Piyare'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.

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piyare08
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Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Piyare's Check In

Post by piyare08 » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:15 am

This was my first week of No S. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon the diet, but I'm glad I did. After my divorce at the end of 2015, by digestive issues "magically "disappeared (stress, anyone?) and I started training martial arts. I also took an active interest in health and fitness. All that sounds great, except that I've become mildly obsessed about what I should and should not eat. As a result, I started going through episodes of binge eating that became more and more frequent. Slowly, but steadily, I started putting on weight. Restricting myself later on and only eating "clean" lead me to going off the rails a week or two or three later. My vigorous martial arts training also ramped up my appetite. I have definitely put on muscle, but am fully aware that I've lost touch with how much my body really needs because I'm so focused on the way I look or what I think I should and shouldn't eat. I hope this helps me to balance my thinking about food.

I started on a Sunday, and considered it an "N" day since I had eaten so much the day before.

Sunday - Success (N Day)
Mon to Thursday - Success (N Days)
Friday - Fail (Was fine expect my coworker gave me an apple cider donut that I couldn't resist)
Saturday and Sunday - S days.

Struggled a bit with my S days. I felt like I ate way too much sugar. Saturday was a croissant in the morning, a normal lunch followed by some cake at tea time, and then ice cream after pizza for dinner. My stomach rebelled against me big time. Sunday was a big brunch with a friend and then I ate a light dinner followed but a solid 3 tablespoons of nutella on bread and a bunch of ritz crackers. I wouldn't consider this a binge, but I hope that over time I eat a little lighter on S days. I'm not happy with the weight i've gained that isn't muscle, but I know I need to change my attitude and that takes time. I'm not overweight or big by any means, so I hope this still works.

Thank you for listening!

Also, do people post what they eat on their S days here?

jenji
Posts: 661
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:00 pm
Location: Cambridge

Post by jenji » Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:48 pm

Hi Piyare, welcome. Yes, sometimes people log their S day food, but you don't have to do so. In fact, you don't have to log food at all. I like to write mine down because I like food and cooking. :)
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

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Week 2, Day 1

Post by piyare08 » Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:44 pm

Thank you for replying jenji!

Today I found myself mentally struggling because of my heavy S days. The "you over-ate so now you need to restrict yourself somehow" mentality has reared it's ugly head and it requires a conscious effort on my part to tell myself to trust the process, eat 3 satiating meals, and not try and cut down on portion sizes. I have to admit that my lunch was a little lighter than it should be considering I plan on working out later today, but no one ever died from being a little hungry for a little while. Lesson learned.

10/16 - Success

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Week 2, Day 2

Post by piyare08 » Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:09 am

Today went well. I’m pretty sure I eat plenty at meal times since I’m not usually too hungry in between. When something is going well, the “striver†in me always wants to do something better, as if progress can only be made when you’re pushing boundaries. This makes me want to cut down on carbs at meal times but I need to remind myself that this diet is really more for my mental state than it is for my physical body.

10/17: Success

B: 2 spelt toasts with 1/2 banana and peanut butter
L: 1 cup rice + 1 cup beef and veggie chili with lettuce+ 1/2 sweet potato
Drinks: 1 coffee, 1 tea, 1 cocoa (1/2 water, 1/2 almond milk, raw cacao)
D: turkey burger on an english muffin with sautéed onions and mushrooms + steamed broccoli

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Week 2, Day 4

Post by piyare08 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:44 pm

10/19: Success

10/20: Should be a success, but can I just put out there how hungry I am! I am about to go weight train but all I'm really wanting to tear into a bag of pistachios. I need to remind myself that hunger won't kill me, and that I did eat plenty of food today so I won't be low on energy for my workout. Time to woman-up and push through so that I can get to my dinner javascript:emoticon(':lol:')

gingerpie
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Location: Pennsylvania, US

Post by gingerpie » Fri Oct 20, 2017 2:29 pm

Should be a success, but can I just put out there how hungry I am! I am about to go weight train but all I'm really wanting to tear into a bag of pistachios. I need to remind myself that hunger won't kill me, and that I did eat plenty of food today so I won't be low on energy for my workout.
You probably know this but, water is a miracle worker and often satisfies hunger.

It looks like you're doing well; hope you have a nice weekend. :)

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Thanks gingerpie!

Post by piyare08 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:35 pm

gingerpie wrote:
Should be a success, but can I just put out there how hungry I am! I am about to go weight train but all I'm really wanting to tear into a bag of pistachios. I need to remind myself that hunger won't kill me, and that I did eat plenty of food today so I won't be low on energy for my workout.
You probably know this but, water is a miracle worker and often satisfies hunger.

It looks like you're doing well; hope you have a nice weekend. :)
Thanks gingerpie! I was holding a bag of pistachios in my hand, and then put them back, drank some water, chugged by pre-workout and went to the gym. It felt great and my dinner tasted that much better. Loving this way of eating. Feels like freedom.

jenji
Posts: 661
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:00 pm
Location: Cambridge

Post by jenji » Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:21 pm

Great job and happy Friday!
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

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

S Day Kind of Gone Wild

Post by piyare08 » Mon Oct 23, 2017 1:46 am

10/20 - Fail

I was great all day and then went out with my coworkers for dinner. Instead od sticking to my meal (which was awesome and healthy), I ate extra appetizer and finished my coworker's fish. I was uncomfortably full.

10/21 S Day

We had our company charity walk this day so I probably walked a good 7 miles. That, however, was not a reason for me to finish my day of delicious meals and treats with a bag of peanut M&Ms and two big spoons of Nutella. I've decided I'm going to log my S days to learn what triggers excessive vs. normal eating.

Pre-walk: A date, handful almonds, mini muffin
After walk: 3/4 of a pumpkin cheesecake brownie (oh my God levels of deliciousness) and an iced almond milk latte from my favorite coffee place
Lunch: 1/2 of a personal size pizza and 1/4 pint of halo top ice cream with granola
Dinner: Beef wellington, waldorf salad, squash casserole
Dessert: small slice chocolate cake and small slice fruit tart

At this point, I was full, I was satiated. Where I went wrong was first thing in the morning. I was kind of full from the night before and tried to limit my breakfast in order to allow for more treats later. I also kept stressing about the sugar I was eating. This led me to get home and eat all those peanut M&Ms and nutella when I really wasn't even hungry.

I also have a slight allergic reaction to too much sugar. I get hives which go away after a few minutes but I am very aware that my body does not enjoy excessive amounts of sugar. I think what I learned form Saturday was "If you over eat one day, don't restrict the next day to try and make it better"


Today, I decided to have an N day since I'm traveling to New York for work tomorrow and want to have an S day while I'm there instead.

10/22: Success

I hope my S days become more moderate over time. I'm not overweight, but I'm developing quite the belly from these sugar binges. Hopefully there are people out there that started with S days gone wild and then managed to become more balanced!
Last edited by piyare08 on Mon Oct 23, 2017 1:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

piyare08
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Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Thank you!

Post by piyare08 » Mon Oct 23, 2017 1:47 am

jenji wrote:Great job and happy Friday!
Thank you Jenji! I hope your weekend was more on point than mine!

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

S Day While Travelling

Post by piyare08 » Tue Oct 24, 2017 11:47 am

So, I’m not sure this really works this way, but I knew I wanted to try a couple of different things (sweet things, of course) while in NYC so I decided to eat like an N days on both Monday and Tuesday but have a treat at dinner on Monday and breakfast on Tuesday. Does that mean I should count them both as S days, or one S day and one failure? One is definitely an S because I swapped it with Sunday, but the other one feels like I’m doing some kind of creative No S accounting.

My treats were:

Monday after dinner: 4 squares dark chocolate and a slice of Paleo carrot cake
Tuesday breakfast: cinnamon sugar Kruller
Tuesday afternoon: 2 squares dark chocolate

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

New York New York

Post by piyare08 » Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:18 pm

In the end, I decided to call both my NYC days S days. I rarely travel for work, so I decided not to stress. What I enjoyed about it was not going overboard since I was not sure if it would be an N day. This made me realize that sticking to the N structure of 3 meals with no snacks makes me:
1. Minimize the quantity of a treat or snack
2. Focus on the quality of the treat or snack.

I enjoyed my morning cruller, and also enjoyed the two squares of dark chocolate I had after lunch.

By the way, why is the coffee in NYC so good? I miss it already.

10/23: S Day
10/24: S Day
10/25: Success (first day back training muay thai so had a pear around 4pm which I planned to do since I wouldn't get to dinner until 9:30)
10/26: Success

Birthday is coming up this weekend. I am planning some treats but hopefully by sticking to the N structure, I can enjoy them without going overboard, just like my NYC S days!

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Pre-birthday Funny Stuff

Post by piyare08 » Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:01 pm

So today is the day before my birthday and there's been some definite funny stuff:

Breakfast: Normal
Lunch: Virtual plated 1/2 bagel with butter, some chickpea chips and a big bowl of soup that had rice and mince in it

Then, my coworkers came over and gave me our team tradition giant cupcake with cream cheese frosting along with a batch of homemade pistachio almond coconut ice cream. I had two bites of the ice cream and two small bites of cupcake but that's it. Technically, I think this would be a fail but I'm proud of that fact that I stopped after a couple of bites!

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Gracie
Posts: 62
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Post by Gracie » Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:53 pm

You're better than me, piyare08! I could never stop at two bites of cupcake, lol. It might be a technical NoS "fail", but I'd consider it a personal win!

That's pretty stellar. :) Keep on rockin'!

xx
28 year old who believes that true growth comes from stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Fun-sized (4'10"), fun-loving, and on a journey to embrace a healthy and practical approach to food.
SW (10/9): 118#
CW (11/6): 113#
GW: 105#

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Post Birthday Update

Post by piyare08 » Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:18 pm

So I made it to 30 and also made it through my birthday weekend without feeling like it was an S day lost weekend.

Yes, I had amazing croissants for breakfast, a very large late dinner on Saturday and at least 2 big pieces of cake on Sunday, but I didn’t have that strong desire to “eat all the sugar things†that I’ve had in the past. I haven’t lost any weight yet (at least I don’t think so), but I feel like my mind is slowly learning how to enjoy treats in moderation with going overboard. I’m sure there will still be some S days gone wild, but I definitely feel like my first 3 weeks with No S has been beneficial.

I also bought a smart scale so that I can start weighing myself daily. Weekly or monthly wasn’t working for me because the number on the scale would affect me. I think moving to daily will help me get used to the fluctuations so that I can start looking at the overall trend instead.

Yay to a new week! Hope everyone else is ready to rock and roll :)
Last edited by piyare08 on Mon Oct 30, 2017 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

piyare08
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Post by piyare08 » Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:18 pm

Gracie wrote:You're better than me, piyare08! I could never stop at two bites of cupcake, lol. It might be a technical NoS "fail", but I'd consider it a personal win!

That's pretty stellar. :) Keep on rockin'!

xx
Yes, totally a personal win. Thank you putting that into perspective!

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

EPICCCC Failure

Post by piyare08 » Mon Oct 30, 2017 5:14 pm

I've realized when I'm stressed because I feel like I lack direction and purpose, at work or in life, I binge as a distraction.

I just ate:

5 pieces of dark chocolate, 1 fun size snickers, 4 reeses mini cups, and then some kind of not that great oreo fudge bar that I didn't even really want and now feel sick from eating.

I feel really disappointed in myself. I keep gaining weight, albeit slowly, but it keeps creeping. This time last year, I looked and felt great. I didn't even appreciate it. I always felt like I just needed to lose a little more.

Now, looking back at pictures, I was just fine. I hadn't binged in over a month so this is quite the psychological setback for me. I also don't deal with sugar well so now I'll have to deal with the hives/headaches.

SpiritSong
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Post by SpiritSong » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:41 am

Maybe write yourself a note describing every detail of how you feel after a binge to read when you think you are going to again? Maybe with a list of alternatives (chosen by post-binge you -- sort of a "I wish I had done x instead" list).

Then stressed you will have this "conversation" with post-binge you the next time and will have to choose the consequences knowingly.

In the meantime, hugs. None of this makes you a bad person. You're a work in progress and you're trying your best!

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Post by piyare08 » Tue Oct 31, 2017 12:04 pm

SpiritSong wrote:Maybe write yourself a note describing every detail of how you feel after a binge to read when you think you are going to again? Maybe with a list of alternatives (chosen by post-binge you -- sort of a "I wish I had done x instead" list).

Then stressed you will have this "conversation" with post-binge you the next time and will have to choose the consequences knowingly.

In the meantime, hugs. None of this makes you a bad person. You're a work in progress and you're trying your best!
Thank you so much for your note. I hadn’t binged in over a month so am just kind of disappointed in myself, but writing a note sounds like a good idea. I’ll try that today. Appreciate your support!

LifeisaBlessing
Posts: 337
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 1:08 pm

Post by LifeisaBlessing » Wed Nov 01, 2017 5:26 pm

Hi piyare! Just wanted to let you know that I (finally!) responded to your PM--sorry it took so long! :)
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
~Jimmy Dean

The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective.
~El Fug, on the NoS Diet

Larkspur
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Location: Pennsylvania

Post by Larkspur » Thu Nov 02, 2017 12:04 am

In the category of un-asked for advice-- I have found it helpful when something feels out of control, to make a point of slowing down and really enjoying whatever it is. I think it kind of helps shortcut that self-recrimination piece, and, anyway, at least you get to enjoy your nice candy or whatever it is :)

piyare08
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Post by piyare08 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 2:32 pm

Larkspur wrote:In the category of un-asked for advice-- I have found it helpful when something feels out of control, to make a point of slowing down and really enjoying whatever it is. I think it kind of helps shortcut that self-recrimination piece, and, anyway, at least you get to enjoy your nice candy or whatever it is :)
That is definitely something I need to focus on. Part of the bingeing process is the frenzied state that I go into. Slowing down and enjoying whatever I'm eating would surely help to stop after whatever it is I really wanted is consumed.

And also, all forms of helpful advice is appreciated!

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Post Binge Check In

Post by piyare08 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 2:39 pm

So Monday was an epic fail, but every day is a new opportunity to improve.

10/31: Success
11/1: Success


I was so incredibly lethargic since Monday that I had no desire to work out. Yesterday, I felt a little better so I took my dog for a brisk walk. I instantly felt better. Getting outside, breathing some fresh are helped to clear my head.

After listening to a fair amount of Tony Robbins, I'm starting to evaluate the "story" I tell myself, about myself. Telling myself "I'm not an athlete, I just try to work out" limits my physical development. Telling myself "My problem is overeating sweets" makes me unnecessarily attracted to sweets that my body isn't even really craving.

Yesterday, I took SpiritSong's advice and wrote a letter to my body. I apologized for being so hard on it, and thanked it for everything it does for me. From healing me when it's injured from boxing, to holding me up when I feel tired. It sounds silly, but I feel much more appreciative of it after writing that letter.

Here's to a new story playing out, and to not losing sight of all the amazing things my body does for me everyday.

SpiritSong
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Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 1:56 pm

Post by SpiritSong » Thu Nov 02, 2017 3:01 pm

Congrats on all your progress and your courage to take it on!

piyare08
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:46 am

Post by piyare08 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 3:36 pm

SpiritSong wrote:Congrats on all your progress and your courage to take it on!
Thank you!

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