kaia 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

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:21 pm

I'm at 4 minutes minimum and moving up from there. Some days I do 10 just for the fun of it...
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:57 am

oolala and larkspur I am loving the strength training for 14 minutes! It's so much less stressful than taking my kids to the gym, or trying to make it in time for a class. I feel like I get a decent workout too! When I take those 45 min classes at the gym I might get a little more strength training but not that much, and I don't make it everyday, not even close. oolala I feel like even 4 minutes is totally doable and could be a good-enough workout! Now I just have to figure out a consistent time when I can do this. Ideally morning before my kids get up, but since they both still get up throughout the night I try to catch as much sleep as I can. I guess I'll stick to for now just having them climb all over me while I attempt to workout :lol:
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

oolala53
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Fri Sep 22, 2017 1:40 pm

I used to be able to get in a much longer workout in the mornings but my sleep has been so spotty for years that I too will take those extra minutes in the morning if I can get them.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Sat Sep 23, 2017 7:27 am

Well I'm embarrassed to say I didn't make it all the way through Friday on plan...it was a difficult day (but that's not really an excuse is it? a lot of days in our lives can be considered difficult). I made it almost all the way, it wasn't until well after dinner that I caved. Alcohol early in the day was probably a contributing factor. Alcohol before noon is probably never a good idea :shock: but as all good excuses start - my friend made me do it. lol. We all got together with our kids and took them to the beach, it was chaos.
Excessive eating in addition to a stressful day just adds extra stress, it does nothing at all to relieve stress. I know that, yet I still give in. I'm happy to say though that I don't think what I ate was really excessive like my binges of years ago - but I was really shooting for a green week. I'll take 4 green days, last week was only 2. Next week I'll have 5 I know it.
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

Lilybug
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 11:46 am

Post by Lilybug » Sat Sep 23, 2017 11:44 am

kaia wrote: I'm happy to say though that I don't think what I ate was really excessive like my binges of years ago - but I was really shooting for a green week. I'll take 4 green days, last week was only 2. Next week I'll have 5 I know it.
Those pesky friends! LOL I know what you mean :)

Its great process the way I see it. We learn from what happened and we build on our new habits from there.

The beach sounds like fun. Funny how even fun things can be stressful.

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sat Sep 23, 2017 2:57 pm

kaia wrote: Alcohol before noon is probably never a good idea :shock:
Excessive eating in addition to a stressful day just adds extra stress, it does nothing at all to relieve stress.
Did you drink the booze out of a Coke bottle to hide it from the kids? "No, no, you can't have a sip, Honey; this is Mommy's Coke." :wink:

Regarding stress eating just adding to stress: I say that, too, but-dare I say this? I don't want to give the old habit any ammunition- darned if sometimes even the added stress seems worth it for those few minutes of mouth pleasure and esophagus pleasure and stomach pleasure. I think it's really the exceptions who aren't susceptible to the reinforcing effect of food. I just think that habit "thinks" it's saving my life because the stress is a menace. I have to engage the prefrontal cortex to set it straight. Thankfully, it's pretty much the default now.

Plus, alcohol is not known for increasing judgement, and add that to excessive exposure, and voila! Fender dented. Unless you crashed the car, too. Well, the good news is on No S, you start with a new car today!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:00 pm

Thanks for the support oolala and lilybug! I really appreciate it! Fun things can be stressful for sure. Especially when there are a lot of little humans involved :lol: and haha the kids were only allowed to drink from their own sippy cups, not Mommy's.

Thanks for the references to the prefrontal cortex oolala. I want that to be my default. Working on it, one meal at a time :)
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Sat Sep 30, 2017 6:46 am

Yesssss a solid week...5 days of green on my habitcal. Whew. I feel so good about this, a huge sense of accomplishment and I love being back on track to solidify this habit. I wasn't able to do my 14 minutes of strength training at all this week due to a painful flare up of sciatica, that was disappointing. But I stretched it well everyday and finally now, Friday, am not feeling the shooting pain down my right leg anymore. Stretching and ibuprofen...love...
Next week I'll incorporate that if I can. Here's to the weekend 8)
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

Lilybug
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 11:46 am

Post by Lilybug » Sat Sep 30, 2017 12:14 pm

Woo hoo! It ain't easy being green, but it feels sooo good!

Bonus that you were able to stay green even with the sciatica breakout. I often throw the baby out with the bath water. Perfectionism is my nemesis- I get nothing done perfectly, and nothing done period.

Have a great weekend!

oolala53
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sun Oct 01, 2017 6:11 pm

Yay for you! Sorry about sciatica. Ok to do some arm and trunk stuff, even if it's not 14 minutes, no? Does it make it worse to sit and do movements?
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:02 am

You're right of course! I could have totally done an arm and core workout, but like Lilybug said - I'm an all or nothing kind of girl. I actually didn't even think about it. But I could've, should've...next time I will be on it!

Today was a successful Monday, following a pretty fun, tame weekend filled with chocolate. Ohhhh how I missed that chocolate today :lol: not bad enough to have it on a monday though!!!
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

oolala53
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:19 pm

I bend the rules (really, almost snap them) by putting cocoa powder in my coffee and adding stevia. It's equivalent in sweetness to more than a teaspoon of sugar, which is not canonical. But drinking that doesn't lead to more and more, unlike what eating a small amount of chocolate can be.

I shouldn't be preaching sedition!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:09 am

Good trick oolala!! I have both of those so I could do that to keep those pesky cravings at bay on Mondays.

I had to take a sick day today unfortunately. My husband and I are both sick, it was crackers all day, anything to keep me from throwing up. I hate that more than anything. I also hate being sick, but I am sick all the time now that I have little kids.

I'm feeling a little better so I hope to be back on track tomorrow.
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

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Merry
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Post by Merry » Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:44 pm

I'm glad you're on the mend. I hate being sick!
Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Respect Moderation

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Wed Oct 11, 2017 2:12 pm

Thanks Merry! I am better now, Wednesday and Thursday of last week I took sick days, managed to come back to No S on Friday, had a pretty tame weekend and Monday and Tuesday are green for this week too! Last night I went out with friends and had to virtual plate it, everyone ordered a lot of pupus, I feel like I did good. In the past I would come home from an event like that and either binge or continue eating. But I didn't! Didn't even have the urge...win!!

I'm back to my 14 min of strength training, this morning I'm up super early, decided on my work days I'm going to get up just a little bit earlier so I can get it in. Otherwise when I get home I won't do it. It's now 4:12 AM, sheesh. But I'm already done with my strength so I'm off to work. Feels good!
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

jenji
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Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:00 pm
Location: Cambridge

Post by jenji » Wed Oct 11, 2017 3:02 pm

You are inspiring me to try the 14 minutes a day of strength. I know that consistency will be more important than impressive-sounding workouts. Going once a month to Core Power Yoga is not changing my body, for some reason. LOL.
I'm a 53-year-old mom and non-profit CEO
I am 5' 7.5"
Began No S at 184#, BMI 28.4 - 9/25/2017
Current weight: 181#, BMI 27.9, 12/19/2022

kaia
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Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Sat Oct 14, 2017 7:35 am

I'm trying to stick with the 14 min and be consistent with it jenji! I think I got 4 days in this week. Next week I'm aiming for 5. We live 30 minutes from the nearest gym, 10 minutes from Crossfit but that's such the cool thing to do right now and I veer away from anything cool 😂 Plus it's too hard to get to consistently.

This week flew by for me! And it was all green 😃 Here's to the weekend!
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

kaia
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
Location: Hawaii

Post by kaia » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:25 pm

Yay for a tame weekend! Happy it's monday!
We must guard against anything that might weaken a valuable habit. Every added link in the chain strengthens the habit - and any break in the chain marks a potential stopping point - Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Wed Oct 18, 2017 3:43 am

Belated kudos for the weekend!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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