WINhappy's Check-in Thread

[WINhappy]

Thank you, Soprano and Maigret!

I did well yesterday too, so if I stay the course today, I'll have made my entire week green.

11/09/2025 - S Day
11/10/2025 - Green
11/11/2025 - Green
11/12/2025 - Green
11/13/2025 - Green
11/14/2025 - In Progress

[Soprano]

Go for it!

[WINhappy]

11/09/2025 - S Day
11/10/2025 - Green
11/11/2025 - Green
11/12/2025 - Green
11/13/2025 - Green
11/14/2025 - Green
11/15/2025 - S Day

Well, I did it. One full 5 day stretch of N days. I'm very pleased I was so disciplined. And yet..... wow, was it hard! I was SO hungry but I tried a few things this week that might have made staying disciplined a little bit easier.

First, I started drinking 1 liter of water between each meals AND started drinking it while I was still full from my meal. I've never been one to mistake thirst for hunger or misread my hunger cues. I KNOW when I'm stomach-growling hungry and drinking water after I've already reached the point of physical hunger does nothing to help. But it seems like if I start drinking water while I'm still feeling really physically satisfied/happy from my last meal, the water helps keep the hunger at bay for longer than usual. This sounds very weird and I'm almost embarrassed to write it but it's like the water on top of food reminds my stomach/brain that I've had plenty to eat. Whereas water alone on an empty stomach just reminds my stomach that it really prefers to be filled with food and "right NOW, if you please".

Second, I chewed sugarless gum between meals. I'd sort of forgotten this option but purchased a pack of sugarless spearmint gum at the grocery store on impulse last weekend. I don't know why, but I think it helped me.

Third, I rescheduled my workouts to right before my meals. My struggle with No S to date has been feeling so hungry between meals and caving in the final hour or so before my meals. The period between lunch and dinner is the hardest. So, this past week, I shifted my workouts to right before dinner (I fully recognize my luck in having the flexibility to do this). Doing so kept my attention healthfully occupied for the last hour or so before my meal. My meal then became a well-earned reward for my hard work, AND I got to relax and do whatever I wanted for the rest of the day—no stress or pressure because I “still need to workout”.

I really believe that if I can stick with No S consistently, I can make some progress. I'm hoping that what worked for me last week will work for me this week too.

Wishing everyone all the best! WIN

[Soprano]

Well done on your green week.

It's great when you can find a way to make it work for you.

Here's to week 2

Jx

[Amy3010]

Congratulations! A fully green week - well done! It sounds like you came up with some great strategies that really helped you achieve it.

[Maigret]

Job well done! Nice work with observations and advance planning.

[WINhappy]

Thanks so much for the encouragement, all! I really appreciate you taking the time to offer your support.

Yesterday was green. I drank my water, chewed my gum, thoroughly enjoyed my 3 meals, and did OK. I shortened my workout yesterday to just the bare minimum because, frankly, I didn't want to do anything at all. Working out just felt like yet one more burden/drag/obligation/"should" To Do in my day and I was NOT feeling it. If you know what I mean.

Today, has been "so far, so good" and I'm determined to keep going. In order of increasing difficulty so far, the Ss are: No Seconds, No Sweets, and No Snacking. None of them are anywhere close to habitual yet, with No Snacking feeling the hardest by a very long, deep, wide margin. But I REALLY like eating real, normal meals with my family stress-free, so will continue to reinforce that benefit in my imagination between meals.

Best wishes to everyone! WIN

11/16/2025 - S Day
11/17/2025 - Green
11/18/2025 - In progress

[Maigret]

Sounds like you're on a roll! Two thumbs up to "real, normal meals with my family." Eating alone (snacking) is kissing cousins to drinking alone, I sometimes think; risky un-tethering from the social aspect.

[WINhappy]

Interesting observation, Maigret.

11/16/2025 - S Day
11/17/2025 - Green
11/18/2025 - Green
11/19/2025 - Green
11/20/2025 - In progress

I have only two more days to go before I can declare this week a success and I'm determined to make it. I'm still having to put a lot of mental energy and fortitude towards not snacking between meals, especially between lunch and dinner. Drinking water after meals and before I get hungry and chewing gum seem to help me stay on track.

Yesterday, I tried something else that I think helped me. I made myself a hot cocoa around 3:00 PM (just a spoonful of unsweetened baking cocoa and a little bit of unsweetened soy milk—no sugar or artificial sweetener). Instead of using a regular coffee mug, I poured it into one of my double-walled, insulated travel mugs. This mug keeps my hot beverages hot for hours and is so effective that I can only sip a little bit off the top at a time. So, drinking my single cup of plain, unsweetened hot cocoa took more than 2 1/2 hours. It was just enough of a taste to look forward to that it kept me from snacking. I'm going to try this again today.

I hope everyone has a great day! WIN

[WINhappy]

11/16/2025 - S Day
11/17/2025 - Green
11/18/2025 - Green
11/19/2025 - Green
11/20/2025 - Green
11/21/2025 - Green
11/22/2025 - S Day

Three techniques really helped me this week:
1. Starting to drink water while I was still full from my meal (as opposed to waiting until I felt hungry to start),
2. Chewing sugar-free gum, and
3. Putting my plain hot cocoa into an insulated travel mug so it stayed hot for several hours.

That said, when I woke up last night at 11:58 PM with my stomach audibly growling, I clock-watched until it was officially Saturday then enjoyed a midnight snack of raisin bran. Clearly, three meals a day with no seconds, sweets, or (especially) snacks is not yet effortless. But I feel good about my efforts this week. I will enjoy my weekend and then get right back on track on Monday.

I hope everyone is doing well! WIN

[pinkhippie]

Hi Win!

Sounds like you are really figuring things out!

I do not have a workout issue but I still have the between lunch and dinner issue you mentioned. I kind of have a routine because I know I am not hungry, its jut habitual wanting to snack. So I have a decaf coffee with oat milk and sip on that for the afternoon. When Im done with my coffee I chew gum for a little bit and then I typically have an apple before dinner if Im really hungry. And yes water! Water really makes a difference. Sometimes if I eat and I think I want more food, I will drink more water and realize I was already full. Much like you said.

Keep up the good work!

[Soprano]

Congrats Win you are really getting in the groove, enjoy your weekend

Jx

[WINhappy]

Thank you both!

Yesterday was really tough. I almost snacked many times yesterday but didn't. Strangely, what stopped me is how difficult strict, vanilla No S has felt so far (especially no snacking). I'm excruciatingly aware of all the tasty snacks and sweets I didn't eat over the last few weeks. If I give up, then all that effort will go to waste and I could have just been enjoying myself all this time.

I sometimes read old discussion board posts and I'm struck with how many people posted how they found No S so eeeeeasy after a few days. I've not experienced that sense of ease yet (grumble, grumble, gripe, complain.....). I really, really hope I'll get there in time.

Today is a new day. All I have to do is make it to lunch without snacking. I'll worry about the next chunk of time (lunch to dinner) in due course.

Have a great day, everyone! WIN

11/23/2025 - S Day
11/24/2025 - Green
11/25/2025 - In progress

[Soprano]

Interesting the point you make about could have been enjoying myself all this time.

Did you really enjoy the snacking, did it make you feel good, what did you eat? Was it good nourishing food, if so have it at your next meal.
Was it faux food that probably damaged your health and caused weight gain. If so why would you enjoy doing that to yourself!!

Rephrase your thoughts, might make it easier

Jx

[WINhappy]

Those are great suggestions, Soprano, thank you for providing them. I really should have read them sooner.

Yesterday was a total crash-and-burn day.

I basically did everything wrong, including:
- Ate lunch way too early (finished by 11:15 AM),
- Ate a lunch I didn't even like because it was socially convenient,
- Ate too little for lunch (related to previous error),
- Failed to drink water,
- Failed to chew gum,
- Failed to make myself a nice, unsweetened hot beverage to tide me over and give me something to look forward to between lunch and dinner,
- Unpacked groceries after lunch and thus reminded myself that my pantry contained a bag of popcorn (need I say it? I love popcorn),
- Worked out too hard and too early in the interval between lunch and dinner,
- Worried too much about overeating on Thursday (Thanksgiving holiday for us Americans),
- Got annoyed about a work challenge and stewed about it,
- Got annoyed about a home repair challenge and stewed about it,
- Watched and read too much news.

I could probably make the list longer if I tried but you get the point. I caved around 3:30 PM with a big bowl of popcorn and 6 individual Dove dark chocolate squares, then ate a granola bar before bed.

On the plus side, I turned down after-dinner sweets and stopped rummaging through my memory for a "better diet" to switch to.

I'm shooting for green today, as I don't want one red day to derail me completely. I just ate a bit more than I intended yesterday. Surely, that's a poor choice I can recover from.

Wishing all of you the very best! WIN

[Soprano]

You can definitely recover from it. The next meal is always an opportunity to get back on track. No new diet needed, there lies madness.

Jx

[WINhappy]

Thanks Soprano. I'm putting your comment on repeat as I need the encouragement today.

I kept last Wednesday green as planned and enjoyed my Thanksgiving. I didn't go crazy (crazy S days thankfully haven't been a problem for me so far) and got back on track on Friday (green). Monday was green but yesterday was red. I didn't focus on drinking my liter of water in between lunch and dinner, ended up "too hungry" (my standard whine when I start struggling with being hungry between meals), and ate a bowl of popcorn around 3:00 PM (and not the plain air-popped kind! ).

I plan to strict today and not quit. I'm successful when I focus on what actions I CAN take versus those that I WANT to take but can't. It's the difference between "I'm going to drink at least one liter of water between now and lunch" and "I'm so hungry, lunch is two and a half hours away, this is ridiculous, I'm so HUNGRY, a little snack won't hurt me, people snack all the time, what's the big deal, I can't do it, I don't have to do it, I WON'T do it—" and on and on and on.

Honestly, drinking water is a lot easier than swinging through THOSE kinds of thoughts for hours on end!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday and is doing well. All the best, WIN

11/23/2025 - S Day
11/24/2025 - Green
11/25/2025 - Red
11/26/2025 - Green
11/27/2025 - Thanksgiving S Day
11/28/2025 - Green
11/29/2025 - S Day

11/30/2025 - S Day
12/01/2025 - Green
12/02/2025 - Red
12/03/2025 - In Progress

[Soprano]

I don't want to complicate things for you but if you are really sooo hungry look at what you are eating and up protein and reduce carbs. Protein keeps you satisfied longer.

I also don't believe extreme hunger serves anyone well so if you have to cave, eat cheese or nuts, hard to overeat and more filling than popcorn!

Or at a push 80 to 90% dark chocolate

Jx

[WINhappy]

It seems that I am continually thanking you, Soprano, but.... thank you! That is an excellent suggestion and one that I've already started to work towards. I think it may be helping me in the afternoons!

Sunday, 11/30/2025 - S Day
Monday, 12/01/2025 - Green
Tuesday, 12/02/2025 - Red
Wednesday, 12/03/2025 - Green
Thursday, 12/04/2025 - Green
Friday, 12/05/2025 - Green
Saturday, 12/06/2025 - Green

Sunday, 12/07/2025 - In progress

I decided to make Saturday a regular N day, which I know is risky and not at all recommended. But I was feeling good and felt no huge pull to snack between lunch and dinner (Soprano, you might be a total genius!). I found myself daydreaming pleasantly about how pleased I'd feel if I finished the week with only two non-green days. Even if Tuesday's red day was a spontaneous fail, it wasn't a huge fail—and certainly still less overall than I would have eaten without the structure of No S. At the time, Tuesday's red day felt like a necessity; yesterday's S Day didn't. So I enjoyed the experience of a strangely easy N day while I had the chance, even if the calendar said I could have anything I wanted.

I'm not going to push S days to become N days—that way lies disaster. So far today (Sunday) has been without snacks, sweets, or second helpings as well, but more by accident than design. I'm not freaking out about keeping it that way. However, tomorrow remains an official N day; my focus is on keeping tomorrow green.

I would like to thank Reinhard once again for creating this diet, for writing such a terrific, helpful book, and for maintaining this site (all help me so much!). And thank you once again to everyone for all the support. I hope everyone is doing well!

All the best, WIN

[Soprano]

I'm really pleased I could help.

And go you, you are doing amazing. Hold on to those feelings of satisfaction they are well deserved.

Remember this is for life, it has to be livable and slightly flexible at times. As long as you are getting the results you want, that's all that matters.

Jx

[WINhappy]

Hi Soprano and friends!

Fair warning: This post references other diets and approaches to weight management. I don't want to derail or offend anyone, or otherwise upset anyone's equilibrium so if you're vulnerable to this topic, please don't read further. Also, please forgive the following rambling vent—I've had quite a day.

So, I did end up having a standard S day yesterday. I was feeling good for most of the day but ultimately decided to have a little bit of dessert after dinner. I feel pleased with my weekend, especially as I am full-on focused on sticking to proper N Days this week. I just think the S day relieved some of the mental pressure and tension I could feel building as I thought about this upcoming week and my determination to keep N days green.

Which leads me to today. Over the years, I've amassed a collection of diet books. None of them worked (or at least, I couldn't work their plans long enough to see sustainable progress). Who knows why I've kept them for so long but I tell you this. They all—every last one of them—have been sitting rent-free on my bookshelf mocking me for (I'm not kidding) years. More importantly, they whisper in my ear, tempting me away from No S with alluring promises.

Especially the intuitive/hunger-directed/mindful eating ones.

Make no mistake, I think intuitive eating is tremendously helpful to many people and a wonderful, supportive approach. However, none of the well-written and caring books on the topic did ANYTHING to help me keep my weight under control over the years. I'm not an emotional eater (thankfully). My two big, big issues are that I am painfully aware of my hunger signals and have always been a big eater. I have NO PROBLEM recognizing when I'm hungry and then eating. I was 100% on board with the idea of "eating whenever you feel hungry", as well as the direction to "eat what you really want". I tell you what, that's RIGHT in my wheelhouse.

I failed with intuitive eating (or whatever you want to call it) because it stressed me out too much with the whole "stop before you feel full" guideline. I found this approach to be tremendously demanding from a mental and emotional standpoint every time I tried it (and I've tried many times over the years). I felt continually deprived, frustrated, and stressed every single meal. Even worse, I felt those feelings about six times every single day because that's how often "meals" happened when I "ate when I was hungry".

My point is, none of the diet books sitting on my bookshelf ever even prevented me from gaining about three gradual pounds every year, never mind helped me actually lose any weight.

Which brings me to this afternoon.

I'm not sure exactly what triggered it but I went a little scorched earth in my library this afternoon. I went in for a reference book, saw my shelf of diet books out of the corner of my eye, and lost my last shred of patience with those books. I just snapped. I dragged every last one of those stupid, unhelpful, frustrating books off the shelf, gathered them into one gigantic pile, hefted the entire stack in my arms, walked them straight out the door, and dumped them all into the trash bin. In a snowstorm.

Maybe I should have donated them, perhaps I could have sold them. But honestly, I'm so happy I just trashed them. Trashing them was easier and right now, I need something (anything!) in my life to feel easier.

I'm working so hard on No S. I love the structure, how easy it is to gauge whether I'm following the plan or not, and especially how inconspicuous the approach is. I can succeed on No S and actually enjoy and participate in life while I'm doing it. Plus, it's actually helping me, even as inconsistent as I've been. Those books and all other diets simply distract me and divert my energy and attention away from what I really want to accomplish.

I'm challenged enough by "no snacks" right now; I'm SO DONE with anything that makes sticking to No S harder.

If you've read this far, thanks so much for letting me rant and rave.

I hope everyone is doing well! All the best, WIN

Sunday, 12/07/2025 - S Day
Monday, 12/08/2025 - In progress, but green so far and plan to keep it that way.

[Soprano]

I hear you re intuitive eating. The best thing I took away from it was the eat what you really want.

When I sat down and really tasted food I realised that I actually didn't like a lot of the so called treat foods.

Like you I struggled with stopping eating, I was never sure how satisfied I was. It was a real mental struggle

Jx