Everyday Systems

apomerantz

I'm a big believer that some people really do have intense sugar cravings that others do not seem to contend with. My husband can make a chocolate bar last a week - - because he can eat one square a day and find that satisfying. One square for me makes me want it much, much more. So, I believe that ...

apomerantz

Yesterday went well. I wasn't especially hungry - - not sure why. And I ran four miles. The only dicey part at all was dinnertime when I had the whole "I'm using bowls so what is the bowl equivalent of one plate" quandry. Darn salads. Usually I like to try to just pile everything on one plate - - sa...

apomerantz

It's sooo wonderful to see you are here :). I'm so so sorry about your father and all the stress. Wow. That would make it so hard to follow any plan, but I bet you are right - - No S probably kept it from being a lot worse. I look forward to keeping up with you and your progress. We've done it befor...

apomerantz

and now it is time to get back on! Ahhh, the slippery slope. First, I stopped tracking, but still followed No S. Then, I began training for a marathon which really made me feel as though I could eat what I wanted, when I wanted. And I kinda could get away with it. Then, I hurt my hip and had to stop...

apomerantz

So, here's my monthly status report. I started No S four months ago on January 13th. As of yesterday, on May 13th, I've lost 4.2 lbs. And interestingly, my loss has actually been fairly steady state in the sense that I've felt that each month a pound has disappeared for good. But the weight loss gra...

apomerantz

DAY 115: SUCCESS DAY 116: S DAY DAY 117: S DAY DAY 118: SUCCESS DAY 119: SUCCESS DAY 120: SUCCESS I am going to give a four month status report in the next post, but basically this week is going fine. My Saturday was a little more toward the out of control than I'd have liked it to be (but nearly as...

apomerantz

I was so sorry to log in today and learn the terrible news about your dad. It sounds like a VERY tough situation to say the least. I'm not looking forward to these things at all . . .

I'm very glad your new habits are holding you in good stead.

Best wishes . . .anita

apomerantz

I could not agree more with your post, Nichole. I'm glad you've discovered the benefits. I find the MOOD one to be the most compelling for me. If I exercise, I'm in a good mood all day . . .more than one day off, and I'm like a different person (and not in a good way). I do think exercise is a natur...

apomerantz

Yes, I think the ONE thing I've taken away from the No S experience is to focus on the behavior more and the result less. I love that lesson. I think in the long run, I'm going to be the better for it. In the short run, it is more challenging. But I've tried so many short run methods that have ended...

apomerantz

My issue is actually that I like the caffeine in a diet Coke or diet Peach Snapple (at least in the warmer weather when coffee is less appealing). So, I could drink full sugar versions of these, but I can't see much reason to do it . . .extra calories and all. Plus, I do find that real sugar makes m...

apomerantz

I would not feel guilty about drinking whole milk as I will only eat normal butter now, not any light butters or margarines or spray butters. I just go sparingly. BUT, in the case of milk, I'm a bad one to ask because oddly I love skim milk. Much, much prefer it to whole. It's crazy, I know. But I j...

apomerantz

Thalia, Thanks for the encouragment! Since I weigh in daily, I have a very good sense of the ebb and flow of my weight, so I would DEFINITELY expect a bump up from a low weigh in. My concern is that for the past two weeks, I've consistently weighed 126ish (the low was 125), and now all of the sudden...

apomerantz

I'm like artificial sweetners and probably drink 1 diet drink per day with aspartame and one coffee per day with either aspartame or splenda. My favorite from a taste perspective is Equal (aspartame) by a long shot, but I do like cooking with Splenda from time to time. I'm married to a doctor - - an...

apomerantz

Cassie,

I just wanted to send good wishes your way! I think you've gotten excellent advice here (Tuna's, Reinhard's, and all those who agreed with them), so just wanted to say that I think you will have smooth sailing now!!

apomerantz

Same with me TexArk - - I've been tracking on my spreadsheet, but haven't checked in here much. It's not doing me much good because my weight is now moving steadily in the wrong direction. I'm so bummed. But at least I realize it so I can do something about it. How is this week going for you? Hope t...

apomerantz

p.s. I have had to Failure days in the past couple of weeks, but they've been very small failures. Not binges or anything. So I can't imagine that's the issue ...

apomerantz

DAY 107: SUCCESS DAY 108: SUCCESS DAY 109: S DAY DAY 110: S DAY DAY 111: FAILURE DAY 112: SUCCESS DAY 113: SUCCESS DAY 114: SUCCESS Something odd (and not good) is going on. First, I'm just really, really wanting to eat some food while I'm cleaning up from dinner. It's getting very difficult to resi...

apomerantz

I'm petite, like you, and am 42 years old. Now, thanks to no S, I am in the normal weight range, but I am definitely not skinny. I've been on no S for 3 1/2 months. So far, I can tell you that my weekends are evolving. The first few, I basically ate like I always used to eat - - nibbling all day lon...

apomerantz

Heidi, Cholesterol is oftentimes due to genetics more than anything related to diet. If you are overweight, shedding the extra pounds is great to try, and exercise can really raise your HDL (which is a good thing as the ratio of HDL to LDL is important). I think any sensible eating plan combined wit...

apomerantz

I think you are doing great. I'd have done exactly what you did on the sushi. And I also cook at home all the time and do permit myself a very small taste here and there while cooking; there's really no choice sometimes. But I know the difference between a taste and actually eating the dish while co...

apomerantz

TexArk - - Ok, we are scarily alike!! I'm glad I'm not alone, but I wish we were both not facing these new challenges. DAY 105: FAILURE Yes, I said I wasn't going to do it, but then I did - - nibble after dinner - - so I know I need to mark that a FAILURE. Again, nothing way over the top and not a s...

apomerantz

Hmmm - - that's a tough question. I mostly think No S has gotten easier the longer I am on it. My biggest challenges are: 1) Weeknight restaurant eating - - if everyone orders appetizers and desserts, it's hard not to join in. I do tend to order the appetizer and then eat a small amount, using virtu...

apomerantz

For some reason, I keep eating the same breakfast over and over - - which I didn't do before No S. I have a small plastic bowl that I fill as follows: 3/4 Special K 1/4 Select Grains Crunchy Pecan (I do LOVE this cereal I must say) 1/3rd cup of blueberries on top skim milk I sort of crave this every...

apomerantz

Wow - - I'm impressed you didn't snack in the car. For some reason, car snacking has not been an issue for me in the past, but I can so see why people find it appealing . . .it's a triumph to have that under control. Especially on an S day!! Great job with NOT using food to medicate the stress. That...

apomerantz

I will miss you!!! Have an awesome fun-filled trip

.

apomerantz

DAY 101: S DAY DAY 102: S DAY DAY 103: SUCCESS DAY 104: SUCCESS Well, the S days could have been a bit better. Saturday was especially poor as I started eating a lot of sweets throughout the day. I was disappointed in myself even though it is allowed. I just want to think I've got the habit down . ....

apomerantz

I think wosnes is giving some very good advice. It is harder when you are petite. Swimming might be an excellent exercise for you - - especially if you liked exercising before. It is aerobic, but it also has a nice overall toning effect on your body. If you can't kick because of your knee, you can u...

apomerantz

You are off to an awesome start!!! Believe me, as a person who was doing a LOT of exercise before No S - - yes, it is sadly possible to "snack that much". My meals are bigger and 10x more satisfying than before No S, and I'm slowly losing weight. Before, despite training for triathlons, I was GAININ...

apomerantz

Best of luck this go around!!! I can so relate to what you are saying . . .I think this time is going to work. You sound ready.

from one drs wife to another,

Anita

apomerantz

When you say you can't eat much for breakfast, I was wondering why? Are you just not hungry? Or are you time crunched? What is stopping you from eating more? I eat a bowl of cereal. I fill 3/4 of the bowl with a very low calorie, low sugar cereal (Special K), add about an 1/4 of my favorite cereal (...

apomerantz

I know a lot of folks here aren't too hip on sugar free items, but I use a sugar free syrup (Smuckers) , and I think it tastes great. Not too much different than regular syrup. I will admit that I don't eat pancakes on N days just because psychologically, syrup seems like a sweet to me, even if it i...

apomerantz

Hi Susie! Welcome

. Can't wait to go check out your blog.

apomerantz

I'm with you BrightAngel on the weighing - - completely. If you care about scale weight, which some people don't, then I think you can soooo easily delude yourself by not weighing yourself consistently. Yesterday I weighed 125 (last day of a string of N days). This is the lowest I've weighed since s...

apomerantz

I'm with you BrightAngel on the weighing - - completely. If you care about scale weight, which some people don't, then I think you can soooo easily delude yourself by not weighing yourself consistently. Yesterday I weighed 125 (last day of a string of N days). This is the lowest I've weighed since s...

apomerantz

Way to go on an awesome week!!!!! We will miss you when you are in France, but I think if you eat like the French eat, you'll be golden. Can't wait to hear all about it!!

apomerantz

I'm so sorry to hear about the encroaching life pressures, but I'm very proud and happy for you to hear how you are handling it. Honestly, if our diet failures were simply restricted to licking cookie dough off one finger, you and I both know we would never have had to diet in the first place. The f...

apomerantz

DAY 99: SUCCESS DAY 100: SUCCESS Even though I went out to dinner on Thursday night, I thought I did well sticking to no S principles. I shared an appetizer (which was small to start), had about half a plate of salad, and ordered the half size of pasta . . .it was a heaping plate no doubt, but I'm p...

apomerantz

The first thought I had was that you are experiencing some water gain from the carbs I'm pretty sure this is what you are experiencing. On a low carb diet, your muscles have very little glycogen stored in them. Glycogen is coupled with water. So, the amazing weight loss you see in the first week of...

apomerantz

Let's just say the day ended with eating out of the ice cream carton. lol . . .boy can I relate to this. But hey, it was an S day and again you moved right back to a successful N day. And you are down 4 lbs!! I think it is so wierd how we are losing at about the exact same rate. I'm also down 4 lbs...

apomerantz

Anne, WAY TO GO!!! I'm just catching up on your messages, and I can see that last week was a tough one. But you are rebounding gloriously this week. I so admire someone who can hang tough when the going gets tough. And that's you. I tend to let failures snowball into more failures, but you know you ...

apomerantz

DAY 97: SUCCESS DAY 98: SUCCESS All is going well though I have felt hungry. Nonetheless, I've been able to ignore it. Tonight will be more challenging as we are going out to dinner with another couple. I am hitting my low weight today . . .126 . . .I'd be so excited if I dipped into the 125's this ...

apomerantz

DAY 92: SUCCESS DAY 93: SUCCESS DAY 94: S DAY DAY 95: S DAY DAY 96: SUCCESS Given last week's failure and my feelings of shakiness on the program, things went pretty well. And my S days weren't really over the top (for me) either. All in all, I can't complain. This week seems to be going okay so far...

apomerantz

Hey, just following along here and wanted to put in a pitch for exercise as being FUN - - not just all hard work and misery. I exercise a lot because I enjoy it . . .I'd never stick with it or do as much as I do, if I didn't. I will admit that it took some time to: 1. Find exercise that I like 2. Ge...

apomerantz

This is absolutely a valid issue. I'm only 5 feet tall . . .my basal metabolic needs are about 1250 calories per day. Add some movement on top of that and maybe I require 1400 calories. It is darn hard to run a 500 calorie deficit per day with a starting point of 1400 calories. My solution is to exe...

apomerantz

Debs, I can't seem to find the specific post where you first mention eating in the middle of the night, but I had a couple of ideas about that. These aren't from experience at all, so take them with a grain of salt - - but logically, I'm thinking they might help. The first idea is to set your alarm ...

apomerantz

So awesome about the loose pants! I find that to be the best feeling

.

apomerantz

DAY 91: SUCCESS

Thank goodness.

For some reason though I'm feeling more vulnerable this week. Like I could fail at any minute.

apomerantz

lol . . .well, I'm 127 on average, and I weigh every day. I find that with daily weighing, I don't have that shock factor either way. If I don't weigh daily, and I get on the scale, and I'm down - - then I'm like "yee haa where's the chocolate???!!!!". And if I'm up, then I'm like "oh let's just chu...

apomerantz

I've been on No S for three months, and let me assure you that the intense hunger goes away. I was just like you - - eating chocolate every day and the most hungry around 4 pmish (before dinner). The first two weeks of No S were challenging, but it was SO WORTH IT!!! I have none of the cravings now ...

apomerantz

Hey Marc, I checked out that website, but it doesn't seem to work the way we want it to. It is more of a way to send large files to a specific person i.e. an email address is required. It's a shame this message board doesn't support files as there are so many FREE messaging groups that do (Google Gr...

apomerantz

I'd be happy to share! I'll look at the site you mention and see how it works.

apomerantz

TexArk and Anne, Thank you so much for the support! I'm feeling some relief today that it seems more normal and no harder than usual. Of course the day isn't over yet. I find it FASCINATING, TexArk, that you have had the same problem after exercising "extreme" self control. I didn't even really make...

apomerantz

Sounds like you are on a roll!!! I do think that if healthy eating is your goal, that you can readily work in that direction. Maybe you could take some small, but concrete steps to build the habit . . .I'm not so sure you should FORCE yourself, but if you found some really interesting vegetable prep...

apomerantz

I use Excel . . .what I like about it is that you can fit a trend line to the data points which shows a nice downward slope! I find looking at that very motivating given my daily weigh ins are all over the place. If you want to see what it looks like, I uploaded one to my daily check in - - it's pro...

apomerantz

Against Reinhard's advice (sorry . . .), I do weigh daily. You can see a recent chart on my daily check in. I have found that my weight varies soooo much on a day to day basis that by weighing each day and charting it, I can see the downward trend - - and I find that very comforting. I'm afraid that...

apomerantz

Against Reinhard's advice (sorry . . .), I do weigh daily. You can see a recent chart on my daily check in. I have found that my weight varies soooo much on a day to day basis that by weighing each day and charting it, I can see the downward trend - - and I find that very comforting. I'm afraid that...

apomerantz

DAY 89: SUCCESS DAY 90: FAILURE Wow - - you think you are totally safe and in the habit when a FAILURE comes up and smacks you in the face. The funny thing is I actually got past a HUGE temptation early in the day and ended up in trouble in the evening. I think it is good to take a look at the reaso...

apomerantz

I'm a bit torn about the concept of the paleo diet. After all, I believe that the life of cave people was rather brutal and short - - so it's not really as though the diet has withstood the test of time. On the other hand, it's all natural, non processed foods, and in this day and age, how can that ...

apomerantz

I feel the exact same way - - definitely enjoying cooking a LOT more now that I can actually do more of the eating . . . It was a sweet weekend for me too with the holidays (Passover in my case), but somehow I did okay anyway. My weigh in was actually low this morning . . .not sure how that happened...

apomerantz

Actually, I think weighing every single day has taught me a lot and now I worry much less. Obviously, the zigging and zagging is meaningless. And with no S, it doesn't change my eating behaviors. So I'm thinking as long as that trajectory is DOWN, I'm going to view this whole No S experiment as a bi...

apomerantz

I think the whole "hold hunger at bay" is such bs . . . I was snacking my face off, and I was a whole LOT HUNGRIER than I am now. Why would that be? Well, I'm guessing that my brain got accustomed to being fed every couple of hours, and when time came for the feeding, it let out signals that it was ...

apomerantz

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5049/wwbb.png Well, I've been on the plan exactly three months now. My weight loss is slow, but directionally all is well. I feel great. I'm normal weight now (BMI wise). Could I lose more - - yes? Do I care how fast it goes - - no? I'm a perfect size 6 right now, and...

apomerantz

We've missed you, but it looks like you are totally hanging in there! It's so hard when you are very busy. Hope the workload lightens up soon

.

apomerantz

CONGRATS on being 100 days plus No S. That's awesome. I must admit that No S is seeming easier and easier to me - - like I can understand why I made such a huge deal in the beginning. Isn't that funny? I barely think about it now except in restaurant situations. Keep on chugging! We are doing well, ...

apomerantz

TexArk - - You should be proud! 100+ days on No S. Yeah!! DAY 82: SUCCESS DAY 83: SUCCESS DAY 84: SUCCESS DAY 85: SUCCESS While I haven't had problems at all with eating this week, I have had serious exercise issues. Which is sooo unlike me. I had a horrible cold in the early part of the week, and t...

apomerantz

I've tried intuitive eating, and I intuitively eat too much and too often!

LOL . . . ok, that makes two of us!!

Truthfully, I never tried an eating plan called "Intuitive Eating" - - but I am not sure why I would even need a diet if my intuition was any use.

apomerantz

I really like to cook and try a lot of new recipes. Some don't work out. But usually, I have side dishes with the new main (or vice versa) that are acceptable. If the recipe is just mediocre, I'd probably eat my plate full and call it a day. But if it was inedible, I'd remove the inedible part and f...

apomerantz

Where are you, Anne???

apomerantz

I'm laughing because I think I'm down the exact same amount - - 3.5 lbs. I've been as low as 4 lbs down and obviously less than 3.5 - - but I seem to be averaging around 3.5 at this point.

Congratulations!!! Things are working . . .slow and steady wins the race.

apomerantz

DAY 80: S DAY DAY 81: S DAY Ok, I hope everyone else's weekend went better than mine did. I think I just had too many "S"'s to cope with - - it was a weekend (SAT/SUN), my son's birthday (SPECIAL), and I have an awful cold (SICK). The result was a lot of eating for reasons having anything to do with...

apomerantz

So much for checking in daily . . .

Day 78: SUCCESS
Day 79: SUCCESS

Weight is very steady right now. I have gotten a cold, and I'm really feeling it when I exercise. Annoying because I hate missing exercise, but I feel weak . . .

apomerantz

Hi JanMarie, I will confess my hardest time is pre dinner, not post dinner, but usually what I do is: 1. I don't clean up immediately following dinner because I'm not feeling enough satiety yet and will be prone to nibble leftovers while I clean up. I usually give it a half hour or so after dinner. ...

apomerantz

Quick oats and old fashioned oats and steel cut oats are the same thing, but with different levels of processing. I don't think the nutritional value is impacted much, but I think they represent different levels on the glycemic index, so you may feel a higher level of satisfaction eating the less pr...

apomerantz

DAY 77: SUCCESS Surprisingly easy transition from vacation to an N day. Weight was back down this morning so I'm guessing what little gain there was from vacation was primarily water weight. One nice thing I have is that my scale measures body fat. I'm not sure of the accuracy, but I've gone from ab...

apomerantz

Hi Anne!

Great to "see" you again and it looks like things went well for you by and large . . .I'm dying to know the brand of the carmel vanilla tea - - that sounds YUMMY!!

I want to say more, but have to run my son to baseball. I will check in with you again very shortly

.

Anita

apomerantz

Hi Texark, I'm back in town, and just wanted to check in with you. Sounds like Sunday was a bit more challenging, but that everything else is going great! You are always so disciplined on your N days . . . I do think it takes awhile to totally kill those urges to binge once you get started on the sw...

apomerantz

I'm back from vacation - - all in one piece! It was interesting - - No S really did keep me in good stead though I didn't follow it as rigidly as I do at home. I did exercise every day - - as much as I would normally do at home. Thursday - this was a travel day, and I stuck with the program (though ...

apomerantz

Hi there! I just want to reassure you that the S days even out. A lot. I'm on about day 80 or so. My first few weekends were disasters in terms of eating, but they've gotten much, much better. I find that I really enjoy the N day style of eating better, so gradually it has been easier to keep S days...

apomerantz

LOL!!! Ok, TexArk, I'm on my way out the door, but your post was just tooooo funny. Thanks for the giggle

. I just have a vision of us all going to work in our bathing suits. That would definitely motivate me to the hilt.

apomerantz

Thanks so much, LA, for the very kind and supportive words. I do like the idea of S events for vacation . . .I think a part of me is very afraid to modify anything at anytime because this has worked so well for me. But on the other hand, I am going to all these great restaurants so I don't want to f...

apomerantz

great job with handling that pressure filled drive and making nice healthy choices at Wendy's. That's the same thing I always have there! I just wanted to say good-bye. I'm accompanying my husband on a business trip to Orlando. There's a lot of eating involved so wish me luck. I think I can do it. I...

apomerantz

I think you need some protein in those meals, Anne! lol . . .hang in there, friend. I'm off to Orlando for a few days of vacation without kids. My hubbie has a business trip, and I'm tagging along. It will be a bit more challenging with the eating, but I'm hopeful I can stay on track. You will too!!...

apomerantz

DAY 69: SUCCESS DAY 70: SUCCESS Yesterday was a close call again. I ran for more than 2 hours, and I guess I didn't eat adequate lunch given that - - so I was STARVED for dinner. I really filled my plate, but honestly it still didn't seem like enough, but I muddled through. I leave for Orlando today...

apomerantz

Vigilant, If you can do what you did on DAY 4, you are serious! I'm not sure I could have done that, and I'm on like DAY 64. My hat is so off to you! Chocolate chip cookies with HD ice cream would probably be one of my top 3 desserts. I love HD ice cream. In fact, I don't buy it because I'm not conf...

apomerantz

I have two scales - - a Tanita and a Salter. Both are outstanding in terms of consistency. But honestly, I think they may both be on the expensive side . . .sorry I can't be more helpful.

apomerantz

DAY 68: SUCCESS Today was a success, but while normally I have a high "fence" around my habit, today I let it down a little - - which I'm not planning to do in the future - - because I do think it is a slippery slope. The two instances were: My young son was trying a new flavor of bagel in the mid a...

apomerantz

oolala, I get what you are saying about eating when you aren't hungry. Frankly, I've been in your position, and basically you simply stop differentiating between hungry and not hungry. Food just tastes good, and you want it. All the time. But I think the differentiation is a needless one. Basically ...

apomerantz

p.s. Not sure if you already own the book, but if you don't, I suggest getting a copy and reading from it whenever you are hungry. It's definitely motivational and spells out all the details of No S and WHY you are doing what you are doing . . .

apomerantz

Oh dear . . . I'm sorry you've ended up in this predicament. The good news is that you can turn it around RIGHT NOW and get back to a better place. I think you should just not worry about the S days except for keeping them on Saturday and Sunday only. Worry about the N days. "Moderate adherence" is ...

apomerantz

DAY 66: S DAY Day 67: S DAY While I can't quite say my S Days were like my N days - - I can say they weren't out of control and were well within the bounds of normal eating behavior. That's all I'm asking for really. Sunday was worse than Saturday, but neither was terrible. My weight this morning is...

apomerantz

Vicki, I'm about to go on vacation as well, and I think your idea of one S day event per day is a nice one. I may try to stick to the N days and S days while I'm gone, because I'm not going anywhere super special, but I just think your idea is a great one . . .and one I may adopt if I need to. It's ...

apomerantz

Nice work with the chocolate croissant! You are just "behaving your way to success" on so many of the days now, Anne. Very impressive

.

apomerantz

Just checking up on you! It looks like all is very well in your corner of the world. Way to go

.

apomerantz

I'm a little behind here in logging -- oops DAY 63: SUCCESS Day 64: SUCCESS Day 65: SUCCESS This week was fine in most regards. Thursday night I went out to eat, and it was tough because I was virtual plating AND the plate sizes were fairly ridiculous. I was close to a single large plate though so I...

apomerantz

I must agree. I think this is the first eating plan where I've failed and was able to get back on the wagon (so to speak). Usually a diet failure would end up in me eating for days. I think because one taste or two of the forbidden foods would just send me into a tailspin of cravings. Now, I know I ...

apomerantz

I have a similar reservation to Nichole's. I'm regular weight so I'm thinking it seems sort of "in your face" to post my picture when others are really struggling with obesity. The truth is that I have battled all my life to keep my weight near normal, though I veer into the overweight BMI now and a...

apomerantz

My mother in law is always asking me "why don't you just use paper plates?" whenever I serve a nice meal, and she sees the pile of dishes.

And the reason why is exactly what you allude to here - - everything is just much more nice and satisfying and appetizing when it appears on a proper plate!

apomerantz

Thanks for sharing the article. I found it fascinating reading (especially the hot dog part!). I must say that it seemed a little over the top about the Egg Beaters though. It's 99% egg whites with very little else. Of course an animal (rat)eating ONLY egg whites vs. whole eggs is going to look bad....

apomerantz

How can you lose inches without losing a significant amount of weight??? If you were able to see 1 lb of fat vs. 1 lb of muscle, you'd see that the 1 lb of muscle takes up less physical space and looks smaller than the pound of fat. So let's apply this to your body. Let's say you weigh 150 lbs at t...

apomerantz

DAY 62: SUCCESS This is the closest I've come to a failure without actually failing. I was cooking dinner, and things just weren't going well. A recipe I was making was turning all to heck. I was using some leftovers and realized too late that I actually didn't have enough to feed the whole family. ...

Everyday Systems

Search found 282 matches

ROUND 2: DAY 1: SUCCESS

Fell Way Off the Wagon