Bean&Sprout

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
Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Bean&Sprout

Post by Bean&Sprout » Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:49 pm

May 2018
Vanilla No S:
29 30 01 02 03 04 05
06 07 08 09 10 11 12
13
14 15 16 17 18 19
20
21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28
29 30 31


NWS Notes:
01 - 40th birthday! :)
03 - 40th birthday celebration at work!
28 - Memorial Day

Reflection on the month:
This is probably my fourth run at No S, and it appears to have finally clicked! In my time away I experimented with extended and intermittent fasting. Through my fasting practice, I learned much about hunger--how it comes in waves, which can be ridden out, that it is not an emergency, and that just about everything tastes better when you are good and truly hungry. I also learned that regularly missing supper with my family because I'm fasting is not something I'm interested in doing long-term. I also followed an LCHF/Keto diet. This also isn't something I'm prepared to do long-term.

My N days were mostly painless. :) Unlike prior attempts at No S, I didn't restrict the sorts or quantities of food, other than a very straightforward no to sweets, seconds and snacks. My S days weren't wild, but they weren't very satisfying. I found myself snacking because I could, not because I was hungry. I ate "whatever I felt like," but that was much less pleasurable than my 2-3 meals on a normal N day. The restrictions led to greater pleasure.

For June, I am going to edit my plates a bit, aiming for more vegetables and some fruit to complement the other, richer foods on my plate. I am also going to reflect on my S days. I'm not going to add rules to my S days, but I do want to mark S days I found satisfying and pleasurable vs. S days in which a permasnacked myself away from the enjoyment of an otherwise licit S. For June, an orange S day means that it left me feeling off. A yellow S day means that I was left feeling pleased with it.

Despite a relaxed approach to the content of my plates, and my unmoderated S days, I lost six pounds in May. I commit to following No S for the remainder of 2018.

Summary of Month:
Red days - 0
NWS days - 3
Pounds lost - 6

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Post by Bean&Sprout » Mon Jun 04, 2018 12:50 pm

June 2018

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
03 04 05 06 07 08 09
10
11 12 13 14 15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22 23
24
25 26 27 28 29 30

Orange date = unsatisfying S day
Yellow date = satisfying S day

NWS:
14 - Surprise day-date with my husband
18 - Vacation day

Kettlebells:
24 25 26 27 28 29 30

June Summary:
Reining in S days prematurely was a poor choice. I think S day restraint (with effort, not as a natural progression of No S skills), led to more failures this month. Back to green, red and yellow--none of this orange stuff. :)

I added kettlebells at the end of the month. I was surprised to find that I really enjoy them! I'll continue those for July. I did notice that my appetite was dramatically increased on the days I did the kettlebells.

Failures: 7
NWS: 2
Success: 12
Monthly Weight: +3.4
Since Start: -2.6
Last edited by Bean&Sprout on Mon Jul 02, 2018 12:36 pm, edited 5 times in total.

Merrygoround
Posts: 90
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2018 5:14 am

Post by Merrygoround » Mon Jun 04, 2018 7:58 pm

Hello! Welcome to the journals.

It sounds like you may be being a little hard on yourself on s days. The advice I was given was get the green days solid, then worry about the s days. That said, like you, I find once I start snacking, it’s hard to stop. So I wait until at least afternoon on my s days to have a snack.
Merry

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Post by Bean&Sprout » Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:38 pm

Thanks for the welcome, Merry!

I appreciate the input. I'm approaching this from a perspective of gentle curiosity and observation. If I start to feel nutty about my S days, I'll stop grading them.

My concern with my S day eating has more to do with modeling good eating behavior for my daughters (well, the four-year-old, anyway - I'm pretty sure the four-month-old is more interested in her toes). I work during the week, so we really only have dinner together. On the weekends, they see my whole day of eating, and I want them to see me making reasonable choices. Before No S, most of my poor eating behaviors were during the week, trying to make sure they didn't see the bad choices. (Typing that out, I see how sad that is).

I just read Simmstone's post in the No S Vs. Weight Watchers thread, which encouraged three to six months of basic No S before attempting any advanced practice. I'll mull both of your words over this week before my next S days.

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Post by Bean&Sprout » Wed Jun 06, 2018 7:34 pm

6/5/18 Failure: seconds with dinner.

Goldilocks
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:28 pm

Post by Goldilocks » Wed Jun 06, 2018 9:56 pm

Wow, 6 pounds lost in May! I would consider that a huge victory, good for you!
Goldilocks

"The Goldilocks principle states that something must fall within certain margins, as opposed to reaching extremes."

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Post by Bean&Sprout » Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:23 am

Thanks, Goldilocks! I am pleased. I have a very long way to go, but now I'm six pounds closer. :)

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Post by Bean&Sprout » Wed Jun 13, 2018 6:26 pm

6/12/18 - Failure: Seconds at dinner, sweet after (stale cookie - ugh), snack before bed.

Something interesting happened during the course of my failure. As I was having my seconds and my sweet, I paused to decide if it was worth the red report. I decided it was, and continued on. At this, a bit of WTH crept in, and I was mentally gearing up for a binge ("I'll have some Cheezits, and maybe some more cookies. Some toast?"). I finished up my evening chores, grabbed the box of Cheezits, had a few, and thought, "This isn't worth it." I put my snack away and went right back onto plan. No drama, no recriminations, no regrets, really, just the knowledge that this wasn't what I wanted or how I wanted to live. I can't imagine that this will become my new normal without effort, but this is the first time in my life that I have abandoned a binge, just discarded it, as if it didn't matter.

I skipped breakfast today because I got up too late, and did fine with my one (full) plate. I anticipate more of the same with dinner. I expect to end the day fully in the green.

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

July 2018

Post by Bean&Sprout » Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:59 pm

No S:
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
08 09 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 01 02 03 04

Kettlebells:
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
08 09 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 01 02 03 04
Last edited by Bean&Sprout on Thu Jul 05, 2018 12:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Post by lpearlmom » Mon Jul 02, 2018 3:12 pm

So awesome that you just didn’t want to binge. It’s like you realized you just didn’t want to feel like how you feel after a binge anymore.

I can remember a similar experience early on when I was grabbing for a snack and just thought “ if I don’t stick to NoS, what’s the alternative “. I’ve been down so many different diet roads before and they all ended in miserable failure. NoS was the first rational , sane way of eating that’d I’d found and I realized there was no viable alternative for me so there was no point in straying from it.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

Linda
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Post by Bean&Sprout » Mon Jul 02, 2018 5:40 pm

Thanks, lpearlmom. This is probably my 4th return to No S. You're right - I can't think of any other viable alternatives for me.

I'm two months in this time. May was a breeze for me. June was a bit bumpier but still good from a mental/emotional point of view. I'm committed to this through December 2018. I imagine I'll re-up in the new year.

I experimented a bit with S days in June, and I think it was a poor choice for me. I think it led to more N day failures. I wasn't ready for it. I'm back to letting the Ses fall where they may for July.

Bean&Sprout
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 1:47 pm
Location: Michigan

Post by Bean&Sprout » Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:05 pm

Yesterday's food:
B: Yogurt w/ raspberries, almonds & honey
L: Turkey sandwich, carrot sticks & pear
D: Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, broccoli & garlic toast

Today's food:
B: Stale bagel w/ cream cheese
L: Shakshuka (YUM!!!) w/ bread
D: Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, green beans, bread w/peanut butter

Today's lunch was a surprise lunch date with my husband at a new restaurant. It was so good!

Post Reply