Everyday Systems

NoelFigart

Hey, now... I understand the frustration, but let's not attack looks, or we become guilty of a lot of things that I think make our culture less than it could be. Granted, I understand the frustration of "caving", and buddy, do I sympathize! I've caught myself doing it and wanna scream about it. That...

NoelFigart

No S Exercise Glass Ceiling B: Optimized Oatmeal L: Peanut Butter Sandwich, strawberries D: Chicken and brown rice. I shoulda et a veggie. Didn't. How 'bout that? I swam 2000 yards today. My gym is having a 50 mile swim challenge, so basically on swim days, I'm trying to rack up the yardage. I also...

NoelFigart

I don't eat anything special before or during a workout. I just have a good breakfast. I usually work out a couple to three hours before lunch. I admit I'm usually pretty ready for lunch by the time it rolls around, but I don't do anything special because I'm exercising.

NoelFigart

Now that I've got 21 non-failure days down, I actually am looking to see if I need to tweak a little bit. When I first started, I ate a BIG ole bowl of Optimized Oatmeal to see me through to lunch, and my stomach tended to scream at me a couple of hours before meals, then after a couple of weeks sta...

NoelFigart

It's called vanity sizing. The clothing industry has been doing it since the 1970s. If you were a size eight back in the day, take your measurements and then look on the back of a sewing pattern envelope. That'll be a far, far more accurate comparison, as the sewing pattern industry does not use van...

NoelFigart

I used to think I was hypoglycemic as well. If I had a really sugary breakfast and a lot of coffee, I WOULD get sick and dizzy. My usual 200 calorie breakfast would leave me feelng bad by about ten or eleven. Optimized oatmeal at around 7 carries me to 1 in the afternoon just fine. I wasn't eating e...

NoelFigart

I'm fond of cooking.

Really a bento CAN be a lot of trouble. That one wasn't. I was making rice for dinner, so I made some onigiri. Two or three minutes. Then I just chopped up an apple, took some baby carrots and put them in the main tray and spooned in some tuna salad.

NoelFigart

There's a lot to be said for sitting down to a formal meal.

Good for you!

NoelFigart

Be strong.

You know, an option would be to double up on making meals when you cook and making your own "frozen dinner". I have a friend who does this a lot because of a crazy schedule and she finds it useful.

I agree, frozen dinners are hardly food.

NoelFigart

I agree with Reinhard that making an event out of a meal is a good idea.

While I eat lunch alone many days and certainly do not always make myself a bento, I like doing it sometimes.

NoelFigart

No S Glass Ceiling Exercise Today was an extraordinarily good N day. Breakfast: Optimized Oatmeal. Lunch: http://noelfigart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/2489313237_1dd43bec64_m.jpg Dinner: Homemade pasta (cut down on how much I put on my plate), stir-fried chicken, carrots, broccoli, garlic,...

NoelFigart

Damn, you're stronger than I am!

I can do about 90 3X10 and then I wanna cry.

NoelFigart

A lot of people end up being sore for an entire week after their first shovelglove workout b/c they're so, well, enthusiastic. :D Also, the moves seem so easy when you're doing it, particularly the first time, that the workout doesn't seem that tiring. I weight train and lift heavy. I'm still sore ...

NoelFigart

I'm curious to watch how well this works for you.

I had to cement other habits before No-S "took", that's for sure!

Good Luck!

NoelFigart

The "Official" Shovelglove workout is to imitate "useful movements" with one for 14 minutes every N day.

It looks like you're doing great, in my opinion! There's nothing wrong with working UP to 14 minutes, 'cause it can be an intense workout.

NoelFigart

Fkwan.... Have a body fat analysis done. If your body fat percentage is below 18%, it might not be a good idea TO lose any more weight. I don't know if you knew it, I used to be a weight loss counselor. I'm reading your posts and getting a little concerned about you. The fact that you're talking con...

NoelFigart

Some people have a hard time with it "clicking" and others don't. I did. I'd lost a lot of weight low carbing and I've lived most of my life on one special "diet" or another with the idea that when I get skinny and my life is all perfect things will be all butterflies and roses and I won't have to d...

NoelFigart

Well, ya know, I actually try to get a variety in my "one plate" as best I can, too. ('Cept breakfast. That's a bunch of different things mixed up in a bowl)

NoelFigart

If you're going to be committed to eating fresh veggies, I think you may have to suck up buying them frequently.

I combine this with Urban Ranger and just walk to the local market a couple of times a week.

It works out okay for me.

NoelFigart

You're not.

NoelFigart

After DH goes to BED?

Go entertain yourself with the husband, madam. You'll be too busy to eat.

(While being facetious, hey, why not replace one indulgence with something else pleasant?)

NoelFigart

Tomorrow's bento has three onigiri (rice balls) with an umeboshi (VERY salty pickled plum) and pickled ginger filling, wrapped in nori (dried seaweed. It's actually pretty tasty). Then I added some sliced apple, a couple of baby carrots and some tuna salad. A proper bento follows a 4:3:2:1 ratio -- ...

NoelFigart

http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewt ... ight=bento

NoelFigart

Oh wow, I'm in!

I was just looking at my HabitCal and realized that I have had 21 non-failure days on No S.

Wow. I've been trying No S off and on for nearly two years and this is a first.

I guess it hadda stick sometime. YAAAAA!!!!!

NoelFigart

No S Exercise Glass Ceiling B: Optimized Oatmeal L: Chef's Salad D: Chicken thigh, Rice, part of a sweet potato. The rice is mostly because I had a hankering for a bento with onigiri, so I made one for lunch tomorrow. Yes, I know bento are technically for when you're having a meal away from home, b...

NoelFigart

wosnes wrote:Aren't these similar (or identical to) the review that was in the LA Times about the time No-S was published?

Yep, more or less.

And probably some schmuck in my line of work accepted about $25 to rework the article enough to pass Copyscape and have it populating blogs.

NoelFigart

Another article in the expert takes random potshots at 10 popular diet books without necessarily having read them format. So a little inherently unflattering. Still, No-s is near the top this time! Here, if this kind of thing bothers you (negative responses do bother me a little sometimes), maybe t...

NoelFigart

Yeah, the diet mentality around salads is something. I almost fried up a slice of bacon to put on it so that it could declare, "This is not a diet salad, dammit" but I needed to get back to work and that would have taken too long.

NoelFigart

Got a recipe on that espresso martini? That sounds like a GOOD S-day treat.

I'm fanning myself like I'm lookin' at the Diet Coke break boy just thinkin' about it.

NoelFigart

Of course milk with a meal is okay! My goodness.

I don't drink milk much. I do eat a lot of yogurt and cottage cheese though.

NoelFigart

It's been awhile since I made an entree salad as my meal. I suppose I wanted to get away from the "diet" mentality and was reveling in the sheer anti-diet hedonism of a turkey and cheese sandwich. But there were a lot of veggies in my fridge that needed eating up, and I was not going to make soup an...

NoelFigart

Ya know, this one was really worth the wait! One of the most powerful things the no s diet does is it makes excess seem excessive. This really jumped out at me. I had a somewhat excessive S day yesterday and compared it to the mindless grazing that I've done in the past and realized I'd had plenty o...

NoelFigart

First, CONGRATS!

Second, THANKS!

I needed the "slow is good" reminder.

NoelFigart

You probably AREN'T actually ADDICTED to chocolate. I'll concede that you probably are very, very habituated to consuming it. (I certainly am!) (I say this, 'cause it's just a ground bean. Let's not give it too much power). I would not consider a sugar-free chocolate drink an S. That being said, I d...

NoelFigart

does anyone else have an irrational fear of hunger? It's taken me awhile to reply to this because I was trying to sort some things out in my mind. The simple answer is "yes", I do. I'm trying to retrain my mind about it. I do perspective exercises. I was reared Southern Baptist and our missionary g...

NoelFigart

When I worked in an office, I always brought lunch. It worked well for me.

I did often make Bento 'cause they're FUN, but plenty of times it was a typical Western meal.

NoelFigart

No S Exercise Glass Ceiling Today is not an S-day I'm all that happy about. I don't think I can remember everything I ate. The kids made me french toast, bacon and strawberries for breakfast, then brought me sticky buns then took me for an ice cream cone, then I had some more ice cream while I was ...

NoelFigart

Hmmm... I sympathize with what you're saying, Annie. For myself, I choose to look at it this way: I'm not gonna be so damn arrogant that I can't face the face I AM human and DO fail from time to time. I'm not gonna be such a wuss that I cannot suck up the fact I do fail sometimes. I'm not saying eve...

NoelFigart

Noel, you are an inspiration. I love hearing your enjoyment of S-days. For me, S-days are still only sometimes the reward they are meant to be. You're a good role model for just-enough indulgence, thoroughly enjoyed. Also, I love your writing, style which I suppose isn't surprising since you do it ...

NoelFigart

No No No!

You start TODAY. It's just that today is an S day, that's all.

Nice way to start a diet, huh?

NoelFigart

I donâ€™t usually discuss something as personal as a dream publicly, but this one I really wanted to share. I had a quasi-nightmare last night. There was this virus that turned you into this ugly, violent creature (probably inspired by zombie stories, NIght of the Comet, I Am Legend, and the reavers...

NoelFigart

that's when I can't stop eating :roll: I really don't quite get it, but I've done it several times. It's like once I'm past the limit, there are no more limits... What you're telling yourself is that you have no choice. The thing is, you do. You really, really do. Every second, you're choosing. Eve...

NoelFigart

I find it helpful. when faced with a decision on whether or not to do something, to remind myself that I'm not helpless in the face of whatever's going on and to keep saying, "I'm choosing to do this." I used glass ceiling to keep from drinking too much. The way I did it was, if after the second dri...

NoelFigart

No S Exercise Glass Ceiling Bliss, sweet bliss. Today has been "off the hook" but not too crazy. I nibbled on some bacon before my workout, had my usual oatmeal for breakfast AFTER my lifting. I like a snack after lifting, but don't on N days. It was kinda nice, after a hard lifting session. I went...

NoelFigart

I often cook just for me. When I do, I certainly don't bother with a dishwasher, but I DO bother with a tasty meal. Mostly it's a morale thing I learned after I had a partner leave me. The skillet, a cutting board and my good chef's knife are my best friends. I can cook a delicious one skillet meal ...

NoelFigart

I don't drink alcohol at all, so I don't know how sweet those drinks are. A margarita would be an S day drink for me, personally. They're pretty sweet and use sugared lime juice as a base. I know of people who wouldn't sweat it. BrightAngel is quite right that this is an individual call. I choose t...

NoelFigart

I don't do it for the whole month, but I do check out S days as S days somewhat in advance.

NoelFigart

No S Glass Ceiling Exercise B: Optimized Oatmeal L: Tuna salad, baked sweet potato, strawberries D: Ahhh homemade pizza with sausage, yellow peppers, mozz cheese, garlic, mushrooms and black olives. OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM. It's been 21 days without a failure on No S. That's very cool. I...

NoelFigart

A good rule of thumb is: Would you serve it as a dessert?

If it's sweet enough to be a dessert, it's a sweet.

NoelFigart

Help - to all of you who have tried exercise equipment. What in your opinion is better treadmill / bike? What other options are worth looking at? That depends on your physical issues or health concerns. All things being equal, a treadmill means you're walking, which means you're doing a weight-bear...

NoelFigart

Can't do that. Breaks the Glass Ceiling.

I was mostly being silly, though.

NoelFigart

So, an olive in a martini?

Snack or not snack?

NoelFigart

No S Glass Ceiling Exercise B: Optimized Oatmeal L: A whole bunch of chicken salad, red pepper D: Homemade pasta and some *shudder* Ragu sauce from a jar, Parmesan cheese. The funny thing about dinner was that I served myself about half of what I usually do. Again wasn't as hungry. If I'd been eati...

NoelFigart

Those BMI and height/weight charts are crazy. I can't believe I'm gonna do this. I hate the BMI charts myself, but I'm gonna wince and say it anyway. They're right about 75% of the time. Think of the RANGE! At my height, going only by the charts, I could be perfectly healthy weighing between 104 an...

NoelFigart

When I've completed five years of consistent No Sing and my present level of workouts, I'm gonna simply give it up and declare that my ideal weight.

And keep with the habits of the past five years.

NoelFigart

You're right, Wosnes. We're nowhere nearly as active in our daily lives as our grandmothers were. I never thought about laundry, but those wet baskets of clothes can be heavy! Then there was Nanny's cast iron skillet in which she cooked just about everything. They didn't walk as much as I do, though...

NoelFigart

reinhard wrote:I think I've underestimated the importance of "good measuring" because "minimal measuring" has done the trick for me personally (and I think, for many it is the best strategy).

*Hangs my head and grins* Sorry Reinhard. Daddy's a scientist. I plead inferior youthful training....

NoelFigart

reinhard wrote:Yeah, it may be a little weird, which may prompt some people to shug covertly, but it's hard, there's no shame to be felt on that score.

Oh no! I wouldn't be ashamed to shug in public. But I can SG at home, and I couldn't face seeing a bunch of people in the gym that day!

NoelFigart

Does this mean I'm going to have to keep eating less and less as I get older and older? (I'm only 23) That's so depressing. Ugh. Well... Sorta. What happens is that you lose muscle mass as you get older. Less muscle means you need fewer calories to maintain your weight. (It also puts you at greater...

NoelFigart

You COULD skip meals and be within the rules if you don't snack. Number of meals is not specified. For habit purposes, I'd say the thing to do is choose the number of meals you're gonna eat and stick to it. If I've eaten enough that I'm not HUNGRY for the next meal (and yes, I've done that before), ...

NoelFigart

First off, thanks to everyone who has offered comments and condolences. I didn't say anything right off, but I really appreciate it a lot! No S Exercise Glass Ceiling B: Optimized Oatmeal L: Panini Chicken sandwich and a teeny cup of Italian Sausage Soup. D: About a cup of strawberries and a cup of ...

NoelFigart

*wince* I go the other way. I lose weight on pretty hearty meals. Only thing I can figure is I snacked an AWFUL lot. (That and drank too much. An appletini is pretty much empty calories). But it must have been a lot more than I realized, because I'm only moderately active (sedentary job+an hour a da...

NoelFigart

"Back issues" is a pretty loose term!

Is your problem weak back muscles or weak abs? My roommate, if he does not do regular situps, will have vicious back trouble. But screw anecdotes. What does the doc say?

Shovelglove does involve twisting. Have you been advised about this by a doc?

NoelFigart

I wonder if that means we should visualize N day between meal snacking as a charging lion or something?

It was just the image that popped into my head.

NoelFigart

First you make a chart from the data. In this case, I made a line chart. Then you right click on the data series (in my chart it's a blue line with datapoint dots). When you see the popup menu, you'll notice there's an option called "Add trendline". A dialog box will pop up with Trendline Options. C...

NoelFigart

I just use Microsoft Excel. You can create charts from data in spreadsheets in that.

NoelFigart

I've noticed a tendency to get discouraged when weighing in, and wanted to point out a couple of things about this diet and how too fine a granularity (meaning looking at trends of less than a month), aren't all that useful when you're doing No S. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2280/2472726355_df446...

NoelFigart

No S Workout Glass Ceiling B: Optimized Oatmeal. L: Tuna salad sandwich with lettuce on whole wheat bread, strawberries and plain yogurt, pecans D: Roasted chicken thigh, red peppers and mushrooms sauted in wine, sweet potato fries, glass of wine Lifted weights today and am up to 95 lbs on leg lift...

NoelFigart

Noel: that's incredible :shock: Thanks for sharing! I can't even imagine doing that myself when I can barely clean my brother's 25 lb. k-bell one time -trying as hard as I can too! I just did an experiment on my dumbbells at home and put 25lbs on a bar. Yeah, I can clean that without much trouble, ...

NoelFigart

http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3163

Thanks for the link. That's very cool.

NoelFigart

Life Cereal is not the lowest sugar cereal out there, but it's certainly not on my Verboten to Feed the Kids list, either.

I agree with Wosnes' estimation. It's not sweet enough to be a dessert, so it's not a sweet.

NoelFigart

I tell them to season it themselves, but one of them says it's better cooked with the seasonings. Of course, my husband doesn't like the same seasonings that this "child" (he's an adult) does! Since you imply that the child is of legal age, I DO have a wonderful answer. "If it's better cooked with ...

NoelFigart

I don't use a SG for every strength training workout, but do from time to time. Honestly, I used to think it was the "wuss" option.... *hangs my head in shame*. For the record? It's not the wuss option. I SGed on Sunday because I didn't wanna go out in public. I was still feeling it a little (especi...

NoelFigart

SusyAllison wrote:It was good that after being on NoS I didn't give myself the option.

It's cool how good habits can serve us, huh?

What's REALLY cool is that you just didn't give yourself that option. That's impressive.

NoelFigart

After I started using kbs I gained another 3 lbs (muscle?) and 1.5" in my hips and about .5" in my thighs. Now almost none of my pants and skirts fit. *WINCE* I am so sorry, but chances are very slim that you gained three pounds of muscle in a few weeks. And that many inches of pure muscle? Unlikel...

NoelFigart

After I started using kbs I gained another 3 lbs (muscle?) and 1.5" in my hips and about .5" in my thighs. Now almost none of my pants and skirts fit. *WINCE* I am so sorry, but chances are very slim that you gained three pounds of muscle in a few weeks. And that many inches of pure muscle? Unlikel...

NoelFigart

We start to recognize these little unconcious habits as we get a good handle on this way of eating. We have to really get tuned in and stay there. It is truly amazing how unconsciously we do eat and how often. I cannot THINK of how often I'll see someone about my size say (and BELIEVE IT) that they...

NoelFigart

I'll chime in with the value of "prehab" (strength training before surgery) I got a new ligament in my knee back in Dec 2006. I did weight training before the surgery and I was immensely glad I did, just so I wouldn't get stuck on the commode because I couldn't do a one-legged squat! But I think I h...

NoelFigart

Good insight. I liked it!

NoelFigart

I'm sorry about your grandfather. That's rough.

Is it possible that you could turn the sadness into something that would motivate you help form your habits. (i.e. "Granddaddy admired discipline. I'm gonna deal by trying to stick to the habits I want to form).

NoelFigart

No S Exercise Glass Ceiling B: Optimized Oatmeal L: Tuna salad in a sweet yellow pepper (I'm always fascinated by food in food containers. Edible bowls and all. I suppose it's my inner three year old), cottage cheese and an apple. D: Home-made linguini, stir-fried chicken, broccoli and carrots in a...

NoelFigart

Sorry to be a bother but I missed some where what is vanilla NO S ??? When someone refers to "Vanilla No-S" what they mean is strictly following "No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, except on days beginning with 'S'" without adding any additional rules like limiting when and where one can have tre...

NoelFigart

Finances being what they are, I wasn't able to buy a copy of The No S Diet until recently. I was able to sit down and read it this afternoon, and really found it enjoyable and sensible. (Yes, Reinhard, I'll write an Amazon review of it quite soon!) But for any of you who are on this board who haven'...

NoelFigart

Sorry. Didn't really have any.

I have a serious sweet tooth, so I have fruit with a couple of meals a day and that seems to be all good for me. (Gotta love strawberry season!)

NoelFigart

I find myself wishing that I'd spent more time as a youngster cementing "good habits" that would work for me. I'm going through something of a difficult time right now, but the past few months building good habits (not drinking too much, regular exercise, good eating habits) has actually come to my ...

NoelFigart

Friday evenings are mentally "weekend" for me. I take some reminding that Friday is an N day.

Other than that, I don't think any particular day is "hard" or not.

NoelFigart

Saturday: No-S (Thank goodness!) Glass Ceiling (this was truly amazing, for reasons that will become apparent) Exercise (I don't really care but so much on this one). http://www.vnews.com/05032008/4835548.htm This was the news story about the close friend of the family. I'm a serious introvert and s...

NoelFigart

3aday wrote:But, I am in no way a purist either. I don't have a problem eating McDonalds for a meal!

Neither am I.

I won't go hungry rather than eat "inferior" food. But if the choice is there, I choose the "good stuff".

NoelFigart

Thanks for helping me out the hole ;) (Weightlifting metaphor intended.) You're welcome. And by the way, shugging is most certainly in my fitness repertoire. I don't do it every day or even every week, but I have a shovelglove by my bed for days when I just cannot face the gym for some reason and m...

NoelFigart

Since it's Friday, I began planning what horribly "evil" treat I'd reward myself with this week end. Okay, this is one of my pet peeves. Treats -- even high calorie, high in fat and sugar food treats -- are not "horribly 'evil'". They're one of the pleasures of eating and living! Pleasure is not ba...

NoelFigart

But my question is this: is daily shugging enough on it's own to burn fat without any additional cardio intervals IF I'm already watching what I eat? I ask because I'm a young woman who needs to lose these 10 lbs. I've gained and firm up the insidious flab and fat I've put on. You're not approachin...

NoelFigart

If Matt Furey told his followers that they would get better results by doing the Royal Court naked in their front yards at dawn, we'd be hearing on Paul Harvey about all the people arrested or cited for exercising naked in their front yards. Thank you, Tulsa. I sooo needed the laugh. (And own a cop...

NoelFigart

I've lost 12 pounds since the end of February, call it ten weeks.

I also get about an hour a day of various exercise (Mostly swimming, walking and weight training).

NoelFigart

No S Glass Ceiling Exercise *I* am okay. Since its been in the news, I suppose it's no secret. A close friend (more like family. Certainly my kids see him more as a grandfather than anything else), was lost on a local river in a kayaking accident. We've not yet found the body, but evidence says he ...

NoelFigart

No S Glass Ceiling Exercise B: Porridge, nuts, seeds, dried cherries L: Steak and cheese sub, potato chips D: Yellow pepper, tuna salad, cottage cheese, 1 glass of wine. Can't have any more tonight, just in case. Today was fine until dinner. I mean, it was a normal day. Then I got some news that......

NoelFigart

what a funny story, and so true that SO many people believe this as fact! It is a fact that if you eat a RIGID SET amount of calories and spread them out over five or six meals a day, you really will burn those calories SLIGHTLY faster. The problem is, even among people who try to do this, chances ...

NoelFigart

I don't have a job. I just... kinda do stuff that earns money. One of the things I do is teach all-day computer classes in which we go out to eat for lunch. The company serves muffins and cookies during the class. I don't eat them (nor do store bought muffins or cookies really tempt me, anyway). I w...

NoelFigart

http://www.shirky.com/herecomeseverybod ... mouse.html

I found the text to it.

NoelFigart

No S Glass Ceiling Exercise B: Porridge with nuts, seeds and dried cherries. God, I love that. L: Grilled cheese sandwich and strawberries mixed in plain yogurt. D: Hamburger patty, broccoli with mushroom sauce (fried the mushrooms in the hamburger fat, deglazed the pan with some cream), and garlic...

NoelFigart

KCCC wrote:I am reminded of my husband's line when our child whines that something is "haaaarrrddd."

He calmly replies "You can do hard things."

Holy crap, your husband rocks. That's a GREAT answer. Teaching and respectful and wise. Wonderful.

Everyday Systems

Search found 1639 matches

Eh, That's Plenty

Re: Associated Press mention of No S Diet

Food and Volume

Re: irrational fear of hunger?

A Dream I Had

Re: MY FIRST "S" DAYS

Re: Exercise Equipment

Is this a snack

Trend Lines, Motivation, Granularity and Discouragement

Re: WOW!

In Case There's Any Doubt

Re: vanilla NO S

Finally Read the Book

Habits Serve You Well in the Tough Times

Re: What's wrong with me??

Re: Is SG alone enough to burn fat without extra cardio?

Amazing how our perceptions have changed