Gareth's Daily check-in

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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British Chap
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Gareth's Daily check-in

Post by British Chap » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:33 pm

Began NoS's on Wednesday 15th November

Day 1 : Success

Had to sit the whole evening at my church prayer group in my own house staring at a plate of cookies. The prayer helped, let me tell you. Normally I'd have been through 50%+ of the packet. Weighed in Friday morning at 15st. 9 lbs. That's 219 pounds, 99.4kg's in new money.

Began SG Thursday morning (very gently - I have the back of a 70 year old aged just 36 -woe is me) , trying to work out how to get UR going.

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Post by British Chap » Fri Nov 17, 2006 5:35 am

Day 2 :Sucess

I'd appreciate a quick check on something becasue I don't think I fully understood some of the boundaries of NoS when I started.

Inititally I understood 'No Seconds' to mean no second helpings of any particular food during a meal. What I'm realising from reading other threads is that it actually means 'Single Course' or 'Single plate' at each meal. e.g It's NOT OK to have a full plate of Lasagne and green salad and then to follow that with a dessert replacement of oatcakes, apple and a slice of cheese - becasue that's 2 plates. In England - that's not what we'd call 'seconds' but it is a second plate of food which is actually what I think Reinhard is getting at. Am I getting this right? I don't want to be anal - just want to be clear on boundaries. Anyway - it seems to me that 'single plate' will certainly help you control calorific intake but also has the greater benefit of making sure that everything that goes on that plate is good quality.

Secondly - I've notice a few folks getting worried about having a glass of wine with their meal. For my money wine or a glass of beer falls within the NoS's rules i.e. it's not sugar-based - am I missing something here too?

Either way today was a success because I went for the 'hard' option on both of the above - just to be sure.

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Post by British Chap » Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:03 pm

Day 3 : SUCCESS
Day 4: SUCCESS - Hard day - on the road with clients from 5:30am - 8pm with a buffet lunch in the middle. Virtual plating skills required but hung on in there despite an afternoon of sitting in front on an un-eaten buffet. Those potato chips were screaming out 'Snack, snack, snack,snack...' Drank a LOT of water.

Got the SG in each morning so far and added a 45 minute UR to work - the car's at home in the drive. Won't be able to do that everyday but I will where I can.

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Post by British Chap » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:34 am

Day 5 : SUCCESS

1 week in. I feel really positive - I'm not sure I've exerted this much will power and self control before!

We had friends round last night and it wasn't an S-day but after a good meal resisting nibbles and chocs wasn't a big deal at all.

UR'd 2 x 45 minutes to and from work yesterday too - but need the car today for business. :(

It's SG time now....

G

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Post by British Chap » Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:32 am

Day 6 : SUCCESS

Weight: 15st 5 lb - so 4lb/1.7kg lower than last week.

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Post by This path is my life » Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:38 am

Great job British Chap!! Keep going strong!!
"There is no such thing as a bad choice, there is only the next choice"

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Post by British Chap » Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:58 am

Thank you Jenn - it's good to have your support and encouragement!

I've just realised that I forgot to count my 2 S-days at the weekend, so actually I'm a week and 2 days in which makes Thursday

Day 9 : SUCCESS

No Thanksgiving to contend with yesterday - just a normal day, but I hope everyone in the US had a great time with their Families yesterday.

G

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Post by British Chap » Sat Nov 25, 2006 10:34 am

Day 10: S-Day. I've conciously traded Saturday for this because we were at Freinds for dinner. So there was a small starter and a small dessert of polenta cake and fruit - but hey - it was an S-Day, so who cares?

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Post by British Chap » Sun Nov 26, 2006 4:45 pm

Day 11 : Success

See previous day - swapped days.

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Post by British Chap » Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:05 am

Day 12 : S-Day (Sunday)
Day 13 : SUCCESS This is in large because I'm on a training course with Cakes at breaks, sweets on the tables and Lard sandwiches on the buffet at lunch. Doing some 'extreme' mental strength workouts here! Same tomorrow - wish me luck. :shock:

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Post by david » Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:19 pm

Good record so far. Keep it up!

--david

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Post by British Chap » Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:39 am

Day 14 : Success

Same as Day 13. Just about to complete my first 2 weeks of SG with the garden shovel - promised myself that if I kept it going for 2 weeks without ruining my back I'd move up to the 10-pounder. Now for the real stuff.

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Post by British Chap » Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:27 am

Wah Hay! Woo Hoo - surely now I can't fail. My NoS Large Mug has just arrived - sits in front of me all day. Lovely merchandise Reinhard - highly recommended. Shame that mean old Customs decided to charge duty on the entry to the UK. :cry:

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Post by British Chap » Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:36 am

Day 15: Success

Two weeks in. Now 15st. 3lb - or 213lbs - another two (1kg) down on last week. SG'd every weekday but no opportunitiy for quality UR this week, so I'm pleased that some of the blubber has continued to disappear. I'm pretty sure that some muscle is replacing lard too - maybe a pound here or there.

At the moment it's getting easier - but reading other threads, I'm not complacent.

Gareth

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Post by mrs.cummings » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:16 pm

Congratulations on your progress! And you're almost to 21 days... 1 more week!!

BTW, what is UR?

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Post by British Chap » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:20 pm

Thanks!

UR is Urban Ranger - walking whenever possible.

Today, Day 16, was a Success

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Post by mrs.cummings » Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:20 pm

Ah, Urban Ranger... I should have figured that out. Thanks for the lesson. :) And congrats on another success!

jesslyn

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Post by British Chap » Sat Dec 02, 2006 7:53 am

Day 17 : Success

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Post by zoolina » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:39 pm

Hi British Chap!

You're such an inspiration. Way to go!!

Zoolina

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Dec 02, 2006 3:41 pm

Cheers British Chap!
I'm just reading your thread for the first time, so sorry for coming in so late in your progress, but I just wanted to congratulate you on your NoS journey so far! Seems like you are doing wonderfully!!!
Amazing how NoS helps to bolster your willpower and helps one self esteem!
Glad to hear you are also getting results!
Good for you! :wink:
Enjoy your weekend!
Peace and Love,
8) Deb
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Post by British Chap » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:41 am

Deb & Zoolina - thanks for your encouragement - it's much appreciated.

Days 18 & 19 were S-Days - so no issues there.

I had some interesteng learning yesterday - I was a bit of a bloater and overindulged with some chocolate - probably no more than I would have done before I started - but it seemed like a lot in the context of the last 2 weeks.

Firstly it made my head spin - by blood sugar was all over the place. Secondly it was deeply unsatisfying - I felt quite unsettled and disappointed with myself afterwards.

It will be interesting to see if I have to fight any residual craving today having disrupted my habit pattern. Right now, I don't feel remotely tempted because my body is telling me I get a bigger sense of wellbeing out of not eating the chocolate than from the fix of eating it.

Gareth

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Post by British Chap » Tue Dec 05, 2006 6:41 am

Day 20 - goodness me, time has passed so quickly - it's kind of crept up on me. : SUCCESS

Wasn't a tough as I thought - I got back into the groove quite easliy. Last night's plate as a bit full for no particular reason - I'll need to keep an eye on that and ask myself better quality questions whilst I'm plating up.

Gareth

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Post by British Chap » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:13 am

DAY 21 : SUCCESS!!!!! Woo Hoo! :P

Well, I don't know what it is about this eating approach that works but it's worked so far.

Even though I've not had a "failure" day, I'm resetting my counter to 1. I just don't feel as motivated by doing 42 on a string as getting up to 21 days again. Maybe I'm just whierd.

I know that Reinhard suggests only reporting failures from here on in, but I'm going to keep reporting - because even if no-one reads them it helps to keep me accountable and motivated.

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Post by British Chap » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:21 am

Day 1 : SUCCESS.

It's my weekly weigh in - 15st. (210lbs), down 3lb on last week and 9lb over the last 3 weeks. I'm very happy with this. In reality I know I've lost more unuseful weight than this because my muscle mass has definitely increased (or maybe I can just see it better under all the blubber :lol: )


My 12lb Shugger arrived on Monday and the extra weight has got my muscles working harder - I'm starving so I'm starting to gnaw the table between meals - still it's something worth sticking to becasue I'm enjoing my meals so much more and I'm also far more concious of the quality of their content. Don't get me wrong - I love junk food and take-aways - but it's a treat every few weeks.

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Post by reinhard » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:29 pm

Congratulations! And on your first go!

You should post to the 21 day club thread. It's been a while since we've seen any action over there.

Don't worry about switching to negative tracking. The traffic light is great as long as you don't get sick of it. You'll know it's time to switch when and if that happens.

Reinhard

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Post by mrs.cummings » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:57 pm

Hey... Congratulations, Gareth, on hitting 21!

At the moment it seems like I'll never get to 10, let alone 21. But seeing your success makes it easier for me to think I can make it. Congratulations again, mate!

Jesslyn

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Post by British Chap » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:03 am

Day 2 : SUCCESS

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:50 pm

Fantastic news on all fronts Gareth! :D
You must feel great!!
Have a terrific weekend and enjoy your S days!
Peace and Love,
8) Deb
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Post by mrs.cummings » Sat Dec 16, 2006 6:19 pm

Hey Gareth,
How are you doing since joining the illustrious 21 day club?

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Post by gettnbusy » Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:23 pm

Just poppin in to check on ya! Should I shout WOOHOO?!?!?!?!
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~

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