Xtal'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.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

Post Reply
Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Xtal's Check-in

Post by Xtal » Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:47 am

I first read about the No-S diet years ago, but I started it today.

I haven't had dinner yet, but I'm going to mark this first day as a SUCCESS because later I won't be in front of a computer.

I had breakfast this morning before going to work. Sometime during the day today, I started thinking about this diet and decided I would implement it into my life.

Normally I snack throughout the day at my job, whether out of mild hunger, boredom, or just because the food is "there" (people often bring treats and snacks).

It was TOUGH getting through the first half of my workday and waiting for lunchtime, but I successfully did wait. I even had my work coffee with no sugar, just half-and-half.

And now it's a bit tough waiting for dinner, but I get to end my shift in 15 minutes and I know I'm going to go home and have a plate of pasta with olive oil, olives, plenty of sauce, and a glass of red wine.

I have an odd work schedule with "weekday weekends." My days off are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I haven't yet decided if all three will be "S Days" or just Tuesday and Wednesday. I want to keep this as simple as possible, while still making it a meaningful change.

jw
Posts: 844
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:27 pm
Location: PA

Post by jw » Sat Feb 01, 2014 1:27 pm

Welcome and best of luck, xtal! Think of S days as Special days and keep them to two a week -- that should work fine for you!
"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Post by Xtal » Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:58 pm

Welcome and best of luck, xtal! Think of S days as Special days and keep them to two a week -- that should work fine for you!
Thank you jw! I will make Mondays and Tuesdays my "S" days as they are the first two days in my weekend. It's amazing what a difference an encouraging nudge makes! I was fussing over the decision, but as soon as I saw your reply, I thought of a solution that made sense.

Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Post by Xtal » Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:00 pm

Yesterday was a SUCCESS! I miss chocolate desperately, but I know my "S" days are coming up.

It's hard for me not to eat between meals. I guess that's the whole point of this endeavor, hey? I just had a rough moment at work and my first instinct was to go grab a snack. I reminded myself of my project and so I made myself a cup of green tea, instead.

Also this morning, I got outside and walked for half an hour!

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:37 pm

Sounds like a really great habit-building day. :)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

jw
Posts: 844
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:27 pm
Location: PA

Post by jw » Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:41 pm

I stocked up on flavored teas in the first months for moments like those, xtal. There is even a chocolate flavored tea (called Night of the Iguana) -- delicious! You're off to a great start --
"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Post by Xtal » Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:58 am

Thanks automated eating and jw!

Well this is embarrassing, but I've already had a FAILURE (this is my 3rd day). I had a good breakfast and a healthy lunch, but even though tomorrow is first S-day, I could not stop thinking about the box of chocolate macadamia nut clusters in the cabinet. I had one after my lunch, and it was good.

I'm not going to let this ruin the rest of my day. Will abstain from eating until suppertime.

I also posted about the chocolate issue in this thread: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... 069#144069

Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Post by Xtal » Thu Feb 06, 2014 8:58 pm

My first two S-days were Monday and Tuesday, and they were fine.

Yesterday was an N-day. It was a little weird due to travel, but I feel good about what I ate. (Normal breakfast, normal lunch. Dinner was a snack box on the airplane which included an assortment of foods including two Oreo cookies. I just ate all of it and chose not to worry about it too much).

Today is an N-day for me. Breakfast buffet at the hotel. I ate one plate of fruit followed by a plate with a small serving of eggs and potatoes. No pastries even though there were plenty on display.

Eagerly looking forward to lunch which is still two hours away. Living with an appetite is a new and strange thing for me.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:35 pm

Xtal wrote: Living with an appetite is a new and strange thing for me.
Yeah, that is weird at first! You might just grow to love it!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Post by Xtal » Fri Feb 07, 2014 1:32 am

So I'm at work. Today the room has seen an endless parade of snacks. Donuts were brought in. Pizza was brought in. And there's a long counter with an array of cookies and chips for sale.

I'm so, so glad I found the No S diet. Normally I'd be grazing on everything in sight; not out of hunger, just because it's there.

So glad not to be eating all this stuff!
Last edited by Xtal on Fri Feb 07, 2014 1:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Post by Xtal » Fri Feb 07, 2014 1:54 am

In case anybody wants to know anything about my weight/height/diet history:

I'm 5'4" and 135 pounds, which puts me at the high end of normal for BMI (23.2). I've been slowly but steadily gaining weight since college. In the late nineties I weighed 110 pounds and wore a size 4; as I approach age 40, I wear a size 10 skirt. I realize this isn't huge as sizes go, but I have a small frame and I feel like the extra weight makes me look sloppy. I want to look better in clothes.

I feel like the weight gain has been gradual, but insidious. I've always felt I had a healthy relationship with food, but over the past few years that has been creeping more and more out of control. Something has made me afraid of being even a little bit hungry, and so I'm always eating little bits of something between meals to keep the hunger at bay.

Also, food used to be just something to fuel my body, but these days I see it more as entertainment, so if something's delicious, I'll pile on the seconds just to taste more.

I'm really really hoping I'll lose weight on this diet, but even if I don't, I can tell that eating this way is giving me so much freedom. The freedom to ignore snacks -- to make that decision once instead of making it over and over each day, is huge. I also like that I'm developing a new relationship with my appetite; I'm hoping that discipline and self-knowledge will carry over to other areas of my life.

If I can't lose weight, I'll be happy to just stay put where I am and not creep up by 1.5 pounds every year! (Do I want to be 30 pounds heavier two decades from now?)

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Fri Feb 07, 2014 2:09 am

Hi Xtal,
I think you are coming to a good place mentally. NoS is about peace with food, and bringing structure into our somewhat chaotic culture of Western eating.

You were quite thin for much of your life! And 23.2 is NOT at the high end of normal for your height! 24.9 is! Anyway, I respect that you feel better, tidier, and all that at a smaller weight. Fair enough. :)

I love that you hope NoS will halt your weight gain. I feel pretty confident in saying that it will. It brings routine and structure to your eating. As time goes on, you will be very aware of how much you are eating in a given day, and how much you need to eat in a given day.

I really relate to your discovery that food has become more like entertainment for you. That is precisely one of my early epiphanies on NoS. And I'm happy to say that has passed. I enjoy my food and the friends I may be eating with, but it is not the part of my day that I look to for a "fun" time anymore.

Oh, and another thing I related to: you mentioned that you had been eating because for some reason you were afraid of being hungry. I was like that too! That fear has completely gone away, and sometimes I wonder when and how I developed this idea that the least twinge of hunger was to be avoided.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Fri Feb 07, 2014 10:28 am

Xtal wrote: but these days I see it more as entertainment, so if something's delicious, I'll pile on the seconds just to taste more.

I'm really really hoping I'll lose weight on this diet, but even if I don't, I can tell that eating this way is giving me so much freedom.
You totally nailed it. I know exactly what you're talking about!
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

Xtal
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 4:42 pm

Post by Xtal » Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:35 am

Today has been a FAILURE. Not a bad one, but a failure nonetheless.

I came to work and there was all kinds of food here for a celebration. Mexican food laid out buffet-style. Donuts. Cake. Fruit. Chips.

I looked at it all and thought "none of this has anything to do with me."

I resisted it all -- even the fruit! -- until I walked past an open bag of chips. A new kind of chips that I had never tried before. I gave in to the temptation to try them.

They were OK. I had a small handful of chips on a little plate and two 1" mango slices.

I felt kind of dumb about eating the stupid chips.

At least I stuck to chips and fruit, though -- I didn't go nuts -- no cake or donuts.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:44 am

Avoiding the -What the Hell- effect is key in long-term success. Good job to "self-arrest".
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

jw
Posts: 844
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:27 pm
Location: PA

Post by jw » Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:46 am

You need a strategy for occasions like this. When I was first on the boards, somebody described a spread like that and then said "I told myself, it's not for you, it's all just for decoration!" I loved that -- and imagined eating the office plants!

That said, good save -- it was a fail, instead of a FAIL.
"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:52 am

Just imagine all those treats in their underwear....
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

osoniye
Posts: 1257
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 2:19 pm
Location: Horn of Africa

Post by osoniye » Fri Feb 14, 2014 5:56 am

Hi Xtal,
I've enjoyed reading your thread. That Mexican buffet would be a challenge for me. I don't do so well around unlimited free food! Have you considered taking S days on work days like that, rather than your "weekends"?
How did you wind up doing with the orange juice for breakfast issue back when you first joined? (Just curious.)
Welcome back and I hope that NoS is just the ticket to prevent weight gain and maybe even give you a little weight loss!
-Sonya
No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

Post Reply