Everyday Systems

oolala53

Once again, you can't plan in the future what you will eat on S days until you've lived many weeks of N days. You say you come here to learn and then you tell us that WE are missing the point of S days? Dude! Hey, I'm just sayin'! Please stay. I'm trying to be nice. from Ch. 5 on S days: "Yes, you c...

oolala53

Perhaps I should ask this on Urban Ranger, but does anyone know of any walking programs that a person can listen to on a CD player or something while walking? I went to the site for WATP but everything looked like it was meant for using at home.

oolala53

Just want to weigh in on seeing how hard this might be for you. I was doing great until I went away for a 5-day Zen intensive and had all vegetarian food. It was delicious, but I had my first failures after that and my weekends are still a mess, but better last Sunday and today. I don't think food s...

oolala53

I think you are going to enjoy this process here. Welcome back. I'm not at the point at which I think I've got this down, but I'm 4 months into mostly green N days. It took me 14 months to come around. I learned a lot at WW years ago, too, and many of my meals are similar to ones I ate there. I was ...

oolala53

What is it like for you doing a 24-hour fast? I find that I'm often not very hungry in the early morning and think I can do it. Then I start getting very hungry, maybe about 11, and think why should I not eat when I'm hungry? Do you find you can divert yourself when you're hungry? I somehow can do t...

oolala53

Friday, 5/7 Failure, but I felt like it was a success. I did eat a few sweets in the afternoon. I was thinking that I would just go have a blow out binge. I'm susceptible to that on Fridays anyway. I went to my regular discount market, bought cookies and chocolate and was even unwrapping it in the p...

oolala53

Please don't be offended, but there are no promises that this is going to be easy. Just easier, in the long run, than traditional dieting. The National Weight Loss Registry says that most people had failed multiple times before being successful. It also reports that relapse is less likely the longer...

oolala53

There are some long posts here; I admit I didn't read them all through. I was just bursting to jump in. I may be repeating what you've heard. Don't judge how your body will react. Experience it. Reinhard says to give the program 3 weeks of strict adherence. I say give 6. If you have to deviate , say...

oolala53

Interesting. The majority of people here are in their fifties, as I am. Personally, I think it is because younger people haven't worn out trying traditional dieting. Though we have a few blessed folks here who are absolute diet newbies, the majority are those who just can't stand the thought of the ...

oolala53

Huh. Two failure days in a row, both of them after dinner. First one, i know I felt I didn't have enough starch on my plate at dinner, but I felt full after eating. However, the urge to snack was very strong later and I ended up giving in. Also I bought a type of no-sugar crunchy cereal that I've de...

oolala53

I've been falling down! Not to make your thread about me, but I have to get back to saying I'm someone who doesn't eat after dinner. I lost my car keys yesterday and had to pay 44 bucks to get home from work. It was on top of a lot of stuff over a period of time. I ended up eating a bag of (no sugar...

oolala53

If people are interested, the site Physics Diet is free and allows you to input weight every day and see how it averages over time. This is what i think a previous poster meant by smoothing the data.

oolala53

Welcome, Prapad. Do whatever you can to try to get the gap between your lunch and evening meal to the point where you can wait to eat unless it is reasonable for you to basically pick at dinner. I think your body will respond after awhile. I know what you mean about all those years. But I'm glad I'm...

oolala53

Not sure what Graham meant, as No S has no official weight loss and maintenance phases. While it is true that there has to be a caloric deficit to lose weight, people can lose over a period of time hardly noticing the deficit. Some people may have noticed that they felt a desire to eat more at the b...

oolala53

I love cottage cheese with fruit and either walnuts or pecans. Also, cottage cheese with refried beans and some Indian spices thrown in. Cottage cheese with oatmeal and a couple of tablespoons each of nutritional yeast powder and Parmesan cheese. And I have used it with tuna ( and mustard) because I...

oolala53

I can't claim to have it be completely easy yet, but it was for awhile. I think I've seen what might be causing me trouble now, and it's with after dinner eating. I've had a habit even before No S of having about half my meal be vegetables. In order to fit everything on my dinner plate, including a ...

oolala53

Love to hear that someone else eats vegetables at breakfast. I don't all the time, but why not? We need 'em.

Have fun at Cinco de Mayo!

oolala53

Got pics? Before and during? Most weight losers regain all the weight or much of it in 2-5 years. The theory of slow loss is that the weight will stay off, usually because the participant has found a lifestyle he or she will continue. You'll have to keep up with us in another year and a half for the...

oolala53

Monday and Tuesday, May 3 and 4, wereSUCCESSES. I ate out Monday and feel I chose the right amount to eat, not getting too full, though there was food left. I used that as part of my lunch yesterday. I had a friend take pics of me for the contest on Monday night. It's a good thing I am older and wis...

oolala53

Amazon has a lot of choices and they're rated by customers.

oolala53

I think you're right, and a person might even go in and out of stages, but longevity makes a difference. For example, I still wouln't attempt to bake a batch of brownies on an N day. But I bet someday I could.

oolala53

Holy mackerel! I definitely get hungry. Some mornings I think I won't, but by eleven, I am really hungry, unless I'm a little sick. But, it's okay to eat, so it's okay to get hungry.

oolala53

I find with No S I am less likely to eat to try to make myself feel better when I feel sick, even though Reinhard says we should allow ourselves S days for sick days. Another way N days makes us smarter!

oolala53

Actually, I was saying that since No S, I have been able to keep sweets around. I had a jar of brownie and chocolate chip cookies around all last week but didn't have any until Saturday afternoon. I know it avoids so many problems just not to have any, not even a bite, during the week. I imagine som...

oolala53

One week is the blink of an eye in overeating time. It will go and come, go and come. Face it down, or it will mostly come forever. For some people, this gets easy very quickly. That is a gift, not a given. Remember, the major reason people don't keep weight off is that they don't keep at their effo...

oolala53

You can have beverages between meals. You might stop and get a V-8 or tomato juice on the way home or a small carton of milk, depending on how much sustenance you need. It might be too late for coffee. Decaf with milk? I keep some powdered miso soup packets at work and can make a cup of broth to sip...

oolala53

ditto Tanita. and I don't think you have to pay $100.

oolala53

Sorry you had to eat late, but it doesn't sound like you ate much.

Good luck with this week. I'm feeling confident about N days.

oolala53

Saturday was a wild S day. Sunday I actually ate 3 meals, although the first one was a waffle with syrup and cookie dough, and the third one had cookies in it. So, a lot of sugar, but I did eat meals with no snacking. Big improvement. Realized that my S days are not supporting my goal of recovering ...

oolala53

Went to a catered lunch. They ran out of salad; not a lot of time to eat (teacher) so I tucked into my food before waiting to see if they would bring more. Nowhere near filling my plate so I made a decision to have more chicken. I'm calling it a success because I had consciously left room for more o...

oolala53

I'm not sure about specific nutrition science, but if you want to see some scientists backing up the notion of not snacking because of hormonal advantages to 5-6 hours between meals, see any writers on leptin. Of course, they won't recommend S days, but they are not experts in habit.

oolala53

Just think how wonderful you will feel when you accomplish one of the hardest things you have ever done! And you're not alone. In our culture, apparently it's one of the hardest things more than 50% of the population now hasn't done.

Keep your eyes on the prize: freedom from the clutches of food!

oolala53

DISCLAIMER: ARM CHAIR PSYCHOLOGY BEING PRACTICED HERE. DO NOT USE IN PLACE OF PROFESSIONAL HELP. With the greatest tenderness I say that I'm afraid you eat from more emotions than just boredom as evidenced in your post. A 2-hour dinner? Being around people for too long? I think that is not just bore...

oolala53

I know I read of that recommended weight in a book long before Mindless Eating. I can't remember who the author was, but he was saying he was telling the real truth on what made permanent change likely. He also said people should do resistance exercise with very heavy weight only once a week; that i...

oolala53

It's not ideal to decide last minute to make a day an S day, but you have to do that or call it a failure. Reinhard sounds like he never had a big problem with assigning that term to his actions, even for small mistakes. It can be hard for those of us who feel that we've failed so much. However, whe...

oolala53

Although weight loss is not supposed to be our goal, I'm a little miffed at myself that I've been doing this 4 months and have been at a weight loss stand still for 2.5 of them. I'm allowing myself the goal of wearing a certain dress to my students' graduation on June 4. I can actually zip the dress...

oolala53

Meant to add that I've been noticing how much my ability to go the distance between meals depends on having the right things to eat, or so it seems. I've seen this week that if I forget my piece of fruit or the fat at lunch, I get so hungry that I end up eating an hour earlier for dinner. I've somet...

oolala53

You have good motivation. You know you've got to find a way to live, not to diet. Welcome to sanity. I've found that for N days, it doesn't even matter to me what my reasons were for eating outside of mealtime. I just don't do it. I know that for S days, those other reasons are still coming into pla...

oolala53

Wed. 4/28 success

oolala53

Forgot to say that Reinhard says the plan allows for two declared S days a month. This may slow the weight loss but may increase the chance for long-term compliance.

oolala53

4/27 Tuesday failure I thought I had made it, but actually even when I ate dinner, it didn't seem like enough. I think I'm getting too caught up in eating small portions of dense foods. About an hour and a half after dinner, I felt emtpy. Not sure why I ddin't try milk first, but I didn't I had a sm...

oolala53

I made a decision to declare an S day sort of last minute a couple of times, but I doubt I would do it again until I've been at this a few more months. Even then, most people plan ahead for non-weekend S days, knowing a birthday or other special occasion is coming up. In that situation, if I was ver...

oolala53

I'm not sure that I think your idea of wanting to eat vegetables, milk, and whole grains is so weird or faddish. It's just that it's a little early to be worrying about it. No one can predict if your natural hunger is going to match the amount you need to eat in order to lose weight. As I'm sure you...

oolala53

You did scare me. Bravo about your new thought regime. The culture doesn't make it easy, but it's certainly the saner attitude. I made an affirmation for myself years ago (which didn't work, by the way, at the time, but it was a good idea): May I be free of the tyranny of thinness. I think I've post...

oolala53

I hear ya. If you are willing to look at the other side, even the health claims are controversial. However, as I've gotten older, and my waistline has increased out of proportion, I've thought I might not want to push it. I fought even the vanity reason for a long time, too, indignant that I should ...

oolala53

It must be a great feeling. This helps my resovle. Thanks for posting!

oolala53

Not sure why you're considering trying to cut calories. You certainly can't eliminate all concentrated forms of calories. However, if you realize you're eating "heavier" than you want to, cut where you will. I'd say cut other fats first before walnuts, since we get so few omega-3's in our diets, but...

oolala53

Welcome, Royce! I admire your reasonable goals. Hope you have as much fun on this journey as a lot of us are.

oolala53

I forgot that what some might call a "modification" that I do on No S has contributed to a ball park of calories for each meal that I know has led to weight loss for me. This I already did even before No S. My servings of meat and starch add up in volume to half of my meal. The rest of it is in less...

oolala53

made it through Friday, 4/23. It was a bit worriesome because I'd been toying with the idea of making Friday and Sat. S days. I might in the future if I ever have someone consistently to socialize with on Fridays. I knew it would turn into me permasnacking on the couch. The tug of desire was there, ...

oolala53

I guess I was confused because since we eat only 3 meals a day, we won't be eating carbs or anything else within two hours of a meal. If you have to eat 4x a day, I see how you could get affected.

oolala53

mistake removed

oolala53

I'm so impressed. Baking on an N day! Not a tightrope I'm willing to walk yet. Someday! I can't believe I can't even get 14 minutes of ANY activity in yet. I actually do have the time, as I spend more than that watching TV or even posting. Inertia! I like to think I'm gearing up. Keep up the good wo...

oolala53

Yes, we are fairly close. There was another woman I communicated with because I thought she lived here, but it turned out she was referring to being here on business only. I was thinking of starting a meetup for No S. I'm sure it would be too far for you, but maybe it would bring some locals out of ...

oolala53

4/22 Funny stuff. I was invited to an open house. When I reviewed the invitation and saw that it was a wine and cheese affair, I ate a very light dinner including some vegetables, thinking I'd have some cheese and crackers, too, as the place was very close by. Turned out there were only a couple of ...

oolala53

It is a convenience that our weekend days in the U.S. start with S. The real idea behind S days is that they are the days that are naturally more relaxed and likely to have reasons to have snack (hanging out with friends, for example) or have dessert (out for dinner on Sat. night-another example.) T...

oolala53

If you go back to the Everyday Systems Forum Index, you'll see that the daily check in section is just below this one. There individuals do just that, check in. Some are cryptic and others include quite a bit more detail on food, exercise, and more. You're welcome to browse, communicate with the par...

oolala53

Hey, give yourself credit! We were all that busy at one time, but still didn't come up with the term when we quit eating so much. A lot of people before Newton had things drop on their heads, but they didn't come up with the idea of gravity. For now, I've replaced my eating with reading weight loss ...

oolala53

I'm not sure we can ever know exactly why we eat when we shouldn't. Even if we did, I don't think we can always fix the problem we are trying to eat away. We do know that the urge and thoughts that drive it come from a chemical stimulus, though that's not Reinhard's focus. For the most part, the onl...

oolala53

I had a long post, but then realized it was mostly about me, me, me. I feel for ya re: red days. I am still a little scared because since I started having them, I feel a bit shakier. But there's no way to go but forward through the Fire Swamp. Everyone here is on your side through thick and thin, pa...

oolala53

starch: 1 c. oatmeal (non-instant) or 1 c. Fiber One or artisan whole wheat bread fruit: apple or equivalent in volume fat: a couple of tablespoons of walnuts or a T. peanut/almond butter protein: cottage cheese, egg whites or whole, protein powder If I leave out any of the components, I notice it. ...

oolala53

brilliant. Why didn't I think of that? I've certainly done it enough.

oolala53

I've had a good week. Successes every day since last Thurs.

oolala53

Oh, it didn't get there without some tweaking. I found I had to add more fat to meals for one thing. I didn't have much more room for food, but I felt I needed more calories. Fat takes up little room, but adds to satiety. I also include a lean protein component in almost all meals, even breakfast--e...

oolala53

I actually tend not to feel hungry soon after a workout. Maybe later, but I usually have meal within an hour or two anyway. Don't know why. Just my experience. For another perspective on exercise and not eating just before or afterwards, look up Brad Pilon, esp. on youtube. He's been building muscle...

oolala53

You may have to limit some things now, but you will be able to bake without sampling at some point. Do your best to make it easy on yourself until the habit becomes more natural.

oolala53

It's too bad it happened, but that seems like a relatively innocent mistake. At least you didn't try to talk yourself out it and then give in anyway. Sounds like it will be easy to stick to it next time, which might not be true if there had been more drama. When I fell off, I thought in terms of how...

oolala53

Nobody said calorie deficits don't cause weight loss. Nor did anyone say counting calories causes anorexia. I stand by my statement that a satisfying lifestyle is the real goal. I'm glad you've found your way to a body and life you're happy with.

oolala53

For your sake, I hope it works, but for mine, I hope it doesn't! Just not sure what I'd do without stevia. I've been using it most days since I started No s this time. N days, no problem. Maybe it's different when there's no other food? Or maybe it's the taste of sweet? or maybe it's just a coincide...

oolala53

I don't know whether to put Outwit Your Weight in this thread or the one No S is so much smarter than.... It attacks the problem from the side of changing a person's worst habits and gives many more suggestions for how to think about the problem at the times of urgency, but it just seems so complica...

oolala53

Barbara Rolls of Volumetrics reported that her research showed that people tend eat the same weight in food most days, so if people replace some of the denser foods they eat with less dense ones--fruits and veggies--they would take in fewer calories and lose weight. Paradoxically, the author of the ...

oolala53

I thought I had written about Anne Barone a long time ago. She lived in France as a young woman and lost 55 lbs. by adopting more French attitudes toward eating. Unlike some of the other more well-known similar authors, she also directs attention to attitudes about dressing, make up, home decor, and...

oolala53

I'd be likely to call sweetened cereals an S. Just the fact that you recognize that it's going to be a problem to do without them is significant. Tastes change over time. I guarantee that after a few months of eating non-sweet breakfasts, you won't believe you ever questioned that sweet cereals are ...

oolala53

I definitely meant for this to be a thread for complaining and getting help. I'm so glad to hear from people on the crazy S day issue. All the ideas are percolating. It might not be this weekend or next weekend but at some point, I'm going to get saner about this and it will come from all different ...

oolala53

Have you had your bodyfat determined? Although it is expensive, I highly recommend that you find a place that uses a machine you lie down on and let read your body for about 20 minutes. It is the new gold standard, but hard to find. Would you be willing to trade a weight number for a bodyfat %? it's...

oolala53

I'm almost 4 months in and feeling a bit discouraged over my S days. REading your post makes me realize I need to feel good over my N days. I'm impressed with your courage to stick to this so that now it's second nature. Keep up with us!

oolala53

Your post of your history and success brought tears to my eyes. Compulsive eating has been my only ED, but the thoughts of shame and obsession ruled my life for decades. In some ways, I wonder if all this reading and posting is part of it, but I've decided I need to be formal about pursuing No S for...

oolala53

Wowie! Very impressive! I am 5'6," 175 lbs. now. I'm amazed that you were able to lose 10 more pounds from your starting weight. I have been having such a hard time the last 5 years (have gone through menopause) that I was thinking it isn't likely I could get much below my highest normal weight, whi...

oolala53

I'm getting inspired reading these. don't want to stop the flow, but just hearing you makes me see my situation more objectively. I need to give it more time and incorporate exercise.

oolala53

cescadarling, you have hit gold here. Just BELIEVE in this, embrace it, surrender to it, and you will miss out on years and years of heartache, self-doubt, self-flagellation and possible weight gain while achieving the body you are most likely supposed to have. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I pr...

oolala53

specific topic: overeating on S days Thought perhaps we should have a general complaint thread, although everyone will be welcome to start their own thread. It just seems our problems are often similar and they get lost in the past pages of the board, so maybe we could keep them together and people ...

oolala53

If it's not too late: I almost always have had a meal before a movie or will be having one afterwards, so years ago, I stopped having anything at the movies unless I was legitimately hungry. I never miss food then as the experience is usually so compelling anyway. And it makes me a cheap date.

oolala53

Did you mean no carbs at all within 2 hours of sleeping?

this sounds interesting. I will check it out, though I don't have the health issue.

oolala53

I adored Geneen Roth for the longest time. Actually, I was also very envious because I was convinced I should have thought of and done all that she did. I don't know about your journey, but I do believe you don't have to get to the bottom of it all to get food in its place. For one thing, that well ...

oolala53

'Course , this is only one study, but it comes from a link at the National Weight Control Registry. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9665679?dopt=Abstract Who has the time to lose and gain, lose and gain? I did, apparently, for 40 years. Not out of the woods yet, but Slim Fast will not be with me ...

oolala53

There is nothing that says that we HAVE to stuff ourselves on S days or even do anything different than on N days. Reinhard said the slogan is supposed to include "and SOMETIMES on S days." It probably wouldn't be prudent to restrain your eating because you feel guilty. That sets it up that you can ...

oolala53

As others have said, all we are saying is give peace a chance. Peace being a metaphor for No S. I'm talking 6 months to a year, esp. if your S day S's are more than sometimes. Sounds like that will take too long? Think about it; what are the odds that you will find something that will have you weigh...

oolala53

re: stevia ban in Europe "The European Commission banned stevia when a study showed that steviol, a breakdown product from stevioside and rebaudiaside, may cause mutations in the presence of a liver extract of pre-treated rats. Unfortunately the researchers in the study appear to have mishandled dat...

oolala53

i saw on a previous thread that someone unthinkingly answered when offered a sweet, "No thanks, it's Tuesday."

oolala53

I have no doubt that housework done consistently would trump formal exercise done sporadically. Maybe instead of having a Habitcal for shovelglove, you could set the timer for 14 minutes and sweep, scrub, straighten briskly instead. Do it for a 21-day streak and see what happens. My biggest issue is...

oolala53

cowfishpro, welcome back. I fell off recently after a 13-week streak. I'm determined not to let it get too out of hand, as it did after my first 21 days back in the fall of 2008. I'm trying to remind myself that I don't have enough time left in my life to keep failing for another 40 years. Reading y...

oolala53

Wow, time flies. How's it going?
I've been re-reading a few of your posts. Now I want some Irish Mist. And I rarely drink!

oolala53

Have been struggling. Trying to think back now. Can't remember Monday, but I think it was a failure. Tues. 4/13 failure Wed. 4/14 failure Thurs. 4/15 success I've gone back to eating between lunch and dinner, darn it. That is my danger time. I'm committed today to making it. It got so bad, I was eve...

oolala53

Nichole, your MIL says that when SHE cooks? Actually, when I'm with close friends, I do, too, usually because I cook the meat, veggies, and grain very plainly and then add a commercial sauce that I feel makes the flavor, so I don't see myself as being able to take credit for it. However, friends are...

oolala53

I agree that I would not take it well if someone told me how he/she thought I should or shouldn't eat. Someone has to be ready to hear the message, and frankly, I believe it's irrelevant whether or not they have a weight problem. Now, if they whine about their weight, then it's different. Just like ...

oolala53

A hydrated crowd.

oolala53

Many people have had or are having your experience. You are not some strange, impossible case. Take it from a binge eater. There is a chemical basis for what you are feeling, but the cure is the same. No S. I'm not saying this to be cute. Going for 5-6 hours without food between meals and then eatin...

oolala53

Okay, if people/Reinhard think this is too nasty to use, I will understand but it has really helped me. I often remind myself that I am a big girl, all grown up and

if I can wait to pee, I can wait to eat.

oolala53

I agree with NoelFigart. There is no food that you will always be powerless over. You just haven't experienced exerting yourself over it enough times yet. N.'s suggestion is very good and doable. I say so because I've done it with bread and, miracle of miracles for most Mexican-food-eaters, chips an...

oolala53

Okay, I don't mean to be a downer, but let me give you my experience. I have been No S-ing since Jan. 1, and was sailing along with almost no problems. It was easy! I just wasn't getting the urges to eat or pig out that I used to. It was like magic. Just in the last 3 weeks, the urges to overeat hav...

Everyday Systems

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