Ekat learns to be an adult

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 7:34 pm

I started No S last Tuesday, so today is Day 7. Apparently I also did it for a little while way back in 2008 (!!), but while I remember finding the diet a long time ago, I don't remember that I tried it or how it went.

I'm hoping sticking to No S will help me develop better structure and routine in my life as a whole. As someone with a very flexible work schedule, I end up drifting through my days, and I think I'd benefit in many ways from more of a routine--more willpower due to reduced decision making, better physiological regulation (circadian rhythms, etc.), more productive at work, better health and eating habits, etc...

Day 1 (last Tuesday): SUCCESS
Day 2: SUCCESS
Day 3: SUCCESS
Day 4: SUCCESS
Day 5: S DAY
Day 6: S DAY

So far, I've been doing better than I expected. Late-afternoon hunger has been managed by a glass of milk most days. My S days weren't too bad, although I definitely ate stuff I normally wouldn't when I'm counting calories or doing low carb or something. Weight after Day 1 was 141.5. Weight this morning, after the weekend, was 143.3. I'd like to lose 10-15 lbs, but I figure I'll just see where this gets me for now and not aim for a particular number.

Emmama · Post by **Emmama** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:26 am

Congrats on your first week! I think I've decided to give it three months to assess the weight loss portion...weight can vary so much from day to day. I also think I can make my plates smaller over time.

Great results

keep it up!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 2:04 am

Thanks, Emmama! I also want to give it at least a few months. Hoping this will give me a good starting point for any future changes, instead of flailing around trying to follow something I can't stick to long term

I figure if I can take the rest of this year to develop the habit, I'll have made good use of the time and will consider it a success. And hopefully portion sizes, etc. will follow naturally.

Day 7: SUCCESS

I didn't need a glass of milk this afternoon, even though I ran about 6 miles (I've been running for a few years--it's my hobby and therapy!). I was pretty hungry by the time dinner rolled around, but it felt good to wait. Ended up having some milk after dinner though because I was still hungry.

liveitup · Post by **liveitup** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 3:04 pm

Great job! This is good inspiration for me as we kick off this week. Vacation last week was all S days and I went a little overboard.

Welcome back!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 2:26 am

Day 8: SUCCESS Barely!

I had some blood sugar issues on my run, which happens every once in a while for reasons I haven't been able to pin down. I get weak feeling and shaky, and my vision narrows a bit. I take a gel with me just in case, and I ended up using it today. Then I felt ravenous afterward, which is the typical pattern. I had a protein shake when I got home and toughed it out until my husband got home, then talked him into a slightly early dinner. I'd decided yesterday that gels when absolutely needed on my runs and whey protein afterward would be allowable, so I consider myself to be compliant for today. No chewing happened between meals

I was still hungry after dinner but appeased it with some cashew milk (a new, delicious discovery!) and a little whiskey. Not together

I'm surprised how unsatisfied I've been feeling after dinner--cranky, slightly hungry, and deprived--because I'm eating my usual amounts or a little more, and I broke my evening snacking habit a while ago. I can only figure it's because I'm not usually hungry for dinner because of all the snacking I usually do in the afternoon, so my meals that are usually satisfying aren't as satisfying when I arrive at them hungry. I think I'm eating a decent amount of food though, so hopefully I adjust over time.

Coincidentally, liveitup (love your screen name!), I'm leaving for vacation on Thursday. I'm hoping to keep to the habit and only take S days on Saturday and Sunday, but if I end up breaking that, I've decided not to be too hard on myself. I'm trying to see it as a challenge to eat well without Ss on Thursday, Friday, and Monday. Possible exception for Monday because it's my anniversary.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 12:52 am

Day 9: SUCCESS

I thought today was going to be another skin-of-my-teeth day, but it wasn't too bad. I had a headache this afternoon, which is usually a cue to overeat for me because some part of my brain thinks that eating will help, even though it rarely does. But somehow today I knew that it wouldn't make me feel better.

Last night I was SO hungry during the night. I made sure I had a nice big dinner tonight, so hopefully tonight is better.

I decided to start listing my meals so I have a record, since I'm not tracking on a calorie counting app anymore.

B: 2 slices Ezekiel bread w/pb, fruit in full fat Greek yogurt
L: huge salad from the grocery store salad bar, small slice of homemade frittata, 1.5 small roasted potatoes, a beer (hey, I'm almost on vacation!

)
D: Trader Joe's spelt risotto mixed with sausage, corn tortilla with melted cheddar, another beer, square of dark chocolate

Plus a venti iced latte and a little cream in a few coffees between meals.

I'm nervous for sticking to No S during my vacation, but I'm just going to look at it as good practice. I should be able to enjoy myself and good food without snacks, sweets, or seconds the next couple days. Saturday will be here before I know it, I'm sure

Emmama · Post by **Emmama** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 12:56 am

I always think eating will help a headache, too...even though it never does unless I have skipped a meal in which case it's a signal that I need to eat. But I do tend to greet any bodily woe with a "hmm...you should probably have a bite."

Congrats on a successful day!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 2:04 am

I'm pretty pleased with how I did on vacation. Thursday and Friday I kept to No S. I was also planning to keep with it today (Monday), the day we drove home, but my husband brought back a donut this morning. I figured we're on vacation, and it's also our anniversary today, so I ate the damn donut

I'm going to mark it as an S day. I'm glad I only took today as a special day, though, and not the whole 5 day vacation. It was good to prove to myself that I could follow No S under those circumstances.

Tomorrow I have an event in the afternoon that I also might end up making an S "event." It's work-related, and not a situation in which I want to be the "odd one out." So if I think it's appropriate, I'll probably end up having a little snack. But I'm planning to make the rest of the day an N day.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 2:04 am

Day 15: SUCCESS

I decided to split my dinner into 2--appetizers at a work function, and some tuna salad when I got home. Everything was as normal otherwise. My husband brought me a little piece of chocolate after work, and I saved it until after dinner (I usually have a square of dark chocolate after dinner). I almost opened it right away as is my habit, but I caught myself with my hands on the wrapper!

I felt like I ate lighter today than I have been on N days. I was less afraid of being hungry. It's nice to start to get a feel for how much I need and to not worry as much about making it to the next meal. I'm getting more confident in my abilities

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 2:46 pm

Day 16: SUCCESS

I thought for sure I was going to cave yesterday. Distraction plus a short nap after lunch helped. It's funny how failure often feels most inevitable right after a meal. Even if I'm satisfied, I think there's no way I can make it 6 hours until my next meal. I'm hoping that repeatedly doing it will teach me that I can. Also staying in the present moment and not worrying about potential future difficulties, which is something I used to practice when I did yoga more regularly but have forgotten about.

The day's meals were:
B: 2 pieces peanut butter toast, yogurt w/blueberries
L: grilled veggies, Italian sausage, piece of toast with butter
D: baked chicken, little bit of spaghetti with olive oil, little bit of grilled veggies, big salad, small glass of wine

I also had 2 "iced mochas" (cashew milk with Mio mocha java flavoring), one between breakfast and lunch and one between lunch and dinner, plus another iced coffee between breakfast and lunch. I drink a lot of caffeine

Plus a little over a glass of wine and 2 bland crackers with the wine after dinner. We went to a wine tasting, and I decided ahead of time that I'd have just enough crackers to cleanse my palate between wines. Happy that I stuck to that. It's not vanilla No S, but it's something that I know will help make it sustainable for me and that I purposely decided on ahead of time, so I'm calling it a success.

I'm more optimistic about my success today. I went for a run first thing in the morning, which almost always improves my mood and is another habit I want to start working on. Plus the weekend is so close I can almost taste it! (Pun intended!)

liveitup · Post by **liveitup** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 4:54 pm

Good for you! I'm a bit of a caffeine lover too. Good job not caving in.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 2:57 am

Thanks, liveitup! Today was easier, and I didn't need anything between breakfast and lunch. I ran a few miles this morning, and my mood was noticeably better. I was also more productive at work. Must remember that next time I want to sit around and sip coffee in my pajamas instead.

Day 17: SUCCESS

I'm thinking tomorrow will be a fail. It's a long story that basically involves eating a cookie at a meeting. I feel like it's appropriate given the situation, but not enough to warrant a NWS day. I've only taken one NWS day in the past two and a half weeks since I started, but it was on Monday

I don't want to start the slippery slope of constant exceptions.

It's actually a little bit of a relief to think of having my first red day, just to get it out of the way. Kind of like I was relieved when I got the first scratch on my new car, because then I didn't have to worry so much about scratching it.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 12:26 pm

Day 18: SUCCESS

Breakfast: yogurt w/berries, pb toast
Lunch: bagel w/cream cheese, sausage, grilled veggies (virtually plated, with the bagel and the rest about 30-60 minutes apart)
Dinner: german sampler plate (a few kinds of meat, potato salad, sauerkraut on about an 8 inch plate) and a couples beers

I'm still probably eating too much, but I'm starting to feel less worried about making it from one meal to another, so I'm going to slowly start experimenting with cutting down on my meals. I also figure that I was eating at least as much before as I am now, so it's not like I'm any worse off than I was before I started. And I'm building good habits that will be the basis for sustainable, normal eating without having to think about it all the time. I definitely did not have that before

Although I probably knew it already, I've been surprised by how many of my emotions I handle with food. Without that coping mechanism, it all kind of built up throughout the week and came bubbling through yesterday. I'm going to have to learn new coping mechanisms. And to just acknowledge and allow myself to feel the emotions.

Only 1 more N day before I hit 21 days!

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Mon Aug 01, 2016 4:18 am

ekat wrote: It's actually a little bit of a relief to think of having my first red day, just to get it out of the way. Kind of like I was relieved when I got the first scratch on my new car, because then I didn't have to worry so much about scratching it.

Yes, I felt that way about my first red day too! And I love not "fearing" them or feeling like I need to chuck the day because of one event like a cookie--so, good for you!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:21 pm

Thanks, Merry! It's funny that the cookies never actually materialized, so all that hemming and hawing was for nothing

Day 19: S Day
Day 20: S Day
Day 21: SUCCESS

B: yogurt w/protein powder and fruit, pb toast
L: half an Italian sausage in a wrap with sautéed mushroom and roasted tomato, side salad, chia seed pudding (this is just canned coconut milk and chia seeds--no sweetener)
D: chicken, mashed cauliflower, kale cooked in bacon, small chunk of bread w/butter, small glass of wine

I also had cashew milk with Mio coffee flavoring in the afternoon.

Today was surprisingly easy! Being hungry is starting to bother me less. I also can't believe it's been 21 days already! I thought I'd note some things I've noticed, etc., if only for my own benefit.

I've noticed I have a handful of "mods," primarily:

I have about a teaspoon of honey in the morning before breakfast because it helps my allergies.

My husband and I share a large bowl of salad (just lettuce, olive oil, vinegar, and a little parmesan and walnuts) with dinner almost every night. It's easier to just mix up one big salad and has a nice communal feeling that I like for some reason. I don't count this as part of my "plate".

I allow myself 1-2 small squares of 85-90% dark chocolate after dinner if I want. I don't want it every night, and if I do, I almost always have 1 piece, not 2. There's not much sugar in it, and it's not a food I'm inclined to overeat or that leads me to eat other things, so I don't consider it a problem. I also think allowing myself to have it makes my eating plan much more sustainable for me.

I've also noticed:

I haven't lost weight, maybe even gained a pound or so. But I'm in the middle of the normal BMI range, so while I'd like to lose a few pounds, I'm getting used to the idea of it taking some time. Besides, I'm not eating more than I was before (I was already on a slow upswing when I started), and I'm happier with this way of eating. So I'm better off than before I started.

I'm hopeful that the 3-meal structure will provide a solid foundation for better routine and more productivity in other areas of my life, like work. Hence the title of my thread (becoming an adult--also refers to sucking it up and delaying gratification). I feel like I use way too much willpower on small decisions that should be automatic, and my energy, productivity, and happiness suffer as a result. I spend a lot of time thinking about food, dieting, my appearance, etc., so this seemed like a good place to start developing routines and discipline. So far so good.

I love the feeling on S days of not being able to fail. I can eat whatever I want and not "fail" on the diet! On Sunday, I had a couple store bought cookies and was disappointed at the quality. Should've known better. I'm already catching myself trying to make sure that my S day treats are really worth it.

Yesterday was the first day I wasn't worried about making it to dinner before I was even done eating my lunch

I'm probably averaging 700-800 Cals/meal. I eat a lot of dense foods (sausage, full fat Greek yogurt, peanut butter, olive oil, etc...). According to my Fitbit, my average daily burn is about 2100, so I don't really need to ramp down my eating too much to start getting results (if I can also eventually learn to moderate my S days a bit more). I'm trying to move closer to 600-700 Cals/meal. I've spent so much of my life calorie counting, I have a pretty good idea of what's in everything. Even foods I've never had before, I'm often pretty accurate at guessing. I'm also good at eyeballing portions (would often play a game with myself of guessing at a portion of something like peanut butter, then weighing it to see how close I was...fun with dieting ). So I'm keeping a running tally in my head as I put together each plate, but not actually tracking anything. I think S days will eventually help me get a feel for how much my body "wants," but for now this crutch of loose calorie counting is helping me figure out what a normal meal might look like.

I've done low carb a few times, most recently right before I started No S. I've been incorporating 1-2 servings of starches per meal back in, and my energy level is so much better! I had a huge PR in a race this weekend, and I just feel like I have more energy for day-to-day things. I was also starting to binge on foods that haven't been "problem" foods for a long time, like peanut butter, and switching away from low carb has nipped that problem in the bud, thankfully.

I expected snacking to be the biggest challenge because I'm an expert permasnacker, and it was. I wasn't expecting seconds to be a challenge because I didn't think I typically have seconds. But I realized that I often grab a little something immediately after a meal because I don't quite feel satisfied or want another little taste. I was surprised to find that I do this, but after a few weeks of resisting, the urge is fading. I also didn't expect to have a problem with evening snacking because I don't typically snack much then, just during the day. But I think I was snacking some and didn't realize it. Also, I was used to starting dinner already full from snacking all afternoon, so what seemed like a decent amount wasn't quite enough. I was getting cranky in the evening because I felt deprived, and often waking up hungry in the middle of the night. Adding a little extra, usually in the form of a serving of starch, seems to have helped this.

Last but not least! I'm officially starting a new habit this week called "Morning Glory" that just involves working out first thing every weekday morning. Yesterday was a 1.6 mile jog because I was sore from yesterday's race

I put my workout clothes on the back of the toilet to remind myself (my "trigger" for the habit), and it did the trick! I I'm calling the habit Morning Glory for a few reasons:

Reinhard extols the benefits of a catchy name, and I agree!
The name helps me focus on the rewards of the habit, namely enjoying being outside early in the morning when the world is still quiet, and the sense of accomplishment from getting my workout in (also, the glory I'll feel when I run fast in races!)
It reminds me of the Oasis song, which I like:

All your dreams are made
When you're chained to the mirror and the razor blade
Today's the day that all the world will see
Another sunny afternoon
Walking to the sound of my favorite tune
Tomorrow never knows what it doesn't know too soon
Need a little time to wake up
Need a little time to wake up wake up
Need a little time to wake up
Need a little time to rest your mind
You know you should so I guess you might as well
What's the story morning glory?
Well
You need a little time to wake up wake up
Well
What's the story morning glory?
Well
Need a little time to wake up wake up

Well, that was long! I'm enjoying having a place to get my thoughts down and work everything out that swims around in my head. Since I can't imagine anyone would read all of that, I'll just commend you for scrolling this far, because even that would take a while!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 3:46 pm

I want to start another 21 days because thinking about continuing to count (22, 23...) makes me twitchy. It's like the pressure of failure builds every day. But I can do 21 days

My weight yesterday morning was 141.1, so I've been holding pretty steady. I thought I'd gained a pound or two, but maybe not. My first goal/target is to get under 140. Right now I mostly fluctuate between 141 and 144. I'll be very happy to see the 130s again. No timeline though, because I know it'll just happen when it happens.

Day 1: SUCCESS
Day 2: SUCCESS

I've also worked out first thing every morning this week, even though I've also had to get up early every day for various reasons. Very pleased with myself about that! And it's so nice to go about my day knowing my workout is already crossed off my list.

Yesterday was pretty easy. The place I wanted to eat lunch was closed, so I wandered around looking for something else. I ended up with a burger and a huge bag of chips (one of those "3 serving" bags that most people probably treat as 1 serving). Then I wandered around some more looking for a nice place to eat, even though I was really hungry. It was like an out-of-body experience: "Who is this person wandering around with her lunch, not just sitting down the first place she finds or picking at it as she walks?" Once I found a place, I put about half the bag of chips on my plate and enjoyed my lunch thoroughly. I put the rest of the chips in my bag and promptly forgot about them for the rest of the day. I was nervous about eating the whole bag, but putting a serving on my plate and wrapping the rest up immediately eliminated any desire to keep picking at them. Yay!

I'm also happy and surprised that I didn't have anything caloric between breakfast and lunch. I usually have a couple cups of coffee with a little cream. I almost made it from lunch to dinner without anything, too, but I ended up drinking about 6 oz of milk before dinner because I was getting headachy and cranky.

Today's been harder so far. I think the morning workouts are catching up with me hunger-wise. I treated myself to a nice latte at my favorite coffee shop, and that seems to be helping.

liveitup · Post by **liveitup** » Fri Aug 05, 2016 3:24 am

Bravo ekat! Well done and good luck on round 2!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Fri Aug 05, 2016 2:24 pm

liveitup wrote:Bravo ekat! Well done and good luck on round 2!

Thank you!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Fri Aug 05, 2016 2:37 pm

Day 3: SUCCESS

Breakfast: yogurt w/protein powder and fruit, pb toast
Lunch: chicken and guacamole wrap, potato chips, mango
Dinner: rice, cabbage, broccoli, chicken, and cashews--so good!

Plus an iced latte between breakfast and lunch and an iced cafe au lait between lunch and dinner.

I still can't believe I've been maintaining my weight for the past 3.5 weeks with this diet! It feels so sustainable. If I can eventually drop the milks between meals and maybe shrink my meal sizes a tiny bit, it should pretty easily tip the scales toward losing weight. I'm not in a hurry though, so I'm just focusing on the habit for now and settling into the idea of eating without as much worry or struggle.

Yesterday was hard, especially between breakfast and lunch. Thank goodness for milk! I'm feeling particularly hungry again today, too. I ran 5 miles this morning, and my breakfast (a big bowl of cereal with raisins, whole milk, and a spoonful of peanut butter) just didn't cut it. I think I'm going to have to bump up the size of my breakfasts a little with the morning workouts, even if that makes them a little bigger than I think they "should" be.

On the topic of morning workouts, I did them every day this week! I remembered right before bed last night that I didn't put my clothes on the back of the toilet (my "trigger" to remind me to work out), but at that point I said forget it. This morning, I did NOT want to do the 5 miles I had planned when I woke up. I thought about taking a fail day (rationalizations: "I've been so good all week!" "I'll do it later" etc.), but then remembered my criterion for success is just to do *something*. So I settled on doing a quick walk and got up to get ready. Well, my adorable husband had picked out some workout clothes for me and put them on the back of the toilet!

I couldn't let him down, so I went out and did my 5 miles

I am SO looking forward to the weekend!!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 2:20 am

Day 4: SUCCESS
Day 5: S DAY
Day 6: S DAY
Day 7: SUCCESS

Almost lost the battle to stress eating this afternoon, but I managed to delay and distract until the urge passed. Today is 4 weeks since I started! My weight is holding steady, possibly down a bit. Today was also Day 8 of weekday morning workouts.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 11:14 pm

Day 8: FAILURE

Oh man, I was so hungry today. I had lunch a little early, then caved in the afternoon and had some snacks. No sweets at least

I'm a little nervous about being able to get back on the wagon. I'm going to focus very hard on having a successful day tomorrow.

This weekend something cool happened. Saturday night, we had salad before starting dinner (which was just going to be leftovers re-worked into something new). I'd snacked a decent amount earlier in the day. I realized after the salad that I had zero desire for dinner. I just wasn't hungry. Didn't want it. So I skipped it! I couldn't believe it. I'm excited that I'm slowing learning to listen to my body and work with it instead of against it. I did have half a large brownie later though

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Thu Aug 11, 2016 2:19 am

Day 1: SUCCESS

After my fail yesterday, which basically amounted to an extra meal, I felt kind of gross last night and had a stomachache this morning. I was also really warm and sweaty last night (gross, I know), like my metabolism was working overtime to deal with the extra food. The funny thing is that even a month ago I would probably eat that much at least a few times a week.

It was fairly painless to get back to 3 meals today. I took a quick walk when I got up this morning but ended up skipping my run. I think working out and trying to increase my mileage while also lifting weights a few times a week is doing a number on my appetite. The morning workouts are also a little lackluster because I'm not used to working out on an empty stomach. I'm going to try 2 tweaks: 1) have a small snack before my morning workout of half or a whole piece of fruit, depending on what I'm doing, and virtually plate it as part of my breakfast, and 2) switch 2 4 meals: 3 smaller meals during the day plus a normal sized dinner. Since I'm trying to loosely count calories, I'll be aiming for 400 X3 smaller meals instead of 600 X2 larger meals (plus about 600-800 for dinner). We'll see how all of that goes.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Fri Aug 12, 2016 2:26 pm

Day 2: SUCCESS

Tried the 4 meal setup yesterday, but I was still hungry all day. I liked the smaller portions though. I'm going to give it a week or so before I decide what to do. My body might just need more time to adjust to the morning workouts. It's been over 2 weeks now that I've worked out every weekday morning, though twice this week was really short. My legs were so tired when I went for my run this morning, I only ended up going around the block

But I'm getting in the habit of getting up and getting out there, which is my main focus.

Can't wait for the weekend!

knitapeace · Post by **knitapeace** » Fri Aug 12, 2016 2:36 pm

I ended up having four small meals yesterday too, but it wasn't planned (oops). I am an early morning exerciser too, and I was wondering if you have enough protein in your breakfast? That helps me avoid raging hunger around 10:00 am. It sounds like you're doing a great job tweaking the system to work for you.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:44 pm

Hi knitapeace! I think you're right about the protein. I got 2% Greek yogurt instead of the full fat stuff for this week because it has way more protein. And I'm going to try to shift a little toward leaner cuts of meat. A lot of the meat I eat is really fatty (sausage, 85% ground beef, etc...).

I also decided to scrap the 4 meal thing. After 4 weeks of 3 meals, I guess I'd started to develop the habit after all! 4 meals was annoying, and I felt like my whole day was thrown off. Instead, I'm going to have a smoothie with protein powder and fruit right after my workouts, then my regular breakfast (yogurt w/berries and 2 pieces of Ezekiel bread with peanut butter) shortly after. That'll front load my food more toward the morning, when my body needs it most. So still kind of 4 meals, but in my mind it's more like a post-workout smoothie and 3 meals.

Today I only ran 1 mile because my knee was bothering me (it started acting up yesterday during my 14-miler). So no smoothie today

Today's going well so far though.

I thought about making a mug cake last night to get in 1 last S before Monday. But then I thought about how full I'd be going to bed, and that I'd probably get a little heartburn. I decided to skip it. Loving how my mindset is shifting!

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Wed Aug 17, 2016 2:42 am

Well, today was a fail. I was hungry at about 4 and planning a bike ride for this evening. Honestly, I wasn't really *that* hungry. I just didn't have the will/desire to resist the hunger. So I had a piece of peanut butter toast (as is probably obvious, I love peanut butter toast!). I was happy that I stopped there, instead of continuing to eat like I did last Tuesday afternoon. I just ate the toast and moved on with my day. Biked 20 miles. I also had a few almonds with my dark chocolate after dinner. Overall, I'm happy with how today went, even if it was technically a fail.

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Wed Aug 17, 2016 4:11 am

ekat wrote:Well, today was a fail. I was hungry at about 4 and planning a bike ride for this evening. Honestly, I wasn't really *that* hungry. I just didn't have the will/desire to resist the hunger. So I had a piece of peanut butter toast (as is probably obvious, I love peanut butter toast!). I was happy that I stopped there, instead of continuing to eat like I did last Tuesday afternoon. I just ate the toast and moved on with my day. Biked 20 miles. I also had a few almonds with my dark chocolate after dinner. Overall, I'm happy with how today went, even if it was technically a fail.

I wonder if you need something between 3 and 4 meals with all the biking--maybe 3 meals and an optional snack? You may want to play around with that a bit to see what's going to work for you.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:43 pm

I think you're right, Merry. This week has seen a lot more activity than normal (long rides and runs), so I've pretty much just been eating whatever. But I'm going to start back to No S once those are done. I'm thinking a snack/mini-meal on 1 side of my workout and a real meal on the other side will help things. Like, a piece of toast in the morning, a mid-morning workout, then breakfast. Or lunch, then a workout a couple hours later, then an apple and a chunk of cheese. Something like that.

Now that I've proven to myself that I can tough it out through the 3 meals thing for more than a month, I'm looking forward to starting to tweak and identify exactly what works and is sustainable for me.

Whosonfirst · Post by **Whosonfirst** » Sat Aug 27, 2016 12:45 am

ekat wrote:Thanks, Merry! It's funny that the cookies never actually materialized, so all that hemming and hawing was for nothing

Day 19: S Day
Day 20: S Day
Day 21: SUCCESS

I've noticed I have a handful of "mods," primarily:
I have about a teaspoon of honey in the morning before breakfast because it helps my allergies.

My husband and I share a large bowl of salad (just lettuce, olive oil, vinegar, and a little parmesan and walnuts) with dinner almost every night. It's easier to just mix up one big salad and has a nice communal feeling that I like for some reason. I don't count this as part of my "plate".

Hi ekat, i'm interested in your teaspoon of honey before breakfast for allergies. Is that for hay fever type allergies? I recently got some raw honey for my oatmeal, but would like to try that instead of half of a benadryl tablet before my morning walks. Thanks for any insight. I also like the sounds of your simple salad too, and may have to try that. Whosonfirst(Trace)

LadyEngineer · Post by **LadyEngineer** » Sat Aug 27, 2016 1:36 am

Hello Ekat,

Sounds like you are very physical - extremely long runs, long bike rides, etc. (I envy you! I haven't seen much longer than a 3.5 mile long run in a LONG TIME

).

I see your goal is to loose a couple of pounds and get eating in order. I think you need to be kind to yourself! You sound like you are doing great. Why get upset over a teaspoon of honey?

Best Regard,

LadyE.

ekat · Post by **ekat** » Sun Aug 28, 2016 10:42 pm

Whosonfirst wrote:
ekat wrote:Thanks, Merry! It's funny that the cookies never actually materialized, so all that hemming and hawing was for nothing

Day 19: S Day
Day 20: S Day
Day 21: SUCCESS

I've noticed I have a handful of "mods," primarily:
I have about a teaspoon of honey in the morning before breakfast because it helps my allergies.

My husband and I share a large bowl of salad (just lettuce, olive oil, vinegar, and a little parmesan and walnuts) with dinner almost every night. It's easier to just mix up one big salad and has a nice communal feeling that I like for some reason. I don't count this as part of my "plate".

Hi ekat, i'm interested in your teaspoon of honey before breakfast for allergies. Is that for hay fever type allergies? I recently got some raw honey for my oatmeal, but would like to try that instead of half of a benadryl tablet before my morning walks. Thanks for any insight. I also like the sounds of your simple salad too, and may have to try that. Whosonfirst(Trace)

My husband started doing the honey a few years ago, and I picked it up this year. The idea is that the honey acclimates your body/immune system to the pollens, so you don't get such a severe reaction. I don't know how much scientific merit there is to that, but it's made a huge difference for my husband. I noticed a difference since I've been doing it consistently, too. The key is that it needs to be local honey, so it comes from the same types of plants you're exposed to. We get ours at Whole Foods or the farmer's market.

Thanks, LadyEngineer. I don't worry about the honey, just wanted to mention it in the interest of full disclosure

I don't often feel super active, probably because I have a lot of friends who are much more active than I am. But since I've been trying to get my eating in order, I've noticed that I really do quite a bit. I think you're right that kindness (and patience) are going to be the key.

liveitup · Post by **liveitup** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 2:16 am

Peanut butter toast is the best. We like ours with a banana smooshed down with a fork on top of it (slices slip and slide all over the place). Good job just stopping there and keep up the good work!