Everyday Systems

JWL

here's another tip that might have interesting results: when the hunger strikes (heh heh) @ 4pm, use that time to shovelglove!

JWL

Heeeeee's baaaa-aaaack! I haven't updated in a while for two reasons: first, I've been VERY busy with my studio, and second I've been slacking a bit. I got sick (almost) a few weeks ago, and stopped exercising and started eating more. Nothing too bizarre out of control (esp compared to 2-3 years ago...

JWL

Contrary to rumor, I have not disappeared entirely. I went through a serious writing drought on pretty much all channels, and have only recently started blogging again. I've been busy and quite distracted and haven't been writing. I'm glad to say that No-S is habit. I'm not worried about that these ...

JWL

also, where are you getting your "ideal weight?" Perhaps your body likes where it is, weight-wise.... are you doing exercise? Another possibility is that you could be exchanging fat for muscle, which weighs more....

JWL

That's a tough one. There are weeks when I can't wait to get to my S days so I can just eat what I want. That's not so good; I have to draw the line at bingeing though. More often, and I feel better about it, is when I allow myself one treat, maybe candy or ice cream or a baked good, and then possib...

JWL

hey schmiddty Is it winter where you are? If so, my guess is that if you sustain these habits until the end of summer, you will have lost a lot of weight. I don't think I'm the only one who finds it hard to lose weight in the winter months. Genetically, and evolutionarily speaking, we are conditione...

JWL

Well, there's hope for the winter blahs yet. I took a walk tonight for the first time in ages. It was a good 25 minute walk up on the hill. We had a snowstorm, that was far more a windstorm than a snowstorm, but the snow is almost gone now. At 11:30, when I left the house, it was still 39 degrees. N...

JWL

hey kid, I have a 10lb and 16lb sledge, my wife has an 8lb, and I even have a 4lb framing hammer for my daughter.

I use the 10 and 16 pounders interchangeably during a workout.

JWL

Hi Tricia, I think you have some good points, though I think you may misunderstand feminism. Feminism does not equate to separatism or hatred of men. I think many feminists have good points, though there are several that drive me nuts, but I think overall they mistake an economic class problem for a...

JWL

yeah, I'd buy a shovelglove tshirt.... much faster than I'd buy a no-s tshirt.

JWL

I'll have to check into chana masala. I keep a variety or two of garam masala around, and I sometimes make my own curry spice blends. I'm just getting started on this indian food thing, I've enjoyed eating it for years and have tried to make curries before, and while they were tasty, it didn't taste...

JWL

weigh-in: 329.something. Can't remember the decimal. I've decided to do a daily weigh in again for a while. Maybe I'll stop altogether. Maybe not. Today was good, No-S wise. Leftover pasta for lunch and homemade Indian food for dinner, I tried to make a vegetarian version of "lamb bhuna" with TVP ch...

JWL

Hi 5F I found that when I first started doing shovelglove my muscles weren't used to doing that type of exercise. So I had to give them recovery time, not unlike lifting weights at the gym. Over a few weeks, however, my arm muscles adapted to shugging, and the workout became more like an aerobic wor...

JWL

hi there, binges are probably the hardest thing to get under control. At least they were for me. Here are some ideas: 1. Remember that binges are NEVER healthy, under any circumstances. Eating a lot is one thing, but binging is just not OK. The only possible benefit is short term pleasure in tasting...

JWL

Hi Marie, Forget about weight loss. The best part of No-S is that it reasserts a healthy relationship with food. At least it did for me (and yes, I've lost weight since I started). But I haven't gone on a fullscale binge in a long time. I can now enjoy everything I eat, because No-S provides a frame...

JWL

Well, here's the daily ideal, M-F: 1. do a set of gentle yoga and/or tai chi to warm up, especially first thing in the morning. "Breath of Joy" is a favorite. 2. a 14 minute routine of shovelgloving 3. more strenuous yoga, including The Wheel (a bridge), downward and upward dog, etc 4. a good leg ex...

JWL

I'm a big fan of Morningstar Farm's breakfast patties. They are tasty, like little vegetarian sausage patties. I've even had dedicated carnivores say they are quite good! Another thing I'll do is put some of my wife's homemade granola (lots of protein in those, soy flour, peanut butter, nuts, etc et...

JWL

Morning weigh-in: 326.8. Sigh. My weight is fluctuating so much that I'm beginning to wonder if my scale is a piece of cr@p. Ah well. :-D Had a decent day yesterday. Leftover pasta for lunch and dinner was homemade cornbread, homemade baked beans, and skillet cabbage (cabbage, onions, garlic, and sh...

JWL

I think the relationship between health/body weight and psychological state of being is deep, and complex. But my guess is that most people on this forum who have lost weight are here at least in part because at some point in their lives, they have used food -- or more specifically, gluttonous overe...

JWL

The past few days have been quite successful! I've exercised Mon and Tues, and have done a very good job with quantity control. morning weigh-in: 330.8. This is very discouraging. I had a decent, controlled relaxing of the rule without bingeing weekend, and a very good No-S week since Sunday, and I'...

JWL

Try making sure you are getting a good dose of protein with lunch. This is not a scientific study, just something I've observed. If I don't get good protein with lunch, I'll be hungry again in a couple of hours.

JWL

Hi Tricia,

Good for you! It's important to find an exercise routine that works and is sustainable. So experiment, and see what types of exercise you enjoy.

And don't underestimate simply walking. That's one of the best exercises for weight loss.

JWL

It was an odd weekend. I was still a bit grumpy, but I did OK with No-S. I took Thursday as an S-day (Imbolc), and my normal Fri and Sat. Didn't go overboard. Yesterday at work I took the equiv of 2 platefuls in, and nibbled most of the day. Today I made egg bagel sandwiches with cheese and spinach ...

JWL

I've been doing No-S since last June. I don't know my exact starting weight, but my best guess is that I'm down about 40 or 50 pounds since then. I still have a long way to go (probably at least 75 more pounds), but after 8 months I'm smaller than I've been in well over a decade, my belt has a half-...

JWL

Whenever we change the routine that our bodies have grown accustomed to, they can react in unpredictable ways. So I'm not surprised. But I agree: enjoy it while it lasts, and don't expect to (or beat yourself up when you don't) lose 5 pounds every week. Stay the course, and hang on tight for the rid...

JWL

There's just something soooooo right about bellydancing women.... I've even seen a few men do it well.

JWL

I think one thing to understand about oneself before committing to any diet plan is, what caused me to put on weight in the first place? Usually it's some combination of a)poor nutrition b)too much food and c)not enough exercise. No-S is primarily a means to attack b) above. You're on your own for a...

JWL

Hi plannerlady, What you're experiencing is the old habit of snacking. That is precisely the variable we are trying to change with No-S. Keep that in mind. While you are adapting to the rules of No-S, my advice is to keep one additional rule in mind, if you aren't ready to follow the No-S rules to t...

JWL

My advice would be to drink water until your next meal. If you need to replace some electrolytes, etc, then something like gatorade could work despite the sugar.

JWL

Weigh in: 324.7. This is good, it means I'm within a pound or two of my previous best before the holidaze. However, there is still some blockage in me about exercise. I didn't exercise the past two days. There has been some emotional stormy weather in my reality the past few days as well, nothing ma...

JWL

Hey Deb,

Good luck with the finances. Freakwitch chili probably costs 10-15 bucks to make, but it makes like, a ton of chili, it will last you and your kiddo a week at least!

JWL

Hi mshuler, I found it useful to think in terms of "big choices" and "little choices" to combat this problem. We tend to make "big choices," like New year resolutions, or "I'll run a marathon every weekday" or "I'll lose 75 pounds this month" or whatever. While it's important to make these "big choi...

JWL

One other point: remember, as you say you've been big all your life, it's taken you two decades to put this weight on. It's not gonna all come off in a matter of a month, or even 6.

Slow and steady, move towards health and not away from it, and...

EVER ONWARD!

JWL

Hi spinal, Glad you made it here. I think No-S will help you. Here's my story: My background is very similar to yours. Midwestern, "corn-fed" upbringing (in suburbia, so you get the gluttony without the heavy farm labor), a somewhat unhealthy family (though 3 of 4 grandparents made it into their 80s...

JWL

OK, lost track of posting for a while. Things are going VERY well. With No-S, I've done a good job of sticking to the 2 meals per day. My task this week is to now reduce plate sizes. Over the holiday, I'd gotten used to eating more food, and this spilled over onto my giganto-mondo-plates of food. I ...

JWL

Hi Bob, my own program is quite similar. I do the trifecta, along with what I call "yoga", since most of Furey's program is derived from Yoga. But yes, Hindu squats rock my world, and I'm just starting to be able to do Hindu pushups; what I do now is just move from "downard dog" (the starting positi...

JWL

Weigh-in: 330.9. Still moving in the right direction. Yesterday was good. Breakfast was leftover pasta, dinner was roasted seitan, mashed potatoes, gravy, and sauteed broccoli, spinach, and onions. Yum. I did lots of yoga last night, and 25 squats, but I skipped shovelglove from soreness/stiffness. ...

JWL

congrats on transitioning to 3 meals, Becky!

Keep it up, and ride your momentum. The longer you do this, the less you'll want to eat...

JWL

The point of No-S is to fully enjoy your meals, within the limit of "plateful." Eat real, normal, good, healthy food, just eat less of it. Get rid of all your ideas about low-fat, sugar-free, fake-chemical-laden-"health"-food, etc. Just eat, make sure it's good, whole, nutritious food, and keep it t...

JWL

Believe it or not, I see this as yet more evidence that there is a correlation between neoliberal capitalism and people getting fatter and unhealthier....

Maybe I'm wrong.

JWL

Successful days. Yesterday's weigh-in: 333.2, today's is 331.7. Moving in the right direction. No-S has been No-Problem. Exercise has been good. Last night I did a very mindful shovelglove routine. I forget how vital it is for exercise to focus my awareness on the movements and on my body as I do th...

JWL

Yes, you can do it. You might want to consider relaxing portion restrictions for a time, but only allowing yourself to eat 3x per day. Until you get used to it, then reassert the 3 plates of food per day.

Good luck! You can do it! I do 2 meals per day, so I have no doubt....

JWL

Today was a success, but a painful one. Weigh-in: 334.3. Ouch. I had pad thai yesterday, so maybe it's sodium/water weight. Today I had leftover african peanut soup and toast for lunch, and a pasta/veggie/tvp/cheese casserole for dinner. Yum Did a good exercise routine, shovelglove, yoga, tried a br...

JWL

OK. Here's the deal. The idea is to improve yourself, to make steps toward (and not away from) health. So No-S is a framework that allows one to make such steps. The benefit of No-S is portion control. It does not address nutrition, so you are on your own to make sure you eat well. But quantity-wise...

JWL

Hi 3aday I agree, No-S is the only "diet" I've managed to stick to for longer than a few weeks. I've been at it for the better part of a year now. Remember, our bodies get used to what we do to them, and they adapt quickly. You can completely change your habits in 21 days. It also takes about that l...

JWL

When one takes a mechanistic view of exercise in which you isolate muscle groups and work them individually with anaerobic weight training, it is important to let muscles rest. Work one group one day, another group the next. But shovelglove is what I'd call organic (as opposed to mechanistic) exerci...

JWL

Hi Silent,

I do my churning butter movements one-handed most days. This sounds like a similar variation, since one hand is doing most of the work....

JWL

weigh in: 329.3. At least I'm in the ballpark of where I was before the holidaze. This is good. No-S has been going well. Today is/was an S-day. I didn't exercise, though I did play a gig which definitely has its aerobic output. It went well. Yesterday I did some exercise, my yoga routine, and an ab...

JWL

it's been up and down lately.... doing well with No-S, some funny stuff on Sunday (a No-S day for me) because I was at work and it was crazy, they bought food for us and I ate too much pizza and nachos. Bleah. Other than that I've been doing well diet-wise. I haven't been exercising much, partly bec...

JWL

sounds about right, mstevens....

JWL

I started No-S last year, casually in April and vigorously in June; I don't know exactly what my starting weight was but my best guess is that I'm down 40 or 50 pounds since then.

To more directly address your question: "does it work," I would say yes, because it's simple and sustainable.

JWL

I do half and half and some sweetener, preferably maple syrup, in my coffee. I don't worry about it.

JWL

Hi there, My advice is to stay the course as carefully as possible, especially for the first 21 days. You will find some successes in the beginning; it is common for dieters to shed water weight at the beginning. But even when you start losing weight, stay the course. The rules are simple, which is ...

JWL

Yesterday was an unqualified success. No-s: had tvp/tofu/spinach/cheese burritos for lunch with my daughter. Dinner was homemade seitan, mashed potatoes, gravy, and steamed broccoli. No funny stuff, though the dinner plate was large and filling. Exercise: I did a full shovelglove routine, took a 90m...

JWL

Yeah, Reinhard, but skinny french women don't have 75 pounds left to lose like I do. :wink: Once my weight stabilizes, I'll probably allow a drink or two per day. But for now, No-S includes No Spirits for me. I'll enjoy a drink or two on my S-days. I just don't need the calories of alcohol, and I do...

JWL

I don't know, I kinda like the "You Shall Not Pass...." which is not to say that Deb is a Balrog:

JWL

Wow, i haven't written in 3 days. No-S has been very good. Funny stuff today: I ate a handful of grapes. Not gonna worry too much about it, though; no one ever got fat from eating grapes. Exercise has been spotty. I need to reassert routine. I did take a good walk last night, about 45-60 minutes tot...

JWL

yesterday was a success. It was a No-S day for me, and there was no funny stuff. I had lunch before I went in, and took my dinner in with me. Nothing out of the vending machines or anything... and nothing when I got home. Yay me! Today is another no-s day, and back to my exercise routine. I think I'...

JWL

yesterday was mixed. It was an S-day (my S days are Fri and Sat), but I didn't do too badly. But, I didn't get a chance to exercise. We ran errands all day, then I made pizza for us, then I had Freakwitchery. Ah well. Today was an s-day, and I worked. Bleah. Not horrible but not great. Made myself a...

JWL

you're off to a great start. Beware: shovelgloving is terribly addicting....

JWL

Today was a success. No-S: I had some grain cereal, raisins, and vanilla yogurt for meal #1. Dinner was a stirfry I made with basmati rice, tsp chunks, onions, garlic, peppers, carrots, and broccoli. Exercise: still feeling a bit sore and not strong. So I decided to ease back into it. EDIT: I forgot...

JWL

OK, I haven't updated these past couple days. Oops. :) I haven't shovelgloved yet; I've been really tired and sore from the trip so I've been taking it easy. I also feel like I've been fighting something off; I've felt some nausea and lots of general achiness. But, Tuesday was a good day, we got bac...

JWL

I think these posts are very insightful. The most valuable part of No-S, for me, is that as others have said I get to enjoy my food, guilt-free. That alone is better than any amount of weight loss, though the fact that No-S helps one to lose weight is a wonderful bonus.

JWL

Hi all, Well, Santa brought me a Neuros Audio Computer , an iPod-like device that I'm gleefully filling with my music collection. The point of this, or at least one of them, is to reassert my Urban Rangering. I don't have any specific goals at the moment, after all it's winter in Maine, but I would ...

JWL

Hi cynthia, I think the key equation to weight loss is input vs. output (ie, calories consumed vs. calories burned). This is the one fundamental parameter. Everything else is optimizing. And it seems to me that worrying about slowing down your metabolism is secondary to getting your total daily food...

JWL

Hi annette, My advice is to remember that no-s is primarily a strategy to get food quantity under control. If 3 plates of food per day do not satisfy you, then you (like so many of us) have gotten used to eating too much. What is needed is to get your body used to eating a healthier amount of food. ...

JWL

Survived the trip. I had fun, saw a lot of people, which was good. I followed the No-S vacation rules, which state "My policy is: vacation days are like non-S days, with extra tolerance for screw ups." And there were definitely a lot of screwups, there probably wasn't a single day that would have qu...

JWL

Well, my detox is officially over. I made it. 7 weeks. It was easier than I thought it would be, though it got more difficult at the end. I have several thoughts about it, which are currently somewhat fragmented. I gained an appreciation for the sustainability of No-S. This detox is not sustainable....

JWL

Hi all, OK, I'm officially in holiday/vacation mode. My purification ritual ends 23.5 hours from now (not that I'm counting), and for the next 2 weeks, I'll be in no-s vacation mode. Not as strict, enjoy my vacation and seeing family. No guilt. I'm taking my sledgehammer, though... :-) I probably wo...

JWL

Weigh in: 328.0. My weight is fluctuating pretty wildly these past few weeks. I did make some homemade seitan this week, which is sodium-laden. It's been a strange week health-wise. First of all, my sleep schedule is whacked. I've been fighting serious insomnia, not quite sure why. As a result, yest...

JWL

Weigh in: 323.3. My lowest yet. No S was good yesterday. Leftover pasta for breakfast, and veggie burgers/salad for dinner. I didn't exercise yesterday, I got a late start, and a good friend of mine and I went out last night to hang out and chat and get a coffee. She and I both decided that we aren'...

JWL

Weigh in: 325.4. I think there may be something to this water retention thing. Yesterday was good. I made egg/bagel sandwiches for lunch for my daughter and I. I had to work yesterday, so my wife made dinner. I came home to find ... pasta! LOL, after all my ranting yesterday about pasta/pizza.... he...

JWL

Hi Deb,

Don't worry, I'm well aware of the forest.... heh

Another notch in my belt today! w00t!

JWL

Good observation, I hadn't thought of salt/water retention. Though I do make my pizza and pasta from scratch, for the most part, I do sometimes eat carryout pizza, like say at work when it's busy and they buy it for is. So when it's my own stuff the salt is under control, I don't add a ton of salt t...

JWL

Weigh in: 329.0. I seem to be rollercoasting a bit, on a very small scale. I suppose that is to be expected. But I imagine this is just another spike and it will probably settle in again in the next day or two. Regardless, some strictness is in order. It was an OK weekend. I probably overindulged on...

JWL

TVP is Texturized Vegetable Protein (try that link instead), same as TSP (Texturized Soy Protein). It's a "meat substitute"... the chunks I use are about the size of, say, stew beef (as opposed to smaller, like ground beef). In fact, you could easily substitute a pound (or more) of stew beef in plac...

JWL

Freakwitch Vegetarian Chili 1lb bag of dried "soup mix" beans (like, 16 different beans in one bag) 2lb bag of dried kidney beans Combine these, sort them (make sure there are no small stones, etc), rinse them, and then let them soak overnight in plenty of water. The next morning, drain them, rinse ...

JWL

Weigh in: 324.3 Yesterday wasn't great. Didn't exercise, didn't have time before I went into work and when I got home it was too late. No-S, for lunch I had leftover Domino's pizza, dinner was General Tso's tofu delivered from the chinese place with an apple. When I got home I had the munchies big t...

JWL

yes, leverage/torque is your friend. Experiment with it. Work with that for a while. If you ever want to upgrade, I had some luck using adjustible ankle weights wrapped around the business end of the hammer.

JWL

I use both arms about equally, and notice quite a difference depending on where my elbows are. If I lift my elbows up, parallel to the ground, it works a different set of muscles. For the tuck the bales move, which is basically the same thing with the sledgehammer turned upright, I tend to use the l...

JWL

I was thinking more about this, and thought of Reinhard's maxim: snack's aren't what, they're when. So a cup of fruit with a meal is a meal, but a cup of fruit between meals is a snack, and is therefore a screwup. I don't know. I still think you can justify this either way, but the very fact that on...

JWL

Weigh in: 325.0

Not a bad day yesterday. Dinner was Domino's Pizza, which is full o' sodium and I probably had too big a plate, which accounts for my weigh in today.

Exercise was good, did my core/yoga stuff and my shuggage. Didn't do squats or walking.

Ever onward!

JWL

Rock on, Big Phil....

Go slow with the upgrade. At the first sign of distress, back off and use your old sledgehammer for the remainder of your workout.

After a while, your old 10 pounder will seem like a toy in your hands compared to the new one.

JWL

Weigh in: 324.2 I feel like I'm back on track. Or at the very least, all the sodium and water-retention has worked it's way out of my system. Heh. No-S was perfect yesterday: chili cheese fries for lunch (1 plate of leftover Silly's fries with the last of my homemade chili over it, with grated smoke...

JWL

Hi Storm, you can go either way with that. From one perspective, it's solid food, therefore it is a snack, therefore it is "funny stuff." From another perspective, the berries with juice drizzled over them probably had fewer calories -- and more fiber -- than the same 8oz cup filled only with juice....

JWL

heh, well the maple syrup I use is just the local Hannaford (major grock-ry store chain in NE) brand. I don't really use organic maple syrup, the "regular stuff" is expensive enough.... Plus I live in Maine, they make it here. Maybe try a local farmers market in the area? In general I'm a big believ...

JWL

Thanks Deb! As always you are so encouraging....

The guitar is a Wechter Pathmaker 3120. It's a very unique design, it sounds OK acoustically, but sounds phenomenal when you plug it in. I'm very happy with it.

JWL

We took some band photos last week, you can see my favorite one on our band's site: http://www.freakwitch.net. That's me on the left.

JWL

Weigh in: 328.4

OK, time to buckle down again. Yesterday was OK from a No-S standpoint. Not great, but OK.

Today is a full S day, and I WILL exercise, including taking a walk downtown with my daughter to the library.

JWL

Weigh in: 328.0. This was the first day that broke the pattern; I did pretty well yesterday, it was an S day but it went as a No-S day, yet I still am heavier. Hmm. Wonder what's up. I didn't exercise, yesterday I had leftover pasta for meal #1 and Indian food (saag paneer and vegetable biryani) for...

JWL

Weigh-in: 326.5 Yesterday was an S day, which I celebrated by having 3 meals instead of 2. I had 2 meals of a yummy pasta I made with porcini mushrooms, and my first meal of the day was an egg and cheese wrap with some leftover chili. I actually couldn't finish that first meal and left quite a bit o...

JWL

I agree with your analysis, carolejo. Restoring balance is one powerful aspect of No-S, not just in terms of nutrition, but also in terms of one's relationship with food, particularly where food is so abundant. We've all discussed the relationship between food and society, a very complex topic, but ...

JWL

Lane, congrats on making the 21 day club! You're doing amazingly well, the hard part is behind you. Now it's just maintenance, and perhaps picking up the exercise end of things a bit. In terms of weighing, I was on No-S for nearly half a year before I started weighing myself. The weighing isn't the ...

JWL

I also just realized that I'm down 20 pounds since August 26th (while budgeting for the fact that these numbers come from 2 different scales).

But either way. Cool. Yay me.

JWL

Morning weigh-in: 325.6. Steady as she goes. 5 1/2 pounds in 10 days. These numbers are having a nice effect on my mind, they are incredibly encouraging. Of course I'm happy emotionally about them (though I'm trying to limit my emotional investment in the scale either way), but more importantly, the...

JWL

Hi Kevin, Don't forget I'm a very big guy, "big boned" with lots of fat and muscle. The 16 lb shovelglove represents roughly 5% of my current body weight. I'd wager your 14 pounder is a higher percentage of your body weight.... But if you do think about upgrading, I recommend being gradual. The ankl...

JWL

Thanks for the encouragement, Reinhard. Right now the 16 pounder is plenty, though I can see at some point moving up to a 20 pounder. I'll probably put a 2 pound ankle weight on first, and go up gradually. Or maybe at some point I'll throw a 4lb ankle weight on just to see what a 20 pounder is like....

JWL

Hi Deb, I think HP4 is easily the best of the 4 films. But then I seem to have an uncanny ability to separate book from film. I don't expect a film to convey exactly what's in the book, ever. They are 2 totally different mediums in which to tell a story. So most of the criticisms I've heard of the f...

JWL

Weigh in: 326.3 I took yesterday as an S day. That's stretching it, but I took my wife to the airport in the morning and had a wonderful day with my daughter. We went to a local movie theater/restaurant to see Harry Potter 4, and I ordered a yummy spinach salad with onion rings. I also had some left...

JWL

Morning weigh-in: 326.9 I think there's something to this whole eat-less-and-you-will-lose-weight thing. Heh. Yesterday was a mixed bag. I didn't exercise at all. I was busy and spent a long time cooking and homeschooling at the time I normally exercise, and then the next thing I knew it was late. A...

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