Skelton's Daily Check-In 2013

[Skelton]

I'm restarting No S and although I'm not sure what format my Daily Check-In thread will evolve into, I wanted to make a start by posting today. I suspect my thread will turn into a journal, and that will be helpful to me, having my thoughts and experiences noted here.

I started No S back in the summer (2012), and it was truly a revelation for the few days I followed it. However, I slipped up and No S fell by the wayside. What caused me to slip up was the lure of a regular diet and quick weight loss. I was going on a cruise in December and wanted to lose weight, so I started to do what I call a regular diet. From experience I KNOW that 'going on a diet' is the best way for me to binge more and gain more weight, and yet over and over I fall for the marketing and hype and give diets one more try. I've done them all and never have managed to stick to one for more than about a week. But that Caribbean cruise holiday was calling to me and I decided to lose some weight on WW before the cruise, then planned to start No S after the cruise.
So needless to say, I didn't stick to WW or any diet, and I actually gained a couple more pounds. If I'd stayed with No S I truly believe that I would by now have more sanity around food, and may have lost a little weight. But as I said, the promise of quick weight loss pulled me in yet again.

Anyway, here I am. My weight is the highest ever, at 213. I've just got back from my holiday, so that weight may be a little skewed and it's possible I may actually gain a little more as the holiday food settles on my body. My doctor would like me to weigh around 120-130, but I'll be happy with 160. But actually I don't want weight loss to be my main focus here. I want to be sane and moderate around food. I've tried every diet, every eating plan from IE to OA.

There are various tools I plan to use alongside of No S. The first one is that I'm going to work through the Beck Diet workbook, although I'll be ignoring sections about calorie counting etc etc. The more I focus on diet and weight loss, the more likely I am to overeat. Another tool is my FitBit. Can't find it at the moment but will hunt for it and set it up, and my first goal will be to take 7000 steps a day. I also plan to walk for 20-30 minutes every day, either outside if the weather is ok, or at home on my treadmill or doing my Leslie Sansone DVD walk. And the scale will be a tool also. In the past I've avoided it. I'm going to do daily weighing and take my weight over a period of 7 days to work out an average weight for that period. This will show either a losing or gaining trend, but I won't get fixated on just one bad reading.

I did my grocery shop this morning and it was liberating. No wandering round looking for nice desserts, or snack foods. Just the basics. 3 meals a day, no snacks, no sweets, no seconds. I have already planned a dessert for this Saturday, but I will need to go out and shop for it. No overstocking the house any longer. And I spent quite a bit less than usual also - about £20 less.

Today has been straightforward.
My breakfast was a slice of quiche from the freezer - crustless because I was supposedly doing low carb before I went on my cruise.
Lunch, I had a cheese salad sandwich and a bit more salad added to the plate.
Dinner was a quite big amount but only on one plate and not piled high either. I had what I'd have eaten for my Christmas Day lunch if I'd been at home, so it was roast turkey, roast potatoes, some mashed potato, brussels sprouts and some stuffing. Yummy!
And then after I'd eaten it, the kitchen was closed. No prowling around for more food during the evening.

From past experience, in these early days I know that I have to avoid:

Counting calories
Restricting any food group - ie carbs
Reading about dieting
Reading Paleo blogs
Tweaking No S - I have to do Vanilla No S at least for the first few weeks
Doing any of the above is likely to sabotage me at first. Maybe I can evolve my own No S and bring in Mods later, but not yet.

In short, it's very simple. I just have to eat 3 meals a day, no snacks, no seconds, no sweets, except on days beginning with 'S'. Sometimes

I have a birthday coming up soon, so I just checked the calendar ready to add an extra 'S' day as appropriate. No dice - my birthday falls on a Sunday this year

I had a day off work today, tomorrow it's back to work after a lengthy break.

So
Day 1 - 8 January 2013 - SUCCESS

[eschano]

From past experience, in these early days I know that I have to avoid:

Counting calories
Restricting any food group - ie carbs
Reading about dieting
Reading Paleo blogs
Tweaking No S - I have to do Vanilla No S at least for the first few weeks
Doing any of the above is likely to sabotage me at first. Maybe I can evolve my own No S and bring in Mods later, but not yet.

In short, it's very simple. I just have to eat 3 meals a day, no snacks, no seconds, no sweets, except on days beginning with 'S'. Sometimes

Hi Skeleton,
That plan sounds great! And I think it's fantastic that you had this experience this summer with yet another diet. Now you can read this first post whenever you feel like weavering and it will remind you of how sane and healthy NoS is. Off to a good start!

[Skelton]

Thanks eschano! I did have a brief thought about dieting after seeing a friend discussing her latest diet online, but I stopped that thought track when it started!

Ok so today went well. No obsessing about food, or carbs, or constantly opening the fridge looking for something to eat. I'm clear headed and feeling good.

Food today

Breakfast - I ate it very late so just had a bowl of cornflakes. This doesn't usually fill me up for long but I knew it was ok today as I only had about 3 hours to go till lunch.
Lunch- a jacket potato with salad and cheese.
Dinner - same as last night. Enough turkey left for tomorrow lunch time. My dinner plate was full again, but I didn't go back for seconds or overfill the plate.

Work went ok today, but I have been rather tired, still a bit jet lagged.

Went out for a short walk before lunch, about 20 minutes.

Day 2 - Success

[Skelton]

Im just checking in because I'm struggling a bit today. It's lunchtime and I have about 40 minutes to wait until my lunch is ready to eat and in the meantime I don't want to be tempted to eat anything else.
I'm not sure if I'm hungry, or if it's cravings, or bored, or perhaps I'm just thirsty. I'm drinking a glass of chilled water as I type. I do NOT want to give into this urge to eat.
Edited to add - or maybe my poor body is in total shock at only getting 3 meals a day after constant eating all day long for the past year or so!

[snapdragon]

I am going through the Beck book myself.....later they talk about response cards, they are priceless! They will help you through your boredom/ want to eat RIGHT NOW moments.

[Skelton]

I am going through the Beck book myself.....later they talk about response cards, they are priceless! They will help you through your boredom/ want to eat RIGHT NOW moments.

Thanks snapdragon, I do need to get working through the book! I did eat some chocolate yesterday, so I have to register the day as a fail, but I didn't lose control and eat tons of it like I normally would, so that's good.

I couldn't get back online last night to update :
Day 3 - Fail -
But it wasn't a HUGE fail

Today has been much better :

Breakast - bowl of cornflakes
Lunch - cheese wrap with salad
Dinner - some steak pie, petit pois and chips

It's been a rather disjointed day, I've been unable to settle into work or anything much. This morning I went for a routine blood pressure check with the nurse and it's still too high. I have to see my GP in the next two weeks and no doubt will be given meds to reduce it.

I'll be glad for my S day tomorrow.

Day 4 -SUCCESS

[snapdragon]

Another thing in the Beck book is to "give yourself credit" I think not going crazy with the chocolate is worth celebrating!

Have a great weekend!

[Skelton]

Another thing in the Beck book is to "give yourself credit" I think not going crazy with the chocolate is worth celebrating!

Have a great weekend!

Hi snapdragon. I appreciate you pointing that out! It's so easy for us to be very hard on ourselves regarding our food. I picked up the book again yesterday evening and saw that part about give ourselves credit. So from now on I will be trying to recognise the times when I deserve credit, and "credit moi"

[Skelton]

My weekend update.

Saturday was an S day and I chose to stick to my 3 meals with no seconds but I did have some sweets in the evening.

Sunday also an S day. I was out of the house all day in an environment which would normally be an excuse for an all day binge. For lunch, I chose mulligatawny soup to start, then a tradtional roast beef Sunday lunch main course. It was a very cold day and the starter and main course were just what I wanted to beat the cold. Interested to note that I didn't clear my bowl or plate with either course. Normally my diet mentality would have me eating everything that was put in front of me, clearing the plates. But I tried to eat slowly and realised I didn't need to clear the plate, especially as I was having 3 courses. When it came to the pudding course the dessert choices didn't grab me. I have a very sweet tooth so that's extremely unusual. So I had cheese instead, and again I'd say I just had a moderate portion by choice.
I also had a couple of glasses of wine with the meal.
At the end of the meal I felt satisfied, not deprived and not over stuffed. All good
Breakfast - quite late, about 9.30am, a small bowl of cornflakes
Lunch - Mulligatawny soup, roast beef, veg, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, cheese and biscuits
Dinner - roast chicken breast, garlic mushrooms, mashed potato.

It was a good weekend and I'm feeling positive this morning.

Days 5 and 6 - S Days -

[Skelton]

Didn't get back online yesterday.

Day 7 SUCCESS

It's lunchtime right now where I am and I don't have a good feeling about today...I'm feeling cravings building up. I'm not sure what they're about but I do have to go to the shops soon and it's going to be hard to not give in to them. I was reading a book the other day that pointed out that actually,, we don't have to give in to a craving, we can just ride it out. I agree with that but today they're very strong cravings and I feel weak...maybe I should delcare it a S day right now and have done? I don't know.

[Jonas Jonasson]

Hi there,
Did you manage alright?
Had the absolute same situation and was on my way to the shops when Kindergarten rang and I had to collect child2. Since I had something to do/no time to eat I sort of manage to sail around this. The price was a really big but hopefully compliant lunch. Stay strong, if possible. And if you have given it declare a failure but not an S day (who am I to give advice just felt like it, sorry)

[Skelton]

Hi there,
Did you manage alright?
Had the absolute same situation and was on my way to the shops when Kindergarten rang and I had to collect child2. Since I had something to do/no time to eat I sort of manage to sail around this. The price was a really big but hopefully compliant lunch. Stay strong, if possible. And if you have given it declare a failure but not an S day (who am I to give advice just felt like it, sorry)

Hello Jonas. Thanks for saying hello
Yes, I did get through the day ok. You're right, it would have been a mistake to turn it into an S day just because I wanted sweets, and so I thank you for your advice giving

Day 8 SUCCESS

[Skelton]

Yesterday was such a messed up day, and I'm afraid it ended up a Fail.

I had a work meeting in the morning that had been scheduled to last one hour. Well it turned out to be a FIVE HOUR meeting. We didn't break for lunch, so when it was over by 3pm I was : thirsty, very hungry, and very stressed because I still had a lot of work to complete that days. Anyway I grabbed a couple of pizza slices for a late lunch to eat as I worked.

Then at 4pm I got a call asking me very persuasively if I could stand in at an evening event for a coworker who'd gone home sick. I had hardly any time to get ready, so by the time I arrived at the event I was famished and stress levels were through the roof. It was a 5 course meal of which I ate 3 courses, including dessert

What did I learn? Well, I learned that feeling stressed still makes me want to eat and I'm not sure I'll ever get past that, even though I'm trying to find alternative ways to deal with stress. I also learned that even at a big dinner event, a person doesn't actually have to clear their plate at each course. Nobody batted an eyelid when I skipped two courses last night, and even if they had, I'd have told them I simpy wasn't feeling that hungry. However, I am a bit irritated about yesterday because I feel that things beyond my control led to it being a Fail Day. I own it entirely when I make a conscious decision to overeat and make poor choices, but it's hard for me when I feel I don't have control. That's something else for me to work with regard to food.

Day 9 FAIL

[r.jean]

There will always be things beyond your control, but you will learn to handle them better than you did before No S. You actually did pretty well from the sounds of it. The 2 courses probably were within the boundaries of a virtual dinner plate so your only fail was the dessert. Not bad.

[Jonas Jonasson]

I'd say feeling stressed and being famished at the same time makes you want to eat - but this sounds pretty normal to me. And the way you handled it was just great. Anything else would have been super human.

[Skelton]

I'm still here. I've been away since Thursday evening and must admit that I decided to give myself S days during the trip. So I had 4 S days. But really, I didn't go crazy with my eating, I just had a couple of snacks and sweets, not vast amounts of food or out of control eating. And this is where I need to focus because I am absolutely feeling a shift in how I feel about food.
That's down to the freedom of No S. Nothing is banned, no food stuff makes me feel guilty on No S. I just have to delay my urge to eat sweets or snack or have seconds until the weekend.
Feeling better about food than I have for many months.

Oh yes, before I forget, I am definitely learning that at this stage if it's not an S day I can't have sweets in the house. I saw two bars of my favourite chocolate on sale and bought them intending to save them for the weekend, but I ate one of them last night when I got home. If it hadn't been here in the house I wouldn't have eaten it. Actually I didn't even want it that much - it was simply there and kind of nudging me to eat it.
So for now, maybe for many months, maybe for a year, or maybe forever, I have to remember not to stock up on sweets and just get smaller amounts only on the weekend.

[Skelton]

Gosh this 'daily' check in is turning into a 2 weekly check in
I read the board nearly every day, but I keep forgetting to update on my own thread. I am a naturally disorganised person so I keep a list of regular routine tasks to do each evening, must add this one to it.

Am going ok. Had a bad few days there a while back, overwhelming cravings that I couldn't seem to deal with.

Anyway, I'm still here, still plodding away, determined to nail this.

[MJ7910]

i think the hard thing is not getting lured in by calorie counting. i used my fitness pal for a while and i got so used to calorie counting. yet i know what gets me off track is the unplanned treat. as soon as i do that, i go over my "calories" so there is no reason to track calories if i stick to the three meals a day. i think deep down we know what is a "reasonable" meal so we know we won't have to count calories if we are truly reasonable . having done this fitness pal think since August 2011 on and off, i know what is a good meal. i can probably even tell you if i really try what number of calories i ate. but the reason i have to not do that is because if i think i could have had more calories that day, i'll try to sneak something else in there which is not the point at all! if i have 5 days of lower calories, that way if i go over saturday or sunday it all comes out even, right! that is my rationalization. it is hard to get back into this noS thing but I know it's really the only thing that's sustainable. i don't want to be a full time calorie accountant. the level of stress i get when i can't get near a computer to count calories, that is not right![/list]

[Skelton]

I

However, I slipped up and No S fell by the wayside. What caused me to slip up was the lure of a regular diet and quick weight loss. I was going on a cruise in December and wanted to lose weight, so I started to do what I call a regular diet. From experience I KNOW that 'going on a diet' is the best way for me to binge more and gain more weight, and yet over and over I fall for the marketing and hype and give diets one more try. I've done them all and never have managed to stick to one for more than about a week. But that Caribbean cruise holiday was calling to me and I decided to lose some weight on WW before the cruise, then planned to start No S after the cruise.
So needless to say, I didn't stick to WW or any diet, and I actually gained a couple more pounds. If I'd stayed with No S I truly believe that I would by now have more sanity around food, and may have lost a little weight. But as I said, the promise of quick weight loss pulled me in yet again.

Yes, I've not been around.
Yes, I allowed the SAME THING TO HAPPEN AGAIN
Will I learn this time? Will I NOT fall for the lure of stupid diets?
I've gained back the weight I'd lost doing No S, right back to the starting weight I noted in my first post in the thread. Because the dieting led me to further food obsession and further binge eating. Just like last time.
I'm mad at myself but need to get past this.

Earlier this week I went through my wardrobes and gave away a lot of the too small clothes to charity. I admit I didn't give all of them away, the ones I'm saving 'for when I'm slim again'. But it was a big step to even give some of them away. I realised that I had a pair of jeans, two sizes smaller than I am now and unworn, with the tags still on, that have been in my wardrobe waiting 'for me to be slim again' for NEARLY TEN YEARS!
So getting rid of a lot of stuff that doesn't fit was a big step for me.
The second thing I've done is actually bought some NICE, NEW trousers, in my CURRENT size. Yes, clothes that actually fit without me having to hold in my stomach all the time I'm wearing them or without strangling me round the thighs.

This is important to me psychologically, because I'm telling my brain that I need to accept that fast weight loss isn't going to happen. I've been reluctant to buy nice clothes in my current size because 'I'm going to lose weight fast on that amazing new diet I just read about'...

I know myself well enough to know that for me, dieting just leads to binge eating. It's guaranteed. Happens every time. I WILL lose on No S, but my focus has to be on finding sanity around food,not weight loss.

I know the 'diety' thoughts will return sooner or later. I know I'll be tempted again to 'try just one more time'.
What I MUST do when that happens is come here, read the first post here on my thread, and ask for help on the General board. I KNOW diets dont work for me - so why do I keep being tempted to try another one?

Sorry my post is a tad 'shouty', I needed to get all of this off my chest

[Skelton]

i think the hard thing is not getting lured in by calorie counting. i used my fitness pal for a while and i got so used to calorie counting. yet i know what gets me off track is the unplanned treat. as soon as i do that, i go over my "calories" so there is no reason to track calories if i stick to the three meals a day. i think deep down we know what is a "reasonable" meal so we know we won't have to count calories if we are truly reasonable . having done this fitness pal think since August 2011 on and off, i know what is a good meal. i can probably even tell you if i really try what number of calories i ate. but the reason i have to not do that is because if i think i could have had more calories that day, i'll try to sneak something else in there which is not the point at all! if i have 5 days of lower calories, that way if i go over saturday or sunday it all comes out even, right! that is my rationalization. it is hard to get back into this noS thing but I know it's really the only thing that's sustainable. i don't want to be a full time calorie accountant. the level of stress i get when i can't get near a computer to count calories, that is not right![/list]

MJ, thanks for your post. I hadn't seen it until now.
As you'll see from my update, I fell into the dieting trap again.
I absolutely agree that No S is the only thing that's really sustainable, but it's so easy after all these years of trying to diet and falling for the marketing hype about diets for - wow - 35 years I still keeping on falling for it!

[Amy3010]

If it's any consolation, I can relate 100% to everything you wrote in your rant (even down to finally admitting that I needed to buy two pairs of trousers in a size that was comfortable because nothing else fit!). Every day I have that mental debate with myself about sticking with No-S and embracing the slow and steady sanity, rather than getting sucked into the insanity of quick weight loss diets... but I know, deep down, there is no other way around it.

So...hang in there...you are not alone!

[MJ7910]

You can do it this time. I tried this once and went back to the insanity of counting. Its so nice to have good habits and not have to worry about tracking stuff!

[Skelton]

Thank you so much, Amy and MJ.

Yesterday went ok. Wasn't strictly a green for success day, because I had to split my lunch into two servings. Had a hospital appointment in the afternoon so I had half my lunch at 11.30 am and the other half when I got back home, ravenous, at 5pm. Then I had dinner at 7.30pm.

Anyway today is my official restart - 1st March. It's also easier for me psychologically to start No S on a Friday - because the S days are so close. Hmm perhaps that's cheating ? Well anyway, I didn't want to get into the diet mindset of 'starting on Monday', so I'm starting on a Friday.

[Skelton]

Friday went fine, yesterday was an S day and I was out for corporate business during the afternoon. I didn't overdo it, but I did enjoy my S day.

Today, however is very interesting. It's an S day, and because of this, I've allowed myself to snack. Here's the thing - I've been in and out of the fridge all day long. I'm not even hungry. But snacking just because I can. This to me is clear proof why the discipline of the No S Diet is so great. Most of the time we know that we can only have our 3 meals a day. And we manage fine on those three. But tell me it's ok to snack and I'll have my 3 meals PLUS loads of snacks. Food that I just don't need.
After having my head in the trough all day today, I'm a bit concerned about getting back onto an N day tomorrow

[Amy3010]

I know what you mean. But I think the longer you do this, the more the habits during the week start to take over on the weekend. I simply kept to my N-day structure today and I feel much happier this evening.

[Skelton]

I know what you mean. But I think the longer you do this, the more the habits during the week start to take over on the weekend. I simply kept to my N-day structure today and I feel much happier this evening.

I hope so Amy! I didn't even want the food, it was just a case of 'well I can have it because it's Sunday'! How crazy does that sound?

[SpiritSong]

Skelton, I had one of those S-Day "I'm not even hungry" snacks yesterday. The good news was that I realized I was just having it because I could, so it wasn't mindless. I think it helped reinforce for me just WHY I am not allowed snacks during the week.

I have found what helps me is because I can't have snacks during the week, we have a lot less snack food in the house. So when my S-Days come along, I don't have the chips and dip calling my name, if you know what I mean.

[MJ7910]

i find that i do this on Sdays too. it's a bit of rebelliousness... the feeling of "i know i can have this so i will" even though i'm not hungry. i hope it does get better and i know that it does. trying to not beat myself up about it is very important! i am trying to examine my thought process as i am doing this. it helps to do that.

[Skelton]

Guys, I did it again. Decided I needed some fast weight loss and looked around for diet plans. Exactly the same as happened before. I felt deprived, I started to overeat and the overeating turned into a sugar binge every afternoon for almost a month.
Fortunately I've only regained the weight that I'd lost on No S, no more.

So I'm back again. This is insane. I KNOW that No S is the only rational way but I just get tempted to 'try one more diet'.

I started on Friday last week, knowing I've only got one day before my S days is easier on me psychologically, especially after I've been bingeing a lot. I did fine on my S days too. Ate some chocolate and some cookies, but not to excess. And I enjoyed my meals too.

[Skelton]

I just wanted to check in. I read the boards most days but don't post much.

So it's time to check in with an update since it's been almost a couple of months since my last one.

I'm still doing a few days of No S then a few days of a diet then back to No S.
I believe in No S but there's still that pull of wanting immediate weight loss.
My logical voice tells me dieting doesn't work for me and never has - I've been doing it for 35 years and all it's resulted in is weight gain and more binges.
So I know all this about dieting, but there's still that attraction of losing 7lbs in a week (which I know I'd regain!). The desire to diet is almost as strong as the desire to binge. It's like an addiction that I'm finding hard to break, even though I know all the arguments against it.

So I believe in No S, it's sustainable for life. I'm back to it. I also haven't been bingeing as much since I last posted. I still binge frequently, but the amounts are less, therefore to me that's not bingeing as much.

I was away last weekend, as it was the May Bank Holiday weekend and we had lovely weather (not something we see very often in Northern England!). I realised that I ate fully No S compliant, even though I was away for two S days I didn't feel the need to snack at all. I ate 3 square meals, and had dessert on Saturday evening. And I felt satisfied by my food.
That's one thing I very much like about No S - it works very well indeed on the road, whereas other types of diets just don't. I often have to do quite a bit of travelling and every other diet I've ever tried is extremely difficult. But with No S it's easy to stay on the plan even when eating out or on long plane journeys etc.

Food today

B - 1 boiled egg, handful of strawberries.

L- roast chicken and feta salad

D- not sure yet

I have some of my favourite chocolate to eat later. I just found myself hungry after a too small breakfast and searched around for a snack and can't actually find any of my favourite snack foods in my house. Which is a good thing actually, although frustrating not to have them here on an S Day!

[oolala53]

If you haven't already, might want to read this last post again.