Everyday Systems

Great stuff. I cooked plenty even before I got thin, I probably would have been in even worse shape if I hadn't. He cites the same David Culter article I'm always citing about the increase in calories from snacks since the mid 1970s: Consider some recent research on the links between cooking and die...

Congratulations!

My wife and I also just celebrated our (8th) anniversary last week.

(which means the no-s diet will be turning 8 shortly as well -- I thought of it just a few months after)

Reinhard

Congratulations and welcome to the club cripytractor and masher! I'm not out of the woods yet myself, i usually find any change to my diet easy for the first few weeks then start to really struggle a couple of months down the line. Use the habitcal, if you're not already. It's a great motivator that...

Thanks, Bushranger and Deb.

We went to a fancy local restaurant called Oleana.

Reinhard

yes, welcome!

Thanks! I've been on Rimuhosting since my original basement setup and they are fantastic (and headquartered in your part of the world, from what I understand). Not the cheapest option, but way less than what I pay the extortionist lawyers to cast their probably useless spells. And great uptime, perf...

Thanks for the link!

Shovelglove's kinda just tucked in there at the end, but I'll take what I can get.

Actually whacking something (a tire) sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm not sure it's a realistic, regular option for most people -- it's certainly not for me.

Reinhard

Thanks all for your continued pestering! I don't think they have to "approve" the diet to review it -- there's some God awful stuff on that list and they duly trash it in the review. But I have yet to get anything less than a positive response from any doctor or nurse I've talked to about it -- some...

Sounds like you did great! My vacation strategy has changed since I started using the habitcal. Before, it was a little mushy and ad hoc, a combination of lower standards days, straight up special days, etc. Now, with the habitcal, (and especially "stats" mode, which counts more than 2 NWS days per ...

That's great news! Thanks for checking in. It's always encouraging to hear from people who are sticking with it and doing well.

Reinhard

Sounds intriguing! I'll give it a try on my "freestyle friday."

Now to think of a manual labor analog...

Reinhard

Wed July 22: nosdiet and shovelglove Special day (our 8th wedding anniversary).

Reinhard

That's great news! Thank you for your persistence. I'm not sure if it's as a result of your efforts alone or in conjunction with others, but I see No-s is now listed as being "in stock" and the Angus and Robertson web site. I'll post a link on the home page. http://www.angusrobertson.com.au/book/no-...

I've done both. I can't say I've noticed much of a difference. I think the most important consideration is, which of the two is better for compliance? If after breakfast is better for "performance" but you feel less like doing it then, the "performance" boost isn't worth it. If you prefer the feelin...

Wow, I had a really horrible last few weeks. I'm sorry to hear it, Deb. Things had been going so well. If I don't over commit time-wise, and have a regular routine here at home, in the spirit of Shovelglove, I can't make any excuses to not succeed. Yes! Watch out especially for the over committing ...

Oh, absolutely. But I don't think you can make it past age 35 without being at least a little bit of a pain in the heinie.

Glad you think so, Jan! I just did a search to find the exact quote and it looks like I've said it quite a number of times over the years! (unfortunately it looks like I neglected to stick it in the book) This seems to be the first instance: From: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=22675 ...

I've always found it strange that the simple starch staples of thin cultures (white rice in Asia, white bread in France, white pasta in the "Mediterranean," to name a few) are demonized while the eating cultures as a whole are held up as models. It's as if people are saying "Except for the source of...

Something I randomly came across today: From: http://www.seniorsworldchronicle.com/2009/04/usa-retirement-life-how-to-live-to-100.html Marge H. Jetton is 104 and doing amazingly well. A retired nurse in Loma Linda, Calif., she still walks a mile every day through the halls of her retirement home and...

Now I'm sure the number of English language diet books sold in Japan is tiny, but I was stunned to see the No S Diet ranked number 4 in "Weight Loss" and #2 in "Healthy Living" for English language books on the Japanese amazon site (they've since slipped a bit) http://www.amazon.co.jp/No-Diet-Snacks...

Friscobob (whom long time board members may remember from way back) has been No-essing for 3 years and is now down 28 pounds. http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5351 It wasn't initially easy going, and he quotes a great Japanese saying, ""fall down seven, get up eight" that helped him tou...

I think I'm going to steer clear of branded food products for the reason bushranger mentions (seerch for the word "diet bar" on the nosdiet home page). His "Gedankenexperiment" image is funny enough without me running the risk of hypocrisy. I'm thinking we need a cafepress plate with a big "No S" lo...

Congratulations, friscobob!

It's always great to see returning old timers around -- especially when they return with such good news.

Thanks for swinging by again to share your story -- and the nice quote (may have to stick that on the home page next to Winston Churchill's).

Reinhard

I find a single physical plate is helpful, and I try to stick with that unless it would be ridiculous not to. What I ALWAYS insist on is seeing my entire meal in front of me at one time, so I can't sneak excess past my in increments that never seem like much at once but add up to a great deal. Most ...

Your five year old daughter screams, "Daddy, that's too much pizza! Put some back!"

I'm glad you guys feel this way too! What I like about it is that it's so clear, and yet it's not really punitive. Virtue really can be it's own sufficient, reward, and vice it's own sufficient, punishment -- as long as you clearly know when you've been one or the other. It's like a very calm but fi...

I think you need to get away from "goal-think" and replace it with "habit-think." A goal implies something finite, that you can achieve and be done with. And that just isn't the case with diet (or most things, for that matter). You have to keep on going no matter how many goals you passed. IF you se...

Hi Ari, You certainly can do this -- people have successfully. But there are significant risks. 1) You're no longer working with the calendar. For most of us, weekends bring far more temptations than weekends. That non-S S day is going to be really hard to keep green. 2) It may seem silly, but Wedne...

No is is definitely geared more to a sustainable "good enough" than to fine tuned perfection, but you may be pleasantly surprised (as others have already posted here) at what a little systematic moderation can do. And if nothing else, No-s is a great, sane platform from which to base further efforts...

Welcome, Ellie! And congratulations on your successful start.

It is so normal to eat three meals a day.

Isn't it? Funny how many people seem to have forgotten this.

Reinhard

Welcome, Patty! Glad you liked the relevant radio interview -- it was fun to do. Congratulations on your pre/quasi no-s success! That's impressive. "Ideal weight" is a tricky subject.... A lot of people (I'm not saying you!) pull their "ideal weight" out of thin air. I like to say "Eat and move mode...

They're actually fungi. So if you have a clear conscience about eating mushrooms, you should be fine eating this. Though I think mushrooms taste (and smell!) much better. :-) They are fascinating little critters, though. Link from my day job: http://www.broadinstitute.org/annotation/genome/saccharom...

That is awesome.

Shovelglove will now surely conquer the world

Reinahrd

I don't have the book yet (though I think I might soon), but very I'm fond of Mark Bittman's NY Times column (and videos). A great (couple of) cookbooks we acquired recently are Jacque Pepin's "Fast Food my Way" and "More Fast Food my Way." The lavash bread pizza he briefly describes in the intro (i...

Thank you all so much!

Even the mighty WebMD won't be able to resist such a barrage, I'm sure.

Reinhard

I think the main problem is people are profoundly attracted to the idea that there's some shortcut to diet that doesn't involve taking responsibility for one's condition and changing behavior and habits. This is unfortunate on two levels. First, because that just ain't the case. And they're suckered...

I've just returned from a family vacation, and have immediately plunged into long days of teacher trainings. So I just counted out the days on my HabitCal. No reds! As I've said before, if I can make it through a family vacation on No S, then I can do No S any time, anywhere. That is huge, congratu...

Thanks, Bushranger.

Yes, I'm a big fan of strictness

But I understand that people are different, or at least in different places, and may need to ease into it a bit. So I try to gently nudge them rather than harass them about it. Strictness doesn't mean meanness, after all

Reinhard

I look forward to Saturday, and I look forward to Monday. Not because I feel deprived during the week or guilty on the weekend, but because I enjoy both the feeling of structure and, alternately, the feeling of freedom. I don't think I could enjoy either without the other. And I hope in time you fee...

Anyone have any connections at WebMD? And/or a love of filling out suggestion forms? Their diet review page is the #1 google result for the term "diet" http://www.webmd.com/diet/evaluate-latest-diets Alas, though there's some very obscure stuff there, no-s isn't listed.... I filled out a "contact us...

Seconds were my biggest problem S! I always ate more like a lion than a cow. I used to eat routinely eat 3 whoppers on 99 cent "family night" at burger king. I could forget about eating for ages, but I didn't really have an "off" switch, once I got going. Now I do: the sight of an empty plate. Reinh...

Scary subject! But I knew that from you it must be a literary device :-) I don't explicitly restrict snacks on S-days, but I can see why you might. Snacks are the only S that seem more or less totally dispensable to me. Sweets and seconds are positive pleasures, in moderation. Snacks are usually the...

Me too. Nice to hear once in a while!

So many people seem to be so afraid of them!

Reinhard

Hi Cassie, I'm sorry vanilla no-s didn't do the trick for you by itself, but it's great that you have the habits in place and want to build on them. The first thing I have to say is probably not what you want to hear: if you're eating and moving moderately now, maybe you weigh what you "should." I k...

Sat July 18th: glass ceiling failure. 1 drink over the limit. We had guests over for dinner and there was a tiny splash of much better wine than I normally drink left over in the bottle. Didn't seem worth saving, but a pity to pour down the sink... so with the help of a little rationalization, red. ...

Welcome, Spleener! That sounds excellent. It is amazing how habit can really change you. If only diet "food" were visually attractive... you could keep it around as a sort of memorial to the ravages of a darker time, like the bombed out Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin. But I'm afraid it doe...

Sound great, Bushranger. Regular sleep should be the foundation on which all your other habits are built. My "living alarm clocks" wake me up so early that I pretty much collapse around 10:30 PM, but I had the same tendencies you describe prior to fatherhood. If you're having trouble falling asleep,...

You are very welcome!

And thank you for your contributions to these boards!

For those of you who haven't seen Vicky's "testimonial" already, here's the link:

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=63992

It's really worth a look.

(And note that Bushranger has heeded your call)

Reinhard

Vikki, a 50 year old mother of 5 with a thyroid condition, just reach the one year mark. Her numbers are fantastic: -30 pounds, -5.5 inches off her waist (and more) But I'm even more impressed with her qualitative comments: the WHOLE PROCESS has been VERY ENJOYABLE, and I wouldn't trade "speed" for ...

Vicky, Congratulations and thank you for sharing this with us! Your quantitative results are impressive, but even more impressive is how you managed to do this despite obstacles that could EASILY have served as very compelling excuses for inaction (FIVE kids? I'm about to jump out the window with tw...

I love it.

Now if only there were some cafepress type vanity oatmeal producer I could get rich peddling my own diet food.

Reinhard

I am very sorry to hear this, Marianna. I don't know how obvious it is that carbs are the culprit, but I guess it's possible. Your doctor would certainly be able to advise you better on that than I could. Before carbs, I would suspect simple excess. Do you notice that excess is still creeping in som...

Deb,

Thats fantastic! Congratulations!

Maybe you should post your own new style testimonial discussion to the testimonials forum? You certainly qualify -- and it might give an additional motivational boost.

In any case, looking forward to many more updates!

Reinhard

That is great, marygrace! Even I, the "founder," haven't so deeply trained myself in moderation that I would feel comfortable throwing off the training wheels for good. But it certainly makes sense that no-s might do that for you and others. As a bunch of conscious rules no-s is great, but it's even...

Bushranger just created a badge that you can print out and slap on your fridge, iron on your shirt, or frame and hang on your wall :-) Pretty attractive, don't you think? URL: http://nosdiet.com/images/nos21.png http://nosdiet.com/images/nos21.png Thank you, Bushranger! Here's the link to the 21 clu...

The point of No-s is precisely to reestablish normal eating of normal food. People ate normal food as part of normal meals for ages. They were thin. The abnormal thing is our modern habit of permasnacking and the self revenge cycle abetted by disgusting diet food. Eat normal food in discreet, single...

Bushranger just sent me the badge he promised.

I think you'll agree it looks pretty cool!

URL:

http://nosdiet.com/images/nos21.png

Thank you, Bushranger!

Reinhard

This wasn't posted in the testimonials forum, but it's certainly testimonials worthy.

Despite massive stress (her husband deployed to Afghanistan, a death in the family), Ifee five lost 53 pounds in 6 months (and she calls herself a "newbie!"):

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5289

Deb, I'm so happy to hear this -- especially after that little "zuel" incident.

Congratulations and best wishes keeping it up!

Reinhard

You're very welcome! Thanks for letting me know. I've been surprised myself at how helpful it's been for me personally. I created it because I thought it would help other people, and probably for the habits I'd already established before the habitcal it's not been really necessary, but it's catapult...

That is fantastic, Brother John!

Sounds like you had a great excuse, but great to see you here again.

Reinhard

It is also referenced frequently in the Bible.

Yeah, it's the most basic social act and the most basic religious act.

Storm, it's great to see you here again. Stress is tough. But I think at some point if you keep bounching back something clicks and your habits become (more or less) stress proof. The thing I find very helpful to keep in mind almost as a sort of mantra is that no s (and the other everyday systems) a...

Welcome to the board and congratulations! Over 50 pounds in 6 months is an impressive achievement! Even more so given all the stress you were under. I would be very careful about adding extra rules though -- this is clearly working very well for you as is, you don't want to risk messing with somethi...

It still counts if it takes the whole 14 minutes to get it up off the floor, right? Absolutely! Don't worry if it takes a week or two for you to get much beyond this. There's no rush -- on the contrary, rush is your enemy. Take it as slow as you can force yourself to be. Think "tai chi" with a sled...

With admirable (and accurate!) determination, BeatGuy just met his precise target weight (-20 pounds) in time for a special event (the World Boardgaming Championships -- go team No-S!).

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5282

Reinhard

Love the blog, spleener (and the title -- I love that movie! I first saw it in German and I think it sounds even better in that language "Soylent GrÃ¼n ist Menschenfleisch!"). That no-s brings back the shared family meal is to me not only a great "side benefit," but to my mind a clue to its fundamen...

Congratulations, BeatGuy! That's an impressive show of determination. And I don't know if you noticed, but there's an x-wing fighter in the background of my shovelglove picture on the home page -- I am in NO position to laugh at a boardgamer! Speaking of which, any ideas for an everyday systems boar...

Excellent! Thanks. Looking forward to it.

I was never full. I was always hungry. Now it doesn't matter. When the plate is empty, I'm done. I no longer have to worry about full or hungry. This is exactly the idea (thanks, Kathleen!). I know it might seem hard to believe when you first start no-s, but keep at it, and you'll train yourself to...

Reinhard, if you haven't already you should send him a copy of your book

I agree -- though I think he's sufficiently famous now that it he'd be unlikely to be able to spare the attention. Worth a shot though...

Reinhard

Oliviamanda just reached the 10 pound threshold:

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... 3320#63320

She's also practicing urban ranger.

Welcome, Miss Olea!

I like the membership card idea, but I'm afraid someone with a better visual design sense than me is going to have to come up with it.... (any volunteers?).

Reinhard

A friend of mine just informed me about iphone webapps (and he's even volunteered to do some of the coding). http://www.apple.com/webapps/ This wouldn't be a full blown iphone app (you couldn't use it offline) but it would look a hell of a lot better than the current web browser version. And in a fe...

Barb, welcome and good luck -- with or without your mod. No-s is a structure for controlling excess. If you think you can control excess with a slightly different structure, that's just as good. But I would like to suggest a couple of things to keep in mind: 1) habit really is amazingly powerful. I ...

It's frustrating, but do restrain yourself. It's not worth the risk of further injury.

I myself, the great guru, took a shovelglove "sick" day recently because of some cooking heroics with a cast iron le crueset pot that tweaked my wrist.

Reinhard

I think stuff like this can be fun as a supplement to a more regular routine, but goal-think can be dangerous if you take it too seriously and base all your efforts around it, for exactly the reason you mention: a goal implies "you're done," but you're never really done. On the day after after you'v...

On the surface it might seem like shovelglove is some ridiculously macho-nerd man thing, but the manual labor movements that inspired it are by no means exclusively masculine (churn butter, in particular comes to mind) -- and as you can see from the responses here, there are in fact quite a few "sho...

Congratulations, Olivia!

I'm happy to hear urban ranger has played a role, too.

And love that Mark Twain quote in your sig.

Reinhard

It seems dumb to just avoid salad altogether. Absolutely! The fact that salad isn't a very calorically dense food is an advantage . It makes less look like more, and thus seem more filling. When possible without offending someone, I prefer to put my salad on the same plate as the rest of my dinner....

I make smoothies now and then too, for breakfast. I drink it out of a wineglass which helps keep the size down -- half a glass looks very full -- and reminds me by association that this is potent stuff. It also makes it seem fancier and by a sort of gastronomic placebo effect makes it taste better. ...

There's a saying in computer programming that "premature optimization is the root of all evil." And unless you're a SERIOUS athlete, I think snacking to optimize exercise falls into that category. And if you are a SERIOUS athlete, then add a four mini meal maybe (just please don't call it a "snack!"...

Friday July 3: took shovelglove special day (vacation day, 4th of July "observed") Sat July 4: glass ceiling failure. 2 drinks over the limit. They were weak, and one was "partial" (total of 3 cans of bud and a scant dixie cup of white wine at the beach) but a glass is a glass. Great 4th overall. I ...

Thanks for posting your routine! For the last year or so, I've usually been watching the news while shugging (the Jim Lehrer News Hour). Not only does it make the time go by astonishingly quickly -- but I think it actually saves me time because then I'm less tempted to check internet news sites duri...

Welcome, rebecca! That sounds like a perfectly reasonable mod, if you think you can manage the tradeoff of perhaps smudged clarity. If it's perfectly clear in your mind that there's a difference between your evening square and sweets in general (or two squares! that's what would get me), then that's...

Welcome! The critical thing is to SEE everything you're eating in front of you all at once. That way you can't deceive yourself about how much you're eating, and you learn to eyeball excess. I think insisting on a strict single physical plate can help with the visual impact -- so if you want that ex...

Sounds great, blue.

No-s is very portable -- perhaps even easier abroad where traditional meal based eating patterns are more intact.

Enjoy your trip! (and your "training"

)

Reinahrd

Wow, that sounds terrifying. I was not prepared for that kind of a story from the subject! (Though the ICE tip is great -- never heard it before.) I hope you're recovering well? Sounds like it's better than it look initially, that's a relief at least. I guess we should carry the urban ranger metapho...

I have a number of issues with low carb (besides the fact that it just seems really unpleasant, which alone would be enough to convince me not to do it): 1) Even if it does theoretically work, and I don't deny that it seems to work in some cases, it doesn't seem like many people can stick with it. I...

I'm fond of this thread, too.

I already see the title for my next book:

"No S Diet II: Return (or Revenge?) of the Sometimesians"

or maybe:

SOMETIMES: the no s diet secret "they" didn't want you to know

Reinahrd

Deb, I'm so sorry to hear this... but it's only been a very few days, right? You've been doing so well, if you catch yourself quickly, and it sounds like you are, the damage will be very limited. I like LA's suggestion about printing the post and putting it on your fridge. It's kind of like a positi...

Thanks, Bushranger! I'm sorry it's so hard to find, but it's good to know the details -- and have an action plan, no less! I very much appreciate your efforts (and anyone else's who gives good old Angus & Robertson a call). The book is holding up pretty well over here (often in the top 100 of a coup...

Jules has lost 40 pounds in about a year on No-s, despite some pretty extreme stresses in her life. No doubt Jules is a remarkable person, but I think her story goes to show how the structure of no-s can actually be a de-stressing positive when things get crazy. http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtop...

Congratulations, Jules! That is quite an achievement -- especially given everything you've been going through. Any one of those incidents would have been sufficient excuse to throw in the towel for most people. I'm hugely impressed. I'm very happy to hear that shovelglove and urban ranger played a r...

Bushranger, I've heard from a number of Aussis on the board here and via email (I was even interviewed by an Australian magazine -- "GoodHealth and Medicine", though I'm not sure anything much ever came of it) and though they usually CAN find the book, it isn't as easy as they (or I) would like. So ...

This is great! Thanks for posting it. I came up with something similar a while ago about "wave action" and "erosion" but yours is better -- because habit seems like such a small and insignificant thing, whereas the ocean obviously isn't. From: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=55719&high...

I'm a biggish guy (6 feet, large frame) and the 12 pounder I started with was probably a little too heavy. 10 pounds would probably have been more optimal. The danger of starting too low is a mere 30 dollars or so -- that you'll have to upgrade a little earlier than you might like. The danger of sta...

Welcome, Bushranger! Yes, the "catching" part of shovelglove is often much harder than the "throwing" part -- and it exercises different muscles, the abs and back in particular. And of course, it can hurt those muscles if you overdo it. When you really get comfortable with the movements, I think the...

This is fascinating, thanks for the link!

I've seen the book before -- think I might need to order it.

Makes me wonder what my family's week would look like. Not too bad, I think, but it would be interesting to actually see it.

Reinhard

Yeah, I've almost been tripped up by the free samples myself. :-) What a vivid illustration of the power of habit -- a bite of Tilapia, this healthy, virtuous, non-snacky food -- and you've confused your routine enough to discombobulate yourself for the rest of the day. Don't sweat it, now you're aw...

Everyday Systems

Search found 5900 matches

Centenarians and snacks (and oatmeal :-))

No S taking off in Japan?

Getting no-s listed on WebMD?

Extra incentive to join the 21 club