Cynthia's Daily Check-in

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

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Sinnie
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Cynthia's Daily Check-in

Post by Sinnie » Mon Jul 18, 2005 1:37 am

I am officially starting tomorrow Monday July 18, 2005. Today I binged quite horribly and feel awful. I hope when I start the NoS way of eating I don't do this on S days.

Three meals tomorrow. Looking forward to the peace and sanity of only having to deal with food 3 times and then forgetting about it.

Good night, and wish me luck tomorrow!

Cheers,
Cynthia

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peetie
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Post by peetie » Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:36 am

That's exactly what I worried about.....bingeing on my s days! And I found out there is no need to.....it's not as if tomorrow I have to go back to dieting....tomorrow I go back to eating til comfortable and chose which foods I want to eat to do that.

I think when you are properly fed all week, you don't have such a drive to overdo on the bad stuff on the week-end. And Reinhard suggested I look at it as reward for my good behavior all week, and that works. A piece of cake....a donut.....they are rewards.....not a sheet cake eaten in one sitting by me alone!

And, a safety net for me is to eat my sweet treat WITH a meal on s days.
You will find what sings for you!

Peetie

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Post by cvmom » Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:16 pm

Hi Cynthia.

You must give this a try. After 2 or 3 days you will feel so much better. It may seem weird to go hours in-between "feedings" but stick with it. There is nothing like the feeling of waking up with an empty stomach. I know this b/c I too have binged eaten in the past. I can't stand the feelings of indigestion that accompany overdoing food.

Please post and let us know how you did. You can do this.

Dru

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Post by Ariel King » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:43 pm

Welcome Cynthia! I hope, and expect, that you will find NoS as beneficial and eminently do-able as I and so many others have. Good luck on your first week! Please don't hesitate to post any problems or issues you run into, as there are a wealth of good ideas floating around here.

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SUCCESS

Post by Sinnie » Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:28 am

I can't believe the amount of support and encouragement in this environment!!! Thank you all soooo much *hugs*.

I consider today a SUCCESS. Despite a small lapse in the sweet department...

Breakfast:
-Slice of walnut bread
-1 egg with cheese (didn't finish)
-Small bite of cake (gimme a break, it's my 1st day :wink: )
-1 mini yogurt

Lunch:
-Salad with kidney beans
-Rice/veggies
-1/2 small potatoe
*I didn't finish all of lunch

Dinner:
-Nectarine
-Vegetarian pasta
-Salad
-Slice cheesecake

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Tue Jul 19, 2005 1:16 am

Oooooh! Walnut bread...
Mmmmmmm........
Oooooh cheesecake!
Mmmmmmmm..........


Great start Cynthia!
Keep it up :)
Peace,
8) Deb

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Post by Sinnie » Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:26 pm

Edit to say: FAILURE

Breakfast:
-oatmeal w/ peanut butter and piece dark chocolate

Lunch: unfortunately it wasn't the healthiest because we went out to work for lunch.
-fries and battered chicken (all deep fried)
-gin and tonic

Dinner:
small plate of pasta
1 piece walnut bread

Edit: see post below
Last edited by Sinnie on Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Sinnie » Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:48 am

OOh phooey. I ate after dinner. I was making my lunch for tomorrow and I grabbed a couple roasted walnuts, then saw that darn cheesecake and had a slice...ehh...some more walnuts and then some of the bean salad I was making for tomorrow.

I learned a lesson though. Don't bother starting, that's what makes you keep going.

Off to workout...

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peetie
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Post by peetie » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:11 am

Cynthia,
I have found it really helps to leave off the sweets during the week. You can have them on the week-end, and I think they tend to encourage over eating with their blood sugar swings and empty calories.

There is so much we CAN have on this plan, that I think if you just fill up with other foods, you won't feel deprived once you get used to it.

And it takes awhile to get used to, so don't just give up on the whole thing. Keep tweaking til you get it right for you.

I wouldn't even worry about things like the fried chicken right now if it keeps you away from the sweets. I see you have a real sweet tooth, and believe me, as someone who could eat a whole birthday cake in one sitting, I know it can be tamed by just filling up on more wholesome foods.

Peetie

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Post by Sinnie » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:36 am

Thanks Peetie, I really appreciate the feedback. You know what's funny, I don't even have a sweet tooth. I'm the type of gal who eats whatever is around, and we normally don't have sweets in the house...but right now there is that cake, and not much other better food so I eat it because it's there, you know what I mean!? Time to do some grocery shopping...lol

On a side note, I ended up eating even more. I have to be honest if I am going to make progress. I really can't get out of the mindset "I will start over tomorrow".

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peetie
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Post by peetie » Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:10 am

Cynthia,
What really helped me to stop doing the "I blew it, so might as well eat everything in sight" mentallity was when Deb pointed out that there is a big difference between a little slip and a full on binge.

Like, last night I felt really hungry before bed, and had a bagel and butter. And I went to bed. I didn't feel I should keep going like I used to because I'd blown it. I just felt like a one bagel was a lot less than the whole package! And it was. And this morning I wasn't hungry for breakfast til later. So it probably all balanced out, even tho I didn't follow the plan the way I should have.

That's funny that you aren't even a sweets fanatic! So true....what we have available usually finds its way into our mouths, atleast until we get a good groove going of not secumbing til the weekend.

Good idea to clean house a bit and replace with healthier fare. Just make sure you love it so you can be satisfied and not go looking for taste thrills.

Maybe stop worrying about the 21 days so much right now, and just go for improvement. I know I keep falling off the 21 day bandwagon myself, but I still feel that I have made lots of progress anyway. All the good days count....you just don't get to join the club yet!

Peetie

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Post by reinhard » Wed Jul 20, 2005 2:28 pm

Peetie is right. Do not worry about 21 days until you are confident about 1 day. Do not worry about 1 day until you're confident about the next meal. All of these numbers are just tricks to psych yourself into better habits.

Peetie (and Deb) are also right about damage control. Next time you slip up don't think "now I messed up so I might as well keep going!" but rather "It's bad, but I can spin this as a kind of virtue on the everyday systems checkin bb by writing about how I SUCCESSFULLY nipped it in the bud, stopped a minor setback from becoming a disaster."

In any case, keep posting. You will get through this. And it will get easy.

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Jammin' Jan
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Post by Jammin' Jan » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:37 pm

I love that positive spin, Reinhard! You really do need to put this stuff in a book.

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peetie
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Post by peetie » Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:20 pm

I second the book motion. Consider this my advance order.

Peetie

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Post by Sinnie » Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:06 am

Peetie and Reinhard - I am seeing things in a new light. I truly understand what you mean about being a success by not letting a tiny slip stop you from continuing on. This is not a temporary thing, so I shouldn't treat it as such. Every day I binge because I "already blew it" just adds to the problem the next day that i have to take care of.

Today was not "perfect" but I do consider it a success in its own right. I had a snack mid morning, and so mad at myself I thought back..and I realized that my breakfast was much smaller than I thought..and I forgave myself and learned to add protein and bigger portion tomorrow.

I may not be ready for the 21 days yet. But I am determined to make this way of eating work, even if it may take some getting used to because it makes more sense than anything I have ever heard of.

Thanks a million for your replies.

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Post by Sinnie » Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:45 pm

Well I am not doing the official 21 days but I am using this time to learn and figure out how it will work for me. I can feel that this will really be the key for me once I settle in to it.

I am just happy as of now with no snacking! I don't always eat everything on one plate but overall I do eat healthy foods and eat until I am satisifed knowing I will be fine until the next meal. So I think I am ok in that department.

I still had some sweets today at dinner but not much. I added to that some bean salad, few walnuts, a plum and protein shake. I couldve kept going but I was full and it doesn't take much willpower because I truly am satisfied and well fed.

I learned something hugely helpful today too!!!!!!!!!!!! I've always heard that eating protein keeps you feeling full. So this morning I experimented at breakfast (following yesterday's too small, and little protein b-fast that left me starving mid morning) and made what I thought had to be high in protein:

2 slices whole wheat bread, dipped in egg on the outside grilled with low fat cheese and ham inside. It was divine -- and kept me totally full until 1pm. I was so fanatically pleased. Lunch I made sure to include some protein (chicken sandwich) and filled it out with a fruit, yogurt, 1/2 peanut butter sandwich. I was totally fine until dinner at 6:15pm.

No overeating, no starving, no counting....hardly any willpower...

What an amazing system.

This is SO for me!

Since I haven't really cut out sweets I don't really know how to handle the weekend. I will probably still try to do NO-S to the best of my ability over the weekend and since I am new I am only half following, just making sure I only eat 3 times.

Oh boy, I can't wait until I am fully into this.

I am going to read other people's check ins now to see how they do the weekend thing, because I wouldn't want to gain anythingback that was lost over the week you know?

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nipping it in the bud

Post by Kevin » Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:42 pm

Cynthia, if find yourself making a mistake (I once, for instance, when making the kid's lunch, found a piece of ham in my mouth that I didn't remember putting there), consider doing penance.

That slice of ham cost me 15 minutes of walking and 35 pushups. The penance reinforced my new habit, was good for me, and I felt redeemed.

The other thing that helped me greatly was putting junk out of sight. My kids and wife still eat it regularly, but they had no problem with putting it in the cabinets or in the fridge, covered.
Kevin
1/13/2011-189# :: 4/21/2011-177# :: Goal-165#
"Respecting the 4th S: sometimes."

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Post by peetie » Fri Jul 22, 2005 1:30 pm

Cynthia,
I found eating my sweet treat with my meal was very helpful. That way, I am filled up with healthier foods, and the sweet is just a "supplement". I stick to the three meals on the week-end and just play a little fast and loose with the sweet treats. Last week-end, I ended up having a glazed buttermilk donut with lunch and a slice of cake with dinner. This from a gal who was famous for eating an entire cake, or quart (forget those wimpy little pints!) of icecream in one sitting.

Reinhard suggest I consider them rewards and I find that helps me too.

I share your enthusiasm for this way of life.

Peetie

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Fri Jul 22, 2005 2:29 pm

Cynthia! I just read your post about once you start "snacking" it's hard to stop (okay major paraphrasing!)
Just think that this is simply a "bad habit"... Our minds and our bodies are inextricably linked... We can get used to things on both a physical and mental level which become very deeply ingrained if we let it go on for long periods of time... Some people, including myself, even believe that we have a backlog of memories in our bodies from not only our lives, but also those of our parents... So, that can be an additional, "ingraining" that may have to be overcome in order to clear your old habits...
Not trying to sound like I'm blaming parents, although it's tempting sometimes,,,LOL.. Just saying we have very *real* memories in us and we need to sort out which we want to continue.... But in most cases, these are not impossible to overcome...
First step is acknowlegement that they exist... You are doing this... Good for you....
Then, you have to own the responsibility of these habits... They might have started when we were young.. possibly a worried mom who was always shoving food at you for every emotional moment, or worried that you might wind up like those "starving kids in India"... (no disrespect to the seriousness of that situation) but now we own that habit and only we can choose to keep or drop it....
Of all the three Sses in this plan, the one which I feel is most behavioral in nature is "snacking".... I suggest that you make a commitment to yourself to really tackle your worst of the Ss's and if you can get one of them under control at a time, then you can add on the rest little by little..
Reinhard in his brilliance, has focused on the main culprit in long term weightgain problems... Habits... I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty, that my snacking is totally out of the way... I will also say that it never was my worst habit... But it was there on some level... I used to stop at places like Dunkin Donuts for a "pick me up" once in a while, like a hot chocolate or whatever...
Okay, now I'm starting to ramble..
I'm sorry but I have to totally disagree with Kevin's
"Penance" model... Kev, if it works for you cool, but I think the guilt factor is way to high there... Just had to chime in... I'm not big on "penalizing" myself... Negativity breeds negativity....
My idea would be to say... I made a mistake, now let me focus on how I can be good... This sidesteps the whole "beating yourself up" mentality...
I think that is unhelpful...
So, here's my "confession" for yesterday...
After a very frustrating day and even week, I wound up stopping in with Richard to a Dunkin Donuts and buying us "Coolattas"... But I am proud to say that after having half of mine, I was fully satisfied... I was cooled off by then, I had enough, and my body "said" (and I mean it really did tell me this on a "body talk" level)
"Toss the rest away Deb..."
So I threw out half of a perfectly good, and fairly expensive drink...
Those old voices were still there though, saying "it's expensive, why waste it?", "why not just 'finish it off'?", but guess what Cynthia???
After nearly a year on NoS, those voices didn't stand a chance against this newer, stronger, healthier and confident voice....
So, enjoy cultivating new habits and remember it's for the long haul, and messups are part of the process....
Like going to college... Some days are good, some bad, some total disaters, but if you don't drop out, in the end of 4 years, you have a degree... That's the kind of "long term" outlook people need to have to stick with any health plan...
Have a great weekend and enjoy your S's!
Love and Peace,
8) Deb

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Post by Blondie » Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:33 pm

Just wanted to add own my chime to the penance idea...and please understand I am not NOT AT ALL trying to attribute a problem to the tools you, Kevin, or anyone else creates to help them get into the habit of healthy eating--it definitely may work for some people, to create a negative association with unnecessary/unplanned/snacking.

That said, I am wary of the making-up-for-a-slip-up-with-extra-exercise model. Maybe I'm paranoid because I have known so many girls with eating disorders, but this attitude can easily snowball into the you-can-eat-anything-you-want-as-long-as-burn-it-off trap (aka bulimia, albeit a different kind than most people think of).

I am truly lucky that I love exericse for its own sake and I've never had particularly negative associations with either food or exercise, but I know that a lot of people don't feel this way at first, and a lot of people struggle to get it done. Using it as a consequence for an errant snack might make it harder to form a healthy attitude toward exercise as being something that is good for your health and can make you look and feel better, independent of what you eat, and instead of an inapproriate attitude toward exercise as a punishment or as a necessity for eating normally.

Don't get me wrong, of course we all occasionally take a longer walk or work extra hard in the gym after a big meal or weekend or whatever, I just worry about ingraining that model in a systematic tit for tat with small slip ups and exercise to negate them.

Or, this worry could be completely inapplicable to anyone here. Either way. ;)

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Post by peetie » Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:51 pm

Deb, I am SO with you on the habit rant you just gave. So much stuff is just that...simply habit. And it can go way back, which is why it is so hard to change.

But it can be done and replaced with more constructive habits. I had been in the habit of evening snacking. My favorite evening was some mindless t.v. and a constant supply of "goodies". That was a REAL hard one to break, but I feel pretty well broken of it at this point.

I even thought (in one of my more deeply psychological phases) that it was because my mom put me in my crib with a bottle. I NEEDED food to sleep! Well, even if that's where it got started, and who even knows about that?, I know where it got ended With ME!!!

And that was a huge win with your dumping half of the drink. You had just enough to satisfy your yen, and then pitched it. Bravo!!!
Don't look at it as money wasted.....look at it as money well invested...in YOU!

Peetie

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