Moderatemeals 21 day challenge

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

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moderatemeals
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Moderatemeals 21 day challenge

Post by moderatemeals » Wed Apr 27, 2016 2:06 pm

Day 1: SUCCESS!

120.4

Breakfast: 1/2 Ezekiel muffin with almond butter
Lunch: 2 quiches & Siggi's yogurt with PB2
Dinner: 2 chicken skewers, zucchini/squash, raspberries, quinoa & chips
Meal 4: cheerios with milk

Today I focused on filling my plate and not taking even one bite until I was seated at the table. Sounds so basic but I usually start taking bites before I even sit down. Sitting down gives a definite 'start' to my meal and then standing up and clearing my plate is the 'end' of my nighttime eating.

Day 1 and feeling good!
Last edited by moderatemeals on Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

cedar
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Post by cedar » Thu Apr 28, 2016 6:43 am

Nice one moderatemeals..this is something I tend to do..grab a bite or two off my plate before I sit down..but I like how No S gently pushes you in that direction anyway. As you only get 3 plates a day..best make the most of each one. :lol:

moderatemeals
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Post by moderatemeals » Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:10 pm

Thanks so much cedar for the encouragement!!

Day 2: FAIL

119.6

Breakfast: Mini quiches
Lunch: Fajitas, fries and chips
Dinner: Steak, green beans, quinoa, chips

FAIL: Snacking on chips and belavitas but not out of control.

So great to have a success yesterday (Day 1). I did add a bowl of cheerios with milk because I was starving at 10:30pm and knew I would wake up in the middle of the night if I didn't have something! Hoping to eventually just be at 3 meals a day but I am very active and so I'm still counting it a success if I have 4 meals per day when needed. Main goal for me is to end my nighttime perma-snacking and bingeing.

moderatemeals
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Post by moderatemeals » Fri Apr 29, 2016 3:43 pm

DAY 1: S Day

Wt: 119.6

Breakfast: protein bar (was on the go!)
Lunch: salad and chips
Dinner: chicken raspberries and way too many cookies!


Yesterday's fail wasn't too bad. It started with me adding a few extra chips at dinner just because they tasted so good. Always sets me into the 'well i already have to mark fail so I can have a few more!' But I avoided bingeing or going completely out of control. Just going to mark it and move on but also going to reset my day back to 1. I know I need to be really strict to get the habit in place so am going to focus on plating my meal, sitting down and then eating it instead of any 'virtual plating.'

I'm taking my S days this week as Friday and Saturday due to a special events on Friday and Saturday.
Good luck to everyone reading!

moderatemeals
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Post by moderatemeals » Sat Apr 30, 2016 11:54 am

DAY 2: S Day

Wt: 121.4

Breakfast: 1/2 Ezekiel bread with almond butter
Lunch: Mini quiches & yogurt with PB2
Dinner: dinner out...several courses including dessert!


Yesterday was a bit of an S day gone wild and the scale is reflecting that! I'm only weighing in though to see a trend of what happens when I stick to No S. I am not trying to lose weight but rather reinforce that when I eat 3 meals only that my weight stays stable (and usually much lower than when I mindlessly graze). My main trouble these days is not overeating when I have cocktails but I usually only have cocktails on S days so hoping it all evens out!

Good luck to all reading!

moderatemeals
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Post by moderatemeals » Sun May 01, 2016 1:43 pm

Day 3

Wt:122.2

Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:

My weight is up a bit...lots of S's in the past 48 hours. I'm going to try something different for the month of May. I'm not going to aim for 21 days or mark my days as successes or failures but just log my days and list what I've eaten if I didn't follow No S. I really struggle with the 'what the hell' effect if I've 'failed' on a day and usually it leads to a binge if I have a red day during the week. I will count my days at the end of the month and see how compliant I am but not go for the 21 day streak as I've done in the past. Hoping this helps keep me on the right track!

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jackn
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Post by jackn » Sun May 01, 2016 5:18 pm

You're exploring, moderate.
Sounds hopeful to me.

Yes, it's hard not to binge once I break the rules even slightly.

Good luck to all of us.
At meals only eat.
Only eat at meals.

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