Everyday Systems

NoelFigart

Sure, why not use your days off as your S days, if you get two a week.

Just make sure that the boundaries around them are CLEAR and decided IN ADVANCE.

NoelFigart

S-Day
Glass Ceiling

While I was doing a fair amount of nibbling most of the day, I don't think I really went too far overboard.

NoelFigart

I think you should expect to be hungry, but not feeling faint or ravenous. It is the difference between looking forward to your next meal and feeling like you've missed one. In a few weeks, you won't mind that looking-forward-to-eating hunger. Indeed. Kevin is right. In fact, you might get to the p...

NoelFigart

I eat enough to make sure that I'm not ravenous before my next meal. I did a "reality check" by calorie counting some years ago when I first started doing No-S. I'm a nerd and like numbers. My meals look pretty substantial, plate-wise. But if my ONLY food input opportunities are those plates, I'm ea...

NoelFigart

I weighed this morning. Since Jan 8, I've lost 3.5 lbs. I'm a bit surprised, as that's a bit fast for what's usual for me, but hey, I'll take it.

NoelFigart

Congratulation, that's wonderful.

NoelFigart

If you're seeing results doing what you're doing, I don't think you need to change it. A couple of things you could do if you feel the need to change it: Divided plates Use wosnes' suggestion (I so this with soup, too) When I have a salad, it's often my whole meal (I eat more salads in the summer), ...

NoelFigart

For whatever reason, I am finding the food part of my Everyday Systems astonishingly easy. As on-again-off-again as I've been over the years with this, I am not sure why it should be so... No, that's not quite true. I'll tell you one thing that is quite different. I am making no particular effort to...

NoelFigart

For whatever reason, I am finding the food part of my Everyday Systems astonishingly easy. As on-again-off-again as I've been over the years with this, I am not sure why it should be so... No, that's not quite true. I'll tell you one thing that is quite different. I am making no particular effort to...

NoelFigart

No S Exercise Glass Ceiling Breakfast: Mini bagel, egg-n-cheese sandwich, orange. Lunch: Bento with mini hamburger wit cheese, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli and an orange (Hey, I have a crate of delicious clementines, my consolation for it being winter). Dinner: Sushi, delicious sushi how...

NoelFigart

Oh very yes.

Let the treat be a TREAT, for pity's sake. ENJOY it because it's RARE!

NoelFigart

Oh, congratulations! That's wonderful!

NoelFigart

No, Over43, it's something Reinhard came up with. Oatmeal with nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

It's quite filling.

NoelFigart

The joke, connorcream, is WHO said that (Simon Pegg) and then the ROLE he went on to play (Montgomery Scott) in WHAT movie (Star Trek 11).

NoelFigart

No-S Glass Ceiling Exercise Breakfast: Optimized oatmeal Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich, cherry tomatoes, an orange and some green pepper slices. Dinner: Chicken in wine sauce with broccoli and yellow peppers and pasta. I'm going to have a nightcap before I go to bed, and it might very well be a ma...

NoelFigart

I did the abstainer thing for most of my life. Or rather a pattern of abstinence, then going overboard. Since I did not make life-long abstinence a success, I figured I'd try the moderation route. It has been successful for alcohol for (I think) three years. This year, I think my most urgent problem...

NoelFigart

Well, I do it with exercise rather than eating in the short term, but yes, I often do. (In the long term, I'll do four or five months, then get indignant about something, an quit). I'm just going to keep trying and failing until the failures drop off (and they will) and the successes become very ver...

NoelFigart

People like numbers and "what to expect" so I thought I'd put some numbers out there. I kept very careful track of my weight loss the last time I was serious about No-S. So, some facts: I am in my 40s, a chronic dieter, short, female, quite overweight, have a sedentary job AND relatively sedentary h...

NoelFigart

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal.
Lunch: 15 bean soup and a ham and cheese wrap
Dinner: Two soft boiled eggs, toast soldiers and an orange.

Normally I have a much more substantial dinner, but I was in a bad mood and wanted comfort food. That's what I craved, so I had it.

NoelFigart

Miss Hartshorn could have a sig explaining she's fictional.

For my own part, I LIKE the lady. I love the image.

NoelFigart

No... No....

Not my point at all. Sorry I got it wrong.

NoelFigart

Way to go out on that limb there-- three meals a day... LOL.

Do it that way, if that's what works for you. Why change it?

I'm majorly in love with breakfast, myself, but that doesn't say other people have to be!

NoelFigart

Glass Ceiling
No-S
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Peanut Soup
Dinner: Pork Loin, apples and broccoli over rice (don't laugh at it. IT was good).

It's a devil of a note that I was better at working out on travel than at home!

NoelFigart

What about people who don't like planning meals, but are grudgingly accepting that it can be a good thing? I'm trying to plan out more meals for myself and Nicest Husband. I've tried this before and failed, so we shall see how it works this time. But we do seem to eat better when I do plan meals. I...

NoelFigart

My son and a friend of his have faithfully been shoveling the driveway at intervals during the snowstorm today. I've been rewarding them with hot chocolate, 'cause, well... I don't have to shovel if they do! The third time I sent them out (we have a horrible driveway that is a terrifying monster whe...

NoelFigart

I feel for you. It sucks to feel like that. Not everyone finds planning useful. I do. Then when I'm hungry, I'm LOOKING FORWARD to a meal I'd decided to have, or a treat I'd decided to have on the weekends. Keep in mind that one bad week, more or less over the course of the rest of your life is fair...

NoelFigart

Put it on the "good" plates, light some candles and make an event out of it.

NoelFigart

I'm not even sure this is off-topic, but I wasn't sure where to put it, and figure there's no harm here. I've been noticing a trend I find a little distressing -- a certain... pride in not taking pleasure in things typically found pleasurable. Don't get me wrong. I knew a man who genuinely did not L...

NoelFigart

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Fried Rice
Dinner: Spaghetti

Not a very imaginative meal day. But I was busy. Oh, I had a martini after dinner.

No, I didn't exercise. Could have, didn't.

NoelFigart

Yes, I felt it sometimes. Yes, it goes away. What COMPLETELY CURED me of it was a YA book series that's really popular -- The Hunger Games. I'm NEVER more than a few hours away from a meal and feel a bit silly panicking about it after reading that first book. I'm hungry for dinner right now and the ...

NoelFigart

Gorilla Nostrils are sliced black olives. We used to call them that to freak the kids out.

NoelFigart

A friend of mine has that book, wosnes, and I love it! (Need to get a copy of my own). It's brilliant. Many recipes that have been passed down through the ages (especially for sweets) assume a large family. I mean, a pie is eight servings. That's dandy, but if I made dessert, it's probably going to ...

NoelFigart

An S-Day Breakfast: Ham and cheese omelet with bacon and toast. Lunch: Half a grilled cheese sandwich and a handful of cherries Dinner: (planned) Pork loin in red wine, noodles and broccoli with Ben-n-Jerry's Milk and Cookies for dessert. Lunch was small because I was still a little full from such ...

NoelFigart

Stop. Stop. Stop. Deep breath. You need to FORGET about S days for awhile. Seriously. They're off the hook, even if you're being an idiot. YOU CANT FAIL ON AN S DAY. You haven't been doing No-S anywhere nearly long enough to have those N-day habits taking over for your S days. YES YES YES they're go...

NoelFigart

S-Day It's been a bread day. I know it isn't an S, but on S-days I give myself permission to have what I want whether it's an S or not. I did have a "SNACK" that was an S mind. B: Two slices of toast with butter. L: Grilled Cheese Sandwich S: Cinnamon Toast and a few peppermint candies D: Fifteen b...

NoelFigart

It's an S day. You're off the hook. For what it's worth, I bet you've had worse days. I know I have. So it was junk. It was still contained.

NoelFigart

I'm not necessarily majorly into DD coffee per se. I just stopped off at a gas station to BUY a cup of coffee and there was a DD there.

Not doing that again...

NoelFigart

KCCC: General rule of thumb: The more dieting you've done in the past, the longer you should stick with Vanilla No-S before attempting mods. This is very, very different from most diets, and you've got a lot to un-learn! Oh this. Oh dear, oh Lord, this. To give a general idea... I've dieted several ...

NoelFigart

Does anyone know what they put in their coffee? I don't usually buy coffee at specialty stores (I buy espresso beans, grind 'em fine and brew 'em drip style at home). I bought a cup of coffee on the way home from travel, so I'm not sure what "cream and sugar" is supposed to mean when you ask for it....

NoelFigart

I'm glad it's an S day, but I'm not sure what S type things I want to have. There's a Dunkin' Donuts that has opened around the corner, and I might Urban Ranger on over there to get one.

NoelFigart

Yes, it's a not-too-unusual mod. But, take-out in and of itself is No-S approved as long as it isn't a sweet, ya know. Had some last night, myself. Took the food from the take-out container, and put it on a plate. (Ahhh, delicious sushi.) If that's the only thing you're really craving, I don't think...

NoelFigart

Glass Ceiling
No-S
Exercise

Home. Sushi for dinner.

I am all happy, even if I didn't work out.

NoelFigart

Reinhard? Flylady's system works VERY WELL INDEED with the Everyday System's principles of turning things into a habit.

You might find the site a bit gushy (I do), but the principles are quite sound. I use it for my own home. My house is quite neat, and I am NOT NOT NOT a naturally neat person.

NoelFigart

Family Recipe Book I wrote this (it's about 21 pages) as a supplement to teaching my son how to cook. I featured meals he was particularly fond of rather than necessarily what I always cook. There's an intro about meal planning and mise en place. This is a section in my Household Notebook, and is v...

NoelFigart

I couldn't recommend going cold turkey with coffee, even to make it an S-day treat.

Taper down, if you decide to cut down. With two small children, those blinding withdrawal headaches are the last thing you need.

NoelFigart

No-S
Exercise
Glass Ceiling

The case is likely to go on another goddamned week. So I go home for the weekend (thank goodness it's a three-day weekend) and then start up again next week.

Dammit.

NoelFigart

I think you're right. I didn't learn it with food, though. I learned it with alcohol. I was on my way to developing a problem with it (some would say already had one). Current wisdom says that <SCREECH!CRASH!> I have to avoid alcohol forever-n-ever amen. I learned that I could apply VERY STRICT mode...

NoelFigart

The whole book talks about willpower and the fact it is limited all through it. (I have the Kindle version and there are 13 instances of the word willpower used) He talks about it in support of being strict about the diet to put your habits on automatic without needing willpower to test them, he tal...

NoelFigart

No-S Glass Ceiling Exercise I want a damn medal. Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, bagel and cream cheese. It was tasty and I enjoyed it. I'm also glad I did go a bit overboard on breakfast, because... Lunch: Cup-o-noodles Dinner: Ham-n-cheese wrap and a cup-o-noodles. I was going to order a salad from Domin...

NoelFigart

I like those suggestions. One thing I'd add, and I think it's been effective in my home, is to foster the idea that we're ALL contributing members of the household, if there's a way to reinforce that. If your kid runs on appreciation (and not all children do), being appreciative is a good way. I say...

NoelFigart

I love it that sushi is No-S approved.

NoelFigart

I'm on travel in one of those places where they serve a breakfast buffet included with your night's stay. Since I'm a tightwad, I've been making that breakfast my big meal. The plates are smaller, mebbe 8", but I tend to be a literalist, and just say "A plate is a plate" and be done with it. I consi...

NoelFigart

No-S Glass Ceiling Exercise I'm still on travel. I'm on a jury trying a Federal case. I can't say anything about it, of course, until it's over. So, the days are intense, as listening carefully and evaluating evidence requires you to pay incredibly close attention. No-S hasn't been as hard as I exp...

NoelFigart

I've had issues with blood sugar spikes and drops (confirmed with glucometer); I'm still figuring out what 'normal foods' keep me on an even keel and which don't. When you get the jitters and feel weak it's hard to hold off til the next meal! :cry: You're quite right, it is. For me (and you may be ...

NoelFigart

Good to see you!

NoelFigart

I suck it up till the next meal.

As Our Founder put it, "Hunger is a great teacher."

NoelFigart

Saturday and Sunday were S-days. In the spirit of No-S, they were yellow and 'nuff said. (I didn't go crazy, so no need to mark it). Today, however: No-S Glass Ceiling Exercise I'm on travel this week and my days are taken up with meetings. Because I'm cheap, I bought some Cup-o-noodles, some tortil...

NoelFigart

I am totally in favor of pulling out the "Good China" for treats and such. I think it's a good habit to make a treat a REAL treat by making it truly special. Though to be honest, I think formal meals are a good idea, too. While I GET the idea of wanting to be... democratic about things, have a sense...

NoelFigart

Often when rice is made to be eaten cold, it's strongly flavored with umeboshi and some such. (You know, like rice balls). Though the real beauty of bento is that you can put any food you like into it. I didn't have any rice at all in mine this afternoon. If you don't like cold rice, there's no reas...

NoelFigart

Make that three.

No, Mickey D's is not the world's healthiest. And ya know? I don't eat it often enough to make a significant difference. Don't sweat it for once in awhile.

NoelFigart

Not exactly. The point of No-S is to allow for treats at confined intervals (if you want them).

But yes, yes, yes, plan for a GOOD treat. A REAL chocolate bar, or a scoop of gourmet ice cream, or a homemade brownie, or a cinnamon roll, or whatever is just DELICIOUS to you.

NoelFigart

I think it's awesome!

Rice and leftovers is a common bento for me. (And a lot of other people who do it, I would think).

NoelFigart

http://summertomato.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Real-Food-Flowchart-2.png For those of you new to No-S... YES YES YES you can eat frozen meals three times a day if that's your fancy. You don't HAVE to cook for yourself or all that. This is just for those of us who do tend to be concerned about "...

NoelFigart

I gotcha. So if S days come around and you don't feel like having them don't, but don't go out of your way to avoid them if they come around. Exactly. While it's totally fine if you genuinely don't wanna, (Treats are hardly compulsory, after all) it's foolish not to have a routine for the occasiona...

NoelFigart

Sometimes I am not in the mood for treats and don't have them.

That said, DON'T, for the love of Ceiling Cat, DON'T make an effort NOT to take S-days when they come around. It's not extra virtuous not to take S-days.

NoelFigart

I think I'll join you with the habitcal thing. No matter what, I'll keep up with that, even if its a sea of red.

Good idea.

NoelFigart

The bentos with two halves do, indeed stack. Those boxes are QUITE small, so to get enough food, you have to pack them very tightly. If you do this, they're still attractive come lunchtime, even after being bounced around in a purse or backpack. Technically, bento aren't supposed to be refrigerated ...

NoelFigart

Bento aren't necessarily automatically healthy. At the end of the day, it's just a hobby of arranging food in a small container. You CAN choose healthy food, though. I just consider it a hobby that's very consistent with No-S principles. It's portion-controlled and it makes a small "event" out of me...

NoelFigart

Anoulie is right. Just mark it and move on.

After awhile, it really does become natural, but you're working against some years of conditioning right now.

NoelFigart

No-S Exercise Glass Ceiling There. Better. Amazing the damn agonizing I was doing about the exercise. I was saying something to my son about it and bless his wretched little heart, he just rolled his eyes and said, "Mum, either you do something or you don't. It's dumb to get spun up about it." I as...

NoelFigart

Also, I was wondering, is soy milk an okay substitute for real milk? Looks like it has the same amount of sugars nutritionally, but more carbs (???) Does anybody know? Thanks! I suppose the real answer is why you're substituting it. If you've a lactose intolerance, it's vastly superior to cow milk....

NoelFigart

I just could NOT get all that excited about working out, but I figured I had to do SOMETHING to get started when it occurred to me that I have a Netflix account with instant watch that will play to my television. There are plenty of workout videos on the watch instantly feature. Are they awesome? No...

NoelFigart

http://lifehacker.com/5724936/use-the-o ... that-stick

Seems that someone has snarfed Reinhard's idea.

NoelFigart

OF course, don't beat yourself up. Also, you might want to consider that meals don't ALL have to have specific things in them to make them meals. Skipping the fruit or veggies for ONE meal (Say, if a pasta dish is served and there's no accompanying salad) and just putting the food that's available o...

NoelFigart

I'm big into not wasting food, myself. I just don't think the HGC* approach is an appropriate way to do it. Repurposing leftovers is a dandy way to avoid waste without overeating. With excellent refrigeration and freezing available, it's fairly easy. Little bits left over work great in bento or soup...

NoelFigart

No-S Glass Ceiling Exercise I am highly tempted to buy a sledgehammer (my old one has disappeared somehow) and paint it purple just to motivate myself. I'm going to be on travel next week, too. While I have a great repertoire of body weight exercises I could do, they're only good if I DO them. I ca...

NoelFigart

Makes sense. In Little Town on the Prairie, Laura talks about a luxurious party where each guest had a WHOLE ORANGE. These days, of course, fruit is seen as a nutritional necessity. It was driven home to me today when I was chatting with a friend about No-S and she asked me with slight horror when I...

NoelFigart

A) Yes, you can stick to one plate from a buffet!

B) In the interests of clarity, take the failure, recognize it's a small one, and move on.

NoelFigart

Both excellent articles.

NoelFigart

No, it's not. If you haven't bought a copy of the No-S Diet book, I'd encourage you to do so. While the strict interpretation is just 14 words long, the book is excellent. The No S Diet does not count drinks (even caloric ones) as snacks. You can drink whenever you want, unless its something full of...

NoelFigart

No-S
Glass Ceiling
Exercise

I'm rather proud of myself on the No-S front. I had lunch at 12:00 and dinner at 7:45. Dear oh LORD was I hungry. But I did stick to one plate.

I'm having a hell of a time getting into the exercise thing.

NoelFigart

No Sweets, No Snacks, No Seconds, except (sometimes) on days beginning with S. That's IT. You didn't cheat. Are sweet potato fries the world's healthiest choice? Nope, not really. Get past perfect. (F**k perfection, to be a bit crude). Go for "good enough". This is a lifetime thing. Mostly good is ...

NoelFigart

Okay, just trying to make sure I stay on track. Diet really hasn't been an issue. It seems easy to pick up with the three meals a day thing. I'm hungry for lunch right now, but as lunch is in a half an hour, I feel like that's appropriate. I'm all good with being hungry for a meal. I think some of m...

NoelFigart

My questions are to those of you who have previously been on low carb diets. How have you done on the No S diet? Are you losing? Did you just totally abandon the low carb way of eating instantly, or did you gradually add more carbs to your meals, or do you still eat low carb as well as following th...

NoelFigart

Another bid for the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. My mother in law gave her son a copy of that when he moved out of the house, and he did start to learn to cook from it to the point where yes, he can cook a competent, tasty meal. It's a good, all-around cookbook.

NoelFigart

Had an interesting object lesson in how far we've moved away from eating meals today. I'm up for jury duty and had to report today to participate in the selection process. Now, the court goes out of its way to be really nice to jurors for the most part. Nice place to hang out, kitchen, snacks availa...

NoelFigart

Thanks. Good to be back. My husband and I found that our eating habits were starting to get silly again, so I find the support here does reinforce not only the habits we want to have, but the example we want to set for the little 'uns who ain't so little any more.

NoelFigart

One solution you might want to consider at first, and it's gonna make you cringe: Eat BIG meals at first. Go ahead and LOAD up that plate with what you KNOW is going to carry you to the next meal. Yeah, I know that it might feel like you're specifically eating to gain weight (though chances are you'...

NoelFigart

Sharpie wrote:How do you all plate for lunch?

My hobby is making bentos (Japanese lunch boxes). So, there's portion control right there. I did an experiment and why yes, these little boxes hold about a plate of food.

http://noelfigart.com/blog/2009/09/05/b ... iny-bento/

NoelFigart

I'd recommend being on No-S 3 to 6 months before making modifications. Most of us still don't really have the habits down before that. There's no point in modifying something you haven't mastered. I agree that it's ideal, though very very hard for people who are expecting a quick fix to a problem t...

NoelFigart

All green yesterday. That's good. My weight loss seems to be speeding up. Also good. I'm on the horns of a dilemma, though. I'm writing a fitness book for people who are very overweight and out of shape. Initially, I wanted to discuss and even recommend many of the systems that Reinhard came up with...

NoelFigart

Okay, that's better. I had a failure on No-S yesterday (sliver of homemade bread when I was making bento). It was a bit of a DUH moment when I thought about it, but anyway. Small failure. Move on. It wasn't an excuse to eat a BIG piece of bread. I kinda laughed at myself when I thought about it. "Je...

NoelFigart

Okay, in Real Life, I don't use my cycle as an excuse not to do anything. <MENFOLK WHO FREAK AT FEMALE TMI STOP READING> Okay, if I'm bleeding excessively heavily, I might take a pass on a swim, but that's rare. The way I look at it? I'm a grown-up, and if I use my period as an excuse to eat, then a...

NoelFigart

PMS shouldn't be an excuse to eat. THAT'S not No-S friendly.

PMS should be an excuse for excessive cruelty and violence. None of THOSE are Ses.

NoelFigart

AUUUGHHH!!!! NOOOO!!!!!! *SCREECH* *FAINTS* Start again NOW. Seriously. I know I'm being overly dramatic, but one of the best lessons I learned here on this board was when I screwed up, NOT to throw in the towel until some arbitrary date, but to get back up, dust myself off and go ahead with the ha...

NoelFigart

Many many people overdo the weekends at first. That is so totally okay and completely normal. Seriously. One day, you'll have a weekend when you just plain don't want to have any S-events for whatever reason and you'll wonder just how that happened! S days are the least of your worries at first. Wor...

NoelFigart

sheepish wrote: e.g. I'll get a takeaway or do a quick meal that I wouldn't usually, not necessarily something unhealthy, I really like sushi for instance and so I quite often get that as a takeaway.

*grin* Sushi is magic. It makes even working late bearable!

NoelFigart

I didn't feel like sweets all last weekend, so I didn't have any. I didn't feel like snacking, either. So I didn't.

I've been great on food and Glass Ceiling. Lousy on exercise.

NoelFigart

I've certainly found that after maybe six months or so, I mentally relabelled "being hungry" into "having an appetite", and I've come to really enjoy the sensation of looking forward to a good meal. I like the mental reframing here! And I'm with you. I prefer to have a good appetite for a meal. It ...

NoelFigart

It'll come.

While I'm hardly labelling's biggest fan, I do mentally label myself. When I was going through some big temptation stages, I'd say, "Oh, I'm a person who doesn't snack" to myself. It helped internalize it for me.

Everyday Systems

Search found 1639 matches

What Weight Loss Can Look Like on No-S

Here's Habit for You

Guilt for Pleasure

Dunkin Donuts Coffee

Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

Re: Blood sugar

Is it real food?

Monthly Resolutions

Noel's 2011 Check-In

Re: Every day feels like an S day! Intro

Moved Away From Meals

Re: Plating Lunches?