Sonya's checkin

[osoniye]

OK... so I'm starting NoS in ernest. I want to have floating S days, as my main mod. I am trying to eat sort of low carb on N days, but don't want to be rigid about it. I weighed myself to start off and I'm 149# with a goal of 135#. I'd actually be happy to be around 140 for a while and let my body adjust, than lose the last 5 later. I'm trying to swim 3 times a week and do some form of exercise 5 days per week.
Today, N Day-
B- 10 oz grapefruit, 2 oz cheese, black coffee
L-8 oz tomato, 1 T mayo, mustard, 4 oz beef, 1/2 oz wheat germ
S-8 oz cole slaw, 8 oz roasted veggies, 2 oz cheese
Planning to take an S day tomorrow to celebrate a friend's daughter's birthday. Going to a restaurant, but I'm not sure what kind. Looking forward to it!!

[oolala53]

So, have you gotten a 3-week pattern of N days and S days down? It is highly recommended that you not use mods until you do. And make sure you are eating foods (besides sweets) that you really want at your meals on N days. You can always get more strict later.

Good luck!

[osoniye]

Thanks for writing, oolala! The reason for the floating S days mod is that the weekends are the best days for me to follow NoS (I have veeeery little social life on the W/E and pleanty of time to prepare wonderful satisfying single plate meals), and there are regular social events that I would love to be albe to flex for, but they are usually during the week.
The low carb mod is that I'm already eating that way anyway, so it's easier to keep on than try to change that too. IT's a habit. But I want the S days to keep me sane and learning to enjoy food more and be more flexible.

Here's todays food: (S day)
B: 1 slice apple pie, banana/cantaloupe smoothie, black coffee
Sn: piece bread, coffee w/milk
L: Large mushroom calzone
Dessert: 1 piece white chocolate cake, tastes of other cakes at my table, cinnamon spice mocha (coffee)
S: Roast beef sdw, w/tomato and mayo, 1 banana, 1/2 avocado, few cookies

If anyone's reading this, I'd love to know your thoughts on if this looks like a nice moderate but free enough S day. I've enjoyed it! Thanks.

[osoniye]

Really huuuuungry today. Don't know if it's b/c of exercise or enjoying my s day yesterday and having a hard time getting back into the groove.
B- 9" plate of strawberries, cantaloupe and cheese
L- 9" plate of egg salad, raw tomatoes, grilled veggies
S- 9" plate teeming with curried beef and veggies.

Think I'll stick with the 9" plate, as that is mostly what I have and it looks like a lot of food piled on there. I don't know why I was so hungry after bfast, but ate an early lunch and moderately early supper, and think I'll be fine till bedtime.

[osoniye]

OK... another day:
B: big bowl of greek yoghurt w/ cantaloupe, watermellon and grapefruit mixed in (yum)
L: egg salad, fresh tomaotes, grilled carrots and onions
S: Roast beef with curried carrot/onions, lightly stirr fried cabbage & red pepper salad

A nice n day.

[osoniye]

Feeling really tired today. Did manage to get in a swim. Yesterday was a red day for my work goals and my exercise, and I can see where seeing red on there can be kind of motivating, don't want to see that on my habitcal much!!
Took a (Floating) S day yesterday to eat a lovely (but big) lunch at a chinese restaurant and some cake at a newborn baby's house.

N Day, Today:
B mixed cheeses and strawberries and cantaloupe
L: Cole slaw and a "whip" of yogurt and roasted carrot and onion chopped small
Sm. Coffe with milk and sugar
S: grilled eggplant, carrots, onions, and the first few slices off a new roast of beef (love to make a big roast and have leftovers for days to come!!)

[oolala53]

Things are sounding pretty darn sane here! Congratulations.

[osoniye]

Thanks for words of encouragement oolala!!
Today (N day)
B: Yummy cold roast beef slices with mayo and mustard, cantaloupe and wattermellon chunks, black coffee
L: 2 rollups of Ethiopian sourdough pancake, spinach, lentil stew, spicy chic pea sauce (all fit nicely on 1 9" plate), water, 1 cup black tea, 1 small cup black coffee.
S: 8 oz greek yogurt, small serving grilled carrot and onion, raw broccoli salad.
Indian spiced tea.

[oolala53]

OMG, you're talking about injera bread, right? I love that stuff!

[osoniye]

Yeah, oolala, I am... hard to keep it limited to 1 plate of that stuff, but I'm learing!! It really involves keeping your butt glued to the chair after one round through a buffet, lol.

Today is an S day...
B: Dee's Fritata- 8 oz potatoes, onion, red bell pepper, olive oil, 3 small eggs, 2 oz gouda cheese (YUM!!!!) 3 small chocolate cookes with my black coffe, just because I can!!!!
L: a trip across town later, to an Indian restaurant... I'm thinking of some rice dish with fruit in it (can't remember the name of it-?), and some mild chicken kebabs. I also hear the cafe where I had the piece of white chocolate cake last week, calling my name!!!!

I loooove S days!!

[Scrybil]

osoniya - hope you're doing well! As a fellow HOW refugee, keeping an eye out for you

[osoniye]

Thanks for the encouragement Scrybil!! I hope we both can manage to do this, be sane, not have the constant "accountability" but still not succumb to eating tons of X. I've found that eating regular white potatoes a few times in the past couple of days is making me terribly hungry. I'm thinking maybe that type of easily digestible starch is something to leave out for a while at least. Other things made with different types of flours don't seem to cause this problem.



Soooo... the rest of Saturday. Went to the Indian restaurant and over-ate. I guess that's OK on an S day, but I really felt uncomfortable physically. It seems that for 2 people you don't need two entrees, 2 rice dishes and 2 orders of nan. I suppose from following NoS and the (OA type) diet I was on before, I really am used to 1 plate of food at a meal and much more than that seems like too much. Maybe I need to become a better conversationalist, so I'm not stuffing my face in the uncomfortable social silences while eating out! lol.
Then there was a social event at my house (I live with another single, and a couple with a newborn baby) and I could have skipped supper, but ate again to be social. I really think my overeating tendencies come in 2 categores- snacking/ binging for emotional emptyness reasons, and social eating to make other people happy. Neither one of these sounds too noble!!

Sunday (N day):
B: roast beef slices with mayo and mustard, cantaloupe
L: (Ethiopian "fast food", 1 plate)- broken up sourdough pancake with tomato/onion, and chunks of fried mutton (at a restaurant, prepared with plenty of grease), machiatto w/sugar (not a "sweet", but the coffee is so strong that I do add some sugar)
S: (Another social event @ my house)- A single 9" plate covered with salad, fish and cauliflower in a white sauce, rice and carrot, broccoli, fruit salad, largish glass of white wine.

I felt really stuffed and overly greased out after lunch so went for a walk. Even though I didn't overeat volume, I think eating out is a real trap for eating too many calories and getting that overly full feeling. Even on a "successful" N day!!! The evening meal was shared with 6 other people, most of them naturally thin, and nobody took seconds of anything. (Including me, on NoS, and one heavy lady who was visiting.) I think when eating with naturally thin people one tends to take about the same amount of food they do, at least maybe when the majority of people at the meal are in that category. The fruit salad was considered the "dessert" but everyone just added it to their one plate of food- and no one else is on any kind of "diet" to my knowledge! Imagine, they just eat that way!!

Monday (N day):
Early Breakfast (7:30a): roast beef slices with mayo and mustard, cantaloupe
Brunch (10:00a): Potato/egg/cheese/veg casserole, (1 small plate), 1 glass milk
(afternoon- hungry, drank 2 c milk, coffee)
Supper (6p): Soup (mostly veg)- one bowl, 1/2 plate salad, bread (virtual plate= 1 plate)

Today, it's been really hard not to snack!! I guess after an S day and a heavy N day, my body is thinking it's going to have an opportunity to regain some weight and is getting geared up. (It's got another thing coming, I hope!)
Also eating breakfast extra early (I was starved!) and cooking a late breakfast for others made me want to have a brunch in late morning instead of my lunch later on. I do so much better when I stick to more of a 8-12-6 timing for meals.
But I just had my 3 meals and no snacks!!!

[oolala53]

Some valuable observations! Keep racking up those positive experiences. The ratio is what is going to tip the scales.

[andreamuse]

Those are some really good musings! I totally hear you on the eating to make other people happy! I also have found that when I'm in an uncomfortable social situation I will eat just to keep occupied (or drink too much wine!)

[Scrybil]

You really are thinking deeply - and well - about all of this. It's amazing how complex all of this food-related stuff can be. But that awareness is a great thing, and if you're only sitting down to 3 meals a day, you have TIME to think about what you eat.

I often wonder if I didn't set myself up to be ultra-sensitive around food issues - always comparing myself to others, always worrying if I'm doing things 'right'. It's a tough way to live, isn't it?

I notice I'm not so hard on myself now. But that's because I've gotten past 50 LOL

[osoniye]

Thanks, oolala- I feel like I need the encouragement today. I'm feeling all heavy and like this isn't "working". Good reminder about the ratio tipping the scales... proverbially and actually, I think.

Thanks, andreamuse- yeah the social thing. Why does eating and drinking alleviate some of that pressure?? It would almost be better if it didn't, in that the social anxiety would be there but we might find another solution. I have had some success in the past with drinking tea or coffee while others are pigging out, but haven't done that in a while. Maybe I'll try that again. I wish I would eat slower, but that takes so much work and concentration for me. I have a coworker who eats slowly, not on purpose, and she winds up taking less food on her plate so she can socialize without being the last one done. She's an extrovert and naturally thin. Looks like a good idea in theory, but I find myself scarfing my food anyway.

Hi, Scrybil- nice to hear from you again. Yeah this food stuff IS complicated. I remember from GS, being told the motto "keep your eyes on your own plate" and I think that is wise- but hard to do!! Glad getting past 50 provides some freedom to be easy on yourself. I'm just 4 years away...

So far today: (Tues, N Day)
B: 1 plate of french toast, sauteed pineapple w/egg and cheese, sm piece fresh bread, milk, coffee
L: Veggie soup, tomatoes, 1 hard boiled egg & 2 oz cottage cheese, mayo, few almonds.

I'm having a hard time not over-tasting things while cooking, trying to keep a 'taste' a taste and not a snack. I'm also not sure about the volume of carbs I'm consuming... it's mostly like I'm eating nearly what I would have eaten on my previous low carb diet and then add in what I'm cooking for someone else, which is often something to do with bread or potatoes. Even though it fits on one 9" plate, it seems like too much, and I'm feeling my clothes getting a little bit tighter. I'm planning to weigh next on Friday, so then I guess I can decide whether go to stricter lower carb on N days. I like the idea of eating whatever, without restriction on S days and tweaking N days more, so that there are days I can really enjoy whatever I want to eat and keep the pressure release valve in place!

[osoniye]

The rest of Tuesday (N)
S: 8" plate of fruit salad, tea

I had a dillema: to eat supper and then just have a beverage later, or hold off on eating till an evening meeting where I knew there would be a yummy fruit salad served. (I guess I could have virtual plated, but it would have been a long gap and felt like a snack, to eat supper and have the fruit later.) Anyway, I was hungry but decided to wait, and thoroughly enjoyed the fruit salad with tea among friends. It felt really new for me, as on my old diet, you couldn't have fruit in the evenings, so if I did that, it would mean I was "off my diet" for the day. In this case, I could make a choice, a tradeoff, and still have a day that was a success, since I don't consider fruit as a sweet. It was nice and feeing, even if not the most balanced meal. It was mangoes, bananas, etc. with coconut on top. Yum!

Wednesday (N)
Brunch (10a): heaped 9" plate of bread/egg/cheese casserole, fruit salad (banana, apple, mango), coffee w/milk
I really hope to have just 2 meals today, since the brunch was a bit heavy and really satisfying. But I leave the option open to have a late small lunch, and then supper at 6:30. We'll see.

[oolala53]

Sounds smart to leave yourself the option for a small lunch. And regarding waiting until later to eat, isn't it neat to feel that you can tolerate hunger when the situation warrants it? I love No S!

[osoniye]

Hi oolala- yeah the freedom is so nice! I did wind up eating that light lunch...

late Wed lunch: bowl veggie soup with angel hair pasta, 8 oz grilled eggplant, 10 almonds.
S: Virtual plate of: grilled veggies, seasoned rice, yogurt, chopped cashews.
Why it was a virtual plate is that I didn't want to make a pig of myself on the first plate, so did the 2/3 plate and final 1/3 plate of food so it looked smaller, but also looked like I was having "seconds". Still not sure what to do about that... seems like it would be more to the point to stick with the original 2/3 plateful if that is what doesn't look piggish in polite company-? Trying to find my way with this, have posted on the general forum for help. I don't want to cheat on the spirit of the no seconds rule, but also want to eat enough to last me till the next meal.

Thurs:
B: 4 small oat pancakes w/peanut butter, cantaloupe, milk, coffee
L: Sliced tomaotes (w/1 T olive oil, 2 oz cheese grated, 3/4 oz wheatgerm), 1/2 pancake, 1 slice bread. (The bread had fruit in it and some sugar, but not enough for me to feel I must count it as a sweet- probably borderline, like a not too sweet muffin).

Struggled when I got home from shopping at 2 pm, and found my housemates pigging out on pasta carbonara, broccoli and cheesecake, as their late lunch. Because I had eaten a deliberately light lunch, I was starving at the sight of all that good food, and really would normally have dove in and had a plate of each as a "heavy snack". But that's the beauty of NoS on an N day... I didn't try to kid myself that I was eating an early supper or that a "snack" like that could mean anything but a red day, so I just went into the kitchen and fixed a cup of tea and went in and chatted with them for a few minutes. Eventually the food was put away and I was "safe".

I feel like I am learning something about choices here... like I could have taken a floating S day and then had none left for the weekend in case something fun comes up (I'm already committed to an S day for Friday). But I thought of how I'd feel after all that food, and decided I could spend an S day in a more enjoyable way than eating 2 lunches today and then probably falling into a coma from too much pasta and a sweet.

I am finding that there are some social events that involve food that I normally would eat to make everyone happy, that I'm realizing are not all that enjoyable and not worth spending one of only 2 floating S days per week on. You have to be careful when there's a limited amount, and I guess that's what NoS is all about, making choices rather than trying to "have it all" and wearing it on your wasteline! But there's something about moderation that makes the inner brat scream and want to throw itself on the floor in a fit. Self control is a good thing but there is a level of discomfort there, in getting this habit going!!!!!

[osoniye]

S: Bowl veggie soup, 8 oz broccoli, 2 poached eggs, few spoons casserole, few almonds, health tea.
This meal seemed really light to me, and I'm feeling hunger shortly after. I think maybe this is one case where I really need the 20 minutes to feel full, because that should have been enough food. Although now that I think of it, there wasn't really any fat source outside of the almonds, which wouldn't be much. Maybe I need to pay more attention to that, for satiety reasons. I did make it through the evening, though, with some herbal tea.

Fri (S Day!!)
B: 1 oat pancake, 8 oz pineapple, 1 fried egg, 2 oz cheese, 1 sm piece chocolate cake (because I REALLY wanted it!), ~15 almonds, 2 small cookies.
L:Pizza!!!!

[oolala53]

I can't believe what a difference it makes to have fat in a meal, even if it's only about 100 calories' worth. Glad you made it through.

[osoniye]

Thanks for checking in w/ me oolala!! Yeah, here's to a little fat in almost every meal!

(Friday S day, after the pizza...)
machiatto, "peanut butter" drink (yummy, but seems high calorie!!)
I "probably" (well no probably about it), ate too much pizza. Not sure how I felt about that. To the question on slice #5 or so "do I want it?", the answer was "yes" but to the "am I full question" the answer would also have been yes. I was with 4 other ladies in the 30-55 age range and we all agreed half way through, that we could have ordered half that number of pizzas and been fine, then we proceeded to polish off all that was left and took nothing home. Lol. Just too funny. I enjoyed it, though. Could have eaten a piece of cake as well, but settled just for the coffee, which was probably a good idea.

Supper: Potatoe egg casserole, tomato salad, tea, v small piece cake

Sat: (S day)
B: White bread with jam and a very tiny amount chocolate hazelnut spread, coffee.
"Snack": 6 samosas (1 lentil, 3 meat and 2 veg), 2 slices cake ("had to" try both!, coffee)
Lunch: small bowl french onion soup. Fizzy water.
Snack: sm bowl of some Romanian dish involving veggies and rice w/yogurt served by a friend.
Supper: Small serving beef stew with potatoes, 4 slices white bread w/ mayo.

Sun (N day)
B: 1/6 yummy fritatta, 3 c coffee, half bread roll w/raspberry jam.
L: fish (perch), beans/carrot/spinach/, 2 rolls, 10 fat french fries, machiatto.

Sat was a fun S day ,in that I got to eat whatever with friends and enjoy cake and snacks. I like that I self regulated and only had soup for lunch after that big snack. Sun is going well as an N day, I ate a plate full of what I wanted at lunch, and just skipped the dessert I could have had. No problem. I think I LIKE these floating S days. I really enjoyed going out on Fri for lunch (and have seconds), and being free to have cake after dinner. Maybe Fri and Sat are the best S days for me.

[osoniye]

end of Sun. (N day)
Supper: 2 oz pork (it was the only piece left as I joined some eaters in progress) w/ black pepper sauce, salad, baked veggies w/cheese.

This was a light meal that was available, cooked by someone else, and I chose to eat it rather than cook something else for myself. It wasn't too filling, but I've had some heavier S days recently, and didn't think it would kill me to eat light. I am so exhausted, I want an early night and not to be rolling around on a ton of food. At the same time it felt odd not to have a very packed plate of food tonight and not to feel quite full.
There was fat in the meal this time, so maybe letting it settle for 20 min will prove it to have been enough. Without the wisdom of NoS, and all of you out there possibly looking on, I might have had a piece of leftover apple pie to "round the meal off", so I'm thankful for the structure of N days, that I know I can have a more packed plate, but no sweets, which I certainly don't need at this point!!
I'm thinking of doing my floating S days on Tues and Friday this week, as I am invited out for Thai food Tues and am taking someone out to eat on Fri. That will mean going into the weekend with no backup optional S days and that is a little scary for me (!), but I think that will be what I choose.

Monday (N day)
Morning beverage: coffee, peanut butter drink w/milk
No food in the house (of mine, of the breakfast variety) and busy kitchen where I share a house with a family and another single. I figure it won't kill me to not eat a real breakfast today, as I got up really late today anyway. I had egg salad made for the weekend and it's still good, so I'll chop some tomatoes and buy some bread and have that for lunch. I don't want to get into the habit of skipping bfast, as that can only lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and thus snacking, or munching on sweets that someone has available. I think there is no armour against sweets like being satisfied from good food at meals and looking forward to the next one, not feeling deprived.
L: egg salad sdw, tomatoes

[osoniye]

Decided to go with 3 meals after all and have a second lunch, since I skipped breakfast and was distractingly hungry mid afternoon.
2nd lunch (3 pm): 1 1/2 piece sourdough pancake, lentil stew, cottage cheese, 1 c peanut/coffee drink
Supper: 9" plate of grilled veggies, rice, kim che and hard boiled egg. Feeling quite full, ate at 8pm

Tues: S day!!
B: Oatflour porrige, w/butter and spice. Coffee/peanut drink.

[oolala53]

peanut/coffee drink? Is that something you had pre-No S?

[osoniye]

Hi oolala, No, it's something new to me. It's kind of a fad drink where I live. It's basically 1 t of peanut butter wisked into milky coffee, and reheated together. I figure it's similar in calories and protein to cafe au lait that I often drink. If you think it's a really bad idea, I'd love to hear your perspective. ( It's pretty yummy and I thought I'd try it for a while as the drink I have when hungry between meals and see if the scales says it's a bad idea!)

(Tues. S day cont.) Snack: 1/2 liver pate sdw, prune, candy, 1/3 serving cobbler
Late Lunch: grilled veggies, 1/2 egg salad sdw, 3 cookies, 8 almonds.
Late-ish Supper: Beautiful Thai meal! (peanut, veggie, chicken dish with coconut milk over noodles- thoroughly enjoyed seconds!)
Dessert: jello w/fruit and dream-whip

(Wed, N Day)
B: Egg w/cheese, bread w/butter and a little jam, 2c coffee, sm taste tart

I know the tart is technically sweet, but I'm not going to count it as a 'sweet' (and thus 'red' day) as it was a fraction of a serving, and in the context of the whole breakfast seems OK to me... I realize I need to watch that it doesn't become a slippery slope to eating sweet things at breakfast indiscriminately, though. I especially need to watch out, I think, for things like this, that someone hands me and I mindlessly stick it in my mouth without evaluating whether this is what I really want to be doing on an N day, even if it easily fits on my single plate.

I really like doing my floating S days! One thing that's good about it for me, is that those are often chosen because they are my most social days, and thus the days when the best food might be shared with others- so that means I'm eating those extra portions or desserts in company w/ others and that limits the portion size in that I don't want to embarrass myself by being a total pig. I think if I were doing the Sat/Sun S days, I would binge in private, just because I could, and would enjoy it far less. I'm so glad this program is something we can modify to make it work for each of us individually, and there's not a sense of "you're doing it wrong", we just support each other in our separate journeys.

[oolala53]

I thought the drink sounded interesting, as I never thought of coffee and peanut butter going together, but it made sense on 2nd thought. Truthfully, for myself I would consider that a little bit of skating on the edge to regard it as a beverage, even though it is a liquid, because the peanut butter itself is not a beverage, as would be milk or cream. It's a bit like adding a fruit and blending it to make it drinkable. Smoothies are not really acceptable as beverages. However, if it is part of a meal, no worries. Who cares if you have your PB on bread or in a drink? It's all part of the meal. But you need to use your own judgement.

My gosh, that Thai meal sounded good!

[Scrybil]

Sounds like you're doing great! The floating S day seems to be comfortable for you......

[osoniye]

Yeah, oolala, the peanut coffee is something I would never in a million years come up with, but someone else gave me a taste of theirs and I've been pretty hooked ever since. It does seem very much "skating on the edge" of snack/beverage. I guess I just want to see if there is wt gain, how I feel after drinking it, etc. (So far I think it's a little more satisfying than cafe au lait, as one might expect, and it seems like there are more healthy fats in there-?)
That Thai meal WAS yummy! I have made a new friend who just moved here, who is a good cook and she made that... I have a few friends who I normally spend S days with, and one of the others is out of town this month... so if they are all around on any given week, willing to share meals, I may have to make some tough choices to make! I am really loathe to turn down dessert at anybody else's house!

Hi Scrybil- Thanks for keeping up with me. Yeah, the floating S days are going well. I think if I binged on the weekends for no reason other than that they begin with S, I would also eat sweets/seconds on weekday social days and have a lot of red on my calendar. So far it's all green and yellow for June, with 2 S days per week.

Wed, N Day, cont...
10:30a Coffee w/ milk
L: Stirr fried red/yellow peppers, onion & cauliflower, w/2 oz melted cheese, 1/2 avocado w/lemon and salt, small scoop leftover egg salad.
3p coffee/peanut drink w/ milk
S: 9" plate starchy veg (potatoes, peas, carrots) w/Indian spices, over rice, and 2 gently fried eggs.

Thurs, S day:
B: 1 piece french toast, fruit (cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple), 1 c gk yogurt, 1 c decaf coffee
Snack: 4 sm pieces cake (different flavors), 1/2 banana (fried!), 3 doughnut holes, 1/3 c juice, 2 c reg. coffee, 3 sm slices mango.
S: Oatflour porridge w/ butter and spices, 1 small piece chocolate cake, coffee w/milk.
Later: white tea, few almonds

Wed lunch was yummy!!!!! And I was hungry enough to really enjoy it, as usual on NoS! I would formerly have mindlessly eaten some snack with coffee at the office, "just to be polite", and thus spoiled my lunch... or been on some strict diet where I felt deprived and without a recent S day to remember to make me nice and smug.

Thurs morning was one of those excessive snacks that reminds a person why they do NoS and gives some incentive to cut back on sweets and not overdo "just because you can". So I'm feeling a little bloated, but it's good to have the feeling, and I trust I will enjoy my next N day tomorrow and appreciate the boundaries of a NoS day!!!! I hope I can stick to my guns, now that I have taken my 2 floating S days this week, to toe the line over the weekend. I have a couple of social events, but I don't see why I can't enjoy a nice full plate of whatever, and drink some tea or coffee if others are indulging in something big or sweetened.
I skipped lunch after that large snack.
At the end of the day I was really full and looking forward to an N day tomorrow.

[oolala53]

I think you'll pull it off this weekend. Having a plate of food, virtual, if need be, has worked for me every time I've needed it. I usually remind myself how full I am after the meal to assuage any desire for dessert. Since January, I've never been sorry I skipped dessert; I've wrapped and taken a few of them with me to freeze and eat later. (Got a lemon bar in the freezer right now!)

[osoniye]

Thanks for the vote of confidence oolala! Things are going well so far...

Fri, N Day:
B: 2 oz cheese, 8 oz tomatoes, 2 eggs fried together with olive oil and tarragon (YUM!), 1/3 grapefurit, 1 orange. coffee/peanut drink w/milk.
L: oven roasted potatoes (w/red bell pepper, onion & garlic- YUM), sm bowl chicken/rice soup, taste of carrot soup, 1/2 piece bread.
S: 1 plate mexican food: "crispy BBQ beef buritto", salsa, a little bit of rice, guacamole, fizzy water, roasted grain, a few after dinner mints, tea

Thoroughly enjoyed breakfast. I liked being back to a very satisfying but low carb meal (especially after all that cake yesterday!!). Lunch wasn't so low carb, and I do feel more tired after such meals. Trying to find my way sharing meals with my housemates, after being isolated from them by my following a low carb diet since I moved in at the end of December. It's nice to share food, but I have to figure out what I really need food and carb-wise as well. I hate to generate cravings or at least the tendency for 'carb calling to carb', as it's hard to stop once you get a high carb day going and I think I feel better and have more chance of losing wt if I watch that.
Enjoyed Mexican meal out for dinner and stuck to the one plate, which was a generous one! I did eat the after dinner mints and am not counting them as a "sweet". I think if I have something that is just a moutful, even if it is sweet, I don't want to count it- it doesn't seem to provide a lot of calories, or trigger a craving and I want that to be a normal part of life, if it's not a "serving size" of something. I hope this is not a slippery slope (!), but I think it's OK.

[osoniye]

Sat, N day:
B: 8 oz leftover roasted potatoes, 2 fried eggs, black coffee.
Later: 3 c herbal tea
L: 1 big plate at potluck: 1/4 egg salad sandwich, 1 small potato w/chilli on top, 1 small slice hamburger and mushroom pizza, small pile snack crackers, banana/pineapple fruit salad, black coffee.
S: Open-faced egg salad sandwich on oat bread, 8 oz stirr fried green beans and cauliflower w/sea salt, 8 oz raw carrot soup.

The fruit salad at lunch had a slightly sweet sauce on it, but it was not a dessert item, therefore OK, I think. The plates at the pot luck were enormous, but there was white space on mine and I didn't go back for seconds, which nearly everyone else did. The fruit salad made a nice dessert stand-in on my single plate, and I felt satisfied. This is great for an N day on the weekend!... satisfying, and I could join in to the social event without being on "diet food" but still following our rules and not overeating. That feels pretty good.
Supper was very satisfying and lower carb, which makes me feel light and well.

[osoniye]

Sun, N day:
B: 1/2 small pineapple, few spoons leftover fruit salad, 6 oz greek yogurt, 1 slice french toast w/few drops sweetener. -All fit on 1- 9" plate, piled high , 2 c black coffee
L: fish w/spicy tomato sauce, injera, black coffee.
S: 1 grilled cheese sandwich, 7 oz pan fried green beans and cauliflower.

Lunch was out, with friends. I couldn't believe how easy it was to order a plate of food that I really enjoyed, stick to that, and order black coffee while others were drinking really sweet coffee concoctions and eating ice cream. It seems somehow easier to stick with black coffee, tea or water, than to get mixed up with caloric drinks... I like being finished with my meal when I have polished off my plate of food. It felt like a late would have been a step too close to then ordering something sweet. At least for today.

[oolala53]

If you'd rather not answer, that is fine.

Have you lost any weight since January? My S days have got me stuck in Limbo, but I don't seem ready to give up my weekly pig-outs.

[osoniye]

Hi oolala- No, I haven't lost any wt since Jan... I've only been NoSing since May 21, but have no red days, would like to see some wt loss. I had maybe gained a couple # in early May, while traveling that I might have lost starting NoS, but nothing obvious. I wasn't weighing every day and I am now and it's not budging. I think I eat too heavy foods that fit on one plate on N days, and always eat stuff I really want on S days!

Mon, N day:
B: 8 oz grapefruit, 2 oz cheese, black coffee.
L: (Mexican restaurant again:)) Tijuana Steak burrito w/fries+catsup (BIG food, but fit easily on a normal sized plate!), not too sweet lemonaid.
S: 3 1/2 oz roast beef with mayo&mustard, hunk of whole grain bread, pile of pan fried potaotes, mushrooms, green beans and cauliflower, sm bowl carrot soup, few almonds.

Breakfast today was light, but lunch and supper were abundant. I hope I don't wind up gaining wt on this diet. I feel "free" and am enjoying the food, but I wonder. A 9" plate can hold a lot vertically, and on S days I've been enjoying sweets and at least one snack. I guess the scales will tell me in time. (So far I'm still 150 #, no gain or loss. I'd still like to lose about 14 #.)

[oolala53]

I don't know why I thought you'd been at it since Jan. I have been since then. I did lose about 10 lbs. that first month, but I was up about that much, a bit more, from 6 months before that. I've been fluctuating since then. S-days are relatively heavy for me, and I keep saying I'm going to get more routine exercise, but I don't. However, no matter what I do, it will likely be just fine-tuning No S. Actually, I don't think I could eat a lot less on my N days. Most of my lunches and dinners are around or under 500 calories, just by my calculating a few of them. Breakfast is usually less than that. I do sometimes have coffee with milk, but it can't add up to much more than another 150 cal. I can't imagine eating a lot less than that on a routine basis, esp. if my S days calm down. I sometimes don't have much of an appetite on Monday mornings or even through the day after my S weekends.

Still, for me 5 days a week of moderation is a huge improvement!

Keep enjoying your vacation!

[osoniye]

Hi oolala- yeah, whether to try to change N or S days a bit to get some wt loss is a dillema. I'm trying to be a bit more moderate in both, without letting feelings of deprivation creep in...

Tues N day:
B: 1 sm grapefruit, 2 fried eggs, 1 sm slice french toast w/apricot jam, 1
slice whole grain toast, coffee w/milk.
L: open faced egg salad sandwich on whole grain bread, 4 oz carrot sticks.
S: (virtual plate)- pasta w/tomato sauce, roasted grain, fruit salad,
chamomile tea.

I think this 1- 9" plate thing is equalizing my meals. I normally would eat a smaller breakfast than lunch, but now that I think, "I have 3 plates of food today", I'm piling up the breakfast plate to be full and the lunch and supper plates are equal to it, not larger. I know I could eat breakfast on a saucer and supper on a meat platter, but I like the equal factor, and think it might keep me full better between meals. Just a little side note to NoS.
I'm weighing my food some again, trying to get an idea of how much I'm eating, and how that relates to any wt loss I may experience, rather than strictly counting calories. I'm so used to weighing at home it seems strange not to, but freeing not to "have to" when out, as I did on former diet.
Supper with the virtual plate thing was a little iffy on portion size. But was eating on a small plate and didn't want to have the fruit salad mix in with pasta, so I did what I could.

[osoniye]

Wed, N day:
B: Oatmeal with cinnamon, brown sugar, nuts and raisins, black coffee.
L: hamburger (w/bun), fries, catsup, machiatto
S: Virtual plate: Oat porridge w/ butter and spice, sm glass lemonaid, 1/2 roast beef sdw w/mustard and mayo, 1/2 glass milk.

[osoniye]

Thurs, S day:
B: leftover egg salad, bread, coffee
L: Injera w/ variety of sauces, few handfulls popcorn, coffee
S: Injera w/ more sauces, (sour!) lemonaid
Dessert: 4 chocolate no bake cookies, hot chocolate w/pepermint stick

[osoniye]

Fri, N day:
B: Corn on cob (1),Black coffee
L: 8 oz pineapple, cheese, egg
S: virtual plate of a piece of veggie pie thing, a pseudo Indian rice dish and a few dollups of broccoli soup, sugar free banana pudding (I also ate a cookie and 1 square of chocolate, but am not counting that as a failure as it was so small).

Sat S day:
B: 3 bread rolls with jam, chocolate spread, butter, etc. Coffee
Snack: Huge pile of popcorn and a cappuccino
L: (birthday party) 1 large plate of Cameroonian food, 1/4 glass wine, shot good quality wiskey, 1 slice birthday cake, coke, fizzy water.
S: 1/2 egg salad sdw, tea. (Supper Lite! Lunch was a huge volume of food and I had a stomach ache at the end!)

Saturday's snack of too much popcorn proved to be an overload of salt (I didn't make the popcorn), and I drank a lot of water but still woke up thirsty Sun morning. I guess maybe I should have taken some fruit along to snack on, as lunch at the party was delayed until almost 2 o'clock, and I was starving, as I went swimming that morning. I should have seen all that coming, but I'll know better next time. I think the snack sort of spoiled the lunch. That is good info to keep in mind for S days- I enjoy the real food better when I'm actually hungry.
Also I noticed a very thin Asian lady at the party eating a carefully selected array of mostly veggies from the buffet table. I wish I had gotten what she had instead of a mess of pizza, samosa, crepes, etc., in addition to the national food of Cameroon, which was a cassava something with gumbo type sauce that was yummy, fish, etc. I would have enjoyed the special food more without the junk food first. A good reminder to be patient till all food is out and set up, to walk around the table and look at everything, and then load up on what you really want. The situation was a bit disorganized, and food was still coming out after guests were eating, but I should have noticed that and waited. All good to "bookmark" and be more choosy next time. I think with the usual N days, I'm learning to pay more attention to having "what I really want", and that's a good thing.

[oolala53]

Very good buffet advice. And I need to remind myself not to be full when I get there.

[osoniye]

Thanks, oolala.

Sun, S day (Happy 4th of July!!):
B: 1 slice toast, banana chutney, coffee
Snack: bread, coffee w/milk
L: (cook out!!, potluck style) 6 oz marinated eggplant- grilled, banana chutney, 1 hot dog w/sauewrkraut and roll, 1 sausage, baked beans, potato salad, sugar-free jello salad w/banana, watermellon, cake, coffee.
S: 4 oz leftover roast beef,... pan fried broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, w/kim chi. 4 small cookies.

Mon N day:
B: (7:30a) 1/2 small pineapple, 1 fried egg, 1 oz cheese
L: (11:35a) 8 oz Greek yogurt, raw carrot sticks, stirr fried mushrooms, snow peas, onion. Herbal tea.
S: (3:40p) 4 oz tofu, 1# stirr fried red and yellow bell pepper, cauliflower, eggplant, onion.

Tues N day:
B: (8a) Cafe au lait (2 c milk), 8 oz fried pineapple w/dill. more coffee.
L: (12 noon) 4 oz tofu, 8 oz raw carrots and tomato w/mayo, 8 oz onions, cauliflower, & eggplant (pan fried) w/oyster sauce, herbal tea.
S: (4:30p/7p) (Virtual plate) 1/2+ tuna salad sdw, raw carrot, corn, chicken, egg/zucchini casserole, popcorn, fruit salad, taste of a cookie.

Wed N day:
B: (8a) 2 c milk (in cafe au lait), 8 oz mixed pink and white grapefruit.
L: 2 oz vegan (sunflower seed) cheese, 1# stirr fried cabbage, broccoli, yellow bell pepper, onion. Green tea.
S: (Katherine and Meaghan's house)- 2 sm pieces chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, green beans & carrots, breaded/fried eggplant, sugar free strawberry jello salad w/banana.

Thurs N day:
B: 1 sm bowl oatmeal w/raisins + peanut butter, coffee w/cream
More coffee (black)
L: open faced egg salad sdw, 4 oz raw carrots
S: 2 oz vegan (sunflower seed) cheese, 1/2# veggies- stirr fried (cauliflower, bell pepper, onion, eggplant, beets), 1.5 oz cheese (melted), 4 oz Thai brown rice, few spoons beef hash. Herbal tea.

Enjoyed the cookout for July 4th, but didn't eat over 1 plate of food, not counting dessert. We sort of ran out of food early, which was OK, as I think everyone had just enough. The cake for dessert was cut into very small servings, which was OK too. But I was hungry for supper, which I didn't expect to be. Glad to be back to something of a low carb meal for supper- somehow I just feel better eating that way, I guess the insulin rush from too many carbs leaves me feeling tired and heavy afterwards.

Monday was a nice low carb day! I was trying to eat 4 hours or more apart, but was really hungry so didn't go much over. I don't mind sleeping on an empty stomach, in fact I prefer it, but I got some funny looks for eating such an early supper. Wound up going to bed too early, from sleepiness and boredom (we had a power outage, which is very common where I live), so I may try my best to eat supper at around 5p and not before.

Tuesday was easier, less hunger during the day. I ate part of supper early and virutal plated the 2nd half at an evening activity. It was very "virtual" as there was the cob part of the corn and the chicken bones, and fluffy popcorn, but I tried to think of a normal plate of edible food. The taste of cookie, I'm not counting as failure, as it was so small. I think I want to do that with things that are not a serving, but a 'politeness bite' on an N day.

[oolala53]

Excuse me if I should know this: are you at your target weight? Just curious.

Those are definitely moderate (I like to call them sane) meals. Good going!

[osoniye]

Thanks for keeping up with me, oolala. No, I'm @ 150# and haven't budged since Christmas (on NoS since mid May). I lost 20# from a year ago June up to Christmas and have plateaued. I guess since I lost on low carb I should be (and am!!!) very grateful that I haven't gained any of it back, and I suppose 6 1/2 months to let my body get used to this wt is OK. I would love to lose the last 15#, but I know it's not absolutely necessary. We'll see. I will be doing some traveling from mid Aug for some months, and hope to do optimized oatmeal most days for lunch there, and am hopeful that will help... I'm thinking- fruit for breakfast, optomized oatmeal for lunch and dried fruit and nuts for supper. (I will be in an awkward place with no cooking facilities, but can heat water). There is one good restaurant there, where I plan to try to eat Sun breakfast, Tues lunch and Thurs or Fri supper. That way there is always a meal out to look forward to, but it shouldn't be too high calorie or expensive that way.

Fri, S day:
B: 8 oz strawberries, 2c 1% milk, coffee
Snack: few almonds, 4 cookies, coffee
L: (Mexican Restaurant)- Mushroom and onion cheeseburger, french fries w/catsup, 1 small slice choco-swirl cheesecake, machiatto.
Snack: 1/2 corn on cob
S: (@ Corinna's)- 3 servings pasta/cheese/green bean casserole, sugar free lime jello w/banana & strawberries, chocolate cake, bite coffee cake, cinnamon tea.

A nice S day with freedom.

[oolala53]

Not that it matters, but I looked back at my charts, and it actually took me 7 weeks to lose 10 lbs. I've slowly ounced my way down another almost 3 pounds. I know the first 10 were quicker because I had gained them in the 4 months previous to beginning the program. It's amazing how different results can be. Some people have come here with only 10 or 15 pounds to lose and lost them in a couple of months. Oh, well, S days are the only place I'm willing to try to eat less. My N days I believe are reasonable and pleasurable.

But we just have to keep going. the alternative is too discouraging to face for me right now...

[osoniye]

Yeah, oolala, as you say, we have to keep going.

Sat. N day:
Brunch: (10a) Pancakes w/ a dab of apricot jam & whipped cream (not sweetened), fruit salad (banana, watermellon, papaya), 1 rhubarb muffin, cheese & bread breakfast strata, 1 piece pear tart, vanilla yogurt. Black coffee.
S: (5p) 4 oz egg salad, 8 oz pan-fried cauliflower, yellow bell pepper, eggplant, & onion, 8 oz sauerkraut, 1 bite pancake, 1 bite roasted pumpkin. Herbal tea.

For the brunch, I had a plate and a half of food, as this is going to be a 2 meal day. The pear tart was a bit sweet but still a breakfast item and not as sweet as some muffins I've had, so am still counting it a success meal.

[osoniye]

Sun, S day:
B: 1 banana+strawberries w/Gk yogurt, 1 piece leftover pear tart, chocolate cake, coffee.
Snack: bread, coffee w/milk
L: (Korean restaurant. Shared w/4 other people): glass noodles, beef Bar-B-Q, sweet-n-sour chicken, veggie fried rice, 1 egg roll.
Dessert: 2 scoop ice cream w/cone, coffee.
Snack: (5 pm) 1/2c chocolate pudding.
Snack: (7 pm) huge pile of corn chips and salsa, some taco meat, small spoon beans.
Supper: (9 pm) Pork ribs, cauliflower, roasted potatoes.

Mon, S day
B: 1 11/2 bowl watermellon, coffee
L: 1 plate Ethiopian food (vegan), coffee, tea.
Sn: Few almonds, 2 small cookies
S: (Seconds of...): salisbury steak (Suzanne's), boiled potatoes, green beans, fruit, 1 brownie.
Sn: popcorn, peppermint tea.

I really love the freedom these S days bring, though overall they may be stalling weight loss. It's nice to be able to watch a game with friends and snack on what they're snacking on without any pang of guilt. (Also nice to have a piece of chocolate cake w/breakfast once in a while!!)

HOWEVER, I also see a nasty trend happening here that I want to curb. This is the second weekend in a row where I was having an S day, I let myself get into the positon of being at the mercy of someone else, they served a very late meal and had salty snacks laying around, I ate said salty snack till almost sick, did not enjoy scrumtious meal as a result. Last weekend it was eating popcorn at the birthday party where lunch was served at 2 pm. This weekend, it was eating corn chips and getting really full before supper, which was served at 9 pm while we watched the FIFA world cup championship. I was moaning in an easy chair with a stomach ache, after only eating 1/2 my plate of pork ribs, roasted potatoes and cauliflower. I was in both physical and mental pain, due to trying unsucessfully to enjoy a normal supper after that huge snack. Ugh. I really want to get the idea of a "moderate" snack to curb hunger, rather than totally spoiling meals, on S days. It seems like the floodgates get opened when a salty snack is served and my judgement of what I will enjoy now vs later, and all sense of being able to delay gratification goes out the window! I also hate that I'm consuming a huge volume of something salty, just because it's there, rather than having a tastey meal and enjoying it to the full. Maybe I should just start carrying a piece of fruit around in my purse for such occasions. It's just hard to do that on S days when I know I can have "anything". It's sooooo not worth it, though!

Took another S day Monday, as I was invited out for supper. I usually only take 2 per week, so this will be one of the 2 "extras" this month. Ultimately, I know that it's the scales not the calendar that tells me if I have too many S days, but I'm trying to concentrate on the behavior, not the result, and there is probably wisdom in having around 10 S days or so per month.

[ShannahR]

Hi osoniye,
Just writing to sympathize and let you know you're not the only person who gets into trouble with snacks on S days! I am struggling with the same problem you describe, basically, I like to eat snacks on S days but that makes me too full for meals. So far I've only worked it out one of two ways 1) I snack but then don't eat a meal later or maybe something very light and small, 2) When the urge to snack hits I remind myself if I eat now I won't want lunch/dinner. Both of those work but I agree with you that it would be nice to eat small snacks and a meal!

I swear I used to be able to eat more without stomachaches before No S!

Good luck, let me know if you come up with a good solution.

[Scrybil]

osoniye, you & I came here at about the same time, so I can see the parallels in our progress. Reinhard says these Sdays get better as we settle in, and I feel some progress - at least in my awareness of what & how I am eating - without guilt.

Observing my eating habits without guilt has been enlightening. On an SDay, I know I can. It's my choice whether I do.

And yes, I sometimes overdo it - mostly with exactly what you describe, salty snacks, mindless eating, that hand-to-mouth action with nuts, chips, etc.

But I do sense that I'm starting to think differently. I am trying to be more patient with myself as I know I have these habits ingrained over many, many years. And I won't change those habits all at once or overnight.

Now, will you promise to send me this email someday in the future when I'm frustrated? LOL

[osoniye]

Thanks Shannah and Scrybil for your encouragement and commiseration! I think I AM getting some clarity- like objectivity and at least the desire to change my behavior with the over snacking, and at least I can be aware of what is causing the stomach ache and be in touch with the desire to enjoy meals more by snacking less. This is all a good learning process. I guess it does take time, but awareness and the desire to change and the realization that I CAN change are all good!
Shan- I'm really thinking with the support I receive on here, I will do the odd thing and carry fruit to some late eating event and even if that seems weird, try to monitor how I eat and feel afterwards. Avoiding the stomach ache will be worth something, and this isn't as embarrassing as weighing and measuring in public, as my last diet!!
Will try to return the favor, Scryb!

Tues, N day
B: (8a) Coffee w/1.5 c 1% milk, 8 oz pineapple, 1 egg, 1t olive oil.
L: (Virtual plate) 4 oz egg salad, 2 bananas.
S: (5p) 4 oz tofu, 8 oz mushrooms, snow peas, onion, eggplant, cooked in coconut oil, 4 oz roasted pumpkin. Peppermint tea.

Ugh, I got caught at the office without my lunch, and had a meeting, so bought and ate 2 bananas @12:30 and then had my egg salad when I got home @2:15. Not my ideal lunch, but I think it was adequate and at least there were no sweets involved, or seconds, and I'm eating an early and more satisfying supper. (Unfortunately even still I'm struggling w/hunger after eating supper. I think I'm coming off too many S days and don't want to limit myself to 1 plate!)

[ShannahR]

Osoniye-
I don't think it would be so weird for you to bring fruit over to a friends house to eat, especially if you bring enough to share! In fact, it's probably what we all should do as good guests! It's a little more embarassing to sneak something into a movie or music/sporting event. I used to feel guilty about that, but I don't anymore. My reasoning goes like this: "If they sold anything healthy like fruit or vegetables from the concession stand I'd buy it from there, but because they don't I'm not taking money out of their pockets by bringing my own because I woudln't buy their junk anyways!"
I have to agree, that avoiding stomachaches is definately worth trying to figure out a good solution! I've been thinking about some solutions myself but it's hard to think of one that's not too restrictive! I don't want to rebel!

[Scrybil]

You know, I think I gave up on avoiding 'weird' a while back - I'm a vegetarian, and so have often found myself in situations in which I had to bring my own food. And as a pretty frequent hostess, I really do appreciate it when a guest is (1) clear about what they will/won't or can/cannot eat, and (2) offer to bring something. So, I agree - take the fruit!

And honestly - when will we (Americans) start getting realistic about food? It's not necessary to have a gallon-size bag of popcorn to experience a movie. A hotdog is not required to enjoy a ballgame. These are cultural habits - and not good ones.

Consider yourself on the cutting edge of cultural change and SHOW them how a healthy person behaves and refuses to join the masses!

[osoniye]

Thanks Shan and Scrby!!! You guys are a good encouragement!! Here's to a piece of fruit! Cheers!!

Wed, N day
B: (9:45a) Big smoothie: 2c yogurt+1c frozen strawberries, coffee
L: (2:15p) 4 oz egg salad, 12 oz stirr fried (in cocolut oil!) red+yellow
bell peppers, pumpkin, onions (yummy!). Herbal tea.
S: (6p) 2 oz cheese, 8 oz curried bell peppers, green beans, onion,
pumpkin, 3oz Thai brown rice, 1/3 sm avocado.

I am struggling with hunger on N days... I think I go sort of low carb and then it takes a few days to adjust and then there's another S day and I start alll over. But the alternative seems to be one plate of more carb things on N days, which seems to stimulate my appetite too!! Any ideas?

[osoniye]

Wed, N day
B: (9:45a) Big smoothie: 2c yogurt+1c frozen strawberries, coffee
L: (2:15p) 4 oz egg salad, 12 oz stirr fried (in cocolut oil!) red+yellow bell peppers, pumpkin, onions (yummy!). Herbal tea.
S: (6p) 2 oz cheese, 8 oz curried bell peppers, green beans, onion, pumpkin, 3oz Thai brown rice, 1/3 sm avocado.

[osoniye]

Fri, S day:
B: a few small pieces of leftover cake from freezer, 7.5 oz red grapefruit, 5 oz Greek yogurt. Coffee.
Snack: sm handful almonds, 3 small chocolate cookies, herbal tea.
L: 1 oz cheese, 8 oz bell pepper, onion, eggplant, cooked in coconut oil, 4 oz roasted pumpkin, 2 oz egg salad, 1/2 sl brown bread, water.
Later: Coffee-peanut drink.
S: (@ Cor's): beef/cabbage casserole w/boiled potatoes, sugar free strawberry-kiwi/yogurt jello salad w/banana , piece of cake, 1 spoon chocolate pudding, tea.

This was not an out of control S day at all. I just didn't have a lot of food around and the social supper was a normal serving and a small second serving, both of which wouldn't have overfilled a normal plate. The pieces of cake at breakfast and supper were both small and none of the day made me feel stuffed. On one hand it was nice to wake up not feeling bloated or uncomfortable, but on the other hand, I feel like "Hey wait a minute- I should have indulged more, can't we turn the clock back and let me pig out??!!". So I guess for me there is a high likely-hood of regret either way, whether I overindulged or underindulged. I don't know if there is a "perfect" balance point of satisfied but not feeling sick, but maybe in time I can find it, or maybe just by being human, the grass is always greener- and I may always think I should have done it differently, but I have to say I think erring slightly on the side of under-doing it is probably a good idea!!
Generally I've tried to eat low-ish carb and light on N days, and I've been pretty hungry alot of the time. It's a good reminder not to go way over the top eating on S days when I'm already full, even if I've made a bad choice by over snacking, because that will mean tighter N days if I want to lose weight. Some semblence of moderation all the time, with S day treats rather than binges may affort me not having to tighten up so much. (Ugh, this smacks of moving toward healthy self discipline!!)
I'm sort of tracking calores for myself generally and am thinking of shooting for 1200 cal on N days and 2000 cal on S days, which would mean 1430/day on average, which I think would lead to very slow weight loss. It's easy to count the calories of my N day meals, but S days often involve meals out and with people and it's harder for me to judge what's in foods, but I can try to guess and have some vague idea.

[osoniye]

Sat, N day:
B: 2 slices brown bread, 2 oz cheese, coffee.
L: 8 oz greek yogurt, 8 oz red grapefruit segments, herbal tea.
S: 4 oz roast beef, 8 oz sauerkraut, 8 oz cauliflower, 1 c peanut coffee drink.

Another low calorie day... low carb lunch and supper. I feel really hungry and maybe that's becasue the carbs aren't low enough, with the bread at breakfast, overall to create the situation where appetite is supposed to be supressed. I like my food, I just get hungry too soon after meals, so that I spend a lot of time waiting "patiently" for the next meal. Still no wt loss.

[osoniye]

Sun, N day:
B: 1 med red grapefruit, 2 oz cheese, 1/3 slice brown bread, 2 c coffee (1 w/milk).
L: (@ restaurant): 1 small BBQ chicken breast, 1 dollup potato salad, 1 dollup coleslaw, water.
S: 4 oz beef, 4 oz pumpkin, 8 oz bell pepper+ onions, peanut/coffee drink.

[osoniye]

Mon, N day:
B: 1 grapefruit, yogurt, h'ors deuvres sized brown bread w/cheese, coffee.
L: Big veggie frittata w/wheat germ. Herbal tea.
S: Whole wheat pasta w/salami& cream sauce, small salad, white bread w/tomato slice, peanut coffee drink.
Normal, nothing out of the ordinary day.

[osoniye]

Tues, N day:
B: lg bowl popcorn, coffee.
L: 1 med red grapefruit, 1 c greek yogurt, water, (politeness bite brownie).
S: Ethiopian food (2 sm rolls injera, potatoes, chic pea "gravy", cabbage, cheese), small ammt popcorn, sugar-free raspberry-yogurt jello salad w/banana, roiboos tea, (v. small politeness bite of chocolate).

Decided to experiment with the popcorn this morning because I wanted to make it later for guests, and am in a different house w/different pots& pans than last time, and I know sometimes it can burn, not pop, etc. So I bowled a portion that seemed OK to me and had that with my coffee for breakfast. Feels a little 'free'... for an N day, but it was a meal-time and I think an ultimately normal volume of food and calories, and wasn't a sweet, so I guess it's OK.
Then had my normal breakfast for lunch.
Supper was virtual plated as there was a 1/2 hour delay between Ethiopian food and popcorn & sugar-free jello. (I'm sticking to my politeness bites of a sweet thing if it's offered to me by someone else- I don't think it adds much by way of calories, but it sure adds a craving for more.)

[osoniye]

Wed, N day:
B: grapefruit+ mango, cottage cheese, coffee, roiboos tea.
L: 4 oz beef, 8 oz peppers, onion+ cauliflower, 4 oz pumpkin.
S: (@ Corinna's): Tuna-noodle casserole, tomato+ onion salad, few potato chips, sugar-free peach jello w/mango+ banana, (politeness bite chocolate), herbal tea.

[osoniye]

Thurs N day
B: Strawberries+ Greek yogurt, coffee.
L: (Very starchy potluck!) 1 plate: 3 scoops rice- (2 w/ sm chunks meat in them, one with mushroom gravy), 1 sm meat pie, 1 pancake w/spoon of jam, 1 fried dough ball, some french fries, sugar-free strawb/kiwi jello salad w/banana, (politeness bite of coconut candy). Tea.
S: 4 oz whole grain noodles w/olive oil, 4 oz beef, 8 oz sauerkraut. Water.

Fri, S day!!
B: 8 oz pineapple, 4 oz cottage cheese, popcorn, coffee.
Sn: 1/2 banana, taste jello, 2 chewy granola bars, herbal tea.
L: 4 oz beef, 8 oz sauerkraut, 8 oz tomato cooked w/olive oil, coffee/peanut drink.
Sn: leftover jello, chic pea/peanut snack mix, 6 sm cookies, tea.
S: 4 oz cottage cheese, mango. Dessert social: 3 different kinds of cake (+seconds), jello, 2 crepes, fruit salad, hot cocoa.

Re: Thurs- I'm trying to be more aware of satiety... I know I'm hungry too much of the time to keep this up forever. So far, this breakfast was tasty, but not satisfying through the morning. I was feeling "starved" by lunch time and probably overdid it on the carbs at the potluck lunch. Supper, was a better ballance, I think, with some complex carbs and meat and vegetable. I don't know if it was psychological, thinking I'd be more satisfied than usual if I included whole wheat pasta, but anyway, that was a satisfying meal, not so extravagent taste-wise, but I felt full.

Friday, adding popcorn to my normal breakfast did increace satiety, but really an S day thing, as it's more than a plate's worth of food.
Re: snacks on S days- I realize they are more in the entertainment category than the nutrition one. I just sort of thing "Hmmm, what can I have to eat?" and enjoy the freedom to grab something. (But that used to be an every day, and several times a day thing, and so unnecessary and unhelpful!)
I don't have any protein powder on hand, but I would have liked to try drinking a protein shake before going to the dessert social, (taking an ideal from groovy1). The cottage cheese/fruit supper was an OK alternative- something light, but I really wanted to focus my attention on the desserts in the evening! I did overeat the dessert, as I expected, and had a very slight stomach ache. (What are S days for?!)
I still like the floating S days that let me flexibly participate in social food (& sweets!) related activities, and doing N days on the weekend is very convenient, as I'm usually at home, cooking for myself.

[osoniye]

Sat, S day (Alem's wedding!)
B: 1 egg, 1 slice toast, grated cheese, pineapple, coffee.
L: (Noon) Ethiopian lunch before a wedding- 1 platefull injera w/spicy and plain meat sauces, cabbage, green beans, 10 oz pepsi.
S: 1 small plate stacked high: Hors d'euvres at wedding reception, wedding cake, water.

Sun, N day
B: (8a) 1 egg, 1 slice toast, grated cheese, pineapple, coffee.
L: (1:30p) cauliflower cooked w/tomato (+coconut oil), cheese, 1 slice bread, herbal tea.
S: (~7p) 9" plateful of pseudo Asian food: (~7 oz) stirr fried grated carrot/onion/bell pepper, 3.5 oz shredded beef, glass noodles (5 oz cooked), sweet soy and hot sauces, water.

Mon, N day
B: 2 med eggs, 1 slice toast, grated cheese, 3 rings pineapple, coffee/peanut drink.
L: 1/2 slice bread w/cheese, 9 oz zucchini, onion, red bell pepper stirr fried in sesame oil, 4 oz tofu, 4 oz glass noodles, herbal tea.
S: Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, a few small biscuits, few bites sweet potato/carrot, guacamole.

I bought a loaf of some kind of whole grain bread that is not that tasty (for about 75 cents. The nice stuff here is more like $3). I'm thinking of trying to have 1 thin slice with most meals, and see what that does for satiety. It's not something I'll be tempted to overdo, and it might give that little bit more of a carb boost that would keep me from the nagging hunger that makes it feel like I'm "on a diet". Tried that @ breakfast, unfortunately I was feeling "starved" for all 3 of my meals on Saturday.
Took an S day @ the last minute to eat wedding cake, etc.
Sunday I was hungry almost to the point of feeling sick at lunch time. (Well, I had some family worries on my mind that may have been hunger+ anxiety= feeling slightly sick.) Trying to trust God with the worries, and with faith, ate lunch and felt much better afterwards. The 1 slice of w/wh bread with each meal seems to be doing the trick for satiety (I'm still doing some fat at every meal), at least I feel satisfied after my one platefull instead of still hungry at the end, though I'm still sort of famished 4-5 hrs later. My weight is still not budging. I thought I'd lost a couple of #'s but I seem to be on a rollercoaster between 148-152#, which I think means still 150, with some water retention or loss. I may be building some muscle, as I've been doing either walking or 2# hand weights most days (30 or 14 minutes respectively). Don't know if that's enough to build much muscle, but I feel my pants are a little looser, maybe, but maybe I'm kidding myself. I did feel sort of "swallowed up" in my older dresses as I tried to choose something to wear to the wedding on Saturday. In some outfits I look a little more waif-like but I still look lumpy and not undernourished in my PJ's.
On Monday, I got really hungry after lunch. I guess 4 oz of glass noodles (zero fiber) isn't as filling as a full bread serving. All good information. I was ready to eat at 5 but dinner wasn't finished till 7, so I had a glass of fiber supplement (which is orange flavored and has some sugar in it). That seemed to help a lot. I'd like to get a sugar free type of that stuff, but for now I am working my way through a big container of what I have on hand.
Supper served by and with naturally thin people. It's so funny eating with this bunch... one of them is a guy who is like 6' 4" and super skinny, his wife is breastfeeding a 1 month old, and she still has the waistline of a newly delivered woman, but her rings are getting loose becasue she's really not compensating for the calories she's giving up in the breast milk. They just naturally eat less than I do when I'm dieting (!), and they're not even trying. I don't get it. It's like their appetite cuttoff switch is set to go off too early, and mine only goes off with physical pain of having eaten way too much. Eating with them does have the effect of making me take less food, I'm doing the 2/3 plate, 1/3 plate thing so that I'm not loading up the first platefull so much more than everyone else. It feels like a freak show and I'm not sure if I'm they freak or they are!

[osoniye]

Tues, N day
B: Pineapple, mango, 1/2 slice w/gr bread, cottage cheese, coffee.
L: 8 oz cooked broccoli, 8 oz raw tomato, olive oil, 2 oz cheese, water.
S: 4 oz cottage cheese, 1 slice wh/g bread, 4 oz glass noodles, pile of stirr fried green beans, red bell pepper, mushrooms (in little oil w/ sauces), few potato chips, (politeness bite cookie), herbal tea.

Wed, S day!
B: 2 slices french toast, 1 fried egg, lg bowl popcorn, coffee.
L: 4 oz cottage cheese, 8 oz pineapple, 1 slice bread, 3 small cookies, coffee peanut drink.
Later: Tea.
S: (Supper @ Suzanne's): Tamale pie (3rds, small portions), cucumber/tomato/onion w/yogurt dressing, 1 home-made chocolate chip cookie, red cool-aid

Tuesday- breakfast was fine, lunch not filling enough (low carb), supper was very nice and satisfying, but I can't eat like that at every meal (est calories: 700).
Wednesday was an S day... I didn't do anything too extravagant, but felt out of sorts, kind of bloated, low energy and hungry(!) most of the day. Wonder if I'm coming down with something. I keep maintaining at 150#... feels like I'm hungry enough of the time that I really should be losing weight overall, but I'm not.
Enjoyed drinking cool-aid with supper and having 3rds even if the servings were small. Would have liked more than one cookie, but there were only that many to go around! Very moderate S day. This is probably the key to success, but I feel ever so slightly deprived.

[osoniye]

Thurs, N day
B: (8:30z) 8 oz pineapple, 4 oz tofu, 1 sm slice bread, coffee.
L: (12:30p) 3.8 oz cottage cheese, 8 oz tomato/cauliflower, 1 oz wheat germ, olive oil, tea.
S: (5p) 4 oz roast beef, 12 oz veggies (peppers, onion, zucchini) w/sesame oil, 4 oz glass noodles, 2/3 slice brown bread.

Fri, N day
B: 7 oz pineapple, 4 oz tofu, 1 slice bread, coffee.
L: 4 oz roast beef in sdw on brown bread w/mayo+ mustard, roasted veggies in olive oil w/Italian spices, herbal tea.
S: (@ Katherine's) 1 small plate: ground beef and bell peppers over rice, tea.

Thurs breakfast, lunch and supper were all very yummy and satisfying at the time (which is a lot better than getting up from the table still feeling naggingly hungry!) but I did get that "famished" feeling about 4 hours later and found it hard to wait for the next meal/bedtime. My jeans feel a little looser, which is encouraging, even if the scales refuses to budge.

Friday breakfast was yummy, lunch was good, but the roast beef was a little tough, and I felt hungry-ish as soon as I was done. Maybe veggies not piled high enough on plate- it looked like a normal 9" plateful, not hugely piled up, with a litte 'white space', and the bread was sliced pretty thin. I think generally that is not quite enough to keep me going till the next meal. All good information, live and learn.

Supper was funny- usually "caving in to social pressure" leads to over-eating, but today I was at a (shorter older) friend's house and she offered me an early supper. She made up the plates for us and stuck them in the microwave. They were very small plates and she doesn't have a huge appetite, so I had to either tell her never mind, I'd eat when I got home, or sticking to NoS, call that supper and be done with it. So I'm still kind of hungry but realizing that some days/weeks are just laden with temptation and others are leaner, and I don't have to come home and eat more food, because I've had my 3 meals for the day, and that's where I draw the line.

[osoniye]

Sat, N day
B: Pineapple w/dill, greek yogurt, 1 slice brown bread, coffee.
L: 4 oz beef, 12 oz grilled veggies, 4 oz glass noodles w/broth, tea.
S: (Awful meal w/Katherine @ 'CoffeeShop') Several pieces of thin, greasy breaded, overdone fried fish, french fries, several slices bread, water. (Bleck!)

B&L were fine, really starved by supper time and took a chance on the fish at a low end cafe. Big Mistake, but since it wasn't real, real cheap, ate what I had. Had a LOT of heartburn in the night as a result. Live and learn.

[osoniye]

Sun, S day
B: Yummy zucchini bread w/choc chips (by Meaghan), oatmeal w/raisins, nuts+ br sugar, coffee.
L: (@ Kaldi's) Sm. fish sandwich, few french fries, water.
Sn: (Coffee @ Hannele's 3-5p) Few cookies, 2 sm slices banana cake, coffee.
S: Small plate injera with spicy meat and ground meat sauces, 2 med pieces chocolate cake w/rum frosting, water.

Enjoyed a great breakfast after that awful supper. I like my S days!!
Didn't feel that I overdid it today, and certainly could've eaten more, but the 2 pieces chocolate cake w/rum frosting were a very satisfying and good end to the day!

[osoniye]

Mon, N day
B: Pineapple, 1 egg, greek yogurt, toast, coffee.
L: 3 oz beef, 13 oz grilled veggies, 3.6 oz whole wheat noodles, 1 slice brown bread.
Later: Herbal tea.
S: 1 bowl cream of chicken soup, fried beef cubes, w/injera, hot sauce+ mustard, macchiatto, (politeness bite ginger cookie) water.

Breakfast good and almost filling. Close enough.
Had the idea at lunch, since I'm not doing much of a low carb thing anyway right now, to cut protein servings to 3 oz sometimes, and see what happens satiety-wise. So far I got hungry pretty early in the afternoon, so this may not last. Had some tea and waited for supper.

[osoniye]

Tues, S day!
B: Gk yogurt, random sm pieces cake from freezer (w/fresh frosting!), 1 slice toast, coffee.
Sn: Huge bowl popcorn.
L: Roast beef sandwich, 1 tomato, 1 carrot, water.
Sn: 2 small chewy granola bars, 5 lifesavers candy. Coffee.
S: 4 oz beef, 3 oz glass noodles, 8 oz grilled veggies, 6 oz pumpkin& beets.
Snack: 4 brownies, strawberries w/powdered sugar, roiboos tea.

Wed, N day
B: Pineapple, 1 egg, bread, coffee.
L: Tofu, broccoli/cauliflower, eggplant, pumpkin, glass noodles.
S: Injera, mutton in red sauce, 3 espresso w/milk+ a little sugar, water.

Tuesday- I wonder if starting out with cake among other things for breakfast set me up for more hunger/cravings during the day-? I really like that type of breakfast on S days, but it may give me pause to consider...

Hmmm. I would have thought lunch should have been filling enough- 2 slices bread, 4 oz beef, mustard, mayo, 2 veggies... but I ate at 12:30 and was ravenous by 2:00. This makes no sense. There was protein, carb, fat, it was enough volume- I just don't get it. I think my body is putting up an all out effort to regain weight from before, by putting the appetite into overdrive-?
One nice thing about the past 10 months (2 months of NoS and 8 months before on another 3 meals a day regimen), is I don't have the patience anymore, to be in and out of the kitchen all day fixing myself things. It's bad enough chopping fruits and vegetables for meals, but then, that's enough! I guess if I had a lot of junk food in the house, or convenient fast food nearby, I could still graze, but after making my meals and popcorn today, I just wound up getting through the rest of the afternoon hunger with a cup of coffee, even on an S day. (That's making laziness work FOR me!!)
I guess, to some degree, for this day, I internalized the message that hunger is not the sign that it's time to eat, it's just a feeling that may last or pass but isn't an indication of my real needs. I think that's progress of some sort!
There was also the thought at supper that if I know I'm going to have a snack later, I don't need such a huge plate of food for the meal... I'd call that S day progress, too!

Wednesday, I ate breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12 noon, and "supper" at 1pm, which was ridiculous! I was at a restaurant with a coworker and was just going to drink something, and ended up diving into a plate of food. I knew I could either declare a floating S day (though I'd planned to take one tomorrow), or take a failure day, or consider it a very early supper and not eat anything else today. Chose the last one and I'm pretty content with that- 3 meals... no sweets, no seconds and no snacks- even if the timing is a little odd! This is a very strange solution to the problem of being ravenous an hour or 2 after lunch. Wonder when something crosses the line from being seconds to being another meal. It helps that it was in a different setting and totally different food!

[osoniye]

Thurs, S day
B: Pineapple, yogurt, bread, coffee.
Sn: 1/2 tuna salad sdw, coffee
L: 2 oz provalone & gouda cheese, 8 oz Tomato/eggplant, 1 oz wheat germ, water.
Sn: Popcorn, small slice chocolate cream cake, coffee/peanut drink.
S: (@ Corinna's)- Healthy veggie lasagne (3 servings), salad w/honey-mustard dressing (3 servings), 1/2 pancake, "red wine cream" dessert, 1 glass red wine.
All was well, I do enjoy my S days!

[osoniye]

Fri, N day
B: Pineapple, yogurt, coffee.
L: 2 oz beef, 2 oz tofu, 7 oz eggplant& pumpkin, 5 oz glass noodles 6 oz corn, water.
S: (Before bowling)- 1 egg, 1 oz cheese, 8 oz zucchini+ red bell peppers, 1 oz wheatgerm.

Sat, N day
B: 1 egg, 1 oz cheese, pineapple, toast, coffee.
L: (Tivoli's) 1/2 sm. burger, few fries, 3 (teriaki) chicken strips, sm rice w/cabbage/carrots, roll w/butter, coffee.
S: (Movie Nite) Virtual plate of cheesy veg/noodle casserole, salad, toast, Lumi's baked apple, water w/dash fruit juice.

Sun, N day
B: (@ ABF) Bread, coffee w/milk.
L: (Tivoli's) "4 Season's pizza", 1 chicken nugget, strong black coffee, water.
S: Flat corn chips, salsa, few strawberries, sm sq fresh coconut, glass white wine, (politeness bite chocolate cookie), instant coffee.

Sunday lunch was excessive, supper was more like a big snack. This weekend feels like "N days gone wild", meaning that you can get a LOT of food on a single plate if you stack it just right and don't care if those around you think you are a pig... or if you eat a restaurant portion of something that really would have been best shared. To compensate for that, I've tried having really small meals at other times, to balance it out- but that's not what I want my NoS life to be like. I'd much rather eat 3 reasonable sized meals per day and not play this compensation game. But at least being on Nos has me having this conversation with myself, rather than having my head down in the food and my stomach continuously overstuffed, so it's all to the good.
On Saturday, I carried a plastic container for leftovers and didn't need it, then Sunday didn't have it and would have benefitted from saving half my lunch. Oh, well, maybe I'll think of brining one more consistently when I go out in the future.

[osoniye]

Mon, N day
B: (8:30a) 2 slices French toast w/jam, 1 fried egg, 1 mango, coffee.
L: (1:45p) Beef, mushrooms, greeen beans, glass noodles, 1/2 cheese sdw, few chips, water.
S: 1 egg, 1 oz cheese, 9 oz zucchini/red bell pepper/onion, 1 oz wheatgerm, water.

Tues, S day
B: White roll w/jam, Greek yogurt w/strawberries, coffee w/milk.
L: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 1 pc licorice, water.
Snack: 3 small cookies, coffee/peanut drink.
S: Salmon w/carrots/onions/cabbage.
Snack: (my) Red velvet cake, popcorn, tea.

Wed, N day
B: French toast w/jam, fried egg, pineapple, coffee.
L: Salmon, beets, cabbage, onion, green beans, glass noodles, few chips, water.
S: (@ CoffeeShop) Mutton w/injera and some red sauce, few bites fish, (politeness bite carrot cake), tea, water.

Wednesday supper fit in one bowl, but it was too greasy and felt like too much food and I didn't even finish my bowl of food. I can see where without using common sense, a person could really eat too much/gain wt. even following NoS.

[osoniye]

Thurs, S-event* day
B*: Carrot cake, glass of milk, coffee.
L: Cheese sandwich, chips, milk, water.
S: Cheese, cabbage/pumpkin, a little leftover injera, coffee.

I'm transitioning from floating S days to some S days and a few floating S events as well, maybe up to 3 per week. I hope this isn't a slippery slope, but I find some S days are great semi-wild, but other times I just want to add one dessert with friends, and keep the rest of the day N, so I want to try a combo. It'll involve more keeping track, which is not supposed to be the whole idea, but I have to make this workable for me or I'll just go off NoS. So, the idea is one full blown S day and 3 other events per week, and see how it goes.
Starting on Monday, I'll be travelling, and want to do intelligent dietary defaults for 18 days: fruit (oranges +bananas)/cheese for breakfast, optomized oatmeal for lunch and dried fruit and nuts in the evening, with occasional meals out (& a daily multi-vit.)

[Scrybil]

Hey Sonya - I've been absent a bit (family stuff, travel, etc.) but wanted to catch up with you - looks like you're doing really well with a thoughtful approach to fine-tuning what works for YOU.......I really admire your ability to self-examine and adjust......

[osoniye]

Thanks Scryb, for checking in and for your kind encouragement. I am being as thoughtful as I know how, and it's keeping me on NoS, which is a great set of habits, but I'm still not losing weight, so that is a bit worrying, but I'm still not gaining back, and that by itself is something I'm thankful for!!!

Fri, S-event* day
B: Greek yogurt w/strawberries, pineapple, 1 egg w/cheese, toast, coffee.
L: (@ office) Injera with various vegan sauces, 1 slice bread, bite bread/cheese casserole, (politeness bites banana cake/beet cake), coffee.
S*: (@ Corinna's) White bread w/tomato, cheese, egg salad, cucumber, carrot cake (loaf pan- 4 slices), tea.

Sat, S-event* day
B: Greek yogurt w/strawberries, toast w/butter and jam, coffee w/milk.
L: Fish, various leftover veggies, glass noodles, 2 eggs.
Snack*: Cake, coffee.
S: Soup, bread.

[osoniye]

Ugh, went on vacation and gained some weight. Trying to get back on NoS, but struggling!!!

[osoniye]

Record of S events:
Tuesday: 1/3 Doughnut(SE1), M&M's (SE2), Maple candy (SE3), Popcorn (SE4), Popcorn, maple candy and cookies (SE5)
Thurs: (@Cor's) sweet snack- small plate cookies+candy (SE6)

Interesting to see how S events are adding up. I thought 6-9 events per week was really generous, and about what I would do if I were doing Vanilla S weekend days, but I realize that my S days were probably a lot more wild and might have contained many more events if counted out, like seconds of snacks, etc. I think that counting events will help me to be less "wild". It certainly is an eye-opener!

[osoniye]

Fri (New Year's Eve): Seconds of salad/pizza buffet (SE7), dessert (SE8)
Sat: Snack- Christmas sugar cookies (SE9).

Well. I made it through the week on exactly 9 S events. I think this may work for me. Nothing showing on scales, but I feel clothes are a little looser, so that's nice. This S event thing seems to keep me from taking 3rd's and even 4th's, and having seconds OF snacks, etc on S days. I have some hope for the new year.

New week:
Sun: Dessert: Christmas sugar cookies and milk (SE1)

[osoniye]

Tues: Evening snack- popcorn, candy, cookies (SE2)
Wed: Snack:popcorn, candy, cookies (SE3), (later) Popcorn (SE4)

Things are going well- I am eating way less junk (believe it or not!!) than on S days, with this S events thing. I am having to exercise self control and make choices (this OR that, today OR tomorrow) and I think that's good.

Thurs: Out for early Birthday dinner- Seconds(SE5) Dessert (SE6)

[osoniye]

Fri: (Orthodox Christmas)- Lunch Seconds(SE7), Dessert (SE8)
Sat: Lunch- Seconds at a friend's house (SE9)

A huge pile of bread was served a while after lunch, and I ate 3 or 4 pieces, decided to call that "supper", since it would fit on a plate and I didn't really want to eat more that evening. Not very balanced I admit, but we do what we can!
Another perfect week, with 9 S events. That SOUNDS like a lot, but really I it's nothing compared to former S days, I'm realizing more and more. I really have to dole them out carefully.

Evaluating my S events... I REALLY like to go out for a special meal, and eating very special desserts. Not so thrilled with just pigging out@ home, eating "whatever" is served for a snack and extra helpings@ someone's house out of politeness.

Wishing anyone who reads this a great NoS New Year!!

[osoniye]

Sun: coffee break snack:bread (SE1), pm snack-Christmas cookies (SE2)

Kind of a heavy start to the week with 2 or my potential 9 S events down, but it's about choices and if I say "yes" it will eventually lead to a "no" tomorrow. I have a birthday at the end of the week, so do need to take it easy.

[osoniye]

Starving today!! Felt body temp drop a bit after lunch and had to take a nap. Too tired and cold to bother with planned trip to the pool to swim. Hope this is a sign I'm on the verge of losing weight and not getting sick!

[osoniye]

Mon pm: Sweet snack- fresh from the oven brownies (SE3)
Tues pm: Evening snack at Suzanne's- 2 date cookies (SE4)
Wed, after lunch: M&M's snack (SE5)
Thurs am: snack@ IEC samosa/cake/popcorn (SE6)

Getting a little nervous as my birthday is on Fri, and I have something fun planned for Sat eveing that may involve food. Hmm... I may be looking at an extra couple of SE's and will give myself a red day accordingly if I run over. For some reason my birthday week is harder than around the holidays (maybe I feel bad turning people down when they want to do something in honor of ME!). There's a rough couple of weeks in Sept too, when there are friend birthdays and a national holiday where I live, that goes on and on. Good to be aware of these things even if that doesn't change anything. I'm trying intermittent fasting 2 days per week, lunch time to lunch time, but I'm allowing myself juices and coffee, so it's not too bad.

[osoniye]

Fri after lunch: Birthday cake w/ice cream and cafe late. Yum!! (SE7)
Fri pm: dessert- strawberry ice cream with drizzle of chocolate sauce (SE8)
Sat pm: 2 frosted cookies @ Suzanne's (SE9)


For Fri lunch I had ribs and a postage stamp sized serving of greens and 2 tiny roasted potatoes. To that I added a very small piece of someone's pizza, but since it would have fit on a reasonable sized plate, I'm not counting it as seconds.

Yay! I'm glad I was able to stick to 9 S events this week. I think this is working for me!

[osoniye]

Tu: Pm snack at June's (cake and cookies w/coffee) (SE1)
Wed: snack: candy( SE2)
Fri: am snack (chocolate) (SE3), pm snack (popcorn and cheese) (SE4)
Supper seconds (SE5), snack- cookies (SE6)
Sat: Supper seconds (SE7), and thirds (SE8), dessert- strawberries w/chocolate pudding (SE9).

Just barely made the 9 SE events this week again. I don't feel that I'm losing any weight at the rate I'm going, and the 9 events are a lot to keep track of, so as of Feb 1, I'm going back to floating S days and trying to eat weighed and measured meals off the OA greysheet for my 3 meals per day, when I'm at home and/or in control of the food. If I'm out, will try just not to be an idiot.

[osoniye]

Back home after a working trip for 2 weeks. I mostly followed NoS, so am surprised by no wt loss. Oh, well. Will be trying intermittent fasting 2 days this week (lunch to lunch) and hope to get back to swimming twice a week.
Will try to keep track of S events here.
Sun: Ice cream@Kaldi's after lunch (SE1)

[osoniye]

Mon: Snack: popcorn and candy (SE2)
Tues: Snack: candy (SE3), Evening snack (sm sq cake and cookies)(SE4)
Wed: Lunch seconds (SE5), Snack: candy and nuts (SE6)
Thurs: Am snack- sm sq cake (SE7)

[osoniye]

So I'm back from doing some travel for work. I saw someone on another thread refer to "S occasions" rather than events, and I like the ring to that. I think I was taking too many before, so now I want to go with 5-6 S occasions per week. So far:
Sun: Had a caramel machiatto with a friend. Since I COULD have had a late which wouldn'have been sweet, I count it (SO1)
Mon: I had seconds of lunch at Wuleta's (SO2). I ate a big plate of bread in the middle of the afternoon, but since I had only non sweet beverages at breakfast time, I consider that one of my 3 daily meals.
Tues: In the evening ate some not very sweet cookies, but it was a snack, so, (SO3)
Wed-TH: Ate really heavy plates of lunch both days, but kept it to a plate and didn't get a crumb of seconds and didn't eat a crumb of cakes/cookies when co-workers were, so I'm proud of myself!!
[Fri: Plan to have seconds or dessert when I go to Corinna's for supper]

[Kevin]

One way I trimmed my pre-meal snacking is by putting the smallest quantity of the snack that I could in my mouth (one corn chip, one bitty pretzel), eating it slowly, and waiting until its flavor (salt, mostly) entirely cleared before I ate another.

You guys will get the hang of it. It just takes a little time.

[osoniye]

Friday: Seconds @dinner (SO4) and dessert (SO5)
Sat: Planning to have dessert tonight, which will make (SO6) and Sun starts a brand new day and week! I have been invited to a baptism and cookout on Sun, dinner out w/dessert on Mon, an evening event w/snacks on Tues, Dinner w/a friend on Thurs, and Friday is a pizza event. I really hope to keep the SO's down to 5-6, but I can see this will be challenging this week!

[osoniye]

Hmmm... I seem to be getting ahead of myself on the SO thing for the week, if I want to have only 5 or 6
Su: Cake at cookout (SO1)
Mo: Cake for dessert @ Carnivore restaurant (SO2)
Tu: Am snack at office of cookies and bread (SO3).
I think I really need to slow down, as I'm afraid there will be nice freshly baked goodies tempting me here and there throughout the week. I don't know how you folks on Vanilla NoS stand it, NEVER getting to eat dessert out during the week or having a snack that someone brings to the office. But perhaps you have it easier, as you have just make one decision...

[osoniye]

Tues night sweet snack (SO4)
Friday night will be pizza party- either seconds of pizza or dessert, I expect.

[osoniye]

Well, here I am back again for the 100th time, after more work travel.
I still haven't found the right mod for me as far as S days to make them my own. I still eat my most special meals of the week on evenings during the week, so I think I want to try floating S days, rather than floating S events or occasions, and really try not to eat junk just because it's one of those S days.

[osoniye]

I want to be scrupulously honest about my N day failures, and if that means a month of mostly red with a few yellow squares, so be it, I will have learned something.
Wed S day: Ate seconds of curry and pudding for dessert w/supper. I ate an eveing snack of candy and cookies. This was a planned S day.
Thurs N-Day. Red. I ate an am snack of fruit and 1/2 doughnut.

[osoniye]

Friday was a really great N day. I ate:
B: cantaloupe, left-over roast beef with mayo and mustard, coffee
Mid am: coffee w/milk (resisted the starchy thing served with it!! Yay!!)
L: Sourdough pancake with various (savory) toppings, water
S: Leftover lasagna with extra cheese on top, water

Saturday (N day) so far is going well:
B: cantaloupe, mango, left-over roast beef and fish with mustard, coffee
L: Leftover sourdough pancake with various (savory) toppings, cottage cheese, salad, water
S: Stirr fried tofu with green beans and mushroom, tomato/carrot salad with yogurt dressing, cinnamon tea

[osoniye]

Sunday- planned S day
Had nice breakfast and lunch (grilled chicken and fries) and a wonderful dessert of tiramisu and a scoop of ice cream @ a coffee shop. Don't plan to have anything more of an "S" today and feel quite satisfied!

[osoniye]

The floating S days is working like a charm.
Monday (N day)
B: Braised fish and cantaluope
(Ate one chocolate covered coffee bean someone made, but am not counting that as a fail, as it was so very small!)
L: Mixed salad with 1/2 oz wheat germ and some leftover beef and salmon
S: Leftovers: some lasagna and sourdough pancake with cottage cheese
Tues: (N day)
B: Leftover roast beef, cantaloupe
L: Fish cakes, mixed salad
S: Stirr fried tofu with green beans and mushrooms, raw tomatoes with olive oil

[osoniye]

Things still going well.
Wed N day-
B: Cantaloupe and milk (2 c)
L: Chinese restaurant: fried fish chunks, beef from hot iron plate, rice, few small steamed dumplings, watermellon. (All fit nicely on a plate)
S: Tofu/beef (4 oz total), stirr fried green beans and cabbage, sm side salad

Thurs and Fri are my scheduled S days this week.

[oolala53]

I was out of touch for awhile. Glad to hear you are liking your progress.

[osoniye]

Thanks for stopping by oolala!
I'm taking an N day, as my S days this week were Monday and Sunday. I had a "fail" on Tuesday, when I ate a second plate of not very good food for lunch. I just felt unsatisfied, and it was one of those social situations, where I felt awkward taking a very full plate full the first time through a buffet line, sigh. I really didn't feel I could honestly virtual plate in that setting. Well, a fail is OK... I didn't get stuck there, and have been doing well the rest of the week.
Sat:
B: Grapefruit sections, fried tofu (yum!), coffee
L: Salad w/mayo, stirr fried okra, onion, mushroom, zucchini, soybeans w/soy sauce
S: Fresh tomatoes w/dressing, cooked zuucchini, onion+ peppers, cottage cheese.

[osoniye]

Sunday was an S day, so that was all good. I was "starving" (yes, I know that's not true) when we got to the restaurant, so instead of ordering the usual (1/4) BBQ chicken from the board, I noticed on the written menu they offered "1/2" BBQ chicken. Due to the sudden shaft of light and the angelic voices singing, I ordered it, and it was a lot of food... not enough to stop me from enjoying dessert, though. Sigh...

Monday- is an S day too, this week. Went to a Romanian colleague's house around 11 am and she served me a huge snack, which I could see coming, as she often serves scads of food. She's overweight and so is her 5 year old son, and I don't know if that bothers her. These folks put away alot of heavy meals and snacks. I suppose it's a "traditional" diet they eat, but maybe more suited to active farmers than a stay at home mom and a kindergardner. I'm glad for S days, but for N days too!!