Everyday Systems

Hello y'all.
I am keeping a daily journal with a food log, and inspirational ideas, motivations and other helpful tips to myself. While spending a substantial amount of time on this each day and still having only mediocre results with NoS Vanilla as of late, I am considering a change.
Would some of you be so kind and tell me how helpful and in what way the regular check-ins have been for you?
Do some of you keep up with journaling at the same time?
I am trying to get my focus and "thought energy" away from the food; maybe more-less regular check ins would work better for me. Any input is much appreciated.
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Heddi

I started off checking in every day, I find that the accountability helps and when I didn't check in or log for a while, I was having more and more red days.

I've recently switched to a weekly check in for some accountability and to record progress, but only providing a daily entry for a red day. I think it has a term... something about if you know you have to disclose a failure, that knowledge might help me make the decision not to fail!

milliem wrote:I started off checking in every day, I find that the accountability helps

I did exactly the same. I've never logged my food, as I got my fill of that on previous calorie counting diets. It also puts too much emphasis onto the food itself: is it "healthy", was it too much, etc. If it fits on a plate, I call it good and don't think about it until the next meal. The exception was for red days - I always document what made them red. I do keep track of colors in HabitCal.

I've recently switched to a weekly check in for some accountability and to record progress, but only providing a daily entry for a red day. I think it has a term... something about if you know you have to disclose a failure, that knowledge might help me make the decision not to fail!

Me too. With a small baby, I wasn't prepared to make time every day for posting (except right now when he's up and down all night so I get bored and post from my phone). It puts me off having a red day, partly from the hassle of having to document, and partly due to having to publicly acknowledge what I ate. It also really helps limit red day "damage". It's one thing to write "I had some marshmallows", it's quite another to say "after a couple of marshmallows, I went home and spent an hour face down in the pantry".

I do best if I check in on this site every day or two but I do not always post. Sometimes I just skim the "posts since your last visit" link. I was consistent with my habit cal too until recently. I hate logging anything so No S was the perfect choice for me.

Thank you for all your thoughtful suggestions, sharing from your personal experiences!

In my journal I have been logging loosely (:lol: ) the food items, sometimes the amount, never the calories. It has helped me in so far, as I can go back and see, for e.g., the number of meals over time, why I wouldn't lose weight, woke up the cookie monster, again, etc. I do enjoy the log but know that I need to wean myself off of it, but won't try to do something new before the holidays. The Dec challenge is all I can muster up right now.

I appreciate the time you took to answer my questions.
Love and a peaceable time for all of us
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H

Hi Heddi,

For me, the less thought I have to invest, the better. No S and associated habits are (becoming) just that for me - habits - things that govern my life in a more or less automatic fashion, so that I don't have to think about them.

As the father of a large and still young family, a full time career, volunteering, etc., I just don't have the mental cycles to spare. In previous (and failed) diets I've used journals, food logs, calorie-counting apps, measuring scales, measuring tapes, weight scales and accountability partners.

For me, the every-couple-of-days posting here on the daily board and reading through the successes of others is enough to help me build and maintain the habit. I wish you all the best as you find the right level of activity!