anniej's check in

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

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anniej
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anniej's check in

Post by anniej » Thu May 12, 2011 3:48 am

New to this, but it just makes sense. Started yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday did okay, STARVING by dinnertime.

Today did well. I decided for the first 3 weeks to eat whatever I want (within reason, of course) for my 3 meals.

Breakfast today: green smoothie, 2 pcs toast with almond butter and coffee with creamer

Lunch: chick-fil-a grilled chicken sandwich, fries and ketchup (and I refused to feel guilty about the fries)

around 4:30 I ate a stick of mozzerella because I was turning into a monster (and I have 3 very small children who will not tolerate this)

Dinner: parts of a chicken leg and thigh, broiled zucchini with parmesan cheese and foccacia bread with 2 glasses red wine.

Drank a ton of water. I think I pretty much inhaled dinner because I was so hungry. My body's going to have to get used to the long waits because I've been grazing. BUT I wasn't ever hungry for dinner before because I snacked all day, and today I was REALLY hungry!

Looking forward to building my habit, and enjoying reading all the funny stuff on the website.

Jan in Georgia
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Post by Jan in Georgia » Thu May 12, 2011 4:11 am

Hi AnnieJ,
I am pretty new to this way of eating, too. I started on Sunday. Sounds like you are doing well and figuring out what is going to work for you. I am still tweaking my meals to make sure that I am not too horrible to be around before the next meal!

anniej
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Post by anniej » Thu May 12, 2011 4:31 pm

Thanks Jan!
Hope you're doing well, too.

It's almost lunchtime here and I'm not hungry yet. I've been drinking H2Orange between meals to keep hydrated and also keep my blood sugar a little more stable.

I love the 14 minutes of exercise thing. Yesterday I "wogged" (walk/jog) around the neighborhood, and that took ~17 minutes. This morning I did T-tapp exercises and that took about 20 minutes. So great that I can check that off as a success. :)

Had the same thing for breakfast today except it was a kefir smoothie instead of green smoothie. I wonder if that's why I'm not hungry yet? Nice to know for the future, maybe I'll add an extra half cup of kefir when I'm having a green smoothie.
Lunch will be leftover Eggplant Chickpea curry with brown rice (from Tues night's dinner) and whatever else I can fit on my plate (a salad maybe?)
Dinner will be Turkey Pot Pie (with wine of course!), YUMMMMM!!

milliem
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Re: anniej's check in

Post by milliem » Thu May 12, 2011 9:19 pm

anniej wrote:
Today did well. I decided for the first 3 weeks to eat whatever I want (within reason, of course) for my 3 meals.

B.
This is a great idea, build the habits first and then think about what you are eating :)

Sounds like you are doing well so far!

KareBear
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Post by KareBear » Thu May 12, 2011 10:52 pm

Welcome to No S, AnnieJ. I think the support here is amazing and I really like to plan as it helps me not obsess about food and my weight all the time. Life is more of a challenge when you have small children and more so if you stay home with them. One of the hardest jobs out there. You sound like you are doing great on your first week. And only 1 more day until Saturday. :)

What part of Texas are you in? I used to live in Harlingen, way South.

Hope the rest of your day is fantastic.
Karen

Start/Current/Goal
160/ 160 /135

anniej
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Post by anniej » Fri May 13, 2011 12:30 am

Thanks stubby and milliem!
I am SO enjoying this-- more than any "diet" ever!

I'm in San Antonio. We FINALLY got some rain today! It's been months since we got anything to speak of, and we're thrilled!

Yes being a SAHM is rough on the diet a lot of days. They have to eat about 5 times a day, so I've been "snacking" with them, and justifying it. And paying for it. :? So here I am. This makes so much sense to me. I wasn't hungry for lunch today, but was hungry by dinner. I may cut down to 1 pc of toast for breakfast tomorrow and see how I do. I get leftover Turkey pot pie for lunch, woohoo! I ate two slices for dinner tonight, because they fit very well on a small plate... but that was probably about 1000 calories, yikes!

Building the habit, building the habit... :lol:

anniej
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Post by anniej » Fri May 13, 2011 4:41 pm

Small, but important (to me) victories:

When I drive past Starbucks and think about getting a coffee, I say, "Nope, it's a N day! Wait till S day!"

When I drive past Chick-fil-a and think about getting an ice cream cone, all I have to do is remind myself, "Nope, it's a N day! You can have ice cream on S day!"

These boundaries are SOOOOO, comforting to me! I had no idea it would be like this. I don't feel deprived, I feel relieved because I have a boundary that says "no sweets, girlfriend!" Plus, I'm saving MONEY!!! Haha!

This feels a lot like the envelope system that we incorporated for our budget-- when there's $$ in the envelope, you can spend! When the envelope's empty, you just gotta wait till it gets filled up again next month! And I can't believe how we are slowly but surely building up a HUGE savings account-- slowly over time. Like a tortoise, not a hare.

AAAAAhhhhhhhh, BOUNDARIES! :D

Today:
Breakfast, smoothie, 2 pcs toast with almond butter, coffee
Lunch: 1 pc turkey pot pie, 1 grapefruit, half a bell pepper
Dinner (planned): chicken drumsticks, roasted green beans, mashed potatoes

And tomorrow is SSSSSSaturday!! :D

I realized last night with the two pcs of turkey pot pie that I OVERATE, and I was UNCOMFORTABLE, even after a walk around the neighborhood. Important to remember, and I'm happy that maybe I'm learning this lesson early in my No-Sing.

Who Me?
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Post by Who Me? » Fri May 13, 2011 8:45 pm

Sounds like you're off to a great start!

anniej
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Post by anniej » Sat May 14, 2011 8:39 pm

Thank you "who me?" I am loving this.

So yesterday and last night I realized I was seriously terrified of my S days. I was enjoying being limited so much, that I was/am afraid that I'm going to lose control and never regain it come Monday. One day at a time.

I realized I could use my S day to experiment-- to eat a smaller breakfast and see how long I last. Since I could have a snack, if I really got hungry before lunch, I could just have another pc of toast. So I had ONE pc of toast with NUTELLA (mmmm) instead of almond butter, and a kefir smoothie with coffee.

I was not hungry at all by my normal lunchtime (noon) but by 1pm I was starting to get a headache and then we finally ate at 2. (We were meeting people today and lunch got delayed) I lost it a little bit and overate some, which is not new-- been doing that on my ONE plate all week, haha! Tried really hard to keep it to one plate, but had a bowl of soup and an extra pc of bread too. It was all super healthy food, so I don't feel THAT bad, just full.

Then I just came home to put my littlest one and myself down for a nap and had some of the chocolate in the pantry that I've been eying all week. It wasn't worth it, but I'm glad I ate it instead of resisting it. Giving in and realizing it wasn't worth it is more valuable than resisting it and playing "diet lady."

So not sure what we'll do tonight for dinner, but I'm excited I can cut down on breakfast a little bit during the week-- saving money and saving ~200 calories a day. Maybe next Saturday I'll experiment with cutting down on lunch and see how that goes.

I've noticed though, that I'm pretty darn hungry by dinnertime most days, no matter what I have for lunch. But then I feel way too full after eating dinner. So maybe a smaller breakfast, same-sized lunch, and smaller dinner will do the trick.

I didn't exercise yesterday, but I did today, so YAY!

Sorry-- just treating this like a journal. Please forgive me if it's a boring read. I'm sure it will be useful to me later. :)

r.jean
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Post by r.jean » Sat May 14, 2011 11:06 pm

Congrats! You seem to have the concepts of the No S system down. I also experimented on the weekends at first and sometimes ate 4 times a day, varying the size of my meals. However, some weekends I had special things going on and I just ate what I wanted.

Hint: One of my issues early on was being hungry at bedtime. A couple of times I just had a glass of milk and that got me through without breaking the rules. I did not make this a permanent habit.
The journey is the reward.
Maintenance is progress.

Who Me?
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Post by Who Me? » Sun May 15, 2011 4:17 am

Sounds like you're doing really well!

anniej
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Post by anniej » Mon May 16, 2011 1:35 am

great stuff!! I think I might have convinced my mom and dad to to this too... my husband already kind of does. looking forward to N days!

anniej
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Post by anniej » Mon May 16, 2011 7:17 pm

Thanks for the replies!

Today I had a kefir smoothie and 2.5 pcs toast for breakfast with coffee. Too much toast, I think, but I was too nervous to try less, especially since I went mountain biking yesterday afternoon and was afraid I'd be starving if I didn't eat enough breakfast.
Lunch-- found some frozen leftover chili in the freezer and reheated it with sour cream and chips.
Dinner will be pasta with beef sauce and some veggie-- green beans or corn on the cob.

Still need to do a workout today, but wondering if I should rest instead because of the biking yesterday.

I'm just glad to be back to N day.

Got my mom to read through the diet introduction and she's all enthused about it now, yeah! It will definitely be more fun to do with my parents, especially since my food/diet obsession is something I share with them. They did nutrisystem, I did medifast, we tried weight watchers together, tried South beach at various times, try to eat whole foods, snack too much, etc. Yuck. Hopefully we can all overcome this together. :)

SkyKitty
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Post by SkyKitty » Tue May 17, 2011 6:33 am

anniej I wouldn't worry too much about having too much toast for breakfast, You wisely judged that how much you wouuld need, thinking about how active you would be, to get you through to your next meal.

One of the best things about No S is that you don't need to ration your meals, just don't go overboard and eat until you're full to bursting and keep within the other rules and you're fine.
When nothing goes right...go left.

anniej
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Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Tue May 17, 2011 10:06 pm

Ah, thanks skykitty. I just have trouble knowing what full is. Still learning that. I actually at the extra half piece because my son left it and I hate waste (especially of the expensive sprouted grain bread and organic butter that I buy!!! LOL)

Breakfast: Did 1 pc of toast with smoothie and coffee this morning and did great lasting till lunch! Yay!
Lunch: Costco salad with roughly 1/2 the dressing and half a hot dog bun.
Dinner: looking forward to Shepherd's pie and, of course, some wine.

Did 14 minutes on the rebounder today (mini-trampoline) which sounded more fun than anything else at the time. I can't believe how sweaty I got in just 14 minutes!! My abs were WORKING! Walked the dog yesterday (just got my FIRST dog and I'm in love.)

I'm extremely bloated right now, which is very discouraging, but I realized it's because it's almost TOM, so hopefully by next week I'll see more "results." Trying definitely to think long-term here, and I am not giving this up no matter what (the non-scale benefits far outweigh any disappointment at not losing immediately, no pun intended), but it will be nice to see results eventually, and see what my real weight is SUPPOSED to be...

anniej
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Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Thu May 19, 2011 2:42 am

Did well tonight-- had a dinner with friends and we ate LATE, but I "virtual plated" and had just a little cheese and guacamole before we actually ate. Only had a teensy taste of the dessert.

Been reading the Weigh Down diet book for some good motivation and wisdom. Also just got the No S Diet book and reading through that too. Great stuff. Jumped on the trampoline again-- what a great workout. Started TOM tonight, yuck. Need some ibuprofen. :(

Getting a wellness-evaluation done first thing in the morning, and a gall bladder ultrasound and HIDA scan later in the morning. Have to be fasting for both, so tomorrow will be fun. :?

SkyKitty
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Post by SkyKitty » Thu May 19, 2011 8:08 am

You're clearly doing really well with the exercise, I really need to figure outwhat to do for 14 minutes at home when I'm not working or going to the gym.

I'm waiting for my No S book, should be in the post any day now.

Keep up the good work.
When nothing goes right...go left.

anniej
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Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Fri May 20, 2011 1:26 am

Thanks, Skykitty! The book is so great. There are several great one-liners and paragraphs I want to copy onto index cards and carry around with me. Very good reinforcement to keep me motivated and focused while building my habit.

No exercise today... I guess I could still take a walk with the dog. We'll see. The gallbladder tests went long so I was really hungry and thirsty by 2 pm (couldn't have anything to eat or drink all day).

Lunch: chick-fil-a sandwich, fries and diet lemonade
Coffee in the afternoon
Dinner: leftover sheperd's pie (no wine tonight)

I realized a great victory Tuesday night, but forgot to post it here. I make shepherd's pie 1-2 times a month and we LOVE it. We've never had leftovers before. But this time, because I only had ONE plate of it, we had substantial leftovers. Wow, I am starting to realize what a glutton I am/was. :(

Gotta say, that's one thing I really love about the No S diet-- Reinhard just tells it like it is-- "You are fat because you are a glutton and a sloth." Nothing like looking yourself in the mirror and seeing the ugly truth to get you motivated to change. And it is really helping me to ask God for help and depend on Him too, because I know He doesn't like those behaviors in me and I want to improve because I love Him so much. :)

anniej
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Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Fri May 20, 2011 6:59 pm

Checking in here right now. For some reason, it's hard not to snack today! Maybe because I didn't LOVE my lunch, ha. I'm trying to use up some vegetables from last week's co-op so I had 6 tiny little potatoes baked in the microwave with cheese and sour cream. Then a small piece of cheese and 2 boiled eggs.

Breakfast was a kefir smoothie with 1 pc of toast and 1 cup coffee.

Dinner will be chicken leg & thigh (probably will split those with my 16-month-old), roasted green beans and ... maybe some wine.

Looking forward to treats this weekend. I should think about them and plan them a little better.

Going to go jump on the trampoline and get all sweaty then take a shower and a nap while the kiddos are napping.

anniej
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Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Sat May 21, 2011 1:14 am

Well, dinner was cheese for an appetizer, then chicken and green beans, then chocolate, nutella on crackers, and more chocolate. Today was FAIL, FAIL, FAIL. :(

SkyKitty
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Post by SkyKitty » Sat May 21, 2011 7:06 am

Ouch, anniej hard to have a fail when you are doing so well.

But it is 'are doing well' not 'were doing well'

Well done for acknowledging the fail, if we hide it away we're more likely to repeat it. It is what it is and it will not stop you having more successes next week.

Give yourself a hug and say onwards and upwards :wink:
When nothing goes right...go left.

Who Me?
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Post by Who Me? » Sat May 21, 2011 4:37 pm

Hey at least your failure was reasonably health food.

anniej
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Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Sun May 22, 2011 12:53 am

Thanks, guys! So nice to have encouraging remarks after that. To lie to oneself is the worst, even though it really is hard to come on here and say "yep, I failed". And it was hard to mark yesterday RED on habitcal. :( But I did it. My husband wondered if I could just do a No S day on Sunday, but I don't think I should. Reinhard says the mark the fail days as FAIL and move on from there. Don't try to do "make up" days. So I'm just going to start over Monday and be happy with it.

anniej
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Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Mon May 23, 2011 8:10 pm

I'm very sad to say that I have already had a FAIL day today.

I'm not going to let it stop me from FINISHING STRONG, though.

Today we had a playdate at a friend's house. I had a smoothie, toast and coffee for breakfast. Lunch was leftover homemade pizza. Then around 2 when I was just about to leave, my friend offered me a chocolate truffle and I unthinkingly took it and popped it in my mouth. SOmething I totally wasn't expecting, and hadn't prepared a response to.

It's such a bummer to mark that as a total fail day for such a tiny fail, but FAIL it was. Moving on... the nice thing is that it was a very, very tiny treat. Something that truly skinny people wouldn't bat an eyelash at, and since I hadn't been snacking, sweeting or seconding all day long, it really didn't matter in the large scheme of things, and really was a lovely little treat!

Saw my doc for the gallbladder followup today and he suggests having it out. Gotta schedule an interview with the surgeon to see what he says.

On another note, I have asked my husband to hide the scale from me (i'm normally a daily weigher so that's a big deal for me) and I've bagged ALLLLLLL my many diet books, ready to donate to someone else. This is it, the one, forever. Woohoo!!

anniej
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Post by anniej » Tue May 24, 2011 8:12 pm

Breakfast: kefir smoothie, toast w/almond butter, coffee w/ creamer

Lunch: 2 pcs cornbread, mac-n-cheese, tomato and boiled egg.

Dinner will be lentil soup and beer bread or cheese/crackers.

Going to go jump on the trampoline and take a shower and a nap, hopefully. I'm getting discouraged that I'm not seeing loss, but just keep telling myself that it's the habits that matter. My sweet husband gave me a pep talk last night about that too. Just need to add in more veggies for meals. I'm loving the fact that I feel like I'm saving a ton of money on this diet!!

SkyKitty
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Post by SkyKitty » Thu May 26, 2011 8:26 am

Good to see that even though you had a little fail, you followed it straight up with a success, that's a great attitude.

As long as you know that you're following the No S diet losses will follow, gradual is best.
When nothing goes right...go left.

anniej
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Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 3:30 am
Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Thu May 26, 2011 2:28 pm

Thanks, SkyKitty.

I've been getting discouraged because it really looks to me (and feels) like I'm gaining weight on this diet. So I added up all my calories for yesterday, and even just eating 3 plates a day, I've been eating ~2500 calories!! WOW!

I'm definitely not exercising enough to burn off all that and lose weight, so now I know. Needing to add in more fruit and veggies on my plate. I went to the grocery store yesterday, so I have plenty of blueberries and cucumber and other yummy stuff, so just have to get my act together and do that. Also realized my smoothie and toast are WAAAY too many calories, so going to cut back there too.

Kind of a bummer but I'm continuing on...

anniej
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Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 3:30 am
Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Thu May 26, 2011 6:02 pm

Okay, so trying to learn my hunger today and cut back on calories too. I ate ONE pc of toast for breakfast with butter and almond butter, as well as coffee.

Lunch was my smoothie, an apple, an egg, a few pretzels and a slice of homemade bread. Up to about 1000 calories today and feeling better about my choices...

Still need to exercise today.

anniej
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 3:30 am
Location: Texas

Post by anniej » Fri Jun 10, 2011 1:13 am

Been doing The Lord's Table at www.settingcaptivesfree.com.
Still doing No S, but a little more intensely with lots of prayer, scripture and God's help. Praise the Lord I've lost 5 lbs, all from seeking Him first instead of the idol of food. No S definitely got me started on thinking of myself as a glutton though. Without finding this first, I would not have been ready to admit that about myself. :)

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