Hoeka in 2011

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:09 am

It's been a while ...

I joined last year, and had a pretty good run No-S wise, some exercise hicccups, some bad glass ceiling days, then went home to spend Christmas with my family and well, life just happened, I guess.

My starting weight last year was 80 kg, and at 1,58 m, thatâ€™s waaaaay too much. Currently, Iâ€™m 76 kg, although Iâ€™m at an utter loss â€“ and no pun intended â€“ how this happened. (Thatâ€™s about 177 lbs, 5â€™2â€ and 167 lbs to most of you.) However, Iâ€™m not going to allow myself to become complacent about this (totally inexplicable) weight loss. It could be because of lots of things â€“ as we all know so well.

A quick recap of last week: No S was all green, glass ceiling mainly green except for Thursday, exercise (walking) was green until Thursday, when it started raining heavily again â€“ and itâ€™s still raining. Totally unseasonal, in terms of our normal rainfall patterns. Although I exempted myself, Iâ€™ll be stricter from now on â€“ maybe find some bodyweight exercises that I can do indoors. I took Friday as a holiday S-day.

Itâ€™s good to be back!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:34 am

Welcome back to NoS

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:16 am

Thanks, Millie. Had a look at your check-in thread: the berry tart has me drooling over the keyboard!

Yesterday was pretty contained: more an N-day than an S-day.

I'm taking today as another S-day. Not too worried about going overboard, but boy, am I in a holiday mood!

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:35 am

Yesterday will go down in my personal annals as the Day of the Potato fest. Somebody - was it Jean? - mentioned having had potato salad, and my tastebuds went Yes yes yes, that what we want - potato salad. Now, I love spuds in any form, but potato salad is something I seldom make. It's something I associate with long summer lunches, a braai (BBQ) staple; silly to make it for one. Not yesterday though. I made a huge salad and that's pretty much all I had all day. I put in green pepper, garlic chives and mint, all fresh from my garden. (I did have some plums and a banana, too). Not very balanced, or nutritious, or healthy. But, I loved every bit of it.

Was it good? Absolutely. Would I do it again? I doubt it. Certain experiences simply can't be replicated.

Back to reality today.

(And there's still some PS left, should anybody be interested...)

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:23 pm

Oh! I miss potatoes. I developed a severe allergy to the entire nightshade family last summer. Heartbreaking.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:50 pm

Dear me - what, no nightshade plants? No tomatoes? No potatoes? No aubergines? What other plants are included? These are just off the top off my head. Much as I love potatoes, I think I'd be able to cope with not being able to eat them. But tomatoes? Not a chance. Aubergines I plant because I just love that deep glossy blackish purple colour; but they're all show, no substance or taste. Thankfully my maid & gardener love them, so they get lots to take home. In season, I often put them in a big bowl on my dining table, just to feast my eyes.

Next time I eat a potato I'll dedicate each bite to you

(On second thoughts, no, I wouldn't want to give up my spuds either.)

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:25 pm

No peppers or tomatillos either! Very depressing.

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:46 pm

Ouch, I don't know how I'd cope without potatoes! I do love potato salad that sounded delicious!

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:28 am

Tuesday, 26 Apr
No S
B: yoghurt, PS, plum
L: last of the PS, thankfully; plum
S: spagbol
Very starchy meals, all of them; will get back on the green wagon today

Exercise
No walking - rain - but since I'm currently Cinderella who has to do the housework while the stepsisters are gallivanting, I'm getting in lots of other, perhaps more functional, activity. Also managed 5 mins of alternative SG - will post on the boards there

Glass ceiling
Double fail here: went over my self-imposed rule of no wine on N-days, and then the general GC limit of 2 glasses. But, what a lovely smooth wine it was: lots of dark bitter chocolate, mulberries and plums, and cloves.

Grumpiness alert: again trying to stop smoking. Past attempts were not as wholehearted as they could've been. I track this on HabitCal, and boy, does that look like the aftermath of a particularly hard-fought & bloody battle. I'm actually thinking of tracking the beast here, on my checking in thread: if self-discipline and willpower are not enough, maybe public shame & humiliation will do the trick.

It's Wednesday - enjoy!

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:14 am

No SB: yoghurt & fruit
L: pilchards on toast, fruit
S: pilchards on plain bread, fruit
We had a power failure, and there was anything else but pilchards & bread. Filled me up, but it certainly wasn't satisfying.

GC

Exercise Had a very muddy walk, but it was a lovely day, so I didn't mind the mud all that much. That's what hiking boots are made for, anyway. Did another laughably paltry 5 mins of shovelling the compost heap. I think I'm going to enjoy SG once I get a sledgehammer

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:43 am

So... what kind of wine did you have on Tuesday. It sounds wonderful!!

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:35 pm

Osoniye/Sonya, it was a Rupert & Rotshchild (yeah, one of those Rotshschilds, apparently) 2008 Classique my youngest brother gave to me (and that I had lots and lots and lots of at his wedding recently). It's a South African vineyard, so unless you're a Saffa, it might be difficult to get hold of. Not widely available there either: very much a buy at the estate/know people who know people/select wine merchants type of wine.

But boy oh boy, was it worth the dreaded red square on my HabitCal!

The wine farm itself - Fredericksburg - was founded in 1690. Thank heavens for the Huguenots, I say (even though the name is more German than French).

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Tue May 03, 2011 8:50 am

Thanks goodness the rash of public holidays are over!

Weighed myself today: still stuck at 76 kg which, looking at my HabitCal, is a bit of a welcome surprise.

Since I restarted on 16 Apr, Iv'e had 8 green No S days and 6 yellow ones; ditto for exercise. Glass ceiling is a different beast altogether: 6 green, 6 yellow, 2 red.

So, my personal May resolution/mod is to treat wine as an S: nada during the week, with a "don't be an idiot" S-day limit. (Our monthly book club meeting is a pre-approved S event exception.) Birthday celebrations this month are all scheduled over the week-end - yay!

Went home for my mother's birthday. We braaied Fri eve, had brunch on Sat, tea for her friends Sat afternoon, big home-cooked meal Sat eve. Some snacking, some seconds, some sweets - I think the first time ever since I joined No S that I had all of those in one week-end. Not worried about this at all: my S-days generally tend to resemble N-days, anyway. It's not that I don't indulge in them for any particular reason, that's just the way I eat. But ooooh boy, don't let me loose near an open bottle of wine...

1 May: No-S
Exercise
GC
Smoking

2 May: public holiday here, decided to forego it - way too many of them last month
No S
Exercise
GC
Smoking

Not a good start at all!!!

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Tue May 03, 2011 4:08 pm

You're doing brilliantly on the N day eating, well done! Hopefully the other habits will come with time too

Giving up smoking is TOUGH!

I didn't take any of the bank holidays as S days actually - Easter Sunday was already an S day, and as I'm not particularly religious I had no real reason to make any of the other holidays into food celebrations.... I did have a few 'S events' over that period though for unrelated reasons (and some failures, haha!)

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Tue May 03, 2011 4:43 pm

Millie, I think it was Mark Twain who said it was easy to give up smoking - he'd done it thousands of times. So funny, so true.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Tue May 03, 2011 7:27 pm

No-S
Exercise
GC
Smoking

I'm seeing red - waaay too much. Not happy.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Wed May 04, 2011 6:06 pm

No S

GC

Exercise

No smoking

Another awful day - what's going on with me?

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Wed May 04, 2011 7:00 pm

If at first you don't succeed... lower your expectations.

Seriously, there are a lot of studies that show that willpower is a limited resource, and works better if it's focused on one life area at a time. You're taking on a lot at once! Maybe focus on one at a time... or 21 days on one, then the next.

You do need to set the bar where you CAN succeed.

Good luck,

KCCC

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Thu May 05, 2011 4:28 am

KCCC wrote:If at first you don't succeed... lower your expectations.

... and definitely don't take up skydiving, to quote an old bumper sticker.

KCCC, I thought long and hard whether I wasn's setting myself up for failure before I started renosing and reposting .

However, No-S, exercise and GC are very much intertwined, and I don't see how to incorporate them as discrete habits. No-S has, anyway, always been relatively easy for me, since that's the way that I almost always eat. My weight gain has all to do with a cavalier disregard for the glass ceiling, and is my main target for self-control. What I've noticed with exercise/walking, is that once I've skipped a day, it becomes so much more difficult to get back into lacing up my hiking boots. I'll use the next couple of weeks to see if that's the real problem and if my solution for it works.

Now, the biggy: No smoking. I start out positive & hopeful each morning, and I post each red square still hopeful & positive, albeit less enthusiastically. Someday, and hopefully someday soon, the beast will be tamed.

Have I set the bar too high, or are my failures just stumbles along the way? I think the latter.

I'd like to chat to you some more about setting the bar such that one can succeeed, but it's morning, my early morning cup of coffee hasn't kicked in yet and I'm on autopilot, more or less.

But, thanks for your advice - I'll keep mulling over it

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Thu May 05, 2011 3:41 pm

To me, giving up smoking was a very different ball game from changing eating habits. It's an addiction. It usually takes a lot of planning and preparation (telling people you're going to quit, chucking out all your smokes and paraphernalia, getting patches, seeing your doctor, avoiding 'high risk' places or people....). I'm not sure how well the habitcal style method can work?

Of course changing food habits can take a lot of work too and can even come with cravings - I can't imagine dealing with both the sugar AND nicotine cravings!!

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Thu May 05, 2011 5:32 pm

Hoeka,

Only you will be able to figure it out... I'm just adding something to think about.

Another thought....if you're "failing better," find a way to acknowledge and celebrate that.

Sometimes "progress, not perfection" is where you need to be, but it can be hard to see.

Good luck!!

KCCC

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Fri May 06, 2011 5:30 am

Millie, I agree that habitcal cannot help in stopping smoking - I'm using it merely as a public form of accountability, similar to telling people about my intentions, as you mentioned. And I'm really glad I gave up sugar years ago: there's only one set of cravings to bulldoze through.

KCCC, I love your notion of "failing better"! Thanks for the good wishes.

Thursday, 5 May

Last night was my "big" book club meeting, an S-event for me. And a good one it was, too - as always.

No-S

Exercise

GC

No smoking

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:08 pm

Well, your No S green looks very good. Fantastic.

The smoking will stop eventually if you keep at it.

Exercise can be incorporated through the day, walk, Christiaan Barnard suggested parking in the back of the lot and walk the extra distance to the store, mall, etc. It doesn't have to be regimented.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Fri May 06, 2011 8:03 pm

No-S
Exercise
GC
No smoking (gotta have more than one colour, heh?

Over43, lately the most difficult part of walking has been the stretch from the front door to the gate.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Mon May 09, 2011 6:30 am

Saturday S day
A friend's husband's band's CD was released: good evening

Sunday S day
Lovely day, which was spoiled by having to be taken to A&E - food poisoning. I had to ask my neighbours to take me there: I was too busy with "other things"

I was really worried, since I had most of the symptoms of vertigo. Still a bit woozy, though.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:37 pm

Monday Sick day

Was ok-ish this morning, then started feeling as weak as a kitten. Slept, slept, slept. I had some soup during the day - probably not more than a cupful, all in all. Soup and maybe a slice of toast on the menu tonight, then bed again, I think.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Tue May 10, 2011 4:38 pm

Tuesday, 10 May

No-S

Exercise

GC

No smoking

Yay - an all-green day!

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:24 am

Wed 11 May

Four greens, but I'm terrrrribly grumpy. Managing somehow not to snarl at people, but only because I keep reminding myself that "people" didn't force me to start smoking, and "people" aren't forcing me to stop.

SkyKitty · Post by **SkyKitty** » Thu May 12, 2011 8:29 am

two four green days in a row is fantastic, well done. I can't imagine trying to give up smoking at the same time as establishing a new eating pattern/diet, you have every right to feel quite proud of yourself.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Thu May 12, 2011 12:22 pm

Thanks SkyKitty - I need all the encouragement I can get. Ladies' lunch coming up on Saturday... Sunday will be an "at home" day, and I'm busy making a list of things to do around the house & in the garden to keep me busy.

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Thu May 12, 2011 3:02 pm

You're doing great! Sorry to hear about the food poisoning.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Fri May 13, 2011 7:07 am

Thurs 12 May

Four greens!!!
Well, ok, three greens and one light green one: my 30 mins of walking was more of a stroll than exercise, but at least I did get it in

Who me, you know that line from The Devils wears Prada, about being one stomach bug away from the ideal weight? Well, it's much easier getting there the No-S way

Happy Friday, all!

SkyKitty · Post by **SkyKitty** » Fri May 13, 2011 1:08 pm

Give yourself a break, 30 mins walking is 30 mins walking. You still made the commitment and kept it, and no matter what the speed it's better than sitting on your bum for those 30 mins.

The most important thing is to get your body in gear and moving, exactly what speed your going is of sceondary importance

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Fri May 13, 2011 1:40 pm

SkyKitty, that's exactly what I told myself. I quite enjoy walking, so I more often than not do more than 30 mins. Yesterday was one of those silly-crazy days.

Hoeka · Post by **Hoeka** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:12 am

Fri 13 May

4 Greens

Sat 14 May, Sun 15 May
S days

Had a girls' lunch on Sat. Little Miss Not-much-of-a-sweet tooth had desert. Not particularly nice, but one can only find that out by eating some...

Sun was pretty contained - more N than S

Ouch, black & blue & bruised all over from falling off the no-smoking wagon

Monday today, back on the wagon, bruised ego & all