I'd had one while cooking.

I did get my swim in, though.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 12:55 pm

Thursday

No-S
Exercise
Glass Ceiling

Breakfast: Peanut butter toast. Been INTO that the last couple of days
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich and brussels sprouts
Dinner: Chicken in wine sauce, pasta, broccoli
Wine while cooking dinner and a hard cider with dinner.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:21 pm

Friday

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Peanut butter toast
Lunch: optimized oatmeal
Dinner: Curry. Oh god, did I make a delicious curry. When they taste my delicious curry, all shall love me and despair.

Exercise: Swimmin'.

Looking forward to my S days.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 3:21 pm

Trendline still going down lower than my basic goal.

'Course a goal of losing 10% of one's body weight in a year is hardly dramatic, but I figure if I have a permanent habit because of it, I've come out on top.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Apr 17, 2011 3:52 pm

S-Day

I really didn't eat proper meals yesterday. I genuinely have no reality check to base it on as I didn't have the meal clarity to compare it to. I didn't eat so much that I felt badly physically. That's the best I can do with that. I had breakfast, then I had a doughnut in the middle of the morning (we dropped my son off at the airport to go fly down to spend some time with his grandparents on vacation next week).

I nibbled on granola bars periodically. We don't normally keep such things in the house, but my husband brought some home and I chose to have some. Thinking back, I think I had four over the course of the afternoon. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner and had some buttered toast in the evening.

I feel good about eating the doughnut because I'd been wanting one for about a month, and decided that since there was a Dunkin' Donuts at the airport and it was an S day, that'd be the perfect time. I regret not getting myself a proper lunch, as I think I would not have snacked much during the day.

This morning I had a mini bagel for breakfast, and just had some optimized oatmeal for lunch. I bought some really nice Ghiradelli extra dark chocolate squares, and I've had one.

I think it's pretty clear that I feel best when I keep the meal habit even on the weekends even if I don't "have" to. The clarity is better.

I'm having leftover curry or an omelette for dinner tonight.

I'm noticing a not too unusual pattern of one S-day being a snackeroo, and the next S-day having a very tiny treat or two. Yes, I'm okay with this, though I'm avoiding the temptation to make it a mod. It's hard for me not to consider adding more and more and more mods that'll make me lose weight faster, or get all hard core with my workouts. I keep reminding myself that my GOAL is small consistencies and I think the real mod I'm making is that I'm not ALLOWED to make a mod until I've been doing this at least a year consistently. Meaning I at least mark a failure on my habitcal if I blow it rather than quit. Even if it means a bleeding habitcal.

So, I've only been focusing on this since the beginning of January. I've at least eight months to go before I even consider a mod.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:53 am

Sunday

S-Day

I ate three discrete meals and had some snacks - mostly dark chocolate squares.

I really need to make more of an effort to eat "proper" meals on S-days when reasonable. It makes it easier to judge what I'm eating.

One thing I did notice on Saturday. You see, I buy mini bagels to eat at home. I don't really do this more for any other real reason than if you make an egg in the microwave in a custard cup, it fits exactly on the mini bagel for a breakfast sandwich.

At the airport, I had an egg, cheese and bagel sandwich. Dear lord awlmighty, I'd forgotten how HUGE commercial bagels tend to be these days! That's like almost three of the ones I usually eat.

I swam this morning. Did a 1050 without pushing more than was pleasant.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:45 pm

Monday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Peanut butter toast
Lunch: Leftover curry. It's gone now

Dinner: Veggie egg scramble, bacon

Tuesday (So far)

Breakfast: 1/2 bowl of oatmeal eaten far too early in the morning for me to be hungry.
Lunch: Bacon, eggs, mini bagel
Dinner. NO idea. Something involving chicken and vegetables, though.

I didn't swim today, but I did lift. Got up at four this morning, as I always do when I'm going to be opening the gym. I wasn't hungry enough that early to eat a full breakfast, but I had to eat something because I was going to teach straight after my gym shift and would not have time for a meal then.

Since there was no time for lap swimming and I didn't want to get even EARLIER to work out first thing, I chose to work out in the weight room after class. Before lunch, on a half a bowl of oatmeal that was nine hours in the past.

I did the workout for half an hour and shook all the way to the shower, then all the way home, until I could prepare myself lunch. I think next time I choose to work out after a class, I'll prepare a bento the night before and take time to eat it, even if I prefer to wait until I have time to savor a meal. I'm an effete and all, but that was silly. I could have dropped something on myself.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:51 pm

Glad you're okay. Sounds like a hard learning experience, though.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:10 pm

Wednedsay and Thursday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

I am still very very sore from over-lifting on Tuesday. Swimming is a decent recovery workout, but it hurts to brush my hair.

I broke Rule One most majorly.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:33 pm

Friday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

It is possible that that red really shouldn't be a red as I walked a LOT today, but I'm taking it as a red because I didn't work out the half an hour. I had to open the gym this morning, go straight to teach a class, then I had my daughter over and I didn't want to waste time with her since I get so little. We spent the afternoon walking around town and shopping. Quite possibly I got in more than a half an hour of walking, but I didn't measure, so I'm not counting it.

I did stick to No-S at an Italian restaurant, though, and I feel pretty good about that.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 11:00 am

Big weight jump this week.

This is why I talk to people about freaking out about fine granularity of weight loss and small anomolies.

I was not eating badly this week at all. All green. I was 4/5 compliant on exercise. SO why the jump? OMGWTFBBQ! No-S doesn't work and I'm going to get so fat I can't fit through a doorway, right?

Of course not.

Tuesday, I was an idiot. I was in the weight room and lifted so heavy that I'm even a little sore today. When muscles are sore, you store fluid. Fluid is heavy.

Notice on the graph that the trend is still down. Now, if that trend were to flatten out or start going up over a period of time, THEN there would be a genuine problem.

But freaking out at one data point, especially when there is lots of data to support a great deal of jumping around, is really a bit silly.

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:55 pm

I'm sure you've discussed this elsewhere, but can you talk about how you chart this information? What program, what methods? This is very interesting.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:34 pm

*grin* I have discussed it elsewhere, but it was in front of a classroom. That chart was done in plain ole Excel.

Is that helpful?

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:47 am

Sunday:

S-Day

Yep, it was Easter. Yep, ate a lot of candy. It was delicious.

Today's an N-day, so it's not for candy.

Whenever I think about just tossing No-S because I'm not really losing weight for crap, I do think of this, "Anything that keeps boundaries around excess and average days can't be bad, even if you're not really losing weight."

I also swam this morning.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 6:16 pm

Monday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Leftover Curry
Dinner: Beans and rice

I didn't swim this morning, and I just couldn't face the weight room this afternoon because my feet hurt from teaching all morning. I did a belly-dance beginner tape for half an hour instead. While I can feel it in areas I rarely work, I have to say I find the workout remarkably unsatisfying, especially since what I wanted to do was hit the pool and swim off the tired. (There's no lap swim immediately after I get back from teaching, or you BET I would do that).

But, an unsatisfying workout was still a link in the habit chain. 30 minutes of anything every N-day. It doesn't have to be awesome. It just has to happen.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:43 am

Tuesday:

Exercise
No-S
Glass Ceiling

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Peanut butter sandwich with half an apple and carrot sticks
Dinner: Chicken puttanesca

Swam this morning, and that was a far more satisfying workout.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:23 pm

Wednesday

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, 2 pieces of toast
Lunch: Leftover Chicken puttanesca
Dinner: Fried chicken, rice, broccoli

I didn't swim today, but I did take a half hour walk after I got back from teaching.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 4:43 pm

Thursday:

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: peanut butter toast
Lunch: chicken drumstick, rice, carrot and apple slices
Dinner: clam chowder

I walked yesterday. Not sure what I am going to do today, but it is going to be after a nap, as I got far too little sleep last night.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:04 am

Friday

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Had an extra glass of wine.

Didn't work out after my nap. That was foolish. The reality is I only really work out consistently when I do it to START my day.

For days when I open the gym and teach too early to have time to get in a workout after my gym shift, I think I'm going to have to call 15 minutes of calisthenics good. I'm more physically active on those days than on my writing and prep days, anyway, and doing a lot more walking around, what with teaching, bouncing around the classroom, getting the bus to my gigs and so on.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat May 07, 2011 2:08 pm

I've been on habit just fine. I did take an NWS day yesterday. I had a cold.

And two cookies. (I average an illness every four or five years. I'm cool with that being an NWS day, since I haven't taken one this year).

I also notice I've finally lost ten pounds. Jaysus this is slow, but again, while I'd rather be all lean and stuff next week, what I'm dealing with here is habit. Habit. Habit.

Though, as much as I complain about how slow the weight loss is, if I keep up at this rate, I'm still looking at losing 30 lbs this year. That starts to look a lot more impressive.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Sat May 07, 2011 2:14 pm

I think you're doing AWESOME, and you are a real encouragement to me!!!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon May 09, 2011 11:28 am

The weekend:

S-day

My son made pulled pork sandwiches for us for dinner, and we had chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I enjoyed it immensely.

Though I do need to teach the boy how to do a proper North Carolina style barbecue.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat May 14, 2011 11:19 am

Normally, I see a bit of a jump after a big loss. Not this week. Stayed the same.

I'm not checking in every day mostly because it's become, well... dull. I eat three meals. Sometimes they're big. Sometimes they're small. But they're never larger than one plate.

I still have several months to go, though, before I pronounce the habit solid. As I've stated before, I want at least a year of this. Though to be honest, after 30-odd years of disordered eating and dieting, five years of this would be better.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon May 16, 2011 2:18 pm

Check-in for the weekend

S-day

I didn't have any sweets, snacks or seconds.

I don't see this as "extra good" but "normal variation". If chocolate had been available, I probably would have had some.

Last weekend I snacked a lot.

They're both S-days.

My goal is less about quick weight loss and considerably more about getting my habits cleared up and cleaned up. In the future, I may very well try to deal more with the content of my meals, but since I mostly cook from scratch and eat whole foods, I'm not too terribly worried about it. I have some sort of fruit or vegetable with every meal.

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 12:47 pm

Hi Noel,
Haven't seen much from you the past few days... hope all is well. I miss reading your perspective on things!!
-Sonya

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:17 pm

osoniye wrote:Hi Noel,
Haven't seen much from you the past few days... hope all is well. I miss reading your perspective on things!!
-Sonya

Hi. I'm fine. Just a terribly large project that is taking up most of my time.

I'm down to 238, so I'm losing well, too!

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:19 pm

Good to see you periodically - and glad to hear things are going well!

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:17 am

Glad all is well and the wight loss is going well,

too!

Grammy G · Post by **Grammy G** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:40 pm

Just checking in on you! I'm feeling the same as you, I think: i'm working on the "three plates a day" until that is a given n my mind (almost there!) and then I will work on what goes on those plates. I do think we are pretty healthy eaters..(except tonight when I wanted a Big Mac for dinner.. don't know why).. and S days have been fairly calm. Glad you are losing..your graph looks like mine!

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:07 pm

Glad you are doing so well, it is a good feeling when it sorta just becomes normal to eat right and exercise. You are doing great. I agree that snacking can become just a habit (no one is usually starving for food when they reach for a cookie) and not snacking can become a habit as well.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:07 pm

So, anyway...

I've chosen to go back to low-carb. I feel like I gave vanilla No-S a good, solid try and it wasn't working as well as it could for me. I was losing about a half a pound a week, but I was not feeling very well. (Yes, diabetes does run in my family, but my fasting glucose is 90. Not a problem... yet. But it could become so).

However, I've not abandoned No-S principles completely. Yes, I generally eat two or three meals a day, but I'm noticing a significant difference in energy levels and health when I do low carb rather than anything else.

The two or three meals? If I have a larger, later breakfast, two meals are all I'm really hungry for when I don't eat any bread, rice or pasta. I still eat berries and lots of veggies, mind, so it's not NO carb. I'm not being psycho fanatic about every little carb. Just more... paleo, I suppose. No grains, legumes, potatoes, that sort of thing. Miniumum fruits, veggies with every meal just as I always have.. But I'm out of the habit of snacking, really, and I'm keeping that.

I've had a lot of success on low carbing before, (A LOT) and like it. I'm not dying for pasta and even though I LIKE bread, I'm not fantasizing about having any.

What usually gets me off the low-carbing is that it is a pain in the ass socializing where someone else is making the meals.

So, I thought, hey... a mod. A REAL mod that will work for me. I'm an introvert and don't go to a lot of parties, so for me S means SOCIALIZING.

Low carb at a restaurant isn't too hard if you're fond of salads (I love 'em), and neither is it if it's a potluck and you're bringing a lot of your own food (I make some great low carb finger food). It's only when I'm going somewhere where I'm being SERVED food that it's an issue, and frankly that happens far less in my life than weekends do!

Anyway, I feel like I've fallen from the Pure Faith, but it's what works for me.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:48 pm

Good to see you!

This doesn't sound like leaving No-S to me (at least, not unless you're ADDED Snacking, Seconds, and Sweets - and it doesn't sound as if you are) as much as just "paying more attention to what you put on your plate."

Which is smart.

I don't officially do low-carb, but I tend toward that direction (with exceptions - I do like pasta and good bread). Most of my grains are complex, and I do mostly veggies/fruits on the plate. (Some low-carbers don't allow veggies, but will eat the worst things as long as they're called "low carb". Those are the ones I worry about. Doesn't sound like you.)

At any rate... I'm glad to see you back here, whatever you're doing!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:13 am

When I said I'm not hard-core low carb, I wasn't kidding. While I eschew pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and other such, I don't even count when I'm eating vegetables like you'd put in a salad. I just load up the plate and enjoy. (Half to three quarters of my plate usually winds up being vegetables unless I have some fruit.) Roasted Brussels sprouts? NOM. Red peppers sauted with onions and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil with some wine? Bring it. Ratatouille? You bet. I've always found it funny that people perceive low carb as no vegetables. I tend to eat MORE of them when I'm not eating the other stuff.

I don't eat an enormous amount of fruit, but yes, since it's summer, I do put berries on my plate an love 'em.

I also average two meals a day, but they're pretty ample. If I'm not insanely busy, breakfast is usually a veggie omelet and maybe a couple of slices of bacon if I'm in the mood, or a few strawberries and we have any in the house.

If I'm hungry for lunch, I have a bit, but it's usually about the size of a salad plate. My definition of genuine hunger has definitely been No-S trained!

Dinner? Given meat prices and what I can get inexpensively, it's oftenest a chicken dish with vegetables sauted in olive oil and wine. (SAID I wasn't being carb fantatic). But I did Atkins for several years before falling off the wagon, and I'm quite a good low-carb cook, so variety happens when meat prices vary. (Pork shoulder was on sale recently, so I got out my crock pot and did a proper North Carolina Barbecue that made me homesick.)

For exercise, it's summer and I'm doing a lot of Urban Rangering. I even bought a really good rain coat, because New England weather has been abysmal and I need to get outside.

I'm still firmly of the belief that doing many months on Vanilla No-S was a very smart move. It got some other crap sorted out BEFORE I started tweaking.

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:47 pm

I don't think you've gone astray from the Pure Faith. It sounds to me as if you've made some sensible mods for your everyday eating.

Regarding the low carb/no carb issue, I think just as there are people who are lactose intolerant there are people who don't do well on higher carb diets. It makes sense for them to cut out a lot of the carb heavy foods. I get bunched about the carb issue when someone declares in ringing tones that all carbs are bad for everyone all the time. That simply isn't the case. You have to know yourself.

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:52 pm

Hi Noel,
I love the new avitar! Seems to me the changing of the "what" on your 3 plates of food is a perfectly great mod after these months of vanilla. What kind of treats are you enjoying on S days? Still low-ish carb?

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:07 pm

osoniye wrote:Hi Noel,
I love the new avitar! Seems to me the changing of the "what" on your 3 plates of food is a perfectly great mod after these months of vanilla. What kind of treats are you enjoying on S days? Still low-ish carb?

Thanks! It's based on an outfit I made for myself.

S-days come in a couple of classifications. Weekends and stuff like that are small-s days. Since the S I tend to enjoy most are snacks, I allow myself a bit of snacking if I want to. I do make low-carb type treats these times. (Berries and whipped cream.. stuff like that).

Capital-S is for SOCIALIZING. I don't go out a lot or to parties much, so for the duration of the socializing event, I'm off the hook -- be it a holiday, an out of town visit, a vacation with my extended family or anything like that. It keeps me from being a pain in the ass at parties, but gives defined the defined limits that is the beauty of No-S in the first place.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:24 am

I love the new outfit! It looks super comfortable! Did you say you made it? I'm in awe of you. I can't sew to save my life......

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:28 am

You could sew to save your LIFE. You just aren't into developing the skill. That's okay. Why should you if you don't love the process?

Yes, I did make it. I make almost all of my clothes. But for me, it's fun.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:20 am

When I said I couldn't sew to save my life, what I should have said is I have NEVER sewn anything in my entire life. I haven't even tried. Maybe I'm really good at it and I don't know it yet! ha. Sewing all your own clothes is a spectacular idea. Then you don't have to wait for other people to design things you like. You can make exactly what you like in any color you want! Awesome.

Grammy G · Post by **Grammy G** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:40 am

i am stealingyour S vs.s

!!! It is what I tend to to w/o putting those terms to it. Thank you very much!!
...I love your new avatar too! I come from a line of honest-to-god seamstresses and was always intimidated by their abilities and so never learned from them... Can you imagine how much I regret that now!!!
I am in awe of how you find the time to do all you do!!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:44 am

Grammy G wrote:i am stealingyour S vs.s !!! It is what I tend to to w/o putting those terms to it. Thank you very much!!
...I love your new avatar too! I come from a line of honest-to-god seamstresses and was always intimidated by their abilities and so never learned from them... Can you imagine how much I regret that now!!!
I am in awe of how you find the time to do all you do!!

I think I stole the small s v large S from wosnes or someone else on the board.

I'm self-employed and I don't watch television. When I don't have much work, I may not have money, but my word, do I have TIME!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 4:30 pm

Still No-Sing. Still eating low-ER carb, but not fantatic about it.

Alcohol is still an S for me, and I'm back to lifting weights. I haven't lost much weight (maybe four pounds over the summer), but I'm not sweating it.

For me, it's about sustainable habit rather than quick weight loss, and the habit is still good.

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:19 am

Hi Noel, Great to see you're still NoS-ing and that it's going well. 4# is progress, especially against our bodies' tendency to want to put back on anything we lose. Wishing you the best- Sonya

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:46 pm

Successes aren't remarkable enough to note, but I'm noticing that I'm looked at as odd when I don't eat in certain situations, and looked at as even weirder when I DO eat.

It was a Saturday and I was at a party. There was cheesecake, so I had some. Someone commented that I'm going to mess up my diet if I do that (I suppose that really slow weight loss is becoming a bit noticeable) and I burst out laughing, saying that the cheesecake was part of my diet.

We got to talking and I realized that people find A) eating three meals a day weird and B) that they treat food like an AA member treats alcohol - which is impossible.

The diet and binge mentality is pretty much what got me quite overweight in the first place, so I'm really sympathetic to how one feels in that cycle. But I find I'm not believed when I say that no, I don't binge any more (though yes, I had some wild S-days in the beginning), that I don't feel deprived on three meals a day (Good lord, if I ever did, reading the Hunger Games trilogy has kind of cured me), and that unless you have a serious metabolic issue for which you should be consulting a doctor, no, really, it's okay just to eat three meals a day and not sweat it too much.

I was bombarded with questions about wasn't I worried about nutrition, which I admit kind of got on my nerves. I snapped that I eat fruits and veggies with every single meal just like they did and I got a response that made me a little sad. One woman commented, "If I was on a diet that only controlled portions and didn't MAKE me eat right, I wouldn't. I'd eat pizza and fries all that time."

I told her I didn't think she would, or at least not for long! Why? It would FEEL bad. She'd feel bloated and gross and start craving a salad for a meal.

*sighs* I know in many ways, I'm about as UNtraditional as an American woman can BE, but I really think we threw the baby out with the bathwater when we threw out all structure to our lives. It's made us weak and afraid.

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:51 am

NoelFigart wrote:The diet and binge mentality is pretty much what got me quite overweight in the first place, so I'm really sympathetic to how one feels in that cycle. But I find I'm not believed when I say that no, I don't binge any more (though yes, I had some wild S-days in the beginning), that I don't feel deprived on three meals a day (Good lord, if I ever did, reading the Hunger Games trilogy has kind of cured me)

Wow just what I needed to read...I'm do so well during the week and feeling freer than ever and still having crazy S days..It's 3 months for me now and I really hope and pray that I come to a place where I'm not binging on S days too...

And ditto here on the diet and binge mentality got me overweight toooo...and I love the sanity during the week...

How long did it take you to not binge on S days?

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:55 am

It took a few months, NoSnacker, and it was a tapering off process. First Saturdays got sane... well saner, then Sundays and so on.

I also noticed, and you might want to think about this, that what looked like a binge started being in reality less and less food. Two cookies seems like a BIG snack to me now -- a bit excessive. Compare that to pre NoS? LOL. Well, you get the point.

Clarica · Post by **Clarica** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:36 pm

OMG, I just went to your blog today, and I am your new biggest fan! Salwar Kameez is my favorite outfit! I bought two eleventy million years ago long-distance made to order over the internet, and only wore one of them regularly.

And the pants wore out and the top didn't fit for a while, and I was just considering copying it as a pattern for other tops, because I love the style SO much, but wondering if it would be worth the effort because of the sliding through sizes a LOT faster than I like making (or buying) new clothes.

I'm going to be all over those pages!

Cheers,
Clarica

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:53 pm

My weekends start off sanely, but the I go to the parties and overdo, I come home and just throw in the towel for the night..I'm so glad I don't do that during the week anymore!

Have a great week!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 12:30 pm

Still plugging along, and sometimes reading stuff here.

I quit my gym job. Well, gave my notice. My last day is the end of this month. No more getting up at 4AM WHEEEEE!!!!!

I also bought a Wii Fit Plus. Because it's really the ONLY exercise I've been getting (as in, Urban Ranger has fallen by the wayside), I've committed to doing a half an hour on days I have to go out and teach and an hour on days I don't. If I'm away for the weekend or some such, I don't sweat it. If I'm home, I'll use it.

I am finding I'm really enjoying the games and workouts so far.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 2:23 pm

Okay, checking in again.

I lied about the wii fit. I am supposed to do half an hour a day. I don't. I do an hour.

No, not just the balance games. I'm talking the calisthenics and what have you.

My weight loss is picking up due to the increased activity.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 12:26 pm

I need to get on my WiiFit. It looks fun. I just haven't really gotten off my butt to do it. I also have a Jillian Michaels one for Wii. Haven't even tried it. You've inspired me to try!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 12:34 pm

I dislike that Michaels woman, but the Wii Fit is fun.

Most of the point of exercise is indeed just getting off one's butt and doing it. I'm inconsistent about it.

thtrchic · Post by **thtrchic** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:28 pm

I've been considering investing in a Wii and WiiFit, but am not sure that I'd actually get up and do it. What kinds of things do you do on it?

Julie

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:39 pm

The Wii Fit isn't magic. If you don't use it, it's no good.

That said. My usual workout on it tends to be broken down into some calisthenics, some (admittedly mild) aerobic activities, balance games and yoga.

It's a fairly mild workout, mind. You can do pushups, v-sits, many standing exercises that might be familiar to you from high school gym, and so on. What I like a lot about it is that the balance board tracks your balance as you're doing them, so there's a bit of an added form challenge, which I personally like a lot.

While jogging in place might seem lame as hell, doing so to move your Mii (the Wii avatar you create for yourself) through a semi-tropical island has great appeal to me in the crappy weather of a New England fall and winter.

I think you either tend to love it or hate it, and I'd strongly encourage you to try one out before you get it. I love mine, but I'm an introverted nerd who would rather play video games than go to an exercise class.

That being said, I am averaging an hour or more a day on it, and NOT just the cutsy balance games. I do real workouts and enjoy it well enough to continue.

http://www.gamespot.com/wiifitplus/revi ... atform/wii That's a good review of it.

thtrchic · Post by **thtrchic** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:48 pm

Thanks for the info!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 12:26 pm

The difference in my rate of weight loss when I do an hour of Wii fit a day is pretty damn dramatic.

I'm due to write up a yearly testimonial come January 5, 2012, and I'm a little concerned because some of the things I have to say aren't going to be very fluffy.

Do I think it MUST be a goal for a woman to be lean/slender/thin? No. I think it's okay not to choose to work on that. I REALLY think it's okay.

What I don't think is okay is how we fool ourselves about what it takes.

A short, middle-aged yo-yo dieter can't have out of control S days and lose.

A short, middle-aged yo-yo dieter is going to have to exercise a LOT. A LOT A LOT. (An hour a day seems to be my weight loss threshold)

A short, middle-aged yo-yo dieter is going to need to use smaller plates.

A short, middle-aged yo-yo dieter is going to have to suck up feeling hungry a lot.

A short, middle-aged yo-yo dieter can have the teeny martini glass of ice cream as a treat, not even as much as a small bowl.

If that's more than you want to deal with, well, ya know? I think that's also okay. The reality is that this isn't fair, and it's worse for older women because there is this cultural expectation that we have to be sexually desirable across a broad base before all else. (One of these days I really need to get a horror story about a woman who lost a lot of weight published. It's CREEPY...)

But if the GOAL is thin, it really is going to take a lot of discomfort on the part of many body types.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:59 am

Totally OT.... Noel, I was catching up and just followed a link to your website... and oh, my stars, how useful it was.

I'm talking about the working-at-home bit in particular. Specifically, the manage-your-time bits. I'm in a bit of a life-transition period, and it was helpful.

I wrote a whole lot that was more-than-you-would-want-to-know, then remembered it was YOUR thread, and deleted it. Bottom line - thanks.

(And I enjoyed your discussion of the Wii fit too.)

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:08 am

Oh, KCCC, you're welcome to write anything you want to here. I am always interested in your thoughts.

I'm glad the time management part was useful to you.

Everyday Systems

Noel's 2011 Check-In

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