idontknow's return to No S

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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idontknow
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Location: UK

Post by idontknow » Sat Jun 02, 2018 6:35 am

Thank you for the comments and encouragement, everyone.

Tuesday, Weds, Thurs and Fri were all successes - a green week apart from Monday. I am especially proud because it has been half term and I find it more difficult to follow No S when I am out of my normal routine. We have had days out, eaten out a lot and I haven't snacked or eaten sweets. There has been some virtual plating at times, but not once have I said any of the following things:
It's the holidays, it doesn't matter
I deserve a treat on holiday
I'll start again next week
I haven't followed the rules to the letter therefore I will eat everything in sight.

At the end of May, my average weight is 2.45lbs less than in April. Not a huge weight loss, but I had a lot of red days in May! I am very pleased that I didn't walk away and ended the month on some green days.

I also bought trousers in a smaller size! Since March I have been making sure I meet my move/exercise goal set by my watch every day. Most of this is walking for about 30 minutes after work. My husband and I go together, so it's a nice way of catching up after a day at work - and it is definitely paying off. I can walk further and faster, and I know my thighs are smaller - as shown by the new trousers!

Here's to a green June and practising for Carnegie Hall, or the Royal Albert Hall, to give it a British twist :D

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Octavia
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Post by Octavia » Sat Jun 02, 2018 6:12 pm

Hurrah! Smaller trousers and increased fitness! Lots to celebrate there. Those diet ‘phrases’ you mentioned no longer have a place in my life, either. It feels great, like operating from a different place in my head!

Great to hear you’re doing so well. I think that’s a good rate of weight loss, btw - we’re programmed to think that 2lb a week is ‘sensible’ and ‘safe’, but for many of us, 2lb a month is more like it. For me it’s been more like one and a half pounds a month, but it doesn’t half add up over time!

Hope your weekend is going well.

ladybird30
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Post by ladybird30 » Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:18 am

one lb a month for me
Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

idontknow
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Location: UK

Post by idontknow » Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:23 pm

My first green day for quite some time.
53 years old
Average weight loss:
May 18 - 2.45lbs

idontknow
Posts: 814
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:43 pm
Location: UK

Re: idontknow's return to No S

Post by idontknow » Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:50 am

Back again but with a different mindset this time, I hope. Lockdown has been a difficult time in many ways, but it has changed some things for me - I have been able to slow down, reflect and make changes.
I have embraced my grey hair. I never thought I would be able to do this, but I am actually pleased with how it looks. My hair is very thick and coarse: it's always very short and grows quickly and messily so a few weeks into lockdown my daughter gave a buzzcut and I decided to let the grey grow through. And what a surprise - the new growth is silver and it sparkles in the sun!
I've realised that control is very important to me and that this leads me to be impatient with others. (Apparently, the people around me already knew this! :D) I've managed lockdown by taking control, both at home and at work, and I am trying to do this with kindness.
I have also paid a lot of attention to the way I eat and have learnt that I eat too much and that certain foods make me feel nauseous. I've learned that a small piece of chocolate every day is satisfying. I've learnt that I feel better when I eat smaller meals without too much bread and with fruit and salad; shop bought biscuits and cakes don't really agree with me; I prefer tea without milk; I prefer to delay eating in the morning; eating after dinner is too much; I don't really like take away food.
Over the last few years I have dabbled in No S from time to time. I've also dabbled in WW, SW, Intuitive Eating. No S is great because it fits into life so easily, but in the past I have struggled with the succeed/fail aspect of each day. Once I have failed, what's the point in continuing for that day? Also, while I know that weight loss is important for health, I don't hate the way I look. I am probably about 28 pounds overweight, but looking different isn't enough of an incentive for me. I do want to FEEL different though. I want to be fitter so I am not out of breath when I walk. I want to be able to bend over to paint my toe nails without my belly getting in the way. I want to have more energy, and I want to enjoy food without feeling bloated and sick from overeating.
When following No S in the past I have failed because I have treated it like WW etc - ie a diet which restricts me therefore I will rebel. This time I'm going to drop weight loss as my focus and instead use the rules to change my eating habits for good. For example, I find the time from lunch to dinner very difficult as I get up early, I am tired by 4pm and we eat late. If I eat a lot of carbs at lunchtime I am sleepy in the afternoon. Therefore I will eat a smaller lunch and I may have a 4th mini meal at tea time if I need it. This will be a mini meal on a plate - not a mindless raiding of the fridge - and it may include a small piece of chocolate, as I have really enjoyed this during lockdown. I'll use the one plate rule and I won't eat seconds - I eat enough (sometimes too much) at dinner and I don't need more. This will mean sticking to this way of eating at weekends and not going all out because 'it's allowed'.
I'm not going to weigh myself regularly - I'm sick of seeing the same numbers on the scale not Instead I'm going to focus on habit and eating food that suits my body. I'll use this space to reflect and adapt and take good advice from people who've been here a long time. Is this a bit wishy washy? I'm not sure, but I know that I need to change, and I can't see a more sensible and sane way of eating anywhere else.
53 years old
Average weight loss:
May 18 - 2.45lbs

April
Posts: 163
Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:50 pm

Re: idontknow's return to No S

Post by April » Sun Jun 21, 2020 1:22 pm

Hello! I just read your post from today (or maybe yesterday I am guessing you are not in the USA?) Thank you so much for sharing all of that, and I can relate so much. The lockdown has affected ALL of us in different ways, I did NOT embrace my gray and just had my roots done and haircut for the first time since March - I think the happy dance lasted for 30 minutes!

I too have reflected and made some changes for the better. It was a mixed blessing for me. It sounds like you were still able to work during lockdown(?) I was not, but am starting up again next week, and REALLY miss my job and that was likely the most difficult thing for me to deal with.

I loved this that you posted:

"This time I'm going to drop weight loss as my focus and instead use the rules to change my eating habits for good."

I am back on modified NO S using lifeisablessing's mod (3 meals a day, every day, anything on my plate including sweets) I have been on and off for years as well, trying other plans but back on the wagon again seeking inspiration on this board. Thank you for sharing your experiences, I love reading others stories and it is an encouragement knowing we are not alone in our attempts to continue to find the path to our own success.

Keep posting! I would love to continue to follow your new perspective and how it works for you.
Last edited by April on Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
April

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

automatedeating
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Re: idontknow's return to No S

Post by automatedeating » Sun Jun 21, 2020 3:05 pm

Great post, idk!
I have embraced my grey hair. I never thought I would be able to do this, but I am actually pleased with how it looks. my daughter gave a buzzcut and I decided to let the grey grow through. And what a surprise - the new growth is silver and it sparkles in the sun!
This is what I did too! Although I did the buzzcut last September and have been growing it out since. It's been a real challenge for me emotionally but for some reason (which I can't articulate) this is important to 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

idontknow
Posts: 814
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:43 pm
Location: UK

Re: idontknow's return to No S

Post by idontknow » Wed Jun 24, 2020 8:19 am

Thank you for replying April and automated eating. April - I hope it's going well back at work. It must be strange after so long at home.
Automatedeating - it's interesting that this is challenging emotionally for you. Our hair is so much a part of our identity and how we feel. I have resisted my greys for such a long time because I didn't feel like me when I could see them coming through. Ageing is hard in this respect, I think - we are constantly told that how we look is so important, and that we should defy the ageing process. Don't get wrinkles! Don't go grey! Men don't get this same pressure, I think. I'm not sure what's changed and why I'm ready to see them now, but life without hair dye and henna is definitely easier!

As for food and eating the last two days...
Monday -
Breakfast - orange and small breakfast muffin
Lunch - mackerel, slice of toast with butter, yogurt, satsumas
Mini meal - 3 small crackers with goats cheese, small chocolate
Dinner - roast chicken, chips, peas

There is probably too much to eat there for fast weight loss, but all meals were enjoyable. There was no mindless snacking, I wasn't bloated and I was hungry on Tuesday morning when I woke up.

Tuesday
Breakfast - orange and small breakfast muffin
Lunch - jacket potato and bolognaise/grapes
Mini meal - I chocolate, and a bite of a pork pie
Dinner - lamb meatballs with couscous
after dinner biscuit and chocolate

Not such a great day. I was in school yesterday and throughout lockdown we have been having lunch in the canteen, which I don't normally do. The portions were larger than I would have liked, and of course I ate it all, so felt bloated all afternoon.
Arriving home after work is an 'aaahhh' moment in my day. We all have a cup of tea together and chat about our day. This is the time when I build in a chocolate. Yesterday there was also a bite of a pork pie, which I ate without thinking. I didn't need the after dinner chocolate - it was an impulse.
I'm in work again on Friday. I will try to keep in mind that I don't want to feel bloated and opt for a smaller serving.
53 years old
Average weight loss:
May 18 - 2.45lbs

idontknow
Posts: 814
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:43 pm
Location: UK

Re: idontknow's return to No S

Post by idontknow » Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:18 am

Wednesday
Breakfast - Orange/breakfast muffin
Lunch - slice of toast with pate, crisps, tomatoes, yogurt, pear - all fit on one plate
mini meal - crackers with goats cheese/one chocolate
Dinner - chilli eggs, one slice of bread

1 beer in the sun

Unplanned eating - some nibbles of cheese while cooking. Bag of sweets brought home by my daughter after dinner. I didn't need to eat them, but I didn't know how to reject them kindly, so I ate them. On reflection I should have said that they were lovely and I'd save them for the next day. I could have eked them out as my 'one chocolate' over several days.

How did I feel? Good until after dinner, no bloating, no sick feeling, not particularly hungry between meals. After the bag of sweets - not so great and my stomach is not feeling unsettled this morning.

No beating myself up. I have a plan for next time. I need to remind myself that this is a place for reflection and planning - not a place where I fail and therefore give up. I am going to be strict about nibbling while cooking though - that is unnecessary.
53 years old
Average weight loss:
May 18 - 2.45lbs

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

Re: idontknow's return to No S

Post by automatedeating » Thu Jun 25, 2020 3:16 pm

Sounds like an overall nice day, but sorry about the daughter with the sweets. On other places on this forum, I tend to be the one that is .... very frank .... about refusing foods given to me. So - apologies ahead of time if this comes across too strong - my intent is to empower you that what you eat or don't eat does not keep other people emotionally healthy.

I believe in a firm "no thank you", and with my kids, just what you suggested - "thanks, I look forward to having one on an S Day", or "thanks, but when I eat candy, my tummy doesn't feel good later," or (in my case), "sorry but that makes my blood sugar go too high". I don't believe we are responsible for another person's emotional well-being (even a child - that's still their life's work). I think they get over it, and if they don't, an issue for them has been revealed. They can choose to work on that or not.

Again, I apologize if this is a bit strong-worded (since it involves your daughter rather than the typical scenario of coworkers, LOL!), but I think this must be a sensitive issue for ME or something. Ha! I guess my own issue has been revealed! :roll:
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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Dandelion
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Re: idontknow's return to No S

Post by Dandelion » Sun Jul 19, 2020 7:03 pm

I loved your story about your silvers! I chose to stop coloring my hair about three years ago and I am so happy I did. I only colored for about 10 years, but I wish I had never started. I would have had a cool silver lock in my long dark hair - that would have been striking. It's still there, but the rest of my hair is no longer that dark. Anyway, 'owning' my silvers makes me feel stronger in a way I never would have imagined.

I still have tea every day- it may not be strictly 'NoS', but it is important to me, so I keep it in. It is, as you said, a time of the day to connect. I wouldn't change it for anything, and now that our kid has left home, (and we can't even be together in the same room) I cherish it more than ever.

Most days I eat something with my tea, others not. How I envy that bite of pork pie :) (British/American family in the US)
'I do think the way to a full and healthy life is to adopt the sensible system of small helpings, no seconds, no snacking, and a little bit of everything. Above all, have a good time.' Julia Child

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