Eschano 2016

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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eschano
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Eschano 2016

Post by eschano » Sun Nov 20, 2016 10:33 am

Hi everyone!

So I'm back and very excited to come back here with a 15 week old girl at home and 10kg to lose post-pregnancy. I'm breastfeeding exclusively and wondered if anyone went back on noS doing this - I want to continue for at least another 3 months. (I'm UK based where maternity leave is 1year)

I can't wait to hear again from so many people here who have been invaluable company on this journey before. Apologies if I won't have the time to catch up with the last year of pregnancy & the little one but I'll catch up eventually.

For now my goal is simply to stick to four meals a day and no sweets except on S days and I'll tackle seconds a little later on after breastfeeding is done.

To an exciting start xxx
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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lpearlmom
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Post by lpearlmom » Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:42 pm

Yay congratulations and welcome back !! So exciting about your little girl!

One year leave is awesome. Boy do we have that wrong here in the US. :/

I think four meals sounds doable with breastfeeding but I didn't even know about nos at that time. I think iron tried sone form of NoS while she was breastfeeding so maybe check out her posts.

Anyway glad to see you back--I've missed your posts! (Don't worry about catching up on my thread. It's the same roller coaster of emotions that it's always been! &#128522;)

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

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Post by MaggieMae » Sun Nov 20, 2016 10:09 pm

Welcome back and congrats on your new little bundle of joy! One year of leave is wonderful! When I had my son a few years ago, I quit my job and just stayed home because leave was only 6 weeks. SIX WEEKS!!! Haha. Oh well, good luck getting back to No S !

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Post by Merry » Mon Nov 21, 2016 6:08 am

Congratulations and welcome back. 1 year leave--wow, that's amazing!

I don't know if they are on here, but awhile back there were a couple of women who followed No-S while pregnant on the FB No-S group. Not sure if they are following No-S while breastfeeding, or if they are modifying. I think your idea of 4 meals is a good one.
Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
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Post by eschano » Mon Nov 21, 2016 12:55 pm

I know, I am very lucky with our maternity policy.

Thank you all for your kind words. I am struggling a bit today but remember the first few days were the toughest ones the first time around too.

Four meals should be very achievable without doing aining the milk supply so hanging in there.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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eschano
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Post by eschano » Wed Nov 23, 2016 5:40 pm

Mon 22nd - green :mrgreen:
Finding it tougher than I thought but mainly because I soend si much time at home with the little one

Tues 23rd - green :mrgreen:

Wed 24th - :mrgreen:
hard won! I really wanted some chocolate to stave off tiredness but I wasn't hungry so managed

Thurs 25th - :mrgreen:
quite delighted about this one as I was very tired which usually makes me crave chocolate but I lasted it out

Fri 26th - :mrgreen:

Yay to my green week
Last edited by eschano on Tue Nov 29, 2016 10:13 am, edited 3 times in total.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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worth it
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Post by worth it » Thu Nov 24, 2016 3:33 am

Eschano,

Oh my goodness- you have a little one!!! That is so exciting!! I hope she is healthy and beautiful and also that you are feeling well, getting sleep, etc. I have no insight to offer about breastfeeding while on No S, but just had to write once I saw your posts about your mat leave.

Look forward to hearing how things progress for you.

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Post by ModBod » Thu Nov 24, 2016 8:01 am

Eschano. Congratulations!

What I found with breastfeeding was that my hunger levels dramatically reduced at around 6 months when the bab(ies - there have been 3!) started on solids as well. Almost every time a milk feed got dropped, I found I was proportionately less ravenous!

So, i'm just wanting to say, listen to your body, and if there are days when you need a bit more food in the earlier months, then have it, and just make it a deliberate extra meal. And then after a time you will know for sure 4 meals is sufficient, and then 3. Life with a baby is exhausting enough, so make sure you follow an NoS structure in a way that is realistic for the first year :D

Well done! and keep going!
I'm looking to lose about 12lbs...
31.09: 65.7kg/144.8lbs, BMI-25.7!
14.10: 64.9kg/143lbs, BMI - 25.4!

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Post by eschano » Thu Nov 24, 2016 12:04 pm

Thank you worthit, I'm surprisingly fine despite my little baby girl still waking every 1 1/2hrs at night. I was going to wait with NoS until she sleeps through but it might never happen ha! I have an alert one with all the advantages and disadvantages that brings.

Modbod, that is great advice, thank you so much! I will certainly follow it.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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Post by lpearlmom » Fri Nov 25, 2016 5:32 am

Looks like you're doing great eschano! I know it's tough getting back into the swing of things but good for you for sticking it out.

My oldest daughter didn't sleep much! It was tough but I remember my mom promising me she'd eventually sleep through the night & she did/does. Sounds like you're holding up okay though.
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

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Post by eschano » Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:13 pm

oh that is good to hear Linda!

I'm definitely in the NoS honeymoon phase
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Post by Sinnie » Fri Nov 25, 2016 7:48 pm

Hey Eschano! Congrats!!! I, too, am on maternity leave with my baby girls :) This time around I'm only partially breastfeeding, but I exclusively did it with my first daughter, and had no problem NoSing at the same time (well, dealt with the usual habit/willpower problems I've always had). Honour your own body - you will know what feels right or doesn't. I didn't have a ravenous appetite either time, that's just my body, but if I did I would certainly follow it. Dieting did not affect my supply either time. I just found it waaay easier than normal to lose weight. Enjoy this amazing time :-D

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Post by Imogen Morley » Sun Nov 27, 2016 8:56 pm

Terrific to see you here again, and congratulations on your little one! I'm due in February, and so very much looking forward to reading your updates.
I know that's not the best moment to ask you for a lengthy piece of advice, but I'd be grateful if you could spare some of your invaluable free time to shortly share how your pregnancy progressed and if you kept to NoS principles. That's something I'm currently struggling with (even posted a thread on the general forum), and hearing about your experience would clarify so much for me. No pressure, though!

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Post by eschano » Tue Nov 29, 2016 10:13 am

Hi Sinnie, thanks so much! That is brilliant to hear.

Of course Imogen and congrats! So I felt very sick at the beginning and went off NoS - I had three weeks when all I could stomach were a couple of boiled new potatoes. I was 4 1/2 months in when the sickness started to ease but I didn't go back on NoS and made up for all the food I missed out on in the coming months. I still worked 11hrs/day including my commute and some evenings up until I was 8 1/2months pregnant and food was often far from healthy but the last month when I was on maternity leave (baby was very overdue) I was very healthy and kept active with long walks.

Post birth the only thing that kept me awake some days was sugar or carbs so didn't go back on NoS. I am blessed with an incredibly alert and smart baby who ha immense FOMO and fights sleep as hard as possible and at 4 months still wakes every 1 1/2 hrs (and yes I considered sugar to be the culprit but cutting it out for a month at month 2 made no difference and me miserable). But I'm ready for NoS now.

All in all it was a very lucky and easy pregnancy and birth but I am not a good example of someone who stuck to NoS.

Let me know if there is anything else that you would like to know!

Oh, maybe that I gained 15kg and had a 4kg little daughter and including her weight lost 8kg in the first week post-birth straight away just with fluids etc and lost a bit more but went up again. So am now 8kg from where I want to be.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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Post by eschano » Tue Nov 29, 2016 10:17 am

Mon 28th - Sday - first time dh and I went to lunch without the little one who was with the grandparents. three courses but no extra exceptions that day

Tues - 29th

Wed - 30th

Thurs - 1st

Fri - 2nd
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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Post by Imogen Morley » Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:12 pm

Thanks for sharing. I think my post-birth experience will be quite similar to yours - I get terrible sugar cravings when I'm sleep deprived, so it's entirely possible that my weight will go up in the postpartum period. So far, 7 months in, I've gained about half of the recommended 25 pounds, and everybody (besides my OB, thank goodness!) keeps telling me I should eat more. I have zero cravings and just pretty much stick to vanilla No S. That's why I was so curious if you kept up with it. Again, thanks for taking the time to respond!

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Post by eschano » Thu Dec 29, 2016 3:12 pm

Oh wow Imogen, good for you!

Oh dear, I majorly fell off the wagon ha! My husband was off and we had a stay-cation, then my mum visited and than it was Christmas. So after a long period of mega-reds I had greens yesterday and the day before, ha!

So Tuesday, 27th - Green
Wednesday, 28th - Green
Thursday, 29th - Green
Friday 30th - Green
Sat - S day
Sun - S day

And I will join the Jan challenge if there is one.
Last edited by eschano on Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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Post by lpearlmom » Fri Dec 30, 2016 3:47 am

Great to see you still plugging along!

Hope your staycation was fun.

How's the baby??
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

eschano
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Post by eschano » Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:45 am

Thank you Linda!

I had a mixed week last week with two green and two red days. Hoping for better today!

The baby is lovely but still waking 5-8 times a night. I read every sleep guru book under the sun but as I am not into letting her cry it out it seems that it is what it is for now, ha! But she is a delight during the day and learning new things every day which is great.

So January so far:

1st - S day
2nd - S day (bank holiday in UK)
3rd - Green
4th - Green
5th - Red - visited a friend and had a slice of still-warm fresh cake
6th- Red - all out red
7th - S day
8th - S day
9th - Green
10th - Green
11th - Green
12th - Green
13th - Green
14th - S day
15th - S day
16th - Green
17th - Green
18th - Green
19th - Green
20th - Red - Pecan Pie
21st - S day
22nd - S day
23rd - Green
24th - Green
25th -
26th -
27th -
28th - S day
29th - S day
30th -
31st -
Last edited by eschano on Wed Jan 25, 2017 3:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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Post by lpearlmom » Mon Jan 09, 2017 3:10 pm

Oh my *hugs* you sound just like me. My first daughter was a difficult sleeper too. I also read everything nothing worked and yeah crying it out just felt cruel.

One thing I wish I did differently was to read less and trust my instincts more. She will sleep through the night one day I promise (my daughter now sleeps till 11a some mornings on non school days!)

Hang in there.

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

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Post by ironchef » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:51 am

eschano! Congratulations on your daughter! Wow, 15 weeks, so little. They really are the sweetest things.

I'm not here much anymore, so sorry I'm late to reply.

My son (first child) was a terrible sleeper for the first year, but got better around 1 and then by 18 months slept like a dream, and still does now at 4.5 (except for a few months when he broke his leg, but that's different). It's such bl**dy hard work in the middle of it, but it does get better and you don't HAVE to do anything to "make" them sleep that any expert or book tells you to do - you are the Mummy, and you are the expert on your baby.

Also, I made all the same so-called "mistakes" with my second baby that I made with the first, and she just slept much better. She's 19 months now, and just gone back to sleeping through after a month of weird waking and crying. Sometimes it really is just the baby :)

I breast fed both mine exclusively to 6 months, and then introduced solids, but continued breast feeding as well until about 17 months with ironbay. Once I went back to work (around the 1 year mark), I cut back to just one feed at bedtime and one on waking, to avoid having to express in the middle of the day at work. Squiggle is just in the process of dropping her last feed now - I'm going with "don't offer / don't refuse".

So, how did I go No S ing? I didn't worry too much for the first few months, because establishing good supply and a good feeding relationship was my top priority. After that, I went super slow, and one step at a time. So, firstly I dropped sweets on weekdays. Then I stopped snacking overnight, so after night feeds I just had a drink of milk or water and went back to bed (hahaha, or back to pacing and patting!). Then I tried to do more meal based eating, and then eventually got back to 3 meals (probably around 6 months old or more).

It sounds like you're doing really well, so my only No S advice is: don't rush yourself and pat yourself on the back a lot. 15 weeks seems like a lot, but it is just a tiny snippet of time. Just a few short months ago you made a PERSON! Your body is still recovering and replenishing its nutrient stores after doing that. I've seen research that stores of iron, calcium, Vit D etc can take up to 18 months to reset. Also, you are making food for a PERSON! Wow!

Congrats again and best wishes,
ic

eschano
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Post by eschano » Mon Jan 16, 2017 10:13 pm

Thank you so much Linda and ironchef. It is so good to hear that they will sleep one day and to trust my instincts! Brilliant to hear about your experiences, in fact actually invaluable.

Apologies for the late reply we just found. House we really want so are rushing to put ours on the market which means tons of things to sort out on top of the baby.
I actually had a green week with vanilla + one mini meal last week. Being busy helps tremendously.
Yay! I'll try to catch up more but it might be a while until I can contribute more here. Love to all NoSers!
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

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Post by Skelton » Thu Feb 09, 2017 2:27 pm

Hello eschano, just popping in to say I hope the house move is going well and huge Congrats on your baby girl!
"We stop looking for the better diet and start looking for a better life." pangelsue

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