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.
Jump-starting old habits I once established but which have degraded. One daily habit at a time. Starting out, reestablishing No Sugar.
June 2017
S M T W T F S
-- -- -- - - - 26 27 28 29 30
June 17: no sugar
June 22: no food for rest of day after one plate of dinner
June 26: no snacks; no seconds
To reestablish: daily exercise
To reestablish: meals less than 1/2 carb-based
To reestablish: smaller plate/cup/bowl sizes
To reestablish: daily rosary
To reestablish: 50 pp reading/day minimum
To reestablish: 20 min/day internet maximum
Last edited by violet crown on Sun Jun 25, 2017 3:41 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Thanks! The last 2 years went really well, thanks to the humane sanity of no-S: I lost 35 lbs, putting me in a range my doctor is happy with; I ran a 10K with my oh-so-supportive husband as coach; I've been nicer to my kids; I've been more at peace. Then we hit some rocky family stuff and stress eating kicked in. Working now on dragging myself back onto the rails, physically, mentally, and spiritually. All is grace.
A green week of no sweets; three green days of no post-dinner eating. Now to extend that to no snacks.
("Reestablishing days" aren't days when I restart each habit--I'm working on all these goals -- they're the days when I commit to getting it done every day.)
