The Power of HabitCal

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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BigE
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:05 pm
Location: Denver

The Power of HabitCal

Post by BigE » Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:08 am

Today was the first time in a several weeks that I've been tempted on an N day to Snack on Sweets. I was feeling very stressed and grumpy and I REALLY wanted to eat the rest of my daughter's chocolate chip cookie. The only thing that prevented me from doing so was the thought of marking today as a RED day. It's amazing to think that this little online calendar makes such a difference in my behavior. It's not like I have any sort of punishment if it's a red day. And HabitCal is basically anonymous b/c I don't use my real name or even know if anyone else is looking at it besides me.

I guess I just won't question it. For whatever reason, HabitCal keeps me on track, after at least a year of trying to control my sweets and secret snacking.

P.S. I think SECRET eating is one of the S words.

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bluebunny27
Posts: 831
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:07 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:38 am

Good work, Big.

I like the HabitCal a lot too, been using it since early february on a daily basis. I regret now not having this tool in the first few months of my weight loss journey (although I was still rock n' rollin' of course, but it would have made it easier to monitor the degree of compliance to my habits instead of just playing the guessing game)

You can even post a picture of your habitcal if you fancy the idea, this way you know it'll be even more public. ;-)

Here's mine, I update the picture regularly on my daily check in and the monthly challenge thread of course (I usually plan 3-4-5 days in advance too, a tweak I am using, sometimes I change a color depending on what really happened)

...

Green square = monastic lifestyle. I Followed my diet closely. Trained hard for 51-65 minutes.

Yellow square = pretty good day, I ate a bit more than I would on a green day, nothing excessive though. Exercised hard but only for 32-40 minutes.

Red square, I was BAD - - Overeating excessively. No exercise. I have long streaks where I exercise for 15-20-25-30 days in a row sometimes ... no red squares, crazy ! My longest streak is 32-33 days in a row without a red, something like that.

..

Image

...

To post a picture, upload it to a free service, I use
tinypic.com copy and paste in your message the IMG code to your image the tinypic.com site provides and then uncheck the box below the place where you write your message on the boards here, where it says : "disable bbc code in this post" ... it should be displayed.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

Disclaimer : I am following a more extreme version of the 'No-S' diet.
I made my own personal modifications to the original plan (Diet & Exercise)
What I am doing should not be misinterpreted as being a typical 'No-S' diet experience.
11/01/2008 : 280.0 pounds
07/22/2009 : 202.8 pounds
( 8 months 22 days / -77.2 pounds )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goal : 11/01/2009 : 190.0 pounds ( 1 year / -90.0 pounds )

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reinhard
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Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
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Post by reinhard » Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:43 pm

I'm glad you guys feel this way too!

What I like about it is that it's so clear, and yet it's not really punitive.

Virtue really can be it's own sufficient, reward, and vice it's own sufficient, punishment -- as long as you clearly know when you've been one or the other.

It's like a very calm but firm parent who clearly lets you know what's right and wrong but doesn't scream or "lose it." (wish I could always be as calm and firm a parent to my kids! Wonder if I can replace myself with a daddycal? :-))

Except you're ALSO the parent when you tick the habitcal. Whether you have red or green to report, it feels "empowering" to honestly, without any compulsion, render this "justice" on yourself.

Reinhard

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