Noel's Daily Check-in

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 12:40 pm

Only going to be doing this for a little while until my habits are more solid.

I was calorie counting to get rid of about 20 lbs I'd gained over a project. No-S DURING the project would have served me better, but, hey...

Anyway.

Calorie counting. Woah. Maybe it works for some people and for a certain value of "work", it totally did. I did lose that 20 lbs. In terms of sustainability? Oh dear oh lord... While my obsessiveness can be a Force For Good, it sure as hell doesn't belong with eating habits. I think that's an inappropriate use of my willpower and brainpower (for all that I did make one HECK of a great integrate spreadsheet with complex calculations). If I am considering taking a food scale onto a visit with my family, I've taken it too far and am bordering on eating disorder.

No-S is just more sustainable long-term. Not necessarily to get skinny, but to have reasonable and appropriate boundaries around eating.

I started back on Tuesday:

No-S
Breakfast: Steel cut oats.
Lunch: Pringles. (Yes, it fit on a plate. No, this isn't a failure even if it was hardly an optimal lunch. I probably won't do anything like it again for YEARS)
Dinner: Omelet with peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese
Exercise
1400 yard swim

Wednesday
No-S
Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Optimized Oatmeal
Dinner: Ham-n-veggie soup (needed eating up!), salad
After dinner snack: Buncha dried fruit and nuts and sunflower seeds

Exercise
1600 yard swim

Thursday
No-S
Breakfast: Steel cut oats
Lunch: Onigiri (While it fit on a plate, six rice balls really is a bit much)
Dinner: Ribs and broccoli -- about half the portion I'd served my husband as I simply was not all that hungry.

Exercise
It was snowing. My husband declared his exercise was going to be shoveling the driveway. We own one car, but I had the day off. I could have driven him to work and then gone to the gym to get in my swim, or even chosen something else. I did not so choose.

Haven't had a perfect day in terms of diet and exercise yet, but the habits are coming back pretty well. I was extremely hungry for breakfast this morning (yes, did a 1600 yard swim) and it felt... right to be really hungry before a meal. While I wasn't snacking all that much calorie counting, I was doing so some, and I was starting to fall into the "hunger is evil" mindset. Which is dumb. Hunger before a meal is the way it is supposed to work. Then feeling full, happy and satisfied after the meal is also the way it is supposed to work. Which is what I am feeling right now.

gingerpie · Post by **gingerpie** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 1:18 pm

Hi,

Lookin' good so far. I'd totally easy Pringles for lunch if I had them. That's why I don't have them.

I'm sure all the no s habits will come back quick. I think it must be like riding a bike. You never forget how to keep your balance.

Good luck on your return journey

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 1:07 pm

Friday

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs and an apple
Lunch: Leftover ribs, onigiri, apple
Dinner: Pork chops with apples-n-onions, pasta, teeny 'tini (appletini in a 2oz.glass)

That was a good day, food wise, but a seriously apple day, huh? Not sure what was up with that. Anyway... Ate enough at each meal to feel comfortably full, was hungry for the next meal, had no desire in the world to snack. That's what I like.

Exercise

1600 yards swimming intervals.

I am trying to get my mile time for swimming down to 40 minutes. Right now, my best mile time is more like 47 minutes. So, I'm changing up my usual Long Slow Distance and swimming certain intervals to specific paces to push myself from time to time.

I hate intervals, but it IS the way to speed up.

I am treating myself to 4000 yards of LSD today in the pool instead.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 2:17 pm

Saturday

S-day!!!

I had a big bowl of porridge for breakfast, bacon and eggs with cheese for lunch after my swim, and a ham and cheese quiche for dinner. I had seconds on the quiche and I had a couple of chocolate truffles my husband had gotten me earlier in the week that I'd saved for the weekend.

That's the way I like my S-days to look.

Exercise

Unless you're training for an athletic event, I really don't think big workouts six days a week is really a great habit thing. I prefer the S-day N-day routine for exercise in general.

I'm training for an athletic event.

Weekends are when I can GET longer training sessions in. I swam 4,000 yards. (That's 160 lengths of the pool, and yes, it does feel like you're on a hamster wheel).

LoriLifts · Post by **LoriLifts** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:44 pm

Just walking over to say hi, Noel.

I am so impressed with your long distance swimming. Learning proper swimming form is on my bucket list. One of these days I need to sign up for some classes.

In the meantime, I'll swim vicariously through you.

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:27 am

You have me so inspired with your long distance swimming! I went to Target and bought some goggles this weekend so I can go to my pool and start trying to do some laps. I don't know how far I'll get.... but I am going to try! I have really bad arthritis problems and am hoping swimming (along with the yoga I already do) is the answer for exercise! Thanks for being such an awesome example!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 12:15 pm

Well, Tobiasmom, I got into swimming because it is joint-friendly. I'd say go for it.

So, Sunday report:

No-S

I had pannekuchen for breakfast, Pasta alfredo for lunch, and ham and cheese muffins for dinner. I did snack a little on some leftover ham and had a handful of nuts. Bog standard S-day.

Exercise

I was kinda tired after my Epic Swim, so I took an Epic Nap.

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:16 pm

Hi Noel,
Welcome back. I always miss your presence here when you go away. You say many wise and well thought out things.
Here's to having good NoS habits in place!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:50 pm

Thanks, osoniye.

Monday

No-S

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Onigiri. I'm on an onigiri kick, what can I say?
Dinner: Pork chops and broccoli in an orange-ginger sauce and a glass of wine.

Exercise

Swam 1600 yards

I also got the results from a national swim contest I did. You swim as far as you can in an hour. I swam 2200 yards. I didn't come in last, but I did come in 158 of 166, so way down at the bottom for my age group. The person who came in first more than doubled that...

I am disappoint.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 12:14 pm

Tuesday

No-S

Breakfast: Optimized Oatmeal
Lunch: Leftover ribs, Spinach pasta, apple
Dinner: Beans-n-rice (red beans, onions, peppers, celery and some ham for flavor)

Exercise

It was -23 and I wimped out of getting out of the house.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 12:52 pm

Wednesday
No-S
Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs
Lunch: Optimized oatmeal
Dinner: A Penne dish at a restaurant and a glass of wine

I was rather proud of the No-S part as dinner was about three hours later than usual, but let me tell you what, the optimized oatmeal stays with you a long time, and while I wanted dinner, I wasn't freaky hungry or anything.

Exercise

1600 yard swim

Thursday

No-S

Breakfast: Steel cut oats
Lunch: Chicken, onigiri, red peppers, broccoli (A really nice bento)
Dinner: Bowl of chili and an appletini

Snack: Handful of sunflower seeds. I stopped as soon as I realized that I was snacking, but yeah, a red day. Hell of a note after I turned down cake at an office party!

Exercise

I get up at 5 in the morning to swim, especially if I have to work. Since I was out at an event (husband giving a lecture on a graphic novel he'd written) and didn't get to bed until 10:30, I would have been running on too little sleep. I am protective of my sleep, but it did mean a red day for exercise.

lin47 · Post by **lin47** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:17 am

Hi, from another ex-calorie counter (starting today!). I agree with you about the obsessiveness thing. Although I never really minded the actual calorie counting (smartphone apps make it so easy to keep track now), after several years of calorie counting, I began to get more and more food-obsessive. I've tried No-S before and didn't stick with it, mainly because my inner brat despises the idea of not being able to eat sweets whenever I want.

Anyway, I wanted to encourage you. In the long run, No-S is a moderate, sustainable way of eating. I look forward to reading your check-ins and others.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 12:57 pm

I started minding calorie counting when I was pondering whether or not to pack a food scale on an overnight visit to friends.

Friday

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Chili
Dinner: Rice and chicken/veggie stir fry

Snack:Handful of sunflower seeds while hubby was finishing making dinner. Honestly, not too egregious a failure, but I find I am most successful when I am utterly, letter-of-the-law strict.

Exercise

1200 yards swim. I was not feeling the love for the swimming yesterday, but I've decided that I'm allowed a short swim when not feeling the love. I'm just not allowed to bail entirely.

gingerpie · Post by **gingerpie** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:15 pm

Hi Noel,

I hear you about the lack of love. I'm a hiker not a swimmer but I have the same basic rule. I have to at last get outside before I'm allowed to decide not to walk. Once I'm outside though, I always end up being fine. Its just the getting outside that is the hard part.

My daughter (15) is a swimmer and She is really missing it since the team season ended at school. I'm working on finding her an alternative but haven't found one yet.

Have a nice weekend.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 12:45 pm

Saturday

No-S

Breakfast: Pannekoeken
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich with bacon
Dinner: Twice baked potatoes

Snacks: My husband has taken to leaving three or four chocolate truffles in this wooden box I keep by my writin' chair. This is a nice custom and I like it for S-days. I also had some toast as a snack. Given the exercise entry, incredibly moderate.

Exercise

2000 yard swim and then a swimming lesson to learn to do a flip turn.

I had an epiphany about my swimming that has helped me get over my swimming grump. I've been grumbling about how slow I am but resistant to doing drills. While I talk about it in my swimming blog, the tl;dr version is that I came to the conclusion that just like barre exercises in ballet or the upper and lower basics in Karate, each workout requires a basics drill to begin with.

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 4:04 pm

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:24 pm

Sunday

No-S

Breakfast: Cinnamon muffins
Lunch: Leftover stir fry and rice
Dinner: Soft boiled eggs, bacon, toast soldiers

Snacks: Cinnamon toast. Sunflower seeds

Exercise

I had an excellent time sitting on my butt playing a point and click adventure game.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 12:28 pm

Monday

No-S

Breakfast: Steel cut oats, sunflower seeds, dried blueberries and walnuts. NOM!
Lunch: Ham, turkey, lettuce, and cheese sandwich, cherry tomatoes, red peppers and some dressing to dip the veggies in.
Dinner: Roast chicken breast, steamed broccoli and rotini

Exercise

45 minutes of swimming. 500 yards of drills and another 900 of sprint intervals (For you non-competitive swimmers, that's an extremely short workout, but it's all I have time for in the mornings before work, so I don't care!)

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:14 am

Just stopping by to say hi. Your meals look great! So it sounds like swimming is your main exercise? My preferred exercises are weight training and walking.

Heather

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:50 am

I'd say at this point swimming is more of a hobby or sport than "exercise." But yeah, I'm definitely a swimmer. Love weights, and I need to start lifting again.

Tuesday

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Green salad with ham and cheese
Dinner: Pork chops with sauteed red peppers and onions and garlic

Exercise

Swimming 45 minutes. 500 yards of drills, 900 yards of laps

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:59 am

That sounds good, to have swimming as a sport or hobby! Your meals sound good!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:46 pm

Wednesday

No-S
Breakfast: Porridge
Lunch: Ham, turkey and cheese sandwich with lettuce, mustard and mayo, yellow pepper to dip in hummus and diced apple.
Dinner: Bacon, scrambled eggs, diced potato and onion. (I forgot to take out some meat for dinner...)

Exercise

I'm going to call this green. I didn't swim, but my google fit application says I got in about 45 minutes of walking.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:28 pm

Thursday

No-S

Breakfast: Steel cut oats, brown sugar, dates, sunflower seeds, pecans
Lunch: Grilled ham and cheese sandwich, apple
Dinner: Baked chicken breast, twice baked potatoes, broccoli, teeny 'tini (appletini in a mini cocktail glass)

Exercise

45 minutes of swimming -- laps and drills.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 9:21 pm

Friday

No-S

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Chicken and steamed broccoli
Dinner: Went out to eat. Hamburger and fries at Chilis

Exercise

Swam 1700 yards

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 11:19 am

Saturday

No-S

It was an okay S-day. I baked a small pound cake just 'cause.

Exercise
2000 yard swim and a flip turn lesson. Saturdays are always my day for a longer swim.

Sunday

No-S

Thank goodness one cannot fail on an S day.

Yeah...

Even if I only did bake quite a small pound cake, having a slice for breakfast set the wrong tone for the day. Goodness knows it wasn't the worst S-day I've ever had (not by a long shot), but I think that cake for breakfast gives my inner child permissions for stuff that's dumb on a normal Sunday.

I think going to the new cupcake shop in town and having ONE would have been smarter for all that I love to bake.

Exercise

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:58 am

Monday

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon, scrambled eggs, apple
Lunch: Optimized oatmeal (weird craving, but whatever)
Dinner: Pork chop, sauteed peppers and onions, pasta, Parmesan cheese, teeny 'tini

Exercise

Swam a mile -- drills and laps

I was also musing on the whole "three plates a day" and realized that for breakfast, my plate is a salad plate rather than a full-sized dinner plate (which would be far more breakfast than I would want, even after a hearty swim). This was breakfast this morning, and is a reasonably typical one.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 7:43 pm

Tuesday

No-S

Breakfast: Bacon, eggs, strawberries
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwich, yellow peppers, hummus, apple
Dinner: Roast chicken, broccoli, pasta, martini

Exercise

Swam a mile

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:59 am

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:51 am

Your meals look good! I think it makes sense to put your breakfast on a smaller plate. Yes, baking really can be a slippery slope, sometimes.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 11:13 am

Wednesday

No-S

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, bacon, strawberries,
Lunch: Ham, cheese, lettuce tomato grinder
Dinner: Hamburger, potatoes (yes, bad on veggies today)

Exercise

Swam about 3/4 of a mile

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:07 pm

Thursday

No-S

Breakfast: Steel cut oats, dried cranberries, pecans, sunflower seeds
Lunch: green salad with chicken
Snack: Pizza Combos
Dinner: Chicken and dumplins
Snack: Almond wafers

It was a bad day professionally and personally. Between Work Stuff and Terry Pratchett dying, I chose to use food for comfort. (The chicken n dumplins were already planned for dinner, though). I thought about other comfort things and decided on food.

I feel okay about it merely because it was a conscious decision and I hardly went over the top crazy.

Exercise

Swam 3/4 of a mile