Everyday Systems

JWL

Not to wax philosophical or political, but this study confirms my suspicion that we, as a culture, are sick. I mean, if it is STANDARD for the vast majority of people to become overweight.... doesn't this suggest that some serious fundamental changes are in order? The way we organize or lives, and o...

JWL

Friday and Saturday were both S-days. 'nuff said. Sunday was an N-day at work. It was a challenge, but there was no funny stuff. Again, I wanted ice cream on the walk home, and this time I didn't even stop and smile at it. Today was another work-N day. I had a tofu/cheese burrito for lunch, and a qu...

JWL

Happy Birthday, Reinhard.

No gift we could give you would be greater than the gifts you have given the world in your Everyday Systems. I've been aware of this information for several months and it has transformed me.

Birthday or not, you have my gratitude.

Enjoy your S-day!

JWL

Today was an S day, it was my wife's birthday. :D I had pasta with pesto and cheese for lunch. Dinner was pizza (4 slices) and ice cream and birthday cake. That's it. So it was basically a normal N-day just with the birthday stuff. No eating after 9, no other funny stuff. I did the core exercises to...

JWL

Today was a success, with some funny stuff. I worked today, and as I've written I've struggled to come up with a "work-safe" No-S/exercise routine. But I managed to do pretty well today. Before I went in to work, I did a full exercise routine with the core warmups, 33 squats, and shovelglove. I'm gl...

JWL

Well, I'm three months in. Time flies. Today was probably not a success, though it wasn't dreadful. Yesterday's hauling and chopping left my hands sore. The same ones that were injured a few weeks ago. That injury healed, they weren't hurting any more, but they still don't have all their strength ba...

JWL

I came to the No-S page from the shovelglove page. And I came to the shovelglove page from stumptuous's weight training site.

JWL

I've been doing No-S long enough now that I find I just don't want to overeat like I used to. I mean, I relax the rules, but when I enjoy a treat, I really try to enjoy it (for me it's usually ice cream). But after a pint of ice cream I'm usually pretty stuffed. I can't cram it in like I used to.

JWL

Well, what do I know. I wouldn't worry about that. I'd just eat 2 or 3 platefuls of healthy, yummy food per day and not expend energy counting calories. But if I wanted to answer your question, I would probalby try those formulas using my target body weight, rather than my current weight. So if I wa...

JWL

I'll call today good, with a wildcard used in the hand. It could have been an S- day, but I stuck to the N-diet. I had 2 egg and cheese sandwiches for lunch, and dinner was a potluck with some virtual plating of chili, pea soup, and bread. The only bowls left at the feast were small kids bowls, so I...

JWL

OK, so a report on the first weekend of my modified No-S. Yesterday I did pretty well. I wrote about the ice cream avoidance above. I did have some sodas on sat at work, which are utterly gratuitous. Must start drinking tea again, going in to winter I'll enjoy hot beverages again. Today was good. I ...

JWL

Then I would truly be a sideshow Freak(witch).....

JWL

Hi Deb and Lynne, Hee! Maybe we can start selling tickets.... COME SEE FREAKWITCH'S PANTS FALL DOWN! heh heh heh No, they didn't fall down to the extent that I was flashing exposed skin. Usually when I flash exposed skin, it's intentional... :twisted: But each time I cut a new notch in my belt, I fe...

JWL

It was weird. I was walking home tonight, on a slightly longer route (about 30 minutes). It makes the uphill climb longer, but more gradual. A different kind of endurance. It also happens to have 2 convenience stores on the way home, each of whom have a well-stocked freezer of benandjerrys. Not forz...

JWL

another observation: my pants fell down again today!

Time for yet another new belt notch.....

JWL

Today was an S-day. I did this on purpose. I've decided to make Fridays and Saturdays my S days. The main reason is that Friday is the day that my wife and I are both off from work. So traditionally, Friday is "family day." It seems to make sense to make this an S day, since we traditionally do stuf...

JWL

Hi CaroleJo, sounds like you're doing well overall. Hang in there, and keep at it! Lots of changes in your reality lately, let No-S and your exercise routines be a constant to guide you through...

And thanks for the photo! You're beautiful!

JWL

I just had another observation I wanted to record here for posterity. I was up late again last night, and on around 2am I was quite hungry, ready to eat, listening to all the yummy leftovers beckoning to me in the refrigerator. I managed to resist (it's pretty easy to do these days, at least compare...

JWL

Hi Lynne, You're getting good advice. I decided to post every day for the foreseeable future, mostly because I have/had a lot of weight to lose, and I wanted that virtual "illusion" of accountability for myself. This is a powerful motivational tool; "I want to decline eating this ice cream because I...

JWL

Today was a success. No-S wise, I had some diced leftover bbq seitan mixed in with some pasta and cheddar cheese. This itself was a small victory, as I made a fraction of the amount of pasta I normally do. I was the only one eating it and didn't want to make too much, which in past experience would ...

JWL

Hi Dru, Yeah the key is to find Vital Wheat Gluten from which you can make seitan. My homemade seitan recipe actually comes from The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook , though I've slightly modified my recipe. It's amazing how much cheaper, and better, homemade seitan is compared to the store-bought, $3.99...

JWL

Today is day 84 (21,42,63,84) which means it's 21x4. Still plugging away, which is a testament to the sustainability of this program. This is by far the longest I've ever stuck to a diet or a regular execise routine, with the fewest slipups. Once again, Reinhard, I take my hat off to your elegantly ...

JWL

Today was a success. I had some leftover seitan for my first meal, and homemade pizza for dinner. No funny stuff. Did a full shovelglove complement. Did 36 squats, all in one set. This is awesome; back when I was doing 36 I'd have to stop several times. Today I cranked them all out in a row. So toda...

JWL

Yeah, GMan. Some days are like that. It's OK. Do what you can, listen to your body, and stick with the 14 minutes. One thing to experiment with is leverage. As you move your hands closer together on the sledge, it gets harder. Conversely, as you slide the hand closer to the hammer it gets easier. So...

JWL

Hi Kindall, Yeah, shovelglove seems to work well for us fat guys. I definitely like it much better than the gym. I've been at it religiously for about 3 months now, and I played with it for 3 months before that. My advice is the same as Reinhards, just try to develop the habit of daily movement. Do ...

JWL

Hi Dru, I bake the seitan at 375 for about an hour. The first half hour, the pan is covered so that the liquid stays inside; the 2nd half hour I remove the foil and then just cook it until the liquid is gone. It took me several tries to get the hang of seitan. The first time I tried it, it was almos...

JWL

I'll call today good. There was some funny stuff in No-S. Nothing major, which is why I'm still calling today good. Well, one reason why anyway. I did some virtual plating tonight at dinner. I made the best batch of seitan yet, starting with homemade BBQ sauce. I started with a finely diced onion an...

JWL

congrats BB...

JWL

Today was borderline. Could have been a lot worse, but certainly could have been better. I did No-S reasonably well. had a smoothie for meal #1, and meal #2 was lentil soup with a slice of homemade bread. I had a cherry coke with dinner, so that's some funny stuff. But, I managed to avoid the other ...

JWL

Yesterday was an S day, it was pretty good. Had 2 solid meals, but I did indulge in a few snacks at work.

Didn't do much exercise at all this weekend. It was good to rest.

JWL

Today is an S-day, and I normally don't post on these days.

But I just wanted to say that I really, really enjoyed the pint of Ben and Jerry's I ate earlier. Man, did I earn this one.....

JWL

Well, it's still early but I'll post anyhoo. Today was a success. Did shovelglove, a full regimen with the 13-pounder. Did 25 squats. For breakfast, leftover seitan, mashed potatoes and gravy. For dinner, homemade pizza and a salad. No funny stuff. This means, I made it through the entire week with ...

JWL

OK, just wanted to throw this out there. I've been doing shovelglove for several months now. It's awesome. It rocks. It's the best upper body exercise ever. I love everything about it. Except for one thing. The name. In my view, the name shovelglove is pretty bad. What it describes is neither a shov...

JWL

Someone asked about Bragg's. I use it, similarly to how I'd use soy sauce or tamari. I especially like the spray bottle; a few squirts sprayed over sauteeing tofu in the pan is yummy. It's also good on veggies.

I'll use it to make soup stock occasionally too.

JWL

Hi Deb,

Well I had a lovely evening with my wife, and after she was sound asleep I decided on a whim to go dancing with friends. I was reminded how much I am generally not compelled to dance with prerecorded music. Ah well.

Anyway, it's late. Now I'm really tired. Sleep... Good....

JWL

Today was a success. As big a success as I've had in a while, in that I overcame some serious slug-inertia to create a success day for myself. It started with me being short on sleep. I couldn't get to sleep last night until after 3am. And at 7am, I was wide awake. And man, was I hungry. So at 9am, ...

JWL

Congrats, Mo! These strong "little choices" will go a long way toward reinforcing your "big choice" to do no-s.

You rock!

JWL

spiralstares, did you ever see Super Size Me?

JWL

I think we just had different ideas about what constitutes "chapter book." Though the definition in my head was less accurate, in that yes she has read books with chapters before. But this was by far the biggest book she's read yet on her own. Just careless language on my part, nothing more. Usually...

JWL

Today was another success. No funny stuff at all. Did a full shovelglove routine. 25 squats. And downard dog felt much better, I didn't have anyone watching me, but it felt like my back was straighter and that my body was at least closer to the V shape. It's fun. No-S: I had leftovers from last nigh...

JWL

oh my god. I can't imagine going on that diet at all.... I would just feel horrible. There is next to no nutritional intake in that.... no wonder you lost weight, you're basically starving yourself of nutrition! Don't mean to be judgmental or anything, but if I only get 1 meal a day I can't imagine ...

JWL

Hi Deb, Next time you're in Maine, let me know. I'll feed you a yummy meal. I love cooking for people. I know what you mean about the shift we feel at back to school time. Going back to school at the end of August pounds that new rhythm into us very effectively. We have attuned this sensation with t...

JWL

Today was a success. Did a full shovelglove routine. Did 25 squats. I also experimented with 'hindu pushups' from the Matt Furey program. The opening position of the pushup is the downward dog pose, and since I have no experience with yoga at all, I tried downward dog today. It was fun. I sortakinda...

JWL

Today was a success on many levels. I was due for a day like this. Did a full shovelglove routine (at a somewhat higher tempo) with the 13 pounder. I also did 25 squats. I've been slacking on squats lately. I think it's because I shot well past my comfort zone in terms of squats. I realized I'd been...

JWL

So what does everyone think of the books of the mighty Mr Furey? His combat conditioning and combat abs books look interesting, but I'm skeptical because his website reads like an infomercial.

Do people have these books? How are they?

JWL

Interesting conversation. Indeed, I find that I do get hungry earlier in the day since I've stopped my late-night binges. Before then, there literally were times when I was still so bloated full that I wasn't hungry until like 4 or 5 pm, my first meal would be dinner and then I'd just pack in calori...

JWL

Agreed. Remember the function of S days: they are S days so N days aren't. No rules, let yourself do whatever you want; it will give you more motivation to stick to the N-day plan, knowing you can relax the rules on the next S day. Remember, the point of No-S is to build new habits over the long hau...

JWL

You know, I have to question this conclusion (apart from the pro-cereal study being funded by a cereal corporation). I've wrestled with eating 3 meals (vs. 2) for quite some time, and finally settled on 2 platefuls of food per day, which I've been sustaining more or less successfully for about 2 mon...

JWL

Thanks for the love, everyone! Yeah, my daughter is a cutie. I've been carrying her like that since she could hold her head up. We didn't use a stroller much; rather we had a really nice child-carrier backback that I'd urban ranger all over Portland with her. It was great, since she got to experienc...

JWL

Today my family and I went on a walk on Mackworth island, just off the coast of Portland. My wife snapped this photo (hopefully I look less like evil biker bouncer dude...heh):

JWL

I'll call today good. Stuck to No-S with a bit of funny stuff: meal #1 was a bit smaller than normal; and meal #2 was a bit larger. I suppose that balances out, so no harm done. Did a slo-mo shovelglove routine, as it was late (around 10pm) and I was tired. I did it for 14 minutes though. I just ski...

JWL

Without knowing what kind of medical procedure you are undergoing, I would chime in with everyone else. Take care of your body. Get healthy. Over the long haul, this likely includes No-S. But in the short term, do what you need to do.

JWL

I bet you could get it running with Wine....

JWL

Thanks for the replies, all. I agree with your assessment, Reinhard; that's why I decided to stop pushing myself relentlessly and settle on a manageable number, that's the 36. Still somewhat challenging, but my legs don't feel slaughtered when I'm done. At least not so far. I think I will be able to...

JWL

Today was moderately poor. Heh heh. At least from a No-S/Shugg perspective. I totally skipped shovelglove and squats. I did have 2 meals, though the 2nd one involved virtual plating and eating after 9pm. So, yeah. Though I did manage to get my laptop back up and running, with a shiny new install of ...

JWL

Hi clickbeetle, I didn't read your response as a rebuttal at all. In fact, I totally agree with you: willpower is overrated. Say it 10,000 times! Hallelujah My Shovelgloving No-Sing Brothahs and Sistahs! But yeah, it's more habit than willpower, for sure. And congrats on a better day! You can do thi...

JWL

Hi Cynthia, First of all, I will point out that you have the power to do whatever you want to do. Getting clear about our will is the first step. The problem with overeating is that we MUST eat or we won't survive, so it's very difficult for us to control bad eating habits. Most other addictions the...

JWL

Yesterday was good. No funny stuff. Leftover pizza for lunch, a yummy tempeh-broccoli stirfry with basmati rice and a hawaiian teriyaki sauce for dinner. Did a full regimen of shugging, and 36 squats. My energy is returning; I feel better than I have in a while. Also, my hands are finally healing; p...

JWL

Today is good. It's only about half-over, but I'm confident enough that I can post now. :-) For lunch I had a plate of pasta bake, 2 savory scones my wife made, and some cheese slices. For dinner (I'm working today) they are providing pizza for us. So not a great day nutritionally (need more veggies...

JWL

ITF, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, push yourself! It seems like it's time to go to the M-T-Th-F schedule. This is a good move, as it gives your body time to adjust to working on consecutive days. Since I started doing that, I've noticed that my body recovers more quickly in terms of tired...

JWL

hi carolejo, I'm just now reading your log for the first time in over a week. But I have some thoughts about what time of day to shovelglove. It took me a while to settle into the 4pm-ish groove that I'm in now. I was literally all over the map; tried in the morning, evening, night, I've actually sh...

JWL

I use ziploc freezer bags (gallon size in this case), fill them such that they are full of a single layer of blueberries when laid flat, then I lay them flat on a cookie sheet, make sure all the air is out, and put the cookiesheet in the freezer. Once frozen, I remove the cookiesheet, and all my fro...

JWL

Agreed. Grazing doesn't work for me either. I've pared my No-S intake to 2 platefuls of food per day, and that's enough for me. Snacking would just add unneccesary calories.

I'd rather have my metabolism "snack" on all the stored fat reserves in my body!

JWL

I do like fruit, but I don't seem to often have it with my meals. Fruit was one major source of snacking in my pre-NoS days. Now, I tend to put lots of fruit in smoothies. For example, earlier in the spring I bought several bounds of ripe, in-season Maine blueberries and froze them. So they're still...

JWL

Today was good. No-S was fine. I had a gyro and a smoothie for lunch, and 5 slices of homemade pizza for dinner. No funny stuff. I did a full shovelglove routine, with the 10 pounder, choking up a bit further. My hands are still quite sore. Got through 5 squats and I had to stop. My hamstrings aren'...

JWL

congrats carolejo, gratefuldeb, and everyone else!

I realized that I'm on day 66, which means I passed the 21x3 club a few days ago.... I've had some ups and downs, but the overall trajectory for this past 2 months has shifted dramtically and measurably. Very, very cool.

JWL

Well, I just had my consultation with my doctor today. My numbers look great, the best he's ever seen them! I'm at my lowest weight by 13 pounds since I've ever seen him (341), my cholesterol is 160, my "good cholesterol" is on the low side of normal (could be a bit higher, but nothing to worry abou...

JWL

Hi Jan, thanks for the advice about squats. I do plan to experiment with them over the next few weeks. My goal is to find a good balance with the squats that is challenging, sustainable (as NoS and shovelglove are), and that will increase my energy levels rather than kick my @$$ all the time. So I w...

JWL

I was quite intrigued by a film I saw recently called What the Bleep Do We Know? , which on one hand is horribly pretentious and bad. But it does raise several interesting questions. My favorite is the notion that we can become addicted to certain emotions. The argument goes like this: 1. We can bec...

JWL

I've been away from the computer since the end of last week. I worked all weekend (both S days) and then from M-W I went north to Ellsworth, ME to visit a friend's camp and help with some construction there. It's a very nice, peaceful spot where the Union River empties into the Atlantic. So I got a ...

JWL

'The Invisible Man,' which is track 1 on Marillion's most recent album Marbles is really fun to shugg to. It's about 12 minutes long, so the end of that song is my cue to do 21 reps of "chop the tree," which coincides nicely with track 2 on the album.

JWL

First, I am overwhelmed by the support. Thanks to one and all. This whole "virtual support system/artifical accountability" thing about the forum just took a big step toward the concrete. Today was a success. I did NoS, had a wrap for breakfast and 3 slices of pizza, a bowl of salad, and half dozen ...

JWL

I weigh 345.2 lbs as of today. So I have several thoughts about this. First, and most important, weight is just a number, and this particular number is nothing more than my starting point, despite the fact that I'm 58 days into my plan. I was last on a scale over a year ago, and I'm down more than 1...

JWL

Yesterday was pretty far from succesful. Didn't exercise, had a huge dinner, and then a pint of frozen yogurt after dinner. Gonna leave it at that, and do better today. I woke up with a bad headache that stayed with me all day, and there were some emotional stresses as well. Gotta love parenting. No...

JWL

That 2nd one, the modified curl, looks very interesting. I'll have to give it a try, as "hoist the sack" doesn't really give me enough of a tricep workout.

JWL

Agreed, hindu squats make my knees feel great. And my quadriceps and calves are getting scary strong. They're hard to do; I weigh well over 300 lbs and was concerned that I'd tear my knees up. They do crack once in a while, esp when I'm warming up, but there has never been any pain as long as I'm up...

JWL

Yesterday was fair. No-S went well. I had leftover pizza for lunch, and a tempeh burrito with chips and salsa for dinner. No funny stuff. Exercise was... different. Got some good frisbification in yesterday, running around the field was great. It feels so good to run the past few times we've done th...

JWL

Hi Reinhard, This is a good idea. I do like the granularity of one year as things move forward. But I do have a suggestion: you may consider allowing one photo after a few months of NoS/SG/UR, since there will in many cases be visible differences. There are with me, you can see the photo from March ...

JWL

Another good day. Lunch was a homemade hummus/homemade salsa wrap. Dinner was homemade pizza. No funny stuff. 2 cups of coffee, a liter of tea, and a bunch of water. Did a full shovelglove routine. My routines have been consistent enough that I find it a chore to specifically time them. I just do th...

JWL

Deb, you rock! Thanks so much for the pointers. And you know, it's funny. Tonight was the first Freakwitch rehearsal in 2 weeks (our drummer was on vacation). During that time, I hadn't picked up my guitar much. So tonight, we play a short (for us) set, and I have to stop because my hands are aching...

JWL

To follow up a bit, I think the main reason No-S is so successful is because it is itself a "big choice," but it provides a simple framework from which to make "little choices." With No-S, the rules about when and how much to eat are clear; it's very difficult for even the most skilled rationalizer ...

JWL

Hi Deb, no I'm not familiar with that point, could you point me to it?

JWL

This past weekend were definitely S days. I ate more than I probably should have on Saturday, though Sunday wasn't bad. Today was a difficult day, but a good one. Stuck to No-S. Had homemade hummus with crackers and some leftover tempeh for lunch. Dinner was a good stirfry with brown rice, the stirf...

JWL

Well, I might have something like that in 2 weeks. I go in for my tests on Fri, and then have a follow-up physical consult with my doc next Fri. So I'll be able to compare those results with the results from a year ago, though there was at least 8 or 9 months of variable behaviour between the last b...

JWL

my goodness, carolejo, there is definitely something about that plant photo avatar. I thought you were several decades older than you are! Some sort of illusion....

Of course, some of my recent pictures make people think I'm some sort of a biker bouncer tough guy terrorist, so it's all good....

JWL

peetie, thanks for the high compliment. All politicans are fair game in my reality, whether they are repubocrat or demlican. :twisted: and denisems, you rock! Your experience is very similar to my own; when I started eating less, my energy levels went through the roof. And it didn't even take long f...

JWL

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. Yes, this scale is like a seriously heavy-duty bathroom scale, it might be a notch above that. But still, it maxes out before it is useful to me. Regardless, I'll know for sure on Friday. Though I still don't put too much stock in weight. After all, it's just a...

JWL

I've been thinking about what I will call "big choices" and "little choices," and how they can be useful in making habit changes. A "big choice" is a fundamental choice that is overarching; eg, "from now on I will do the No-S diet and shovelglove." A "little choice" is a mundane, everyday choice tha...

JWL

Yesterday was an S day... attended a friend's baby blessing with a big party and lots of food. I didn't exercise yesterday either, at least in part because I haven't been feeling great. I'm doing a 21-day herbal cleansing supplement, designed to clear out one's digestive track, and I feel like someo...

JWL

OK, today was more or less successful. Certainly more successful than yesterday. No dietary funny stuff. Had another burrito for meal 1 (leftover ingredients from dinner last night), and dinner was a bowl of my homemade lentil soup with homemade breadsticks (with kosher sea salt, homemade pesto, and...

JWL

Ooo, not good. I just learned that sucralose (Splenda) is a synthetic compound consisting of 2 molecules of sucrose blended with 3 molecules of chlorine(!).... Yeah, just what my body needs: more poison. If there is even the remotest possibility that this stuff will break down into chlorine, I don't...

JWL

I've used Stevia before. It is an herb that tastes sweet, and according to studies I've seen it is safe (though the skeptic in me points out that the above testimonials are on Stevia's webpage... I'm sure Nutrasweet's page says it is safe, too). Most of the time, I use maple syrup. I will occasional...

JWL

hi denisems, I feel your pain! And I did not have ( ::pounds fist on table:: ) sexual relations with that woman! (pardon the bizarre Clinton reference...) But yes, I totally get nighttime binge eating, the bane of my existence for years! So to combat that, I had to institute a strict no-eating after...

JWL

That's the spirit, Kelly. Ease into it, and even with "transgressions" it is apparent that everything you do is probably an improvement over old bad habits.

JWL

I sometimes use Splenda in my iced coffees, other times I use maple syrup. Those are my 2 main sweeteners, to be used in moderation. Mostly in coffee, unless I'm preparing a dish that needs a bit of sweetener. In that case I almost always use maple syrup or honey.

JWL

heh heh, my stunningly delectable wife is not above being outspoken in much the same way that the ocean is not above the clouds.... Everyone is making great points here. The fact is, we live in an overabundant society, and the stereotypical "fat American" reflects that. Our relationship with food is...

JWL

congrats Deb! You are the rockingest rocking babe on this forum, bar none! And yes, somehow I can see all the No-Sers hooking up in Amsterdam to try some local coffee... yep caffeine is definitely one of my drugs of choice, heh heh heh Yep. Alcohol, ibuprofen, vitamin C, my asthma inhaler, lesse the...

JWL

Welcome lethaltoenails.... with a nick like that, I have to tell you this story. There was a time in my life when I was so fat I couldn't trim my own toenails. No lie. We're talking eccentricities-in-Earth's-rotation-when-I-jump fat. Luckily, that was then, this is now. I trim my own toenails these ...

JWL

Dru, you are absolutely right. I don't like feeling full these days, much less bloated, which is pretty much how I used to feel after every meal. Things definitely have changed over the past 49+ days! Speaking of which, Day 49 cannot be called a success. I ate 3 meals today, though I stayed within t...

JWL

I've never actually tried cc-skiing. You'd think I would, since I used to really love the elliptical machine in the gym, and the motions seem similar. I do want to try it sometime. Part of the problem is the expense; I'd certainly have to find somewhere to rent the gear to try it out. Hmmm, maybe th...

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