Everyday Systems

wosnes

I've noticed some of this language here and even the man whose dietary pattern I've pretty much adopted as my own said "Mexican food is my sin." What follows is from Chic & Slim by Anne Barone. It preceded French Women Don't Get Fat : Blame it on the Puritans. If you wonder why the French, the most ...

wosnes

Queenmom -- it might not be such a good idea to wait until you're hungry to eat breakfast. More important to build the habit of eating a good breakfast every morning -- at about the same time daily if you can.

wosnes

So my question is, will this diet work for me? SNACKINGâ€”I donâ€™t do that much heavy snacking. I eat, say, a banana or a few peanuts or a low-fat mozzarella sting cheese stick for a snack (2 snacks a day). There ARE times, however, where I go overboard and eat more snacks than I should. Or that I...

wosnes

LOL! One day you are going to wake up on a Monday and be like "Omigod" I didn't have anything special for my S days! That happened once to me. I forgot to eat a sweet! I was devastated when I woke up that Monday morning! And secretly thrilled because that hadn't happened in decades. It really is on...

wosnes

Funny how much more pleasure from eating AND how much healthier I've gotten from switching from "health concious eating" to "eating like my great grandma". Maybe that is why she lived so long . . . and so well. We could all benefit from not only eating like great-grandma, but also moving like she d...

wosnes

Welcome aboard! Depending on what you weigh and how much you have to lose and how you've been eating as compared to having 3 sensible meals daily, your weight loss might be slower than you'd like. But the good news is that once you've reached your goal, you don't have to do anything differently. It'...

wosnes

Im2pt, you're right about a schedule. My biggest problem when I was working 3rd shift was getting to that schedule. I had a terrible time sleeping more than a couple of hours at a time during the day (and this was before marriage and children -- that probably would have made it even more difficult!)...

wosnes

I love this idea of HABITS! When did it go out of style? I think habits started to go out of style after WWII, but really became less of a force in the 60s and 70s as the food industry (including fast food joints) started to make us believe that it was okay to eat 24/7. Beyond that, they found that...

wosnes

New here and found this site because of Woman's World magazine. Could someone tell me what you disliked about the wording on the cover? I don't want to speak for Reinhard, but I think it was wording in the actual article, not so much on the cover. I noticed a few things that didn't seem to ring tru...

wosnes

Funny you should mention it, but YES. After only two weeks on no S, today I just hit my second set of S days and, despite my anticipation and longing for the premium ice cream I bought, I found that it didn't taste very good!! I ate less than a cup and I said to myself, "Uggh, that's plenty." And I...

wosnes

I've noticed it, too. The things I noticed it with were a brand-name granola and a vanilla yogurt. I kept looking for the artificial sweeteners in the ingredients list -- and there weren't any. They tasted absolutely awful.

wosnes

We could always go back to what Michael Pollan asks: Would your great-grandmother recognize the various flavored waters and vitamin drinks as something that should be consumed? If not, don't consume it. Great-grandmother (or someone's great-grandmother) would recognize water with lemon or lime or pr...

wosnes

I just heard the other day that the vitamin waters and such are really no better than Kool-Aid or various sweetened fruit punches. Better to leave them alone and drink water or other beverages.

If it has health claims on the package -- be wary.

wosnes

I used to work third shift and I hated it. I never knew when to sleep or eat or what to eat when I was hungry. "Is this breakfast time or is it dinner time?" I think the worst part of it is that third-shift workers typically don't keep that schedule of days off; they revert to a more "normal" schedu...

wosnes

Great cover photo and article!

wosnes

I'm becoming very wary of 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' foods. I've always liked No-S' justification-by-history, of returning to old patterns of eating. I got searching for the recipes used by our slim ancestors... http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=29230#29230 I had a hankering to go lookin...

wosnes

fkwan wrote:.I think he should add a final S: no food after Six or Seven O'Clock at Night. Eating late is one of my big downfalls.

I think that one is just another of the diet fallacies. There are reasons not to eat a big meal late, but there's no problem with a lighter meal.

wosnes

I was just listening to the Michael Pollan interview and he said something that I've heard before and makes sense: "Eat all the junk food you like -- as long as you make it yourself." Think about it -- if you had to make the French Fries or potato chips or Twinkies or cookies or cakes or whatever, y...

wosnes

This is a 4-part video interview/lecture. Each part is about 10 minutes long. Pretty interesting, but not "new" if you're familiar with Pollan.

http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eat ... cture.html

wosnes

Short term fluctuations in any system are rarely indicative of long term trends. This is a long term (tens of years, quite easily) eating plan, meaning that ten days is insufficient to form any useful opinion. I'd give it a bit more of a chance as is. Patience! I agree. Beyond that, I'd ditch the s...

wosnes

Short term fluctuations in any system are rarely indicative of long term trends. This is a long term (tens of years, quite easily) eating plan, meaning that ten days is insufficient to form any useful opinion. I'd give it a bit more of a chance as is. Patience! I agree. Beyond that, I'd ditch the s...

wosnes

I add honey, nuts (usually walnuts or almonds) and fresh or frozen berries to the Fage yogurt. I'm also a fan of yogurt mixed with granola.

My breakfasts vary quite a bit. Some days breakfast is very light (toast and fruit); some days more substantial.

wosnes

Most of our plates today are too large -- which is why men and women are having issues with weight. Dinner plates used to be 9-10 inches in diameter -- now 11-12 aren't uncommon. Cereal and soup bowls used to hold about a cup, maybe a little more. Now they hold 2-3 cups. If you put a suggested servi...

wosnes

I bought the book. I'm only on the second chapter, but it's interesting. WHICH MEDITERRANEAN DIET? Many nutritionists have urged us to mimic the traditional cultures observed to be at lower risk of heart disease and most types of cancer, compared with cheeseburger-and-fries eating Americans. The Asi...

wosnes

When you do what it takes to lose weight fast, the weight tends to come right back when you start eating "normally." Some things just take time. Sustained weight loss is one of them.

wosnes

Great interview!

wosnes

Or, make your own:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes ... 03,00.html

http://www.usaweekend.com/06_issues/060 ... smart.html

wosnes

Also, like you, I don't want to be thinking about food all day. One of the things I read in MWSST or some other book about the Mediterranean is that those folks often do think about food all day long: when they're eating breakfast, they think about what they'll have for lunch; when they're eating l...

wosnes

If you want to read "French Women Don't Get Fat" borrow it from the library. That's what I did. I did like the book, specifically for its descriptions of how the French approach food and how they revere it. But as a 'diet" book it was not anywhere near as effective as Reinhard's ideas. A few years ...

wosnes

I've read French Women Don't Get Fat as well as Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too and enjoyed them both. I read them both about the time I found No-S, and to me they all have much the same message. I think there's a lot of food for thought in the books, primarily about how we Americans think about ...

wosnes

Thanks!

Here's a link to the TIPS archive. The newsletter is free and comes out weekly on Sunday.

http://philiphumbert.com/TIPS/index.htm

wosnes

This is probably going to be contrary to what others say, but I truly don't understand this quest for perfection -- in anything, but most especially diet. What follows is from Philip Humbert's TIPS newsletter (italics mine): Perfection, Excellence and Good Enough There are two phrases that are widel...

wosnes

As my German piano teacher used to say to me, "Das iss not ass hard ass you are trying-g to make it. Relahx. Enjoy yourself." I can't believe how easy it is for most of us to over-think and complicate things. Just imagine how much fun life would be if we didn't do that! If we just relaxed and enjoy...

wosnes

My two cents worth: 1. I don't think there's anything wrong with the planned snack. Personally, I'd rather see a solid food snack instead of the drinks with calories. I'm of the belief that animal foods, which obviously includes milk, should be limited. Juices are nothing but sugar and water -- even...

wosnes

I just bought another diet book (gasp!) -- but I bought it mostly for the recipes since it's written by one of my favorite cookbook authors. It's Pam Anderson's The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great . She said "Diets are like trying to sell everyone the same style and size shoe...If ...

wosnes

I stumbled across this while reading a blog last week:

http://nasw.org/users/twoharts/GFTGweb.pdf

Looks interesting and like a good companion for Michael Pollan's books.

wosnes

How do you get back on track quickly after a mess-up? Well, to paraphrase Nike, you just do it! Put it in another perspective: Imagine you're learning some new skill and you make a mistake. Do you automatically say, "well, I've screwed up so I might as well just keep screwing up today." No, you eit...

wosnes

Think progress, not perfection.

wosnes

Everything you need to know to get started is at www.nosdiet.com There's a lot of information there. Good luck to you!

wosnes

Here's something else to consider... Maybe the weight you're at is where your body wants to be. You could make adjustments to lose those extra pounds, but it could very well be that once you went back to "normal" you'd be right where you are now. Sometimes we have to pay attention to our bodies and ...

wosnes

See, the thing is that I'm by nature a cook and a baker; I like to eat, I'll will eat steamed fish and apple pies alike and I hate taking anything off my list and also, since I'm a bit of a food snob, I just can't stand low calorie fake cheese, spray on butter and such delicacies that would (maybe)...

wosnes

The book is also available in bookstores.

Congrats on your new baby.

wosnes

One of the tricks I've used when I'm trying to determine if I'm hungry or just craving something is that if vegetables or fruit or a bowl of soup sounds good, I'm hungry; if only a sweet/salty/fatty snack or treat will do it, I'm just craving something and I can ignore the "hunger." Or, if I'm havin...

wosnes

A couple of months ago I found this on a blog: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's slimming diet [/size] This is principally a diet for energy and health, not weight loss, but serious fatties will probably find the kilos fall off. By rights I should earn billions for this, as it is guaranteed to keep you ...

wosnes

It takes about 300 extra calories daily to grow a baby. It is possible to to change your eating habits and still get the nutrition you and your baby need. Every woman has differing dietary needs during pregnancy -- and at different times during the pregnancy. Some need to graze, some don't. The deta...

wosnes

Freezing the cookie dough is a great idea, so is freezing the baked cookies. It's a variation of the "out of sight, out of mind" idea.

Put one or two cookies in sandwich bags and freeze. You can grab bags out of the freezer to put in your kid's lunches, they'll be thawed by lunch.

wosnes

I don't think the refined white things are necessarily bad, but it depends on how much, how often, and in combination with what other foods. When your diet is based on the refined foods and includes very little in the way of whole foods; they're a problem. When they're eaten along with lots of veget...

wosnes

If I'm hungry between meals, instead of the glass of milk that Reinhard recommends (which I hate -- just mentioned that in another post), I have fruits or vegetables, maybe even a small bowl of vegetable soup. Fewer calories, more fiber and other nutrients. Works for me. I also don't worry about the...

wosnes

While I can drink copious amounts of plain water, I LOVE water with citrus in it, especially lemon or lime. Lemon and mint are good together, too.

wosnes

What would your typical or ideal breakfast be on a workday? Why not just split it in half, have half at home before you leave for work and half at work? I don't like the milk idea, largely because I can't stand to drink milk (you could offer me a billion dollars and I couldn't tell you the last time...

wosnes

Heard this on the news today: Artificial sweetener tied to weight gain Using an artificial, no-calorie sweetener rather than sugar may make it tougher, not easier, to lose weight, US researchers say. Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied rats that were fed food with the...

wosnes

2. deadweight is very right about looking critically at the sources for medical information on the net. Truth isn't democratic. Just because someone (even me!) or a lot of people say something is so doesn't make it true. Best is to examine the evidence yourself. Since this isn't always possible for...

wosnes

How do you handle spouses who have no weight problem at all and do not understand what you are doing? How do you handle anyone who doesn't understand what you're doing? You educate them. For someone with no understanding of a situation (or who can do all the things you can't with no repurcussions) ...

wosnes

Here's my two cents worth on artificial sweeteners: They're artificial [/b]. They're not real food. I believe that part of our health and weight problems come from the fact that we eat so much food that's food-like, but not real food. I'm one of those who think that artificial sweeteners taste terri...

wosnes

My eating schedule is almost identical to yours. I'm rarely hungry in the morning or at bedtime. Make sure that you're eating enough food at your meals. Pay attention to portion sizes, but don't make them so small that the meal isn't going to "last" until the next one. Also, give yourself time to ad...

wosnes

As for composting cooked food, that might not be a good idea...might attract rodents. If I remember correctly, cooked food is no more likely to attract rodents than raw foods, but meat and other animal foods should be avoided. It's got nothing to do with attracting rodents, but keeps the plant food...

wosnes

I tend to agree with Betty. There are real physiological changes going on during TOM and it's best to take care of yourself. That being said, it's not an excuse to go wild.

wosnes

Food left on plates at the end of a meal goes straight to the trash (or garbage disposal or compost). No exceptions. As for portions for kids -- I'm still trying to figure that one out and my kids are adults! We ate dinner together last night and the eldest took a huge serving of mashed potatoes and...

wosnes

I don't think he's being unsupportive -- that would be bringing you the dessert on an N-day and insisting you eat it. But he doesn't understand. Everyone associates weight loss with deprivation, but "normal" people don't deprive themselves of sweets and treats. That's what people don't understand --...

wosnes

You're not a failure, you just didn't have a perfect No-S day. You took responsibility and decided to have that cake -- I probably would have, too! Actually, considering that having the cake was a conscious choice, I'd say that your day was a success.

wosnes

davestarbuck wrote:I had a Snickers bar.....

Boring I know, but I love my Snickers

Other than that regular meals for me....

-Dave

Ever had Snickers cookies? To share on "S" days.

http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2008/01/ ... okies.html

wosnes

Is there no way you can get away from your desk for a long enough time to eat? Michael Pollan says we should eat at a table and a desk is not a table. It could be that part of the lack of satisfaction you get from your meals and not feeling full (or satisfied) is that you're doing other things while...

wosnes

The thing I've learned isn't specifically about me or for me. I've learned that no matter how good, how sensible, how right a program might be doesn't mean it will work exactly as written for everyone. There's a commercial I've seen recently with a woman saying that she'd tried all sorts of plans, c...

wosnes

Michael Pollan's new book came out on Tuesday; I bought it on Tuesday and quickly read 2/3 of it but have slowed down greatly as I get closer to the end. I think I just don't want it to end! Part I is is about Nutritionism and how it's failed us. Part II is about The Western Diet and diseases of civ...

wosnes

I had to read the glass ceiling page 3 times to find what you're talking about -- or at least what I think you're talking about. Conversely, when you're starting out at least, I would avoid mixed drinks that you mix yourself. The mix is camouflage. With a dash of cranberry juice you can bypass the s...

wosnes

I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I look at the cake, too. If it's your generic grocery store or box cake it's a no-brainer to pass it up. But if it's a really good, bakery made or homemade cake -- well, anymore that's something that qualifies as "special." I think what it comes down to for me...

wosnes

Another thing to realize is that social gatherings or gatherings at work, even birthdays, are rarely about the food. I also think that if you say "No, I'm on a diet" rather than "no thanks, maybe later" or something similar you put yourself in the "poor me" position. "Oh, poor me, I can't have that ...

wosnes

I think there's a lot of similarities between French Women Don't Get Fat (as well as Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too) and No-S. More about habits, or at least equally as much about habits, as the food you eat.

wosnes

Work was always harder for me than home -- more temptation. Home has always been easy

I start my "S" days on Friday evening and it ends about the same time Sunday evening. It fits my life better.

wosnes

I completely ignore this rule. I'd been No S-ing for a while before I realized it existed and decided to ignore it. I have one serving of whatever is being served and don't try to visualize it all fitting on a virtual plate. To me, that made this a "diet" instead of good habits to follow when eating.

wosnes

I read this in a newsletter I get from America's Test Kitchen. I leave you with the words of a wonderful Greek storekeeper I just met in Cincinnati. He sells hats and we got on the topic of how many young people eat while walking down the street. He observed that when a dog is thrown a scrap of meat...

wosnes

Soup! I make soup twice a week and have a bowl at lunch every day. One soup is usually vegetable and one is usually a bean-based soup. Lunch is usually soup, bread and fruit. Occasionally I'll have half a sandwich instead of the bread or a salad in addition to the soup and bread. That doesn't happen...

wosnes

Congratulations!

Depending on the time the reception was, I might have partaken and called it lunch or dinner.

wosnes

I think we've kind of avoided giving examples as we all do things differently. I'm certain you have some idea of what consitutes 3 healthy meals. Start there. It may change some over time or it may stay much the same. Do what feels right for you.

wosnes

I found this on my Sunday morning perusal of the New York Times online. It doesn't completely align with the principles of No-S and doesn't completely agree with my own beliefs, but it's close to both. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/health/nutrition/30brod.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin My Die...

wosnes

I've been wondering about something. I live in a city where the entire metropolitan area is about 1.5 million people. Recently I've realized that at least 4 of our local hospitals have bariatric surgery programs. To me, that seems shocking. Enough people requiring stomach stapling to support 4 hospi...

wosnes

Do what the program suggests: no seconds, no snacks, no sweets except on "S" days. Exercise some. And don't expect to lose the weight overnight. You probably didn't put it on overnight; it won't come off overnight either.

wosnes

Good Luck!

Actually, what this program suggests is apparently how people in much of the rest of the world have eaten for ages -- decent meals, no seconds and no (or few) snacks except on special occasions. I'm not sure how we got away from it.

wosnes

Good grief, YES!! Make it an S-Day. That's the beauty of the program -- you get to decide!

wosnes

We had the last of the tomatoes and the last cantaloupe from our garden, yesterday. There's no time to sulk, though. The apples are coming ripe, so we'll be picking them this week. That, to me, is the essence of American cultural food. It comes from my garden, I picked it, prepared it, cooked it an...

wosnes

Hey, I didn't say anything about cornbread without sugar or potato soup without onions! That's how I eat 'em! But back to the wild rice vs. sweet potatoes...I was trying to think of foods that are native to the U.S. And while sweet potatoe casserole is, I don't think sweet potatoes are. Milk as a be...

wosnes

I'm reading the book now, too. I think the reasons she give for Americans not having a truly cultural diet are interesting: it's seen as something for the upper classes, which truly fascinates me since most cultural diets come from the lower classes, and loss of familiarity with what comes from the ...

wosnes

Well, I'd totally forget option #2. I'd take each day (and meal and snack) as it comes, do the best I could and not worry about it. If you overdo, you can tighten your belt and watch your intake a little more closely on N-Days when you get home.

wosnes

This is just my two cents worth, but I think part of the problem might be looking at No-S as a "diet" (in terms of program to lose weight) rather than a "diet" that is a way to eat or to approach food and eating for life. The other thing that for me is problematic is looking at your days as successe...

wosnes

An article from Time magazine from last year: Six Rules for Eating Wisely A guide through the increasingly treacherous landscape of food choices By MICHAEL POLLAN Once upon a time Americans had a culture of food to guide us through the increasingly treacherous landscape of food choices: fat vs. carb...

wosnes

So, here in just over 20 words we have everything you need to know about eating for weight loss and management and health:

No Snacks
No Sweets
No Seconds
Except (sometimes) on days that start with 'S'

Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

wosnes

I was browsing at one of the online booksellers and found that Michael Pollan has a new book coming out January 1: In Defense of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating . Since we've discussed his articles and The Omnivore's Dilemma , I thought you might be interested. Book Descripti...

wosnes

In talking with others, I find there are two schools of thought about when to eat: three regular meals daily or when you're hungry. The problem I have with eating only when you're hungry is that many of us don't really know when we're hungry and therefore will eat all day long AND that it doesn't wo...

wosnes

I was browsing Newsweek online yesterday and found the following article. It brought to mind a few questions that keep niggling at my brain: Why is it that we need experts to tell us how to do everything? Why can't we use our common sense and the wisdom that has been passed down for generations (get...

wosnes

I love Martha Beck!

wosnes

I'm speechless.

wosnes

It sounds to me like S-Days are more about planning and enjoying something you really want, as opposed to just eating whatever is available. I think initially S days are more just eating whatever is available without too much thought and then become more about planning and enjoying something you re...

wosnes

They all sound good and I'm NOT a breakfast person -- unless I'm away from home.

My usual is either toast with fresh fruit, oatmeal with fresh fruit or a smoothie instead of the fresh fruit. Occasionally eggs and toast.

wosnes

I don't know if I'm lucky or not. It's the platters that overwhelm me -- just too much. But if a lot of food is presented sequentially on smaller plates -- I can eat it all because it doesn't look like so much food at once. I can graze my way through a day. I think it's also a time thing. Usually th...

wosnes

That's the hardest thing for me, not cleaning my "plate" even when it's more like a platter, and way too much food for me. That's why I treasure the few restaurants I know that serve food in normal portion sizes. I find that the platters of food overwhelm me. I know from the start that I won't be a...

wosnes

I'm becoming very fond of restaurants that serve "normal" portions. I've found a few in my area. All are locally owned and operated -- no chains.

wosnes

This is such a simple, common sense way of eating. But so much harder than one could realize living in this snack-obsessed culture!!!

It's not only the snacks. So much of what is available to us has next to no nutrient value.

wosnes

I read this in Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life by Larry Winget. He bills himself as "the irritational speaker" and "the pitbull of personal development". "Do not think fat, do not think fit. In fact, do not think. If you focus on your weight, it will become an obsession and make you hungry or mak...

wosnes

Found this in USA Weekend. While it's aimed at kids, it works for adults, too, and is complimentary to No-S. Tips from the obesity expert Ban sugary drinks. Studies show that the risk of childhood obesity soars as sweetened soft drink consumption goes up. Limit fruit juice to 1 cup a day. Restrict f...

wosnes

I found this:

Pasta is made from a special type of wheat that has a dense compact structure and is slowly converted to blood sugar, so it doesnâ€™t have the insulin-spiking effect that many people think.

I thought I'd seen a better explanation, but I can't find it now.

Everyday Systems

Search found 4168 matches

Food = Sin?

Re: I'm not overweight, will this diet work for me?

Re: Thoughts on eating disorders and more praise for No S

I have the magazine!

Re: A New Fan

Interview with Michael Pollan

Good Food Tastes Good

Re: Alright, let's see how this goes!

Re: Unsupportive spouse

In Defense of Food

Good Point

Controlled Indulgence

For those of you who live outside the U.S.

More from Michael Pollan

What has happened to us?

Just Do It?

Tips from the obesity expert