Here we go again!

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
moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Here we go again!

Post by moderatemeals » Sat Apr 27, 2013 12:29 pm

Hi -
I'm back at trying vanilla No S after a very successful stint without sugar for a few months. Honestly, I never felt better but I now want to be able to incorporate sweets into my life but I have learned I need some hard and fast rules because sweets are a definite trigger for me. I honestly find it easier to eliminate them completely than to try and eat just a serving! But, I've had success with No S in the past and I feel very committed to trying it again strictly. I'm going to try and journal for the next couple of weeks because it just helps me stay on track and I can also record my observations while I'm sticking to it (or trying to stick to it!)
So here it goes:

Friday, April 26: SUCCESS!
Breakfast: Eggs and sausage
Lunch: Chicken salad and an apple
Dinner: baked fish, veggies chips, berry salad and vita top apple crumble muffin

I weighed in yesterday at 118.6 and today I weigh 117.2. I'll record my weight at the end of each week though I'm not trying to lose any weight just develop better eating habits!

ljk

User avatar
Anoulie
Posts: 422
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:02 pm

Re: Here we go again!

Post by Anoulie » Sat Apr 27, 2013 1:29 pm

Welcome, ljk! Just wondering, though:
ljk2009 wrote:I weighed in yesterday at 118.6 and today I weigh 117.2. I'll record my weight at the end of each week though I'm not trying to lose any weight just develop better eating habits!
How tiny are you?
There's only us, there's only this
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way,
No day but today.

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Sun Apr 28, 2013 12:47 pm

SAT, APR 27: S DAY WT:118.2

Today was somewhat a success for me in that I didn't have any desserts. There was a lot of snacking though but that is much less of a problem for me than sweets. I woke up though feeling much more bloated and full than the previous day and weighed myself more out of curiosity than anything else.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs & bacon
Lunch: bowl of chicken chili, side salad and mini muffin
Dinner: tilapia, roasted green beans and raspberries

Snacks: bowl of veggie straws, handful of pretzels, few handfuls of popcorn and a few graham crackers. Oh and some granola straight outta the box!

Anoulie - thanks for reading my post. I'm 5'5 and I'm relatively happy with my weight so I really follow No S more for better eating habits than anything else. I use to be heavier a long time ago though so I definitely have the capacity to pack on extra pounds!!
ljk

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Mon Apr 29, 2013 11:18 am

SUN, APR 28: S DAY WT:118.2

Breakfast: eggs, bacon and raspberries
Lunch: Fish, roasted green beans & chips
Dinner: Asian chicken salad

Snacks and sweets...ugh too much!

I woke up today (Monday) weighing in at 119.2 and feeling pretty gross. I had lots of snacks but at the end of the day I polished off my meal with 2 granola bars, a chocolate chip scone and too many chocolate chips. I didn't sleep very well as a result and it serves as a reminder that my weakness and trigger is sugary treats.

Looking forward to a No S day today!
ljk

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:04 pm

Mon Apr 29: SUCCESS

Breakfast: scrambled eggs & bacon
Lunch: Starbucks oatmeal
Dinner: tilapia, rice, veggies, roll and fruit salad

I woke up this morning and felt great! So happy to have a green day to start the week off. Also, weighed in this morning at 117.4

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Wed May 01, 2013 10:56 am

Tues Apr 30: FAIL

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, fruit and vita top muffin
Lunch: fish, green beans and veggie straws
Dinner: steak, veggies, roll

Snack: bowl of cereal and popcorn
wt: 117.2

Okay, technically a fail but still very happy with the day. We had to eat dinner super early last night (before 5pm) and it left me starving at 9pm. I really couldn't avoid eating because I know I would have been up in the middle of the night if I would have gone to bed that hungry. I wish I would not have had the popcorn but oh well! Had I not had the popcorn, I would have called it a success because for me, I will allow a 4th meal in situations like this. But I still feel great this morning and don't want to give up just because my week isn't perfect.

Good luck to all reading!

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Thu May 02, 2013 11:52 am

Wed May 1: FAIL

Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: ham sandwich and chips
Dinner: grilled chicken sandwich

+ bowl of cereal and pretzels

Same thing as the day before though I didn't go overboard. Ate an early dinner and then was hungry before bed so had some cereal. I'd count it as a success if I stopped at the cereal but of course I had to toss a few pretzels in there. I am trying to work on the mindless snacking because I think that is what gets me in trouble and I did not need to keep eating after the bowl of cereal.
Weight this morning : 117

I'm going to keep logging everything with the hopes that I get to vanilla No S but keeping at it. I definitely am happy with this week so far and am trying to move away from the 'PERFECT' mentality though I do think there is something to be said about strictness when trying to build a habit.

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Fri May 03, 2013 1:05 am

THURSDAY MAY 2: FAIL MISERABLY

Okay, let's just say this was a stressful day and resorted to my usual stress relieving tactics of eating chocolate and sweets. I hate this pattern because I was doing SO well and it seems that I take such comfort in eating when I feel stressed out. I wish I could change my behavior to go for a walk, meditate or do yoga but when I am so in the moment of stress, it feels so good to just eat chocolate and sweets. Then I wake up the next day and feel guilty.

Normally, I would not even log in and journal this but I think the only way to change my behavior is to make a note of it and move on. I'm going to try next time to have a little more control and work on ways I can relieve stress other than eating.

Thanks for reading and if anyone has tactics that have worked, please share!

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Mon May 06, 2013 11:00 am

Monday May 6: wt 119.6

Yikes...after several days of mindless eating, I've seen the scale creeping up! I'm hoping for a better week and am going to keep at this until I get it right. I feel so much better when my eating is in control. I'm also only going to weight myself on Mondays and Fridays. I think that sometimes I will have a few green days in a row, see my weight getting lower and then think "oh what the heck, I can have that dessert...after all i've lost a few pounds this week." I'm really trying to create healthy habits and so that thinking just sets me up for failure.

ljk

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Tue May 07, 2013 11:35 am

Mon May 6:

A perfect green day!

breakfast: eggs & a plain waffle
lunch: oatmeal with blueberries
dinner: fish, pop chips, potatoes, broccoli

I woke up feeling much better today. Hoping for another green day today...just taking it one day at a time!

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Wed May 08, 2013 12:38 am

Tues May 7: SUCCESS

Great day today!
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: fish tacos
Dinner: lean cuisine & pop chip/pretzel combo

moderatemeals
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:51 pm

Post by moderatemeals » Wed May 08, 2013 11:30 pm

Wed May 8

Great day overall.

BreakfastL scrambled eggs and sausage
Lunch: Fish, fruit and chips
Dinner: Pizza and pop chips

It was really hard not to snack between lunch and dinner but I stayed strong. I think I will be fine tonight...feeling very motivated today. I normally crack on Wed or Thursday though so I'm hoping I can stay compliant tomorrow as well.

Post Reply