Everyday Systems

gingercake

Thanks, oolala - your annual check in is really inspiring, by the way. I actually think paleo is great. Technically I always did it more "primal style", a la Mark Sisson's books and site. And that's still my default...sort of low carb with emphasis on high quality real food. But, it in itself didn't...

gingercake

Thanks for welcomes. Yes, I have the book, and yes, control is a huge part of the challenge both in terms of the diabetes and compulsive eating. I always loved the idea of intuitive eating, but lack of structure made me so uneasy. Low carb provides lots of structure and control, but it's so easily t...

gingercake

Hello. Soo, I was here before, back in 2008, for awhile. In March 2009 I was diagnosed with diabetes and sort of had to start over mentally and practically with my food life. I was dx'd as type 2. I decided to go low-carb to manage it, did well, lost 30 lbs, went paleo, lost 10 more and was at good ...

gingercake

I think eating meat comes from the idea that you need meat to feel satiated until the next meal. The whole protein keeps you full idea. In reality it is fat that provides satiety. Covert Bailey once said to prove this try an experiment. Wash back some protein power mixed in water for breakfast. You...

gingercake

The fact that this is not a "diet" in the traditional sense was so attractive, first because I have an innate sense of rebellion, and second because I was totally removed from reponsibility for my choices, my only responsibility on a traditional diet was strict adherance to "their" program. Phyllis...

gingercake

In my experience: Letting go for awhile can be a really great thing. I find that I come back to some guidelines when I'm ready and have given my psyche a break from thinking about it all the time. No decision is necessarily permanent, so giving yourself some time off doesn't mean throwing all babies...

gingercake

Okay, it is me. Remember how I said my job involves sitting at the computer all day? All that stuff about my womanly hormones was just a ruse to keep my identity concealed.

gingercake

ThomsonPier - I also am a lover of information, and of understanding how my body works. Based on what I've read, along with my experience and the experience of many people I know (highly unscientific, I know), I do believe that the increase in fat cells that comes with being significantly overweight...

gingercake

I think two meals a day is actually pretty common in lots of non-European cultures. (At least the ones that have not completely imported American culture.) But I also think that those of us with eating disorder histories need to be careful. But also I'm not worried about you, Blue, because you seem ...

gingercake

That's awesome - way to go!

gingercake

Thanks, Blue. Wise words. I think you're right about the N-days. I am going to channel that energy into working on my plates, which are sometimes pretty suspect...

gingercake

For me, it's really important to have a somewhat normal breakfast within an hour of getting up, especially on "day after" days. I know that's not true for everyone, but I think those of us who have struggled with eating disorders have a slightly different paradigm. Breakfast steadies my blood sugar,...

gingercake

BuckeyePink wrote:I call it the "baby carrot mentality".

Haha, yes. "Craving a giant slice of mud pie? Grab some baby carrots and munch away! Curb those nacho cravings with baby carrots dipped in fat-free cottage cheese!" So delicious.

gingercake

Speaking of fruits and vegetables, we are now officially in clementine season! I love them. In season they are delicious, and cute, and tiny, and will fit onto just about any N-day plate. If you're not familiar with them, they are like golf-ball sized seedless tangerines.

gingercake

Gingercake, I'd advise forgetting the weight entirely. Just focus on eating (and exerting yourself) moderately. Those are the real issues. Reinhard Oh, well, when you put it that way it's so EASY! :D I know the concept is simple, but like most simple concepts, simple does not translate to easy. I k...

gingercake

This time I mean it! Every time I start feeling good and in the zone, like I'm doing this out of habit and it feels right and good and I'm happy and content...I get on the effing scale and ruin my good mood. It's not that I've gained. I've stayed exactly the same weight for months. Which should be f...

gingercake

Hi scaissie, I'm on the other side of the coin - I'm the "skinny spouse", and my husband is the one who struggles with his weight (he is new to No S and I'm supporting him). HK - Thanks SO MUCH for posting this, great insight. I think money works this way, too. I see my in-laws and how well they've...

gingercake

I enjoy my S-days to the hilt -- but I'm definitely "ready" for Monday when it rolls around :-) Another nice side effect of the No-s diet: you look forward to the start of the work week. Maybe I should ask Secretary Paulson for some of that stimulus money to enhance economic productivity by preachi...

gingercake

I love Mondays!

gingercake

Yes, you are an inspiration! Be proud of yourself!

gingercake

Oh boy, not helpful. Yeah, sounds like a good time to change the subject or go do something else. Hang in there - lots of support on the boards!

gingercake

His weight gain has caused him so much upset and depression and I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel :D HK - As someone who has struggled with the weight/depression/body/food issues a lot myself, I just want to encourage you (and your husband) that this is a great way of eating to ad...

gingercake

Hello HelloKitty, What I wouldn't do is give him dirty looks or explicit verbal reminders if he's having compliance issues. If he doesn't feel like this is his thing, that the ultimate choice and authority for this is in himself, he's going to resent it. That's not only bad news diet-wise, but coul...

gingercake

I've also found that the more I skip the sweets, the less likely I am to crave them, so I don't go wild on S-days with them because it's so great to be out of that sugar-dependence loop. Yes! From the first sweet I eat on the weekend, it's like sugar is all I want until Sunday night. I think some o...

gingercake

Yes, I have had the "I'm eating sweets - what day is this?" dreams. Also, I definitely experience the preventative eating behavior of S days, and I don't like it. I don't enjoy half of what I eat on the weekends and am trying to find a balance between the freedom of weekends while keeping some intel...

gingercake

Welcome! I am another WW refugee. Reached my all-time low on it, but it created obsessive/compulsive behavior stuff that was as bad as being overweight, really. I've discovered that recovering from years and years of restrictive dieting takes a big mental shift, and I think it's SO GOOD AND SMART th...

gingercake

Welcome back - I remember you from when I first joined. Since then, I've gone off and on habit myself, but seem to learn something each time, so...there's that.

gingercake

Start with a nice big breakfast - don't skimp. Make sure breakfast has fat. Eat plenty at all your meals so that snacks seem less appealing, but for me, breakfast is the key meal to get right if I want my whole day to be easier.

gingercake

My stand-by is a yogurt/fruit smoothie, and a piece of whole-grain toast with natural peanut butter and a little low-sugar jam. coffee with half and half. That usually keeps me going until 1 p.m. or so. The peanut butter is a great slow-burn fuel because of the fat.

gingercake

My stand-by is a yogurt/fruit smoothie, and a piece of whole-grain toast with natural peanut butter and a little low-sugar jam. coffee with half and half. That usually keeps me going until 1 p.m. or so. The peanut butter is a great slow-burn fuel because of the fat.

gingercake

Ha! Well, I have been trying to break the scale habit. I weakened this morning because I felt so good, and then let the number bother me for about an hour and reminded myself why I stopped weighing in the first place. 1) because of how much I let it get to me and 2) the way it can, as you describe, ...

gingercake

Since starting this thread a few weeks ago, I've been doing really well. I feel like I'm back in the zone, and this past week especially started enjoying myself again...a feeling that OH-SO-SURPRISINGLY happened to coincide with when I stopped weighing myself. Huh. *sarcastic finger to cheek with pu...

gingercake

As usual, I'm really glad it's Monday. Thursday was a red day, then Friday was yellow for Halloween, then the weekend... I like having my training wheels back on. I'm self-employed and am often at home or at my office, alone, and I actually do better in those places than anywhere else. I have what I...

gingercake

... I will occasionally pop a handful of yogurt raisins in between meals just because I know I can, it really makes me feel icky, mostly because I know I didn't really want it and it defies the spirit of what the S days are about. However, I don't want to let S days go by without any kind of reward...

gingercake

... it would be difficult for me to give up my daily weigh-ins and Excel spreadsheet with the rolling average YTD weight (I am a bit of a stats freak), but giving it up is exactly something that I should consider -- it's really in opposition to what No-S is all about. And having glimpsed the possib...

gingercake

This is the approach I'm constantly trying to remind myself to take. Just commit for a year and really settle down into it. I may have to stop weighing myself to really stick to that commitment.

gingercake

Yesterday late morning I really wanted to crack open the Halloween candy. I got deep into a fantasy of how it would taste and smell, and then someone informed me that yesterday was "National Chocolate Day" (really? like we need a special day to promote chocolate?) and then I decided I'd just have an...

gingercake

My brag is that when I'm practicing No S I'm basically cured of compulsive/binge eating disorder. It is very nice not to be worrying about food 12 hours a day!

gingercake

Welcome! I think you'll find that this actually helps a lot with emotional eating. Once you have such firm and easy to remember guidelines, and in the habit of taking the option of eating off the table (as it were) you start to deal with it in other ways. (Like laying on the bed weeping - not that I...

gingercake

I concur with the you go girls, and with the whole feeling sorry thing. One friend who knows what I'm doing will always ask, when we're out, and with a pained expression, "can you have dessert? or is this a day you can't have dessert?" I always say, I CAN have anything I want. But I'm not going to. ...

gingercake

I first read that as you watched Little House. As in on the Prairie. Which I do sometimes, because it's oddly relaxing even though I know the plot of every single episode!

gingercake

That's great and encouraging - thanks for posting!

gingercake

But this past week I've had a back slide. I've had 4 failures in the past week. Granted it's "that time of the month," but still... Any advice? Betty I REALLY struggle during PMS week, and it's not psychological - it's true physical hunger and also cravings. During that week, you might try to eat a...

gingercake

I think when I was younger I just didn't have the ability? to define what I needed in such a relationship. That is why I like your story, Gingercake, about initially not allowing any measurements to take place and then letting your relationship with your trainer evolve over time. Blueskighs It's ki...

gingercake

LauraAnn and Blueskighs, thanks for your responses. Sometimes when I disappear it IS because I'm purposely spending less time online and more living. But sometimes it is because I'm floundering and going back to the Dark Side. Right now I am all about embracing unsexy moderation. Unsexy moderation! ...

gingercake

My first go at No-S was around May - coming off of several years of dieting during which I lost about 50 lbs. This is probably about the fifth time I'm coming back from a cycle of good No-S-ing, then some bad days, then freaking out and returning to counting and restricting, then realizing I'm miser...

gingercake

Love it - thanks for the link

gingercake

I highly do not recommend running around in a panic.

You could do a traditional diet and then be in the same place three weeks from now (been there).

My rec is go back to No-S habits and stay off the scale for awhile, and get out of panic mode where you can think clearly.

gingercake

And, even more importantly, I think I've broken my binging habit (really just an unpleasant side-effect of the dieting habit) FOR GOOD. I still screw up a fair amount...logging in 2-4 red days per month on average...but those screw-ups aren't binges. Such a good point about how binge eating can be ...

gingercake

Since I have more than 100 lbs to lose, I naturally went to the 100 plus lbs forum first. From your replies it is clear that it is possible to lose weight eating the no-S way without special foods. Especially when you've got more to lose, I think! I think you'll be really happy and relieved to not ...

gingercake

I tend to eat a frozen entree for lunch once or twice a week. They're in the freezer for days I don't have time to think about it. And honestly, because I DO care about nutrition, when I'm buying frozen entrees, I'd rather get the one that's lower in fat and sodium and higher in fiber. I don't think...

gingercake

I have blood sugar issues and allow myself what I call a "medically necessary" snack if I can feel I need one. For me, being stomach-growling hungry at a meal is good. Being lightheaded and shaky is blood sugar bad news, and if I'm starting to feel that way I will have a glass of milk and half a ban...

gingercake

The last day or two I've been having those "ack, maybe I should go back to weight watchers" kinds of feelings that come after a few weeks of lots of visitors, eating out, and 9 days vacation. At the gym, feeling bloated and thinking about how last year at this time I weighed about 8 lbs less than I ...

gingercake

Doing fine, was on vacation for a week. I've moved to a paper journal because I was trying to not spend much time online while on vacay, and actually really liked it. So my check in thread may die. We'll see!

gingercake

7/25/08 Food: S day It was our annual dinner out with a friend we see once a year. I didn't really plan it as an s-day, but when it was time to maybe order dessert, there was something I wanted to try and we were all having a good time, so I went ahead. The dessert was so-so and not too big, and I d...

gingercake

Yeah, I like this thread. I find examples like these really helpful.

gingercake

7/24/08 Food: Success 1 "medically necessary" snack, as I call it when my blood sugar is crashing and it's not mealtime yet. I had half a glass of milk, 1/3 banana, and about 10 almonds, which was just right. My lunch could have been more substantial and thereby headed off the crash. E/A: gym workou...

gingercake

7/23/08

Food: success
Ate lunch out. Yummy and greasy, but one reasonable plate.

E/A:
mailbox stroll

gingercake

I am seriously thinking of giving up TV. At least, cable. It's a little scary because I do loves mah TV, but I think it would feel good, ultimately, and bring improvements. And if I go crazy, I can always get it again... I definitely can connect many of my food cravings to advertising. And my cravin...

gingercake

I'm one of those strange people who enjoys going to the gym. me too :D In junior high and high school, I dreaded PE for all the usual reasons, but secretly I think there's an athlete somewhere inside me. I like being an adult and working out and feeling like I belong there - converse to the adolesc...

gingercake

7/22/08 Food: success Good day. Really enjoyed my food - everything flowed and was in the right amounts. It's so easy, and it's also so hard. I think there's something about that in the book. Excercise/activity: Gym workout. Cardio cross training - treadmill hills, bike, track intervals. Plus abs an...

gingercake

7/21/08 Food: success The easiest Monday in awhile. Defaulting to three meals/no snacks on S days just works better for me. I did let down on the content and amount of food at one or two of the weekend meals but it wasn't like the past few weekends have been in terms of excess. Exercise/Activity: No...

gingercake

7/20/08

Food: S Day
Good S Day. Did 3 meals. Indulgent breakfast, then reasonable but yummy lunch and dinner.

Exercise/activity:
Gym workout - Cardio crosstraining
HRM stats -
392 cals
max hr: 175 (96% max)
avg: 128 (70% of max)
time in zone: 7:45
58 minutes duration

gingercake

7/19/08

Food: S day
Note so self: I'm finding that snacking doesn't really work for me, even on S days, so I'm sticking to seconds and sweets, if I want them. Otherwise, Mondays really suck.

Exercise/activity:
25 minute brisk walk
plus a couple of hours of on-my-feet mall shopping

gingercake

I love the option to be free of counting and measuring and weighing. I also love the option to do whatever works. Sometimes - if I feel like my eating has been wacky or over the top - I'll count calories for 2 or 3 days just to remind myself what reasonable portions are. Yes, I agree that in general...

gingercake

Thanks for posting this - I may try it. I have blood sugar issues, and if I don't eat a perfect lunch with a good balance of fat/protein/fiber/carbs, I crash in the mid-to-late afternoon and it is no fun and turns dinner into a bit of a bear. For me, it would have to be a really tight set of default...

gingercake

7/18/08

Food: success

Exercise/activity:
Nothing to speak of. I watched the Women of Ninja Warrior on TV tonight and it made me wish I had a giant obstacle course to work out on.

gingercake

I think this is the key, you are learning and growing and that is always powerful stuff! Blueskighs Thanks, and yes. Years ago I binge ate several times a week - it felt so normal. Now it feels so wrong and disordered, and I'm able to have that dialog with myself when the urge comes. Usually now it...

gingercake

7/17/08 Food: Failure. Spectacular failure! Around 5-ish, I had a blood sugar issue that led to a snack that led to a binge. I can look over the last few days, the time of the month, and the events of the last week and understand what happened. Also, I know what to do now, so it's okay. Exercise/act...

gingercake

7/16/08

Food: success
Very pleased with my plates, especially dinner, which has been a little loose lately.

Exercise/activity:
Gym workout
Cardio crosstraining with treadmill hills/bike/elliptical/track + abs
HRM cals burned 346
max hr 159
avg hr 120
time in zone 17:48
duration 58:10

gingercake

7/15/08 Food: success Felt lousy all day - tired and headachy. Started to get the shakes a little before noon so had a glass of milk, and was okay until lunch at 1:30. It was tempting to just eat and eat in hopes it would make me feel better, but I didn't. A little bit of funny business at dinner bu...

gingercake

I've been doing this a couple of months now, and at first I resisted making my own check-in thread because it felt very food-loggy, which represented everything I wanted to escape. But now that I've been at this awhile, I would like a way to note the nuances in the red days (like, I ate a pint of ic...

gingercake

I like a stuffed potato of some sort. You can bake some potatoes ahead of time, or microwave one if you didn't think about it. Stuff I like to put on them, one at a time or all at once... pinto or black beans or garbanzos feta cheese or goat or cheddar or whatever kind of cheese leftover meat or pou...

gingercake

Welcome, Julie. You've pretty much described me exactly, only without the kid. 5'2", lost 50 lbs. mostly on WW, am currently about 155 and okay with staying here if I'm healthy and happy and fit and not obsessed with food or dieting. I would like to lose another 10-12 in the next year, but really, r...

gingercake

I had some trouble with re-entry today after the 3-day holiday. Had some major seconds at lunch, then something sweet after dinner. I definitely do better on Mondays when the weekend hasn't been a free-for-all. This was the first weekend like that in awhile - but second red Monday in a row. But, you...

gingercake

I second the ideas of moving wine to the end of dinner, or making wine a less regular feature. For me, wine + empty stomach = total food inhibition. Before deciding to move wine to S days only, try having a glass as you are finishing your plate. You'd be surprised how different its effect is on a no...

gingercake

I don't have any ideas but I do have sympathy. Everyone in my family but me are teachers, and I know how insane the schedules are. I think the fact that you are thinking about this now is a huge step - as a teacher and mom, you know that planning is everything!

gingercake

That's awesome. I want to be you in 11 months.

gingercake

After 33 days of this, I'm noticing some great changes in my ability to know when I'm hungry and when I'm full. Some observations: - Eating is driven by mealtimes, not how many points or calories I have left for the day. When doing weight watchers, if I ever had 2 or 3 points left in a day (extremel...

gingercake

That's great and very encouraging to hear from someone who is leading a normal, busy life.

gingercake

Way to go! And how much more fun to see 6 lbs all at once then watch the scale go up and down every day and stress about it!

gingercake

So I've been sick for nearly a week with various things (long story). I've found myself sticking to No S habits anyway, without really thinking about it, which really means it's a habit I guess. I did drink a lot more fruit juice (mostly diluted with water - I don't love juice) all day to stay hydra...

gingercake

The question is: Can you overcome this habit of bingeing and/or emotional eating without help? Especially if you have been doing it most of your life? I don't know about overcome, but I think you can get very close, depending. For me, learning about nutrition and whole foods and habits like the one...

gingercake

I'm a scale person, too. Somehow I'm able to just see it as data and not a judgment on my person, and it helps keep my denial in check. I've also started measuring my waist regularly, too, to have that other measure. I think when it comes to this stuff, if you can see them as neutral tools they can ...

gingercake

I keep my coffee with breakfast most of the time, but will sometimes get an au lait in the afternoon. (no syrups or anything) Most of the time if I need a caffeine boost at non-morning times of the day, I go with green or black tea with nothing added. Does the trick for me! But I do think that if it...

gingercake

I have your blog in my RSS feed, and I was reading your entry from this evening and thinking, yeah, it is kind of boring. There is a noticeable hole in my life where previously I was expending lots of time and energy on obsessing about food, what I could eat, what I couldn't, counting/measuring/weig...

gingercake

I don't have trouble with the no sweets and no snacks, because I've eaten this way before and also I like routine. The hardest for me is no seconds, because I'm a big eater and I truly enjoy food and the experience of eating so sometimes it's hard to stop. It feels sad - like, "The meal is over alre...

gingercake

You might check out the "daily check in" area of the bulletin board. A number of people post what they ate or plan to eat. For me, the kinds of foods you list are also "once in awhile" foods, because it's hard (really hard) for me to stop at one or two pieces of pizza or a small serving of fries. I ...

gingercake

We've been on the road in the car for the last two days, and though I know I could have exempted myself and made them NWS days, I decided ahead of time that I just wanted to stick with 3 meals, no snacks, no sweets. So, normally we'd be munching stuff in the car but we didn't, and we didn't die. We ...

gingercake

To me, binge means I have the conscious (or semi conscious) intention to eat until I physically can't eat any more. To me a binge is only done in private. Usually there is some sort of planning to make sure I have the foods I want to binge on. I close the blinds. It's a very shameful, secretive thin...

gingercake

Blueskighs, you are probably right about that. I think it has to do with fiber and slowing down digestion or something.....I'm usually much better at including veggies but need to make more of an effort. Yes, definitely. The bulk and fiber of veggies slows the blood sugar impact, and for those of u...

gingercake

When I feel that kind of a shaky, blood sugar crash coming on, I have a small but dense snack like trail mix or cheese and apple or something or almonds. My "modification" of the no snacking rule is "except when medically necessary." I'm not talking about hunger or even extreme stomach-growling hung...

gingercake

Thanks all for the encouragements. Today is going fine so far. I even walked to the super pricey organic produce market and got some beautiful produce items and a really wonderful loaf of artisan bread and made my lunch from that. So I'm trying to do the oposite of punishment and just enjoy my food ...

gingercake

And I'm not coping with it well! Really it was a minor derailment at first...I had to get up WAY earlier than usual and basically ended up eating two breakfasts before 9 a.m., but then I let it turn into a "what the f*ck" day. That, coupled with some quality time in the 3-way mirror while shopping a...

gingercake

I ate mostly (probably 90%) vegetarian last summer. When cold weather came, I had a hard time, but it was pretty easy in the summer and it feels like a natural fit in the hot weather. Plan to do it again this summer. I figure even the three months or so I act like a vegetarian minimizes my impact...

gingercake

I think I should read this every Friday night. This is my second weekend since starting No S and I felt like I went way over the top this time, and am now having those panicky thoughts about cracking down and modifying and telling myself I can't handle freedom and this is never going to work for me ...

gingercake

little update: going along with the No S philosophy of simple, strict rules that you can't bargain with, I've made my rule "no internet until after dinner." Today was the first day of that, and it worked out well. And I'm enjoying my online time much more because there's no guilt, and also there is ...

gingercake

I have smoothies almost every day as part of my breakfast. I can't make it to lunch on just the smoothie, but I like it with peanut butter on whole grain toast or an egg or something. Maybe if you eat a little more at breakfast you won't be craving a smoothie snack?

gingercake

Welcome! I'm pretty new, too, at the end of my first week. The hardest part for me is around 4pm - 6pm, because I'm truly hungry (whereas other snack times were more about boredom). But, I know I'm not going to starve to death and there's nothing wrong with being hungry. And, the seconds thing can b...

gingercake

Kind of in the weekend luddite vein... I've got a deadline for a big project. The closer the deadline gets, the more time I spend not working on it. 90% of my non-working time is spent on email, blogs, bulletin boards, and all of that delicious stuff. I've figured out (I think) that two hours a day ...

Everyday Systems

Search found 110 matches

second-timer, type 1 diabetic, compulsive eater, YAY!

okay, I SERIOUSLY have to stop weighing myself

Re: How to support spouse on NoS?

Re: anyone find S days are a struggle?

Re: Fear of Success??

accumulating multiple failed attempts..errr...experiences

Re: Those 5 lbs...

Re: me again, sorry I over-reacted

a moment of panic - and post-panic analysis

gingercake, checkin' in

hunger/fullness mechanism seems to be repaired

being sick

Re: The binge and emotional eating

3 weeks in + my first traveling experience

my first red day

Two-Hour-Tether (or better name someone else comes up with)