Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

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

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jun 10, 2019 2:55 pm

Hi all,

I'm new to the board and to No-S, as of last week. I officially started on Tuesday, and managed to string together four successful days last week, followed by my two S-days. By last night (Sunday night), I was actually looking forward to a return of the N-day structure. Not that I'm enjoying being quite hungry before meals! I have just found that the KNOWING when I'm going to eat, and not allowing snacks, has eliminated the thoughts in my head about when to have a snack, and what kind of snack to have, that had occupied a lot of my thoughts prior to starting this diet. Now, I just have to learn to constructively deal with the hunger.

Here's parts of my story. Subsequent check-ins will be much shorter. This is more of a self-introduction.

Stats: 53-year-old woman, mostly sedentary lifestyle, work out 4x/week, walk 15 miles a week.
5'6", about 156 lbs. Goals: I'd be psyched to maintain below 145 lbs, and super-psyched to maintain below 140 lbs.

I decided to do No-S because about a year ago, I pretty much gave up being slim(ish) ever again. It seemed like it was just impractical for me as a 53-year-old woman with a fairly sedentary lifestyle, even though I work out four days a week and walk at least fifteen miles a week. However, I had definitely bought into the "you can have healthy snacks any time you want" mentality, and I get "hangry" if I don't eat for a few hours, so my usual day included several snacks. At times I ate a fair amount of sweets too, since hey, if I'm not going to be slim, why deny myself the chocolate and larger portions at meals that I really wanted?

However, a couple of weeks before reading the book, I had been eliminating most added-sugar-type foods (sweets) from my diet as a way of trying to get healthier in general. That was going well already. But the idea of - gasp! - eating three meals a day and no snacks had never seriously been on my radar as a way to lose weight. After a year of letting myself go (at 5 foot 6, I had reached around 165ish pounds at some point recently, but had stopped weighing myself), I was ready to try something new. As it happened, now I'm trying something old! So far, so good on sticking to it, but I will definitely have a problem the first time I need to seriously use my brain while hungry.

I'm going to try and not weigh myself more than once a week to avoid getting discouraged.

I'm tempted to make snack exceptions for green leafy salad, other whole raw veggies and fruit, but I understand the logic behind not making exceptions. More importantly, there's good logic for forcing some higher-calorie foods off my meal plates by including decent portions of veggies and fruit at meals rather than making snacks out of them and therefore eating more fattening foods at meals. So far I think the result of these rules is for me to eat fewer veggies and fruit than I would otherwise. So we'll see if I make mods later.

The book was mostly a pleasure for me to read, as I like the direct tone. Not everyone will. I'm an engineer, so I like that. One thing I have to question is the idea that the rules prohibit me eating carrots between meals, but not having a glass of milk. I would rather have the carrots, which I have used as a staple for my healthy snacks for years. I understand the logic behind limiting solid food between meals without exceptions, but ... hmm. Also the idea that I can't snack after dinner, but I could have a beer. Hmm. Once I have a beer, I'm going to care less what I eat, so that could end up being counterproductive! On a more personal note, using beverages to assuage evening hunger just makes sure I wake up multiple times a night to go to the toilet. And I can't stand the idea of going to bed really hungry. So, I had a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt one night before going to bed. It does a lot to kill that "really hungry" feeling long enough for me to fall asleep without feeling punished. I'm not counting that as a failure, so I guess that's my first mod.

I signed up for the habit calendar and the bulletin board. I'm going to enjoy keeping track that way.

Thanks to Reinhard for everything!
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Whosonfirst
Posts: 538
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 12:32 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Whosonfirst » Mon Jun 10, 2019 3:50 pm

Welcome and great start! Looking forward to your check-ins.
https://twitter.com/SipeEngineering
Current weight(9/2020)-212 lbs.
Goal Weight- 205 lbs.
NoS Goal: >= 80% Success days

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:33 am

I'm calling yesterday a success even though I had about a teaspoonful of plain Greek yogurt before bed to stave off hunger while falling asleep.

I normally drink tap water with every meal, so if I don't report a drink, that's what I had.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, half a clementine, and half a yellow bell pepper. Coffee with cream.
Lunch: chicken salad, 5 saltines, half a bell pepper.
Afternoon: tea with lemon.
Dinner: chicken curry with veggies over rice, half a small Granny Smith apple.
Shot of tequilla during the evening.
Teaspoon of Greek yogurt before bed to let me fall asleep without hunger making me feel resentful.

I had the shot of tequilla because I was irritable and wanted to take a chill pill. It was only partially from being hungry, though that was part of why. Even my wonderful husband noticed I was irritable. If I'm not mistaken, a drink a day is allowed. Normally I have a couple of drinks a week. Two or three drinks in an evening is a big party for me.

Today I might fail, though I suppose that's a bad attitude. I have to go work the polls for a primary here in Virginia -- for a non-partisan organization, let's please not get into partisan stuff here. I'll be on my feet talking to voters all day, and I'm not sure I can do that while "hangry".

And away we go...
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Tue Jun 11, 2019 1:34 pm

Good luck today!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Wed Jun 12, 2019 1:42 am

@automatedeating, thank you for the encouragement!

Today was my first FAILURE. I was at a poll station today from 10:30 AM until 7 PM talking to voters (for a non-partisan cause), and that is a very "snacky" type of situation for me. I am proud that I didn't go absolutely crazy, and I didn't even look at the doughnuts someone had kindly brought, nor did I chow down on the many additional junk food snacks that other people offered.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, string beans, half a small Granny Smith apple. Coffee with cream.
Snack: 6 Paleo Bites from Costco
Lunch: Turkey and ham wrap from Wawa
Snack: double-portion Baked Lay's potato chips
Snack: some kind of chocolate protein drink, not too sweet (bought when I still thought I might have a chance at success!)
Snack: 5 - oz beer after finishing at the polls, because driving "home" to my husband apparently meant going to the bar and getting us a beer. How could I say no?
Snack: small Granny Smith apple.
Dinner: no dinner.

What's interesting and amusing about this day is that before No-S, I would have considered this day a win, especially considering the situation. But under No-S it's a fail, because it was counter to establishing the habits I'm trying to make part of my life. I think it would be easy to become resentful that I can fail while being so "good" and even forgoing dinner, but I am logic-ing my way away from that feeling.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Wed Jun 12, 2019 2:34 pm

Candace - believe or not, there could come a day when all those snacks don't even register as "food" in your mind because it's not mealtime! Isn't that crazy!? For me, snacks in meetings, stores, parties, etc., are like porn or something and I avert my eyes. :lol: Unless it's an S Day!

Also, I like your ability to reflect on the areas of NoS that aren't necessarily logical to you. Reinhard was just a guy that came up with a system that worked for him. With your logical head, you could make up your own system and then there wouldn't be inconsistencies wouldn't gnaw at you or make you resentful. (or the inconsistencies would be lessened or whatever so that it works fine for you)

I wonder (and I know you are new here so I apologize if this is all a bit too esoteric....) what are the key elements of an eating system that would work for you for the next 5 years, let's say? Or, maybe we could flip this question and ask - what are the key elements of NoS that make the system work for some people? For me, it's the structure, hands-down. It reduces decision-making and therefore my willpower doesn't get too depleted (once habit is established). It's also convenient and doesn't require any special cooking. It can go with me on any trip or endeavor without problem.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:32 pm

That is a great question. My best answer at this time is that if I had been able to formulate a plan for myself that would work and keep my weight down, I would have done it by now!

So although the No-S system has aspects that I would quarrel with, I'm ready to give it the best go that I can. So aside from things it allows, like certain beverages between meals, and alcohol, I'm going for an absolute minimum of tweaks (like a teeny bit of plain Greek yogurt before bed if I don't feel like I can sleep otherwise) before I record a failure and move on, like yesterday. After the 21 or so days, I might try a mod or two. But it's all those deviations from good behavior that got me where I am today: pudgy and frustrated. I'm ready to try it the No-S way now. I may note the things I might think don't make 100% sense for me, but I am also going to resolve to understand why they are the way they are.

I should also add that yesterday, I made the conscious decision to fail when it became apparent to me that I couldn't effectively talk to voters while hangry, and I wanted to be effective more than I wanted to have a green day on No-S. So it was a red day on the diet plan and habit-establishing journey, but I don't think it hurt my weight loss goals any. Today I'm back to green (so far). I figure even if I have some red days, if they don't derail my health goals-i.e., if I don't go too crazy- I don't have to feel too badly about them. Does that make sense?
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:27 pm

Yesterday (Wednesday, June 10th) was a good day: SUCCESS.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, string beans. I had an apple on my plate but didn't even want it. Plain latte from Panera.
Lunch: Panera onion soup without croutons, protein bar.
Afternoon: hot tea with lemon.
Dinner: lentils and beans in sauce over white rice with a fried egg on top.

I went to bed hungry, but didn't think I was too hungry to sleep. I was wrong, and missed at least an hour of sleep before I went down to the kitchen and had a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt. Then I woke up again in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (a nightly occurrence) and stayed awake for way too long, but probably not from hunger. I think I'm going to be nicer to myself and have a spoonful of yogurt before bed if I feel hungry.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Thu Jun 13, 2019 2:26 pm

Plain lattes are my favorite coffee shop treat. Been doing that quite a bit these last few weeks of the quarter. I'm in all-out mode, but the end is in sight!

I love the sound of your food, btw. Yum to scrambled eggs with string beans and to lentils & beans w/ a scrambled egg on top!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Fri Jun 14, 2019 1:23 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Thu Jun 13, 2019 2:26 pm
Plain lattes are my favorite coffee shop treat. Been doing that quite a bit these last few weeks of the quarter. I'm in all-out mode, but the end is in sight!

I love the sound of your food, btw. Yum to scrambled eggs with string beans and to lentils & beans w/ a scrambled egg on top!
Thanks! The lentils with beans are a "Madras Foods" packet from Costco. Six to a box. Pretty good as a quick, wholesome, cheap and tasty meal when the rice is already made. The string beans at breakfast is to, frankly, have more food at breakfast to try and get to lunch less hungry. Best of everything for the end of the quarter.

Yesterday, Thursday June 13th: SUCCESS.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, string beans, half a small orange. Panera cafe latte (plain).
Lunch: chicken salad, 3 saltines, roasted baby carrots, small apple. Plain tea with lemon.
Afternoon drink: about 1/4 of the protein shake powder for one serving, ~4 oz. whole milk, water. Boy did that help me get to dinner without taking someone's head off. I'm going to try to make that my "go-to" afternoon beverage, but I don't need to do all the powder or have it with straight whole milk.
Dinner: Frozen dinner. Not my first choice, but every once in a while I do it. Marie Calendar's sweet and spicy chicken with noodles, with about half a scrambled egg thrown in for added protein and good feelings. Small apple.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jun 15, 2019 4:19 pm

Friday, June 14: SUCCESS. I was proud of myself because I had to adapt to having an activity stretch way past my normal lunchtime, but I made it.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, roasted carrots. Coffee with whole milk.
Spoonful of protein shake powder, whole milk and water for a drink to get me into mid-afternoon before lunch.
Lunch: chicken salad, five saltines, roasted carrots, small apple.
Tea with lemon.
Dinner: white rice with Madras Foods Ginger Thai Curry mixture with veggies, and a scrambled egg mixed in.
One Truly spiked selzer.

My husband and I worked out in the morning, then I went for a five-mile walk with a friend from 12 to 2, then I scrubbed the siding on the front porch during the afternoon (soooo much dirt, soooo many spiders, soooo much general crud), and then my husband and I went for our normal three-mile walk in the evening. For me, this was a very active day.

I've made it to my second weekend! Woo hoo! We're going to an event this afternoon and evening, and there will be lots of opportunity to eat and drink all the wrong things at the wrong times. But it's an S-day! I will just endeavor to enjoy a few treats but not go too crazy.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jun 16, 2019 1:38 pm

Saturday: S-Day.

I just lost an entire, detailed post because I started it yesterday and finished it today, and when I hit "Preview", I got sent back to the login screen.

That sucks. I will remember that and not lose any more posts.

I ate a bit more than I should have, and had some ice cream, and some snacks. But it was an S-Day so I didn't worry about it.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Sun Jun 16, 2019 1:50 pm

That totally sucks!!! I'm so sorry that happened to you. :? :cry:

I guess I never push that "preview" button. Hmmmm, not sure why I don't because I didn't know you lose stuff. I just submit it and then reread and edit if I have time.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jun 17, 2019 1:17 pm

I'm not sure if it was the Preview button that caused my angst, or if it was just generally that my browser made it look like my login was still active when actually, the board was going to ask me to sign in again the next time I wanted to post. Anyway, I won't make that mistake again.

Sunday didn't seem too bad. I had two eggs for breakfast, half an orange, half a plain cafe au lait, a biscotti, tuna fish with mayo for lunch with four saltines, a protein bar, a fizz drink (15 cal), a shot of gin. Dinner was out with my husband and his son, who treated for Father's Day. I had a poke bowl with rice, tuna, salmon, edamame and small amounts of imitation crab, seaweed salad and corn, plus sauces that were surely salt bombs. I didn't eat the whole thing, especially not all the rice. However. This morning I was up to 155.5. :? :x I don't know why I felt compelled to weigh myself on Monday morning, which is probably the worst time out of the whole week. Now I am resolving not to weigh myself until Saturday, which should be the best time of the whole week, after all the N-days.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Mon Jun 17, 2019 1:52 pm

Yeah, weighing on Monday morning is typically my highest read of the week. I've been wonkers lately, but my normal pattern is something like a 2 pound drop between Monday and Saturday. Then gain 2 over the week, then drop the 2 over N Days. At least that's me for maintenance.

I hope you have a great week!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:49 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 1:52 pm
Yeah, weighing on Monday morning is typically my highest read of the week. I've been wonkers lately, but my normal pattern is something like a 2 pound drop between Monday and Saturday. Then gain 2 over the week, then drop the 2 over N Days. At least that's me for maintenance.

I hope you have a great week!
Thanks! That 2-pound variation between Saturday morning and Monday morning sounds about like what I'd expect for myself. Since I'm trying to lose, I hope the general trend is downward. I guess we'll find out on Saturday :lol: .
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Thisisnotabadidea-
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 4:59 am

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Thisisnotabadidea- » Mon Jun 17, 2019 10:51 pm

Most I've gained overnight is 5 pounds! :lol: water weight is wonky

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jun 18, 2019 11:54 am

Thisisnotabadidea- wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 10:51 pm
Most I've gained overnight is 5 pounds! :lol: water weight is wonky
Wow. Wonky indeed.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jun 18, 2019 12:01 pm

Monday: SUCCESS.

B: eggs, string beans, half a small orange, coffee with whole milk.
L; chicken salad on leafy greens with 2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette. Small apple.
Water with a little milk and a spoonful of protein shake powder.
D: stew of chicken, mushrooms, barley, onions, carrots. Blueberries. A bit of virtual plating to keep the blueberries away from the stew, which was in a bowl.

I had cravings in the evening. Fueled by anxiety. I persevered. Wasn't hungry and I recognized that.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Tue Jun 18, 2019 12:43 pm

I had cravings in the evening. Fueled by anxiety. I persevered. Wasn't hungry and I recognized that.
Boy do I know how that feels! I've been using three techniques currently:
1) breathing - deep belly breaths for as long as I can stand it. I imagine breathing into the knot beneath the sternum. It is the most effective method I've used so far, consistently relieving my anxiety to some degree, sometimes quite remarkably.
2) Ground myself in the present with a kind of mantra, "At this moment, my children are fine. My health is fine. My pets are fine.... etc." Sometimes I think "the table feels firm, solid, and cool to the touch," etc. - again trying to remain in the present (since all anxiety is rooted in the future, not the present).
3) And the newest addition to my practice - sit with the feeling. I literally imagine the craving or the anxiety or whatever as an object and I try to sink into it, observing it from the outside and sort of asking myself, "why are you here? What do you need? Are you really so scary?" and this has started working a little for me as the object seems to shrink and lose its power.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jun 18, 2019 6:27 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Tue Jun 18, 2019 12:43 pm
I had cravings in the evening. Fueled by anxiety. I persevered. Wasn't hungry and I recognized that.
Boy do I know how that feels! I've been using three techniques currently:
1) breathing - deep belly breaths for as long as I can stand it. I imagine breathing into the knot beneath the sternum. It is the most effective method I've used so far, consistently relieving my anxiety to some degree, sometimes quite remarkably.
2) Ground myself in the present with a kind of mantra, "At this moment, my children are fine. My health is fine. My pets are fine.... etc." Sometimes I think "the table feels firm, solid, and cool to the touch," etc. - again trying to remain in the present (since all anxiety is rooted in the future, not the present).
3) And the newest addition to my practice - sit with the feeling. I literally imagine the craving or the anxiety or whatever as an object and I try to sink into it, observing it from the outside and sort of asking myself, "why are you here? What do you need? Are you really so scary?" and this has started working a little for me as the object seems to shrink and lose its power.
Thanks for the suggestions. I had a long sleepless period of a couple of hours in the middle of the night. Next time, I will try and apply one or more of these suggestions.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jun 18, 2019 11:11 pm

Tuesday, June 18th, just after dinner. SUCCESS as long as I don't screw up before I go to bed.

B: eggs, half a bell pepper. Coffee with cream.
L: out with friends at an Asian restaurant. Small salad and then half the entree, which was Drunken Noodles with chicken.
Citrus "fizz" energy drink, 15 calories.
D: Marinated pork loin, white rice with cooked marinade as sauce. Blueberries.

Today had its challenges. Lunch was early, which meant a long time between lunch and dinner. At lunch I got a noodle-based dish, which meant there wasn't as much protein and fat as I like to satisfy me. Also, the salad (as usual) came before the main meal, which presented a challenge to the "one plate" rule. I just made sure I only ate half the main, and eyeballed the salad to make sure it would have fit easily on the other half of the plate.

In between lunch and dinner I probably should have gone for a glass of milk or a spoonful of protein powder mixed with water and milk to fend off hunger. But instead I had a fizzy drink. I was very hungry before dinner and had a huge plate of pork loin that had smelled so good while it was in the oven, with a more-than-healthy portion of rice. It all fit on the plate, even inside the wide rim. But I was so hungry I didn't even bother with veggies, so I had more rice and meat than I would otherwise have had. But -- I believe I have satisfied the No-S spirit and letter.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:17 am

Wednesday, June 19th: SUCCESS.

B: eggs, half a bell pepper. Panera plain latte.
L: leftover drunken noodles with chicken mixed in, green leafy salad with two tbsp sun-dried tomato dressing.
Tea with lemon.
Whole milk, water and a spoonful of protein powder.
D: stew of barley, mushroom, chicken, carrots and onions. Small slice pork tenderloin. Blueberries. Half a small orange.

Today I was proud because before lunch, I was hungry, but managed to do errands even so, as opposed to running home to eat first because of wimpiness.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

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

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:57 pm

Yay great job! Soon it’ll be a habit your barely think about Keep up the good work!
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:22 am

lpearlmom wrote:
Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:57 pm
Yay great job! Soon it’ll be a habit your barely think about Keep up the good work!
Thanks! It's hard to imagine that when I get so hungry before dinner. But I'm chugging along pretty well, even if some of my plates are a bit loaded up. I was a good No-S'er today, in spite of anxiety and frustration over things I have no control over. In times past, these things would send me to 7-11 for a lottery ticket and two huge cookies or brownies. I still sometimes buy lottery tickets :-) but not the brownies or giant cookies any more. And I don't go into 7-11 when I'm feeling anxious.

Today, Thursday 20 June: SUCCESS as long as I don't bomb before bed.

B: scrambled eggs, half a bell pepper. Plain latte from Panera.
L: the last of the leftover drunken noodles with a few ounces of extra chicken for more protein. Green leafy salad with a little dressing. Blueberries.
Tea with lemon.
Water with milk and protein powder.
D: Chicken salad, white rice, blueberries.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
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Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:44 am

I have to avoid 7-11 too!! But for me it's the siren call of a bottle of wine rather than a cookie!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jun 22, 2019 5:33 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:44 am
I have to avoid 7-11 too!! But for me it's the siren call of a bottle of wine rather than a cookie!
We all have our particular battles. The wine battle is a noble one.

Friday June 21st: SUCCESS. I was even good after my parents arrived and we all ate dinner.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jun 24, 2019 3:20 pm

I had a pretty bad couple of S days over the weekend. It was my birthday. There was cake, there were chocolates, and there was dinner out. I ate an overlarge quantity of all three of those things.

The chocolate was meant for four people. I ate it all. I was unhappy about it later and didn't feel well.

I should just never have access to more than one portion of those things in my house.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

User avatar
Octavia
Posts: 901
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:01 pm
Location: UK

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Octavia » Tue Jun 25, 2019 1:37 pm

Hi Candace,
Just dropping by to say hello. I relate to a lot of your insights! I’m also 53 and somewhat sedentary - in fact I don’t do half as much walking or working out as you, though I’m trying to improve!

I can easily eat enough chocolate for 4 people. Mind you, it’s hilarious how they write on the packet ridiculous things such as ‘one portion=two squares’!!! By that calculation, I could eat enough chocolate for 10 people... :lol:

Good luck with your No S journey!

PS I’ve never lost a post through doing ‘preview’ - it’s always worked Ok for me. I think you must have experienced an unfortunate glitch. Hope it doesn’t happen again for you. :)

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jun 25, 2019 2:10 pm

Thank you Octavia! It's nice to know we can be recovering chocolate addicts in solidarity. Thank goodness we're back on N days (I just actually wrote that, yes!). I feel saner now with a sane structure for eating. Those chocolate-eating episode shouldn't happen too often. The chocolates were part of a birthday gift someone got me. I was planning on sharing them with my husband and my mom and dad who were here visiting. However, the chocolates had been in the car and were melted. We got home and put them in the fridge. A little while later I snuck them out of the fridge without anyone seeing me. I didn't set out to eat them all, but... they're chocolate. So I did. Ugh ugh ugh. It was an S day, but if I do that with any regularity, I won't lose weight.

Anyway... Monday (yesterday) was good. I'm saying SUCCESS even though I had a spoonful of yogurt before bed to stave off hunger while trying to fall asleep.

B: eggs, cherries. Coffee with half and half.
L: leftover Chinese food, big pile of greens with a little dressing. I had a separate bowl for my greens. But it would have fit on my plate, which was right next to it.
Milk with water and protein powder.
D: Pork loin and more greens.
Spoonful of yogurt before bed.

My husband and I haven't been walking like we're supposed to. Last week was a combination of bad weather, bad planning, one late night at work for him, and my parents arriving on Friday. We only walked 6 miles out of our weekly intention of 15, and those miles were in the mall due to weather. That's a bad week for us. However, we did get our four workouts in, so that's good.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Wed Jun 26, 2019 2:02 pm

Yesterday was SUCCESSful, but I feel like I need a better way to deal with the hunger that makes me irritable before dinner. I had some milk and protein powder at around 4, and then a little after 6, my husband and I went for a five-mile walk. I felt so depleted and irritable that it definitely affected my 'tude. I need some good way to deal with situations like this, because we are supposed to enjoy our walks, and I am not supposed to be bitchy, at least not on a regular basis.

Maybe I could add more milk and more protein powder to my water, or have another small one before going for a walk. When I had the drink I had at 4, I didn't know when or whether we'd be walking, or for how long. So probably the best thing is to have another small one when I know I'm going to be significantly grumbly. Then I'm so hungry when eating dinner that the low-blood-sugar "hangry" thing persists even after I eat. This is why I had always been pretty free with having a protein bar or other similar snack under these circumstances, before starting No-S. It's a problem. I guess I can try a second, small drink under these circumstances and see how that works.

B: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange. Panera plain latte.
L: ham sandwich with cheese and greens. Blueberries.
Protein powder with a little milk and some water.
D: eggs and white rice, half a bell pepper, half a medium apple.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Wed Jun 26, 2019 2:53 pm

Candace, it's funny that you just mentioned that you were out of sorts on your walk with your husband, because right before that I was fixing to ask you what you and hubby talk about on your walks? I'd love to go on more walks with my husband.

Oh, and I was also going to say that birthdays, especially early in NoS, are the biggest S of all! I'm sure you're past it now, but it is no biggie in the big scheme of things! Glad you had loved ones around to share your special day.

I always like to recommend to people that they get a little blood sugar testing kit to see what's actually going on in those hangry moments. What I found (long ago when I started doing that) was the shocking surprise that I never go low. Perhaps you actually do, but I think most of us don't. A little high? Assuredly. But not very often low. Unless you have reactive hypoglycemia, in which you spike high and then crash abnormally low. I can't remember the percentage of people that have that, but if you do, you'd want to find out - that phenotype has an increased risk of developing type II diabetes for sure.

Anyway, that long paragraph's purpose was to lead into what causes ME to get hungry - it's a rapid CHANGE in my blood sugar followed by a bunch of insulin. Somehow that scenario, even without a blood sugar dip, makes me want to eat more and even feel a little sick to my stomach with hunger. I have mild insulin resistance so my mystery has been solved now. If I consistently eat moderate carb with a particular limiting of grains, (less than 100 g/day, although I never count), then this weird hangry situation (which I used to know so well) never occurs. But all this I have learned from 6 years of testing my blood sugar and recording what I ate so that I find these trends. The experimentation is part of the fun for me.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jun 27, 2019 12:15 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Wed Jun 26, 2019 2:53 pm
Candace, it's funny that you just mentioned that you were out of sorts on your walk with your husband, because right before that I was fixing to ask you what you and hubby talk about on your walks? I'd love to go on more walks with my husband.

Oh, and I was also going to say that birthdays, especially early in NoS, are the biggest S of all! I'm sure you're past it now, but it is no biggie in the big scheme of things! Glad you had loved ones around to share your special day.

I always like to recommend to people that they get a little blood sugar testing kit to see what's actually going on in those hangry moments. What I found (long ago when I started doing that) was the shocking surprise that I never go low. Perhaps you actually do, but I think most of us don't. A little high? Assuredly. But not very often low. Unless you have reactive hypoglycemia, in which you spike high and then crash abnormally low. I can't remember the percentage of people that have that, but if you do, you'd want to find out - that phenotype has an increased risk of developing type II diabetes for sure.

Anyway, that long paragraph's purpose was to lead into what causes ME to get hungry - it's a rapid CHANGE in my blood sugar followed by a bunch of insulin. Somehow that scenario, even without a blood sugar dip, makes me want to eat more and even feel a little sick to my stomach with hunger. I have mild insulin resistance so my mystery has been solved now. If I consistently eat moderate carb with a particular limiting of grains, (less than 100 g/day, although I never count), then this weird hangry situation (which I used to know so well) never occurs. But all this I have learned from 6 years of testing my blood sugar and recording what I ate so that I find these trends. The experimentation is part of the fun for me.
Hi @automatedeating! Thank you so much for all the food for thought. You are right; I probably don't actually get low blood sugar. I had a test done in a doctor's office decades ago and they said I don't. So I suppose I really shouldn't say I do. And I can also say that the fewer "bad" carbs I eat (bread, potatoes, rice and obviously processed sugar), then usually the "hangry" thing is less of a factor. But sometimes that's tough, especially when those bad carbs help keep my grocery bill down (rice) or when I just want to eat them. :P My thrifty side sometimes gets the better of me too. I don't usually keep bread in the house, but I bought a loaf when my parents visited, and I don't like throwing out food, so I've eaten a few sandwiches lately.

We walked our normal three miles yesterday and also did our workout. What do we talk about on our walks? It varies a lot. Recent subjects have included family (his and mine), his clients, my clients (though never with names), household stuff and projects, whether the universe is expanding or contracting, non-partisan redistricting, other much more partisan political subjects, the flowers, trees, plants, birds and small animals we see on our walks, the recent troubles with the Boeing 737 MAX, other current events, any interesting articles we've read, whether the future is predetermined (his view) or whether we have free will (my view), all the doggies we get to pet while we're out, what we did that day, yadda yadda yadda...and sometimes we don't talk at all for long stretches.

Wednesday, 26 June: SUCCESS.

B: eggs, half a bell pepper, coffee with milk.
L: frozen meal and leafy greens with salad.
Protein shake powder with milk and water. I increased the amount of powder and milk a little to ward off the "hangry" feeling before dinner.
Sandwich of tuna with mayo and dill; medium apple.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:53 am

B: eggs, bell pepper, half a small orange. Coffee with milk.
L: eggs and cheese on toast. Medium apple.
Milk and protein powder.
D: chicken sandwich. Glass of red wine. (Strange dinner.)
More milk and protein powder.

It was a tough day. I managed to eke out a "success" according to the No-S rules though.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:52 pm

Friday, June 28th: SUCCESS

B: eggs, snap peas, half a small orange. Coffee with milk.
L: eggs and cheese on toast, snap peas, half a medium apple.
Milk and water with protein powder.
D: chicken salad, potato salad, the other half of the apple.
Spoonful of yogurt before bed.

This morning I did the Saturday Morning Weigh In to get the lowest number, and I've lost a pound in the last two weeks, so I'm down to 154. That's pretty darn good. At my age, activity level and starting weight, if I lose a half a pound to a pound every week, that's about all I can expect or hope for.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:54 pm

Yes, losing even a bit is great! And I always weigh first thing in the morning before I even drink any water. :-)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:00 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:54 pm
Yes, losing even a bit is great! And I always weigh first thing in the morning before I even drink any water. :-)
A big YES to all of that!
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

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

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Sun Jun 30, 2019 5:27 am

You’re doing great! Id love to be back at 154. ☺️
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jun 30, 2019 12:48 pm

Saturday, June 29th: S-day.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, grits, one piece of toast, coffee with cream.
"Naked" blended juice drink with just enough blended greens in it to make it green. Also a few sips of chocolate milk.
Lunch: Half a chicken melt sandwich, some collard greens, and some ice cream :).
Arbonne "fizz" drink.
Dinner: not so much dinner as a series of snacks. An apple, some popcorn, and a protein bar.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jun 30, 2019 12:49 pm

lpearlmom wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 5:27 am
You’re doing great! Id love to be back at 154. ☺️
Thanks! From what I can see, you look great.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:50 pm

Sunday, June 30th: S-day.

Breakfast: huevos rancheros, cafe au lait, cookies and cream biscotti
apple, half an orange
L: edamame pasta with spaghetti sauce
protein bar
D: edamame pasta with chicken and pesto sauce
apple
shot of gin
slice of bread

Overall I think this weekend was a good couple of S-days. I had one sweet each day, and a few of the healthy snacks I used to eat every day.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:05 pm

Nice weekend! I always enjoy doing a bit more grazing on the weekends. Apple slices, especially. :-)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:56 am

Happy July, everyone!

July 1st, Monday. Back on N-days. I go between being happy that I actually seem to have lost a pound in the last two weeks, and then thinking that that's a pathetic rate of loss, and I want to lose faster, even though I know that's not likely to happen. Also going between thinking that all I have to do is keep going for another 20 weeks to lose ten pounds if this is my rate of loss, and then my thought train spirals off into something like the following, all within about 20 seconds:

*the rate of loss won't be constant, and sometimes my weight will even go up, even if I'm following the rules, and I have to be prepared to see that at some point(s) and not give up even though it will SUCK;
*if any weight loss is to be maintained, then 20 weeks is only the beginning, so I genuinely hope these are habits I can live with and embrace for a very long time;
*Why shouldn't I be able to? It's pretty pathetic to have to put mental energy into the idea of eating only three times a day, which is like a constant feast when compared to most of human history;
*just get over your damn self already;
*No-S is so sane compared to pretty much any other weight-loss or health-enhancing strategy I've ever heard of, and one that I can get behind instead of scoffing at it or failing at it, so just get on with it, you ridiculous, entitled, weak little piss-ant;
*Hey, wait a minute, I actually like myself and have good self-esteem, so stop with the self-flagellation;
*Just stop it already, you're doing fine, calm down and do something productive with your damn time instead of over-thinking this. It should be simple, and it IS simple. (Not easy, but simple.)

All of those thoughts take about 20 or so seconds to cycle through my head.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, snap peas, half a small orange, coffee with cream.
Lunch: chicken salad on leafy greens with a little dressing, half a medium apple.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: Edamame pasta with chicken and pesto.
Spoonful of yogurt before bed.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:57 am

automatedeating wrote:
Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:05 pm
Nice weekend! I always enjoy doing a bit more grazing on the weekends. Apple slices, especially. :-)
Yes, it's a relief to be able to snack a bit without worrying about it. A little rebellion on the S-days definitely helps me get through the N days, because I know there are S days coming.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Tue Jul 02, 2019 2:50 pm

*the rate of loss won't be constant, and sometimes my weight will even go up, even if I'm following the rules, and I have to be prepared to see that at some point(s) and not give up even though it will SUCK;
*if any weight loss is to be maintained, then 20 weeks is only the beginning, so I genuinely hope these are habits I can live with and embrace for a very long time;
*Why shouldn't I be able to? It's pretty pathetic to have to put mental energy into the idea of eating only three times a day, which is like a constant feast when compared to most of human history;
*just get over your damn self already;
*No-S is so sane compared to pretty much any other weight-loss or health-enhancing strategy I've ever heard of, and one that I can get behind instead of scoffing at it or failing at it, so just get on with it, you ridiculous, entitled, weak little piss-ant;
*Hey, wait a minute, I actually like myself and have good self-esteem, so stop with the self-flagellation;
*Just stop it already, you're doing fine, calm down and do something productive with your damn time instead of over-thinking this. It should be simple, and it IS simple. (Not easy, but simple.)
You had me laughing out loud!!!! This is so totally-spot-on! Ha!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:37 am

automatedeating wrote:
Tue Jul 02, 2019 2:50 pm
*the rate of loss won't be constant, and sometimes my weight will even go up, even if I'm following the rules, and I have to be prepared to see that at some point(s) and not give up even though it will SUCK;
*if any weight loss is to be maintained, then 20 weeks is only the beginning, so I genuinely hope these are habits I can live with and embrace for a very long time;
*Why shouldn't I be able to? It's pretty pathetic to have to put mental energy into the idea of eating only three times a day, which is like a constant feast when compared to most of human history;
*just get over your damn self already;
*No-S is so sane compared to pretty much any other weight-loss or health-enhancing strategy I've ever heard of, and one that I can get behind instead of scoffing at it or failing at it, so just get on with it, you ridiculous, entitled, weak little piss-ant;
*Hey, wait a minute, I actually like myself and have good self-esteem, so stop with the self-flagellation;
*Just stop it already, you're doing fine, calm down and do something productive with your damn time instead of over-thinking this. It should be simple, and it IS simple. (Not easy, but simple.)
You had me laughing out loud!!!! This is so totally-spot-on! Ha!
Ha! I figured I couldn't be the only one with a tape like that playing in my head :wink: .

Tuesday, July 2nd: SUCCESS.

Breakfast: eggs, raw baby carrots, half a small orange. Coffee with half and half.
Lunch: veal piccata, linguine, half a small roll.
Protein powder with water and half and half.
Dinner: chicken salad on top of greens with a little dressing. Seven or eight cherries.

Today had two minor challenges. The first was eating out at a restaurant with yummy food and trying to estimate how much to eat, especially while being with someone I had just met (networking meeting). It was a lunch-sized portion of veal, not too much. I took most of the linguine home in a box. The roll was on a separate plate, but would have easily fit on a plate with what I ate. So I think I did okay there. The bigger of the two minor challenges was making it till dinner without a snack. I suppose I could have had a second protein drink, but that would feel like a fail.

I don't like eating raw baby carrots with breakfast, but it was what I had to fill my plate. I could have eaten greens, but greens with breakfast is just not going to work for me. Before dinner I roasted some carrots to have with breakfast over the next few days. I really like raw baby carrots as snacks, but now they are forbidden! (And I'm not using an S-day snack on raw carrots. I'm just not.) With a meal, I want the carrots cooked, not raw. Maybe that's weird, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Wed Jul 03, 2019 1:42 pm

At my house I buy veggie trays and put those on the table (w/Ranch for dip) on Saturday and Sunday about 10am. The kids and I eat those suckers up so fast - even a Costco sized one is gone by Monday. :-) So maybe you can have a big pile of raw carrots ready to go for the weekend. :mrgreen:
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 04, 2019 1:57 pm

Wednesday, July 3rd: SUCCESS.

Breakfast: eggs and roasted baby carrots. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken salad on top of greens with a little (very little) dressing. Some of the leftover pasta from Tuesday's restaurant lunch. Four cherries.
Protein powder with milk and water.
Dinner: Baked chicken breast, potato salad, apple.

I have to say this week has been a little tougher so far, not that the first couple of weeks were easy, but the hunger in the afternoon and evening is wearing on me a bit more I think. I guess that means the next couple of weeks is when the rubber really hits the road in terms of solidifying good habits. It would be nice if this diet didn't change my personality for the worse! I'm definitely more irritable when I'm hungry, and it makes it more difficult not to get aggravated at small, inconsequential things. I have, though, made a resolution not to be so critical. It's a bad quality and one that my mom, who is a wonderful person otherwise, has in spades. I'm trying not to take after her in that way. Over the years, I've managed to take the worst edge off of my tendency in that direction, but being hangry is a handicap. I had definitely formed the habit of snacking to take the edge off my irritability. Now, I guess, I can start by counting to ten instead of reaching for ten things to eat.

Today (Thursday, July 4th) is a Special Occasion S-day, as we're going to a cookout for the US's Independence Day. I had toyed with the idea of trying to make this coming Sunday an N-day in exchange for today, because today isn't my birthday, or someone's wedding, etc., but the cookout will be all afternoon with food, drinks, and dessert. So I think this qualifies for the "occasional special occasion S-Day". Plus, making Sunday an N-Day would have meant six N-days in a row, which seems daunting. Tomorrow (Friday) will be a normal N-day, and will be a bit of a challenge because of a lot of appointments that I have to be my best at, i.e., being hangry would not be good. Saturday is a normal S-day, made more special by going to a baseball game where someone my husband knows has invited us to their box at the stadium.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Thu Jul 04, 2019 2:14 pm

Now, I guess, I can start by counting to ten instead of reaching for ten things to eat.
Ha! That made me laugh. I use deep breaths that make my belly expand below my sternum. I try to sit with the feeling and let it ride through me. Emotions pass so quickly, is what I'm starting to notice. I used alcohol as my go-to method to deal/numb-out emotions and I think millions of people use food, so your situation is basically - being human!

Good plan on today being an S Day. Your approach for this weekend is excellent for garnering long-term success with your new habits, rather than burning yourself out and derailing because you added extra rules this weekend.

And good luck tomorrow. An N Day sandwiched between S Days is the toughest, in my experience. So have some good tools in your toolbox for dealing with the inevitable cravings that come tomorrow.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 04, 2019 5:10 pm

Thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely use it.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

sharon227
Posts: 292
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by sharon227 » Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:24 pm

I agree about not swapping the S day for an N day on Sunday. You made the right choice. S days are supposed to include national holidays. The idea is not to feel guilty about enjoying them. That was a very important part for me. Once I got used to the rhythm of regular days and special days, not feeling guilty for special treats or resentful about depriving myself, it became a little easier to moderate my days naturally. That's still a work in progress, but I understand that reorienting years worth of habits is going to take more than 14 months.

I remember my hunger between meals very well. It’s hard to know at the beginning how much of it is simply habit, that your body was used to eating in response to certain times of day or stresses, and how much is that you need to eat more at meals. I relied on a small mid-day glass of apple cider many days during my first few months to take the edge off, and that helped.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jul 06, 2019 1:29 am

sharon227 wrote:
Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:24 pm
I agree about not swapping the S day for an N day on Sunday. You made the right choice. S days are supposed to include national holidays. The idea is not to feel guilty about enjoying them. That was a very important part for me. Once I got used to the rhythm of regular days and special days, not feeling guilty for special treats or resentful about depriving myself, it became a little easier to moderate my days naturally. That's still a work in progress, but I understand that reorienting years worth of habits is going to take more than 14 months.

I remember my hunger between meals very well. It’s hard to know at the beginning how much of it is simply habit, that your body was used to eating in response to certain times of day or stresses, and how much is that you need to eat more at meals. I relied on a small mid-day glass of apple cider many days during my first few months to take the edge off, and that helped.
Thank you, Sharon! The reinforcement is definitely appreciated.

Yesterday, Thursday, July 4th: Special S-Day for Independence Day (USA)
Breakfast: eggs, roasted baby carrots, coffee with milk.
2 beers.
Cheeseburger with bun and ketchup, bean salad, roasted peppers.
Sweet rum-chata (sp?) drink with fireball.
Two scoops ice cream with syrup and sprinkles.
A little potato salad.

Overall, not too bad for an S-Day.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jul 06, 2019 1:43 am

Today, 5 July, Friday: an N-day stuck between two S-days. I was watching for the cravings, but astoundingly, they didn't happen. I was pretty busy with appointments today, so maybe that's why. SUCCESS.

Breakfast: eggs with roasted baby carrots, coffee with milk.
Lunch: hamburger patty with cheese and ketchup, the last few roasted baby carrots, a little potato salad, five cherries.
One cup whole milk. This works surprisingly well!
Dinner: half of the last hamburger patty with bun, cheese and ketchup. (Shared with hubby.) Small amount of leftover pasta, greens with a little dressing, five cherries.
Spoonful of yogurt before bed.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jul 06, 2019 4:37 pm

I'm ever so slightly bummed this morning because in spite of doing so well on No-S this week, my weight this morning has gone back up over last week's weigh-in. Last Saturday I was at 154. This morning I'm just a hair below 155. I'm chalking it up to normal fluctuations, especially because yesterday I didn't, ahem, answer the call of nature, which can definitely cause a fluctuation.

I know I'm doing well though. On N-days (and even to some extent on S-days) I've been hungry a lot, and my meals have been pretty reasonable, incorporating veggies twice a day on a normal N-day. Also, I had an extra S-day on Thursday for Independence Day (USA). So, I'm not dissuaded from keeping up the No-S diet. I'm about one month in, and have only had one failure day. That's pretty darn good!
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Sat Jul 06, 2019 4:49 pm

The slow weight loss of NoS can be a bit frustrating. My first year I only lost 8 pounds for the entire year. I still considered it significant, though, because I joined at a time that I had been seeing a gradual weight GAIN over time. NoS completely halted and slightly reversed that trend. I still think that for most women, preventing weight gain is its best function. In order to actually lose weight I had to make some modifications (all within the framework of NoS). But I waited for 5 whole years before I did that! Wow, looking back I was extremely resistant to making any changes that felt like sacrifice. It wasn't until I no longer felt that the changes were sacrifices (but rather, self-care) that I was willing to change the type of food I ate.

Anyway, congrats on a wonderfully green month. It's been great to have your insights and enthusiasm on the boards.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Lemonie
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:53 am

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Lemonie » Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:14 am

Candace...I’m impressed that you are recognizing all of your hard work over the past month. You certainly have much to be proud of... the scale just hasn’t caught up with you yet.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jul 07, 2019 1:58 pm

Saturday, July 6: S-day.

Breakfast: out at Waffle House with my husband. Scrambled eggs, half a piece of buttered toast, some grits, one slice of bacon, coffee with half and half.
Tea with lemon.
Medium apple.
Chicken salad with greens and a little dressing.
At the game:
Two glasses of wine, pork barbeque, two small ribs, soft pretzel, a little macaroni and cheese, a few chips, a big cookie. Not huge portions of anything but it certainly added up.
Late night snacking:
Protein bar.
Apple.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:03 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Sat Jul 06, 2019 4:49 pm
The slow weight loss of NoS can be a bit frustrating. My first year I only lost 8 pounds for the entire year. I still considered it significant, though, because I joined at a time that I had been seeing a gradual weight GAIN over time. NoS completely halted and slightly reversed that trend. I still think that for most women, preventing weight gain is its best function. In order to actually lose weight I had to make some modifications (all within the framework of NoS). But I waited for 5 whole years before I did that! Wow, looking back I was extremely resistant to making any changes that felt like sacrifice. It wasn't until I no longer felt that the changes were sacrifices (but rather, self-care) that I was willing to change the type of food I ate.

Anyway, congrats on a wonderfully green month. It's been great to have your insights and enthusiasm on the boards.
Wow, that's definitely a lesson in perspective for me. Thank you. I suppose if I lose eight pounds in a year, that's still better than the 10 or 15 I had gained the previous 12 months when I just stopped trying to lose and let myself have treats. I'm going to start with getting the No-S habits going strongly, and see where that gets me over the next few months. I just know, from previous experience, that if I try to limit a lot of food or cut down on too much that it will backfire quickly. I think the food I eat is already pretty healthy most of the time. Once I cut way down on snacks and sweets (seconds were never my problem) the way No-S should help me do, I hope to level out at least near my goal weight. We'll see.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:12 pm

Lemonie wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:14 am
Candace...I’m impressed that you are recognizing all of your hard work over the past month. You certainly have much to be proud of... the scale just hasn’t caught up with you yet.
Thank you Lemonie! That's really nice of you.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jul 08, 2019 12:42 pm

Sunday, July 7th: S-day.

Breakfast: eggs, half a small orange, coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: small amount of chicken salad on greens with a little dressing.
Half a bell pepper.
Home-popped popcorn. Popped in peanut oil, sprinkled with Nature's Seasonings (mostly salt but with other spices mixed in).
Watermelon.
Protein bar.
Dinner: One and a half slices of pizza.
More watermelon.

Whoa, that was a snack fest and a half. I went a bit wild. I think it's a good illustration about how mostly "healthy snacks" can add up to simply too many calories over a day.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

User avatar
lpearlmom
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Location: Arizona

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:52 am

Looks pretty darn good for an S day to me!

Keep up the good work!

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

Candace
Posts: 207
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:54 pm

Thanks Linda!

Yesterday, July 8th, Monday: SUCCESS.

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: Panera onion soup (no croutons), baguette side, and chicken salad. I need my protein.
Milk, water and protein powder.
Dinner: frozen meal. Lean Cuisine Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. Greens with dressing. Half a peach.
Spoonful of plain Greek yogurt (whole milk) before bed.

I had a "reward" at Panera, which explains the onion soup. I love their onion soup, and even better when it's free, but it doesn't have much protein, and I usually crash pretty badly in the afternoon unless my lunch has a good amount of that. So to conform to No-S, I took the soup to go (which means it's smaller in the first place, I think), and put the container on a plate with the baguette and chicken salad. It really does make a visual impact to see all that food I'm about to eat! It's pretty tough to kid myself when I see it all at once. I should have skipped the baguette. But they're too good.

Then there was an interesting side effect. That lunch had a lot of salt (soup) and white carbs (bread) compared to what I usually eat. At dinnertime, all I wanted was more salt and white carbs. Nothing else would do. It wasn't too hard to predict, but boy was the effect pronounced. That's why I had the frozen meal (salt) with the spaghetti (white carbs).

Anyone else like Panera? My husband goes there a lot to get work done. He buys a coffee and a scone. Sometimes I go with him and get a latte. I love their food, but it's easy to eat the wrong things there. Then, because I only go sporadically, they throw rewards at me to get me to come in. Two years in a row, they gave me a free bagel every day for a month. The thing is, I try to eat lower carb normally. So my husband would go sign in as me and get the bagel. I think I got some of them and froze them for when we have company. (I'm cheap.) And I ate a few of them. (I'm weak.) This month, they said if I go five times, I get a free Pick-2. Again, hubby is going as me so he can get the reward. Then, out of the blue, a free soup. Yums. I think they may also like me because I fill out their surveys with actual comments, both good and bad.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:30 pm

I love Panera.
Unfortunately, though, there is not much on the menu that will actually fill me up without making my blood sugar go a little wonky.

And I totally have that issue where when I start eating junky food, I just want more and more junky food. I have to apply real willpower to stop. When I'm consistently eating the same well-planned meals (on N Days), that doesn't happen.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:48 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:30 pm
I love Panera.
Unfortunately, though, there is not much on the menu that will actually fill me up without making my blood sugar go a little wonky.

And I totally have that issue where when I start eating junky food, I just want more and more junky food. I have to apply real willpower to stop. When I'm consistently eating the same well-planned meals (on N Days), that doesn't happen.
Yep. I tend to eat the same things over and over because they "work" for me too. Both of our food logs have a certain repetitiveness to them, don't they? I'm eating a little more at meals than I used to, but I really think my intake is less on N-days than it used to be. I am not snacking or eating sweets on those days, and I used to do those things regularly. Seconds were never an issue for me. I don't think the snacks and sweets I take in on S-days are "making up for" the ones I'm not on N-days. That is, I think my overall intake is down. So you would think my weight would go down over time. I'm still optimistic, though my expectations for how fast it will happen are way down. Maybe I'll lose a pound every month. I just hope I lose at least that much, or it will be pretty discouraging.

Tuesday, July 9th: SUCCESS.
Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, half a small orange, coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: lunch was at a restaurant. Luckily their portion sizes are reasonable. Two fish tacos and a teeny square of bread with oil.
Milk with water and protein powder.
Dinner: Chicken salad on top of leafy greens and a little dressing. Ten cherries. Two bites of watermelon.
Spoonful of plain, full-fat Greek yogurt before bed.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:35 am

Ugh, Costco... I ended up food shopping there today after lunch. Such a challenge to avoid snacking! I usually try to go in the morning before they set up their sample stations, but today it couldn't be helped. There I was, walking by all the sample stations, saying "No, thank you" to goodies galore.

In times past, I would have eaten lots of samples (rationale: hey, samples are free!), and then gone home and immediately helped myself to whatever beautiful fruit I bought (rationale: hey, fruit is a healthy snack -- I should be able to eat it and not worry about it!). It was a bummer having to just put away those beautiful blueberries and strawberries after I schlepped all the groceries inside.

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange, coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken salad, an ear of corn (no butter -- and it tasted great!), medium apple.
Water and milk with protein powder.
Dinner: pork stir-fry over rice. Very salty but good. Blueberries.
Spoonful of yogurt before bed. I really wanted more. The pork stir fry was good, but lean enough that I wish I had eaten something with a little more fat to keep me from being hungry before bed. But, I wanted that green square! So while my husband ate smoked Gouda, I was soooo good.
Last edited by Candace on Thu Jul 11, 2019 3:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

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

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Thu Jul 11, 2019 2:08 pm

Great job at Costco! It really doesn’t even tempt me anymore. It’ll become habit for you too overtime. I’m curious why you didn’t have some of your yummy fruit with dinner?

Anyway, good observation on your dinner needing more fat. Now you know for next time.
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 11, 2019 3:37 pm

lpearlmom wrote:
Thu Jul 11, 2019 2:08 pm
Great job at Costco! It really doesn’t even tempt me anymore. It’ll become habit for you too overtime. I’m curious why you didn’t have some of your yummy fruit with dinner?

Anyway, good observation on your dinner needing more fat. Now you know for next time.
I did have blueberries! Thanks for pointing that out. I corrected the post.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Lemonie
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:53 am

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Lemonie » Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:16 am

Sounds like a good day Candace.. resisting Costco samples is an unfamiliar experience for me. Well done!

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Fri Jul 12, 2019 2:03 pm

Lemonie wrote:
Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:16 am
Sounds like a good day Candace.. resisting Costco samples is an unfamiliar experience for me. Well done!
Thanks Lemonie!

Thursday, July 11th: SUCCESS. But at too high a cost? Yesterday was very challenging. I had a 7 AM appointment, which meant a very early breakfast and a loooong time between breakfast and lunch. I was trying to deal with clients and do other work, and when I'm like that, I start to feel like I'm not quite up to doing the job I should. Getting so hungry makes me distracted and almost faint. I don't really want to eat a bigger breakfast to try and stay full longer. My breakfast is big enough, and I'm not sure it would help anyway.

So at lunch, because I was so hungry, I didn't even want to prepare the greens I usually have with chicken salad. So I ate potato salad instead of greens -- not a good trade. Then we had another appointment at 5 PM, and I was a bit hungry during that appointment too. My brain power is definitely compromised when I feel that way, and clients aren't getting the value they'd get if I were 100%. But in order to plan so the problem wouldn't happen, I'd end up eating snacks or more than three meals. I wanted the green square in the calendar, and I want to lose weight, so I persevered.

I feel like if I do manage to get close to my goal weight, then maybe on days like that I can have a snack before an appointment so I can be at my best. But I won't reach my goal for a while. It's a quandary. I might make a different decision next time and take the fail.

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange. Coffee with whole milk. Very early.
Lunch: chicken salad, potato salad, blueberries. Kind of a lot of all three because I was so hungry.
Coffee with whole milk and sugar-- ugh-- but I was so tired and I'm weak when I'm tired. The sugar in coffee doesn't break the No-S rules, but I know from experience that when I use sugar, I crave more sugar later.
Milk, water, protein powder.
Dinner: Pork and veggie stir-fry with Thai sauce over rice. Half a bell pepper. Blueberries. This time I added a bit of cheese, probably 2 oz., to add fat so I wouldn't get so hungry before bed, and it worked.
One Truly spiked seltzer (100 calories).
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:40 am

Friday, July 12th: SUCCESS.

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, blueberries, half a small orange. Coffee with half and half.
Lunch: out at PF Chang's with a friend. I had a poke bowl. It had tuna, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, cucumber, wantons and mango. Pretty good. And the portion size wasn't outlandish. It was easily a one-plate meal.
Dinner: chicken salad over leafy greens with a little dressing. Two bites of potato salad. Six cherries.

At the restaurant where my friend and I ate lunch, the server brought fortune cookies with our checks. My friend, who's gluten free, gave me hers. I thanked her politely, thought long and hard, and even opened one of the wrappers. But then I put both of the cookies in my empty bowl to be taken away. I wanted to eat that cookie. It was put right in front of me, and it came with lunch, dammit! But then I reminded myself that those are sweets. If I'm going to get a red square on my calendar, it's going to be for something much better than a fortune cookie or two. :mrgreen:
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Soprano
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Location: UK

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Soprano » Sat Jul 13, 2019 6:05 am

Well done with the fortune cookie :)

Re being too hungry to function. I introduced a mod of no starving. So if a meal is delayed I will have a snack, a handful of nuts or something not sweets.

You could also try a glass of milk to stave off hunger. The plan has to fit your life. You are right not to make breakfast bigger but some people do have 4 meals a day..

Am occasional small snack if really hungry will help stop over eating at next meal so unlikely to impact weightloss too much

Jx
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

Candace
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:14 pm

Soprano--thanks for your comments. Some milk would have been great, but I was at work and didn't have any.

This morning I'm trying not to be discouraged. I weighed myself and the scale hasn't moved in over two weeks. I've adhered to this diet extremely well with almost no times of excess on S days. It sure would be nice to see some progress. I believe I'm eating less, and I'm definitely hungry a lot, for an hour or so before meals. Then I think of Automatedeating, who said she lost something like eight pounds in a year. If I could lose eight pounds in a year this would be worth it. But jeez, is a little scale movement too much to expect?

This weekend we're going to be tourists in DC. I'm going to enjoy the relative freedom of S days with the intention of not going overboard.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jul 15, 2019 1:52 pm

Weekend in DC -- Saturday and Sunday

I don't remember everything I ate. I ate more each day than a typical N-day, that's for sure. Meals were bigger, there was beer and wine, and there were snacks and a bit of dessert. We were sharing desserts, which is good. We were with family who really enjoy their restaurant meals. My husband and I typically share a meal when we go out for lunch or dinner, but on Saturday we each got our own for lunch and for dinner (I got an appetizer for dinner, and he drank most of my glass of wine). If there was bread on the table I ate a little bit of it. We walked five miles on Saturday and four on Sunday, just by being tourists.

Log, at least what I remember. I think this might be everything I had. When I read it, it doesn't sound so bad for a weekend of S-days on the road, but it felt like a lot of food and drink at the time.

Saturday
Breakfast: McDonald's bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, coffee with cream and sugar.
A couple of small oranges in the car.
Lunch: 3-5 pieces from a charcuterie board, about eight ounces of beer (I didn't order my own), eggs Benedict, potatoes, a piece of toast.
Coffee with cream and sugar.
Half a small orange.
Dinner: a piece of bread with butter, an appetizer of sausage and beans in a tomato and onion sauce. One bite of my husband's ravioli (didn't like it). Four bites of cheesecake. Part of a glass of wine.

Sunday
Breakfast: half a 3-egg omelet with cheese, peppers, avacado, and salsa. One slice of toast. A few breakfast potatoes (probably six or eight bites). Cut up fruit. Coffee with cream and sugar.
A few squares of cheese and salami. Half a medium Starbucks latte with raspberry syrup. We had it made with half of the normal portion of syrup, but it's still sweet.
Lunch: Half of a restaurant portion of Yorkshire pudding with a nice horseradish sauce. A bunch of french fries. About eight ounces of beer. Six bites of bread pudding with caramel sauce and whipped cream.
Protein bar.
Part of a McDonald's medium vanilla latte.
"Dinner": 3-4 oz of potato salad. Blueberries.

I'm still trying not to be discouraged. I've been doing this since around June 4th and my weight is exactly the same as when I started. When I read journals from other people on this board who say they started out the same way and then eventually lost some weight, it helps me stay in the game.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend. Going to DC is always fun. National Archives, Smithsonian Art Museum, Union Station, National Postal Museum (fantastic), FDR Memorial, MLK Jr. Memorial. I'm grateful for the opportunity to do that. And for the DC Metro. What a great system. We had a lot of laughs the whole time we were together.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:52 pm

Monday, June 15th:

B: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange. Coffee with half and half.
L: large pile of greens with a little dressing, chicken salad, eight cherries.
Water with a little half and half (I was out of milk) and protein powder.
D: large pile of greens (though smaller than at lunch) with a little dressing, chicken salad, four bites of potato salad, four cherries.

My lunch and dinner were a little larger, and I was less hungry before dinner and bed. Go figure. I had a lot of cravings for baked goods, probably because of the dessert and sugared coffee I had on Sunday and Saturday. Also due to frustration, which is the biggest emotional driver of cravings for me. Nothing earth-shattering caused my frustration; just everyday things and the general awfulness of the news. My husband and I talked about how we were both cranky and easily irritated yesterday, chalking it up to being home from our trip and having to deal with everyday things.

Now that I'm past the first 21 days (and more), I'm considering making a few modifications. For instance, allowing a snack of raw veggies like baby carrots if the time between meals is too long, and I'm working. The thing is, my No-S experience tells me that a glass of milk is actually going to make me happier than a handful of carrots. So I'll attempt to make sure some milk is available. If I'm out and about, usually a convenience store will have it.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Wed Jul 17, 2019 1:02 am

Tuesday, July 16th

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, blueberries. Coffee with half and half.
Lunch: sashimi, rice, soy sauce, wasabi, salad with ginger dressing. Half a small orange.
Coffee with milk and one teaspoon of sugar.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: large serving of greens with a little too much dressing, chicken salad, eight cherries.
Spoonful of yogurt before bed.

I feel like I ate too much today to ever lose weight, even though my servings were reasonable and I didn't cheat. I feel like if I ever want to be thin, I'll basically have to eat only greens for dinner, forever. I haven't been as hungry yesterday and today as I have been previously.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

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lpearlmom
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Location: Arizona

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Wed Jul 17, 2019 5:29 am

That doesn’t look like a lot of food to me. I know you said you feel better 10-15 lbs lighter but maybe you’re at a good weight for your body?

Btw, Im always cranky after a trip. Its so hard to get back in the groove and I sure can relate to having a hard time with “the awfulness of the news”. Im currently on a little news break. Its so niiicccee.
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

Candace
Posts: 207
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 18, 2019 12:43 pm

lpearlmom wrote:
Wed Jul 17, 2019 5:29 am
That doesn’t look like a lot of food to me. I know you said you feel better 10-15 lbs lighter but maybe you’re at a good weight for your body?

Btw, Im always cranky after a trip. Its so hard to get back in the groove and I sure can relate to having a hard time with “the awfulness of the news”. Im currently on a little news break. Its so niiicccee.
I agree, it doesn't look like a huge amount of food. I just have the idea that in order to lose weight I have to eat less! I just hope that over time, the lack of sweets and snacks will win out and I'll drift down.

Thanks for the comment about the news and being cranky after a trip. This is probably not the place to discuss specifics, but it's nice to know we're in this together, so to speak.

Yesterday, Wednesday.

B: eggs, bell pepper, blueberries, half orange. Coffee with milk.
L: chicken salad, greens, cherries.
Milk. Protein powder.
D: Chick fil A sandwich, half orange.
More milk.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 18, 2019 11:58 pm

Thursday, July 18th.

Breakfast: eggs, cherries (out of bell peppers today). Panera latte.
Lunch: marinated and baked chicken thigh (yum), greens with dressing, four saltines, cherries. Finally finished the cherries. And the greens.
Milk with protein powder.
Tea.
Dinner: another chicken thigh, roasted baby carrots, seven saltines. One Truly grapefruit hard seltzer.
I'll probably have a spoonful of yogurt before bed.

I was in the Dollar store today and they have so much junk food. I wanted so badly to buy a bag of chocolate cookies and some Goldfish and just go to town. Some small frustrations were pushing me into cravings mode. But-- I didn't. It helps to know that S-days are coming.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Fri Jul 19, 2019 1:45 pm

Congrats on the Dollar Store Victory! I have found that when those cravings hit (for whatever), it helps to just take 3 or 4 deep belly breaths (sitting down is easiest for me, but that might have been difficult in the store!) and kind of open my belly up to welcome whatever emotion is coming through. I cannot believe how often I've realized I'm trying to ignore/avoid/block out an emotion when I have a craving. It's almost predictable at this point.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
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Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jul 20, 2019 11:42 pm

Auto: thanks! Those are helpful tips. For me, recently, just thinking about putting a red square in the calendar for crappy junk food, plus knowing S-days are coming, is helping a lot. Also, recognizing that it's coming from frustration, and kind of observing my own ridiculousness for wanting to deal with it by poisoning myself with sugar and processed flour.

Friday, July 19th.

Breakfast: eggs, broiled baby carrots, half an orange. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: marinated and baked chicken thigh, broiled baby carrots, seven saltines.
Tea with lemon.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: half a "Beyond Burger" with bun, Gouda cheese, mushrooms, tomato, lettuce, mustard-mayonnaise sauce. Twelve ounces of beer.
12 oz. milk.

Saturday, July 20th

Today I weigh 154 lbs. I've been weighing myself weekly on Saturday mornings, but I'm considering going to once a month, perhaps the first Saturday morning of every month. I had gone from the beginning of my journey in early June at 155, to 154, back to 155, and now back to 154 again. I can only hope this means I'm making actual progress. If I can lose a pound every six-seven weeks -- and not gain it back again! -- I'll lose six to eight pounds in a year. If I want to lose faster, I'll have to eat less. That's just the way it is.

I walk 15 miles a week and work out four times a week, at least when my husband and I make our goals. This past week, we made our goals. We don't every week, but we usually get three quarters of the way there at least. I probably won't get much more active than this. So I have to start shaving off little things to achieve a slightly larger deficit. I think that's pretty much the way it works. For a middle aged, sedentary woman with a fat family (mom, dad, sis and bro are all fat, and I've fought fat my entire life past puberty), that's my lot in life.

I could try to add a little more to my workouts, but unless whatever I add generates more muscle, it won't help much. I do kettlebells for resistance training (2 sets compound squats and swings with a 35-pound bell, 2 sets triceps and biceps with a 30-pound bell, and 1 set of lats with a 25-pound bell), 20 real push-ups, some yoga, and some stretching to counter various orthopedic problems. It's not a huge workout, but it's sustainable. I've been doing it regularly for close to five years.

Breakfast: Less than half of a gigantic "Huevos Rancheros" egg scramble dish at our favorite weekend breakfast place. Probably equivalent to two eggs. Piece of toast. Seven grapes. Cafe au lait. Three bites of a biscotti. In times past, I had my own biscotti; today we shared.
Tea with lemon.
Snack: Protein bar.
More tea with lemon.
Snack/lunch: small chicken thigh.
Snack: Popcorn popped in peanut oil with spices. About five cups.
Dinner: chicken thigh, string beans steamed in microwave with lemon juice and a little water. Six cherries.
I may have a glass of port later and possibly another snack. ETA: yes to 3 oz. of port and half a protein bar.
Last edited by Candace on Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

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lpearlmom
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Location: Arizona

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Sat Jul 20, 2019 11:52 pm

You’re doing great. Just keep on keeping and I bet you’ll start to see some losses. I think weighing less often is great if you can. I really dislike the daily stress of getting on the scale and am going to try to get down to weekly weigh ins. And, if nothing else, NoS will keep you from gaining which is saying a lot as we get older especially when it’s done in such a painless way.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jul 21, 2019 1:47 am

Thanks Linda. The encouragement means a lot. Yes, weighing daily is very stressful I think! I'd be prone to throwing up my hands and giving up. And good point about No S keeping us from gaining. Have a great night.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Sun Jul 21, 2019 2:30 am

Your workouts sound awesome!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Mon Jul 22, 2019 1:56 am

automatedeating wrote:
Sun Jul 21, 2019 2:30 am
Your workouts sound awesome!
Thanks auto! It's a good workout for me. It's not a huge long workout. But it provides good stretching and mobility work, and it has three times when I put out a large effort -- the pushups and the two compound squats-then-swings sets. Plus I think it hits all the major muscle groups for overall fighting of decrepitude.

Sunday, July 21st:

before breakfast: half an orange.
Breakfast: Waffle house scrambled eggs, half the large helping of grits, and a piece of toast. Coffee with half and half.
20 oz. hard cider. We hit a new place and had flights. Good stuff.
Lunch: piece of foccacia topped with cream cheese, 3-4 oz. of salmon with mustard, and a few slices of avocado.
Couple of sips of Bloody Mary, and garnish (half a slice of bacon, one stuffed green olive).
2 scoops ice cream (yuuuuuuuuuuum)
Dinner: chicken thigh, string beans, plum.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jul 23, 2019 1:23 pm

Monday, July 22nd:

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange, cherries.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: 1/2 cup chicken salad, five saltines, roasted baby carrots, cherries.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: chicken thigh (last one!), string beans, five cherries.
Three sips of "tiger milk", which is whole milk and orange juice mixed together.

I'm a total convert to drinking whole milk instead of the snacks I used to have. I tried it because it doesn't count as a snack on No-S, but I'm continuing because it's sooooo good and it works well for me, keeping hunger at bay. If you've never tried "tiger milk", it's delicious and would count as a dessert if I had more than a couple of sips of it. I thought mixing milk and orange juice sounded gross. But it's just like a Creamsicle.

Being back on N-days is fine, because I got to have a couple of treats and snacks this past weekend. This way of eating is so freaking sane.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:27 pm

I'm a whole milk fan too! (well, dairy in general, you can probably tell from my thread). :-)
My favorite milk is Alexandre Farms. It's actually 6% milkfat and so so creamy. I also buy their yogurt for one of my 4 yogurt brands. :-)

I also offer my kids a glass of milk when they are hungry and want to snack. Works like a charm for them in that hour before dinner when they are antsy to eat.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:31 pm

Wow Auto, I've never heard of a milk that high in yummy creaminess. Sounds dreamy. And so great that your kids are getting it too!
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Wed Jul 24, 2019 1:45 am

Tuesday, July 23rd

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: 1/2 cup chicken salad, four saltines, roasted baby carrots, five cherries.
One cup whole milk with protein powder.
Dinner: Lentil/bean/sauce mix from Costco over jasmine rice with a fried egg on top.
Spoonful of whole milk Greek yogurt before bed.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:30 am

Wednesday, July 24th

My first Failure day since June 11th. :cry: Oh well. Multiple things piled on today to make it difficult enough that I decided to take the fail, and I pretty much planned on it because it would be too hard not to. For one, I had an appointment from 11:30 until 1:30. That makes it really difficult to have a lunch that's spaced out enough from my other two meals. The other thing was an event in the evening with drinks and finger food. The one plate rule is, um, difficult there too.

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Before my 11:30 AM meeting: One cup of milk, a protein bar.
After the meeting: Wawa 4-meatball side dish. Small bag of potato chips.
Before the evening event: Half a small plum, 10 unsalted almonds.
At the event: one cocktail, 2-3 deviled egg halves, 5-6 other teeny hors d'oeuvrers. No sweets.

I didn't stuff myself. I wasn't even full. I think I was pretty good. Would love to have eaten or drunk more, but hey, I'm trying to lose weight. :|
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
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Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Thu Jul 25, 2019 3:24 am

Seems more like a swampy greenish yellow day. :-)
Mark it and move on!
You handled your difficult day with creativity and aplomb!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

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lpearlmom
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Thu Jul 25, 2019 4:56 am

Not too bad of a fail. Remember you can call those S events ahead of time if you think it’ll be too hard to stick to or just try virtually plating but hey i think you did just fine.

You got this!
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

Soprano
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Location: UK

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Soprano » Thu Jul 25, 2019 5:06 am

It has to fit your life and some days can be difficult you planned it and stayed in control. Well done

Jx
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

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Octavia
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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Octavia » Thu Jul 25, 2019 8:30 am

...I agree with the others! This is barely a fail at all! :) In fact I don’t think I’d even mark it as one. You are doing amazingly. The good habits will be really getting embedded. (Even though I’m not at all strict these days, and rather unmotivated to be honest, the hard work I did in the first year or so really did programme some new habits I to my brain. And those habits are a safeguard against future weight gain, I think, even though right now I’m stuck and a bit unmotivated!)

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Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Thu Jul 25, 2019 9:56 pm

Thank you everyone! I agree; it's not much of a fail. But it was definitely a non No S day due to the snacks. I saw it coming and handled it fairly well.

This is such a supportive community. And it makes a huge difference! Back to green so far today, although I am hungry 😁.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:34 am

Thursday, July 25th -- back to green today, though cravings were tough and I went food shopping while hungry. Quite the challenge. It's a theme on No-S: I have to learn to deal with many situations while hungry that would have sent me straight toward a snack before No S.

Breakfast: eggs, string beans, half a small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken salad, green beans, a little chicken barley stew.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: beans with tomatoes over rice with two fried eggs on top. Four cherries.
Four sips of tiger milk before bed.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by automatedeating » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:43 am

Shopping while hungry? AAAAAAHHHH! :-) Imagine me running in a circle waving my arms over my head like a crazy person. :-)
I cannot tell you how often I've had a craving for junk of some sort and then have to calmly realize that I'm just hungry. Meal time coming, patience and all that. :-)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sat Jul 27, 2019 3:22 am

automatedeating wrote:
Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:43 am
Shopping while hungry? AAAAAAHHHH! :-) Imagine me running in a circle waving my arms over my head like a crazy person. :-)
I cannot tell you how often I've had a craving for junk of some sort and then have to calmly realize that I'm just hungry. Meal time coming, patience and all that. :-)
Hahahaha! Yes, S-days coming tomorrow!
Today, Friday, July 26th:

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, whole small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: 4 thin slices salami, 1/2 cup barley stew, half a peach, four cherries.
Coffeeshop cafe au lait.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: poke bowl with tuna, salmon, edamame, seaweed salad, roe, and white rice with soy sauce. Two sips of beer.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

Candace
Posts: 207
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:27 pm

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Candace » Sun Jul 28, 2019 12:34 pm

Saturday, July 27th

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange, half a peach. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: three chicken tenders with dipping sauce, half of a salad with greens, beets, goat cheese, walnuts and dressing. Eight ounces of cider.
Tea with lemon.
Snack: popcorn popped in peanut oil, sprinkled with spices. About three cups.
Snack: protein bar.
Dinner: three slices thin salami, half a cup of barley stew, string beans, half a peach.
Two shots of gin.
Snack: Four saltines.

Pretty good for an S-day. I didn't have any sweets. On Sunday, I will, so I figured snacks were sufficient to make Saturday "ess-y". Seconds aren't usually my problem, but sometimes I had been overserving myself for meals. But on this S-day, I took a little less at dinner than I would have on an N-day, and lo and behold, I was fully satisfied. Plus, I knew I could have a snack if I got hungry later.

I do appreciate that S-days are on the days when it's typically expected to have outings and attend parties. We got invited to a get-together for Sunday and asked to bring dessert. So I'll bring something I want to eat as an S-day sweet. Normally I would make something instead of buying, but I would rather limit my exposure to sweets to the eating and not to the making at this point. But I really like this aspect of No-S, that is, I can attend weekend parties etc. without feeling completely restricted.

I did NOT weigh myself yesterday. I was tempted to, especially because I think I've lost weight, but was afraid of being disappointed. I'm doing really well right now, or at least I think I am, and I'm loving how I feel and look relative to a couple of months ago. So, I figured, why mess with the good feelings I'm having now? I'll wait another week until the first Saturday in August. If I do as well this week and don't lose any weight by then, I might get a new scale :P . My husband thinks maybe I'm building muscle, but we're doing the same workouts as always so I don't see how that could be. However. before the last couple of weeks, we had a couple of weeks when we weren't at all consistent with our workouts, so he thinks I'm re-gaining it. Eh. That seems to be grasping at straws because it was only a couple of weeks, and we didn't stop completely. We *have* been quite consistent this past couple of weeks though, which does feel good. I added one more squat and one more swing to my sets of those things. I'm doing 14 per set now. Two sets.
53 year old female. Height 5' 5.5". Goal: 145 lb. Stretch goal: 140 lb.
Weight 6/14/2019: 155 lb.
8/3/2019: 151 lb.
8/24/2019: 149 lb.

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

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by lpearlmom » Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:06 pm

Im with you on the not weighing when you’re feeling good. The scale can really derail me and sometimes i rather use my clothes as a guide. It’s much less stressful plus Im not really willing to change much else at this point so it’s kinda like wherever I land weight wise is going to just be as good as it gets. Im hoping after maybe 3 months of consistency Ill start to see some results. It takes awhile.
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

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Octavia
Posts: 901
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:01 pm
Location: UK

Re: Candace's Newbie Check-Ins

Post by Octavia » Sun Jul 28, 2019 4:31 pm

Same here, regarding the weighing. If I’m feeling reactive and vulnerable, I don’t do it. But I also know that I can’t stop completely - that’s when I’m in denial and have totally gone off the rails. In that situation, a brave weigh-in can get me back on the wagon! It’s a subtle tool...sometimes a help, sometimes not. Perhaps the important thing is to keep control of our expectations, remembering that maintenance can actually be a significant achievement.

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