Everyday Systems

[funfuture]

It's very late here now - about 1.30am on Christmas Eve. The night is warm and peaceful. DD is fast asleep. Santa's already been - at least his glass of champagne is finished - and there are more pressies under the tree. Feels a bit blissful really - tired and content.

B: toast with avocado and flavoured tofu. 2 x coffees with lf milk.
L: Green salad with chicken, Vietnamese dressing.
D: Chicken baked in the slow cooker with potato and carrots. Peas. Fresh blueberries and cherries for dessert.

[funfuture]

We had Christmas lunch with cousins - a beautiful lunch. Lots of delicious food. Cold turkey, salmon and ham, Greek salad, cold roast vegetables with rocket, chocolate ice cream cake with strawberries, trifle, Christmas pudding...(I skipped the latter but thoroughly enjoyed the ice cream cake - so much that I'm making it myself for guests tomorrow). Permasnacked in the evening though - think I was overtired - and ended up feeling awful.

Today has been better. Toast with vegemite for breakfast. A small piece of nut sweet that Spanish friends insisted I try this morning at their house (a traditional seasonal specialty). Salmon sushi and miso for lunch. Not sure about dinner, but something simple - maybe leftovers or scrambled eggs.

Tomorrow is going to be full-on, but I'm aiming for moderation in the feasting even though it will be an S day for me.

[funfuture]

Ah, well yesterday was better until I wrote that message...I ended up eating chocolate ice-cream after dinner. I was up late again cooking and ate a chicken leg late at night.

Today, I forgot to have breakfast, but then sat down to a lunch which went all afternoon - 5 hours at the lunch table. Mostly cold meats and salads, but also desserts. It was a feast. Am writing it off as an S day as I had planned. It was excessive (I had some of all the desserts), but there was no bingeing or any out-of-control eating.

Hopefully back to normal tomorrow. We're holidaying from tomorrow so won't have much control over food, but am hoping it won't be excessive food from now on.

[funfuture]

Hmmm - have definitely been in holiday mode for the last two weeks. Back home tomorrow. Back to Vanilla NoS. I have another week's break at the end of Jan and want to keep on NoS during that one. (Definitely haven't over this Xmas break.)

We've had a glorious time at the beach. So relaxing. I'm sitting here now looking out across the arc of yellow sand, laced by the breaking surf, and across the headland with its famous lighthouse to the ocean. There is enough breeze to make the air misty with salt, obscuring the white sails of the distant yachts from clear view. The pealing of the wind chimes on the verandah accompanies the swaying arms of the apricot bougainvillea. It truly is heavenly here...

We've had ten days of swimming, walking, boardgames with the kids, laughter and some shared tears over an absent friend. It's been a good time for all of us.

[funfuture]

Am back in the saddle...Vanilla No S for 21 days...

B: 2 coffees with milk (wasn't hungry after all the recent excess).
L: Pre-made pasta pockets (ricotta and spinach) with fresh tomato and avocado mixed through.
D: home-made caesar salad using leftover chicken, rice crackers, egg, lettuce, capsicum, cucumber, mayonnaise. Raw almonds.

2 glasses of white wine.

[idon'tknow]

Wow! Your holiday location sounds idyllic - you sound as if you have had a lovely time. I love the way your Christmas eating is summer food - apart from Christmas pudding! Good luck with the next 21 days

[funfuture]

Thanks, idont'know. It really was lovely. It's just once a year we get there, but I realise how lucky we are to have that opportunity.

One year it would be lovely to have a white Christmas - if only to make sense of all our reindeer and Christmas lights and Santa, etc...but perhaps in the northern hemisphere - am worried enough about climate change!

Have been on track since Thursday. I opted not to have S days this weekend - mainly because I didn't really want them. It was an excessive holiday food-wise and I was very relieved to come home to the sanity of NoS (which begs the question of why I couldn't just follow it while we were away...hmmm....)

Saturday:
B: scrambled eggs, almonds, cucumber, 2 x coffee with milk.
L: Thai beef salad.
D: fish with mushrooms, kale and garlic. 1 x glass of white wine.

Sunday:
B: coffee with milk + 2 nectarines.
L: 1.5 sandwiches with ham, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise. 1 x coffee with miilk.
D - am not sure yet - am just about to go and rootle around in the fridge...possibly a soup with leftover salmon and some brown rice.

[funfuture]

Did have the soup for dinner on sunday - homemade with brown rice, miso, fresh bitter greens and some leftover fresh salmon. Very Japanese.

Monday
B: forgot again except for flat white coffees - silly
L: Was hungry so I ate everal large corn cakes (puffed corn) with avocado and cheddar cheese. Fresh lychees.
D: Steamed salmon, sweet potato, carrot and corn. Lettuce. 2 x white wine.

Tuesday
B: 2 slices of high protein bread with margarine and vegemite.
L: capeseed roll with 2 boiled eggs, raw carrot, capsicum and cucumber.

Dinner - am thawing some mince to make meatballs and pasta.

[funfuture]

Ended up having dinner out in an Asian place - My daughter and I both felt like soup. I had a bowl of chicken laksa. Yum.

[funfuture]

Am reposting this from the main board so I keep track of it...

[KCCC]

FunFuture,

Meant to tell you how insightful I find your choice. I remember a few years ago, I had started "back-sliding" on No-S (excess creeping in, mostly because I'd let boundaries get fuzzy). I started to fall into frantic mode again, but managed to talk myself down by identifying "tiny, painless changes" that I could live with.

And they had the desired effect, of course. Most effective actions don't have to be at the grit-your-teeth-heroic level. Babysteps and incremental changes get you where you want to go.

The last issue of YogaJournal (officially Feb, I think, but out now) had a lovely article on "self-compassion" that also fits with this general idea.

Anyway, I think this is a GREAT word. Good luck with it!

KCCC

Not trying to hijack...

[funfuture]

Hi KCCC,
Welcome! It's great to have you drop by.
Thanks for your comments re my choice of word. I like yours too - "open" - it's resonates with me as well. Particularly as it relates to acceptance. The notion of accepting what is - of surrendering while also moving forward - is an interesting one for me. Thanks to you and Zipadee for starting the discussion - very fruitful.
Fun
x

[funfuture]

Wednesday:
B: 2 slices of high protein toast with margarine and vegemite. 3 coffees with skim milk (not enough sleep).
L: crackers with tinned salmon, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, mulberries.
D: sushi train (yum - a delicious indulgence). 2 glasses of white wine.

[NoelFigart]

I love it that sushi is No-S approved.
_________________
------
My blog http://noelfigart.com/blog/ I talk about being a freelance writer, working out and cooking mostly. The language is not always drawing room fashion. Just sayin'.

[funfuture]

Agreed, Noel.

Thursday:
B: 2 slices of gluten free toast with smoked salmon. 2 x coffee with lf milk.
L: homemade quiche plus half a peach.
D: BBQ chicken + 2 slices of bread and avocado.

[funfuture]

Friday:
B: 2 coffees with lf milk. 2 slices of high protein toast with marg and vegemite. Some left over BBQ chicken.
L: homemade caesar salad (sort of) - lettuce, 2 boiled eggs, the last of the leftover chook, cucumber, vinegar and olive oil dressing.
D: chicken casserole - chicken, sweet potato, onion, green beans, stock, cumin, mixed herbs, chick peas, red capsicum. Plus rice. (Enough with the chicken already...). Fresh blueberries with Greek yoghurt in a cup.

[funfuture]

Not out of control, but an indulgent S day.

B: 2 slices of toast with vegemite. 2 coffees with lf milk.
Snack: 2 chocolates
L: Salads and cold meats, fruit salad
Snack: slice of plain banana bread
D: McDonald's wrap and fries. Chocolate icecream. (We were on a long car trip - well that's my excuse anyway....)

[funfuture]

After the very indulgent Saturday, I was planning not to go wild on Sunday. (Mind you, I'm not sure indulgent is the right word - I don't even like McDonalds...) Sunday did not go that well. The meals were fine - cold meats and salads, but we had guests all day for a potluck lunch and I ended up having a bit of everything, including the desserts - homemade coconut tart, chocolates, icecream and a pastry. Totally not paying attention to what I ate. But it was an S day. Am drawing a line under the weekend and moving on. Still, it's a relief that it's Monday...

I think I'll start recording my S day food here regularly - it feels a bit shameful to have to face what I actually did eat. I think it might be a good way of keeping a check on myself...

[funfuture]

Monday:
B: Forgot. 2 coffees with skim milk.
L: Leftover cold meats and salads from Sunday.
D: 3 slices of restaurant pizza plus 2 glasses of champagne.

Tuesday:
B: 4 puffed corn cakes with peanut butter (ie two sandwiches which I had to eat on the go this morning)
L: Leftovers from Sunday again - homemade quiche, chicken, ham, boiled egg and some cherry tomatoes.

Not sure what dinner will be yet. We will have at least one of DD's friends with us and I didn't prepare anything when I rushed out to work this morning...Will be something simple and kid friendly - possibly bangers and mash.

I read on KCCC's blog about the snow they've been having. Our city isn't affected but we've been having terrible floods. Very large areas of the eastern part of the country are under water. Here is a link to some pics of the city of Brisbane...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/qld-floods/beforeafter.htm

And here's a very scary one of a flash flood in Toowoomba.
http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/national-news/watch-how-flash-flood-grew-in-minutes-2127942.html

[idon'tknow]

Wow! The video is very scary - I can't believe how easily and quickly the water takes the cars. They look like toys! I've been watching about the floods on the news here - so much damage and disruption. I'm glad you're ok

[funfuture]

Yes, we're all fine. Thanks, idon'tknow. We are travelling to Queensland next week, but not to a directly flood-affected area.

B: corn cake sandwiches made with PB x 2. 1 coffee with milk.
L: Leftover quiche, chicken and egg.
D: sausages with steamed potato, kumera, peas and raw tomato. Plus rice crackers and cheese while waiting for the dinner to cook (which adds up to a fail for today - I could pretend and virtual plate, but in reality, it was snacking...)

[funfuture]

BTW dinner on Tuesday night was vegetable laksa in a food hall.

[funfuture]

B: 2 x sandwiches made of corn cakes and PB. 2 coffees with skim milk.
L: chicken casserole, watermelon, blueberrries.
D: takeaway Indian food - rice, mango chicken and vegetables. Meat samosa.

Boy have I eaten a lot of chicken lately. Lucky I'm not starting to sqwark. Is that how you spell "sqwark"?

[funfuture]

Friday:
B: 2 x corn cake sandwiches made with PB. 2 coffees with Lf milk.
L: leftover chicken casserole
D: Fish, chips and salad.

After midnight - technically on Saturday - succumbed to chocolate in the cupboard. I'm going to count it as a Fail because I think S days start the next day - after you wake up! It was a response to stress - a dear friend had a mild stroke yesterday when we were minding his kids. Am still counting it as a fail as I need to learn other ways to cope with emotional things.

[funfuture]

Am back.

The good news is that my friend is ok. It turned out to be a rather nasty virus rather than a stroke. He's still recovering but well on the mend.

Have been away this last week - holidaying again with family - ah, it's a tough life. This time around I stuck to NoS.

I weighed myself yesterday. I've been on NoS since mid-November with many distractions, etc. But I've gone down from 83 to 80kg since I started. That's 183 to 176.5 lbs (roughly) - ie 6.5 lbs down in 10 weeks. While it may not sound like much, it has to be said that I stopped NoS for 2 weeks over Christmas (went a bit wild really while on vacation - very silly) and also haven't been exercising regularly yet. I'm happy with that loss as I'm surprised the weight has come off - I'm ready to settle down properly into the NoS way of life for the long term now, particularly with the school year beginning tomorrow and a return to normality for me.

[funfuture]

We're heading into our last month of summer - the hottest month of the year. I'm savouring the tropical fruits, knowing this abundance won't last and that we'll be living on apples, bananas and citrus through the winter...sigh....Out-of-season fruit is prohibitively expensive - and not that nice. Despite the floods up north, at the moment rockmelons (canteloupe) and punnets of blueberries are both the price of a takeaway coffee or a chocolate bar. Although the mango season is pretty much over, there is a roadside stall that I pass on my way home that is selling trays of mangos for $10. Bliss. I'm planning to pick up a tray tomorrow. (We probably won't finish them, but I can freeze the fruit pulp for future use.)

It was hard to settle down today after a fairly wild weekend. I was fine on Saturday - the habits were carrying me through - till I ate some chocolate and that triggered off a bout of snacking and grazing on carby/sweet foods. Sunday was marginally better.

Monday:
B: 2 pieces of toast plus egg. 1 x coffee with LF milk.
L: salad (lettuce, capsicum, cucumber, red onion) with flavoured tofu. 2 slices of sourdough bread.
D: cottage pie (was using up some potatoes that had started to sprout) plus fresh fruit salad. 1 x glass of wine.

[funfuture]

Tuesday:

B: capeseed roll and a banana + 2 coffees
L: capsicum, cucumber, smoked salmon, tofu, slice of sourdough. Blueberries.
D: chicken and corn soup + 1/2 serve of beef, vegetables and noodles. 1 glass of wine spritzer.

Well, I didn't get our mangoes - we're having a bit of a heatwave and it was way too hot for the stallholders, I suspect. They weren't there when I drove past. In fact, it was so hot (41 degrees in my area, so probably hotter out where I work) that my car kept stalling and i was very lucky to make it home. Had to take DD to the doctor in the late afternoon, but I didn't want to risk driving in the heat again, so we took the bus. Has been a bit of a day, really...

Hopefully it will be cooler tomorrow.

[funfuture]

The day was cooler and the stallholders were back. I came home with a bag of mangoes and a bag of small peaches (just coming into season now). It's Chinese New Year, so I will take some of the fruit to friends tomorrow, along with a special celebratory cake that we bought in Chinatown.

I think tomorrow night's dinner will be a planned S event.

Today - Wednesday:
B: banana + 2 coffees
L: drumstick,salad of raw cucumber, carrot and tomato. 2 slices of sourdough.
D: brown rice with a stirfry using up food in the fridge - a small piece of fish, chickpeas, red cabbage, corn, mushrooms, tomato, frozen peas (for the green).

1 x white wine spritzer (half wine, half soda water).

[funfuture]

I've been thinking a bit lately about why I fell off the NoS wagon before. The first time around I was doing very well, but I hit a long plateau - I think caused by bingeing on S days. The second time I only did NoS for a few weeks and my head wasn't really in the right space. I was also trying to juggle being gluten free, which was a mistake (I couldn't manage both habits at once...)

Despite the psychological triggers, what happened in practice is that the Sday bingeing began to erode my N days. Instead of my N Days forming a barrier around the S days, the opposite began to happen. I also dropped the exercise because my work became uncontrollably busy.

This time around, I want to be aware of the dangers in advance and keep those N days iron-clad. And get back into regular exercise.

Thinking in terms of NoS events should help. And keeping my treats to meal times when that fits with S day social life. What I find is that once I start snacking on an S day, it spirals out of control, so I just want to watch that and find ways that work for me to keep the S days within their proper boundaries.

[funfuture]

Thursday - Chinese New Year - Special S day

B: 2 sandwiches made with corn cakes - 1 x peanut butter, 1 x vegemite and margarine.
L: large chicken, mayo and salad sandwich.
D: CNY with friends at their home. Shared (delicious but very very simple) Chinese meal, plus a slice of chocolate cake.

[Kevin]

That's definitely what I find. I do very little snacking on S days (unless I've been working hard outside or something).

[funfuture]

That's interesting, Kevin. I do think it might be the way forward for me to help me stick with the basic principle of "moderation".

[funfuture]

B: leftover soup. Black coffee.
L: Leftover stirfry plus lots of rockmelon.
D: fish & chips. 2 wine spritzers.

[Kevin]

I noticed you thought you were cheating by having plain yoghurt (yogurt) and fruit after your evening meal... would that little serving fit on your plate (in a small bowl, for convenience)?

I find that meals should have at least four things to be satisfying (I wish I could remember who it was that recognized this first on this forum, but I can't). I strive to make every meal have some starch, some protein, some vegetable (or two!) and some fruit. I just don't get as hungry after a meal like this - and it's not just the size of the portions, it's the variety.
_________________
Kevin
1/13/2011-189# :: 4/21/2011-177# :: Goal-165#
"Respecting the 4th S: sometimes."

[funfuture]

Hi Kevin,
I think what I was doing was having a full meal AND yoghurt and fruit. It was too much. But, funnily enough, I didn't deliberately stop doing it after all. It just dropped off of its own accord with NoS over the summer. I'm not eating as much at mealtimes.
cheers - and thanks for stopping by.

[Kevin]

I realize now your post was from long ago. Sorry to be irrelevant.

[funfuture]

Not at all, Kevin. I welcome your visits.

My Sunday was also a pretty wild S day. Back to "N"ormality today - and it's welcome.

I was reading a book last night about achieving higher measures of "Happiness". I've been following the movement for a while and occasionally check into Gretchen Rubin's site. This book is based on a series of documentaries made here in Sydney following 8 people who were challenged to follow the science and achieve greater happiness over a set period. It's fascinating. One of the recommendations is to write down the improvements you are making on a regular basis - such as using habit cal or these blogs that Reinhard has set up.

So, I'll keep marking down my food intake. And I need to find a form of regular exercise I can do with my hip (a longish but gentle walk on the beach last week was too much and set me back by about 3 days...sigh). I'd also like to re-start meditating daily. Those three things are a good basis for the rest of the tweaks to improve happiness ratings - mind you, my rating isn't too bad to begin with.

When I have the book with me, I'll write down the 8 main points...

[funfuture]

Monday:
B: egg, small rice crackers, watermelon
L: Bought sandwich with avocado, smoked salmon, lettuce and cucumber. Plus a boiled egg. Milky coffee (Am giving up milky coffee, but it was bought for me by a friend, so I couldn't really ask him to take it back!...)
D: Mixed plate of leftovers from dinner at our friends' last night (they know I can't use my kitchen properly till after Thursday - very kind of them...)
2 glasses of wine.

[funfuture]

Tuesday:

B: plain yoghurt and a peach. Coffee
L: tin of salmon, bread roll, mango
D: at a Chinese vegan restaurant - Taiwanese style eggplant, salt & pepper tofu and steamed rice.

We have a colleague from overseas visiting our work. I gave him a lift this afternoon and dropped him at a restaurant owned by some of his friends. They gave us tea and their homemade Turkish Delight. I declined the TD and accepted the tea, but my colleague pulled me aside and said I was causing offence - so down the hatch went the TD. I drew the line at one piece, and made my daughter eat the other one (bad mother!). As it was under duress, I refuse to count it as a fail... LOL.

[amake616]

Oh yes, my father's family is Jordanian and if you turn down food it's like you turned them down personally as an individual and they're crushed. Luckily, the food is pretty awesome When we went to visit them when we were kids, me and my brother particularly came back waddling.

[funfuture]

Lol, amake616. I once had a Lebanese friend who was a salesman (of sorts) and he really struggled to keep his weight down because he had to eat everytime he visited a house. He would never eat at my place - he was just thankful he could refuse to, I think.

Wednesday:

B: 2 slices of watermelon.
L: Leftover casserole
D: Fish fingers plus steamed potato, vegies and salad. Fruit. 2 glasses of wine.

(I'm yet to have the mango and the second glass of wine, but hey...may as well write it down while the computer is open and I'm passing.)

I'm not going to bother writing down tea or coffee if I have them black - not really much point.

DD must be having a growth spurt - she is as skinny as anything (as her grandmother would say - she has to zigzag in the shower to get wet) but she just ate 11 fishfingers! plus her vegies and salad. Now, of course, she wants dessert. Unbelievable.

[funfuture]

Starting Weight 83kg (mid-Nov, 2011)
Current weight 80kg (9/2/11).
Goal weight 58-60kg.
T-110; W- 97; B-109;A-35; T1-65.

[Kevin]

Are you a time traveler?

[funfuture]

Oh no, don't tell me I'm going to gain wait by November and be back where I started!! No, No, No...

That should, of course, be 2010.

And I didn't have the second glass of wine. I sort of wanted it, but not really. I haven't been that much of a drinker in the past, and I don't want to develop that as a habit now as a substitute for sugary food.

[funfuture]

In light of a discussion on the main board, I'm amending my goal weight...

Here's what I wrote there:

[funfuture]

Amended stats:

Starting Weight 83kg (mid-Nov, 2010)
Current weight 80kg (9/2/11).
Goal weight 65kg (if I get below that, great - if not, so be it).
T-110; W- 97; B-109;A-35; T1-65.

Weight to lose - 15kgs or about 33lbs (that's still a lot!).

I'm setting myself 3 small goals of 5kgs each.

My next goal is 75kg, then 70, then 65. I don't know how long that will take me overall, but it would be great if it could be achieved over the next 12 months...

[idon'tknow]

Well done on the weight loss

[funfuture]

Why, thank you, IDK.

Today:

B: boiled egg plus peach (on the run)
L: sourdough roll, salami, avocado, lettuce. 2 fresh figs (They're in season locally and very inexpensive at the moment. I bought 8 of them for about $3 today. Love them - am thinking of grilling them on Sat evening when my brother comes to stay and then serving them with maple syrup and ricotta as an S day treat.)
D: potato and egg salad with mayonnaise; ham and vegetables stir fried. Slice of watermelon.

[KCCC]

Sounds like you're making a LOT of progress on many fronts. Congrats!

I check into Gretchen Rubin's site occasionally as well. Would be really interested in hearing more about the book you're reading.

[funfuture]

Thanks, KCCC.

The book is "Eight Steps to Happiness" the science of getting happy and how it can work for you" by Dr Anthony M Grant and Alison Leigh.

It's based on a TV series called "Making Australia Happy". The website for the series is at: http://makingaustraliahappy.abc.net.au/
That website also has a link to the book.

The TV series took a group of volunteers from a Sydney suburb that was found in a national survey to have the lowest rates of "wellbeing" in Australia. They then filmed them over a couple of months as they took the "8 steps to happiness".

The website's a bit of fun. You can take a test on it that measures your happiness levels. The idea is that you test again once you follow the steps they suggest. The happiness ratings of the 8 volunteers skyrocketed as they completed the course.

The people who made the show tested the participants before and after in a range of ways - psychologically and physically. They found their cortisol and stress levels dropped; melatonin levels increased by an average of 60%; three people in the group had high blood pressure to begin with but this dropped significantly (35/16); cholesterol dropped by a minimum of .5 of a point; immunoglobulin levels increased; pain tolerance increased markedly; neural activity decreased by an average of 50% (a quiet brain is a happy brain)...etc...

The website gives activities to complete that are part of the first three of the eight steps to happiness (a taste of the program).

One of the first things the book and the program recommend is that you write your own eulogy - so that you get a good feel for your own values and how you want your life to turn out (ie not based on the expectation of others, but on what you really want).

It also recommends that you eat well, exercise regularly and get enough sleep as health is a good foundation for happiness.

But the 8 actual steps are (or the headings for them are...)
- Goals and Values
- Random acts of kindness
- Mindfulness
- Strengths and Solutions
- Gratitude
- Forgiveness
- Social networks
- Reflect, review, renew.

The book has a section on the science behind the recommended program.

I've been dipping in and out of it, but so far I've found it very interesting. What's surprising about it is the science behind it - Basically, the 8 steps boil down to what our mothers always told us...That a "good" life involves
- having compassion and kindness towards others - being altruistic
- staying true to ourselves
- appreciating the moment rather than living in the past or the future
- appreciating what we have - gratitutude
- letting go of resentments and anger
- working on relationships with friends, relatives, etc. Strong social networks increase happiness
- expressing yourself openly and honestly (journalling your thoughts and feelings, e.g., is apparently a very effective stress release and promoter of happiness).
- self-reflection - understanding our own role in our circumstances and taking responsibility for our own lives/futures.

But it is fascinating to see hard evidence of the difference taking the course made to the volunteers - psychologically and physically.

Interesting stuff.
cheers
fun
x

[KCCC]

Fun, thanks so much for taking the time to write this up! I will have to check it out - sounds like something I'd like.

Isn't it amazing how frequently science finds out the equivalent of "listen to your mother" (or your elders)?

[funfuture]

My pleasure KCCC. And yes, it is funny the way science often backs up folk wisdom. It's a good thing.

Saturday = S day

B: egg, ham, corn cakes with marg. 2 milky coffees - s day treat.
L: wraps with smoked salmon and salad.
Treat: chocolate almonds
D: stir fry fish, vegetables and rice
Treat: more chocolate almonds.

Happy with that S day - I didn't go overboard - I still have half a packet of chocolate almonds in my bag after sharing them around.

[funfuture]

Wilder Sunday...

B: egg, croissants, rockmelon.
Morning tea - half a slice of mudcake. Skim milk latte.
Afternoon - chocolates
D: thick vegetable soup, grilled cheese on a bun, 2 glasses of wine. Bowl of chocolate icecream.
Snack. plain crackers.

Weighed yesterday - no weight lost lately. I'm going to have to find a way to exercise despite my hip.

[funfuture]

Monday:

B: boiled egg, 2 corn cakes with margarine, coffee.
L: 4 x vita wheat crispbread, homos, artichoke heart, cucumber.
D: chicken leg casserole, noodles, fruit. 1 x wine.

[funfuture]

Tuesday:

B: bread roll, 2 figs. Coffee x 2
L: leftover noodles and chicken casserole.
D: tacos with all the trimmings (tomato, avocado, cucumber, cheese and lettuce). Probably a bigger plateful than I needed, but at least I didn't succumb to dessert...

Am overtired today and found NoS hard. Have been hanging on by the fingertips tonight, but I know it's because I haven't had enough sleep/rest over the past few days...

Off to bed now - tomorrow is another day...

[funfuture]

Wednesday:

Still tired - and still clinging on - not sure why. Am struggling with my mood a bit today...

B: 2 eggs, blackberries, 2 corn crackers with marg.
L: salmon wrap with lettuce. Almonds. Peach.
D: sausages, steamed potato, carrot, broccoli, raw tomato. Almonds.

Bit wobbly around the edges - finished some extra steamed potato, so broke habit - Technically a fail.

Not sure why I'm feeling a bit weird (though it's probably to do with work).
My weight is still heading downwards - though slowly - I'm under 80kgs now (though it's hard to get an exact measurement on my scales). I'll record it when it's a clear 79. (When it gets to 79, I am no longer obese - just very overweight!).

[funfuture]

Thursday:

A better day emotionally - but still a little wobbly. Maybe hormones? Might try some vitamin B.

B: capeseed roll + blueberries. 1 x coffee.
L: lamb paratha and salad
D: chicken casserole, rice, corn, carrot, lettuce.

Woke up very sore today but managed to do quite a bit of walking at work anyway.

[amake616]

I have no idea what capeseed or lamb paratha are but enjoy them Anything lamb is generally pretty excellent. I'm glad you're feeling a little better.

[KCCC]

Fun,

I took the liberty of copying your synopsis of the Happiness show/book to my thread so I wouldn't lose it. I hope you don't mind - if so, let me know and I'll delete it.

Hope you're feeling better. I'm dealing with hormones too ("menopause weirdness" is my term), and keep having to remind myself that they do not define me.

Cheers,

KCCC

[funfuture]

Hi Amake,
I wasn't sure what a paratha was either till I had one! It turns out to be a very thin Indian pancake. In this case, it was filled with a fine layer of ground and spiced lamb and then folded into a square like a handkerchief. It was a bit greasy but very tasty. I suspect a home-made one would be delicious.

I like lamb too. Australia used to be the land of the sheep, so we ate a lot of it when we were kids. Baked lamb was our regular Sunday lunch. In fact, I've been feeling a bit down in the dumps this week so I ended up making baked lamb for our dinner tonight - my version of comfort food. IT was delicious.

[funfuture]

Hi KCCC,
I'm very happy for you to post that to your thread - glad it might be of use. I'm finding the book very good. Enough to make me go out at lunchtime yesterday and buy the DVD of the TV series. I have watched two episodes so far and I'm finding it both moving and gripping (but I like that sort of thing. ) The program as a whole certainly has some great advice in it...lots of wisdom, lots to take in...

[funfuture]

Friday:
B: capeseed roll, banana and coffee
L: chia roll, mayonnaise, turkey breast, tomato and lettuce
D: Baked lamb, potato, sweet potato, beetroot, parsnip, broccoli, gravy.

[funfuture]

Amake,
I forgot to tell you what capeseed is ...

I just googled it and I think it is a type of bread that originated in Sth Africa. It's sold by a local specialist bakery here. It's basically wholemeal bread made with lots of different seeds and grains. I love the rolls because they are both nutty and filling. They taste great. They also don't have any preservatives...

Here's their webpage that gives the nutritional info.

http://www.bakersdelight.com.au/product.aspx?ID=1174

[KCCC]

[amake616]

Thanks for telling me what they were! I'm always on the lookout for new and delicious foods...which is probably part of the reason I need to diet but hey life's too short Those both sound pretty excellent, I didn't realize Australia had so much lamb access...I might have to visit there now, lol. I love lamb but it's very expensive in the States, at least around here.

[funfuture]

Thanks for the links, KCCC. The idea is wonderful. It's so simple, but I can imagine it would be very effective.

[funfuture]

My weekend days have been okay, but I've been hitting the sugar in the evenings. I'm really re-thinking sugar altogether.

I'm reasonably happy with my N-days and I'd like my S days to really just be a flow on of those with the occasional treat/dessert. Not quite there yet.

The stretches I've been doing for my hips and neck seem to be working - I felt well enough this weekend to exercise - not quite walking yet, but I did laps for 30 mins at the local pool on Saturday and I shugged (carefully) yesterday and today with no backlash. I've made a tentative arrangement to go back to yoga in March (though I'm a bit nervous as I think that helped kick off the bursitis in the first place...sigh...I'll just take care with the types of stretches I do to begin with).

And I haven't had any wine this week. I want to keep the weekdays alcohol free anyway - and there was no cause to have any wine this weekend as I was with teetotallers. (That makes it easy. )

Just watched the third of the happiness documentaries. They really were inspiring.

[funfuture]

Feeling great today - wierd hormones, that's for sure.

Monday:
B: 2 eggs and 1 slice of capeseed bread. Coffee with lf milk.
L: roast vegetable and lettuce baguette (bought)
D: chicken casserole, rice, rockmelon.

[funfuture]

Tuesday::

B: On the run - capeseed roll, banana, coffee.
L: leftover chicken casserole with rice
D: steamed salmon, pasta with pesto sauce (made with basil from a friend's garden), fresh figs.

[funfuture]

Wednesday:

B: pesto on toast/cracker. Rockmelon.
L: chicken casserole, rice, fresh figs.
D: bacon and vegetable quiche (made with stock instead of milk). Slice of bread with avocado and dressing. Fruit.

[funfuture]

Thursday:

B: crackers with marg and vegemite. Fruit.
L: can't remember!
D: homemade quiche, fruit


Friday:

B: crackers with avocado and cheese
L: mixed salad with tuna, capeseed roll, rockmelon
D: rissoles with steamed potato and veg, nectarine.

Saturday:
B: egg, bacon, crackers with marg. LF milky coffee.

About to have Lunch : bread roll with ham. Fruit.

Going out to a birthday party for dinner...

[funfuture]

Saturday afternoon and evening were a bit disastrous...sigh....
Sunday was more restrained, but I fell into eating chocolate and crackers after dinner, just because my precious S day was fast disappearing...Silly...

Exercise was ok, though. I swam laps for 30 mins on Saturday and cleaned the house from top to bottom on Sunday.

Monday:
B: egg, 2 rice cakes with marg and vegemite. Coffee.
L: salmon wrap with cucumber, capeseed roll. Salad vegies.
D: Rice with savoury mince, garlic bread, pork bun, green salad, fresh peach (too much food and a bit eccentric!)

My weight's not shifting - still sitting on 80kgs (wobbling up and down around that point)...just monitoring it at the moment...

[funfuture]

Have had computer problems this week. The screen on my mac went dead (it's been threatening to for a long time). Am on a replacement Toshiba at the moment until I can get a new Mac, but it's taking some getting used to!

This week has been up and down. I was ok Monday, Wednesday and Today, but I lost it on Tuesday night and resorted to icecream as a comfort food. Tsk Tsk...

Nothing terrible happened that provoked the need for comfort - just went that day to an alternative healer for my hip and I think their treatment unleashed some stored emotion...funny how that sometimes happens with massage, etc.

We are back in the midst of industrial action this week - not much fun. Just a one-day strike for me yesterday but there are ongoing rolling strikes around the university. As one of my colleagues put it on her facebook page -the action is to try to convince someone who earns $30K a fortnight that someone on $30K a year (with a PhD and sometimes years of workplace experience) deserves some job security. In other words, we're trying to stop further casualisation of our workforce - where new appointments have huge responsibility but are on casual and short term contracts, sometimes for years - casualisation being something our vice chancellor insists on writing into the university's employment policies and agreements....sigh....

Today's food - Thursday:
B: cheese and avocado on toast at home. Skim latte at a cafe later.
L: Beef sandwich with chutney and lettuce.

Dinner will be chicken baked in the slow cooker with vegetables. Fresh local baby plums afterwards. (That's the plan...it's in the cooker...

[funfuture]

Friday:
B: forgot - was in too much of a hurry to get DD early to school...Later had coffee at a cafe with a friend.
L: Leftover chicken casserole - a very hefty helping as I was starving.
D: sausages with steamed potato, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli, green beans, plus homemade pesto. Rockmelon. 2 glasses of wine (feeling like a Friday night treat...)

Am pleased with having walked most days this week - several kilometres each day.

[funfuture]

Haven't had a chance this week to post here. Have been all over the place - very very busy.

Am reading a book by David Gillespie called "Sweet Poison" which attributes the obesity problem to the spiralling use of fructose in our diets. He also thinks fructose may lie behind the increasing frequency of dementia in old people. The book is very clearly written and details the science behind his claim. He himself lost 40kg by cutting anything out of his diet that tasted sweet (except fruit...)

I'm only 1/3 of the way through, but so far it is a fascinating and persuasive read...

[funfuture]

Have been a bit off track lately...

Wed:
B:egg, corn cakes with marg, cherry tomatoes, coffees
L: capeseed roll, pesto, tuna, lettuce
D: Chinese homecooking at a friend's - meat and spinach dish, cucumber, rice, clear soup, omelette.
Snack: raw almonds.

Try again tomorrow.

[funfuture]

Thurs:

B: egg, cracker with avocado and cheese, coffee
L: capeseed roll with avocado,smoked salmon and lettuce.
D: sushi and miso soup

[gratefuldeb67]

hi fun!
i just skimmed your last pages posts and see your dealing with a hip injury. glad to see that you are swimming.. i had a massage client years ago who totally fractured his hip and femur in a motorcycle accident when he was in his twenties... he completely rehabilitated himself by swimming for a year or two.. it's great therapy.
hey don't beat yourself up so much btw, it sounds like your "sighing" a lot.. you look like your doing very well to me.
have a lovely weekend!
debs
_________________
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

[funfuture]

Hi Debs,
nice to see you here. Yes, swimming seems to be really helping me. I'm gping agan in the morning with DD and her friends. It's the weightlessness - and being able to fully stretch out without anything hurting. Love that feeling.

You have a lovely weekend too.

B: sourdough toast with butter and vegemite. 2 flat white coffees.
L: Roll with leftover smoked salmon and lettuce.
D: cashews, half a sausage, potato, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli and corn. 2 glasses of wine (hey, it's Friday!)

[funfuture]

Had a good weekend. Sugar free - and that was surprisingly easy. It was a relief really not to binge or eat more than I wanted to. I did snack - on raw almonds. And I had wine with dinner (apparently fructose isn't a problem in wine because of the fermentation process).

Monday:
B: capeseed roll and a banana. Coffee.
L: Mixed salads (bought).
D: chicken casserole, rice, egg & spinach dish, green salad. Glass of wine.
Snack - raw almonds.

[funfuture]

Tuesday:
B: blueberries, cheese and ham roll, coffee
L: roll, ham, avocado, Asian salad (bought), grapes
D: rissoles, steamed vegies (potato, sweet potato, broccoli, carrot, corn). Fresh peach.

Wednesday:
B: egg, toast, marg, coffee
L: capeseed roll, avocado, ham. Green grapes.
D: stirfried tofu and vegies with rice. Curried pumpkin and cauliflower soup. Grapes.

[funfuture]

Thursday:

B: egg, tomato, corn cake with avocado, coffee
L: leftover casserole on a bread roll
D: raw almonds, fish, salad vegetables (tomato, cucumber, avocado), rice crackers.

[funfuture]

Friday to Sunday were fine.

We had fish and chips and wine on Friday night and it was a bit rich for me.

Swam on Saturday. Sugar free weekend.

Monday:
B: 2 corn cakes with vegemite and marg. 2 coffees
L: roll with pressed chicken, cucumber, cherry tomatoes. Grapes.
D: still to come - planned meal with friends - potluck - spaghetti bolognese, chicken stirfry.

[funfuture]

My very elderly mother passed away yesterday - peacefully and with all the family around her, which is what she would have wanted.

It's not been an easy week food-wise (or any-wise really). With my siblings, I've been sleeping in mum's room and living on vending machine coffee and sandwiches that the nursing home very kindly sent up to us each evening. I have no idea where I'm at with food, etc, except that I have managed to stay off sugar and feel much better for it.

I'd like to stick with going sugar free and let go of the other aspects of NoS for a while. I really like that over the past few weeks I haven't over-eaten on weekends and haven't gone head first for the chocolate when things have been stressful.

Once I've pinned the No Sugar down over a few months, then I'll slot back into the other S's.

Going upstairs now to give my sleeping daughter an extra kiss.

fun
x

[amake616]

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother. You should definitely be focusing on just what makes you feel calmest at the moment and not worrying about what you eat. Losing a parent has got to be one of the hardest things you can go through although I'm glad for you and her that it was peaceful.

[idon'tknow]

I am so sorry to hear about your mother. I'm glad she passed away peacefully, but it must be a very difficult time for you. Take care of yourself

[funfuture]

Thanks very much, Amake and IDK. I appreciate your kind thoughts.

I've managed to gain weight over the last week (2kgs) - too much snacking in place of meals, but I think it must also at least partly be stress, and perhaps some fluid retention. I'm still sugar free.

No big deal, really. Will slot back into 3 regular meals and no snacks, etc, tomorrow when I get back into my work routine.

[funfuture]

I'm a bit all over the place at the moment. The weight gain wasn't permanent - must have been fluid retention.

Crazy day yesterday - so busy at work, plus DD needed an emergency dental appointment, I was meant to be helping my sister at the Church to work out the liturgy for Mum's funeral and then I left the lights on in the car (it had been raining heavily when I drove to work), so had to leave the car behind and catch an extremely expensive cab to make all the appointments happen. DD couldn't sleep last night. In the end, I caved and had some chocolate - misplaced self-nurturing.Interestingly though, after being sugar-free for a couple of weeks, I found it disgustingly sweet and waxy.

DD has gone off to a 3-day school camp today (sleeping over in another city). In one way, the timing was terrible (she was very anxious about leaving), but in another it's ok as it will be fun and a good distraction for her.

Back to NoS today.

[NoSRocks]

So sorry to hear about your mother! My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.

Really enjoying your food diary, fun! Sounds like you are doing great!!!
_________________
No S-er since December 2009
Streamlined S Days: 6/25/12
SW: 170 /CW: 130
Weight loss to date: 40 lbs

[funfuture]

Thanks, Roxie, on both counts.

My food intake is way off key at the moment. My NoS has gone out the window. Hauling myself back in to start again.

Try again tomorrow.

[funfuture]

We had a beautiful service for Mum on Tuesday - really lovely. I think she would have approved!

DD is coping well. She went to her school camp and, despite all the anxiety beforehand, she had a marvellous time. It was a very good thing for her to do while we were all sad here and making the preparations for mum's funeral. She was sad enough and benefited from some distraction with other kids.

Our lives are starting to revert to normal - my relatives have all gone home now. There are still some things to do, but I'll have a chance now to spend time with DD (10 more days of the school holidays left) and catch up on unfinished work.

I haven't been NoSing - meals have been all over the place (well that's my excuse) and I've been snacking and eating sweets. But I want to settle back into NoS as we settle back into our routines. I really enjoy the regularity of eating 3 times a day and nothing in between. I also was enjoying being largely sugar free - I suspect that long-term if I aim to be sugar free I'll end up achieving sweets as a "sometime" rather than regular thing. That's where I'm aiming.

There is no point posting what I ate yesterday (can't remember anyway), but I started today with a boiled egg and coffee with milk. Am meeting a friend for a sandwich lunch. We'll have a simple dinner. So I may as well declare this a NoS day.

[Who Me?]

Sending you kind thoughts. Losing a parent is so challenging.

[KCCC]

Fun... I only just saw this. Please accept my sympathy for you and your family.

From my dealing with grief, it comes and goes in waves... and all you can do is go through it.

Do take care of yourself - self-nurture is a good idea under emotional stress! (Genuine self-nurture, that is.)

Best wishes.

[funfuture]

Thanks Who Me? and KCCC. I really appreciate your kind support. It's not an easy time, but it's made much easier because of the friends we have (including our online friends).
Fun
x

[funfuture]

Hmm...still not quite back on habit. I was doing fine, but we ended up staying at a friend's place for dinner and she baked us individual apple crumbles for dessert - very difficult to refuse without being very rude (but then again, that's probably an excuse on my part...)

B: rice cakes with peanut butter and a pear. Coffee
L: thai beef salad and a capeseed roll.
D: roast chicken with potato, salad and bread. (And dessert!!! apple crumble and plain yoghurt).

Try again tomorrow.

I did get some exercise in though -
- Half an hour of tennis with DD after breakfast
- 50 min walk (including a steep hill) after lunch.

[funfuture]

Tuesday: A more settled day today.
B: toast with vegemite. Coffee.
L: noodles with vegetables. Coffee
D: frittata made with frozen spinach, leftover ricotta and tuna that I defrosted thinking it was sausage. Also had a bread roll, banana and plain yoghurt. Wine x 2.

Exercise:
A walk to the shops to get milk (maybe a kilometre), and half an hour of tennis with DD (it's the school holidays). A few stretches for my hip, but otherwise, lots of time on the computer.

[funfuture]

No need to worry about exercise yesterday - spent 6 hours walking around our agricultural show with kids. Lots of fun.

B: Levtover fritatta. coffee
L: 2 tuna sandwiches with mayonnaise and lettuce.
D: roast lamb and vegetables at my brother's home. 2 glasses of wine.

[funfuture]

Thursday was fine - stuck to NoS.
B: roll and coffee
L: chicken and salad sandwich and coffee
D: Chinese style meal at a friend's - rice, meat dishes and greens.

Friday:
B: toast and vegemite, coffee
L: pasta with chopped tomatoes
D: fish and chips, wine. Baking biscuits (cookies) for a camping trip and have tasted 2!

[funfuture]

Have been camping with friends over this long Easter weekend. Great fun but but too much food. Lots of exercise though. An 8.5 mile walk yesterday - slept like a log last night.

[funfuture]

After an awful binge on Monday, have stayed on track the last two days.
I'll start tracking my food again.

B: scrambled egg, toast with vegemite, half a pear. coffee with lf milk.
L: chicken salad - leftover chicken, lettuce, cucumber, spanish onion, dill and homemade vinaigrette. 2 fuji persimmons.
D - not sure yet...

It's pouring with rain, so I will exercise at home.