gk's daily 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.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

milliem
Posts: 1178
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:30 pm

Post by milliem » Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:48 am

It's so true that the scale sometimes doesn't mean much at all - how you feel is way more important.

Just wanted to drop by and wish you luck rebuilding those habits! I'm totally with you on the 'sweets as addictive' thing, and that's one of the things that has stuck out for me on NoS (not that I'm very good at following it :lol:) I know that the less I eat sweet things, the less I crave them. Which is why sometimes when you've had one fail in a day or week, the rest of the day/week can be even more difficult. I also ponder that the less I drink sweetened drinks (even diet or low calorie) the less I will 'fail' but not sure I'm ready to take that step yet!!

gk
Posts: 1062
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 4:10 am

Post by gk » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:44 pm

milliem wrote:I know that the less I eat sweet things, the less I crave them.
I found that to be true on one of my longer good luck streaks with No S. It's just a matter of getting to that point and staying there, isn't it? Thanks for the encouragement! :)

gk
Posts: 1062
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 4:10 am

Post by gk » Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:14 pm

OK....after much thought I'm ready to start with a revised No S plan:

Since my eating is SO out of control, I will start with basically what will be my ultimate goal for S weekends:

- Three meals
- Two snacks (probably at 4:00 and either mid-morning or late at night)
- And ONE serving of sweets with lunch and dinner
- I will also have one glass of water with each meal and snack

Like I said....not much of a diet but compared to my non-stop munching and overloading of sweets I have been eating, it's a good place to start.

I will do this for 21 days. At the end of that time, I will take one thing away and do that for 21 days. I will continue to take one thing away after 21 days until I eventually end up at vanilla No S. If I ever have alot of red days during a 21 day period, I will extend it for another 21 days until I can comfortably abide by the current rules. However, going at this slow of rate, I'm pretty confident that I'll have a much easier time sticking to it than I ever did with vanilla No S right off the bat.

As for exercise, my main way of thinking this new year will be just to MOVE. I plan to incorporate much more physical activity into my day. I will start yoga, but not have a set up plan of how many days a week I need to stick to it. I will do whatever my schedule will allow and then fill the rest of the week with alot of physical activity. Just to keep moving will be good enough for me right now, but I think the yoga will really help with my incredibly decreased flexibility.

I will also try to be much better about getting more sleep. It makes such a big difference in everything else. Will aim for at least 7 hours a night.

I am reminded by reading other posts that I want to no longer "stop and restart this diet". I will just start on January 1st and keep going....good or bad.....some months will be good, some not so good, but I'm not going to continue my battle with jumping on and off a diet plan. I will just do the best I can and that will have to be good enough.

This new year I will finally learn to accept myself for who I am. No more looking in the mirror and hating that I don't have my former 30-yr old body. I will focus on my strengths and not my flaws.

I will weigh myself monthly, just out of curiosity, but will not guage my happiness and feelings of accomplishment on a number on the scale.

I will no longer analyze everything to death. I will just set my plan in motion and do it.

And lastly, I will take the time to enjoy things instead of constantly focusing on my struggle with this.

There ya have it. I will start a new thread for 2012. I hate to begin a fresh start with a bunch of baggage hanging overhead. :)

Thanks to all for your support. See you on my new 2012 thread. :D

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